CHAPTER EIGHT

Louis's Pov

I left school early.

Didn’t even wait for the bell. Just walked out and kept moving, ignoring the stares from kids too curious and too nosy for their own good. I had things to do, things that couldn’t wait.

My wolf, Tyler, paced restlessly beneath my skin.

Maya’s coming.

He kept repeating it like a mantra.

I cleaned up the living room, closed the blinds, and locked the back door. My fake parents were out on some business trip. Couldn't quite tell if it was fabricated or real but it had something to do with real estate. It gave me time. Privacy. Control.

When I got to my room, I did a final sweep, cleared my desk, stashed the small silver ring I usually kept hidden. Wouldn’t want Maya accidentally brushing against that and triggering something violent. Not yet.

While arranging, I felt a shift in the air before she even knocked, I knew she was on the porch.

Her scent hit me in waves, bright, charged, slightly off-kilter like her emotions were tangled in barbed wire. She wasn’t okay. But she was here.

Three short knocks.

I opened the door.

Maya stood there in a black hoodie and jeans, her red curls pulled back, jaw tense, eyes dark. Not angry. Not exactly. Just… stormy.

“You came,” I said.

She didn’t answer, just stepped inside.

“Are you alone?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

She looked at me, one brow raised. “Yeah. I walked here.”

“You sure?”

“Unless my hoodie grew legs and followed me.”

Strange. The other scent was faint, but not unnoticeable. Sweet, artificial. Female. Not her usual crowd. And not friendly.

But I let it go, stepping aside letting her pass.

She moved through the living room like it didn’t exist, straight down the hallway, right to my room like she’d been here before.

I followed. Closed the door behind us.

She didn’t speak. Just stood near the foot of the bed, rubbing her palm. Her jaw clenched. Her eyes locked on her own skin.

I let the silence stretch.

She finally looked up.

Dead in the eyes.

“Start talking.”

I let out a breath. “You’re still mad.”

“No. I’m furious,” she said. “There’s a difference.”

I held up my hands. “Okay, okay. I deserve that.”

I raised both hands in surrender, gave a crooked smile. "Alright, alright. I deserve that. I just… I wanted to explain everything, Maya. I didn’t want you finding out like that. I—"

She didn’t blink.

I sighed, tried softening the edge. "You’re beautiful, you know that? Even with your fists clenched like you’re about to knock me out.”

“Cut the bullshit,” she snapped, stepping forward. “You knew something was happening to me. You watched me freak out and break down and act like I was insane and you just… stood there. God, you kissed me. Touched me. Lied to me. Acted like it was nothing.”

I didn’t flinch. I didn’t dare.

“I wasn’t lying,” I said quietly.

Her hands clenched at her sides. “You think saying that makes it better?”

“No,” I said. “But it makes it true.”

She was close now. I could feel her energy vibrating off her skin. Her wolf wasn’t fully awakened, but she wasn’t asleep anymore either.

Before I could say anything else, movement outside caught my eye.

A shadow.

Right past the window.

I straightened slightly, and her eyes narrowed.

“What?” she said. “Trying to scare me now?”

“No,” I murmured, glancing past her shoulder. “Someone’s outside.”

I stepped to the window just far enough to catch another glimpse, long hair, well dressed for someone spying, standing under the tree just across the yard.

Zelda.

Of course.

She must have followed Maya. Maybe not intentionally. Maybe it started as a twisted curiosity, but now she was here, close enough to overhear everything if I wasn’t careful.

I let her watch. Let her draw her own conclusions.

I turned back to Maya.

"You’re not crazy," I said. "And you’re not cursed. You’re something else. Something more."

She froze.

"You’re a werewolf, Maya.” I said it gently. As gently as I could. But there’s no gentle way to shatter a person’s understanding of themselves.

Her face didn’t register it at first. Just blank. Processing. Denying.

"No."

"Yes. It’s in your blood. You were born with it. Hidden, maybe. Dormant. But it’s real. And it’s waking up."

"You’re lying."

"I’m not."

She stepped back, shaking her head. "I can’t be. I hate them. I’ve built my life, my identity, around hating them."

"And yet here you are. Alive and Breathing."

She backed into the wall, one hand clutching her hoodie.

“So it wasn't a dream?” She murmured softly to herself. 

"You… you knew," she whispered. "This whole time. You knew.”

"I did.”

“Why?” Her voice cracked. “Why now?”

“Because you’re coming of age,” I said. “It happens differently for everyone. But for you? The moment I… the moment we, when we were…, it triggered something.”

She touched her neck unconsciously. “The bite.”

I nodded once.

“That wasn’t just… what? Passion?” she said, voice sour. “You marked me?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Not like that. I didn’t mark you. I didn’t claim you. I couldn’t. Your wolf wasn’t ready. And I wouldn’t do that without your consent.”

“Then what the hell happened to me?”

“You shifted. Your first shift. I helped trigger it, yes, but it was already building. That voice you must have been hearing? That presence? That’s her, your wolf. Her name will be revealed to you soon.”

She stared at me like I was speaking a language she hadn’t learned yet.

“I’m not crazy,” she whispered.

“No,” I said. “You’re not.”

Her eyes welled, but she blinked it away. Maya wasn’t the type to cry easily. Not in front of anyone.

She looked down at her hands again.

“They don’t feel like mine anymore,” she whispered.

“They are,” I said. “They’re just… more.”

Outside, Zelda lingered. I could still smell her perfume and envy from here. Then, finally, the scent began to fade. She was gone.

Now I could speak freely.

I walked slowly, knelt in front of Maya. Her fists were still clenched. Eyes glistening.

I reached out, let her see it.

Let her watch my eyes shift.

She gasped.

"You…"

"I am… I’m one of you. Or maybe you’re one of me. It doesn't matter.” I paused, “I came to Houston for you. You're my reason for existing… I didn't think things would change when I met you, but then I met you. And everything changed. I—”

"Don’t," she whispered. "Don’t say it."

"I love you."

Her eyes widened. Maya pulled away from me fast. Tears burning at the edges.

She shoved past me. I didn’t stop her.

She stormed out of the room, her boots hitting the floor like thunder.

I chased after her, heart pounding. "Maya, wait. Please."

She didn’t.

I reached for her wrist. Grabbed it.

She turn

ed fast.

And in that second,her eyes blazed amber. Beautiful, hot and fierce. 

I let go slowly.

My voice dropped to a whisper. "Please don’t act recklessly."

And just like that, she was gone.