LOGINGianna.The moment his lips left mine, the world didn’t rush back in the way I expected it to.It didn’t crash. Didn’t flood.It just… hovered.Like everything around me had paused mid-breath, waiting. Not for him. Not for anything outside of me.For me.Ivan’s hand was still at my waist, his thumb brushing lightly against the fabric of my shirt in slow, absent movements. Not impatient. Not demanding. Just… there. Like he needed that small contact to stay grounded.Or maybe that was me.I didn’t move.Because moving meant thinking.And thinking meant going back to it.Break the mate bond.The words didn’t hit like a punch. Not this time.They settled.Slow. Heavy. Unavoidable.My chest tightened, but it wasn’t sharp panic. It wasn’t that drowning feeling I was used to when things got too real.This was quieter.Deeper.Like something inside me had stopped reacting… and started listening instead.I stepped back slightly.Not away from him.Just enough to breathe.His hand slipped from
Gianna.The silence that followed my question felt heavier than the words that came before it.Ivan didn’t speak.Marcus didn’t either.And that… that was worse.Because silence only ever shows up when the truth is already too close to the surface.My pulse slowed in a strange way. Not calm. Just focused. Like my body was preparing for impact before my mind caught up.“I asked a question,” I said again, softer this time, but sharper underneath.Ivan shifted slightly.I noticed it immediately.That small movement he always made when he was trying to decide between honesty and protection.Marcus finally let out a breath.“Gianna—”“No,” I cut in quickly, my voice firmer now. “Don’t do that. Don’t start with my name like it’s supposed to calm me down.”Something flickered across Marcus’s face. Not anger. More like… understanding he didn’t want to have.Ivan stepped forward half a step.“Gia, it’s not what you think—”“That’s exactly what people say when it is what I think.”My chest tigh
Gianna.The walk back to my cabin felt longer than it actually was.Not because the distance had changed… but because my steps didn’t feel like they belonged to me anymore. Each one landed a fraction too heavy, a fraction too late, like I was following my own body instead of controlling it.I tightened my grip on the door handle when I got there.Just for a second.Breathing in.Out.Then I pushed it open.The cabin was quiet.Too quiet.The kind of quiet that didn’t feel peaceful… just empty. Like the walls were waiting for me to fill the silence with thoughts I didn’t want to think.I shut the door behind me and leaned against it for a moment, letting my head fall back lightly.My eyes closed.And immediately—That pressure again.Stronger now.It pulsed behind my eyes, not sharp, not painful enough to drop me to my knees… but deep. Like something pressing outward from inside my skull, testing the edges.I exhaled slowly.“This is getting ridiculous,” I muttered under my breath.But
Gianna.Morning in the community never really felt like morning.It felt like the forest was stretching awake in layers, slow and watchful, like even the trees were deciding whether they trusted the day yet. The air outside my cabin was cool, sharp in my lungs in a way that made me more aware of every breath I took.I sat on the edge of my bed for a moment longer than necessary.That same pressure was there again.Behind my eyes.Not painful enough to scream for attention… but persistent enough that I couldn’t ignore it either. It had started sometime last night before I finally forced myself to sleep, like something had settled inside my skull and decided it wasn’t leaving anytime soon.My fingers lifted slowly, pressing lightly against my temple.I tilted my head slightly like that might reset something.It didn’t.It stayed.Waiting.Like it was studying me instead of hurting me.I exhaled through my nose, slow and controlled.“Probably just training fatigue,” I muttered, but even
Ivan.Morning in the community never really felt like morning.It felt like the world hadn’t fully decided who it wanted to be yet. Like even the air was standing there, waiting for permission to either soften… or turn sharp.I stood at the edge of the training grounds, watching the warriors move in steady formation. Boots hitting packed earth in rhythm. Swords cutting through air with clean precision. From far away, everything looked controlled. Almost peaceful.From far away.“Alpha.”Kade’s voice pulled me back.My beta.He wasn’t just assigned to me. He was inherited into it. His father had been my father’s beta, and somehow that line had just… continued like it was written somewhere long before we were born. But Kade wasn’t just legacy. He was choice too. My choice. Because somewhere between growing up beside him and surviving too many things together, he’d become the only person I didn’t have to question.Still, I didn’t look at him immediately.“Report,” I said.He stepped besi
Gianna.One minute we were standing in the foyer of the house, bags barely zipped, tension still hanging in the air like a storm that hadn’t fully decided whether to break or pass. The next minute, we were pulling up at the community gates.Even if a part of me wanted to protest, I couldn’t. Not really. The image of Rue still sitting somewhere alone, Alina somewhere in the shadows… it all pressed too hard against my chest. I hated that I understood the urgency now. I hated that I was becoming someone who didn’t question it anymore.We needed training. I needed training.I had to wake up from whatever soft, fragile fantasy still wanted to believe my sister was just… lost, not gone.So when mum said we had to leave, there wasn’t much arguing left in me. We packed quickly. Too quickly. Like if we moved fast enough, we wouldn’t have to feel anything fully.“I’ll see you around, yeah?” Ivan said beside me, his hand brushing my elbow in that quiet, grounding way he always did without even t
“Ivan… what are you doing?”My own voice sounded breathless—even to me—as I took a step back from him. He moved closer anyway, slow and deliberate, like he already knew I’d never really push him away. My body betrayed me instantly, humming, tightening, aching in a way I didn’t want to acknowledge.
Gianna. Tuesday came too fast.I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. My dreams had been strange—flashes of last week's argument with Ivan, the way his eyes darkened, the way the whole class went silent as if oxygen had leaked out of the room. Even now, the weight of it clung to me. I hated
GiannaSunday went by faster than I wanted. One second I was waking up, telling myself I’d be productive, and the next I was wrapped in a blanket, switching between movies and half-heartedly studying. The maids brought food to my room—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—which made me feel slightly guilty.
Gianna. The moment Mom and I stepped into the car, she let out a soft, content sigh and started driving.“It feels like we haven’t really caught up in a long time,” she said with a smile, her fingers tapping lightly on the wheel. “I’m happy you agreed to spend today with me.”“Me too,” I said. And







