เข้าสู่ระบบ~Skylar~I woke up to Mila shaking my shoulder way too hard, her grin way too wide for whatever goddamn time it was.“Get up, bitch. It’s showtime.”I groaned, ribs still sore but better than yesterday, and shoved her hand off. “What time is it? If it’s before nine I’m killing you.”“Eight-thirty. Tyler’s already in the waiting room. Sarah just texted, she’s posted up in the break room with her phone ready. Come on.”I sat up, grabbed my phone, and yeah, the group chats were already popping off from last night’s whisper post. People tagging each other, dropping hints, someone even posted a blurry pic of Malia from last year’s Halloween party with the caption “heard she likes jumping people now lol.” I snorted. Perfect.Mila threw me a hoodie. “Put this on. We’re going to the cafeteria across from the clinic. Best seats in the house.”We snuck out, me still limping a little but fuck it, adrenaline was doing its job. The cafeteria was half-empty, mostly tired residents chugging coffee.
~Skylar~I woke up in Ryder’s bed with his arm heavy across my waist and his breath warm against my neck, and for about three seconds everything felt almost okay, until I moved and my ribs screamed at me like I’d personally insulted them.“Fuck,” I hissed, freezing.Ryder’s arm tightened instantly. “Don’t move, idiot.”“Too late.” I tried to shift away, but he just pulled me closer, careful around the bruises.“Morning,” he muttered, voice all rough from sleep, even though it wasn't fully morning yet. His hand slid up under the oversized shirt he’d given me last night, fingers tracing the edge of the bandage on my side. “How bad?”“Like I got jumped by three bitches with daddy issues.” I turned my head to look at him. His hair was everywhere, eyes still half closed, but he was staring at me like he was checking I was really there. “Stop looking at me like I’m gonna disappear.”“You did disappear last night.” His jaw ticked. “For ten minutes I thought….”“Yeah, yeah, you cried. I remem
~Skylar~His jaw ticked again. He leaned in closer, hands on either side of me on the bench, caging me in. “You don’t get to do that.”“Do what?”“Kiss other guys and then get yourself beat up over it and expect me to just…..”“I didn’t expect you to do anything,” I cut in. “I didn’t ask you to come find me.”“You think I wouldn’t?” His voice dropped. “You think I’d just let you lie there?”I opened my mouth. Closed it. Because no, I didn’t think that. Not really.He reached up, fingers brushing the bruise under my eye so light I barely felt it. “You’re mine to break, Sky. Not theirs.”My breath caught. Stupid. So stupid.I shoved at his chest….weak, but he rocked back anyway. “I’m not yours.”“You are,” he said, like it was fact. Like he’d already decided. “You just don’t know it yet.”I stared at him. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. “You’re insane.”“Yeah,” he said. “About you.”And then the door banged open.Mila stormed in like a hurricane, eyes wide, ha
~Skylar~My head felt like someone had used it as a hockey puck. Everything throbbed….my ribs, my jaw, my stupid pride most of all. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out where the hell I was, and then I realized I wasn’t on the cold floor anymore. There was something warm under my head. Ryder’s jacket. Of course. And his arms were around me, like he thought I was some broken doll he needed to hold together.I wanted to throw up. Not from the pain…from him seeing me like this. Weak. Human. Beaten down by a bunch of girls who didn’t even have claws. If I could’ve shifted, I would’ve ripped them apart. I’d pictured it while they kicked me, claws out, fur ripping through skin, strength flooding in like it was supposed to. But nothing. Just me, regular old Skylar, getting my ass handed to me.I tried to move, and a groan slipped out before I could stop it.“Hey,” Ryder’s voice was low, rough, way too close. “Don’t. Just stay still.”I opened my eyes all the way and there he was, face
Skylar's POV “Why don’t you want to kiss me?” Jordan asked, quiet like he was asking for something small but it felt big.My mouth went dry. I should have lied. I should have said something easy. Instead, the truth left my lips before I could stop it.“Because I love Ryder,” I said. I said it like it was a fact, not a confession.Jordan didn’t snap. He wasn’t the dramatic type. He just blinked and sounded tired when he said, “You really mean that?”I nodded. “Yes.”He stayed with me a long second, holding my hand. Then he said, softer, “Just once. Let me show you.”My head had a million small alarms. Every training rule I’d learned burned bright in my mind. Don’t trust too fast. Don’t give them chances to hurt you. But his voice was patient and something in me cracked. I leaned in. We kissed.It was quick. It felt wrong and right at the same time. When we pulled back, my chest felt full and empty at once. And then I wanted to confirm it and leaned in for another kiss, his lips were s
Skykar's POV I shouldn’t have been running. That’s the first thing. I was supposed to be at the nursing tent, alert, making sure no one broke a leg or got knocked out by a puck, but then I saw her. Malia. Smiling at Ryder. Touching his shoulder, wiping sweat off his forehead, all this careful attention that made me want to punch something. Preferably her, but I wasn’t above the occasional table flip either.“Sky! Move!” Mila’s voice rang out like someone had just threatened her favorite reality show. I ignored her, of course, because priorities…yurpI ran. Not a graceful run though. The field was chaos–girls fluttering around, trying to look attractive to Jordan Brick, Ryder, Liam and a lot more, who were walking past like none of them existed. Then Jordan came into focus.He didn’t strut or preen or act like he knew he was the center of attention. He just walked calmly.And he walked straight to me.“Here,” he said, taking the cloth I had in my hand and wiping his sweat with it.I f







