Casp

Skipping school with a Lycan should have felt wrong. Instead, it felt suspiciously easy. One moment I was standing outside the school talking to Caspian, and the next he had somehow convinced me that biology could survive one day without me. The forest stretched endlessly around us as we walked deeper into territory I had never explored before. Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead while birds called from somewhere in the distance. For once, my mind wasn't occupied by Bane, Alpha Alistair, or the mess my life had become. It was occupied entirely by the ridiculously attractive Lycan walking beside me.

"You know," I said, stepping over a fallen branch, "for someone who claims to be over a hundred years old, you're surprisingly immature." Caspian looked offended. "I am deeply mature." "You climbed through my bedroom window." "That was strategic." "That's not helping your case." A grin tugged at his lips. "You seemed happy to see me."

Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong. The smile threatening to appear on my face made me look away quickly before he could see it. That only seemed to amuse him more. The annoying thing about Caspian was that he noticed everything.

A river eventually came into view, its clear water moving swiftly over smooth stones. I stopped at the edge, staring at it. Then I looked down at my shoes. Then back at the river. Then back at my shoes. "No." Caspian raised an eyebrow. "No?" "I'm not ruining my shoes."

A second later I found myself lifted off the ground. "Caspian!" He ignored me completely and settled me onto his back as if carrying me was the most natural thing in the world. My arms instinctively wrapped around his shoulders while he walked straight into the river. "You know," he said casually, "most people would thank me." "I'm considering pushing you in." "You'd miss me." I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see it. His laugh rumbled through his chest, warm and deep enough to make my stomach do something embarrassing.

Once we reached the other side, he finally set me down. We spent the next hour wandering through the forest. At some point he started teaching me random Lycan words that I immediately forgot. Then somehow that turned into an argument about nicknames. "Casp." He stopped walking. Slowly. Very slowly. Then he turned toward me. "Casp?" I shrugged. "It's shorter." "Casp." "Yes." "That's your nickname for me?" "Do you hate it?" He stared at me for several seconds. Then he sighed dramatically. "I imagined something better." "Such as?" He started counting on his fingers. "Handsome. Magnificent. Brilliant." "Those aren't nicknames." "They are if you're important enough." I laughed despite myself. "What do your friends call you?" "Mostly insults." "That sounds more realistic." The sound of my laughter seemed to catch him off guard. His expression softened for a moment before he shook his head. "Fine. Casp it is." The nickname settled comfortably between us after that.

As the afternoon wore on, the conversation became easier. We talked about music, favorite foods, terrible teachers, and how Aurelia would probably sell me to aliens if offered enough money. For the first time since my eighteenth birthday, I felt normal. Which was probably why I finally told him what had been bothering me.

"My family is leaving." The words came out quieter than I intended. Caspian's expression immediately changed. I stared down at the grass beneath my feet. "Dad wants us gone. After everything with Bane and Alpha Alistair, he thinks moving back to his old pack is the safest option." For a moment he said nothing. The silence made my chest tighten. Then he reached over and tilted my chin upward. "Do you honestly think moving will separate us?" I blinked. "What?" His silver eyes held mine steadily. "Sunshine, I crossed continents before meeting you. Do you really think a pack border is enough to keep me away?"

Something warm spread through my chest. Relief. Hope. Maybe both. Because the truth was I hadn't realized how scared I was until that moment. Scared of leaving. Scared of losing him. Scared of never seeing him again. The certainty in his voice made all of those fears feel ridiculous. And for the first time all day, I smiled without forcing it.

When I finally returned home later that afternoon, the first thing I noticed was the boxes. Boxes in the hallway. Boxes in the living room. Boxes near the stairs. My stomach dropped. The move was really happening. Or at least it had been. Mom was standing near the kitchen when I walked inside. Before I could ask anything, she spoke. "We aren't leaving." I froze. "What?" "The transfer was denied."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "What do you mean denied?" Mom looked exhausted. "Alpha Alistair refused to release us from the pack." I stared at her. "He can't do that." "He already has." My heartbeat started accelerating. "What about Dad?" "He argued with him." "What about the transfer paperwork?" "Rejected." "What about—" "There are scouts stationed around the borders now." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "They're stopping us from leaving?" Mom looked away. The answer was obvious.

Anger exploded inside me. Not normal anger. Something hotter. Something deeper. My hands clenched automatically. "This is insane." "I know." "Why is he doing this?" Mom hesitated. That hesitation was enough. Because I already knew. "He thinks you belong to Bane."

Everything stopped. A strange ringing filled my ears. The room suddenly felt too small. Too warm. Too crowded. "He thinks you're his mate." Something inside me snapped. "I am NOT his." The voice that came out wasn't entirely mine. It sounded deeper. Rougher. Wild. Mom immediately stiffened.

My breathing became uneven. The world sharpened around me. I could hear the ticking clock in the kitchen. The birds outside. The distant footsteps of someone walking three houses away. My fingers elongated. Dark claws pushed from my nails. Mom's eyes widened. Not in fear. Shock. Pure shock. "Livana..."

I backed away. My heart hammered violently. "What is happening?" I turned and ran upstairs. The moment I reached my room, I slammed the door shut and rushed toward the mirror. Then I froze. My eyes were completely black. No white. No color. Nothing. Just endless black. My breathing became faster. My arms looked longer. My body taller. The bones beneath my skin shifted painfully. This wasn't a wolf shift. I knew what a wolf shift felt like. This was something else. Something wrong. Something impossible.

A knock sounded on my door. "Livana?" Mom. I couldn't let her see me. Not like this. "In a minute!" My voice cracked halfway through the sentence. I tried calming myself down. Tried slowing my breathing. Tried forcing the changes to stop. Instead they got worse. Another knock. "Sweetheart, open the door." My hands trembled. The black eyes remained. My senses continued sharpening. Then I heard it. The doorknob turning.

Panic exploded through me. Before I could think, before I could stop myself, my body moved. The window flew open. Cold air rushed inside. And a second later I launched myself through it. The ground rushed toward me. Then disappeared. The forest swallowed me whole. Branches blurred past. Wind tore through my hair. And for the first time in my life, I was genuinely terrified of what I was becoming.