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The moment I stepped through the back door, Mom was waiting. Arms crossed. Foot tapping. The universal sign that I was in trouble.

"Where have you been?"

I froze halfway into the kitchen. "A run."

Mom narrowed her eyes. "A run?"

"To clear my head." Which wasn't exactly a lie. I had gone running. The fact that I'd spent part of that run in a form that definitely wasn't human and definitely wasn't wolf was information she didn't need right now.

Mom studied me for another second before Products sighing. "Your friends are here."

My mood instantly improved. "Really?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, really."

The smell of snacks hit me before I even reached the living room; fresh cookies, popcorn, fruit punch. Mom never did anything halfway. Aurelia was already sprawled across the couch like she owned the house, Vesper sat beside her, and Kane was busy emptying an entire bowl of chips into his mouth.

"Wow," I said. "You people move fast."

"We heard there were free snacks," Kane replied.

"You're disgusting."

"Yet lovable."

"No."

Aurelia pointed toward the empty chair. "Sit." The tone alone told me she was about to interrogate me. Which she did. Immediately.

"So," she said.

"No."

"So."

"No."

"How was Caspian?"

Traitor. I glared at her. Vesper leaned forward instantly. "Oh my God. Something happened." Kane looked interested. "Wait. We're talking about the Lycan?"

"Unfortunately," I muttered.

The next thirty minutes became the longest interrogation of my life. I told them about Caspian not everything, because some things were mine, but enough. The park. The conversation. The hand-holding. The erasthai explanation. The way he kept appearing in my room like breaking and entering was a personality trait.

Aurelia looked ready to explode from excitement. "I knew it." "You knew nothing." "I knew everything." "You literally didn't." "I did." "You didn't." She pointed at me dramatically. "Look at you defending him already." I threw a cookie at her face. Unfortunately, she caught it. The witch.

By the end of it, their expressions had grown more serious, especially after I explained what Alpha Alistair was doing. The transfer rejection. The patrols. The fact that my family wasn't being allowed to leave. Vesper frowned. "That's actually messed up." "It is messed up," Kane agreed.

Aurelia folded her arms. "Have you told Caspian?"

"No."

"Why?"

I hesitated because the answer sounded stupid. Because I didn't want to look weak. Because somehow telling Caspian things had started feeling dangerous. Not physically but emotionally. "He'll find out eventually."

Aurelia stared at me, then sighed. "Tell him." For once, everyone agreed. Even Kane. Which was terrifying.

The rest of the evening passed quietly, but when I finally went to bed, one thought kept circling through my head: Tell Caspian. Tell Caspian. Tell Caspian.

The next morning, I woke up feeling strange. Again. At this point, strange was becoming my entire personality. I sat up slowly and frowned. My shirt felt tighter. Actually... everything felt tighter. I walked toward the mirror, then stopped. "What?"

I moved closer. Then closer. Then closer. My skin looked brighter, healthier, like somebody had secretly edited me overnight. My lashes looked thicker, my eyes seemed larger, and my hair fell around my shoulders in glossy waves. Even my curves looked more pronounced. My jeans from yesterday suddenly felt criminally tight, and my chest; okay, definitely larger.

What was happening to me? Was I dying? Could people die from whatever this was? Nyx remained suspiciously quiet, which wasn't helpful at all. I stared at my reflection, then groaned. This was probably another weird thing connected to whatever was happening with my wolf, or Caspian. Somehow I felt like everything eventually led back to Caspian.

Speaking of Caspian... his scent lingered faintly in my room. Pine. Cold air. Something wild. The memory alone made my stomach flutter, and I immediately hated myself for it.

By the time I reached school, my friends were staring. Again. Aurelia blinked, then blinked again. "What did you do?" "Nothing." "You said that yesterday." "Because I did nothing." Vesper leaned closer. "You're glowing." "I am not." "You are." "I am not." Kane pointed. "Actually you kinda are."

I was about to argue when something shifted. A familiar awareness settled over me, like a thread tightening somewhere inside my chest. I turned before I could stop myself, and there he was, standing across the courtyard. Caspian. Of course. Julian and Silas stood nearby, but I barely noticed them because all I could see was him. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark shirt rolled up to his forearms. Brown hair moving slightly in the breeze. Silver eyes fixed entirely on me. Waiting. Not calling me over, not waving; just waiting, like he already knew I would come. And the worst part? I did. I understood exactly what he meant.

My friends followed my gaze, then every single one of them looked back at me slowly. "Oh," Aurelia said.

I ignored her. "See you later." Then I walked away before she could embarrass me further.

Each step made my heartbeat louder. The closer I got, the stronger his scent became; warm, wild, dangerously familiar. "Casp."

The smile that appeared on his face should've been illegal. Before I could say anything else, he closed the distance between us, his hands settling on my waist. Then he lowered his head and brushed his nose against my neck. Sparks shot through me instantly, and I sucked in a breath. "Caspian."

"Sunshine." His voice was rough, satisfied, like he'd been waiting for this all morning. "You smell good."

My cheeks heated. "That's a weird thing to say."

"No." His nose brushed my neck again. "This is a weird thing to say." I already knew I wasn't going to like whatever came next. "Have we not established that you aren't allowed to wear revealing clothes?"

I stared at him. "What?"

"The humans." He pointed. "The wolves." Another point. "They've all been staring at something that belongs to me."

I nearly choked. "I wore this for you." The words escaped before I could stop them.

His entire expression changed. The possessive irritation disappeared instantly, replaced by something far more dangerous. "Oh?" Silver eyes darkened slightly. "Is that so?"

I immediately regretted speaking. A lot. His grin widened. "I'd rather have you wearing nothing at all."

I folded my arms. "Fine."

He raised a brow. "I'll come to school naked tomorrow."

The grin vanished. Immediately. "If you arrive at school wearing nothing," he said calmly, "there won't be a school tomorrow."

I laughed. Actually laughed. And for a moment everything felt easy, simple, until I noticed something. Everyone was staring. Students. Teachers. Random people passing by. All staring. Then I looked toward my friends; Aurelia, Vesper, Kane. The three of them stood frozen, mouths hanging open, watching Caspian hold my waist while his face remained buried near my neck.

"Oh no."

"What?"

I groaned. "This was literally the opposite of staying out of the spotlight."

Caspian looked completely unbothered. In fact, the smug expression on his face suggested he thought that was a benefit. And somehow that didn't surprise me at all.