LOGINElara's POVLunch with Ravin had become one of those things I looked forward to without admitting how much, that quiet pocket of the day where everything else stopped being loud for a little while and it was just us sitting together with food neither of us was really paying attention to because the conversation always ended up being more interesting than whatever was on the plate.He had been back two days and already things felt normal again, that specific kind of normal that only existed when the right person was in the room, and I had been enjoying it enough that I hadn't pushed about anything pack related since he got back, just let him settle back in without making it into a thing.He started talking about what had been keeping him, the meetings, the disputes, the general chaos of managing a pack from a distance while also trying to maintain a cover at Draven, and I listened properly the way I always did when he talked about that side of his life, because it mattered to him and b
Elara's POVLyris was still all anyone could talk about by Tuesday.I sat through two classes listening to conversations about her that had nothing to do with me and still somehow managed to pull my attention every single time. She had that effect apparently, even when she wasn't in the room. People talked about her the way they talked about things they hadn't fully processed yet, with that particular mix of fascination and restless energy that came from something new landing in a space that hadn't seen anything new in a while.She walked the halls like she already knew where everything was, already had people greeting her by name, already had girls saving her a seat in class. For someone who had only been at Draven for two days she had settled in with a speed that felt almost calculated, though I kept reminding myself that some people were just like that. Some people walked into new spaces and made them their own without breaking a sweat. That wasn't suspicious on its own, that wa
Elara's POVMonday confirmed everything Freya had said.Lyris Dusk walked into the classroom and the room shifted in that subtle way rooms shifted when someone entered who demanded attention without asking for it. She was tall, with the kind of bone structure that made you look twice and then a third time, dark hair falling past her shoulders in a way that looked effortless and probably wasn't. She moved like she had done this before, like being new somewhere was something she had long stopped being nervous about, like every room she walked into already belonged to her.I watched her settle into her seat from across the room and understood immediately why people had been talking since the moment she arrived. There was something about her beyond just the way she looked, something that pulled attention even when she wasn't doing anything in particular to earn it.I pulled my focus back to the lesson and told myself to stop staring. She was new, she was beautiful, and that was the beg
Elara's POV The kiss had turned into something that swallowed the rest of the evening whole, hours dissolving into each other because nothing else mattered. Ravin's mouth was hot and hungry on mine, his hands gripping my hips like he needed to feel every inch of me right there.He broke the kiss suddenly, breathing hard, and dipped his head lower. His lips closed around one of my nipples, sucking deep and slow while his hand caressed the other breast, fingers gentle, rolling and squeezing the soft flesh. "Fuck, I missed these," he murmured against my skin, voice rough. "Missed how soft they feel in my mouth, how they fit perfectly in my hands." He switched sides, sucking harder, tongue flicking until I arched into him with a whimper.Then his mouth was back on mine, the kiss deeper, messier, tongues sliding together as we lost ourselves in it. I pushed him back onto the bed, feeling the tiredness in his body. "Let me ride you," I whispered, nipping at his bottom lip. "You look worn
Elara's POV The woods were thicker than I remembered, or maybe I was just more aware of them this time, moving through them alone with nothing but the sound of my own footsteps and the occasional shift of branches overhead. The light came through in patches, broken up by the canopy, and somewhere in the distance something moved through the undergrowth and went still again.I made it maybe ten minutes before I stopped walking and made the second decision of the afternoon."I shifted."My wolf came forward easily, that familiar rush of senses sharpening all at once, the world opening up in ways it never did in human form. Smell, sound, the feel of the ground under my paws, everything more immediate and more vivid than anything human senses could pick up. The woods that had felt dense and uncertain a moment ago became navigable, the path to Darkhowl territory something I could feel in my body rather than just follow with my eyes.I moved faster in wolf form, weaving through the trees
Elara's POV Professor Reid moved through the classroom with his attendance log the way he always did, methodical, unhurried, calling names and marking responses without looking up from his clipboard. When he got to Ravin's name and the silence that followed it, he marked it down without comment, closed the log, and walked straight out of the classroom without a second glance at the empty seat.I stared at the front of the classroom and tried to focus on whatever was being taught.I couldn't.The thing about waiting for someone when you knew they were out there handling something dangerous was that it didn't get easier with time, it just got quieter. The first day I had told myself he would be back before classes ended. The second day I told myself by morning. By the third day I had stopped making predictions entirely and just sat with the weight of not knowing, which was its own particular kind of difficult that nobody prepared you for and nobody warned you about when you started ca
Ravin's POV Cord found me an hour after we returned from Stoneback's border, catching me while I was reviewing the compensation arrangement with Sable at the main table, and he stood at the edge of the room with the expression of someone who had been thinking about something for a while and had de
Ravin's POV I found out on a Wednesday morning and had Cord in front of me before the hour was out.He was standing in the centre of the main hall with his jaw set and his eyes forward and the particular stillness of someone who knew exactly what was coming and had decided to face it standing up,
Elara's POVRavin's seat in second period was empty and I glanced at the door twice before Professor Aldric called the class to attention and I made myself look forward and stay there. He had been at school every single day since he transferred, present and on time without exception, and one empty
Elara's POV Principal Marcella appeared at the classroom door during third period and asked for me by name, and thirty pairs of eyes turned in my direction with the particular interest people reserved for someone being pulled out of class unexpectedly, the kind of attention that followed you down







