For a heartbeat we just… stood there. Too close. His breath mingled with mine, the faint murmur of voices from the main rooms a muffled hum somewhere far away.My pulse was everywhere—ears, fingertips, throat.Neither of us said a word.I dropped my gaze first, then met it with a fierce glare.Callu
LioraI’d expected a simple path back to the library, but Callum’s house was anything but simple. Its halls twisted and doubled back on themselves, more of a labyrinth than even my father’s castle.Every turn was polished marble, heavy carved paneling, bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling.
Zane’s grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Enough to make you nervous.”My nails dug into my palms where I hid, unseen.“If you’re not going to tell me,” Callum said, his tone even lower, “then get lost. And stay away from her.”It wasn’t a yell, but the weight behind it made even me tense wher
LioraI didn’t stop walking until the hedges closed around me, the green walls swallowing everything behind me. The path wound and twisted like a maze, white gravel crunching under my shoes in a rhythm that was faster than I meant it to be. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling, part fury, part something
LioraThe garden was the kind of place you’d expect to see printed on the back of a postcard: a maze of stone paths, fountains whispering in the distance, rose bushes trimmed so precisely it almost felt wrong to breathe near them.But Zane was right, it was far from Callum’s parents eyes, deep in th
“That why you showed up to Mia’s wolfless classes?” Callum pressed, his voice low enough that it almost felt like he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “I didn’t think you cared about transforming. You always seemed so… pro-wolfless. Proud of it, even.”“I am, as they all should,” I said sharply, flic