LOGINThe common room was bustling at this hour as students rushed around, getting ready for classes. I made my way to the kitchen and threw a bagel in the toaster, leaning against the counter as I waited.“Callum?”Bianca stepped into view, appearing out of seemingly nowhere. My jaw tightened, wolf insti
Callum’s POVI woke to the feeling of something warm in my chest.For a moment, I almost could have sworn that I had something small and delicate gathered up in my arms. A gentle heart beating against my own. A lock of soft hair fluttering against my cheek.Liora.A smile touched my lips. I tightene
It might have been laughable, had circumstances not been so… sad.“So your parents took it badly, I imagine,” I pointed out.Callum huffed and looked into his bottle. “My dad beat the shit out of me.”I pulled my head back. “He what?”Wordlessly, Callum turned, pulling his shirt up to reveal his bac
Liora’s POVI just barely made it into the parking space before the car let out one final groan, then sputtered to a stop, rocking back and forth on the wheels.“Sorry about that, girl,” I said, patting the steering wheel. “That was a lot more driving in one day than I anticipated.”Shirley almost s
“Twenty lashes,” he said. “We’ll see if you change your mind then.”I grit my teeth. “I don’t have to put up with this anymore.”“Would you rather take it, or would you prefer if that little wolfless whore of yours took it instead?”The moment he said those words, I felt all the blood drain from my
Callum’s POVMy father’s shadow darkened the room.There was a time in my life when my father’s presence seemed enormous and all-consuming, like a black hole filling any space he entered. When I was a child, I remembered thinking that he was big enough to reach the moon, or to blot out the sun.I’d
And when I was finally able to breath again, I pulled the velvet box from my pocket.I stared at the earrings and let the silence stretch between us one last time before I stepped out onto the balcony.The wind was cold, bitong, and I let it numb me as I let the box drop over the edge.I didn’t watc
And then, in the middle of my last class of the week, a note arrived—folded neatly, passed from hand to hand from the front until it landed on my desk with a kind of delicate finality.The principal would like to see you immediately after class.My heart didn’t race, not at first. I wasn’t that naiv
The silence that followed was thick with calculation.Zane glanced at me, amused. “Remind me not to play chess with you.”The principal coughed and sat down again, slower this time. “We may be able to find a compromise.”I waited.“You will be allowed to stay—if you pass… an exam. It’s scheduled jus
LioraThe hallway to our dorm was quiet, too quiet. Late afternoon sunlight had dipped into a rainy night, the once long, golden streaks, replaced by suspended memories in the air.I tossed my braid over to my other shoulder, my clothes suddenly feeling too tight. I hadn’t expected to see him, not r







