CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3 

Whispers

   I barely slept.

    Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the gold light under my skin and heard Lorenzo’s voice in my head—calm, final, and claiming my secret like it already belonged to him.

     When morning came, I forced myself up. The bruises on my side had darkened overnight, and my palms were still raw. I had to cover everything I could with the uniform before going downstairs.

     Elena was already there, scrolling on her phone. She looked up the second I walked in.

“You look worse than yesterday,” she said.

“I told you. I fell.”

She stared at me a second longer than normal, eyes narrowing. “Right.”

I poured coffee and left before she could dig further. My wolf was already pacing, having not settled since last night. With every sharp sound, she pushed harder against my control.

      First class was packed. I took my usual seat in the back and tried to disappear; it didn’t work.        The instructor’s gaze landed on me twice during the lecture, longer than it should have. I kept my eyes on my notes and pretended not to notice.

When the bell rang, the hallway filled with the usual noise, and that was when I first heard it.

     Two girls walking ahead of me were talking in low voices.

“I’m telling you, Lorenzo isn’t the only Apex who matters here,” one of them said. “People forget that.”

“Cassian Devereux gives me the creeps,” her friend answered. “He never talks, just watches. Nobody even knows what his wolf can really do—that’s the scary part.”

“And Valentino Moretti?” The first girl lowered her voice even more. “Whatever you do, don’t get on his bad side. He smiles the whole time he’s ruining you. My cousin’s pack still talks about what happened last year.”

      They turned the corner before I could hear more.

I stood still in the middle of the hallway for a second, heart beating too fast. Lorenzo, Cassian, Valentino—the three Apex Alphas. Somehow, all of them were becoming tied to me.

Combat training felt longer than usual. I held back the way I always did, keeping my movements average, but my wolf hated every second of it. She wanted out; she wanted to show everyone what she really was. I dug my nails into my palms until the urge passed.

      At one point, I caught fragments of another conversation near the water station.

“—heard three ranked students ended up in the infirmary last night.”

“East path, right? Something about a fight.”

“Yeah, and word is one of the Apexes was involved. Lorenzo, maybe, or Cassian. You know how he is—appears out of nowhere and then he’s gone.”

I walked away before they noticed me listening.

      Lunch was worse. I sat alone, but the whispers seemed louder. Elena’s table kept glancing in my direction. Once, I looked up and found her watching me with that same suspicious expression from the morning. She didn’t smile; she just looked at me resentfully.

      In the afternoon, the feeling of being followed returned, heavier than before. I kept checking over my shoulder between classes, but there was never anyone there. My wolf stayed coiled tight under my skin, reacting to every sudden movement around me.

      By the time the final bell rang, my nerves were scraped raw.

I had no choice but to go.

The old courtyard behind the west wing was empty when I arrived. Empty except for him.

      Lorenzo stood under the lamp again, long brown hair still in that messy bun, tattoos dark on his arms. The second I stepped into the light, his scent hit me—summer, citrus, ash, and very welcoming.

He looked me over slowly.

“You’re on time,” he said. “Improvement.”

I stopped a few feet away. “Instructors are watching me, students are talking, and Elena knows something’s wrong.”

“And?”

“People are whispering about the other two—Cassian and Valentino.”

Lorenzo’s expression didn’t change, but something in the air around him shifted. “Of course they are.”

“Do they know?”

“They suspect. That’s enough to make them interested.” He took a step closer. “Your wolf is louder today. I can feel her from here.”

I hated that he could. “I’m controlling it.”

“Barely.” He took another step, close enough that the heat of him reached me. “Let her up just a little.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

      I should have refused. Instead, I loosened my hold. My wolf surged immediately, strong and restless, gold light flickering faintly under my skin as the air between us felt sharper.

Lorenzo’s eyes darkened. He reached out and caught my chin, tilting my face up so I had to look at him, his thumb resting just under my lip. The dominance rolling off him was thick enough to make my knees weak.

      “She still doesn’t fully submit,” he murmured, his voice going lower. “Interesting.”

My pulse was racing. I knew he could hear it. His scent wrapped around me until it was hard to think about anything else—citrus, smoke, and the kind of trouble that left marks.

His thumb moved once across my skin.

“You’re reacting,” he said quietly.

“I’m not.”

“You are.” His gaze dropped to my mouth for a second, then came back up. “Your wolf wants more than control right now. She wants contact, heat, something she’s been denied too long.”

I pulled my chin free, but I didn’t step back. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Talk like you know what she wants.”

      A slow, dangerous almost-smile touched his mouth. “I know exactly what she wants. The question is how long you’re going to keep pretending you don’t feel it too.”

Heat flooded through me, unwanted and strong.      My wolf leaned toward him instead of away. I hated her for it, and I hated myself more.

      Lorenzo watched every reaction with those sharp eyes, then he stepped back, just enough to give me air.

“Tomorrow,” he said. “Same time. And Elara—” He said my name like it already belonged in his mouth. “Be careful. The whispers are only going to get louder, and the other two won’t stay patient forever.”

He turned and walked into the dark without another word.

     I stood there until my legs felt steady enough to move, and then I headed toward the dorms.

Halfway there, the feeling returned.

Someone was following me again.

Not Lorenzo; his presence was heavy and controlled. This was different—quieter, hungrier. It stayed just out of sight, matching my pace, never close enough to catch a scent or a shape.

     My wolf rose hard, gold threatening to break through my skin.

I walked faster.

The presence stayed with me all the way to the dorm doors.

    I spun around, but the hallway was completely empty. My wolf slammed against my ribs as a cold, unfamiliar scent drifted through the quiet air—dark, lethal, and undeniably Apex.