chapter 6

I barely slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the weight of Tristan’s arm around my waist again, the heat of his body, the way his voice had dropped when he said that single, impossible word. *Mate.* It echoed in my head like a warning I couldn’t shut off. My wolf paced restlessly under my skin the entire night, confused and drawn toward the room down the hall no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.

By the time the sky started to lighten, I had already decided.

I would leave the house before he woke up.

I moved quietly, pulling on the first clothes I could find—dark jeans, an oversized sweater, sneakers. I tied my hair back tightly and avoided the mirror. I didn’t want to see whatever expression was on my face. When I cracked my door open, the hallway was still dark and silent. Tristan’s door remained closed. I slipped past it like a shadow, heart hammering, and made it down the stairs without a sound.

The kitchen was empty. I grabbed my bag and was halfway to the front door when a voice stopped me.

“You’re leaving early.”

I froze.

Tristan stood at the bottom of the stairs, barefoot, wearing the same black shirt from last night. His hair was messy, like he hadn’t slept much either. But his eyes were clear and sharp as they locked onto mine.

“I have… studying,” I said, the lie weak even to my own ears.

He walked toward me slowly. “At six in the morning?”

“Yes.”

“Phyna.” My name sounded heavier when he said it now. “We need to talk about last night.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I reached for the door handle. “You were wrong. It was a mistake. It doesn’t mean anything.”

In two steps he was in front of me, one hand pressing flat against the door so I couldn’t open it. He didn’t touch me, but the space between us felt too small again.

“You felt it too,” he said quietly. “Don’t lie to me.”

I swallowed. “Even if I did… it doesn’t change anything. We’re stepsiblings. Your father is married to my mother. The pack will never accept this. The school will turn it into a scandal before lunch. I can’t—”

“I don’t care what they accept.”

“I do!” My voice cracked. I forced it lower. “You get to be the future Alpha. You get to walk through the halls like you own them. I get to be the outsider Beta who suddenly becomes the girl everyone wants to destroy. I’ve lived that kind of attention before. I barely survived it. I won’t go through it again.”

Something flickered in his eyes—anger, frustration, maybe even understanding. His jaw tightened.

“Then we keep it quiet for now,” he said. “But I’m not pretending it didn’t happen. And I’m not staying away from you.”

I shook my head and stepped back. “Please. Just let me handle this my way.”

He stared at me for a long moment, then slowly dropped his hand from the door. The second the path was clear, I pulled it open and walked out without looking back. I didn’t stop until I reached the end of the driveway. Only then did I let myself breathe.

School was worse than I expected.

The rumors had grown overnight. I heard my name more times in the first hour than I had in the entire previous day. Girls watched me in the hallways with open suspicion. Some whispered behind their hands. One of them, a tall brunette who always seemed to be near Tristan, deliberately blocked my path near the lockers.

“So you’re the new stepsister,” she said, smiling without warmth. “Cute. Just remember your place. Tristan doesn’t keep things that don’t belong to him.”

I didn’t answer. I simply walked around her and kept my head down.

I skipped lunch again, hiding in the same empty classroom as before. This time I locked the door and sat on the floor with my back against the cabinets, knees pulled to my chest. My phone stayed silent. No messages from my mother. No one checking on me. It was better that way.

I lasted until fourth period.

I was walking alone toward the science building when a hand closed around my elbow and guided me firmly into a narrow gap between two walls, out of sight of the main hallway. Tristan stood in front of me again, taller, broader, his expression controlled but tense.

“You’re still running,” he said.

“I’m surviving.”

He exhaled through his nose. “The bond doesn’t care about survival, Phyna. It’s already there. Fighting it only makes it worse.”

“I don’t care.” I tried to pull my arm free. He let me, but he didn’t step back. “I need you to stop looking for me. Stop cornering me. Stop acting like this is something we can just… have.”

His eyes darkened. “You think I wanted this? You think I planned to find my mate in the girl who just moved into my house as my stepsister?” He let out a short, humorless breath. “I didn’t ask for it either. But it’s real. And every time you walk away from me, my wolf loses its mind.”

I looked away. The pull under my skin was stronger now that he was this close. It made my chest ache in a way I hated.

“I’m scared,” I admitted, the words barely audible. “I’m scared of what this will do to me. To both of us.”

Tristan’s voice softened, just a little. “I know.”

He lifted a hand like he wanted to touch my face, then stopped himself. His fingers curled into a fist at his side instead.

“I’ll give you space at school,” he said after a moment. “I’ll try. But at home… I can’t pretend you’re not there. And I won’t pretend you’re not mine.”

The word *mine* sent a shiver down my spine.

I didn’t answer. I simply stepped around him and walked away as fast as I could without running. I felt his eyes on my back the entire time.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of forced concentration and careful avoidance. I took different routes between classes. I stayed near groups of strangers so I wouldn’t be alone in the halls. When the final bell rang, I was already halfway to the parking lot before most students had left their classrooms.

My mother’s car wasn’t there yet. I stood near the edge of the lot, arms crossed, watching the stream of students and cars. I kept my face blank and my posture small.

I didn’t notice Tristan until he was already beside me.

He didn’t speak at first. He just stood there, close enough that his presence pressed against my senses, but not close enough to draw too much attention. A few girls nearby glanced over, then quickly looked away when they saw his expression.

“You’re taking this too far,” he said quietly.

“I’m protecting myself.”

“From me?”

“From everything that comes with you.”

He was silent for a moment. Then he said, “Get in the car. I’ll drive you home.”

I turned to stare at him. “No.”

“Phyna—”

“I said no.” My voice was firmer this time. “My mother is coming. I don’t need you to take me anywhere. And I don’t need everyone watching us leave together.”

His jaw flexed. For a second I thought he would argue. Instead, he looked past me toward the road, then back at my face.

“Fine,” he said. “But this conversation isn’t over.”

He walked away without another word. I watched him go, watched the way people naturally moved out of his path, watched the girls who followed him with their eyes. The difference between us had never felt more obvious.

When my mother’s car finally pulled up, I climbed in quickly and kept my gaze fixed on the window. She asked about my day. I told her it was fine. The lie tasted bitter.

At home, I went straight to my room again. I didn’t come down for dinner. I ignored the soft knock that came later in the evening. I sat on my bed with the lights off and tried to convince myself that if I stayed quiet enough, long enough, the bond would weaken. That Tristan would get tired of chasing someone who kept refusing him. That the universe would correct its mistake.

But deep down, I already knew the truth.

The mate bond didn’t care about fear.

It didn’t care about step-siblings or pack politics or high school rumors.

And neither, it seemed, did Tristan.

I pressed my face into my pillow and closed my eyes, listening to the quiet house around me. Somewhere down the hall, I could sense him. Still awake. Still aware of me in the same way I was aware of him.

The pull between us hadn’t faded.

If anything, it was only growing stronger.

And I had no idea how much longer I could keep fighting it before something inside me finally broke.