<b>Nyssa </b><b>pov </b>


    <b>“</b>Oh my goddess<b>!!!</b><b>” </b>I <b>screamed </b>internally, <b>my </b><b>eyes </b>wide <b>as </b><b>I </b><b>stared </b>at my <b>reflection </b>in the mirror<b>, </b>eximing in <b>disbelief</b>. “<b>No </b>freaking <b>way</b><b>, </b><b>I </b>am <b>a </b>white wolf! Me<b>? </b><b>A </b>white wolf<b>, </b>the kind that’s <b>been </b>extinct for <b>decades </b>and <b>yet</b>, here <b>I </b>am!”


    <b>I </b><b>wasn’t </b><b>sure </b><b>what </b>kind <b>of </b>emotion <b>was </b>bubbling up at the moment, maybe excitement, maybe <b>disbelief</b>, or maybe both.


    I had <b>expected </b>something <b>lesser</b>, somethingmon, like a brown wolf. I had told myself not to aim high<b>, </b>not to <b>expect </b><b>a </b><b>ck </b>wolf. But what I got <b>was </b><b>far </b>beyond that.


    <b>A </b>white wolf. A <b>rare</b>, pure<b>–</b>blooded <b>creature </b>no one had seen in <b>over </b><b>five </b>hundred <b>years</b>.


    This couldn’t be <b>real</b>. This had to be a dream.


    “You <b>really </b>are excited, huh?” She <b>teased</b>, snapping me out of my daze. “And to think you didn’t even want to shift <b>because </b>you weren’t expecting much. Now look at you, like you’ve just seen a ghost.”


    I scoffed, rolling my eyes at her mockery but she wasn’t wrong. I was excited.


    “How on earth am I a white wolf? What’s going on?” I muttered, leaning closer to my reflection, needing to be absolutely sure <b>I </b><b>was </b>seeing this right.


    I could hear the smugness in her voice as she spoke.


    “How else would you have a white wolf if not because I’m the best? That’s why I always say you’re lucky to have me. I’m special, you just don’t realize it yet. That’s why you keep acting this way toward me.”


    I rolled my eyes at her words but didn’t respond because, annoyingly, she was right. She was special.


    A white wolf wasn’t something I ever expected. I had honestly thought she was bluffing. But clearly, she wasn’t.


    “I am lucky to have you,” I said, cutting her off just as she was about to speak again. “You’re right. You are very special, She.”


    I could practically imagine the shocked expression on her face the moment the words left my mouth, and I couldn’t help but chuckle <b>as </b>she cleared her throat and stammered before replying.


    “W–well, you’re not wrong… but saying it like that makes it a little ufortable. Ahem, anyway, let’s go for a run. I want to take <b>over </b>this time,” she said with a dismissive tone.


    I almost grinned, but froze when I saw my wolf’s reflection grinning back at me.


    Ah, I still wasn’t used to that.


    I <b>was </b><b>just </b>about to close my eyes and let She take over–let her run freely through the woods because<b>, </b>honestly, she <b>deserved </b>it but before <b>I </b>could, my heart suddenly stopped.


    My eyes widened <b>as </b>that familiar, addictive scent hit me.


    <b>It </b><b>was </b>him.


    My head snapped in the direction of the sound, and before <b>I </b>could <b>react </b>before <b>I </b>could even see him–<b>I </b>gasped <b>as </b>something mmed into me, knocking me to the ground.


    173


    <b>Chapter </b><b>49 </b>


    <b>A </b><b>soft </b>whimper <b>escaped </b>my lips, <b>and </b><b>my </b><b>eyes </b>flew <b>open </b><b>just </b>as a menacing growl pierced <b>the </b><b>air</b><b>. </b>


    The moment I saw the <b>silver </b>wolf towering <b>over </b>me, my heart dropped.


    <b>Darius</b><b>. </b>


    Of all people <b>to </b>see me in my wolf form, it had to be him.


    Oh, goddess.


    <b>I </b>stared up at him, frozen, as he leaned closer, his <b>head </b>tilting slightly like he was trying to make sense of what he was seeing He looked just <b>as </b>shocked <b>as </b><b>I </b>felt.


    But what I didn’t expect… <b>was </b>for him to <b>lean </b>in even further, right toward my neck and sniff me.


    I inhaled sharply, my eyes widening <b>as </b>he ran his nose along my neck, inhaling deeply. He was sniffing me, trying to confirm if <b>I </b><b>was </b>who he thought <b>I </b><b>was</b>.


    I couldn’t even move<b>, </b>not because I didn’t want to, but <b>because </b>he had mepletely pinned beneath him.


    I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him to get off me, but no words came out. Instead, a soft whimper escaped me and that’s when I remembered again that I <b>was </b>still in my wolf form.


    Just as <b>I </b><b>was </b>about tomunicate with him through the mindlink, She’s urgent voice stopped me in my tracks.


    “Wait!” she echoed sharply. “Don’t speak. He must not know it’s you. He won’t be able to scent you right now<b>, </b>so don’t let him find out and when you get the chance, run. Run as far from him as you can.”


    I blinked in confusion at her words. Why did she sound so afraid?


    She loved Darius, had always longed to be with him. So why, now, was she telling me to run?


    After what felt like an eternity, Darius finally leaned back slightly, his narrowed eyes locked on me. But he didn’t move off my body. Instead, I heard his voice in my head.


    “A pure white breed? You’re a white breed?” he asked through the mindlink.


    Just like She warned, I didn’t respond. I only shook my head in denial.


    No. No, I wasn’t a pure white werewolf as he could clearly see.


    Darius frowned, the moonlight catching on his white fur, making him look almost ethereal. Another heavy silence followed before he finally asked,


    “Who are you? Tell me your identity.”


    I shook my head again.


    I don’t know my name. I don’t know my identity. I have amnesia.


    This time<b>, </b>I saw the sh of irritation in his eyes <b>as </b>he lost patience. He growled, low and threatening, and I knew this was it, my moment to <b>act</b>. Things were about to take <b>a </b>turn I wouldn’t recover from if I stayed pinned beneath him.


    So I did the only thing I could think of–I looked behind him, eyes wide with feigned horror, <b>as </b>though I’d just seen something terrifying.


    <b>2/3 </b>


    It worked.


    Darius whipped his head around to see what had caught my attention.


    And in that instant, I used every ounce of strength I had to shove him off me and, without a second thought, bolted, sprinting deep into the woods.