hapter 31


    Jiselle


    Nate’s friend had died.


    Not my brother… Moon goddess, no.


    But the man he was always with when he wasn’t with Ethan. Jeff. I think that was his name<b>. </b>


    The death had happened in a wolf to <b>wolf </bbat challenge, and it had been bloody, vicious–too real. Even though I had sessfully pulled off my n to avoid shifting, the sight of it had haunted me for hours afterward.


    The academy had been eerily quiet since.


    I spotted Nate heading toward the woods, his shoulders tense, his usual smirk nowhere to be found.


    I hesitated for all of two seconds before following him.


    He was sitting on a fallen log when I found him, a small me flickering between his fingers as he lit an herb I didn’t recognize.


    The moment I sat beside him, the scent hit me. Strong. Sharp. Bitter.


    I inhaled too deeply and immediately coughed.


    Nate chuckled, exhaling a slow puff of smoke as he nced at me from the side.


    “Not your thing, huh?”


    He didn’t even seem fazed that I was there. He was just… out of it.


    I shook my head, trying to wave away the scent. “What is that?”


    “Something that keeps me from breaking apart,” he murmured, tapping the edge of the rolled herb with his thumb. The glow faded slightly before ring back to life when he took another slow drag.


    I watched him, studying the sharp angles of his face. The way his brows were drawn together. The tension in his jaw. The weight pressing down on his shoulders. I’d never seen him like this before.


    Tm sorry about your friend,” I said softly,


    Nate exhaled, the smoke curling from his <b>lips </b>as he stared at the ground.


    “He was there with me since first year,” he muttered. His voice wasn’t as smooth as usual. It was rough, strained. “Back when I wasn’t the most feared.”


    That caught me off guard. “You


    weren’t?”


    He huffed out a small, humorlessugh, shaking his head.


    “No. When I got here, I was a seventeen–year<b>–</b>old Alpha’s son who had spent my entire life being told I was better than everyone else–only to show up here and realize that meant nothing.”


    I didn’t say anything, just listened


    “Most of them knew I was seventeen when I arrived. They tried to pick on me.” He scoffed<b>, </b>rubbing <b>his </b>palm over his knee I broke three ribs my first week.”


    My chest tightened


    “But Jeff he was different. He didn’t give a shit about myst name, or what I was supposed to be. He was just there.” His fingers tightened around the rolled herb, his jaw ticking as he exhaled another slow breath.


    “This school” he muttered, shaking his head. “It’s cruel. You ever wonder why the Alphas of the world are so ruthless? So


    “Unfeeling I finished for him


    He gave me a look


    I sighed, looking away “Yeah, I’ve noticed”


    His fingers tapped against


    it’s making me into ”


    estless. “That’s what this


    ce does to us. That’s what it made Jeff into That’s what


    I bit my lip, looking at him, really looking at him


    “He was my brother, he murmured “When Ethan wasn’t there, it was always him”


    I didn’t hesitate I reached for his hand


    He stilled for a moment, then let out a quiet breath, his fingers curling slightly around mine


    “I’m sorry, Nate,” I whispered. “I’m here for you if you need to talk or just let out your emotions. I know Ethan isn’t always the most empathetic, even if he tries to be.”


    He turned to me, his eyes shadowed, unreadable.


    “Really?” he asked, <b>his </b>voice so low that I almost didn’t recognize it.


    I nodded slowly. “I might have been keeping my distance Nate, but I don’t hate you.”


    His next words made my breath catch.


    “But you think I hated you, though.”


    I dropped my gaze


    A beat of silence passed before his fingers brushed my chin and tilted my head back up, meeting his intense gaze.


    “I don’t hate you, Jiselle,” he murmured. “If I die <b>before </b>graduation, I need you to know that.”


    My stomach clenched.


    “You won’t die,” I said fiercely. “I know losing a friend makes you aware of your own mortality, especially a skillful fighter like Jeff, but you’re not going to die, Nate.”


    His lips twitched, but there was no amusement in his eyes.


    “Still,” he murmured. “You should know that.”


    I swallowed hard, something heavy settling in my chest. This wasn’t the Nate I was used to.


    “You sure act like it, though, I muttered.


    His fingers flexed “Because it’s easier that way.”


    I hated that I understood what he meant. That <b>I </b>had done the same thing with him.


    Thankfully, he changed the subject.


    been a few days since I’ve seen you. Are you not training anymore?”


    I sighed. “I’m taking a break. At least until I tell Max… everything.”


    Max was doing much better. He was back in sses and fully healed, and demolished his opponent today in wolf–to–wolfbat. Thankfully, he didn’t kill him.


    He was pissed that I injured myself to get out of shifting, and I realized that a few students were doing the same thing. He had to move fast in whatever n he had to keep me alive, because instructor Bastain would realize soon enough.


    But with him being himself again, with those three words he told me, plus asking me to im me and practically living in his room made me feel like even more shit that I hadn’t told him about Nate, or our training sessions.


    The least I could do was respect our rtionship enough to not be training with another man. Let alone his sworn enemy. Nate nodded, seemingly unsurprised.


    “Keep training with Eva so you won’t get sluggish. He hesitated, then added, “You’ve been doing much better. I’m proud of you”


    Something warm and unfamiliar settled in my chest, but I shoved it down. Silence stretched between us for a while, but it wasn’t ufortable. I think my wolf sensed that he needed me there… just for a minute while he mourned.


    With a huff, he threw the shrivelled herb away and turned to face me, his gaze hardened slightly.


    “Why haven’t you told Max about our bond yet?” he asked, throwing mepletely off guard.


    I opened my mouth, then closed it again. No words came. I didn’t have an answer,


    But Nate wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what the reason was


    The silence stretched between us again, thick and unspoken. I could feel his gaze, the way his jaw clenched just slightly. like he was choosing not to press the subject. I hated that he could read me so easily, and I hated even more that I had no


    use to give hamma


    I exhaled slowly, turning my attention back to the dark expanse of trees surrounding <b>us</b>. The night air was cooler now, the scent of pine and damp earth thick in the air. There <b>was </b>something strangely calming about being out here, away from the suffocating walls of the academy, away from the constant weight of expectations.


    For a fleeting moment, I allowed myself to pretend Pretend that we were just <b>two </b>wolves–just Jiselle and Nate, without all theplications, without the past, without the secrets.


    And then, a rustling sound snapped me out of it.


    My wolf stirred, uneasy, the sensation creeping along my spine


    Nate was on his feet instantly, his body going rigid, his stance shifting like instinct had already taken over His hand


    snapped toward the source of the sound, his entire presence shifting into something predatory.


    The air felt different now


    Thicker. Charged


    Something wasn’t right


    My breath hitched as the wind shifted, and the scent hit me like a brick <b>wall</b>–foul, musky, wrong


    Not a student. Not a pack wolf.


    Roques


    My stomach plummeted.


    Nate’s eyes shed dangerously, his muscles coiling like a spring, ready to strike.


    He didn’t look at me when he spoke, but his voice came out low, firm, and sharp as a de. “Jiselle,” hemanded, deadly calm


    I swallowed, my heart hammering against my ribs.


    “Get back to the academy. Now”


    Π


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