Chapter 5

Claire burst in, cheeks flushed from the wind, her boots squeaking against the tile. She spotted me at the table-and then saw them.

Her jaw dropped a little.

"Hi," she said, recovering quickly, sliding into the empty seat beside me. "I see you've made some... new friends."

"Claire, this is Bryson," I said, trying to sound normal, "and this is Axel. He's-"

"Delightful," Axel cut in with a wink.

Claire blinked. Then blushed. "Well... hello, Delightful."

I stifled a laugh and shot her a look, but she ignored me. Her attention was glued to Axel, and he didn't seem to mind one bit.

Bryson's fingers were still wrapped around mine beneath the table.

But my eyes kept drifting between the two of them.

They were both beautiful-dangerously so. Bryson with his shadows and quiet intensity. Axel with his stormy charm and silver-lined smirks.

And I-I was only human.

Right?

~

We chatted. Sort of.

Claire and Axel flirted without shame. Bryson answered questions with a calm kind of grace, his hand never leaving mine. But I caught Axel watching me sometimes-watching us. Like he was studying something he didn't understand yet.

I felt torn. Drenched in attention. Flattered and confused.

And horribly, horribly aware that something wasn't quite what it seemed.

When we finally stood to leave, the sky outside had darkened.

Claire gave me a quick side-hug. "Text me when you're home."

Then she turned to Axel and said, "And you... don't be a stranger."

"Oh, I don't plan to be," he replied, voice like velvet over thunder.

They walked off together, Claire's laughter trailing behind them.

I turned to Bryson.

"Was that... normal?"

He didn't smile.

"No. That was Axel being curious. And reckless."

We walked in silence for a few blocks until we reached a quiet intersection. He turned to me.

"I meant it, Evelyn. About seeing you again."

My heart thudded. "Then I guess I'll see you again too."

He leaned down slowly, eyes flickering gold for just a breath of a second, and pressed his lips against my forehead.

The kiss burned.

And when I opened my eyes, he was gone.

~

Bryson's POV

The wind had a bite to it as we stepped outside. Distant thunder rumbled like a warning from the skies, but it wasn't the weather that made my shoulders tense.

It was Axel.

He walked beside me, hands in his pockets, face calm-but I knew that look. The storm beneath it. The want he was trying to hide.

"You crossed a line," I said flatly, not looking at him.

"She's beautiful," he replied, like that was excuse enough. "Warm. Human in the most intoxicating way."

I stopped, grabbed his collar, and shoved him back against the alley wall.

"Don't test me."

His eyes flashed silver, wolf close to the surface. But he didn't retaliate.

"I didn't touch her," Axel said, voice even. "Not the way you're thinking."

"You introduced yourself. Sat beside her. Flirted in front of me."

"Because I had to know." He leaned closer, voice dropping. "What kind of woman makes an Alpha lose control?"

My jaw clenched.

"She doesn't know what I am."

"Exactly. And yet you still can't stay away."

I released him, stepping back. My hands trembled-not with weakness, but restraint.

"She's not just some girl, Axel."

He adjusted his coat and ran a hand through his wind-tousled hair.

"No," he agreed quietly. "She's something."

I turned and started walking again.

"She's human," I said. "She'll stay human."

"You say that like it's permanent."

"It is."

"For now," he murmured.

I didn't reply.

We walked in silence for a while, weaving through the lamplit streets of London, the buzz of humans everywhere-laughing, drinking, alive in their own fragile world. A world we didn't belong to.

Axel finally broke the quiet.

"Your Luna won't be pleased."

My spine stiffened.

"Not my Luna." I replied

"She's still waiting." he added

"I never claimed her."

"You were meant to," Axel snapped. "You know what her parents are capable of."

"I don't care."

He grabbed my arm this time. "But you should. If she finds out about Evelyn-"

"She won't."

"If she does," he growled, "she won't just hurt her. She'll end her. You know that, right?"

I said nothing.

Axel's voice dropped again, softer now. "You were born a leader, Bryson. Meant to rule. The wolves follow you because they believe you're strong enough to keep us from falling again."

I stared ahead.

"The humans feared the Forbidden because of stories," I said. "But they made us monsters."

"And now a human girl is undoing it all?" Axel asked. "Just like that?"

I looked up at the moon breaking through the clouds.

"She makes me feel..." I paused, swallowing hard. "Real."

Axel shook his head. "This will get worse."

"I know."

"You're playing with fire."

"I already burned."

~

The path home was quieter. Too quiet.

Axel trailed behind now, as if giving me space. Or maybe keeping his distance because he knew what waited at the estate.

The air changed when we crossed the boundary of our world. The chill of the human city gave way to something deeper, more primal. Magic hung in the mist here-thick, wild, ancient. The trees around the pack's territory pulsed like sentinels, roots curled around secrets no one dared speak aloud.

I could feel her before I saw her.

The Luna. Not mine. But the one chosen by blood and politics.

Seraphina.

She stood at the edge of the courtyard, back straight, crimson cloak draped like royalty, and golden eyes glowing like fireflies caught in stormlight.

"Bryson," she said, voice a melody laced with blades.

Axel gave me a sidelong glance that said good luck and disappeared toward the northern quarters without a word.

I didn't stop walking until I was a few paces from her.

"Seraphina." I called

"You've been gone." she said

"I needed time in the city." I replied

Her lip curled slightly. "More like you needed her."

I froze.

She stepped forward. "Don't bother lying. I can smell her on you." Her voice dropped to a hiss. "Human."

"I didn't touch her," I said, carefully.

"Not yet," she whispered, circling me slowly. "But you want to. I can feel it in your blood."

She ran a hand up my chest. I grabbed her wrist.

Her eyes flared with fury.

"You forget yourself," I said, voice low. "You are not my Luna. You never were."

"And yet," she said, ripping her hand free, "I was promised."

"By your father. Not by me."

She stepped back, face hardening. "You're a fool if you think you can hide her from me. From us."

"She's no one to you." I replied

"She's everything to me if she threatens what's mine."

I growled, my control slipping. "You do not own me, Seraphina. I was not made for you."

"No," she said, voice trembling now-but not with fear, with power. "But I was made to rule beside you."

"I didn't ask for that." I replied

"You didn't have to. It's our birthright. The packs need us united, and you know what my parents will do if you embarrass them."

"I plan to reject you formally. Soon."

Her expression shattered for a moment-just enough to see the wound land.

Then her fury rebuilt itself like a storm cloud.

"You think your little human will survive this? You think love can protect her from what I am?"

I stepped forward, my eyes burning.

"I'll protect her from you."

She laughed. Sharp and cold. "You'll never be able to protect her from all of us."

I didn't respond.

I couldn't-not when the memory of Evelyn's hand in mine still pulsed through me like a second heartbeat.

Seraphina turned, cloak whipping behind her like a blade of blood.

"This isn't over, Bryson Wilder."

"I know." I said

She vanished into the trees, wind screaming in her wake.

I stood alone, my chest heaving.

Evelyn had no idea what she'd been pulled into.

But she would soon.

And when that moment came...

I only prayed I'd be strong enough to choose her-over everything I was born to be.