“She wants to fight me.”
“She wants to win,” I correct. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a real challenge or just a hallway stare-down—Cassie fights for the attention she thinks belongs to her. Especially mine.”
Maya pulls her sleeves tighter. “So I’m a threat to her...because of you.”
“For now,” I say. “But that’s not the problem.”
She tilts her head. “Then what is?”
“The problem,” I say, lowering my voice, “is that Cassie thinks she can force the issue. That if she corners you hard enough, the pack will pick tradition over instinct.”
“And you think they won’t?”
I exhale. “I think they’ll follow strength. But first, they have to see it.”
She falls quiet for a second. Then she says, “I didn’t shift, Bolton. I felt something—yeah. But nothing happened.”
I shake my head. “That’s what Cassie’s counting on. That you’ll believe nothing’s happening. That you’ll doubt yourself enough to step back.”
She lifts her chin a little. “I’m not backing down.”
My wolf curls tight in agreement.
“Good,” I say. “Because she’s counting on a fight.”
“Let her count.”
I almost grin. Not because this is funny. Because she means it.
We’re silent for a moment. The bell rings. No one moves. Especially not us.
“She’s going to issue a challenge,” I say finally. “Soon.”
Maya nods. “Then I guess I need to be ready.”
She doesn’t ask for help.
She doesn’t promise to win.
But there’s steel underher voice.
And that? That makes her more dangerous than anything Cassie’s ready for.
I watch her for a moment, then ask, “Did you get a chance to talk to your mom? After the bonfire?”
Maya’s mouth tightens. She shakes her head. “No. She pulled a double shift at the hospital all weekend.” She kicks at a bit of gravel with her boot. “Which I’m pretty sure was intentional.”
I nod slowly. “She’s avoiding the conversation.”
“She’s good at that,” Maya mutters, eyes flicking away. “And I can’t exactly force her to tell me the truth.”
“You’ll find it anyway,” I say. “With or without her help.”
She looks up at that, something sharp and certain beneath the surface.
She doesn’t answer.
She doesn’t need to.
