“I thought you had council duties,” she says, stopping just close enough that I can hear the soft hitch in her breath.
“Skipped the last ten minutes of strategy review,” I admit. “Dax looked like he’d rather chew his own foot off than stay awake anyway. Figured I’d use the time better.”
She lifts a brow. “And stalking me after Bio counts as a better use of your time?”
“I missed you,” I say simply.
Maya freezes for half a beat, like I did something reckless by saying it out loud.
But then she exhales, and her shoulders relax.
“I missed you too,” she says, softer.
My wolf exhales with her.
She closes the distance between us, just a little. Our hands brush. It’s not an accident.
Her eyes flick to mine. “You doing okay?”
“I am now.” I tilt my head. “What about you? You handled the council meeting like a born Luna yesterday.”
She rolls her eyes. “I was mostly trying not to throw up.”
“You looked like you were ready to take over the whole damn pack.”
She chuckles, and it’s the kind of sound that makes everything else blur out for a second.
I lean in, just enough that my forehead touches hers.
The hallway noise fades. It's just her and me, and that low steady thrum between us that’s been building since the bond set its roots. All I can think about is the way her scent wraps around me, how right it feels to be this close, how—
“Well, this is cozy.”
The voice slices through the moment like a blade dipped invenom.
Cassie.
I don’t have to look to know she’s standing just over Maya’s shoulder, arms crossed, lips twisted into that smug little curve she saves for moments like this.
Maya pulls back from me, but not far. Just enough to turn and face her.
Cassie’s wearing a cropped leather jacket like she’s about to step onto a runway, not into a passive-aggressive standoff. Her lipstick’s too red, her eyes too amused.
“Surprised you’re still hanging around, Maya,” she says, voice sweet as poisoned sugar. “I figured after the whole challenge thing, you’d slink off somewhere to lick your wounds.”
Maya doesn’t flinch. “You mean after I won?”
Cassie’s smile tightens just a fraction.
I step in, voice calm but edged. “Cassie, was there a reason you’re here? Or did you just feel like reminding everyone you’re not over it?”
Cassie tilts her head at me, playing at innocent. “Oh, don’t mind me. Just checking in on the happy couple. Making sure you’re both surviving your little mating moon phase. I hear the crash after the high can be brutal.”
Maya crosses her arms, the movement slow and deliberate, her weight shifting to one foot as she lifts her chin slightly. “You know,” she says, voice sharper than before, “for someone who lost, you seem really invested in what comes next for us. Almost like you’re hoping we fail. Or hoping I do.”
Cassie’s eyes narrow, the playful glint in them flickering out like a candle snuffed by wind. Her jaw tightens, just slightly, like she’s biting back something sour. But she doesn’t look away. Instead, her stare sharpens, calculating, as if she’s trying to read a weakness in Maya’s expression the way a wolf would read scent on the wind.
Maya doesn't blink.
