SEVEN

The day slipped by without incident, which was... unusual. No icy glares. No cruel whispers. No Raven. It was almost eerie.

Maybe it had something to do with what happened during training this morning or maybe people were second-guessing themselves now that I had Selene walking by my side.

No one really acknowledged me, sure, but for once, no one tried to cut me down either. It was a relief I hadn’t realized I needed until I caught myself smiling on the way to my locker. A rare, fleeting moment of peace.

But of course, peace never lasts long in my world.

“Well, well,” Raven’s voice oozed from behind me, soaked in fake sweetness and sharpened edges. “Look who thinks she’s somebody now. Nolan’s little pet. Bet you’re good at... keeping his attention.”

I didn’t flinch. Didn’t turn. Didn’t give her the satisfaction. My stomach turned at her implication, but I focused on rearranging my locker, hoping silence might starve her ego.

Apparently not.

She slammed the door shut with enough force to nearly catch my hand. I jerked back just in time.

Before she could launch into another verbal attack, Selene appeared like a burst of sunlight.

“There you are! I’m starving. You did say we’d hang out after school, remember?” she said, completely disregarding Raven’s presence.

I caught the daggers Raven was throwing her way, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Oh shoot, that’s right,” I said, playing along. “I just needed to grab my stuff real quick for the weekend.”

We started walking away, arms linked, but Raven couldn’t leave it alone.

“Word of advice, new girl,” she called out. “Be careful who you associate with. Some people come with... baggage.”

We turned. Selene smiled sweetly. “Noted. Thanks.”

We barely took another step before the sharp tap of designer heels echoed behind us.

“Listen here, you lit…oh! Hey, guys!” Raven’s voice flipped like a light switch, suddenly sticky-sweet and full of sparkle.

I didn’t even have to look to know seen or who she’d seen.

A cluster of guys were approaching, casually cool like they owned every hallway they walked through. They barely acknowledged her, murmuring a few lazy hellos.

Please, universe. Let me disappear into a ceiling tile.

“Holy crap,” Selene whispered under her breath, eyes wide. “They’re even hotter in person.”

I rolled my eyes. They’d never said more than two words to me at school, so I figured they were here to bask in the glow of my new, much cooler friend.

Still... I had eyes.

My brother Milo stood out even in that crowd. We shared the Leoe sandy blonde hair and steel-blue eyes, inherited from our mom. But he got all of Dad’s build broad-shouldered, lean-waisted and styled his hair like he didn’t care, which somehow made it look like a million bucks.

Leo, Delta Nolan’s son and future second-in-command looked like someone had carved him out of a beach magazine.

Sun-streaked blonde hair curled just below his ears, his blue eyes like deep ocean waves. He wasn’t bulky like Milo, but he was all fast-twitch muscle and confidence.

Ethan?

Pure intimidation in human form. His dark, shoulder-length hair shadowed a face that rarely cracked a smile, his brown eyes unreadable. Tattoos ran along both arms and snuck just above his collar.

He always looked like he was five seconds from throwing a punch—and he never spoke unless it was necessary.

And then there were the twins. The future Alphas.

They were striking black waves of hair styled with casual care, the kind of beauty that didn’t ask for attention but commanded it anyway. Max, the elder, always looked like he’d walked out of a fashion ad.

His green eyes were sharp, but not unkind. Jade was wilder. He let his curls roam free and wore a perpetual smirk, baby blue eyes glinting with mischief.

I must’ve been staring, because Selene nudged me hard in the ribs.

Please, moon goddess, tell me I wasn’t drooling.

“What?” I blinked, realizing I had no idea what anyone had just said.

“I was just saying your footwork at training was sick,” Max says, flashing an easy grin. “We’re hoping you’ll be at advanced training so you can show us that move again. Maybe give Leo here a redemption arc.”

Jade barks out a laugh and thumps Leo’s back hard enough to jolt him forward. “Yeah, someone’s gotta drag him back from his takedown tragedy.”

I stand there, blinking, lips parting slightly but no words coming out. I nod. Smile. That’s all I’ve got. My brain is scrambling to understand what’s happening.

These guys have known my brother since birth. They eat at my kitchen table like it's theirs. But at school? I might as well be air. This? This is uncharted territory.

And then like a mosquito’s buzz comes a too-sweet giggle. Artificial. Overripe.

I turn my head. Raven. Of course. She’s suddenly materialized at my side like a perfume commercial gone wrong. Her fingers splay across Max’s chest, clearly staking her claim.

“You’re so funny, babe,” she coos.

“Leo’s basically elite. That move was cute and all, but he could do it blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back. His dad was just… y’know… being generous to Selene and... A…Aria.”

She stumbles over my name like it tastes wrong in her mouth. She almost never uses it. I’m usually just “that bitch.”

Lower wolves, she said. Who exactly is she talking about?

My wolf stirs under my skin, simmering like lSage in a cracked shell. My hands tremble, and I drop my gaze to the floor. I squeeze my eyes shut for a beat, grounding myself, willing the shift to stay hidden. No golden irises. Not here. Not now.

Max subtly inches back, as if he feels the crackle in the air. Before I can decode his expression, his twin, Jade, cuts in like a scalpel.

“Nope. Leo’s washed. Send him back to train with the pups. That takedown was embarrassing.”

Laughter explodes again. My brother joins in, and so does Selene. I let out a giggle before I can stop myself.

I don't even know what I’m laughing at, but their energy is contagious. For once, I’m not on the outside looking in. For once, I feel like maybeI belong in the Leoe space as them.

But when I glance back at Milo, his face shifts. His smile fades. Something sharp and unreadable flashes in his eyes. Regret? Resentment?

Does he hate that I’m standing here?

The thought lands like a gut punch, even though I should be used to it. He’s made it pretty clear over the years I’m the little sister he wishes he didn’t have to deal with. Still, it aches deeper than I expect. I drop my gaze again, suddenly ashamed of laughing. Of hoping.

I’ve been burned for less.

Then Selene steps in like a lightning bolt, cool and sure.

“As much as I love roasting your boy Leo,” she says, slinging a casual hand across his shoulder, “Aria promised me food. So if you’ll excuse us, gentlemen…”

And just like that, she breaks the circle dragging me through the wall of muscle like a queen parting her court. We move swiftly past them and head toward her car, which sits like a beacon in the gravel parking lot at the edge of the training grounds.

Once we’re far enough away, I tilt my head toward her. “How do you already have a car? Aren’t you still fifteen?”

“I got my license early,” she says with a mischievous wink. “Alpha’s permission, of course.”

Of course. I should’ve known.

“My parents are always off working with the Alpha King, research, missions, top-secret stuff. No time to play chauffeur. So I made my case, and bam early license. The only rule is: no wrecking it, no joyriding, and no using it to flee the country.”

She shrugs like that’s the most ordinary sentence in the world. Honestly? It probably is, for her. Selene has this gravity about her like she could convince the moon to take a nap if she needed to.

We’re almost in the car when a voice slices through the air behind us.

“Hey!”

We both turn. Leo is jogging toward us, breathless but grinning.

“Almost forgot—are you guys going to the bonfire tonight?”