"There was a wolf on campus tonight. Sniffing around the dorms. Around your building specifically." He leans against my desk and I can see him fighting to keep his form steady. "I intercepted him before he got to your floor."
My blood goes cold. "Who was it?"
"Don't know. Not pack, not Dominion. Unfamiliar scent." His nostrils flare. "But he knew which building you were in. Which floor. He was hunting you, Nova."
"Did you..."
"Kill him? No. But he won't ever be the same again." A growl rumbles in his chest and the sound raises every hair on my body. Pure predator. "And whoever sent him will know what happens if they try again. I made sure of that."
I sink onto my bed. Someone was coming for me and would have found me if Knox hadn't been there.
"Why were you here?" The question comes out quieter than I intended. "You don't watch people. You don't do protection."
"I know." His hands clench into fists and I see fresh blood well from his knuckles. "I've been trying to stay away. Trying to keep my distance like I'm supposed to. But the bond..." He looks at me and I see the war in his eyes. "I can feel you. Where you are. When you're in danger. And tonight something felt wrong."
"Knox..."
"I'm not asking for anything." He pushes off the desk. "I'm not going to show up at your door demanding you choose me. I know what I am and what I'm not." He moves toward the door. "But I can't stop watching, can't stop making sure you're safe. So if another wolf comes sniffing around, I'll handle it. That's all."
"Thank you." The words feel inadequate. "For stopping him. For..."
"Don't thank me." He pauses at the door, hand on the handle, then winces as the movement pulls at his injuries.
"Wait." I move to the small bathroom and wet a clean towel under the sink, then come back. "At least let me..."
I reach for his hand and he lets me take it, watching me carefully as I wipe the blood from his knuckles. The cuts are deep, still seeping. Up close I can see more damage through the torn fabric of his t-shirt: scratches across his collarbone, a dark bruise spreading along his side.
"You should see the healer," I say quietly, dabbing at the gash on his jaw.
"I heal fast." His voice is rough. "I'll be fine by morning."
I clean what I can reach but there's too much damage, too many wounds. After a minute he pulls his hand back gently.
"I need to go before someone sees me here." He looks at me and something in his expression makes my chest tight. "Just be careful. Whoever sent him will send others. And next time I might not be close enough to intervene."
He turns to leave and I reach for him. "Knox, wait..."
"Stay safe." He opens the door and looks back at me one last time. "Lock this behind me."
Then he's gone, closing the door quietly, and I hear his footsteps fade down the hallway.
I lock the door like he told me to and stand there in the dark, heart racing. Someone knows where I live. Someone is hunting me. And Knox just saved my life without asking for anything in return.
Three males pulling at me in different ways. Julian hidden in shadows, sneaking through my window. Caspian waiting for me to choose him publicly. Knox fighting battles I don't even know about, protecting me from the darkness.
And me in the middle, wanted by all of them and not knowing how to make it work.
The sun is rising when I finally fall asleep, exhausted and overwhelmed and more aware than ever that danger is closing in.
Chapter Thirty
Two days after Knox's warning, I'm walking back from Advanced Combat Theory when I notice the crowd.
Students are gathering near the central quad instead of heading to afternoon classes. The energy feels wrong, excited and tense at the same time, charged atmosphere that comes before violence. I follow the pull of curiosity and push through the growing mass of bodies.
In the center of the clearing stands Caspian, and facing him is a male I've never seen before.
The stranger is massive. Older than Caspian by at least a decade, built like a tank with shoulders that could break down doors. Alpha energy radiates off him in waves so thick I can taste it on my tongue, copper and dominance and barely leashed aggression. He's not Academy. The way he carries himself, the scars visible on his forearms, the casual confidence in his stance tells me this is a male who's fought real battles and won.
