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“I don’t need you to protect me.” I ran a hand down my cheek where Ryder struck me.

He scoffed. “Really? You’d rather get pummeled in front of your friends by that asshole?”

“No, I—”

“Youwhat? Are you finally going to stand up to him? Are you going to kick his ass the way Iknowyou can?”

Anger fueled my senses, sharpening my instincts.

No, Wolf knew I would not do that. He knew I couldn’t.

“I will not sit back while they kill you, Huntress.”

“Why?” I asked, emotions leaking into my words. “Why do you even care if I die? You don’t know me, Wolf! You know nothing about me! Do you get some weird satisfaction from helping me? Is that what this is?”

“Trust me,” he said. “If you want to see me satisfied, there are other ways to—”

“I’m done with this,” I snapped, pivoting on a heel and marching down the hall.

Wolf stopped me with a hand on my elbow, spinning me to face him. His face was so close to mine, full of an intensity that was almost too much to take in.

He stilled. “I don’t want to watch you get hurt because I don’t like it. Fair enough?”

My heart raced, my breath mingling with his in the few inches of space between us.Fair?No, none of it was fair. Wolf wasn’t making any sense, and the way he stared at me…

“I hate to break it to you,angel, but I’m already hurt. I’ve survived this long on my own, and I don’t need you lurking in the shadows, ready to jump out and save me. You don’t know me. You don’t care about me, so let’s stop pretending that you do.”

When I ripped my arm from his grasp and stormed toward the dining hall, Wolf didn’t bother following me.

“What does he want with you anyway?” Ashlani asked.

She and Lanson sat across from me at the end of the long wooden dining table. Thankfully, Ryder and his friends didn’t bother coming after us.

Neither did Wolf.

“Nothing,” I answered, lifting a shoulder. “Well, I don’t know. We don’t talk much, and when we do, he just pisses me off.”

“It’s clear he wantssomething,” Lanson added, not looking me in the eye. “Nobody acts like that out of selfless intentions.”

I shrugged. “Unless he really hates Ryder. That’s a possibility.”

“Did you see the way he looked at you?” Ashlani whispered. “I mean, he was about to kill Ryder just for touching you. I swear I saw smoke coming out of his ears.”

My face heated. “No, it has nothing to do with me. You can trust me on that. Wolf and I aren’t friends.”

“You’re sleeping in the same room, though, right? Has he said anything to you?”

“I keep to myself,” I answered, perhaps a bit too fast.

Lanson’s fork paused on his plate, and his eyes flickered to me. I could have sworn I saw something there; delight, maybe? Satisfaction?

“He’s dangerous,” Lanson added after a few seconds. “Nobody’s messed with him yet, but they will. He’s clearly the strongest one here, so he’ll have a target on his back. He has those black wings for a reason. It’s only a matter of time before we find out just how cruel he can be.”

“Agreed,” I said. “It’s best if we stay away from him. Let’s just forget about this, please?”

Lanson nodded, and Ashlani stared at me with a sparkle in her eye. “Whatever you say, Huntyr.”

We ate the rest of our meal without any mention of Wolf or Ryder. Eventually, the conversation drifted to sparring tactics and discussion of magic bonding.