Page 25

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**Lycan Alpha POV**

The moment I stepped onto this campus, the air changed.

I felt it like a shift in the wind, a ripple in the unseen forces that bound this world together. Even without looking, I knew eyes were on me. The weight of curiosity, admiration, and desire pressed against me like a suffocating wave.

It was nothing new.

I had walked into many rooms before where people turned to stare, drawn by the raw power that came with my presence. Even here, masked as a mere student, my aura was impossible to fully suppress.

Cassian, my beta, strolled beside me with an amused smirk. He had no trouble blending in, his easygoing nature making him approachable. Julia walked on my other side, arms crossed, scanning our surroundings with a critical eye.

"You're a walking disaster waiting to happen," Cassian muttered under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

I didn't respond.

I was too aware of her.

Tasha.

Somewhere close.

I didn't need to see her to know. The connection between us burned, unseen but undeniable. My chest tightened as I fought the urge to seek her out, to pull her into my arms and finally end this agonizing distance.

But I couldn't. Not yet.

"You're tense," Julia observed, her sharp eyes flicking up at me. "You trying to convince yourself this plan of yours is actually working?"

I exhaled slowly. "The plan is fine."

"The plan is stupid," she shot back. "You're making yourself miserable for no reason."

"I have a reason," I muttered.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh sure. Because waiting for some grand ceremony is better than just telling her the truth now?"

Cassian let out a low chuckle. "Let him suffer. He enjoys it."

I ignored them both.

Every moment spent on this campus, in this fake disguise, was a test of patience. A battle between instinct and strategy. Tasha wasn't ready. She didn't know the full truth—about me, about herself, about what fate had written in the stars for us.

Revealing myself too soon could shatter everything.

Still, that knowledge didn't make it any easier.

Because she was right there.

I turned my head slightly and caught sight of her walking down an adjacent corridor.

She was flipping through a book, oblivious to the way my world tilted the second I laid eyes on her. My mate. My queen. The missing piece of my soul.

She was breathtaking.

Her deep brown eyes scanned the pages with a quiet focus, her full lips pursed in thought. Dark curls framed her face perfectly, cascading over her shoulders in thick waves. She was effortlessly beautiful, a force of nature, carrying a presence that demanded attention without even trying.

And yet, she didn't notice me.

Didn't even glance my way.

I clenched my fists at my sides, fighting the instinct to reach for her.

Fighting the urge to call her name, to make her see me.

But I had to wait.

I had to suffer through the silence until the moment was right.

I forced myself to turn away and keep walking. The pain of it settled deep in my bones.

Cassian sighed dramatically beside me. "That was painful to watch. Even for me."

"Then don't watch," I muttered.

Julia snorted. "Maybe we should start taking bets on how long you'll last before you break and just tell her."

I shot her a warning look, but she only smirked.

The rest of the day passed in slow, torturous hours.

I went to classes, pretending to be just another student, enduring the meaningless conversations and unwanted attention from other girls who saw me as nothing more than a new mystery to solve.

But even as I sat in lecture halls, even as I spoke words and walked through motions, my mind was elsewhere.

With her.

I felt her presence even when I wasn't looking.

The subtle pull of our bond, the way my senses sharpened when she was near. I knew the moment she entered a room, could feel her heartbeat like a steady rhythm calling to mine.

And she was aware of me, too.

Not consciously, not fully. But I saw the way her posture shifted sometimes, the way her eyes flickered toward me as if drawn by an unseen force.

She was fighting it, even if she didn't know why.

And I was drowning in the distance between us.

I lean against the stone railing of the dormitory rooftop, watching the campus below. Students laugh, moving in groups, oblivious to the tension I carry inside. Somewhere down there, she's probably laughing too, completely unaware that I'm struggling to hold myself back.

I thought coming here undercover would make things easier. That watching from a distance would be enough. But it's torture. Every time she walks past me, every time our eyes meet, and she silently asks why I'm ignoring her, I feel like I'm betraying her.

She confronted me once—her voice laced with frustration, her eyes burning with something deeper.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

I had so many things I wanted to say. That she was my mate. That I had been watching over her for years. That I had fought battles in the shadows just to make sure she was safe. But instead, I gave her a vague, distant answer.

"Everything will make sense in time."

She didn't buy it. She scoffed, shook her head, and walked away. And I just stood there, fists clenched, watching her leave.

I exhale sharply and run a hand through my hair.

I shouldn't have come to this damn school. I should have waited until the mating ceremony. But the thought of leaving her here, unprotected, surrounded by people who have no idea who she is—who she's destined to be—was unbearable.

So, I did the only thing I could.

I made sure the school accepted her and Mina.

I had a spy keep tabs on them.

I sent an entity to pose as the witch and give them the protection trinkets.

I lifted the veil between us.

And now, all I can do is watch from the sidelines.

A gust of wind rushes past me, and I close my eyes, letting it cool my heated skin. My wolf is restless, pacing inside me, furious at the distance I'm forcing between us.

"She's ours."

I know.

"You're hurting her."

I know.

But I have to be patient. The timing has to be right. If I go to her now, if I claim her before she's ready, it could ruin everything. She's still figuring out who she is. Her transformation was only the beginning. If I reveal the full truth too soon, I could break her.

By the time night fell, exhaustion clung to me—not from physical strain, but from the relentless effort of staying away.

I sat alone in my dorm, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the way my body ached for her presence.

I had been patient for years. I could wait a little longer.

But gods, it was getting harder.

A soft knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts.

"Come in," I said, already sensing who it was.

Cassian pushed the door open, his usual smirk replaced with something more serious. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him before leaning against the desk.

"You okay?" he asked.

I exhaled. "Fine."

"Bullshit."

I glanced at him, unimpressed. "What do you want, Cassian?"

"You're unraveling, brother." His voice was quieter now, lacking its usual teasing edge. "You think I don't see it? You think Julia doesn't? Hell, even the humans around here are picking up on your tension."

I said nothing.

"Look, I get it," he continued. "You think you're doing what's best. And maybe you are. Maybe Tasha needs time to adjust, to figure things out on her own before she realizes what she is to you."

He paused, shaking his head. "But I've known you too long to pretend this isn't killing you."

I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them. "It doesn't matter. The ceremony is in a month. I can't interfere before then."

"Who made that rule?" Cassian challenged. "Because from where I'm standing, you're torturing yourself over something that's completely in your hands."

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "She's not ready, Cass."

"And what if she never is? What if waiting just makes it harder?"

I turned away, walking toward the window. Outside, the campus was quiet, the moon casting long shadows over the empty pathways.

Cassian sighed. "You think you're protecting her. I get that. But sometimes, keeping your distance does more harm than good."

I didn't answer.

Because I knew, deep down, that he might be right.

But it didn't change the fact that the path I had chosen—the silence, the waiting, the suffering—was necessary.

Tasha's transformation was unlike anything we had seen before. She wasn't just a werewolf. She wasn't just a vampire. She was something entirely new.

Something even I didn't fully understand.

If I rushed this, if I revealed everything too soon... I could risk pushing her away before she had the chance to embrace who she truly was.

And I wasn't willing to take that risk.

Cassian let out a slow breath. "Alright. Have it your way." He pushed off the desk and walked toward the door. "Just don't let your pride keep you from doing what's right when the time comes."

I stayed silent as he left.

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone once more.

Alone with my thoughts. My longing.

And the unbearable weight of waiting for her to find her way to me.

Because no matter how much distance I put between us now...

Fate would bring us together soon enough.

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