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**Cass's POV**

Mina is looking at me again.

She has no idea, of course. She thinks she's being subtle, that the way her eyes linger on mine for just a second too long goes unnoticed. But I feel it. Every. Single. Time.

It's torture.

I pretend not to see her, my eyes glued to the beer bottle clenched in my fist. The condensation drips onto my fingertips, but I barely register the cold. My brain is stuck on the fact that she's this close. That her scent—sweet, subtle, and hers alone—wraps around me and tightens like a noose.

The worst? I can do nothing.

Not yet.

She has no clue.

Not about who I really am. Not about what we are to each other.

And what if she did?

I clench my teeth, forcing myself to stand still as I hear her laugh at something one of her friends said. It's light, teasing—so different from the storm brewing inside of me.

I have no right to be here.

I shouldn't have come.

But when the Alpha insisted on hauling me out tonight, I didn't argue. Maybe because something in me is just as much of a masochist as he is. Watching him torture himself over Tasha has been its own sort of hell, but at least she has some idea what she is to him.

Mina?

She hasn't the slightest idea.

And I'm the bastard who gets to keep it that way.

At least for now.

"You're staring."

The voice startles me, but I don't flinch. I already know who it is.

The Alpha collapses into the seat beside me, eyes flicking towards Mina before they settle back on me.

The smug grin is on his face, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He's still pouting over whatever the hell just happened between him and Tasha, but that won't prevent him from trying to get a rise out of me.

I exhale slowly, bringing the bottle to my lips. "You're imagining things."

"Am I?" He leans back, the smirk widening. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like my Beta is acting like a damn lovesick pup."

I don't dignify that with a response.

Because he's right.

I feel his gaze linger, waiting for me to crack, but I won't. If I give in to this—if I say out loud what I've been barely keeping at bay—there's no returning from it.

He sighs. "You could just tell her, you know."

"And what? Watch her run?"

The smirk falls away. He knows better than anyone how complicated this is.

"Mina isn't—" I pause, choosing my words carefully. "She wasn't raised like us. She's been human her whole life. Do you think she'll just accept this lying down?"

"She's already changing," he points out.

I know that.

I've seen it.

The way her senses are awakening. The way she's perceiving things she couldn't possibly perceive. The way her body is preparing for something she has no clue is coming.

It won't be long now.

And when the time does?

Everything will change.

For both of us.

I set my bottle down, eyes finally drifting back to Mina. She's still laughing, none the wiser to the storm waiting in store for her.

God help me, I'm not ready for this.

But I don't have a choice.

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**Mina's POV**

Something is wrong with me.

I don't know what it is, but I feel it.

Like an itch beneath my skin. A stirring in my bones.

It started weeks ago. The headaches. The dizzy spells that come out of nowhere. The way my heart pounds for no reason, like something inside me is fighting to be unleashed.

And then there's him.

Cass.

I don't know when it started, but I can't help staring at him.

He's always been there—quiet, composed, a constant shadow beside the Alpha. But lately, there's something different about him. Or maybe I'm the one who's different.

I catch myself searching for him without realizing it. My eyes always seem to find him first in a crowd. And when he looks back at me—just for a second—something in my chest tightens so hard it almost hurts.

It doesn't make sense.

None of this makes sense.

And the worst part?

I think he knows.

He's avoiding me.

Not in an obvious way, but I can tell. He never lingers when I'm present. Never maintains eye contact for more than a few seconds. It's like he's restraining himself on purpose, like he's afraid of what will happen if he lets me get too close.

And it's driving me crazy.

I need answers.

And I'm sick of waiting for them.

I make up some excuse to slip away from my friends, my heart racing as I make my way through the crowd to him. He's still sitting there, staring at his drink like it holds the mysteries of the universe. The Alpha is sitting next to him, but I don't care.

I stand in front of them, arms crossed. "Can I speak to you?"

Cassian looks up, his expression unreadable. "Now?"

"Yes. Now."

The Alpha sneers but doesn't say a word.

Cass sighs, then pushes his chair back and stands. Without a word, he trails me out into the night.

It's cool, but I barely feel it. My blood runs too hot, my head spinning as I wheel around to face him.

I don't know where to start.

So I blurt the first thing that comes to mind.

"What are you keeping from me?"

His eyebrows contract. "Mina—"

"No." I shake my head. "Don't do that. Don't make it sound like I'm fabricating this."

He releases a slow breath. "It's not that simple."

"Then simplify it," I snap.

He hesitates.

And that hesitation is all the confirmation I need.

There is something.

And he's been keeping it from me.

I step closer, ignoring the way my heart skips a beat when I catch the faintest whisper of his scent. He smells of cedarwood and something else—something warm and inviting.

Something that calls to me.

"What is wrong with me?" I say, this time my voice is quieter. "I feel like I am going crazy."

He clenches his teeth. "You're not."

"Then what?"

For a moment, he just looks at me.

And then—so quietly I almost don't hear him—he says,

"You'll find out soon enough."

I freeze.

His voice is too calm. Too certain.

Like he already knows how this will play out.

Like he's waiting for something.

I don't know whether I should be frightened or relieved.

All I know is that whatever is coming?

It's already too late to stop it.

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