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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

NOVA

T he weekend flies by in a blur of visiting my new baby sister and catching up with my siblings, but by late Sunday night, Tai and I finally make it back to campus. We’re both too wiped to do anything more than stumble into the dorm, grab quick showers, and collapse into bed, Fang nestled between us. Before turning in, I fire off one last text:

I miss you, hope everything is okay.

I wake Monday morning with a stiff neck and a throbbing head, fumbling for my phone. One glance at the screen makes my heart sink. No reply.

A lump forms in my throat as I swipe through my message thread:

Friday, 3:13 p.m.

Made it home

You okay?

I’d really like to see you tonight

Saturday, 5:29 p.m.

Wanted to check in. How’s everything?

Sunday, 11:42 p.m.

Goodnight, Callum.

All of them are left on “Sent,” not a single response in sight. My heart sinks. It’s been over a week since he’s bothered to text me back—or text me at all, for that matter.

I sag back against the pillows, watching the little “Delivered” timestamp mock me from the screen. I know he got back to campus. Tai saw him head to class after he’d had breakfast that first day I was at the heat clinic. If he was hurt, I would have heard about it. If he was sick, someone would have told me.

So why the fuck is he ignoring me?

Did he get what he wanted, and now he’s done with me? A little payback for what happened in the hotel room?

My wolf paces, hackles raised. He wouldn’t. He’s ours.

I scoff under my breath. Tell that to my empty inbox. He’s ghosted us once before.

Tai scoops Fang up and deposits her onto the floor so he can pull me into his arms. She just hops back onto the bed and curls in my lap.

“Are you sure you didn’t see him except for that first day?”

He’s quiet for a bit while he thinks. “I saw him at breakfast during our old scheduled time and then kept to my own schedule the rest of the week. For most of the time you were at the clinic, I repaired a lot of the forest. Did some hiking. Read several books.” He glances up at me. “Did you know there are hot springs?”

“Yeah.” I sigh, running my fingers through Fang’s fur and letting her soothe me. “Maybe you can try calling or texting him?”

“Of course.”

I anchor Tai’s leg while he leans over to grab his cell from my nightstand. He swipes to his contacts and inputs Callum’s name before typing out his text.

Tai

Whisky’s just burnt piss water. I don’t get the hype.

I furrow my brows as I read it. Frowning, I glance up at him. “I don’t get it.”

Tai snorts, already looking smug as he hits send. “I’m baiting him.”

I nudge his leg, unimpressed. “That doesn’t explain anything.”

He leans back against the headboard, stretching out like he’s settling in for a lecture. “Whisky’s a thing for Scots. It’s not just booze—it’s national pride in a glass. They’ll argue over regions, brands, aging, even what shape of glass you should drink it from. Callum’s either going to defend it with his life or demand to know which one I tried, so he can correct my ‘poor choices.’ Either way, he won’t ignore it.”

I glance at the phone. “And if he doesn’t answer?”

He grins, tapping out another text.

Tai

Bet you drink yours with ice like a bloody tourist.

“Then I really piss him off.”

I shake my head, trying not to encourage him but my smirk betrays me. Glancing at the time, I sigh, trying to scoot Fang off my lap. “Guess I should get ready for class.”

He takes her from me so I can get up and get ready.

I try to shake it off my melancholy. Finals week is hell, and I can’t afford to let this distraction tank my grades even more than my nonexistent magical ability already has. Sure, I have magic, but it doesn’t cooperate. Probably because I can’t focus. My only redemption is at least everything is weighted against my potential, and we all know my potential is shit.

I don’t bother showering and barely manage to run a brush through my hair and take care of my teeth.

Because no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop thinking about the way he looked at me in the hot springs, the way he touched me, how he whispered my name like I meant something to him.

Was it just the moment? The heat of it all?

The ugly thoughts curl in my gut.

Did I misread everything?

A soft ding breaks through the grief. My phone screen lights with a notification from the anonymous clinic app. Heart thudding, I tap it open:

Alpha (7:23 AM):

Busy with finals? Tell me you’re making time to breathe, at least.

Alpha (7:24 AM)

I know we said no lines crossed outside the clinic … but sometimes I’m tempted to ask how you’re really doing. Let me know if you need some … stress relief.

The words jolt a thrill of heat through me—playful but tiptoeing on the edge of the boundary we promised each other. I swallow, torn between a surge of longing and the knot of guilt twisting in my gut. We agreed to keep it contained. We both have other people in our hearts. Yet here we are, still drawn toward each other’s orbit, all thanks to stupid alpha and omega hormones.

Tai side-eyed me when I told him Alpha and I keep in touch, but he thinks it’s safer to have a rapport with the alpha rather than him being a complete stranger. Though, he’d rather I bring an alpha into the pack, so at least he could know them, too.

I lock my phone and shove it into my pocket, forcing myself to focus on the day ahead. I can’t let the idea of him—of us—derail everything. But a small part of me can’t deny the flicker of excitement in my chest, that little pulse that says, maybe an alpha wouldn’t be so bad to have around.