Liam
Three days. It had been three days since I'd touched Maya Carter, and my wolf was losing his mind.
I slammed my stick against the boards with enough force to crack the fiberglass. Coach Williams blew his whistle and skated over, his face red with frustration.
"Black! What the hell is wrong with you today?"
Everything. Everything was wrong. I couldn't focus, couldn't think about anything except green eyes and vanilla-scented skin and the way she'd looked at me when I'd crushed her heart with my words.
"Nothing, Coach. Just warming up."
"Warming up?" He gestured at the destroyed stick in my hands. "That's your third one today. At this rate, we'll need a new equipment budget just for you."
My teammates gave me a wide berth as they skated past. Even Jake Morrison, my best friend since kindergarten, was keeping his distance. They all knew something was off, but none of them were brave enough to ask what.
Smart of them.
"Take five," Coach ordered. "Get your head on straight before you hurt someone."
I nodded and skated toward the bench, but sitting still was impossible. My wolf paced inside my chest like a caged animal, whining and snarling by turns. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to find Maya, to check on her, to make sure she was safe.
*She's fine,* I told myself. *She's staying away like I told her to.*
But my wolf wasn't buying it. He'd been restless for days, sending me flashes of worry and longing that made it impossible to concentrate on anything. During practice, I'd caught myself searching the empty bleachers for her familiar hiding spot. In class, I found myself listening for her heartbeat in the hallways.
It was pathetic. She was pathetic. A weak little human who probably couldn't even lift a hockey stick, let alone survive in my world.
So why couldn't I stop thinking about her?
"Dude, you're vibrating." Jake dropped onto the bench beside me, careful to keep some distance. "Seriously, what's eating you?"
"Nothing."
"Right. And I'm secretly a figure skater." He pulled off his helmet, revealing sweat-dampened blond hair. "Come on, man. We've been friends since we were kids. I know when something's wrong."
I wanted to tell him. Jake was human, but he'd grown up around the pack. He knew our secrets, knew what I was. If anyone would understand the mess I was in, it would be him.
But how could I explain that fate had mated me to the school's invisible girl? How could I admit that every fiber of my being was drawn to someone so completely wrong for me?
"It's complicated," I said finally.
"When isn't it with you?" Jake grinned, but his eyes stayed serious. "This about a girl?"
My wolf perked up at the mention of Maya, sending a wave of longing through my chest. I gritted my teeth against it.
"Drop it, Jake."
"Must be some girl to get you this twisted up." He studied my face with the persistence that made him both a great friend and a massive pain in the ass. "Anyone I know?"
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed in my equipment bag. I pulled it out, expecting a text from my dad about pack business. Instead, I found a message from a number I didn't recognize.
*You might want to check classroom 237. Your little friend needs help.*
Ice formed in my veins. I was on my feet before I'd even finished reading, my equipment clattering to the floor.
"Whoa, where are you going?" Jake called after me.
"I'll be right back."
I was lying. I was already running toward the locker room, my wolf howling with panic. Classroom 237 was in the old wing of the school, the section they barely used anymore. If someone had Maya there, if they were hurting her...
My hands shook as I tore off my gear. The mate bond was singing with distress, confirming what I already knew. She was in trouble. She needed me.
*This is exactly what I was trying to avoid,* I thought as I yanked on my street clothes. *This is why weak mates are dangerous.*
But even as the rational part of my brain listed all the reasons this was a bad idea, my wolf was already taking control. My senses sharpened, my muscles coiled with predatory tension. Someone was threatening what was mine.
And they were about to learn why that was a fatal mistake.
I took the stairs three at a time, following the scent trail that led deeper into the school. Maya's vanilla scent was layered with fear and something else – something that made my wolf pace with excitement.
Power. Raw, untapped power that she didn't even know she possessed.
The old wing was dark and quiet, most of the classrooms locked for the night. But I could hear voices coming from 237, cruel laughter that made my lip curl back from my teeth.
"Maybe if you ask really nicely, we'll let you out before midnight," Jessica's voice drifted through the door. "But you have to beg first."
"Please," Maya's voice was muffled but desperate. "I need to get home. My mom will worry."
"Your mom?" Brittany's laugh was like nails on a chalkboard. "What's she going to do? Send a strongly worded note?"
More laughter. My vision went red around the edges.
I was about to storm down the hallway when I heard something that stopped me cold. A sound like claws scraping against wood, followed by a sharp crack.
The laughter stopped.
"What was that?" Jessica's voice had lost its cruel confidence.
"I... I don't know." Maya sounded as confused as they did. "Something's happening to the door."
I crept closer, staying in the shadows. Through the small window in the classroom door, I could see Maya pressed against the far wall, staring at her hands like they belonged to someone else. The wooden door frame around the lock was splintered, deep gouges carved into the wood like something with claws had been trying to break free.
But Maya's nails were perfectly normal. Humans.
Weren't they?
"This is getting weird," one of Jessica's friends muttered. "Maybe we should just let her out."
"No way." Jessica's voice was sharp with anger. "She needs to learn her place. Nobody disrespects me and gets away with it."
"I never disrespected you," Maya called through the door. "I've never even talked to you before yesterday."
"You talked to my boyfriend."
"He talked to me! I didn't ask him to.."
"Shut up!" Jessica banged on the door with her fist. "Just shut up and think about what you've done."
I heard their footsteps moving away down the hall, leaving Maya alone in the locked classroom. The smart thing would be to wait until they were completely gone, then quietly let her out. No drama, no confrontation.
But my wolf had other ideas.
The beast surged forward, taking control before I could stop him. My vision sharpened to perfect clarity, my muscles flooding with supernatural strength. The scent of my mate's distress filled my nostrils, drowning out everything else.
Jessica and her friends had made it maybe twenty feet before I stepped out of the shadows.
"Going somewhere?"
They spun around, and I watched the color drain from Jessica's face as she took in my expression. Whatever she saw there made her take an instinctive step backward.
"Liam!" She tried for her usual flirty tone, but it came out shaky. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." I started walking toward them, slow and deliberate. My wolf was practically vibrating with the need to tear them apart for threatening our mate. "Isn't this wing supposed to be locked after hours?"
"We were just... studying," Brittany stammered.
"Studying." I stopped a few feet away, close enough that they could see the predator lurking behind my human mask. "In a locked classroom. Without any books."
Jessica's chin lifted with false bravado. "Since when do you care what I do?"
"Since you decided to mess with someone under my protection."
The words surprised even me. I hadn't meant to say that, hadn't meant to claim Maya so publicly. But the damage was done.
"Your protection?" Jessica's voice cracked. "But you said.."
"I said a lot of things." My eyes began to glow, just enough that they'd notice. Just enough to plant the fear I needed. "Want to know what I'm saying now?"
The three girls huddled together like sheep sensing a wolf. Which, I supposed, they were.
"Open the door," I ordered, my voice dropping to a growl. "Now."
Jessica fumbled for her keys with shaking hands. Behind me, I could hear Maya moving around inside the classroom, her heartbeat rapid but steady. She was scared but not broken. My mate was stronger than any of us had given her credit for.
The lock clicked open, and Jessica pushed the door wide. Maya stood in the center of the classroom, her hands still pressed against the wall where those impossible claw marks had appeared.
When she saw me, relief flooded her scent so strongly it made my knees weak.
"Thank you," she whispered.
I wanted to go to her. Wanted to pull her into my arms and never let go. Instead, I turned back to Jessica and her friends, letting them see the full weight of my displeasure.
"If you touch her again," I said quietly, "if you even look at her wrong, you'll answer to me. Are we clear?"
They nodded frantically and scurried away like the cowards they were.
Finally alone with my mate, I turned to face her. She was staring at me with those wide green eyes, confusion and gratitude warring across her face.
"You came," she said softly.
"I shouldn't have."
But even as I said it, I knew it was too late. The bond between us was too strong, too real to ignore. Whatever came next, whatever dangers this brought to both our worlds, I couldn't walk away from her again.
From somewhere in the darkness above us, a low chuckle drifted down from the rafters. Ancient and knowing and full of dark promise…