” Jessica’s POV
“If you break, it will be on us.”
Jude’s words hit me before I even see him.
I freeze mid-step, the words echoing in my head like thunder.
My wrists still ache from the last training session, but my body isn’t listening.
Heat coils low, pressing, relentless.
My wolf whines inside me, restless, hungry, uncontained.
Charles steps closer, the ground vibrating under his presence.
His eyes are sharp, black as a storm, fixed on me as if he can see every wild, desperate pulse of desire and fear.
My body stiffens, and my knees wobble.
The air between us is heavy, thick, alive.
“Your heat,” he murmurs, voice low, rolling across my skin like fire.
“It’s stronger than yesterday.”
“I know,” I snap, even as a shiver travels down my spine.
My hands flex against the bands on my wrists, trying to hold myself together.
“I can control it.”
He tilts his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Do you really think so?”
Jude steps in from the side, calm and steady.
“Jessica, listen.
Today we push—but carefully.
The seal is cracking.
One wrong move, and you’ll burn yourself out.”
The words shouldn’t scare me.
They do.
My heat spikes instantly, sharp and impossible to ignore.
My body reacts before I even understand it—thighs clench, core tightens, fingers curl as if seeking anything solid to hold.
I stumble.
Charles catches me.
Always catches me.
The moment our bodies brush, my wolf surges.
I hate that.
I hate him.
I hate my body.
Hate this fire that refuses to wait.
“You’re reacting,” he growls low in his throat, tone dangerous, hungry.
“It’s not a weakness.”
“I—I’m not weak,” I gasp, trying to shove back, even as my chest presses against his.
My skin tingles where he’s close, and the tension twists deep inside me.
Jude’s voice cuts through again.
“Jessica.
Focus.
Don’t lose yourself.
You can’t let it control you.”
I shake my head, trembling.
“I can’t… it’s too much.”
“Exactly,” Charles murmurs, voice raw.
“And that’s why I’m here.”
He shifts his hands to my waist, steadying me against him without letting go.
Heat pulses through me, heavy, consuming.
My breath catches.
My wolf growls low, echoing through my chest.
“You feel that?” he asks, slow and deliberate.
“That’s real.
That’s power.”
“I hate it,” I whisper, closing my eyes.
My head tilts back slightly, pressing into his chest.
“I hate how alive I feel.”
“You can’t fight it,” Charles says, tone sharp now.
“Not anymore.
Not if you want to survive.”
“Breathe.
Stay grounded.
Feel it, yes, but don’t let it take over.
We’re here with you.”
The two of them are like opposing forces, a storm pressing in on me from both sides.
Charles is fire, possessive and unyielding, driving heat into me without touching where it burns the most.
Jude is ice, steady and calculating, keeping me tethered to sanity.
I shiver, trying to draw a deep breath.
My muscles tremble.
My wolf whines low, stretching inside, restless.
I want to scream.
I want to run.
I want to collapse all at once.
“Jessica,” Charles whispers, leaning closer so his mouth is near my ear.
“If you break… if you let this heat rule you…”
“I won’t,” I gasp, though my voice trembles.
“Then prove it,” he growls, his hand tightening at my waist.
My knees weaken, and I have to brace against him to stay upright.
“Now.”
I focus.
I feel every pulse of fire inside me, every tug of instinct, every coil of wolf and body and rage.
I push against it, shoving it down, controlling it like I can.
My vision swims.
My heat doesn’t ease.
My body trembles.
“You’re stronger than you think,” Jude murmurs, voice soft, grounding.
He presses lightly against my back, steadying me.
“But the seal… it’s cracking.
Carefully.
Don’t let it shatter yet.”
“I can’t,” I whisper, voice barely audible.
“Yes, you can,” Charles says, harder this time.
“Because I won’t let you fall.
Not here.
Not now.”
His hands move along my sides, firm and possessive, guiding without touching where I burn.
My wolf growls, loud and low, shaking me from inside.
My chest rises and falls so fast I can hear it in my ears.
“You’re mine,” Charles murmurs, dangerously soft.
I gasp, hating him.
Hating the words.
Hating the truth in them.
“Not… not yours!” I scream, though the sound comes out trembling and weak.
My legs buckle, and my arms shake.
My restraint bands cut into my wrists just enough to remind me I can’t escape.
“Good,” Jude says calmly.
“Let the struggle happen.
Let it test you.
Don’t fight me, don’t fight him—feel it.
Learn it.”
Charles catches me instinctively, pressing me to his chest.
My heat pulses uncontrollably.
My wolf screams in frustration and desire.
My head rests against his shoulder.
I am burning from inside out, shaking and raw.
“You’ve broken, but not fully,” Charles murmurs, low and almost tender.
“And that’s fine.
Not yet.”
I lift my head slightly, breath ragged.
“I hate this.
I hate that I feel like I need you.”
“I know,” he says softly.
“And that’s part of the test.
Part of control.”
Jude steps back slightly, arms crossed.
“If the seal cracks completely here, it won’t just be heat,” he warns.
“It will wake more than your wolf.
More than your body.
You’ll be… unstoppable.
Dangerous.
And not just to them, but to yourself.”
I freeze at that.
“What do you mean?”
Jude doesn’t answer.
He just meets my gaze, steady and unreadable.
Charles presses his forehead to mine.
“It’s coming,” he whispers.
“And when it does, there’s no going back.
Not for you.
Not for me.
Not for either of us.”
My pulse races.
My heat surges.
My limbs tremble against his chest.
My wolf whines and claws at the edge of control.
I swallow hard.
“I—I don’t know if I can…”
“You can,” Charles growls, possessive.
“Or you’ll burn everything around you.
That’s the choice.”
I close my eyes, heart hammering, body trembling.
The seal inside me is cracking further.
I can feel it, small cracks spreading through me like ice melting under heat.
And just as I open my eyes again… a shadow moves along the far edge of the training hall.
Something fast.
Silent.
Watching.
I stiffen, my wolf snarling low.
“Enemies,” Jude whispers, voice calm but sharp.
“They know you’re unguarded.
They’re waiting.”
Charles tenses behind me, possessive, ready.
“I told you.
If you break… it will be on us.”
I look up at them, eyes wide, heart racing, body trembling, heat surging, and realize… this isn’t just about my control anymore.
Someone is coming for me.
And there’s no one to stop them but the twins.