” Jessica’s POV
“You’re changing.”
The words come from inside me.
My own wolf.
Clear.
Sharp.
I freeze mid-step, my blood feeling like it’s boiling in my veins.
I spin around, heart racing, searching the empty hallway, the training yard, anywhere for someone who might have said it.
But I’m alone.
“It’s you,” I whisper, clutching my stomach as heat rolls through me in hard, painful waves.
My knees wobble, and I have to grab the railing to keep from collapsing.
My wolf huffs again, low and insistent, almost… proud.
“You’re stronger,” it says, more certain this time.
“You’re mine.”
My chest tightens.
My pulse pounds in my ears.
My body is alive in a way I haven’t felt in years—every nerve, every fiber, screaming with heat and need.
My thighs tighten on instinct, my core aching, my wolf stirring deep, restless, hungry.
I press my hand against it, trying to keep myself steady.
“You’re not real,” I mutter, shaking my head, speaking to myself as much as the wolf.
“I’m not imagining this.
I can’t—”
“You are,” it growls softly, teasing, almost mocking.
“And you can’t hide anymore.”
I shiver, a mixture of fear and desire rolling through me.
Every step I take is heavy, my boots hitting the stone floor hard.
I can feel the raw heat inside me pulsing in rhythm with my own heartbeat.
I close my eyes, breathing fast, trying to tame it.
But the wolf inside me twists and turns, clawing at my control.
“You’re afraid,” Charles says from the doorway.
His presence makes me jump, my heat flaring even hotter.
His dark eyes are locked on me, calculating, unrelenting.
“Good.
You should be.”
“I’m… I’m fine,” I stammer, but the words are weak.
My knees threaten to buckle again.
Charles steps closer, his heat pressing in like a tangible force.
“No,” he says softly.
“You’re far from fine.
Your body’s telling you the truth.
Your wolf’s speaking.
You can’t deny it anymore.”
I glance toward Jude, who’s standing at the edge of the hallway, arms crossed, watching us like a predator calculating every move.
His calm contrasts sharply with Charles’s intensity, but it doesn’t ease the tension inside me.
“You’re lying to yourself,” Jude says.
“It’s speaking because it knows the truth.
You’re ready—or at least, part of you is.”
“I’m not ready!” I snap, spinning toward them, heat rolling in sharp waves that make my vision blur.
My wolf huffs angrily.
“I’m not theirs!
I don’t belong to anyone!”
Charles steps forward, his shadow falling over me.
His hand reaches out, just brushing against my arm.
I flinch, but my body reacts before my mind does, trembling under his touch.
Heat spikes through me like fire chasing lightning, raw and urgent.
“Jessica,” he says softly, but every word carries weight, command, and threat all at once.
“You belong to yourself first.
But your wolf… your wolf belongs to you.
And it’s calling, isn’t it?”
I swallow hard, words caught in my throat.
I can feel the raw power humming beneath my skin, an ache that’s both terrifying and magnetic.
My wolf nudges me from within, brushing against my mind with insistence, making my heart pound and my body betray me with each pulse.
“Yes,” I whisper, voice shaking.
“Yes, it is…”
Charles leans closer, heat rolling off him in waves, his hand hovering over mine without touching.
“Good.
Let it speak.
Stop denying it.
You’re not a weak omega anymore.
You’re something stronger, something… dangerous.”
The word dangerous ignites something inside me.
My pulse hammers so fast it hurts.
My thighs clench again, instinct screaming, my wolf howling in approval.
I want to run.
I want to fight.
I want to collapse all at once.
“Then show me,” Charles murmurs.
“Show me what it means to be yours.
To take control.
To let the wolf out—without fear.”
I shake my head violently, backing away.
“I can’t,” I whisper, voice raw.
“I… I won’t!”
“You can,” Jude says suddenly, stepping closer.
“Because it’s already happening.
And the more you fight, the harder it will hit.”
I stumble over my own feet.
My legs feel heavy, yet every inch of me is burning.
My pulse throbs in my ears, loud enough that I hear it over everything.
My wolf huffs and nudges me, impatient, almost playful, pushing me forward with invisible hands I can’t ignore.
Charles steps in front of me now, blocking my retreat.
His chest presses just slightly toward mine.
Heat presses me back.
My breath catches, sharp and short.
I can feel the tension coiling inside me, raw and animalistic.
“You’re scared,” he says quietly.
“Good.
Let it in.
It’s the only way to survive what’s coming.”
“I…” I bite my lip, trying to hold back the tremble in my hands.
My wolf huffs angrily.
Do it, it seems to say.
You’re stronger than you know.
You’ve waited too long.
Charles’s dark eyes pierce mine.
“You can fight it, or you can surrender.
But either way, you’re changing.
And nothing… nothing will ever be the same.”
I shake my head.
My chest heaves.
My hands curl into fists at my sides.
Heat coils low and hot.
My wolf huffs again, deeper this time, and I hear its voice echo inside my mind.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
You’re mine.
I stumble.
My legs give out.
My body feels like fire and stone all at once.
Charles catches me without hesitation, his arms wrapping around me solidly.
My head falls against his chest.
My pulse races so hard it hurts.
My wolf growls low, vibrating through my bones.
“You’re not done yet,” Jude says softly, standing to the side.
“But this… this is the first step.”
I gasp against Charles’s shoulder.
My body trembles, heat and tension wracking me from inside.
I close my eyes.
My wolf thrums inside me, echoing its approval, its hunger, its power.
“This is only the beginning,” I whisper.
My voice shakes.
“Only the beginning…”
Charles’s grip tightens slightly, possessive.
My pulse flares again, faster, hotter.
My wolf whines and nudges, restless and alive.
Then, a sound from the hall behind us freezes my blood.
A door slams.
Footsteps echo sharply against the stone.
A figure emerges—one I didn’t expect.
And their eyes lock on me, wide, calculating, and filled with intent I can’t yet name.
My wolf snarls, chest tight, and I know immediately: this is no accident.
The heat, the change, the bond—everything I’ve been trying to contain is about to be tested… in ways I can’t even imagine.
Jessica is caught in the twins’ arms, heat and wolf power surging, when an unexpected enemy appears, eyes locked on her, promising imminent danger.