Draven.
She was late.
And I should have expected it since we haven't fought in a while.
I checked the time again, my fingers drumming against my forearm as I stood near the pool's edge. The water rippled calmly, unaware that it had been waiting far too long for a student who clearly didn't understand the concept of punctuality.
No one—absolutely no one—keeps an Alpha waiting.
But of course, there was always that one person. A woman named Meredith Carter, who seemed to exist solely to defy every expectation, instruction, and rule laid before her.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, the humid afternoon breeze clinging to my skin. My thin white shirt was rolled to my elbows, half soaked already from leaning too close to the water. Khaki shorts, bare feet. My hair was tied back in a tight bun.
Still no Meredith.
Then, finally, casual footsteps padded along the tiles. I didn't even need to look to know it was her. The audacity of that unhurried gait was familiar now.
