The moon was high over Northern Ridge, casting pale silver light through the cracks in the wooden shutters of Lulu's room. She lay on the narrow bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, heartbeat slowing after the burn of her training had finally dulled to a throb.
She should have been asleep.
Instead, her wolf paced just beneath her skin- restless, alert.
And then she heard it.
The low murmur of voices through the wall.
Her head turned sharply toward the sound. Ryker's room. The one directly adjacent.
She hadn't known he was back. He'd vanished after training, as he often did, offering no explanation. No words. No warnings.
Now, a faint thump. A chair scraping. A soft feminine laugh. The unmistakable rustle of clothing.
Lulu froze.
A breathy gasp filtered through the wall. Then another.
The sound wasn't violent, but it wasn't gentle either.
It was raw. Urgent.
And it shattered something in her.
Her chest tightened painfully. She wasn't jealous, she told herself. She had no right to be. Ryker wasn't hers. He wasn't anyone's. He was her Alpha by circumstance, her savior by coincidence and nothing more.
But the sounds continued.
Moans muffled by the thickness of walls that suddenly felt far too thin.
A sharp cry. His name.
"Ryker…"
Lulu sat up.
Her breath came too fast. Too sharp. Every nerve ending seemed to hum. Her wolf stirred again, not in rage but in something deeper. More primal.
Why did it matter? she asked herself. Why does it feel like something's clawing at my ribs?
She threw off her blanket and padded barefoot across the cold wooden floor, her palms flat against the wall.
The silence returned as suddenly as it had come.
For a long moment, nothing but her heartbeat filled her ears.
And then
A knock.
Soft. Deliberate.
Not at the wall. At her door.
Lulu blinked, heart slamming into her throat.
She opened it.
Ryker stood there. Shirtless. His skin flushed, a towel slung over his shoulder, damp hair curling slightly at the edges.
If he was surprised to see her awake, he didn't show it.
"What do you want?" she asked, biting back the emotion in her voice.
He cocked his head slightly, eyes flickering over her face. "Did I wake you?"
"You know you did."
He leaned against the doorframe, completely unbothered. "Thin walls. You'll get used to them."
"Was that the point?" she snapped. "To remind me I don't belong here? That I'm just-some stray mutt you picked off the ice?"
His gaze darkened but not with anger.
With something else.
He stepped inside without invitation, closing the door behind him with a quiet click.
"Don't confuse what you heard," he said lowly, his voice rough with exhaustion or something else. "That wasn't about you."
"Could've fooled me."
His smile was faint, humorless. "You listen hard enough, little wolf. Maybe you want it to be."
Lulu's pulse jumped.
He was too close now.
Close enough that she could smell the snow still clinging to his skin, the wild scent of pine and smoke that clung to him no matter where he went.
Close enough that she had to tilt her chin up to keep her eyes locked on his.
"I'm not your toy," she said quietly.
Ryker's gaze dropped to her mouth. "I never said you were."
"Then stop acting like I'm supposed to watch you f—"
He moved fast.
One hand caught her jaw, the other pressed to the wall beside her head.
He didn't kiss her.
But he was close enough that his breath ghosted over her lips, warm and charged.
"You think I don't see you?" he murmured. "Training like your bones don't ache. Fighting like pain's the only thing that makes you feel alive."
She trembled under his grip but didn't flinch.
"I see everything, Lulu. Every bruise. Every scar you don't show. Every time you watch me and think I won't notice."
Her fingers curled at her sides.
"What do you want from me?" she whispered.
He leaned in , close enough that their noses brushed. His eyes burned into hers.
But then he pulled back.
"I want you ready," he said. "For what comes next. That's all."
With that, he turned and opened the door again.
Before he left, he added over his shoulder, "Get some sleep, new blood. Tomorrow's going to be worse."
And then he was gone.
Lulu stood there for a long time, alone in the dark.
Her heart wouldn't stop racing.