Amaris always hated gym class.
It wasn't the running or the push-ups or the coach who barked like he was training soldiers instead of students.
It was the eyes.
Human eyes saw a small, quiet girl who moved like she was afraid of taking up space.
Wolf's eyes… Well, wolves saw what she didn't have.
So when Coach Marek blew his whistle for the morning warm-up, she automatically drifted to the back of the group, where she could blend in with the noisy girls complaining about the weather and the boys daring each other to run barefoot on the cold track.
"Why are we doing this at 11 a.m.?" Rina groaned beside her. "My soul hasn't even woken up."
You know the end of term is already near," Amaris said, deadpan. "Coach needs us fit for our performances. And your soul has never been awake in the first place."
Rina shoved her lightly. "Rude. Anyway, tell me why you look… off? Did something happen?"
Amaris hesitated.
How was she supposed to explain the strange feeling humming in her chest since dawn? Not pain. Not fear. Something deeper — like a drumbeat she couldn't hear but somehow felt.
"It's nothing," she said. "Just tired."
Rina gave her a long look — the kind that said she didn't believe a single word — but she didn't push.
The whistle shrieked again, and the class took off. Amaris jogged at a steady pace, breath fogging in the cool air. She actually liked running — it was the only time her mind felt quiet.
No expectations.
No disappointment.
No empty space where a wolf's voice should've been.
She rounded the corner of the track… and stopped.
Her heart jerked.
A figure stood at the far end of the field, near the chain-link fence. Tall. Still. Head tilted like he was listening to something no one else could hear.
Her heart slammed.
She blinked.
And he was gone.
Just… gone.
"Hey!" Rina called from ahead. "Iris! Move! Coach is staring at you."
Amaris shook herself and jogged to catch up, but her pulse stayed strange — too fast, too aware. Like her body had reacted to something her mind didn't understand.
She finished the run, bent over to catch her breath, and tried to steady herself.
Maybe she imagined it.
Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe today was just a weird day.
But as they walked back toward the changing rooms, a shiver crawled up her spine.
Like someone had brushed past her soul.
Not hurtful.
Not threatening.
Just… searching.
"Amaris!" Rina snapped her fingers in her face. "Earth to Iris. What's going on with you today?"
"I don't know," Amaris said truthfully. "It just feels like something is… coming."
Rina paused. "…Good or bad?"
Amaris swallowed.
"I don't know yet."
But somewhere across town — though she didn't know it —
Someone had felt her too.
And this time, he wasn't just watching.
He was getting closer.