It was supposed to be an ordinary Tuesday for Ivy Delgado — coffee, class, a critique she hadn't finished preparing for. Then a stranger touched her wrist in the middle of a crowded quad and said one word that changed everything. Julian Cross isn't just the quiet guy two rows behind her in lecture. He's an alpha, the leader of a pack hidden in plain sight, and the second their eyes met, something ancient woke up between them, a bond neither of them chose and neither of them can outrun. Being his mate makes Ivy a target the moment the wrong people find out — and they already have. A rival with her own claim on his territory. A traitor inside his circle. A secret buried in Ivy's own blood that even she never knew she was carrying. Julian built his whole life around control, discipline, and never wanting anything he couldn't afford to lose. Ivy is about to cost him all three. "I spent four years telling myself love was a weakness I couldn't afford," Julian said. "Then I met you, and I stopped caring what it cost."