Savage Bonds

Invisible

Juni had spotted Lauren the moment she'd walked into the gym, all perfectly styled hair and designer workout clothes that had probably never seen an actual workout. The territorial display she was putting on with Luka was so obvious it was almost embarrassing.

".She's marking her territory," Asena observed with amusement. "Like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant."

Juni bit back a snort of laughter. That was exactly what it looked like. Lauren's hand on Luka's arm, the way she positioned herself between him and the rest of the room, the breathy voice that screamed, 'look at me, I'm claimed by the alpha heir.'

"—so I told Marcus that if he wanted to change the patrol schedule, he needed to run it by Dad first," Elora was saying, but Juni was only half-listening. She was too busy watching Lauren's performance with barely concealed disgust.

God, it was pathetic. The woman was practically throwing herself at him.

"You're not even listening to me," Elora accused, following her gaze to where Lauren was now practically draping herself over Luka. "Seriously? You're watching the Lauren and Luka show?"

"It's like a car accident," Juni muttered, pulling her hair back into a tighter ponytail. "You know you shouldn't look, but you can't help yourself."

"She's been chasing him for months, you know."

"Good for her." Juni's voice was flat with disinterest. "Maybe she'll catch him this time. Who knows, maybe poor Luka will find out she is his mate. Ugh, god, that would mean Lauren would be Luna. Nope."

Elora grimaced.

he truth was, Juni had been watching Lauren chase after various alpha males since high school. It was always the same pattern. Intense pursuit, lots of public displays of affection, then either the guy got bored or Lauren got tired of the chase. Either way, it always ended in drama. But she seemed extra determined to snag Luka.

"You know what's funny?" Elora said, settling into her stretching routine. "I don't think he's even that into her. Like, he goes through the motions, but..."

"But what?"

"I don't know. It's like he's just killing time." Elora shrugged. "Jake says he's not looking for anything serious. Wants to stay single, sow his wild oats, all that typical alpha bullshit."

Juni started her own stretching routine, trying to ignore the way her wolf stirred restlessly at the mention of Luka being single. Not that it mattered. She had zero interest in getting involved with pack politics, and dating the alpha heir was about as political as it got.

"Can we focus on training?" she asked, more sharply than intended.

"Right, sorry." Elora snickered. "You just seemed so interested in the love life of our alpha."

"Nope." Juni moved into a combat stance, her entire demeanor shifting. "Now, are you going to help me work on those takedowns we discussed, or are you going to keep watching the soap opera?"

Elora raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Jesus, you're in a mood today."

Juni wasn't in a mood, exactly. She was just tired of pretending to care about pack drama. Tired of watching people like Lauren throw themselves at men just because of who their daddy was. Tired of being surrounded by the kind of politics and posturing that made her skin crawl.

This was why she came to the gym. Here, it was just about skill and strength and the satisfying impact of fist against pad. Here, she could be herself instead of the invisible coffee girl who smiled and made small talk with people who didn't know she existed.

As they began working through combat forms, Juni became aware of being watched. Not by Elora, who was focused on the training, but by someone else. The feeling prickled across her skin like static electricity.

She glanced toward the weight area and caught Luka staring at her with an expression of obvious interest. The kind of look that suggested he was evaluating her like she was a particularly interesting puzzle to solve.

"He's watching us," Asena observed, preening slightly under the attention.

Don't, Juni warned her wolf. We're not doing this.

But she could feel her wolf's curiosity, the way Asena was suddenly more aware of her movements, more conscious of the way her body moved through the training forms. It was infuriating.

"Focus," she told herself as much as Elora, throwing a particularly vicious combination at the practice pad.

"Damn, girl," Elora laughed, stumbling backward from the force of the hits. "Save some energy for the actual rogues."

Juni forced herself to ignore the weight of Luka's stare, to pretend she didn't notice the way he was leaning against the water station like he had all the time in the world to watch her train. He was probably just bored, looking for entertainment. Or maybe

Lauren's territorial display had made him want to scope out other options.

Either way, she didn't care. She had better things to do than be someone's momentary distraction.

"Again," she said to Elora, settling back into her stance. "And this time, don't go easy on me."

They were midway through another combination when Elora's eyes widened slightly, looking over Juni's shoulder. "Incoming."

Juni didn't need to ask who. She could feel it—that particular shift in energy that happened when an alpha decided to make their presence known. She caught a glimpse of Luka pushing off from the water station, his body language screaming intention as he started moving toward them.

"He's coming over," Asena said, perking up with interest.

Absolutely not, Juni thought back. She was not about to become part of whatever drama was playing out between him and Lauren.

But before he could cross even half the distance, his phone lit up. Juni watched from the corner of her eye as his entire demeanor shifted—casual interest replaced by something harder, more serious. His father, probably. The alpha's calls always had that effect on people.

"Saved by the bell," Elora murmured, and Juni couldn't tell if her friend sounded disappointed or relieved.

Juni felt a small spark of satisfaction. Reality was intruding on his little fantasy, reminding him that there were more important things than watching strange women work out.

"He's leaving," Elora observed, not even trying to hide her amusement.

"Good," Juni replied, landing a particularly solid kick on the practice pad. "Maybe now we can train in peace."

But as Luka headed for the door, Juni caught him looking back at her one more time through the window. The intensity of his gaze made something flutter in her chest—something she immediately crushed down.

She had no interest in being another notch on the alpha heir's bedpost. She had no interest in pack politics or territorial games or any of the drama that came with getting involved with someone like Luka Brenner.

She was perfectly fine being invisible.

Even if her wolf disagreed.