The kitchen smelled like burnt toast and strong coffee when I finally made my way downstairs. My hair was still damp from the shower, and I’d thrown on the first thing I could find—black compression leggings and an oversized team hoodie that swallowed me whole. I needed caffeine. I needed something normal before the Wolves arrived and the arena turned into a battlefield.
I wasn’t expecting him to be there.
Caleb stood at the counter, back to me, pouring coffee into a mug. He wore gray sweatpants and nothing else. The early morning light cut across the hard lines of his shoulders and the tattoo that ran down his spine. Every muscle was still tense, like he hadn’t slept either.
He didn’t turn around right away, but I knew he felt me enter. The air changed the moment I stepped into the roo
