Chapter 29
750 Words
The dining hall was already full.
More than usual.
Way more.
Voices overlapped, unfamiliar faces mixed with familiar ones, scents stronger, sharper—different packs, different clans.
Lilly inhaled dramatically. “Oh yeah. This is going to be a good week.”
Mia scanned the room slowly.
Taking it all in.
Feeling—
Everything.
Stronger now.
Then—
Her gaze landed on him.
Jake.
He stood near one of the long tables, talking to a few others.
For a second—
Relief flickered.
Normal.
Familiar.
But then—
He looked up.
Their eyes met.
And everything shifted.
Jake’s expression changed instantly.
Not dramatically.
Not obviously.
But enough.
He looked away.
Fast.
Too fast.
Mia stilled.
“…Did he just—” Lilly started.
“Yeah,” Mia said quietly.
Jake turned slightly, shifting his body just enough to put someone else between them.
Avoiding her.
Completely.
Mia’s chest tightened.
Confusion flickered first.
Then something else.
Because she remembered.
The way he had looked.
The way he had reacted.
The way she had—
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
“That’s weird,” Lilly muttered. “He was literally just in your room last night, right?”
Mia nodded slowly.
“Yeah.”
“Then why is he acting like that?”
Mia didn’t answer.
Because deep down—
She had a feeling she already knew.
And she wasn’t sure she wanted to face it.
VICTOR:
Across the room—
Unseen by most—
Victor watched.
His gaze flicking between Mia…
And Jake.
His expression darkening slightly.
A soft hiss escaping his lips.
His brother Adam glances at him in surprise, confusion showing in his eyes.
Victor didn’t care,
Because whatever had happened last night—
It hadn’t just changed her.
It had changed everything around her.
And now—
Everyone was starting to feel it.
JAKE POV:
(Jake)
Jake hadn’t slept.
Not really.
He had tried—laid there staring at the ceiling, replaying the night over and over until the memory blurred at the edges—but every time he closed his eyes…
He felt it again.
Her.
Not just the bite.
Not just the blood.
Something deeper.
Something that didn’t make sense.
He dragged a hand down his face, exhaling slowly as the noise of the dining hall pressed in around him.
Too loud.
Too crowded.
Too much.
“…You good?”
Jake blinked, forcing his focus back.
One of the other trainees stood nearby, watching him with a slight frown.
“Yeah,” Jake said quickly. “Just tired.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Just not the whole truth.
“Big week,” the guy shrugged. “All the packs showing up—everyone’s on edge.”
Jake nodded faintly.
Edge didn’t even begin to cover it.
He could still feel it.
That moment.
When she changed.
At first, it had been normal.
Familiar.
The way it always was when she fed.
Grounding.
Safe.
Then—
It wasn’t.
It shifted.
Slowed.
Deepened.
And suddenly—
He wasn’t just aware of her.
He was aware of everything.
His heartbeat—louder than it had ever been.
The blood moving through him.
The way his body reacted to her presence—
But it didn’t stop there.
It opened.
Like something inside him had been pulled apart just enough for her to see in.
To feel in.
Jake swallowed hard, his grip tightening slightly around the edge of the table.
She felt me.
Not just physically.
Not just instinct.
Everything.
The realization sent a sharp chill down his spine.
Because that shouldn’t be possible.
Not for anyone.
Not even a hybrid.
And then—
It got worse.
His breath hitched slightly as the memory sharpened again.
Her hand.
On his chest.
Right over his heart.
But it hadn’t felt like a touch.
It felt like she had reached through him.
Like the space between them—
Didn’t exist.
Like something in her had blurred the line between body and… something else entirely.
Jake’s jaw tightened.
He had lost control.
Not violently.
Not aggressively.
But completely.
Every instinct in him had gone quiet.
Replaced with something else.
Something that didn’t belong to him.
He hadn’t been feeding her.
She had been—
Taking.
Not just blood.
Something deeper.
Something that made his entire body respond in ways he couldn’t explain.
He rubbed the back of his neck again, his pulse still uneven just thinking about it.
“That was…” he muttered under his breath.
Not normal.
Not safe.
- Writer
