Emrys’s POV
The last few days had been brutal.
By day, I was just Emrys Sternwolfe, her student, and she ran from me. Fake phone calls, invented meetings, eyes that wouldn't meet mine across the lecture hall. Every avoidance cut deeper than I cared to admit.
But at night, I became the masked stranger. That version of me got to touch her, taste her, and hear her fall apart. The mask had become my only safe space, and without it, the mate bond pushed too hard. My wolf wanted to claim her, mark her, and make her irrevocably ours.
I couldn't let that happen until she knew the truth.
Tonight, the air felt heavier. Like the bond itself knew something was about to break.
I slipped through her window just after midnight. The scent of her hit me first. It was lavendar lotion, warm skin, and
