To Break a Wolf

Chapter 32: Pressure

The wind carried her scent before Bastian ever saw her.

Even from this far away, it cut through the morning fog, sweet, crisp, uniquely hers. A noose wrapped tightly around the neck and throat, constricting with every breath taken.

Bastian stood just inside the treeline, arms crossed as he watched Mira move across the training mat. Her stance was low, controlled. Selene circled her, correcting her form, forcing her to push harder.

He shouldn’t have come.

His muscles were coiled so tightly he could barely breathe. His wolf was thrashing under his skin, snarling for release. It was the first night of the full moon, and he had marked her, but they’d not mated.

The bond between them burned like wildfire, demanding what they denied. He could feel it with every step she took, every inhale she didn’t even know she was stealing from him, and it was slowly but surely killing him.

His fingers curled into fists. The longer he stood there, the closer his wolf came to the edge. He hadn’t even touched her since the mark. Not really. Not the way the bond wanted him to.

Not the way his wolf wanted to.

She dropped into a ground-level sweep that sent Selene stepping back, barely avoiding it. Bastian caught the faint flicker of surprise on Selene’s face. Mira was improving, becoming faster. She was adapting in ways none of them expected, but that wasn’t what held him. It was the moment Mira stilled.

Her spine straightened. Her shoulders tensed, and slowly, she turned. Her gaze searched the treeline like a whisper had summoned her. Then her eyes landed on Bastian. Even from across the distance, the impact was fierce as her blood recognized him. Her brow furrowed, her lips parted slightly. The connection snapped taut between them, charged and electric.

Her scent surged, causing his wolf to howl in his chest, clawing at the walls of his mind. He took a step back, heart slamming against his ribs. Mira blinked in confusion, unsettled, but her eyes didn’t leave his.

She partially felt it.

She didn’t bear the brunt of it the same way he did, the full weight of the heat rolling in like a storm, but a portion. Enough that her heartbeat spiked, the flush on her cheeks deepened.

Selene turned to follow Mira’s gaze.

Bastian vanished into the trees. He didn’t stop until he was far enough away that the scent of the woods cut through the burn of her, but even then, she lingered in his blood. A rustle behind him drew his attention.

Callum.

“You’re not doing yourself any favors lurking like that,” he said, coming to stand beside him. “You’re making it worse.”

“She saw me.”

Callum raised a brow. “Did she say anything?”

“No. Just stared.”

“Long enough?”

Bastian growled low in his throat. “Too long.”

Callum sobered. “You know what tonight is.”

“The first night of the moon,” Bastian muttered.

Callum nodded. “Your wolf will want to claim her.”

“He already does.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Bastian didn’t answer.

Callum exhaled. “The Council met again. They’re demanding a formal Luna. They said if Mira won’t complete the bond, it might be time you considered someone else.”

That made Bastian turn.

His glare was sharp, dangerous. “Mira’s already mine.”

“Not officially. Not in their eyes.”

“I’m not choosing anyone else.”

“You might not have a choice if the frenzy breaks you.”

Bastian turned away, his heart pounding as loud as a war drum. He could feel the truth of it. Every night, it got harder. Every hour was worse.

“She’s not ready.”

“Maybe not,” Callum said, voice low. “But if tonight breaks you, and she’s not by your side, this pack could fall with you.”

The weight of the prediction settled over him like a crushing stone. He’d always known being Alpha meant sacrifice, but he never imagined the bond meant being torn open from the inside, fighting every second not to lose control, not to take what he craved.

He could still taste her on his lips, but until she chose him back, completely of her own volition, he remained locked between madness and restraint. Tonight, that line would blur.

“I need a plan,” Bastian muttered under his breath.

Callum lifted a brow. “One that doesn’t involve locking yourself in a cellar?”

Bastian didn’t smile.

“I need to talk to her,” he said. “But if I go to her now, like this…”

“She’ll see the wolf,” Callum finished.

“More than ever.”

A pause hovered between them, thick and tense until Callum touched Bastian’s shoulder, the weight of it grounding.

“You know there’s a chance she’ll refuse you tonight,” he said, softer now. “And you’ll have to keep your distance until the moon passes.”

Bastian flinched at the thought. Distance was killing him as surely as being close. It was a choice between poison and fire. Both burned through him, demanding more strength than he had left.

“I’ll remind you,” Callum said with a gruff nod, “that you have two other options.”

“None that I like.”

“You could break the bond completely before—”

“No. If I do, she dies.” Bastian’s refusal was immediate.

‘‘You made your position clear, but does Mira know?’’ Callum’s question hit like a punch, and he didn’t wait for an answer. “Think about it. Otherwise, you’ll both disintegrate.”

He left Bastian, fading into the trees as the sun peeked through the morning mist.

Mira’s scent clung to him, tangled up with the damp, earthy smell of the forest. She had more than seen him. She had felt it thrumming between them, her pulse reacting like electricity, untrained but aware. It was only a matter of time before she understood what it meant and why he kept his distance. But until then?

She couldn’t know what it cost him to stay away.

Any closer tonight, and his wolf would claim her on instinct, whether they were ready or not. And if he resisted the urge… if he kept control long enough to do what was right for her, for all of them…

The frenzy might break him instead.