Light Me Up
1459 Words
The fire was roaring now, sending sparks into the dark sky like tiny rebellions.
I was trying—really trying—not to look at Koda. But the universe clearly hated me, because just as I took another sip of Benji’s drink, he appeared.
Flanked by Ari, of course.
And behind them, as if the whole damn school decided to crash the moment, came Brock—Benji’s walking red flag of a roommate—along with Dorian, Cece, Briar, and Brody.
“Wow,” Tally muttered beside me. “Did someone open the gates of hell?”
Brock immediately shot a look at Benji, eyes cold. “Didn’t think they let your kind near open flames.”
Benji didn’t flinch, but his jaw tightened.
Cece giggled like Brock had just recited Shakespeare. “Don’t get singed, boys.”
“Shut up, Cece,” I said sharply, stepping forward.
Tally tensed beside me. Boris was already rising from where he’d been crouched by the fire, standing at my side like a shadow with a pulse. Solid. Quiet. Furious.
Then Koda’s voice cut through the tension. “Millie.”
He said it like we were alone.
Ari’s fingers clamped tighter around his arm.
I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t remember inviting you.”
Koda’s mouth curved. “Didn’t need to.”
The air around us shifted again, heat pressing in from all sides. Boris moved closer to me—his body brushing mine now, solid and unmissable. Possessive. Protective. It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t meant to be.
Ari noticed.
Her eyes narrowed. “This is what you came here for?” she snapped at Koda, then turned on me like a viper. “The little freak without a wolf?”
Dorian laughed sharply. “Oh, this should be fun.”
Tally stepped forward immediately. “Back off.”
Ari ignored her, stepping into my space now. “Come on, Millie. Let’s see if there’s anything under all that attitude.”
Koda grabbed her wrist. “Ari, don’t.”
She shook him off, her eyes never leaving mine. “Fight me.”
The group around us hushed, the firelight catching on every sharp edge of the moment.
“I’ll do it,” Tally snapped, stepping in front of me.
I could feel my pulse thudding in my throat, in my fingertips, in the soles of my boots. Everything slowed—like the world wanted to make sure I had time to think, to decide.
But I didn’t need to.
Because this wasn’t about pride.
It wasn’t even about Ari.
It was about everyone else watching. Every person who’d ever whispered about me. Every sparring partner who held back because I didn’t shift. Every teacher who sighed when I walked into a room. Every look of pity.
No more.
“I’ll fight her,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt.
Tally jerked around to face me. “Millie—”
“I said no,” I repeated, gentler this time. “Thanks, T. But this one’s mine.”
Boris didn’t speak, but I felt him shift beside me, his presence folding in around me like armor. I could practically feel the way his rage simmered under his skin. Not hot and impulsive like mine—cold and controlled. Like he was deciding which bone to break first if Ari laid a hand on me the wrong way.
“If you’re going to make it a show,” Boris said tightly, “let’s at least set some rules.”
His voice cut through the gathering crowd like a knife.
He turned toward Ari, calm and lethal. “No shifting.”
My stomach clenched.
Thank the moon.
Ari sneered. “Afraid I’ll break her?”
No. But I was afraid I’d let her.
Afraid the doubt I kept buried would finally show. That everyone would see just how wolf-less, powerless, wrong I really was.
But then Boris spoke again, and his words lit something in me like a match to kindling.
“Afraid you’ll expose how weak you really are.”
Gasps echoed like gunfire.
My eyes snapped to his.
There was no question in them. No hesitation. He believed in me more than I did.
Fine. Let’s burn the whole damn night down.
Ari’s mouth twitched into a venomous smile. “Fine. No shifting. Just fists.”
“Perfect,” I said, stepping forward, my boots crunching over gravel. I rolled up my sleeves one slow turn at a time. “I’ve been dying to shut someone up.”
The crowd parted, giving us space. I caught glimpses of familiar faces—Tally, tense and ready to jump in. Benji, wide-eyed but supportive. Maddy, off to the side now, face unreadable.
And Koda. Watching. Jaw tight. That unreadable storm in his eyes trained only on me.
Good. Let him see what happens when you poke the wolf-less girl one too many times.
Because I didn’t have a wolf.
But I wasn’t helpless.
Not tonight.
⸻
The circle around us widened, boots shuffling back as people made room for blood or glory.
I stood there, jaw tight, heart hammering. My palms itched. Not from nerves—at least not entirely—but from the pressure building inside me. Like something was waiting to be unleashed. Something I’d kept buried for too long.
“Millie,” Boris said, stepping in front of me, blocking the firelight and the crowd. His voice was low, just for me. “Keep your stance tight. Don’t swing wild. She’s fast, but she’s cocky. She’ll come in too hard and leave openings. You’re quicker. Smarter.”
I nodded, chest rising fast.
His gaze searched mine, something fierce simmering behind it. “You don’t have to prove anything tonight.”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “I do.”
He frowned. “She’s doing this to make a statement.”
“To who? Koda?” My voice hitched just slightly. “There’s nothing going on.”
Boris didn’t react. But that was almost worse than if he had.
Benji appeared at my side like a magical support gremlin. “She’s threatened,” he said simply. “Because even without a wolf, you’re still you. People talk about you. She can’t stand not being the one everyone looks at.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So this is just her way of reclaiming her social throne?”
“Pretty much,” he said, holding out his hands. “Flannel me.”
I peeled the soft plaid from my waist and handed it to him. “Don’t let it touch the dirt. That shirt’s older than Cece’s nose job.”
“Swear on my glitter,” he said solemnly.
Tally pulled me into a half-hug next. “You should’ve let me fight. I’ve got the strength advantage.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need a wolf to take her down.”
But that didn’t stop the creeping doubt. That whisper of what if you lose?
What if everyone watches you fall?
Just then, Maddy slid through the crowd like a knife slipping between ribs—silent, sharp, and exactly where she needed to be.
“I grew up with her,” she said flatly. “She leads with her right, always aims for a disorienting hit first. She likes to use her elbows when things get close. Dirty fighter.”
“Thanks,” I said, surprised. “You didn’t have to—”
She shrugged. “I want to see her eat dirt.”
I smiled. “You might be my favorite Grey.”
“Obviously.”
But even as we all stood there, trading words like armor, my nerves kept winding tighter. I wasn’t afraid of getting hit. I was afraid of what it would mean if I didn’t hit back hard enough.
What if they all watched me get torn down and saw exactly what they expected—nothing?
“Millie.”
Boris again. His hand caught my wrist and pulled me gently toward him. The fire flickered between us, shadows dancing across his cheekbones.
And then—without warning—he kissed me.
No soft lead-in. No hesitation. Just his mouth on mine, full of fire and promise and something wild I didn’t know how to name. My fingers curled into his shirt, breath catching as he deepened it for one perfect, earth-splitting second.
Then he pulled back, hand still at my jaw, eyes burning.
“You’re not nothing,” he whispered. “You never were.”
And just like that, everything quieted.
The crowd, the fear, the fire.
All I could hear was my pulse and his words. And I walked forward like I wasn’t walking into a fight.
I was walking into a reckoning.
- Writer
