Chapter 2 TROUBLE

ALLIE

My palm still burns like I’ve slapped a brick wall. I stand completely frozen, staring up at the guy I’ve just hit. He looks like a walking war crime against my ability to think straight, with those sharp jawlines that can cut my stomach in half, stormy silver-gray eyes that practically pinned me to a spot, and shoulders that strain against his Blackthorne hockey jacket like they’re personally offended by fabric, but that isn’t why my heart is hammering.

He looks like he’s seen a ghost.

“Have you lost your mind, Ellie?” Mira shrieks behind him.

Before she can finish, he raises one hand. The motion is small, but Mira’s mouth snaps shut instantly. The power in that single gesture sends a chill racing down my spine.

Then his fingers close around my wrist. “Hey—wait!” I yelp, trying to dig my sneakers into the floor. It is pointless. He pulls me through the hallway like I'm no heavier than an empty can, the faint scent of cigar smoke and something wilder clinging to his clothes.

We burst into the men’s locker room. The heavy door slams behind us, sealing out the noise that follows us from outside. The air inside here is thick with sweat, icy sports gel, and damp rubber mats. My back hits the cool tiled wall a heartbeat later, and suddenly he is right there, towering over me, close enough that I can see the faint scar cutting through one of his eyebrows.

"Listen," he says, his voice low and rough. "I don't know how the hell this happened... but you're not supposed to be here.”

My face twists into a frown. “What are you talking about?”

His eyes search my face with desperate intensity. Then he leans in and sniffs along the line of my neck, slow and deliberate, like an animal testing the air.

I don't wait to think, I shove hard at his chest. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

He pulls back. Confusion flashes across his features, quickly sharpening into suspicion. Those silver eyes narrow again. “You’re not her.”

That's when I feel ice flood my veins. I swallow hard, my pulse thundering in my ears. “Not who?”

His gaze bores into me. “You’re not Ellie.”

Shit. Shit. Play it cool, Allie. You’ve been here literally one day. One single day on campus and the plan is exploding in my face like a cheap firework. If he figures it out, everything falls apart. The university will kick me out. I’ll never find out what happened to my sister. Breathe. Just breathe and lie like your life depends on it, because it probably does.

I open my mouth, desperate for something believable, but my brain has gone blank. “You’re being ridiculous right now.”

The words sound weak even to me. Great. Real smooth, Allie. That’s exactly what a guilty person would say. Why didn’t I just say I got a haircut or something?

Before he can press, the locker room door swings open. One player walks in. Then another. Then two more. Then they all freeze. “Oh, woah,” one of them says, startled, eyes darting between us. “Cap?”

Another grins. “Why is there a girl in the locker room?”

“Out,” Dylan orders flatly, not looking away from me. “Now.”

The team exchanges knowing looks and shit-eating grins.

“Yeah, we’re leaving,” one laughs. “Didn’t know you had this kind of game, Captain.”

“Shut the hell up and move.”

As soon as the door clicks shut, I meet his stare again. Did I just hear the word captain? The realization hits like another slap. “Hold on… You’re the hockey team captain?” I blurted out.

KEIRAN

Ellie glares at me, and I can’t stop myself from wondering how someone can just… change overnight. I’m still trying to figure out how she’s even standing here. Alive. Breathing. Talking. It feels like a miracle I haven’t processed yet, or a cruel joke the universe is playing on me.

I tell myself it’s her. Because she looks exactly the same.

Short brown hair, hazel eyes that always seem to judge me, pale skin that makes her look too fragile for this world of teeth and secrets. But something is off. I can smell it.

Ludo stirs beneath my skin, restless and agitated, claws scraping against my ribs. Her scent wraps around me too strong, yet it’s wrong. Not the same sharp, defiant note from that night. Not the one that still haunts my nightmares.

Keep it together, Ludo, I mutter internally.

“What?” she blurts out.

“I asked you a question,” she snaps again, louder this time. I ignore her, jaw tight. Her scent floods the locker room, pulling at something deep and dangerous inside me. The mate bond? No. It can’t be. Not with Ellie. If it was, I'd have caught it.

Before I can spiral further, Draven’s voice slices through the mindlink.

*Yo, Cappy. The elders' meeting is in twenty. Where the hell are you? They’re already pissed you missed the last two.

Shit.

The one thing I’ve been dreading. I step back slightly and pretend to be on a call, hand gripping tightly around the phone while my pulse hammers.

“What now?” I mutter under my breath.

Draven sighs across the link. *You know why. The council is sniffing around again. I can’t keep covering for you tonight, man. They really want to see their Alpha.

“Fine,” I growl quietly. “Meet me at the school gate with my car.”

*Got it.

The link cuts off. My attention snaps back to Ellie. She’s still standing there, arms crossed, watching me like she can see straight through the mask I wear for everyone else. Those hazel eyes hold questions she won’t drop easily and if she keeps looking at me that way, I won't be able to stop the questions running through my head. Including what almost happened to her.

The thought alone twists like a knife. Ludo pushes harder, drawn to her in a way that terrifies me.

I walk back to where she's standing. “I'll see you around, alright?” I tell her quickly.

She opens her mouth, probably to fire off another question, but I don't give her the chance. I turn and walk away. Still, I don't miss the flash of anger that crosses her face before I leave.

Good. At least I'm not the only confused one as hell right now. Outside, Draven is already waiting beside my black Corolla. The second he sees me, he straightens up like a proper beta.

“You're late,” he complains as I slide into the front passenger’s seat and buckle my seatbelt.

“I was dealing with something.”

Draven starts the car but doesn't pull out immediately. Instead, he turns toward me with that suspicious look he’s perfected over the years. “What kind of something?”

I hesitate. “You remember Ellie?”

His expression darkens instantly. “The girl?”

I nod. “Yeah. Her.”

“What about her?”

I stare out the windshield for a moment watching students move across the quad like everything is normal. “I need you to look into something for me.”

Draven frowns. “Look into what—Wait.” He cuts himself off so abruptly that I turn toward him, his eyes instantly widen. “Hold on. Are you telling me Ellie was just on campus?”

“That's exactly what I'm telling you.”

For a second, neither of us says anything. “Are you sure?” he finally asks.

“Pretty hard to mistake someone when you’re standing two inches from her face.”

“Shit.” The curse leaves him in a whisper.

I know exactly what he's thinking. Because it's the same thing running through my own head. If Ellie is really back, alive and breathing, then none of this makes sense. And if none of this makes sense… Then we have a massive fucking problem.

The council meetings are always held in the West Wing, a private, heavily guarded section of campus a few blocks from the main buildings. Less than ten minutes later, we’re pulling up outside.

Draven parks and we both get out. I head for the entrance first, him right behind me like always. The second my foot hits the first stone step, a scent slams into me, sharp, familiar, like burnt wood.

My eyes flash gold for a split second before I force them back to silver. Behind me, Draven goes completely still. He smells it too.

Still, I shove the thought aside and push open the door. The scent grows stronger instantly, wrapping around my throat. That’s when I see him.

Vane Caius. Alpha of the Red Claw Pack. My father's oldest friend. And a man who never showed up unless something was very wrong.

The moment our eyes meet across the room, a cold knot settles deep in my stomach. Because if Caius is here today of all days… It can only mean trouble.