CHAPTER ONE
KAMIL'S POV
The first time I noticed it…
I told myself it was nothing.
A flicker. A mistake. A passing feeling that should've died the moment it was born.
But it didn't.
It grew teeth.
The night air was thick with pine and smoke as laughter spilled from Violet's house behind me. Music pulsed through the walls, wolves celebrating another meaningless gathering, another excuse to drink, flirt, and pretend we weren't all bound by rules we secretly wanted to break.
I leaned against the balcony railing, letting the cold bite into my skin.
"Running away already?"
His voice.
Low. Smooth. Dangerous.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Cole.
Violet's father. Alpha of the pack.
The man I should never look at the way I did.
"I needed air," I said, keeping my tone steady.
Footsteps behind me. Slow. Measured.
Predatory.
"You always do that," he murmured.
"Do what?"
"Step away right before things get interesting."
I swallowed.
Because he was right.
And because I could feel him now—close enough that the heat of his body brushed against my back without touching.
A deliberate distance.
A dangerous one.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," he added softly.
I let out a quiet breath. "I'm not alone."
Silence stretched.
Then—
"You're right."
His voice dropped lower.
"Now you're not."
My pulse stuttered.
This was wrong.
Everything about this was wrong.
But when I finally turned to face him—
I didn't step away.
His eyes were already on me.
Dark. Heavy. Knowing.
Like he'd been watching me far longer than I'd ever realized.
"You've been avoiding me," he said.
"I haven't."
A lie.
His lips curved slightly. Not a smile—something sharper.
"Careful, Kamil," he murmured. "Wolves can smell lies."
My breath caught.
Because I knew he didn't just mean lies.
He meant desire.
And if that was true—
Then he could smell mine.
A door slammed inside.
Laughter followed.
The spell shattered.
I stepped back quickly.
"This is a bad idea," I whispered.
His gaze dropped briefly—to my lips.
Then back to my eyes.
"Not yet," he said quietly.
A pause.
Then—
"But it will be."
And that was the moment everything began to burn.
EVAN'S POV
There were rules.
Unspoken. Unbreakable.
And I had already broken one just by looking at her the way I did.
Kamil wasn't supposed to affect me.
Not like this.
Not in the way my wolf stirred every time she walked into a room, every time her scent brushed past me—soft, warm, dangerously addictive.
She wasn't mine.
She couldn't be.
She was family.
That should have been enough.
It wasn't.
The training ground was empty when I got there, just before dawn. The sky was still a deep shade of blue, the kind that made everything feel quieter… more honest.
I needed that.
I needed the silence to drown out the noise in my head.
I needed control.
I threw a punch into the training post harder than necessary, the impact echoing through the clearing.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"You're going to break it at this rate."
Her voice.
I froze.
Of course it was her.
Who else would show up exactly when I didn't want to be seen?
Slowly, I turned.
Kamil stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, eyes watching me with that same unreadable expression she always wore when it came to me.
Too calm.
Too aware.
"You're up early," I said, my voice rougher than I intended.
"So are you."
A beat passed.
Neither of us moved.
Then she stepped closer.
And my control slipped just a little.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked.
I let out a dry laugh. "Something like that."
She tilted her head slightly, studying me.
"You've been off lately."
"You've been noticing?"
The words came out sharper than I meant them to.
Her eyes flickered—but she didn't back down.
"I always notice."
That did something to me.
Something dangerous.
She moved closer again, stepping into my space like she didn't realize what she was doing.
Or maybe she did.
Maybe that was the problem.
"You're tense," she said softly.
No.
I was barely holding it together.
"Don't," I warned.
Her brows pulled together. "Don't what?"
"Come any closer."
Silence.
Then—
She did.
Her hand reached for my arm before I could stop her.
The moment her fingers brushed my skin—
My wolf surged forward.
A low growl built in my chest before I could control it.
Her breath hitched.
But she didn't pull away.
If anything—
She stepped closer.
"Kamil…" I said, her name coming out like a warning… or a plea.
"I don't understand what's happening with you," she whispered.
That made two of us.
Because if she understood—
She'd be running.
My hand moved before I could think.
Gripping her wrist.
Not hard.
Just enough to stop her from pretending this was nothing.
"You need to stay away from me," I said, my voice low, strained.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"Why?"
Because I want you.
Because I shouldn't.
Because if I lose control, I won't stop.
"You know why," I said.
She shook her head slowly.
"No… I don't think I do."
A lie.
Or maybe a challenge.
The tension snapped.
I pulled her closer.
Too close.
Her body collided with mine, soft in a way that made my control crumble piece by piece.
Her breath caught.
Mine followed.
And for a moment—
Everything else disappeared.
"Tell me to stop," I murmured.
She didn't.
Her lips parted slightly.
Her eyes dropped to my mouth.
And that was it.
That was all it took.
I leaned in—
Then stopped just short.
Barely a breath between us.
Barely restraint left.
"This is wrong," I said.
But I didn't let go.
Her voice came out softer than I'd ever heard it.
"Then why does it feel like this?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't have one.
Footsteps echoed in the distance.
Voices.
The world crashing back in.
I let go of her immediately, stepping back like I'd been burned.
Because I had.
"Forget this happened," I said quickly.
Her expression shifted—hurt, confusion, something deeper.
"You think I can just forget that?"
"You have to."
Because if we didn't—
We wouldn't survive it.
I turned away before I could change my mind.
Before I could pull her back.
Before I crossed a line I could never uncross.
But even as I walked away—
I knew one thing.
This wasn't over.
Not even close.