2| ELIJAH

“Who the hell plays football high?” Lukas’s voice boomed through the locker room, ricocheting off the metal walls. He was pacing like a caged animal, his eyes blazing with frustration.

I rubbed my temples, the remnants of the game still pounding in my head. I certainly wouldn’t have played football high, but there was a meeting with my father the day before and I needed something to numb the emotions.

“Keep your voice down, man.”

“Don’t ‘man’ me,” Lukas snapped, spinning to face me. “Do you even know how bad you looked out there? You cost us the championship, Elijah! You put the whole team at risk! What if you’d gotten tested before the match?! What do you think your father would have done? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I don’t need the lecture,” I muttered, slumping onto the bench, I rolled my shoulders back, the weight of Luka’s stare digging into my back. “And I’m not high.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re actually trying to lie to me?” He took a threatening step towards me. “You could barely even stand straight!”

I didn’t say anything at that, there really was no point denying it.

“Elijah,” Lukas took a step closer, towering over me. “You weren’t just off—you were gone. Slow reactions, sloppy plays, barely holding it together. Lie to me and say you weren’t high, I dare you.”

I clenched my jaw, avoiding his gaze. “I’m fine.”

“Fine?” Lukas barked out a bitter laugh. “You’re not fine, Elijah. You’ve been spiraling for weeks. Just because I haven’t said anything doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed. Your grades are slipping, you’re short tempered. You’re dragging yourself down a dark path and now, you’re about to drag the whole team down with you.”

“Enough.” My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I was too tired to care.

Lukas didn’t back down. “No, not enough. Do you even care? About the team? About yourself?”

His words hit something raw inside me, but I forced it down. “This isn’t your problem.”

“It is when it affects all of us,” Lukas shot back. “You’re supposed to be a leader. You’re the Alpha’s son, for crying out loud.”

I stood abruptly, the room spinning slightly from the motion. “Don’t bring my father into this.”

“Why not? He’s half the reason you’re like this, isn’t he?” Lukas’s voice softened, but his words still cut deep.

“Back off, Lukas.” I let some of the Alpha edge creep into my tone, the unspoken authority that came with my bloodline.

Lukas stiffened, his jaw clenching as he stared at me. We stood still, locked in a tense staring match, but even as a Beta’s son, he couldn’t withstand the pressure of an Alpha’s authority.

After a long moment, he bared his throat and looked away. I let my authority drop. I thought he’d still try to push back, but then he stepped away, shaking his head.

“You’re going to ruin yourself, Elijah,” he said quietly, before turning and walking out of the locker room.

The door slammed shut, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence.

I let out a shaky breath, leaning back against the lockers. Lukas was right. I was ruining myself. But what choice did I have? The weight of my father’s expectations felt like chains, dragging me deeper and deeper into a place I couldn’t escape.

My phone buzzed on the bench beside me. I glanced at the screen and saw Sarah’s name.

Sarah: Heard about the game. Want me to come over and cheer you up?

I stared at the message for a long moment before typing a curt reply.

Me: Not tonight.

I didn’t wait for her response. Throwing on a hoodie, I grabbed my keys and headed out.

——

The club was chaos in motion. Lights pulsed in rhythm with the bass that thudded so heavily it felt like my heart might sync with it. Bodies swayed and writhed on the dance floor, all edges and shadows in the dim, shifting glow. The air was thick with sweat, alcohol, and desperation—a cocktail I knew all too well. It was the perfect place to disappear, to drown out the noise in my head with music, liquor, and the kind of fleeting connections that never demanded too much.

I nursed my second drink at the edge of the bar, the burn of the whiskey doing little to numb the ache in my chest. The bitter taste of failure still lingered on my tongue, as did Lukas’s parting words. My father’s expectations loomed over me like a storm cloud, the weight of it suffocating. I needed something more.

I was just about to signal the bartender for another when I saw her.

At first, she didn’t seem real. Sitting at the far end of the bar, she was an island of stillness in a sea of chaos. She seemed a little older than I was, her dark hair was pulled into a neat bun, not a strand out of place, and she wore a crisp white shirt tucked into tailored slacks that seemed far too formal for a place like this. She held herself with an elegance that made her stand out—poised, controlled, completely at odds with the wildness around her.

And yet, she was captivating.

It wasn’t just her appearance, though that would have been enough to catch my eye. It was something else, something I couldn’t explain. A tug beneath my skin, like an invisible thread pulling me toward her. My wolf, usually silent and subdued, stirred faintly. It wasn’t the usual restlessness I ignored—it was sharper, insistent.

I froze, caught in the strange pull. For a moment, the noise and lights around me blurred, and all I could focus on was her. My heart skipped, my throat dry, as if I’d been caught off guard by something primal and unavoidable.

Who was she?

My legs moved before my brain could catch up. Drink in hand, I weaved through the crowd, each step guided by that inexplicable pull. When I reached her, I leaned against the bar casually, trying to play it cool even though my pulse was pounding like a drum.

“What’s a beautiful woman like you doing alone in a place like this?” I asked, my voice low and smooth.

It was a stupid line, but it got her to look at me.

She turned her head slowly, and when her green eyes met mine, the pull intensified. There was something in her gaze—sharp and assessing, like she was peeling back my layers with one look. It sent a jolt through me, my wolf rousing again before I could shove it back down.

Her lips parted, like she too felt that thing that lingered between us and slowly, I felt the noise in my head go silent.