CHAPTER 19

Adrian's POV

As I walked towards the healing and recovery class, the new elective I had switched to, my focus wavered between the present and the past. That night Elara died, and I kept wandering around the woods searching for her frantically. It still haunted me. I was afraid I was not going to forget it my entire life, the loss still aching in my heart.

But there was something more that I had not shared with anyone yet: something off, something I couldn’t shake. I could remember a distinct scent, sharp like wild herbs crushed underfoot. But the scent was more fleeting, something I couldn’t identify but at the same time felt oddly familiar. By the time I tried to track it, it had disappeared into the wind. Yet it was enough to plant a seed of suspicion in my head. I haven’t let it go, not since then. It was my lead, after all.

My wolf stirred in the back of my mind. "Something was wrong that night." And I couldn't agree more.

“I know,” I muttered under my breath, barely audible.

That’s why I gave Elara’s belongings to Sylvie, hoping she could find something unusual, something I had missed due to lack of knowledge. I was hoping she could detect any strange substance, any sign of foul play, anything that could explain the unease I felt and the cause of Elara's death.

And now, here I was, stuck in this healing and recovery class, hoping to gain knowledge that might explain the strange scent and lead me somewhere.

But I wasn’t just here for that.

Isla... I saw her walking inside the class. A small faint smile curled on her lips. She was happy to be here like she had been looking forward to this. I couldn't help but feel something different, something I had never felt before crossing my heart. It wasn't just suspicion or hatred. It was... care, wanting... I shook my head, trying to steady myself as I entered the class.

"Adrian! What are you doing here?" She blurted out as soon as she saw me. She wasn't expecting me here. But I knew she would be here. It wasn’t a surprise when I saw her, but yet I was feeling restless.

"She looks like Elara," my wolf pointed out, sharp and direct. "Too much like her."

“I know,” I hissed, forcing my thoughts to be quiet. But I was glad he explained these overwhelming feelings clouding my judgment.

Just then, someone walked past me, knocking me on the side. I bumped into her, instinctively reaching out to steady herself. We were close, too close. I could feel the heat radiating off her, her breath, soft and quick, mingling with mine.

For a moment, I was trapped, staring into her eyes. The same eyes I had seen that night. The wolf. I tried to shake off that eerie resemblance. No, it couldn’t be. It was just because she had Elara’s eyes. That had to be it.

My wolf growled low in my chest. "Is she our..."

I shoved him down before he could finish. No. This wasn’t attraction. It couldn’t be. It was just because she looked like Elara. It had to be. Maybe I missed Elara a bit too much today.

But then her scent overwhelmed me for a second. It was sweet, like fresh rain, but with an earthy undercurrent, something wild. My heart kicked against my ribs, faster than I would like to admit. I hated it. Hated the way my pulse quickened. I pushed her away, more forcefully than necessary, putting distance between us. A much necessary distance to keep myself composed.

I scoffed, running a hand through my hair, trying to shove down the heat that surged through me. “Do I need to report to you?” I snapped, my tone harsher than intended. But then I found myself explaining to her. “I haven’t needed the Shifting Control course for a long time.”

Before she could respond, I felt that she was bewitching me. Maybe she was really using some spells or herbs. I strode to the back of the classroom, needing to be far from her. But when she chose to sit at the front, keeping the distance between us intact, my mind replayed the earlier encounter. I couldn’t shake the feeling of her skin against mine, the way her eyes had locked onto mine for that split second. My wolf stirred again, restless. And again, I was looking at her, guilty and restless.

"She is not Elara," my wolf murmured.

I gritted my teeth. “I know that,” I growled under my breath. But the pull was there, undeniable. And it infuriated me.

Despite the distance, I could still feel her. It was like her presence was a magnet, pulling at something deep inside me. I watched as she sat uncomfortably in my gaze. I tried to tell myself it was because I needed to keep an eye on her, that she might slip up, show her true colors.

To my utter relief, the class began. Sylvie was saying something about the importance of healers and how they could benefit the pack, but my eyes kept finding their way to Isla. Then Sylvie started asking questions about rare herbs.

 "Grimroot," Isla's voice snapped me out of my derailed train of thought. As I watched her explain more, in detail, it left me in awe and shock at the same time. She knew more about where to find them and about the precise techniques to use them.

I tried to focus on their conversation, but my eyes kept drifting back to Isla, to the way her eyes shone when she talked about something with that girl beside her. I was beginning to wonder if Isla wasn’t the weak, useless wolf everyone assumed. She has knowledge, speed, and agility. She was more capable than she let on.

I shook my head, trying to suppress the flicker of admiration rising within me. I always knew she had a thing for herbs. Elara had told me. Why was I forgetting that?

There were enough rumors about Isla dabbling in herbs and potions, mostly all pointing out how she used them negatively to her advantage. But I had never thought she was this knowledgeable. If she knew that much about healing, how easy would it be for her to... poison someone? My mind went back to that strange scent in the woods. What if she knew how to create something dangerous?

With her expertise, concocting any potion would be child’s play.

Despite all that, I admired her skill. But at the same time, I hated myself that I could admire anything about her. This was the girl who had something to do with Elara’s death. I knew it, even if I couldn’t prove it yet.

The push and pull inside me was maddening. One moment, I wanted to get closer, to figure her out. The next, I wanted to push her far away, keep her at a distance where she couldn’t get under my skin.

As the class wrapped up, Sylvie looked directly at Isla and me. “Isla, Adrian,” she said, her voice cutting through the murmur of students leaving. “I need to talk to both of you.”