271

AXEL

I could not avoid the smell of sweat that filled the air in the basketball room. I sat in the front row, watching the others play, while waiting for my turn. The repeated thud of the ball against the floor echoed in my ears, while my eyes got busy with something else.

I watched Killian, the new guy, with a mix of admiration and unease. His movements were effortless and his shots were calculated. There was an uncommon grace to his play that resonated with something deep within me. I concluded it had to be born from years of practice since he did not mention anything about being from a special breed or having any powers at all.

But that grace, it was something. The fierceness with which he played could not be possessed by just any wolf. He seemed to have a perfect blend of expertise and that feral touch I couldn't place.

At first, I'd been wary of him. His arrival had disrupted the school in a very haughty way. It felt like a sudden intrusion into our territory. But as the days pas