Chapter 3 3

Nikky Lumpo

Julio's words settled over me like a weight I wasn't ready to carry. Your second chance. Blood soaked the forest floor, the stench of death thick in the air. My pulse hammered against my ribs as I stared at the bodies- limbs twisted at unnatural angles, throats ripped open, eyes forever frozen in terror.

Julio stood in the middle of the carnage, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with slow, measured control. His bare skin was splattered with crimson, streaks of red glistening in the golden morning light. He was terrifying. He was beautiful. The thought jarred me, sent my heart lurching into my throat.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. "I didn't ask for your help."

A slow blink, as if my words meant nothing. He crouched beside one of the dead rogues and wiped his bloodied fingers against the corpse's tattered shirt before standing, towering over me once again.

"You would have died."

A statement. A fact. No room for argument. My pride bristled. "I could have handled it."

His golden eyes darkened. "Could you?"

A muscle in my jaw twitched. I wanted to believe it- I wanted to say yes- but the truth sat bitter on my tongue. Julio took a step closer, closing the space between us. I should have stepped back, but my feet refused to move. "You're weak," he said, voice quiet but firm. "Not because you lack strength, but because you don't know how to use it."

Heat flooded my veins. I was tired-tired of being underestimated, of being treated like something fragile. Tobias had seen me the same way, unworthy, unfit. Now this Lycan, this stranger, had the audacity to judge me too?

A muscle in my jaw twitched. I wanted to believe it- I wanted to say yes- but the truth sat bitter on my tongue. Julio took a step closer, closing the space between us. I should have stepped back, but my feet refused to move. "You're weak," he said, voice quiet but firm. "Not because you lack strength, but because you don't know how to use it."

Heat flooded my veins. I was tired-tired of being underestimated, of being treated like something fragile. Tobias had seen me the same way, unworthy, unfit. Now this Lycan, this stranger, had the audacity to judge me too?

"I don't need your opinions," I snapped.

His lips twitched, something almost amused in his expression. "You need something." His gaze flickered over me, slow, assessing. "Because right now, you don't know who you are without him."

The words hit harder than I wanted them to. Julio stepped even closer, his presence a force all on its own. "Do you want to live, Nikky?"

My throat tightened. "What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one." His golden eyes burned into me. "Do you want to live, or do you want to keep surviving?"

My heart pounded so loudly I thought he might hear it. Living and surviving weren't the same thing.

I had spent years surviving-staying in the shadows, waiting for the day Tobias would finally see me. That day never came. He had thrown me aside without hesitation, left me shattered, alone.

The girl I had been yesterday would have begged for answers. Would have run after Tobias, desperate to prove her worth. But something had cracked inside me last night. Something had changed.

A slow breath filled my lungs. "I want to live."

Julio's smirk was barely there, a ghost of something dangerous. "Good."

My body tensed as he lifted a hand, fingers brushing the side of my face. Not possessive. Not forceful. Just... a touch. A test. Everything in me went still.

"You feel it now, don't you?" he murmured.

A pull. A connection. A force that made no sense.

I hated that he was right.

My eyes met his, searching for an answer in the depths of his golden stare. "Why me?"

Julio's fingers curled slightly, his thumb grazing my cheek. "I don't question fate," he said. "I only obey it."

A shiver rolled through me, but I didn't move away. Maybe I should have. Maybe I never would.

Tobias Mattheus

The scent of blood drifted through the trees, sharp and metallic. Something was wrong. Muscles coiled, I pushed forward, my wolf restless beneath my skin. The rogue attacks had been increasing over the past few months, but this scent was fresh. A recent kill. The thought sent a bitter taste to my tongue.

Nikky.

I hadn't seen her since last night. Had she made it out of the woods?

The bond between us was gone, severed by my own hand, yet my instincts still roared to life at the thought of her in danger. It shouldn't have mattered anymore. She was nothing to me.

So why did the thought of her hurt?

A growl rumbled in my chest. Weakness had no place in my heart. I had made the right choice.

Hadn't I?

The scent thickened. My steps quickened, boots crunching over damp earth. I reached the clearing- then froze. Bodies. Three of them, torn apart with brutal efficiency. And standing amongst the wreckage-him.

Julio Irving.

The sight of him sent rage lashing through me, primal and unforgiving. He was close to her. Too close. His hand lingered against her face, his expression unreadable. Nikky wasn't pulling away. She was letting him touch her. My wolf roared, claws itching to rip through flesh.

Julio must have sensed me because his gaze flicked up, meeting mine with a slow, deliberate stare. He didn't move. Didn't speak. Just watched.

The sight of him sent rage lashing through me, primal and unforgiving. He was close to her. Too close. His hand lingered against her face, his expression unreadable. Nikky wasn't pulling away. She was letting him touch her. My wolf roared, claws itching to rip through flesh.

Julio must have sensed me because his gaze flicked up, meeting mine with a slow, deliberate stare. He didn't move. Didn't speak. Just watched.

Nikky turned. Her eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw something different. Not sadness. Not pain. Something colder. Something stronger. I had expected her to be broken. To be drowning in the weight of my rejection. Instead, she stood there with blood on her skin, fire in her eyes, and a beast beside her who wasn't me.

The air between us stretched, taut and unyielding. I had cast her aside. And now, someone else had found her.