An hour might have passed by the time that I removed myself from Nolan's embrace. Tears and mucus blotched the front of Nolan's shirt, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, the Alpha reached out with his shirt sleeve to dab away the last remnants of wet from my cheeks.

I sniffled, "Thank you, Nolan."

One corner of his lips pulled up in a half-smile that didn't meet his eyes, "Don't thank me... I'm the one to blame for everything that's gone awry." Nolan's throat bobbed up and down, swallowing the regret that tainted his every word, "I started this mess on the night of the Summer Solstice."

My hazel eyes met his, and the sincerity of his words shook me to the core. He's apologizing? How often did the Black Lupis Alpha apologize to someone? I already knew the answer to that: Almost never.

Nolan took my silence as an invitation to continue, "On the night of the Solstice, I could have controlled myself. I should have walked away, and you would be safe... But we ran into each other-- literally-- and it caught me off guard."

"You regret meeting me?" I breathed, eyebrows furrowed. His words might have once cut me to the core, but his blue eyes pooled with tragic softness, and I understood.

"No, never!" Nolan rushed, almost as if my question had offended him. "On the night of the Summer Solstice, when I saw you, I felt... alive for the first time since Sarah."

My throat tightened, taken aback by his honest words. I remembered the night well. I remembered the electricity that coursed through my veins when our eyes first met. The little, invisible chord that somehow connected Nolan's soul with my own. And the warmth that seeped into my bones when we touched for the first time. I had felt alive, too.

He chuckled, and I knew that the memory of the Summer Solstice danced in his mind as well. "I think... I wish that we had met in another time. A time without hybrids and prophecies. I think you would have liked me."

I smiled, even as my eyes brimmed with emotion, "I like you now... Of course, you didn't make it easy."

We shared a breathy laugh, eyes connected in untapped affection for one another. Nolan--my friend and Alpha.

He ran a hand through his crown of black locks, "I'm sorry... I went about everything in the wrong way. I stole you away from your family because I was terrified of letting you out of my sight. And then I was terrified of letting you in too close, so I did everything to push you away."

"You were an ass," I agreed, not entirely teasing.

He sighed, "I know. You deserve better."

"So what changed?" I chewed on my lip, aware of the accusatory tone in my words. I hoped that he wouldn't take offense, but I needed to know the answer. Why does he suddenly want me?

Nolan understood. He rubbed at the back of his neck, and I thought I detected the slightest trace of pink on his cheeks. My question had stripped him bare. "I saw you with Dominic... The night at the Broken Valley Pack. I realized that I was losing you--that I might have already lost you."

His admission caught me momentarily off-guard. I blinked, and allowed a juvenile smirk to snake itself onto my lips, "You were jealous?"

Nolan chuckled and rolled his eyes, "That's what you picked up from this conversation?"

When our shared laughter died down, I shook my head and reached out to hold his hand in mine. My fingers squeezed his leathery palm, and we smiled at each other. "Thank you for apologizing, Nolan..."

Genuine happiness illuminated Nolan's bright blue eyes, and the male looked young again. He glowed with youth, and I found myself wondering when he had last allowed himself to take a day off from carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He'd taken on the role of Alpha at such a young age...

As if he read my mind, Nolan gestured to the office, which was full of our research and textbooks of information about hybrids and talismen. "Let's forget about all of this. Let's forget about hybrids and prophecies and..."

"The impending doom?" I offered, and Nolan nodded. "That sounds like a plan," I pulled on my Alpha's hand, and we turned toward the door.

Before we crossed through the threshold, I turned back to face him, "You know... I don't regret meeting you, Nolan." The handsome male answered with a smile and squeezed my hand twice, and we left the office.

☾☾☾

"Oof!" I groaned, as Sophia knocked me on my back and immediately landed on my hips, pinning me to the wrestling mat.

"Give up, yet?" She sneered, sweat pasting her dark locks to her forehead.

I panted, using the momentary lapse in our brawl to recover the breath that had been knocked out of my lungs. "Hell no!" I ground my teeth together, scrambling to keep her forearm from locking down on my neck.

"Hook your ankles between her legs, Charlie!" Nolan called from where he crouched on the edge of the sparring ring.

"What does it look like I'm trying to do?!" I yelled back, earning a chuckle from the pack members that had gathered to watch my brawl with Sophia.

Nolan had suggested that we relieve some of our stress by training, and I agreed. I wanted to show him just how much I'd improved after my training with Dominic, and it was evident in my match with Sophia.

Sure, Nolan's sister was a year or two younger than me. But Alpha blood coursed through the teenager's veins, making her a formidable opponent for even the most experienced warrior. Sophia landed a majority of her punches, but, so far, I endured.

My legs flailed, a desperate attempt to make contact with Sophia's back. The back of my left heel grazed her tailbone, and Sophia growled, losing focus for half of a second. I saw my chance.

I thrust my hips upward, bucking my opponent off-balance, and I rolled. Sophia scrambled to maintain her mount, but I employed every ounce of strength to continue my roll, simultaneously connecting my elbow to the side of Sophia's head.

The crowd of onlookers hooted at the shifting tide in our fight, and Nolan pounded on the sparring mat with his fist in celebration. In seconds, I had my legs hooked around Sophia's hips, an unbreakable side-mount, and I had an arm wrapped around her neck in a suffocating triangle. She wriggled, but couldn't escape. Only when her face started turning purple, did she tap furiously against my arm in submission.

I immediately released my anaconda hold on her neck and scrambled away, giving Sophia space to breathe. I had won? I had actually won?!

In a matter of seconds, Dylan swooped me up in his arms, and several pack members approached to congratulate me on my first victory. I couldn't control my smile while high-fiving various warriors who had been cheering me on. For the first time since arriving, I felt like I belonged.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nolan checking on his sister. And yet, when Sophia gave him a thumbs-up, he approached me, and I thought that I saw pride written across his features. When he arrived in front of me, Dylan placed me on the floor again and backed away to discuss the brawl with Sophia.

Nolan offered me a high-five, but our hands clasped mid-air and turned into a hug.

"You fought well!"

"A compliment?" I challenged, wiping my wet forward with the back of my hand.

"An acknowledgement," Nolan clarified, giving my shoulder a playful shove that almost knocked me off-balance. "Dominic has taught you well."

Both of my eyebrows rose up in genuine surprise when I couldn't detect a trace of bitterness in the Alpha's words. "Thank you," I prayed that the blush tainting my cheeks would be regarded as pure exhaustion.

"Ready to try a round against me?" A crooked smirk played on his lips.

I cocked a well-manicured brow and placed both hands on my hips in feigned confidence. "You would like to roll around on a mat with me, wouldn't you?"

The hidden meaning of my words couldn't be misinterpreted. Nolan blanched at my audacity, but he quickly recovered, narrowing his eyes at my flagrant teasing, "Wicked Luna..."

I giggled, suddenly aware that Nolan and I were flirting. Things had changed so drastically between us in such a short time, and I thought I might be suffering from emotional whiplash. And yet... It felt so easy-- so natural.

Perhaps Fate knows what it's doing after all...