Kalil slammed the rooftop door behind him.

  His boots echoed down the stairwell, sharp, clipped, angry. The kind of angry that simmered under his skin like fire laced with regret.

  He should’ve kept his mouth shut.

  Should’ve kept her out of this mess.

  But every time she walked away, it felt like something was tearing inside of him and tonight, the beast had gotten a taste of what it wanted.

  And now it wouldn't let go.

  He stormed into the doctor’s lounge, tearing off his white coat. The room was empty, but it didn’t matter. The second the door clicked shut, he dropped his head back against the wall and exhaled like he hadn’t breathed in days.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  She’s free.

  The words repeated in his mind, over and over again.

  Matthew was out of the picture. And somehow… instead of relief, he felt panic.

  Because now?

  There were no excuses.

  No reasons to hold back.

  And yet he still had to.

  You’ll destroy her if she gets too close.

  Kalil closed his eyes as his wolf stirred again—an angry, snarling presence just beneath the surface.

  Mine. Ours. Touch her. Take her. Claim her.

  No.

  He gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white. He couldn’t afford to lose control. Not now. Not in this world where Stacy still thought he was human. Still thought he was just an arrogant, cold-hearted doctor with a superiority complex.

  If only she knew the truth.

  If only she could see the silver scars on his skin.

  The claw marks on his soul.

  He pulled out the leather cord around his neck—the one hidden under his shirt. Hanging from it was a small silver pendant, dull and aged.

  His mother's.

  The last thing left from his pack before everything went up in flames.

  “You’re gone, Ma,” he whispered. “And I’m still here. Still cursed. Still alone.”

  Except now, there was Stacy.

  Bright-eyed. Sweet. Soft in all the ways he wasn't.

  She didn’t belong in his world.

  She belonged in a white dress, with flowers in her hair, untouched by monsters like him.

  And yet…

  She haunted his dreams.

  She was the one thing his beast responded to with reverence instead of rage.

  The one person who made him question everything he’d buried.

  Kalil ran a hand through his hair, jaw tightening.

  “I can’t let her in,” he muttered.

  But his wolf laughed, low and dangerous.

  You already have.