[Chapter Five: The Soft Things That Break Steel]

Bailey didn’t know why his day felt lighter.

Nothing significant had changed. His classes were still demanding, his shifts still long, his shoes still worn thin at the soles. Yet as he walked across campus, humming under his breath, his tail swayed unconsciously behind him—gentle, unguarded.

Golden Retrievers were like that.

They found happiness in survival. In small mercies. In moments that didn’t ask for more than they could give.

Bailey was thinking about nothing in particular when he spotted him.

Luca  stood near the quad, speaking quietly to a faculty member. The Alpha looked as immovable as ever—dark suit, broad shoulders, presence like gravity. Students skirted around him instinctively, careful not to intrude.

Bailey slowed.

He wasn’t afraid. Just… aware.

As if sensing him, Luca’s gaze lifted.

Silver met gold.

Bailey’s face lit up before his mind could catch up with his instincts. His eyes sparkled, wide and warm, and his tail wagged—small at first, then a little more when he realized he’d been noticed.

“Oh! Hi,” Bailey said, smiling like they were old acquaintances instead of two people standing on opposite ends of the world.

Luca wasn’t prepared for it.

That smile—unguarded, sincere, offered without expectation—hit him harder than any challenge he’d ever faced. His wolf surged, pleased, alert, dangerously content.

For half a second, Luca forgot to be cold.

The corner of his lips curved upward.

It wasn’t the smile the public knew. Not practiced. Not perfect. Just real.

Bailey blinked.

“Oh,” he breathed softly, stunned. “You… smile.”

Luca caught himself instantly, expression smoothing back into composure. But the damage was done. Something had slipped through the cracks.

“Yes,” Luca replied calmly. “Occasionally.”

Bailey laughed—a quiet, delighted sound. “It suits you.”

Silence followed. Not awkward. Not tense.

Comfortable.

Luca realized then that Bailey wasn’t intimidated. Not truly. There was no calculation in his posture, no careful distance. Just presence. Warmth. Acceptance.

“Are you heading to class?” Luca asked.

“Yeah! Uh—well—after the library,” Bailey said, shifting his bag. “I need to finish a paper. Again.”

Luca nodded, as if this information mattered. As if he hadn’t already known.

“I was going that way,” Luca said.

Another coincidence.

They walked together.

Students stared. Whispers sparked and died. Bailey noticed none of it. He talked about his professor, the café’s new menu, how the campus cat liked sleeping on warm laptops.

Luca listened.

Actually listened.

At the library steps, Bailey stopped, tail still gently wagging.

“Um… thanks for walking with me,” he said, smiling up at Luca. “It was nice.”

“It was,” Luca replied.

Bailey waved cheerfully before disappearing inside, sunlight following him through the doors.

Luca stood there long after.

His lips curled again, slow and helpless this time.

And the Alpha Wolf realized something terrifying…

Bailey wasn’t trying to break his walls.

He was simply being himself.

And that was somehow worse.