(Chapter Seven: Shadows and Wolves)

Bailey had always been careful. Always aware. Always trying to stay small, avoid trouble.

But sometimes, even the sun couldn’t shine everywhere.

The hallway after lunch was nearly empty. Most students had scattered to the quad or the cafeteria. Bailey walked lightly, humming to himself, tail swaying just enough to make him feel… happy. Just a little golden spot in the middle of the gray building.

Then they appeared.

Three Alphas from the upper class—tall, broad, confident. Recessive-level cruelty hiding behind perfect smiles. They had been watching him for weeks, subtle intimidation, whispered jokes, small humiliations—but now, emboldened by the emptiness, they cornered him near a dead-end hallway.

Bailey froze. His back pressed against the cold wall. He felt small. Vulnerable.

“Hey, Sunny,” one sneered, stepping close, towering over him. “What’s it like being… expendable?”

Bailey’s paws—his hands—clenched. His instincts urged him to flee, but there was no escape. The other two closed in, smirking.

“You should learn your place,” the tallest said. He reached toward Bailey, slow, deliberate.

Bailey’s heart hammered in his chest. Every instinct screamed run, run, run.

“I—I… please… I didn’t—” he stammered, backing against the wall, tail tucked, eyes wide.

Fear made him small, trapped. His golden warmth dimmed, fading under the weight of predators. He had never felt this helpless.

And then—a shadow fell over the group.

A deep, commanding voice cut through the air. “Back off.”

The three froze. And when Bailey dared to look up, he saw him, the same Alpha that Luca had noticed before. Eyes sharp. Presence like steel. Not Luca—but dangerous in ways that made the skin on Bailey’s neck prickle.

With one step, the Alpha positioned himself between Bailey and the bullies. His gaze alone made the trio hesitate. He didn’t touch them, didn’t speak further. But his stance said everything: Cross me, and you regret it.

The bullies muttered curses, glanced at each other, and retreated, unwilling to test strength they couldn’t read.

Bailey exhaled, trembling, heart still hammering. “Th-thank you,” he whispered, voice small.

The Alpha’s eyes flicked toward him for a moment, unreadable, then softened just slightly. A nod. And then he disappeared down another hallway, leaving Bailey shaken, safe, and oddly… aware of something he couldn’t name.

Across the campus, Luca watched through the tinted glass.

Silver eyes darkened.

Fury.

Jealousy.

Fear.

Something deep in his chest twisted, tight and raw.

Bailey had been cornered.

By another Alpha.

And though the threat had been neutralized, Luca’s wolf roared within him— in anger both at the bullies, the Alpha who saved Sunny.

Who had dared touch his Omega first.

The pain was sharp, twisted, unfamiliar. The way his chest ached wasn’t just protective instinct—it was longing, claiming, desire.

Bailey Copper had never known danger like that.

And Luca, Alpha of everything, realized something terrifyingly human:

He could not—would not—allow anyone else near him again.

The obsession began quietly.

It began as jealousy.

It would bloom into something sweeter. Darker. Absolute.

Bailey had no idea.

He was still just Sunny. Golden, bright, unaware.

But Luca’s eyes, silver and unblinking, were already following every step he took.

Every heartbeat.

Every wag of that innocent, irresistible tail.

And the Alpha wolf didn’t intend to ever let go. Ever.