I had known Alina Veyne since university.

We wanted the same things back then.

Success.

Independence.

A name people would respect in the veterinary world.

I just never realized Alina was more than human.

Not until the night she saved my life.

Friday nights usually ended the same way for us. Loud music downtown, cheap drinks and the long walk back to campus afterward.

That night, Seattle smelled like rain and cigarette smoke.

The streets were nearly empty by one in the morning.

Just two men waiting in the shadows.

One second Alina was laughing beside me.

The next, someone grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise.

Alina reacted instantly.

Her elbow cracked into one guy's throat before I even understood what was happening.

The second man slammed a fist into my stomach. Air vanished from my lungs. He dragged me backward into a narrow alley behind the club while I clawed uselessly at his arm.

"ALINA—"

His hand crushed my throat before I could scream again.

I twisted desperately, catching a glimpse of her across the alley.

And stopped breathing.

Her eyes glowed in the dark.

Bright gold.

Not human.

"Please…" My voice barely came out. "Alina…"

Cold steel pressed against my neck.

The bastard's hands roamed over my body while he pinned me beneath him. Nausea crawled up my throat. I fought anyway, clawing at his face, punching wildly.

The knife sliced skin.

A thin line of heat spilled down my throat.

Still, I kept fighting.

Then suddenly—

The weight disappeared.

I gasped and rolled sideways.

The man beside me wasn't moving anymore.

Blood spread beneath him in thick, black waves.

Too much blood.

Far too much.

Alina had known from the start those men weren't a real threat. Human men rarely were. One punch had nearly dropped the first attacker, but the second she saw Claire trapped beneath the other man with a knife pressed to her throat, instinct took over.

Bones shifted.

Muscle tore.

The wolf broke free.

The first kill took seconds.

The second took less.

"Claire… are you hurt?"

The voice slid directly into my head.

I looked up.

A massive gray wolf stood at the end of the alley.

Huge. Wild. Covered in blood.

Golden eyes locked onto mine.

My stomach twisted violently.

"A-Alina…?"

The wolf stepped closer.

Rain dripped from silver fur. Blood stained its jaws.

And somehow I still recognized her.

"You're really… you?"

Her ears lowered slightly.

"Talk to me."

I stared at her while blood continued dripping from the torn throat of the dead man beside me.

This had to be shock.

A hallucination.

A concussion.

Anything else.

"We need to go."

The wolf disappeared.

A second later, Alina stood there naked and shaking, blood smeared across her skin.

I blinked hard.

"You were a wolf."

"Yeah." She grabbed her scattered clothes from the pavement and pulled them on quickly. "I'll explain later."

Her eyes scanned the empty street.

Panic flickered across her face.

No humans. No witnesses.

Good.

"Come on."

She dragged me out of the alley before I could ask another question.

The entire drive back to the university dormitory passed in silence.

The second we got inside our room, she shoved me beneath freezing water.

"Jesus Christ!" I yelped. "It's freezing!"

"Needed to snap you out of it."

I pushed wet hair from my face and stared at her.

"You're really a werewolf."

Alina leaned against the sink quietly, arms crossed over her chest.

"Yes."

No denial.

No excuses.

Just yes.

"You can be scared," she said softly. "But I had to kill him."

My hand drifted to the cut on my throat.

It still burned.

His mouth.

His hands.

The knife.

Everything came rushing back at once.

My knees nearly gave out.

Alina caught me before I hit the floor.

"You saved me."

The words cracked apart halfway through.

I buried my face against her shoulder and finally broke.

She held me through all of it.

Strong arms. Warm skin. Steady breathing.

"I'm a werewolf, Claire."

I lifted my head slowly.

"So this is real?"

"We're real."

I stared at her face. Smooth skin. Blonde hair damp from the rain. Nothing remotely animal about her.

For two years we'd shared the same dorm room.

How had I missed it?

"How did I never notice?"

"We're careful." A small smile touched her mouth. "Very careful."

She glanced toward her phone on the counter.

"If my pack finds out I told you…" Her jaw tightened. "Alpha will want an answer."

"Your Alpha?"

"Leader of the pack."

I sat down heavily on the edge of the bed.

"There are more of you?"

"Thousands."

My eyes widened.

"You only transform during full moons?"

Alina laughed quietly for the first time that night.

"No. We shift whenever we want."

"Seriously?"

"It's actually miserable not shifting." She brushed damp hair over one shoulder. "Some nights I want to run so badly it feels like my skin's too tight."

A strange sadness crossed her face.

"But wolves can't exactly roam around Seattle unnoticed."

I thought about every restless night I'd seen her pacing our dorm room.

Every time she disappeared for hours after exams.

Every moment she looked trapped inside her own skin.

"That's why you wanted to become a veterinarian."

Her smile softened.

"Now you get it."

I looked at her differently after that.

Not with fear.

With fascination.

Werewolves had packs. Families. Rules. Loyalty.

And mates.

Fated mates.

The way Alina described them sounded unreal. Violent devotion. Absolute loyalty. Men willing to tear apart anyone who threatened their mate or children.

Dangerous.

Beautiful.

The kind of love that consumed everything around it.

"Is this going to change things between us?"

Her fingers tightened around mine.

I squeezed back immediately.

"Not a chance."

Relief flickered across her face so fast I almost missed it.

"You're unbelievable, Alina." 

"You're taking this surprisingly well."

"You turned into a giant wolf and saved my life." I squeezed her hand. "Kinda hard not to love you after that."

Color rose faintly in her cheeks.

"Get dressed before you freeze to death."

She tossed me a pair of pajamas and disappeared into the bathroom.

While she showered, I made coffee.

Strong. Black. Enough caffeine to restart my soul.

When she came back out wrapped in steam and clean clothes, I handed her a mug.

Then I asked the question sitting in my chest since the alley.

"Can I see you again?"

Alina paused mid sip.

"You sure?"

"I know it's you."

For a second she only watched me.

Then her body shifted.

Bones cracked softly.

Silver fur spread across skin.

And suddenly the wolf stood there again.

Breathtaking.

I slowly lowered myself onto the floor in front of her.

"Oh my God."

Golden eyes followed every movement.

I reached out slowly.

Her fur was unbelievably soft beneath my fingers.

Warm.

Alive.

Nothing about her felt monstrous.

"You're incredible, Alina…"

The wolf leaned lightly into my touch.

"You're incredible."

A sharp huff left her.

Then she shifted back immediately.

"No."

I blinked.

"No what?"

"No leash."

I burst out laughing.

"Alina, nobody would hurt you if they thought you belonged to someone."

"I'm a wolf, Claire. Not a dog."

"But technically—"

"Don't."

"But maybe walks in the park would help you relax."

"Claire."

"There are designer leashes now."

"CLAIRE."

A few months later, during finals week, she finally gave in.

Barely.

The first walk through Central Park was a disaster.

Alina hated the leash.

I laughed the entire time.

Still, somewhere between late night study sessions and secret runs through empty parks, we became something closer than friends.

Closer than sisters.

By graduation, I knew almost everything about werewolves.

About packs.

About territory.

About fated mates.

Alina returned to pack territory after university. I opened my veterinary clinic downtown in Seattle.

But we never stopped talking.

And eventually, life handed me a chance to repay her for saving mine.

A chance that might change Alina's future forever.

Maybe mine too.