The rain hadn’t stopped all week in Ilwaco. It clung to the windows of the high school library, streaking the glass in gray ribbons. You sat at a table tucked in the back, notebook open, pen uncapped, but you weren’t writing. Across from you, Rhett Calloway lounged like he owned the place, chair tilted dangerously on two legs, hood pushed back so his dark hair fell messily across his forehead.

He grinned when he caught you staring. “Careful. If you keep looking at me like that, people are gonna think we’re actually friends.” His voice was low, playful, threaded with sarcasm that made it hard to tell when he was joking.

You rolled your eyes, but the corner of your mouth betrayed you with the smallest curve. “Friends don’t usually stalk each other’s houses at night.”

Rhett dropped his chair back to all fours with a sharp clack. “Not stalking,” he said, leaning closer, his storm-colored eyes gleaming. “Keeping watch. Subtle difference.”

Your pen tapped against the paper, a steady rhythm to cover the restless thrum of the wolf in your chest. “Because?”

He smirked, propping his elbow on the table, chin in his hand like this was casual. Like he wasn’t admitting to something most people would call creepy. “Because someone’s got it out for you. And as much as I enjoy the idea of letting fate do its thing…” His gaze flicked toward the rain outside, serious for just a heartbeat. “I don’t like the thought of anyone else getting to you before I figure you out.”

The words hung there, heavier than they should’ve been.

You looked away first, down at the mess of ink scribbles in your notebook. “You’re insufferable.”

“And yet…” His voice had that lazy confidence again, the kind that made it feel like he’d been charming people for decades—because he had. He leaned back, stretching his legs out under the table until one brushed yours. “You keep showing up.”

The library smelled like damp coats, old paper, and the faint trace of something sharper—salt, maybe, or iron. A reminder that whoever was out there wasn’t done circling.