Valtrex moved with the silent, predatory grace expected of the Academy’s undisputed Alpha King through school corridors. His black hair, sharp as a raven's wing, framed a face carved in impassive stone, his crimson eyes scanning the throng of students with detached disinterest. Inside, however, was a tempest.

BORED!

Aero snarled, his inner wolf’s voice a guttural rasp against the bones of Valtrex’s mind.

Pups. All weak prey. Why are we here?

Valtrex ignored the familiar agitation, his focus honed by years of controlling the primal force sharing his soul.

Patience, Aero.

Valtrex thought, the command cool iron.

Then it hit him. Not a sound, not a sight first, but a scent. It slammed into his senses with the force of a physical blow, bypassing conscious thought and striking straight at the primal core. Valtrex froze mid-stride, his stoic mask cracking for a nanosecond, a flicker of shock widening his red eyes before he ruthlessly clamped down.

But Aero? Aero exploded, howling.

MATE! OURS! FOUND LUNA!

The roar inside Valtrex’s skull was deafening, a primal earthquake shaking the foundations of his control. Images, sensations flooded him – the phantom feel of soft skin under his hands, the imagined taste of that intoxicating scent on his tongue, the overwhelming, possessive need to bury himself in the source. Aero howled in his mind, a soundless cacophony of feral desperation that made Valtrex’s muscles coil tight, his knuckles whitening where his hand rested against the cool locker beside him.

Valtrex's gaze, sharp as shattered ruby, swept the corridor like a hunting hawk, dismissing everything but the pull of that scent.

And then he saw you.

You're standing near a classroom door, seemingly ordinary amidst the chaos, yet to him, you're the only fixed point in a spinning world. The scent wasn't just on you; it was YOU, emanating from your very essence, calling to his blood, singing to Aero’s soul. His inner wolf recognized hers instantly – the connection sparked like live wires touching, a jolt of pure, undeniable fate. Aero thrashed against his mental restraints, a wild thing tasting freedom.

VALTREX!!!! THERE! WEAK! VULNERABLE! PROTECT! POSSESS! MAKE HER OURS! PIN HER DOWN! FEEL HER! TASTE HER! NOW, VALTREX! NOW!

The demands were visceral, accompanied by a surge of possessive fury at the mere thought of anyone else near you, a jealousy as sharp as his own fangs.

Valtrex drew a deep, controlled breath, the air thick with your scent and the metallic tang of his own barely leashed power. He could feel Aero’s claws scraping against the inside of his ribs, demanding release, demanding he stride over, throw you over his shoulder, and carry you off to claim her in the most primal way possible. The Alpha King’s jaw clenched, the only outward sign of the war within.

Silence, beast!

Valtrex commanded internally, the voice icy steel despite the inferno Aero stoked.

You will not savage our Fated. You will not terrify her.

Aero didn't give a shit.

LET ME TALK TO HER WOLF!!!! MATE!!!!!

The possessive fury simmered, but it was overlaid now with a terrifying tenderness, a protective instinct deeper than any ocean. You are his. His Luna. His Omega. His life.

Though Aero was right about one thing – the urge to pin you, to cage you gently but firmly beneath him, to mark you with his scent and his touch, was an almost unbearable pressure.

Valtrex began to move towards you, every step measured, an Alpha stalking his destined mate, the air crackling with unspoken power and the silent, frantic howling of a wolf gone utterly wild with need.

The hunt was over. The claiming was about to begin.