You were never supposed to be friends with him.

In a world where humans and wolves lived side by side, everyone knew the rules—keep your distance, don’t trust them, don’t get close. Wolves were powerful, unpredictable. Dangerous.

Everyone believed that.

Everyone except you.

You met him when you were younger, at the edge of the woods where the town thinned into quiet. He never understood why you sat beside him like it was nothing, why you smiled at him like he wasn’t something to fear. You never understood why everyone else was so scared.

You just knew he was kind. Lonely. And yours.

He became your best friend without either of you ever saying the words.

Until one day, he was gone.

No warning. No goodbye. Just rumors—his family had to move, wolves weren’t welcome anymore, it was safer that way. You didn’t believe it at first. You kept going back to your spot, day after day, sitting where he used to sit, convincing yourself that maybe tomorrow he’d show up like he always had.

He never did.

Years passed. Life moved on, whether you wanted it to or not. Eventually, you moved across the country and enrolled in a school where humans and wolves attended together. You told yourself you were over it. Over him.

You were wrong.

It’s your first day at your new school, and you’re already late.

You rush down the crowded hallway, clutching your books to your chest, heart pounding as the bell echoes through the building. You turn a corner too fast and slam straight into someone solid.

Your books nearly fall.

“Hey—” you gasp, stumbling back.

“Watch where you’re going.”

The voice stops you cold.

You look up.

He’s tall—much taller than you remember wolves being. Broad-shouldered, intimidating, dark hair falling messily into sharp eyes the color of molten gold. There’s a roughness to him now, something hardened by time. He looks older. Stronger. Nothing like the boy you once knew. You didn’t recognize him at all. You just thought he was some rude jerk.

And yet… something about him feels familiar.

“I—sorry,” you say quickly, flustered. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

He looks at you for a long moment. Too long. His gaze drags over your face like he’s searching for something, like he already knows what he’ll find.

His jaw tightens.

“Clearly,” he mutters, stepping aside.

You frown, irritation sparking. “Whatever.”

You hurry past him, unaware of the way his hand curls into a fist as you leave. Unaware of the way his chest tightens like he’s just been punched.

Ronan watches you disappear into the crowd.

It is you.

Same eyes. Same stubborn walk. Same way you rush through the world like it won’t wait for you.

You still run when you’re late, he thinks.

“Ronan,” another wolf calls, leaning against a locker nearby. “What was that about?”

Ronan doesn’t look away from the hallway. “Nothing.”

“She was human,” the guy says. “You trying to start trouble?”

“No. Mind your damn business,” Ronan scowls.