Third Person's POV Perhaps it was Magnus's jealousy, or the weight of resentment he carried for all the men who had ever brushed against Aysel's past, but he sat close beside her, tail barely restrained under the sofa, ears flicking at every notification ping. The funeral of Anna had barely passed, yet Aysel had received a summons from old acquaintances-a high school reunion organized by some packmates long dispersed. Two days, one night, at Mistyhowl Mountain Lodge, the same place they had once ventured for a bonding retreat. Aysel's claws itched with hesitation. High school had been a time when Celestine Ward lurked in the shadows, a thorn in her side, and Aysel's social presence had been quiet, understated. She had little desire to mingle with half-familiar wolves from her past. Yet when her finger paused over the message that read, "Even the class leader will attend," a pang of curiosity stirred. Magnus, tail twitching with barely concealed irritation, peered over her shoulder. His amber gaze glinted with protective suspicion. "Class leader?" he growled, the subtle undertone of a wolf asserting territory. Aysel smiled faintly. Magnus's hackles bristled. One by one, each of these names became pawprints in her history, leaving him restless, a predator circling invisible prey. "Then I go with you," he declared. "You were supposed to depart for Europe," Aysel reminded him lightly. Tickets had been hers to secure, though he had delayed departure again and again, a shadow of separation anxiety clinging to his broad shoulders. Jackson had tried repeatedly to adjust the plans, but Magnus, stubborn as a mountain wolf, would only relent when Aysel personally intervened. He might have been Alpha of the Shadowbane Pack, but her hand in this decision tethered him to patience. Finally, as the departure drew near, Magnus conceded. "I can..." His words faltered as Aysel's quiet smile disarmed him. He slumped in relief and frustration, holding her close, nuzzling her shoulder. "I want to take you with me," he admitted, a low rumble vibrating through the fibers of the room. Aysel leaned back, teasing, brushing her lips along his in fleeting, playful bites, "Good boy... I'll be back before you know it." Magnus's teeth brushed the soft flesh of her cheek, savoring the moment, before he growled playfully, "Who is this class leader?" Aysel's grin turned mischievous. "A good wolf.""AYSEL!" Magnus barked, vexed yet entranced. "Lower your head," she murmured. Like a submissive pup, he obeyed, his annoyance softening under her command. A kiss, rose-scented and warm, pressed to his lips, whispered against his ear: "A girl... and none are as good as you." His rigid expression softened, corners of his mouth lifting in reluctant submission. "Were you a fisherman in a past life?" Magnus asked. "A-what?" "To catch me so well." Aysel's laughter trilled like a river over stones. The playful moment was spurred by an innocuous invitation, but elsewhere it became a spark that ignited frenzy. The invitation failed to clarify that this gathering drew more than a single class; it involves a whole grade. Among them were Celestine Ward and Damon Blackwood. Some impish soul even delivered an invitation to Celestine behind bars. The moment she held the delicate, bright invitation, so incongruous against the gray of her confinement, her frail frame twisted in rage. With a screech, she tore it apart, flinging bedding and furniture in a tempest of fury, trampling them as if to crush the mockery of those who had tormented her. "Vile wolves! All of you!" she roared, her pack instincts flaring even from behind bars. High school had been one of her most brilliant seasons-once she, Aysel had been overshadowed, her mother's death pinned on her as a curse upon her name. Even Aysel's first-place victories, the accolades she had clawed for, had earned nothing but isolation, forcing her to clutch medals in fevered solitude. Celestinehad deserved to shine, to command the admiration of her peers, yet she had been trapped in a square, suffocating den, her left leg crippled, her health waning, dignity shredded, forced to endure humiliation as a predator constrained.