Page 4 of Lone Wolf

I head to the gym, and then to the outdoor training run to practice my parkour, and then I have dinner sent to my dorm. We’re not supposed to do that, as recruits, unless we’re sick, but no one ever objects when I request it.

Maybe, like my mother says, it’s because I’mdifferent. Because I’ll never fit in here, no matter how skilled and how perfect I am. At Grandmother’s house I was rewarded for those things.

Here? I’m merely tolerated.

After dinner, I head out for my usual nine-minute-mile to clear my head before I sleep. The dorms are a new addition to the estate, a three-story brick building with large windows and tiny balconies for every room. The entrance is marked by two massive potted plants that Aurora refreshes seasonally to match the Chicago climate. And today as I make my way back, I glance up to see Sunny Santiago out on her balcony, smoking a contraband cigarette.

We’re not allowed to smoke. Lyssa’s orders.

But Sunny just takes another drag when she sees me staring at her and raises a hand to wave at me, like I couldn’t get her stuck on toilet duty for a week if I reported her.

I don’t wave back. I just head back inside, wondering when that mask of hers will finally slip. And wondering, despite myself, what lies beneath.

CHAPTER 2

Sunny

Sarah “Ariadne”Graves is one tough cookie, but I’m gonna break her. I’m gonna make that girl smile if it’s the last thing I do—and hell, it might be. This morning, as I move down the breakfast buffet and accidentally reach for the same serving spoon she’s going for, she gives me the kind of look that should freeze me in my place.

I just grin widely and offer her the spoon instead. For just a second, I swear I feel the literal chill radiating from her skin, and her blue eyes are like icicles. She snatches the spoon from me like I’ve insulted her ancestors and turns her back on me. Her black tank top and leggings are spotless, her short, dark blonde hair perfectly in place. Not a thing out of order.

I decide to go for the tofu scramble this morning instead of the eggs, which I’m pretty sure must be frozen solid from their proximity to Ariadne.

I’ll thaw her eventually. I’m determined.

I make my way over to the seating area, ignoring the calls to come and sit from a few people. I want to make sure I havea particular view—ah, there’s one. My chair scrapes over the polished concrete floor as I slide in next to Enzo, who’s usually a cocky motherfucker, but at this time of the morning he’s still waking up, hunched over his coffee. I take the opportunity to steal a slice of his toast and bat away his hand when he tries to grab it back.

“You got a whole damn loaf there, Rittoli,” I tell him. “You can spare a slice.”

He grumbles, but he lets me eat it, muttering something about me being lucky I’m cute. “Cuter than that cold bitch, anyway,” he adds, nodding toward Ariadne, where she’s taken her usual seat right up the back of the room.

Heat flares in my chest. “Oh, honey, you don’t get to use that word,” I tell him. “You better not let me hear it pass those lips again. And as for her—” I look toward Ariadne, who is staring straight ahead, blanking the whole room as she chews mechanically. “—she could kick you the whole damn length of this room if she wanted, so maybe show a little respect.”

Enzo scoffs, but he doesn’t argue. I reach for another slice of his toast, not because I want it, but because this motherfucker needs to learn his lesson. His swat is easy to dodge, but his movement has slammed down on the end of a fork hanging over the table. It goes flying through the air, spinning in a silver blur.

I catch it without conscious thought, prongs a few inches away from Matty Barino’s face, and the table goes silent with surprise, before a low, teasingOoooohrises up.

“Nice reflexes, Santiago.” Vanessa Lascelles gives me an approving nod from next to me, her long dark braid swinging with the movement.

“Shoulda let it stick in his face, might improve his looks,” someone else calls out.

I just laugh it off. “Next time, I will. Now, do I get extra toast as a reward, or?—”

“Take it,” Enzo laughs, pushing his plate toward me. I don’t miss the flirty look in his eye, though, so I push it back.

“You keep it. Carbs only slow me down.” I flex my arm playfully, showing off the lean muscle there.

And then I turn my attention to my other neighbor. No point making things weird with Enzo, especially when he’s not my type.

Being a dude, and all.

But Vanessa, sitting on the other side of me with her perpetually judgmental expression, irritates me a few minutes later. “Look at her,” she mutters, nodding toward where Ariadne sits with Elijah and Zach at the back table. “She’s like a fuckin’ robot. Barely talks. Barely sleeps, I hear—up all hours, training.”

“Maybe you could stand to do the same,” I tell her, still smiling but with an edge to my voice now. “Since you sucked so hard yesterday. Lyssa was just about ready to kick you out of the Syndicate altogether.”

Vanessa pales. “Really?” she whispers.

“That chick ain’t normal,” Matty says across from me, shaking his head as he shovels eggs into his mouth.

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