Page 183 of Star Claimed Omega
Until he proved worthy of her heart.
The following morning, Soleil opened her dormitory door to a corridor steeped in quiet.
The recycled air held a chill, so she’d shrugged a jacket hung open over her clothes: a black tank top and slouchy trousers cinched at the waist.
Her braid was messy, wild from a night of tossing and turning.
She took one step forward. Then she slowed to a stop.
Across the hallway, beneath the dull flicker of a bulkhead light, was a figure.
One cloaked in shadow, broad shoulders wrapped in a dark tactical coat with the collar turned up.
Santi.
He stood like a sentry, arms crossed over his chest, leaning on the wall, one foot braced against the concrete surface.
His face was half-hidden. His hood hung over his features, but they were unmistakable to her.
Still, she caught the glimmer of his violet-gilded eyes and the contained flame within them.
Her breath hitched in her throat.
Her heart skipped once in surprise, then settled with a hard thud of irritation.
‘Fokk’ssake,’ she muttered.
She shot him a dagger-sharp glare. ‘Stalking now, is that it?’
She did not stop to engage him further; she swept past, her jaw clenched, her pulse tight.
His presence followed like a tether to her soul.
She reached the maglev station with her usual morning slump, earbuds in, head bowed.
Yet when she boarded the train, she sensed him.
Her eyes scanned the car once, then twice, until she spotted him in the far left back row.
He slouched in his seat, hood down, his gaze averted from her.
She settled into her chair til she jolted at the realization that his spectral lycan spirit lay across from her.
Invisible to the world, it was clear as day in her ethereal vision.
The wolf was massive, shimmering in subtle violet-gold.
Its body curled on the floor, its head raised, alert.
Eyes fixed on her, as if guarding her.
She flicked glances at it all the way to her stop and to the café.
It lingered just long enough for her to sense a shimmer of heat across her back as she stepped behind the counter.
Then it vanished, dissolving into glittering motes.
Moments later, Santi appeared.
