Chapter 10: Knox Wants Me Back

By sunrise, my wolf-form photo had spread across Hollowcrest.

By breakfast, it had escaped the university entirely.

PackFeed accounts were reposting it.

Some called the markings beautiful.

Others claimed the image was edited.

A few older werewolves recognized the Lunaris resemblance immediately.

Rowan arranged for the most invasive posts to be removed, but screenshots kept appearing.

My mother called six times.

I promised I would come home after orientation requirements were finished.

She hated that answer.

Rowan hated it too.

"You should go today."

"I have registration."

"Nessa."

"I'm not abandoning university because my fur has fancy stripes."

"They're not fancy stripes."

"Until somebody proves otherwise, that's exactly what they are."

We were sitting inside a quiet campus café.

Rowan had ordered breakfast for both of us.

When the food arrived, I automatically pushed half the toast away.

His eyes dropped to my plate.

"You don't like toast?"

"Too many calories."

The words came automatically.

Rowan didn't say anything.

I picked up my coffee.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring."

"Can I ask something without you getting angry?"

"Probably not, but try."

"How much are you eating every day?"

I stiffened.

"Enough."

"That's not a number."

"Why do you care?"

"Because you told me you used to collapse during training."

"That was months ago."

"You also told me your stomach hurts whenever you skip meals."

"Rowan."

"I'm not telling you what your body should look like."

His voice remained gentle.

"I'm asking whether you're hurting yourself to keep it looking this way."

My fingers tightened around the cup.

I hated the question because I didn't know the answer.

Losing weight had started because of Knox.

Then compliments came.

Attention came.

Approval came.

And somewhere along the way, gaining even a few pounds had started feeling terrifying.

Rowan pushed the toast back toward me.

"Eat if you're hungry."

"And if I gain weight?"

"Then you gain weight."

"What if I become two hundred pounds again?"

"Then I'll need a bigger hoodie when you steal mine."

I stared at him.

"That's it?"

"What answer were you expecting?"

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

I looked away.

"You're weird."

"You've mentioned that."

I picked up the toast.

Before I could take a bite, someone pulled out the chair opposite us.

Knox.

Rowan's expression immediately flattened.

"No."

Knox ignored him.

"Nessa, can we talk?"

"We're talking right now."

"Alone."

"Still no."

Knox placed his phone on the table.

The screen showed a photograph.

Me.

Before losing weight.

My old school photograph.

"Where did you get that?"

"The same place I found it the first time."

Shame immediately crawled beneath my skin.

Rowan noticed.

His gaze hardened.

"Put it away."

Knox looked at him.

"I'm talking to Nessa."

"And you're deliberately showing her something you know she's insecure about."

"Stay out of it."

I reached over and turned the phone face down.

"What do you want, Knox?"

His anger faded when he looked at me.

"Another chance."

I genuinely thought I had misheard.

"What?"

"I know I don't deserve it."

"Correct."

"But hear me out."

"Why?"

"Because what we had was real."

I laughed.

"You transferred me."

"I was stupid."

"You called me a pig."

"I was showing off."

"You started dating Elodie."

"That happened after us."

"There was no 'after us' because you never actually told me we were over."

His face tightened.

"I know."

He leaned closer.

"But I can fix it."

"How?"

"I'll break up with Elodie."

I stared at him.

"You think that's what I want?"

"I think you're angry."

"Obviously."

"And you have every right to be."

His voice softened.

"But we spent more than a year together."

"You spent nine months with me."

I pointed toward Rowan.

"He spent the last three pretending to be you."

Knox flinched.

"That's exactly my point. You fell for him because you thought he was me."

Rowan's jaw tightened.

I raised a hand before he could respond.

"No."

Knox frowned.

"What?"

"That's where you're wrong."

I finally understood it clearly.

"The person I loved during those last three months wasn't you."

Knox's face changed.

"The person who stayed awake when I couldn't sleep was Rowan."

"Nessa-"

"The person who remembered my stomach problems was Rowan."

"He was using information I gave him."

"At first, maybe."

I looked at Rowan.

"But everything after that was him."

Rowan's eyes softened.

Knox's hands curled into fists.

"He's your mate. That's why you're confused."

"I'm not confused."

"The bond is influencing you."

"And what's influencing you?"

He fell silent.

"Because three days ago, you were telling everyone that thinking about me made you sick."

My voice remained calm.

"Then you saw me in a dress."

"It's not just your appearance."

"Then what changed?"

He had no answer.

Again.

I nodded.

"Exactly."

Knox suddenly grabbed his phone.

"You think he loved you before he knew you were mates?"

"Yes."

"Then ask him why he DMed me in the first place."

I frowned.

"He already told me."

"Did he?"

Knox unlocked the phone and opened an old conversation.

"Read it yourself."

Rowan stood abruptly.

"Knox."

Something in his voice made my stomach drop.

I looked at Rowan.

"What?"

Knox smiled bitterly.

"Three months ago, Rowan didn't randomly stumble across my post."

He pushed the phone toward me.

"He already knew your name."

I looked down.

The screenshot showed Knox's conversation with Rowan.

The timestamp was from three months earlier.

Knox had written:

[Why the hell do you care who she is?]

Rowan's reply appeared underneath.

[Because if her name is Nessa Arden, she's someone I've been looking for.]

My heart stopped.

I slowly raised my head.

Rowan looked furious with Knox.

But he didn't look surprised.

"You knew who I was before taking the account."

"Nessa, let me explain."

"You said you messaged him because you thought what he did was disgusting."

"It was disgusting."

"That's not what I asked."

His silence was enough.

I stood.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long had you been looking for me?"

Rowan's face became tense.

"Years."

The answer hit harder than I expected.

"Years?"

Knox leaned back with grim satisfaction.

"Looks like Prince Charming forgot another little detail."

I ignored him.

"Why?"

Rowan took one step toward me.

"Because I never forgot the girl from my childhood."

"You told me yesterday you only started wondering whether that girl was me after seeing my wolf."

"I said I wasn't certain."

"But you suspected it three months ago."

"Yes."

My chest tightened.

Another lie.

Maybe smaller.

Maybe understandable.

But still a lie.

I picked up my bag.

"I need some space."

"Nessa."

"Don't follow me."

Rowan immediately stopped.

That, at least, he respected.

I walked out of the café.

Behind me, I heard Knox say quietly:

"She deserves to know everything."

Rowan answered with a voice so cold it barely sounded human.

"You don't care what she deserves."

"You only care that for the first time in your life, something you threw away became something you can't have."

I kept walking.

But one question followed me all the way across campus.

If Rowan had been searching for me for years...

Then our meeting wasn't an accident.

And maybe Knox hadn't simply handed me to a stranger after all.