Chapter 42

Lila’s POV

My first thought, midway through wolf-mind theatrics and probable arm-gnawing on Rowan’s part? Crap—I still need to make it to Chemistry 101. I mean, sure, I was completely insane for worrying about homework when I was literally a fur-coated monster half the time, but there it was: I clung to class schedules like a lifeline to Normal-ville.

So I sat there, mentally poking my wolf self, willing her to shift Rowan back into a person—even though yes, it was absurd, and yes, Riley had lukewarmly suggested our minds might not even sync. But details, schmetails. I was grasping at any shred of routine while Rowan—bless his fur—slept soundly, utterly oblivious to my academic angst.

Finally, Rowan stirred. I’d lost all sense of time—no clock-checking wolf brain here—so I was half-expecting him to snore for another century. Instead, he buried his fingers in my wolf’s thick scruff, eliciting a contented snuffle. His dark brown eyes peeled open and fixed on m