Yuki didn’t like the thought of talking to Kaden later. It was no surprise he absolutely hated her guts. Still, she couldn’t refuse. He was a figure of authority.

"I should go." she reluctantly said. Kaden’s gaze didn’t leave them; he was not waiting patiently.

Xavier gave her a sympathetic smile. "Good luck."

She had a terrible feeling she was going to need it. Yuki grabbed her bag and jogged towards Kaden.

Kaden said nothing and walked out of the hall. Yuki quietly followed after him as he led her away from the training grounds. His strides were fast, Kaden was way taller than her and she technically jogged behind him to catch up.

They passed several buildings and eventually reached an empty running track. By the time they stopped, Yuki was bent over holding her legs as she panted, sweat beads hanging on her forehead.

Yuki frowned. "What are we doing here?" she asked her gaze darting around the tracks already having a bad feeling about this.

Kaden sat on one of the benches and looked up at her. "Thirty laps," he casually said, pulling out a bottle of water from his bag.

Her eyes widened. "What?" Yuki snapped in disbelief.

Kaden didn’t even glance at her. He went ahead to gulp down his water before responding. "You came late to class," Kaden replied evenly. "You have no combat background and your endurance is terrible. You need to start with the basics."

"There is no way I can survive thirty laps," Yuki said in disbelief.

"Then start with one," Kaden answered without sympathy. Her patience finally snapped.

"But it’s your fault I was late," she blurted out. "You left me there for over an hour."

Kaden arched his brow. "Are you accusing me of bullying you?" he sneered at her.

The sheer shamelessness of the question made her jaw tighten. "It looks a lot like bullying," she shot back.

A small smile crossed his face. "Fine," he said casually. "Then fail my class."

Yuki blinked. "What?" she blurted out.

"You clearly lack the required skills," Kaden replied. "Combat is compulsory. If you fail this course, you will not graduate."

"Are you threatening me?" she asked in disbelief.

He leaned back against the bench, looking annoyingly calm. "You are not important enough for that," he said. "This is the middle of the semester. Do you honestly think you can pass in your current condition?"

Her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "You do not even have the strength to shift yet," Kaden added. "First shifts are painful and combat is not only about fighting."

The worst part was that everything he said made sense. Kaden checked his watch before looking back at her.

"You have already wasted seven minutes," he said. "You should start running if you do not want to miss your other classes."

Yuki’s fists clenched so tightly at her sides that her nails dug into her palms. Heat rushed up her neck as she stared at Kaden’s infuriating face. Everything he said was technically right. She had no combat background, no real strength, and no way to prove him wrong at the moment.

Anger burned through her chest. Without another word she dropped her bag onto the grass and yanked off her sweater, revealing the simple t-shirt underneath. Luckily she was still wearing sneakers. Kaden leaned back on the bench, one eyebrow raised in clear amusement as he watched her.

She turned toward the track and started jogging. The first lap already felt brutal. By the time she rounded the bend, her breathing came in short gasps and her legs burned with every step. Sweat rolled down her back and stung her eyes. Kaden sat there without a single sign of concern, with his arms crossed he called out, "Keep going. You still have twenty-nine laps left." he said clearly amused like this was some type of show

"Don’t tell me you are giving up so soon. You are a werewolf. You are not supposed to be so weak." He added

Yuki gritted her teeth and continued. The sun was beating down mercilessly on her scalp. Each stride sent waves of heat through her body. Who the hell made people run at noon? She wondered if he had nothing better to do than torture her.

She gritted her teeth and shouted toward him, "It is too hot and this is impossible!"

Kaden sneered from the bench. "You are just making excuses. Keep running."

Her eyes twitched with fresh anger as she stopped in her tracks. "If it is so easy then why don’t you join me?" she challenged, expecting him to laugh and refuse.

To her surprise, he smiled. "Sure," he said and stood up.

He walked over and fell into step beside her. "But you better not lag behind. If you fall back too much you start all over again." Before she could protest his ridiculous rules he had already set off at a steady pace.

Kaden’s hair tossed lightly in the breeze as he ran. The fitted gym top clung to his broad shoulders and back, outlining every muscle with each stride. For a brief second Yuki caught herself thinking he looked good, but then she remembered his nasty temper and quickly shook the thought away. "What are you waiting for?" he called back without slowing down.

Her face twisted in disbelief that she had even noticed. She pushed herself to catch up. Running beside him turned into another kind of torture. Kaden kept his pace steady and kept telling her to run faster, but the sun was brutal. Her legs grew heavier, her breathing turned ragged, and soon she started falling behind.

While she panted and dripped with sweat, not a single drop appeared on him. She slowed down and he immediately warned, "If you stop I will cancel the lap you just finished." That was a threat.

So she forced herself onward. Her head began to spin. Black spots danced across her vision and her legs felt like lead. Somewhere around the sixth lap the world went silent. Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the track.

The last thing she saw was Kaden’s stunned expression before everything went black.

**********

Her entire body ached when she slowly regained consciousness. The room was dimly lit. Yuki’s lashes fluttered open and a blonde figure gradually came into focus beside the bed.

"Aevia..." she muttered.

Her sister sat there with deep worry lines across her forehead. Yuki realised she was back in her room. Outside the window, the sky had turned completely dark.

Aevia smiled gently and reached forward, pulling a cool wet towel from Yuki’s forehead. "Guess you are finally awake. You fainted from heat stroke and exhaustion."

Yuki tried to sit up but Aevia placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. "Do not move too much. You need to rest."

Yuki sank back against the pillows. Her throat felt raw and dry when she spoke. "Do I have to stay here?"

Aevia’s expression flickered with guilt. "You know it is for the best. Ravencourt is one of the strongest packs." Her voice softened. "I know it is difficult but can you just hang on for me?"

Everything Yuki wanted to argue disappeared the moment she saw the tired, hopeful look on her sister’s face. Seeing she had nothing left to say, Aevia continued.

"By the way I wanted to tell you something." She started, drawing Yuki’s full attention.

"What is it?" she asked

Aevia hesitated, fingers twisting together in her lap. "Alexander and I have to travel on a short pack trip," she explained.

As soon as the words left her mouth Yuki sat up sharply, eyes wide. "Do not tell me you are leaving me here alone?"

Aevia did not speak, but the heavy silence confirmed everything. Terror settled deep in Yuki’s chest. She did not want to be left alone with the brothers.