Nyra slams the trunk shut, arms burning from carrying so much luggage. "This is stupid. You’ve filled the trunk with all your suitcases. I don’t even have space to put anything." She slaps her hands together, glaring daggers at him.

Adrian doesn’t flinch, leaning against the hood of his SUV, not looking up from his phone. "Stop complaining and get in. The faster we’re away from my parents, the better."

Okay....thst actually sounds enticing.

She shoves a few things into the back seat before rounding to the passenger side.

The fifteen-minute drive is silent except for Nyra rolling down the window and adjusting the Aircon to escape his scent in the tight space--he still smells like Anna and too much guilty perfume.

"What?" he shoots her a look.

Nyra ignores him. He knows exactly what’s wrong. The slight grin perched at the edge of his lips proves it.

The location of the condo is actually really nice. It’s close to the academy and situated in a wealthy apartment complex. This neighborhood probably costs millions of dollars.

They ride up the elevator in stony silence until they eventually reach the fifth floor. Nyra steps out first, rolling the single suitcase that carries the few good clothes she owns.

She marches toward the third condo, pressing the key card against its reader. Her mouth drops when the door opens.

Wow.

The interior looks like the type of apartment you find in high-end magazines--a medium-sized living room, calm-colored furniture, and a TV in the middle. There is a big kitchen in view from the living room, a small hallway off to the side, and two separate bedrooms.

She doesn’t look back, rushing toward the clearly bigger room and plops her luggage on the bed.

"This one’s mine."

Adrian comes in behind her, expression as dark as thunderstorm. "The Alpha gets the bigger room. Move."

She ignores him and starts unpacking shirts into the dresser. "Contract says separate rooms. First come, first served."

Adrian growls and grabs for the box. Their hands touch as he takes it and both their wolves howl in happiness.

*This bond is so annoying.* Nyra thinks, running after Adrian to grab her bag back.

"You can’t just rewrite the rules five seconds after signing!"

"Watch me." He retorts, throwing the box into the hallway. "The guest room’s yours. Take it or sleep on the couch."

She glares, then drags her stuff down the hall. "Fine! Just stay the hell away from me."

Adrian doesn’t bother to respond, dragging his own suitcases into the bigger room, satisfied.

Barely half an hour of staying together, and Nyra is already fed up.

Adrian started blasting loud rock music from his room ten minutes ago, then pretended not to hear her knocking for the last five.

"You’re making too much noise!" she yells, kicking one of his duffel bags on purpose.

He storms out, completely shirtless, his athletic body fully on display.

"What the fuck are you doing?! I have expensive shit in there!"

Nyra realizes for the first time that Adrian has a tattoo running over the edge of his waist.

Her eyes trace the dark ink before she can stop herself, heat creeping up her neck. She doesn’t notice Adrian watching her until he snaps his fingers.

"Hello? My eyes are up here."

Shit.

Her wolf mocks her internally, teasing her for being caught staring.

Absolutely not!

She ignores both of them and storms back into her room--at least the music has stopped.

In the kitchen, they fight over cabinets. Nyra puts the glasses on the top shelf. Adrian moves them down.

"I don’t want you nagging me to help you reach things."

"I’m not even that short!" she retorts, throwing a dish towel at his head.

He catches it effortlessly, and It pisses her off even more.

By evening, the living room is still messy, courtesy of the numerous brown boxes Luna Selene has just sent over.

Nyra collapses onto the couch, groaning at how many things they still have left to unpack. Adrian, on the other hand, still looks unfairly refreshed.

A knock comes at the door.

He glances at her outfit unconsciously--checking if she’s properly covered--before pulling the door open.

John strides in with a can of beer.

"New place looks sick. Brought help."

"You called John!?" Nyra grumbles. Of all his friend it had to be this loud mouth, really?

Neither of them blink at the complaint. Adrian just cracks a beer open, "Help me unpack. Nyra’s useless."

Useless? She’s been cleaning for hours!!

She mutters curses under her breath and disappears into the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Nyra hears drawers opening in her room. She rushes out.

John is crouched by her half-unpacked box, holding a lacy bralette between two fingers.

"Whoa. Defective has taste."

"Put that down!" She snatches it away. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Just helping sort," John replies smugly, reaching for her journal. "Let’s see..."

Adrian leans in the doorway, a warning look on his face.

"John..."

"What? I’m just helping."

"Are you fucking stupid?!" Nyra grabs the journal from him, turning to Adrian. "This breaks the contract! Call your friend to order, or I call your mother."

Adrian’s scowls,

"Don’t threaten me with my parents." But he waves John over anyway.

"John, leave her things alone."

John just shrugs and continues poking through her belongings, and Nyra sees red. In that moment she doesn’t care how it looks to the both of them. She turns to Adrian angrily.

"You’re breaking the agreement, Adrian. Get him out. Now!"

Adrian’s jaw clenches. He pushes off the doorway and grabs John by the shoulder.

"Leave her shit alone, man. Go help with the boxes in the living room."

John drops the journal with a dramatic sigh and smirks at Nyra.

"Whatever you say, Alpha." He saunters off, chuckling.

Nyra spins on Adrian the second John is out of earshot.

"Call your friend to order, Adrian! I’m not joking about calling your mother."

"Relax," Adrian mumbles, running a hand through his hair. "He’s just messing around. John’s like that."

"I don’t care. Both of you just stay away from my things!"

She shoves past him into the living room, where John is already cracking open another beer, lounging innocently on the couch.

Adrian follows after a beat.

"We’re done unpacking for tonight. I’m tired as fuck."

He glances around the room.

"Actually... screw it. We’re throwing a housewarming party tonight!"

Nyra freezes mid-step. "Tonight? We just got here! The place is still a mess."

"Exactly. Perfect excuse to break it in." Adrian pulls out his phone and starts typing rapidly. "John, text the crew. Tell them to bring drinks and whatever. Nine o’clock. Spread the word."

John grins wide. "Hell yeah! Anna coming too?"

Adrian doesn’t even blink. "Obviously. I’m calling her over right now. But she’ll have to come in through the back entrance, though. I don’t want her dealing with any bullshit." His tone softens just slightly at Anna’s name.

He catches Nyra staring at him with an unreadable expression and narrows his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," Nyra she shakes her head, already dreading having Anna over in her own personal space after finally escaping that house.

But there’s nothing she can do about it right now. They had both signed the damned contract, now she has no right to complain even if Adrian brings her over everyday.

"She’s on her way," Adrian announces, pocketing his phone after a few minutes. He turns fully to her. "And as for you--don’t show your face during the party. You’re not invited."

Nyra’s blood boils. How can one man be so irresponsible, immature and a jerk all at once!?

"This is my apartment too. You can’t just ban me from my own living room on the first night!"

Adrian crosses his arms.

"Watch me. Stay in your room, door closed. I don’t want you ruining the party tonight."

He turns away without waiting for a response, already barking orders at John to move boxes and string up lights.

Nyra storms into her smaller room and slams the door, her heart pounding. It’s not like she wanted to be around them anyway.

But it’s the fact that barely two hours in this condo and it already feels like a prison.

She hears them shoving furniture, laughter echoing as more of Adrian’s friends trickle in one by one. Pretty soon, the condo feels full.

Around eight-thirty, Nyra hears Anna’s voice--in that annoying high-pitched whine she uses whenever she wants something.

"I’m here. Missed you."

Nyra presses her ear against her door despite herself. It shouldn’t be her business, but she can’t help eavesdropping as Anna continues to whisper sweet nothings to him.

She tries to block it out. All of them, instead spending the next hour arranging her room exactly how she’s always wanted it.

After almost an hour, she can’t endure the thirst anymore.

Nyra slips out quietly, heading for the kitchen. She walks past the living room, stopping short when she sees Anna perched on Adrian’s lap, legs draped possessively over him, fingers tangled in his hair as she laughs at something he says.

Nyra forces her eyes away and drags open the fridge for a bottle of water.

"Nyra?" Jason’s voice comes from beside her. He stands near the counter, holding a drink. "Hey. How are you holding up? You like the apartment?"

She looks at him in quiet surprise, but offers him a small smile. "I’m surviving. You?"

"I’m fine," he says softly, brushing dust from her clothes.

The moment his hand touches her, a sharp spike of jealousy surges through their bond. Her wolf shifts uneasily.

Nyra’s eyes dart toward Adrian with a frown, catching him glaring daggers at them. His jaw is clenched tight, body rigid beneath Anna.

Before he can react, however, Anna, who has noticed the shift, cups his face and yanks him into a deep, possessive kiss, moaning against his mouth loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Loud enough for Nyra to hear.