Truly yours

The writing workshop ended late, and when Selena left, the campus revealed a different side of itself. The light from the streetlights was insufficient, and the sound of dry leaves blown against the asphalt by the wind made a terrifying noise. Selena adjusted the straps of her backpack and put it on her back as she looked for the shortest route to the dorm, skirting the edge of the Engineering building. The air felt colder and thicker.

Halfway there, that strange smell reached her again. She had smelled it before: iron and rancid oil, a combination unpleasant to her senses, making her neck prickle and alert.

She took out her phone, and it was dead.

"Just the thing," she murmured, quickly putting it in her pocket.

She quickened her pace. Behind her, she heard heavy footsteps. Selena turned the corner and saw the door to her destination at the end of the hallway. There were less than a hundred meters left; she was very close.

"Hello," said a voice. Where are you going so fast?

When she turned around, she realized they were three men dressed in black, with leather jackets and hoods. One of them wore a leather bracelet with a crescent-shaped metal plate on his wrist. They weren't students; at least, they didn't look like one. She'd never seen them on campus before.

"Go away, I don't want any trouble," Selena said, without stopping.

"Nor do we," one said, showing his teeth as he smiled. "We want to talk to you."

He crossed in front of her, blocking her way. He smelled of iron and a cave. Selena took a step back. The third made a strange noise with his mouth.

"I like the way you smell, it's sweet. Vanilla," he assured her, moving closer.

At that moment, Selena remembered Adrian's warnings; she thought of him at that moment more than ever. She wanted to scream his name, and she did so in her heart, without using her voice.

The man in front of her grabbed her wrist; he wasn't rough, he just immobilized her. Selena jerked back, pushing off with her heels digging into the floor to free herself. Her face showed anger, and when she was about to scream, the air changed temperature.

A growl, low at first, broke the silence of the night.

"Let her go," he ordered.

Selena was surprised to see that it was Luciano who stepped out of the shadows as if he had been there for a long time. This time he wasn't smiling; his mouth was tense. Further back, to her right, walked Elías, who approached Selena. Behind them, a golden flash lit up the scene.

Adrian.

The one holding Selena didn't let go; he just laughed.

"Look, it's the rich kids," he commented mockingly. "The princes have come to your defense."

Luciano bowed his head, his light eyes changing color and brightness; they no longer seemed human.

"We're not princes, and if you don't let go, you'll regret it," Luciano said softly.

"We're evenly matched, three against three," the man with the crescent-moon bracelet calculated, tilting his neck.

Everything happened at once.

Luciano attacked first, so fast that the moment he pryed the attacker's fingers apart and twisted his wrist was lost. The man let out a scream. Elias lifted the second man, slamming him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. The third, the one with the bracelet, launched himself at Adrian.

When he collided with Adrian, it sounded like metal hitting stone. The Alpha's golden eyes flared. He didn't roar; there was no need to. He pushed him away with a sharp shove that threw him more than two meters. The attacker rolled and, as soon as he could, tried to get up, his breath escaping between his nonhuman teeth.

"Watch out!" Elias warned, without looking at him. That warning was for all three of them.

Selena, shocked, pressed herself against the wall, moving away. Without blinking. The scene of the fight left her incredulous: the brightness in the Blackwells' eyes, their enormous bodies, and the speed with which they moved.

Luciano dodged a punch and returned a chokehold that nearly broke his arm. He looked over his shoulder at Selena, as if asking her to wait and see the end.

The crescent-shaped man attacked again, faster this time. Adrian waited until he got close enough; he had his measure. When he finally crossed the distance, Adrian grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and slammed him mercilessly to the ground. There was no spectacle because he was so fast that the man was afraid. The blazing golden eyes remained on his, waiting to see if he wanted another beating.

"Don't come back here," said the Alpha. This is my campus, don't go near her.

The man with the half-moon spat to the side, leaving a smell of iron.

"She's not yours," he dared to reply. "She smells like..."

Elías didn't let him finish his sentence. He silenced him by pressing his knee against his sternum. Luciano released his, who limped off, cursing. The third was already running away.

"They're leaving," Elías said.

"They're leaving," Adrián confirmed, without taking his eyes off the man closest to him.

For a second, everyone was silent. The wind blew icy. The light failed on one of the lampposts. The two remaining ones stood up and fled.

There was silence.

Selena looked down. Her hands were shaking; she tried to put them in her pockets, but the clothes she was wearing were plain, without pockets, so she put them behind her back.

"Are you okay?" Elías asked, in a soft voice.

Selena nodded.

"I think so," she said. "I'm just having trouble breathing."

Luciano ran his hand through his hair and went back to being his usual pedant.

"You picked a bad night to be out for a walk," he commented, trying to be funny.

Adrián remained serious; he had a scratch on his face. His eyes, however, were no longer burning. They were golden again, but human.

"We'll take you. Don't go on alone," he said calmly.

"I can do it alone, I'm very close," Selena answered without thinking.

"You won't walk alone today," Adrian replied, and no one else dared to argue with him.

The four of them walked the few remaining meters to the residence hall door. No one spoke. Upon arriving, Elias pressed the button, and when the doorbell rang, he looked at Selena with his usual calm.

"If you smell iron again, don't walk down that hallway," he indicated. "There are more people in the other building."

Selena nodded. She felt fine, took a deep breath, and admitted that they had helped her a lot.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Luciano, leaning against the doorframe, leaned toward her.

"That's what we're here for."

"No," Adrian intervened, without looking at him, but making it clear for everyone, that's what I'm here for."

The door opened, and Selena held it with her hand. She hesitated before entering, daring to ask.

"What were they?"

Luciano opened his mouth to answer, and Elías closed it with a gesture. Adrián answered.

"People who don't belong here," he affirmed. "And who won't return."

He didn't satisfy Selena's doubt, but he didn't lie to her either. Her hand hurt where that man had squeezed it, but she didn't mention it.

"Good night," he said, and went inside.

Selena climbed the stairs, feeling heavier than usual. She leaned against the wall on the landing and allowed herself to tremble for a moment; she wanted to shake off the fear before entering her room.

Outside, Adrián stared at the closed door. Elías followed the men's trail, his eyes glancing toward the darkest part of the area.

"They had a mark," Adrián confirmed.

"A bitten half-moon, they'll come back," Elías pointed out.

"Not with her," Adrián repeated.

At that moment, her eyes lit up again. That night, when Selena finally managed to fall asleep, the forest awaited her with the moon and the cold air. In the distance, a branch cracked, and the three white wolves appeared, no longer hiding, among the trees. One looked at her, another pawed the ground, and the third remained distant, alert.

Selena touched her wrist where it hurt. The air smelled of rain and vanilla.

Now she knew the danger was real.