Chapter 160: The Wolf They Missed

Chapter 160: The Wolf They Missed

POV: Astrid Vale

Ivy had gone out for the evening, something about helping Camilla with a project, leaving me alone in the apartment with Reed and Xander for the first time in what felt like days. The atmosphere settled into something comfortably domestic almost immediately, Xander sprawled across one end of the couch while Reed sat at the small desk nearby, still flipping through notes from his student council duties.

"The new schedule system is still a mess," Reed said, not looking up. "Half the students haven’t figured out which building their classes are actually in."

"Give it a week," I said. "People adjust."

"You’re remarkably optimistic for someone who got lost twice yesterday."

"That was the building’s fault, not mine."

Xander laughed from the couch, tossing a small decorative stone ball up and catching it absently as he listened to our conversation. "I got lost too," he admitted. "Ended up in some advanced spellcraft room instead of combat training. The professor looked at me like I’d wandered in by accident."

"You did wander in by accident."

"Semantics."

He tossed the stone ball toward Reed without much warning, a casual, playful motion that Reed caught easily, sending it back with equal nonchalance. I sat on the arm of the couch between them, watching their easy back and forth with a warmth settling comfortably in my chest. This felt normal, ordinary, the kind of evening I hadn’t let myself fully appreciate until recently.

"Careful with that," Reed said, as Xander tossed it again, this time with more force behind it.

"I’m always careful."

"You’re never careful."

The ball sailed a little wider than intended, veering off course toward the small shelf behind me where a framed photograph sat, one Reed kept of the three of us, taken not long after I’d first moved into the apartment. I watched it happen almost in slow motion, the trajectory clear, the photo frame directly in its path.

My body moved before I’d consciously decided anything.

My hand shot out, closing around the stone ball mid-air, inches from the frame, my reflexes faster and more precise than anything I should have been capable of. The room went completely silent for a moment, both twins staring at my hand like I’d just performed something impossible.

"Whoa," Xander said, sitting up fully now. "Did you see that? Reed, did you see that?"

"I saw it," Reed said, his eyes still fixed on my hand. "Astrid, how did you do that?"

"I don’t know," I admitted, looking down at the ball resting in my palm. "I didn’t even think about it. My body just moved on its own."

"That’s incredible," Xander said, grinning. "Your reflexes have gotten insane since Elaris. Have you been training without telling us?"

"Not exactly."

"Seriously, that was faster than anything I’ve seen from most third-years," he continued, clearly working himself up into genuine excitement. "Reed, tell her that was impressive."

"It was impressive," Reed said, though something careful had crept into his expression, like he already suspected there was more to the story than simple reflexes.

I held the stone ball in my palm, turning it over once, deciding there was no point delaying what I’d been meaning to tell them properly for weeks now. "It wasn’t just reflexes," I said. "That was Sapphire."

Both of them went still.

"Who’s Sapphire?" Xander asked slowly.

"My wolf," I said, and the words settled into the room with a weight that made both their expressions shift all at once.

Reed’s mouth opened slightly, like he wanted to say something and couldn’t quite find the right words fast enough. Xander simply stared at me, his earlier excitement transforming into something far more intense.

"Your wolf," Reed repeated. "You have a wolf. An actual wolf."

"I do," I said, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face at finally saying it plainly. "She woke up a few weeks ago. I named her Sapphire."

"You have a wolf named Sapphire," Xander said, like he needed to hear himself say it to believe it, "and you’re only telling us now?"

"I was going to tell you eventually."

"Eventually," Reed repeated, crossing his arms, something between pride and genuine offense settling into his expression. "You’ve had a wolf, a literal wolf, living inside you for weeks, and we find out because you accidentally caught a decorative stone ball."

"In my defense, it was a very exciting discovery and I got distracted by everything else happening since."

"That is not a defense," Xander said, flopping back against the couch cushions with theatrical despair. "I can’t believe you kept this from me. Does she know about me? Does she like me? This feels like something I should have been informed about the moment it happened."

"She likes you both equally," I said, laughing properly now. "I promise."

"You’re saying that now, after weeks of secrecy," Xander said. "This deserved an immediate announcement. A celebration. Possibly a parade."

"A parade seems excessive."

"Everything about this discovery deserves excessive celebration."

Reed, despite his earlier pointed tone, couldn’t fully hide the smile tugging at his mouth, the mock offense settling into something warmer the longer he watched Xander’s dramatic performance. "We are happy for you," he said, more sincerely now, his eyes soft as they settled on me. "Genuinely. You spent so long believing you had nothing. I’m glad you were wrong."

Something in my chest warmed at that, the simple, unguarded pride in his voice meaning more than I could properly express.

"I’ll make it up to both of you," I said eventually, once their exaggerated pouting had run its course. "For not telling you sooner."

Xander’s eyes immediately lit up with interest. "How, exactly?"

"I haven’t decided yet."

"That’s unacceptable. I need specifics."

"You’ll find out," I said, enjoying the way his curiosity visibly warred with his impatience, watching him practically bounce with the effort of not demanding further information.

Reed, quieter now, watched me with an expression that had settled into something softer, more thoughtful than his earlier teasing. I caught his gaze and held it for a moment, something passing silently between us that neither of us needed words to express.

The playful mood gradually shifted into something quieter, and I found myself watching both of them properly, Xander still grumbling good-naturedly about being kept out of the loop, Reed’s attention fixed on me with quiet intensity. Something in my chest ached suddenly, unexpectedly, as I thought back to Elaris, to those weeks of separation, the desperate ache of missing them that I hadn’t allowed myself to fully acknowledge until I was already safely back in their arms.

I’d missed their touch more than I’d let myself admit even to myself, the simple warmth of Reed’s hand finding mine, the easy affection in the way Xander draped himself over furniture and people alike, the particular comfort of being held by either of them after a difficult day. I’d missed the weight of their presence beside me, the way my whole body settled into something calmer whenever they were close enough to touch.

If I’d missed them this badly during those weeks apart, surely they’d felt something equally desperate, searching for me without any certainty I was even still alive.

The thought settled something in my chest, shifting the entire atmosphere of the room without either of them fully understanding why yet. I looked between them, Reed’s quiet steadiness, Xander’s barely contained energy, both of them watching me now with something attentive replacing their earlier teasing.

I stood from my perch on the arm of the couch, moving closer, something deliberate in my steps that neither of them missed. Xander’s teasing expression shifted into something more focused, more serious, while Reed’s gaze tracked my movement with careful attention.

I didn’t say anything at first, letting the silence stretch between us, charged with everything unspoken since I’d first walked back through that apartment door weeks ago. My fingers found the first button of my shirt, and I held both their gazes as I slowly worked it free, watching the way their breathing shifted, the way their attention sharpened entirely onto me.

Reed rose slowly from his seat at the desk, and Xander sat up straighter on the couch, both of them watching me with an intensity that sent warmth spreading through my entire body.

My eyes traced over both of them in turn, taking in everything I’d missed so desperately during those long weeks apart, everything I’d nearly lost the chance to have at all.

I undid the second button, and neither of them said a single word.