POV: Liam

I shouldn't have left. I made it halfway down the fire escape before my wolf forced me to stop. Every instinct screamed at me to go back, to stay near our mate, to protect her from threats I could feel but couldn't name.

Professor Mitchell. The name tasted like poison in my mouth. I gripped the cold metal railing, my knuckles turning white. Through the mate bond, I could feel Maya's confusion, her hurt, the way her heart was racing. Three floors above me, she stood on the other side of that locked window, and the distance between us felt like an ocean.

"This is insane," I muttered...