Presence

Max didn’t miss the way Brianna’s posture remained composed, yet alert. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t even nervous. Instead, she sat there, her fingers lightly resting on the cover of her book, her expression unreadable except for the faintest hint of amusement. Like she was entertaining them. Like she knew exactly what they were doing.

“Alright,” she said smoothly. “Talk.”

Her voice was light, polite but controlled. That only made Max more suspicious.

Jason scowled. “We know you’re hiding something.”

Her smile didn’t waver. “Am I?”

Max exhaled through his nose, jaw tight. She was enjoying this.

He leaned forward slightly, his red eyes sharp and unyielding. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

Brianna tilted her head, feigning innocence. “Have I?”

Jason scoffed. “Don’t play dumb. We’ve been watching you for days. And every single time we try to get close—” He snapped his fingers. “You disappear.”

Brianna blinked. “Disappear?”

Keira crossed her arms. “Don’t act like you don’t know what we’re talking about.”

Emma hadn’t spoken. She sat slightly apart from the others, her eyes moving between Brianna’s hands and her face.

Josh exhaled. “Look. We just want to know who you really are.”

Brianna didn’t flinch. She didn’t shift uncomfortably. She didn’t even blink. Instead, she gave them the same polite, unreadable smile.

“Well,” she said, her voice smooth as silk, “you already know my name. Brianna Heart. Seventeen years old. Transferred here recently.”

Jason growled under his breath. “Don’t. Do that.”

Brianna turned to him, feigning confusion. “Do what?”

“Lie.”

A beat of silence. Then a slow, deliberate blink. “I’m not lying,” she said. “That is my name. That is my age. And I did transfer here recently.”

Max clenched his jaw. She wasn’t technically lying. But she was hiding something. They all knew it.

Jason folded his arms, eyes narrowing. “Fine. Then explain this—”

He pulled out his phone and tapped play. And then the song filled the room. Max watched Brianna’s right hand. The song had been playing for perhaps two seconds when her index finger stopped its slow, idle tracing along the book’s spine. Her fingers curled around the edges of her book. And for a fraction of a second, her chin lifted just slightly, just enough and the smile was gone.

But then just as quickly she masked it again. The song continued to play, haunting and ethereal, filling the silent library with a melody that didn’t exist anywhere on Earth. Max watched her carefully. She wasn’t surprised by the song itself. She was surprised that they had it. When the recording ended, silence settled between them.

Then Jason leaned forward, his voice sharp. “What language is that?”

Brianna met his gaze, completely composed once more. “A very old one.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “From where?”

Another pause. Then, a small, graceful shrug. “From home.”

Max’s wolf bristled. Because she wasn’t saying Seattle. She was saying something else.

Jason scowled. “That’s not an answer.”

Brianna smiled. “It’s the one I’m giving you.”

The group sat in heavy silence, tension thick between them. Brianna had no fear. She had no hesitation. And that only made Max more suspicious.

Jason exhaled sharply, tapping the phone. “We searched. We looked up every ancient dialect, every lost language, every dead civilization.”

He leaned in. “There is no record of this language anywhere.”

Keira studied Brianna carefully. “So where did you learn it?”

Another pause. Then the smallest smirk. It was tiny. Brief. Almost imperceptible. But Max saw it. It was the first crack in her carefully crafted mask. Like she was holding back a secret she wasn’t going to give them. Like she knew something they didn’t. Finally, she sighed and shook her head.

“Some things don’t have records,” she said smoothly. “It doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

Max clenched his jaw. That wasn’t an answer. That was an excuse.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Who are you?”

Brianna met his gaze without hesitation. “I already told you.”

Max’s eyes darkened. “No, you didn’t.”

Silence. For a long moment, neither of them looked away. A silent war. A battle of wills. Then finally Brianna stood, closing her book.

“This has been… entertaining,” she said lightly, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeve.

Jason growled. “We’re not done here.”

Brianna tilted her head, as if considering. Then she smiled. “Oh,” she murmured. “But I think we are.”

And before anyone could stop her. She turned on her heel and walked. Jason didn’t hesitate. The moment Brianna turned her back, he was already on his feet, muscles coiled, ready to chase her down. She was too smug. Too calm.

And Jason wasn’t about to let her slip away again. “Oh, no you don’t—” he growled, moving toward her.

But before he could take another step she stopped. Turned. And looked directly at him. And Jason froze. His body locked up before he even realized what was happening. Brianna’s gaze was razor-sharp, piercing into him with an intensity that shouldn’t have been possible.

For the first time, she wasn’t smiling. Something shifted in her face. The amusement drained out of it completely, leaving behind something older, something that had no business being in a seventeen-year-old’s expression. Her eyes moved over Jason the way you might look at something you were deciding whether to step around or step on.

Jason’s heartbeat stuttered. Because suddenly he felt small. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t magic. It was pure presence. Raw, overwhelming authority. Her posture didn’t change. She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t move. But Jason couldn’t move either. His wolf howled in protest, instinctively recognizing something far greater than itself.

Not prey. Not enemy. Not Alpha. Something above that. His muscles locked up, his body refusing to obey even as his mind screamed to move.

“W-What the hell…?” His voice came out strained, weaker than he wanted.

Brianna blinked slowly, tilting her head ever so slightly—assessing him. Then she spoke. Soft. Cold. Absolute.

“Sit down.”

Jason’s body obeyed before his brain caught up. He dropped back into his chair, heart pounding, muscles tense, his wolf still bristling from the sheer force of her gaze. She hadn’t touched him. She hadn’t used magic. And yet she had stopped him completely. Max and the others had been watching the entire thing.

Josh’s brows furrowed. Keira’s lips parted slightly in shock. Emma’s eyes widened.

Tyler muttered under his breath, “Okay… that was kinda hot.”

Jason whipped his head toward him, snarling. “Shut up.”

Brianna, however, simply turned away. Calm. Controlled. As if Jason had never even been a threat. And then she walked out the door. Without another word. Without ever looking back. And this time? Not a single one of them moved to follow her.

Silence. Jason was still stiff in his chair, his pride burning hotter than his frustration.

He gritted his teeth. “What. The. Hell. Was. That?”

Josh exhaled slowly. “I… don’t know.”

Keira was still watching the door, her expression unreadable. “That wasn’t normal.”

Josh let out a low breath. “No. It wasn’t.”

Jason’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood up sharply. “I don’t care what that was,” he snapped. “Next time? I’m not freezing.”

Max didn’t move. But he felt it. The second she turned, the moment her eyes locked onto Jason—

Something shifted. The air went still. The pressure around them thickened, like the very atmosphere was bowing to her. His wolf didn’t submit like Jason’s. But it stood still. Watching. Assessing. And that was worse.

Because his wolf only did that when it recognized something powerful enough to challenge it. And Brianna? She hadn’t even done anything. That was not the look of an ordinary girl. That was not the presence of someone insignificant. That was not the reaction of someone caught in a lie. That was authority. Power.

And Brianna or whoever she really was. Knew exactly how to wield it. Max exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around the edge of the table. Because now, one thing was clearer than ever. She wasn’t just hiding something. She was someone dangerous. And Max was going to find out exactly what.