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I laugh softly and let my fingers travel through his fur.

Then it happens.

Magic.

A spark snaps against my fingertips.

I jerk.

The Wolf's eyes fly open. The spark races up my arm.

Not painful.

Warm.

Powerful.

It shoots straight through me and settles somewhere behind my ribs.

My breath catches.

“What was that?”

The Wolf stares at me.

The night seems to go completely still.

No insects.

No wind.

No muffled voices from inside the Academy.

Nothing.

Just the two of us beneath the full moon.

And magic.

So much magic.

It presses against my skin.

Wraps around us.

For one impossible moment, I have the strangest feeling that something has just happened.

Something important.

Something I should understand.

But I don't.

The Wolf presses his head into my palm. My heart gives a ridiculous little thump.

“Holy shit,” I whisper.

Something rustles behind me. I spin.