I stood outside the Summit gym at 4:45 AM, breath visible in the cool California air, feeling like an idiot.

The building loomed above me, all glass and steel and architectural statements about how much money the academy had to throw around. The electronic lock on the door blinked red every few seconds, mocking my lack of access. Elite Ten members got key cards. Vale’s Heir Apparent apparently got to stand in the cold like a peasant waiting for his lord to remember he existed.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. Three weeks ago I would have killed to be standing here, waiting for the strongest hunter on faculty to personally train me. Now I was here, and all I could think about was how much warmer my bed had been and whether Vale was the type of asshole who showed up late to test my dedication.

Probably.

My phone showed exactly 5:00 AM when I heard footsteps echoing across the quad.

Finally.

Except the footsteps belonged to a maintenance worker with a coffee cup and absolutely zero interest in letting random students into restricted facilities. He nodded politely and walked past, leaving me alone with my growing irritation and the persistent red light on the door.

Vale was late.

The man who could probably level a city block if he sneezed too hard was running behind schedule like some kind of amateur. I’d dragged myself out of bed before dawn, skipped my usual morning routine, and rushed across campus to meet his arbitrary 5 AM deadline. And he wasn’t here.

My respect for authority figures had never been particularly high, but this was testing even my flexible standards.

I checked my phone again. 5:15 AM.

The rational part of my brain suggested texting Vale to confirm he hadn’t forgotten or died in his sleep. The increasingly pissed off part wanted to go back to bed and let him explain why punctuality only applied to students. The paranoid part wondered if this was another test, like the fake crystal heist, designed to measure my patience and dedication.

If it was a test, I was failing spectacularly. If it wasn’t a test, I was failing even more spectacularly by not having the balls to text him and ask what the hell was taking so long.

The morning air carried the scent of ocean salt mixed with the distant sound of waves crashing against the cliffs below campus. Under normal circumstances, I might have appreciated the peaceful atmosphere and the way the sky was starting to shift from black to dark blue. Right now it felt like nature was mocking me. Look at this beautiful morning you’re wasting standing outside a locked door like an idiot.

A group of early morning joggers passed by in a tight formation, their synchronized breathing and matching academy gear marking them as serious athletes getting a head start on the day. They glanced at me with curiosity, probably wondering why someone was lurking outside the Elite Ten facility like a stalker at ass o’clock in the morning.

Great. Now I looked suspicious on top of desperate.

One of them actually slowed down, like he was considering asking if I needed help or directions or psychiatric medication. I gave him my best "everything’s fine here, move along" expression, which apparently worked because he rejoined his group without saying anything.

I pulled out my phone and pretended to be absorbed in something important, which mostly involved scrolling through the same three apps repeatedly while my annoyance climbed toward homicidal levels.

5:30.

Half an hour late.

This was ridiculous. Vale had specifically requested my presence at 5 AM sharp for elite training protocols. He’d made it sound urgent, like missing this appointment would somehow doom my chances of surviving whatever Cassandra Davenport had planned for me. And now he was nowhere to be found while I stood around like an abandoned dog waiting for its owner to remember it existed. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The System helpfully chimed with a notification I immediately dismissed. Whatever meaningless achievement or stat update it wanted to share could wait until I wasn’t contemplating the relative merits of breaking into a restricted facility or just going back to sleep.

My feet were getting cold despite the decent boots Aurora had picked out during our shopping trip. The concrete beneath me sucked heat away with the efficiency of a vampire, which seemed appropriate given my current circumstances. Even my jacket, which had felt warm enough in my heated apartment, was proving inadequate against the morning chill.

I started pacing.

Five steps to the left, turn around, five steps to the right, repeat. The movement generated a tiny amount of warmth and gave my growing frustration a physical outlet. Plus it made me look less like a creepy stalker and more like an impatient student, which was marginally better for my reputation.

The sunrise began painting the horizon in shades of orange and pink, which would have been beautiful if I weren’t too irritated to appreciate natural phenomena. Campus was starting to wake up around me. More joggers appeared, along with a few dedicated students heading to early study sessions and the occasional faculty member grabbing coffee from the 24-hour café near the library.

None of them were Vale.

I considered my options. Going back to my room would feel like admitting defeat, but staying here much longer would make me look pathetic. Texting him might be seen as disrespectful, but ignoring the situation entirely seemed equally problematic. Breaking into the gym would definitely get me expelled, assuming the security system didn’t kill me first.

All bad choices.

The story of my life, really. Even when things were going well, I somehow ended up standing outside locked buildings at ungodly hours questioning my life decisions.

My phone buzzed with a message from Aurora asking if I’d survived Vale’s training yet. I responded with a picture of the locked gym door and a caption that probably violated several academy conduct policies. She sent back a laughing emoji and a promise to bring me coffee if I was still there when she woke up.

At least someone found my suffering amusing.

5:45.

Forty-five minutes late.

My patience, never one of my stronger qualities, had officially evaporated. I was cold, tired, hungry, and increasingly convinced that Vale had either forgotten entirely or was testing whether I possessed the doormat qualities necessary for his particular style of mentorship.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t.