Chapter 1

Chapter 1 — The Gauntlet

Rhea's pov

The locker door slams into my shoulder before I see her coming.

"Oops." Britney's voice drips with fake sweetness. "Didn't see you there, Rhea."

I steady myself against the metal, books clutched to my chest. My heart pounds hard enough that I feel it in my throat. Around us, the hallway goes quiet. Not the kind of quiet that means people are minding their business. The kind that means they're watching.

Stay calm, Sable whispers inside me. Don't give her what she wants.

I don't. I straighten up, meet Britney's eyes for just a second, then turn back to my locker. My hands shake as I reach for my chemistry textbook. I hate that they shake. I hate that she can see it.

"What's wrong?" Britney leans against the locker next to mine. Her perfume is too strong. It makes my nose itch. "Cat got your tongue? Oh wait—you don't have a wolf, so I guess nothing's got your tongue."

The girls behind her laugh. High-pitched. Cruel. The sound scrapes against my skull.

I close my locker carefully. I don't slam it even though I want to. I don't say anything even though Sable is growling low and steady in my chest. I just turn to walk away.

That's when Britney sticks her foot out.

I see it too late. My ankle catches. My books scatter across the floor. My knees hit the tile hard enough that pain shoots up my thighs. Someone gasps. Someone else giggles.

"God, you're so clumsy." Britney sighs like she's tired. Like I'm the one bothering her. "Maybe if you had a wolf, you'd have better balance."

My face burns. Not from embarrassment. From rage. It sits in my chest like a living thing, hot and sharp and ready to tear its way out. Sable pushes against my ribs. Let me out. Let me show her what we are.

I can't. If I shift here, if I let anyone see what Sable really is, everything ends. So I swallow the anger. I taste metal. I gather my books with trembling hands and stand up.

Britney's already walking away, her friends trailing behind her like ducklings.

The hallway noise starts again. Conversations. Locker doors. Footsteps. Everyone moves on because this isn't new. This is just what happens to the girl with no scent.

I make it three steps before I have to stop. I press my back against the wall and close my eyes. My knees throb. My chest is too tight. I count to ten the way my mom taught me. Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait for the shaking to stop.

It doesn't stop.

I'm still standing there when I hear his voice.

"Well, well. Look who it is."

My eyes snap open. Joric is leaning against the wall across from me, arms crossed. Future Alpha. Britney's older brother. Worse in every possible way.

"Thought you'd learned to stay out of the way by now," he says. His smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Guess some people are slow learners."

I don't answer. I clutch my books tighter and start walking.

He steps in front of me.

"Where you going?" He tilts his head. "I'm talking to you."

My stomach twists. The hallway isn't empty, but it's not full enough. People are watching again, but no one's going to help. They never do.

"I have class," I say quietly.

"Class." He laughs. "Right. Let me guess—sitting in the back, keeping your head down, pretending you belong here?"

My jaw clenches. Sable snarls. Move him. I can move him.

"You know what I don't get?" Joric leans closer. I can smell the protein shake on his breath. "Why you even bother. No scent means no wolf. No wolf means you're basically human. So why are you wasting everyone's time?"

"Leave me alone." My voice comes out steadier than I feel.

"Or what?" He grins. "You gonna cry? You gonna run to Daddy? Oh wait—your dad's not even pack. He's just some random guy who felt sorry for you."

Something cracks inside me. Not rage this time. Something deeper. Something that hurts worse.

"Back off, Joric."

The voice comes from behind me. I don't have to turn around to know it's Remy.

Joric's smile fades. "This doesn't concern you."

"Yeah, it does." Remy steps up beside me. His shoulder brushes mine. "She's my friend. That makes it my business."

For a second, Joric looks like he might push it. His eyes flick between us. Then he shrugs.

"Whatever. She's not worth it anyway."

He walks away. This time, I do let out a breath.

"You okay?" Remy asks.

I nod. I don't trust my voice yet.

"Come on." He tugs my elbow gently. "Let's get out of here before someone else decides to be an asshole."

We walk in silence until we reach the stairwell. It's quieter here. Cooler. I sink down onto the bottom step and press my palms against my knees. They're scraped. Little dots of blood seep through my jeans.

Remy sits next to me. He doesn't say anything. He just waits.

"I'm fine," I say finally.

"You're not."

I look at him. Remy's been my friend since we were kids. He knows when I'm lying.

"I'm tired," I admit. "That's all."

"You're always tired." He nudges my shoulder. "When's the last time you actually rested?"

I don't answer because I don't remember.

"Hey." His voice softens. "You know the Lycan Prince is coming today, right?"

Everything inside me goes still.

"Yeah," I say. My throat feels tight. "I heard."

"Apparently he's announcing some kind of tournament. Should be interesting."

Interesting. Right.

I've known Ryker was my mate for four months. Four months since his convoy rolled into the Midnight Pack and I caught his scent from across the clearing. Four months since Sable went completely silent, then whispered, Him. That's him.

Four months of watching him walk past me like I don't exist.

Because I don't. Not to him. He can't smell me. And a mate who can't smell you is a mate who doesn't know you're alive.

"You okay?" Remy's watching me again.

"Yeah." I force a smile. "Just nervous about the tournament."

He doesn't look convinced, but he lets it go.

The classroom is half-full when we get there. I take my usual seat in the back corner. Remy sits next to me. I pull out my notebook and pretend to review yesterday's notes. My hands are still shaking.

That's when I feel it.

The air shifts. Gets heavier. Every wolf in the room goes quiet at the exact same time.

He's here.

I don't look up. I keep my eyes on my notebook. My heart slams against my ribs. Sable stirs, restless and hungry.

Don't, I tell her. Please don't.

"Good morning."

His voice rolls through the room like thunder. Deep. Steady. Absolutely in control.

I dig my nails into my palms.

"I'm here to announce an opportunity," Ryker continues. "In two weeks, the Midnight Pack will host a fighting tournament. The winner earns a position in the royal guard."

Whispers erupt around me. Excitement. Fear. Ambition.

I don't hear any of it.

Because I can smell him now. Pine and rain and something wild I don't have a name for. It fills my lungs. It makes my chest ache. Sable whines, desperate and yearning.

Look up, she begs. Just once. Let me see him.

I can't. If I look at him, if I meet his eyes, I don't know what will happen. I don't know if I can keep Sable quiet. I don't know if I can keep myself from doing something stupid and irreversible.

So I stare at my notebook. I count the lines on the page. I breathe through my mouth.

"Any questions?"

Silence.

Then I hear it. The soft click of heels on tile.

"Your Highness." Lila's voice is smooth. Confident. "Will you be overseeing the matches personally?"

"Some of them," Ryker says.

I risk a glance. Just one.

She's standing next to him. Her hand rests on his arm. Casual. Possessive. Like it belongs there.

Sable howls.

The sound doesn't leave my throat, but I feel it in my bones. Pain rips through my chest—sharp and sudden and completely unfair. Because she gets to touch him. She gets to stand beside him. She gets to sleep in his bed every night while I sit in the back of classrooms pretending I don't exist.

My vision blurs. I blink hard.

Remy's hand lands on my knee under the desk. A gentle squeeze. A reminder that I'm not alone.

I focus on that. On the warmth of his hand. On the solid realness of the desk under my palms. On anything except the way Ryker's fingers curl around Lila's.

"That's all," Ryker says. "Good luck to those who enter."

He leaves. Lila goes with him. The door closes.

I can breathe again.

"You sure you're okay?" Remy whispers.

"Yeah," I lie. "I'm fine."

But I'm not fine. I'm so far from fine I don't even remember what fine feels like.

Because he's mine. The moon goddess chose him for me. But he doesn't know. And I can't tell him. And every day I have to watch him live a life that doesn't include me.

I rest my forehead on my desk and close my eyes.

How much longer? I ask Sable. But sadly She doesn't answer.