INICIAR SESIÓNI threw the note at his chest the moment we got back to our room.He caught it. Looked at me."We have to do something," I said. "That's Lyra's blood on that paper. She knew something about Cain and now she's gone and Soren is standing at a podium calling it a voluntary withdrawal and nobody is doing anything—""We can't go to Soren," Cassian said."I know we can't go to Soren—""Then lower your voice." He set the note on the desk carefully, like it was something that could break. "Cain has been at this academy for six years. He teaches two mandatory electives. He sits on the academic review board." He looked at me. "He and Soren have worked together since before we were students here. If we walk into that office with a blood-smeared note and no proof of anything, Soren buries it in a day and Cain knows we're looking.""Then what do we do?" My voice came out thinner than I wanted it to. "We just — what? Attend classes? Keep our heads down while Lyra is somewhere in that building—""W
Roll call moved alphabetically.I wasn't paying particular attention until the pause."Dune, Lyra."Nothing.Soren's aide checked the list. Called again. "Dune, Lyra."The silence that followed had a specific quality to it. Not the ordinary quiet of someone distracted or late. Something heavier. The kind of quiet that the students around the gap could feel without being told why.I looked sideways down the Solas row to where Val stood.She had gone the color of the stone wall behind her.Her eyes were fixed on Soren's aide. Her mouth was slightly open, like she'd started to say something and forgotten how.I watched her hand come up and press flat against her sternum. Small, controlled movement. Like she was checking that her chest was still working.Soren stepped forward."Lyra Dune has withdrawn for personal pack reasons, effective last night. Her records have been transferred." He moved on to the next name without pause. "Fell, Jace—"Val stepped out of line.Not dramatically. Not
Lyra put her tray down across from us and said, "Good morning. Has anyone told you two that you look like you've been awake since the moon was invented?"Cassian looked up from his coffee."That's not a compliment," I said."It wasn't meant to be." She sat down and stole a piece of bread off my plate without asking. "You both need to eat something that isn't stress. Ronan, back me up."Ronan, arriving two seconds behind her with a full tray, said, "I'm staying out of this. I value my continued existence.""Smart man," Cassian said."I have my moments."Lyra pointed her stolen bread at Cassian. "You smiled. At Ronan. With your actual face.""I didn't smile.""The left side of your mouth moved upward. That's a smile. Val, back me up."I had been staring at him. I looked away. "I didn't see anything.""You were absolutely staring.""I was looking in his general direction.""She was staring," Lyra told Ronan."Noted," Ronan said, and started eating.Cassian's expression had gone back to n
"Her name is Sera Voss," Lyra said. "Alpha. She failed the second phase of the Iron Circle last week. Dropped eight points."We were moving inside, off the field, into the east wing corridor where the lights were low. Lyra kept her voice tight and quiet."I know Sera," I said. "She was planning a rematch challenge. She told three people in Solas.""Her roommate said the same thing." Lyra pulled her jacket close. "She was angry about the ranking drop. She said she wasn't done." She paused. "This morning her bed was made. Her study notes were stacked on her desk. Her shoes were lined up by the door."Val hadn't said anything yet. She was walking slightly behind us, arms crossed, listening."Administration?" I asked."Academic transfer. Immediate. Regional school closer to her pack." Lyra's jaw tightened. "Mid-semester. No goodbye. No message to her roommate. No request to forward her things."I ran the pattern again in my head. Failed trial. Ranking drop. Gone within forty-eight hours.
I shoved my bag down so hard it knocked the chair beside my desk sideways.Cassian looked up from his book. Took one look at my face."What happened?" he asked."Nothing." I picked the chair up. Set it back. "I'm fine.""You knocked over furniture.""It was in my way.""Val.""I said I'm fine."He closed the book. Slowly. Set it down on the desk with the particular patience of someone who had already decided they were going to win this conversation and wasn't in a rush about it."Your jaw does that thing," he said.I touched my jaw before I could stop myself.He didn't say anything. He didn't need to.I sat on the edge of my bed and pressed my palms flat on my knees. Raven's voice was still moving through my head, smooth and precise, finding the exact shape of the thing I'd been afraid of since the forest.Ask yourself what he wants. And what he'll do when he's done wanting it."Raven cornered me in the side corridor," I said. "After Bloodline History.""What did she say?""That boys
Mira closed the door behind her and sat down across from me.I didn't look up. I was reading the latest ranking updates on my tablet, cross-referencing names against trial performance logs. A habit. Information was currency at Dominion and I never stopped collecting it."Talk," I said."Val Rhen," Mira said. "Three days of watching.""And?""Something's wrong with him. Not performance wrong, strategy wrong. He never pushes his wolf forward in dominance exercises. Never shifts, even when it would help him. Healing is slower than it should be for any alpha." She paused. "His scent is inconsistent. Some days it's almost unreadable."I set the tablet down."Wolfsbane," I said.Mira blinked. "You already suspected.""I've suspected since the second week." I leaned back. "Wolfsbane explains the healing delays, the muted dominance response, the scent gaps. Someone is suppressing their wolf deliberately and consistently." I looked at her. "The question isn't what. The question is why.""Could
By the time I made it back to the dining hall, the morning crowd had thinned out. Perfect.I kept my hoodie low, tray balanced in one hand, head down as I slid into the last corner seat near the back wall. Sleep hadn’t come easy last night. Not after Cassian. Not after his voice, low and close in
I couldn’t stop shaking.Back in the dorm, the door clicked shut behind me, and I slid down the frame, my knees hitting the floor hard. My heart was still hammering from Combat Strategy. I touched my nose, still sore, still bruised. Still not healing.Cassian hadn’t said a word to me all the time
I was out of the arena before Val even left the circle.His nose was still bleeding. His eyes was a bit unsteady as if trying to maintain consciousness. His hands were shaking.That wasn't normal. Especially for a full fledged alpha.I didn’t need to wait around to hear the rest of Renwick’s lectur
I didn’t really sleep on my first night. My body was still, but my mind wouldn’t shut up. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt Cassian’s presence. His voice repeating: no questions. No noise. No weakness. Like a damn command etched into the walls.He didn’t see me as a person. I was just something







