LOGINI sat at my desk reviewing Cain's evidence photographs.Thinking about what came next. And whether what came next included the thing I had been thinking about since the greenhouse conversation when Cassian said “that's not the only reason you stayed.”The photographs showed student records, intake forms, and handwritten notes documenting Cain's experiments. We had enough evidence to raise serious questions, and Maren had finally opened an informal council inquiry. But Cain was still at the academy, and I had no idea how much he already suspected about me.My suppressant compound was also becoming less reliable. The bond kept interfering with it, and every attempt to control the situation seemed to create another problem.I had spent days thinking about possible solutions. None of them addressed the one thing I was increasingly afraid to admit: perhaps I didn't want to suppress the bond forever.The door opened.Cassian came back from a late Solas meeting."What did it cover?" I asked.
I woke at 3 AM from a dream I could not remember.Only the feeling of it. A sense of purpose that was not mine and a love that absolutely was.I sat up in the dark and tried to remember. The dream dissolved like smoke through fingers.I was left with the residue and no way to tell where one ended and the other began.For several minutes, I remained still, waiting for another piece of the dream to return. I remembered the warmth of someone's presence, the certainty that I needed to protect something precious, and the strange conviction that I had been given a task I couldn't afford to fail.But there was no face. No voice. No clear beginning or end.I pressed my fingers against my temples, frustrated by how easily my mind had emptied itself.It wasn't the first time I'd woken like this since my return. The dreams came irregularly, leaving behind emotions that felt too strong for something I couldn't remember. Sometimes I woke feeling guilty. Other times, I felt peaceful in a way I coul
Ascension Trial Stage Three—Strategic Dominance.The assessment required senior alpha candidates to demonstrate strategic leadership in a simulated multi-pack conflict scenario. It was the most complex of the three stages and the one I had been technically best prepared for my entire life.I stood at the assessment room's entrance.My father was waiting for results. Soren was watching. Maren was evaluating.Val was in the gallery.I had never cared less about the first three and more about the last one.The room beyond the entrance had been arranged to resemble a military command center. A wide table occupied the middle, its surface displaying a detailed map of the simulated territory. Small markers represented pack units, supply routes, enemy positions, and vulnerable settlements. Screens along the walls showed updates as the scenario progressed.Three evaluators sat behind a raised desk. The panel chair, an older alpha with decades of military experience, studied me as I entered."A
I sat in my office the morning after my secondary ward registered an intrusion.Corbin stood by the door, waiting for instructions. I reviewed the footage of what was taken. They had photographed the clipboard data. The intake forms. The student names in the margins.I was not angry.I had expected this. I had adjusted for it.The intrusion had been recorded at 2:13 a.m. The ward registered an unauthorized presence, activated its delayed response, and alerted me to the breach. By the time I reached the office, the intruders were gone.Efficient.Not particularly original, but efficient."The security team has reviewed the corridor footage," Corbin said. "The faces weren't captured clearly.""How unfortunate.""Should we increase patrols?""No."He hesitated. "Sir?""If we increase patrols immediately, we tell the intruders they found something worth protecting. Let them believe their access went unnoticed."Corbin nodded, though I could see he didn't entirely understand.That was acce
I sat in my seat and kept my eyes on my notes with focused attention.The words on the board were clear.My concentration wasn't.Two days.It had been two days since Cassian kissed me.Nothing had been officially said.Nothing had been announced.Nothing had been defined.But the bond knew.My wolf knew.And judging by the steady warmth coming through it, so did his.I forced myself to focus on the professor."Partial acceptance does not necessarily mean a completed bond," Professor Hale explained, pacing slowly across the front of the classroom. "But it does create a significant behavioral shift. Once both parties consciously acknowledge the bond, maintaining emotional distance becomes increasingly difficult."A few students murmured.Someone raised a hand."Does that mean they become dependent on each other?""Not necessarily," Professor Hale said. "Dependence and bond recognition are different things. A healthy bond should not erase individual identity. In fact, resisting that dis
I trained alone before anyone else was up.Just because my body needed to move while my mind processed. I ran the training yard through the dawn and thought about last night and what it meant and what came next.The bond was warm and steady. For the first time, not a source of pain.The absence of the pain was almost disorienting.I expected guilt.I expected panic.Maybe even regret.Instead, there was a strange calm sitting underneath everything.I had kissed Cassian.Not because of the bond.Not because we were trapped in the same fight.I had kissed him because I wanted to.That realization kept returning every time my mind tried to move to something else.I drove my fist into the training dummy.It swung backward.I followed with another strike.Then another.My body knew what to do even when my mind didn't.The problem was that now I had to figure out what came after the thing I had spent months refusing to name.Cassian and I were different now.There was no pretending otherwis
The silence that hung between us wasn’t peaceful. It was thick, stiff and heavy in the very corners of the room like dust no one dared to sweep.Val didn’t answer my question.Didn’t even flinch.Just climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up like I hadn’t asked a damn thing.And that pissed the h
Raven tasted like cherry lip balm and something feminine. She was soft in the way I liked as we locked lips.Her fingers tangled in my hair, her body warm against mine as she shifted on my lap, lips trailing down my jaw. I let my head fall back against the wall, exhaling through my nose as her han
The night swallowed me whole.The moment my feet hit the dense forest beyond my father’s estate, I forced myself not to look back. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to put as much distance between myself and my former life as possible. But I couldn’t afford reckless speed. Not yet.I kept my st
The grand hall was suffocating.Rows of wolves in formal attire stood along the edges of the large room, their whispers moving through the air like a curse I couldn't shake. My father, Alpha Rhen, stood tall at the head of the room, his sharp gaze scanning the gathered pack members before settling







