Decision

KAEL

I was at the school cafeteria with the guys, deep in our usual round of banter, laughing, tossing insults, and half-arguing about the upcoming combat trials, when it hit me.

A faint scent drifted through the air, subtle at first, but enough to make my wolf, Blade, jolt awake.

A blend of citrus and freshly brewed coffee. Warm, sharp and inviting.

It snaked into my lungs, settling deep. And suddenly, whatever I’d been saying dissolved into nothing.

Blade growled low in my mind, alert and restless.

'Mate.'

The word echoed through me like a strike of lightning.

My eyes darted around the cafeteria, searching, desperate. The chair I sat on scraped the floor as I stood, causing heads to turn. I don’t care. I sniffed the air again, trying to lock onto the scent, but it was already starting to fade.

“Kael?” Mike called from behind me, confusion in his voice. “Dude, what’s up?”

I heard him, but it was distant, irrelevant. My entire focus was now on the faint trail of the scent, whoever it belonged to was slipping further away with every passing second.

Blade growled again, more insistent this time. 'Must go to mate.'

Josh jumped to his feet beside me, taking on a defensive stance, I don't know what he was thinking, maybe he expected a fight to break out in the cafeteria. Typical, he probably thought we were under attack or being ambushed.

“Relax,” I muttered, brushing past them all, eyes locked on the exit. “I just need to check something, real quick.”

But the truth was simple. I wasn’t checking anything.

‘Is something wrong, Alpha?’ Mike mind-linked me, his voice laced with concern as he glanced my way.

‘Can you smell that?’ I replied, scanning the cafeteria as we walked, my senses straining for even a thread of that intoxicating scent.

But the confused look on his face told me he couldn’t. That scent was unique for me, only I would go crazy for it and as much as I wanted to deny it, I let curiosity drive me.

‘What does it smell like?’ he asked cautiously.

‘Never mind,’ I muttered. The scent had vanished leaving behind a hollow ache and a knot twisting in my stomach. My appetite was gone. Whatever conversation we were having before felt trivial now, meaningless, compared to this.

As soon as I stepped into the hallway, the scent slammed into me like a tidal wave.

Stronger, and purer. Who knew citrus and coffee was a perfect blend? The scent that didn’t just pull at my senses, it claimed them.

I turned to Mike now, hopeful, sure this time he had felt it too. But he only stared back at me blankly, concern etched deep in his brow.

‘Find them,’ Blade urged, his voice more alive than I’d ever heard it. He was pacing in my mind, wild and restless.

Blade had never reacted this way before, not to anyone. Not even to Lilian, my chosen mate. Not Irin either, who’d once tried to claim me through politics and persistence. With them, he was calm, formal and polite, at best.

But this was entirely different. With this realization came an unexplainable fear.

Everything I’d ever been told, everything drilled into me since I could walk, came flooding back like a tide of warnings. Mates are weakness. Mates are unpredictable. Mates are dangerous. Mates are a curse in disguise. I couldn’t let this happen.

No, I told myself firmly, teeth clenched. It didn’t matter who they were, wolf or human. The risk was too great. I couldn’t jeopardize the pack. I couldn’t destroy everything my family had built. And I already had a Luna, chosen by my father, approved by my bloodline, trained to rule beside me. I hadn’t marked her yet, but we were as good as bound.

‘Must go to mate,’ Blade snarled, when he noticed I had began dwindling, he was frustrated now. The pull was affecting him more with every second, and I could feel his will pushing against mine, ready to take control.

If I let down my guard, even for a second, he’d take over. But I didn’t give him the chance.

Instead, with a weight heavy enough to crush my chest, I turned away from the direction of the scent and walked in the opposite direction. Each step felt like betrayal. But I told myself over and over that was the best thing I could do, even if I no longer believed it myself.

Blade kept howling inside me but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

It was the toughest thing I'd ever done. I couldn't focus in class, knowing my mate was somewhere in the building, yet I'd deliberately chosen not to see them. It just made me feel awful.

The teacher’s monotonous ramble buzzed in my ears, but Blade’s constant growling and pacing in my mind was far louder, and infinitely more distracting. I was irritable, strung tight, and on the verge of snapping. If I stayed any longer, I was sure I’d shift right there in my seat. That would be the end of everything, my cover, our secrecy and my future.

I had to leave before I did something irreversible.

Without another thought, I stood up and walked straight toward the exit.

“Ah, Mr. Berleville,” the teacher called, trying to reel me back with his usual condescending tone. “Would you like to share one goal you’re currently working on?”

“No,” I replied flatly, not even bothering to look at him as I marched past.

“We’re still in the middle of class, young man. Where do you think you’re going?” he added, more sternly now, voice heavy with authority he clearly thought mattered to me.

It took everything in me to restrain Blade from snapping back, or worse, lunging for his throat.

“I don’t give a rat ass about your stupid class,” I said in a cold and sharp voice. The room went dead silent behind me as I pushed through the door.

That was the first time I’d ever lost my temper like that in front of a human teacher. The wolf instructors at this school worshipped the ground I walked on, they were always trying to gain favor. But to everyone else, I was just another student and right now, a very unstable one.

Mike and Josh flanked me seconds later, falling into step without a word. I didn’t have to explain, they knew something was off. Their expressions said it all. Curiosity, concern, wariness. But they didn’t ask.

Behind us, I could still hear Spencer ranting.

“I will not tolerate being spoken to like that! Disrespectful little punk, little rich kids like you always believe the world owes you something!”

His voice faded with every step we took toward the parking lot.

Only when we were nearly at the car did Josh finally speak. “What’s going on, Alpha?” he asked, more surprised than accusatory.

I didn’t meet his gaze. “I don’t know,” I muttered, and for the first time today, I meant it. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Truth was, I couldn’t think straight. My head was spinning, and my instincts were all over the place. Part of me felt justified. Another part was unsettled. Blade had finally stopped pacing, but now he was sulking in the back of my mind, disappointed I hadn’t listened to him.

On the ride back home, I stared out the window in silence, watching the trees blur past.

Had I done the right thing today? I didn’t know. All I knew was, if I’d stayed one more minute in that school, I would lose control entirely.

****

MAXINE

“Get here this instant, you stupid vermin!” Ginny’s voice shrieked up the stairs, brittle with rage.

Even though she was my mother, I was never allowed to call her that. She was just Ginny, she wanted it that way and I had no reason to oppose anyway.

From the way she was screaming, I already knew I was in trouble. Ginny never wanted to see me, she’d made that painfully clear since I was old enough to understand words. She only summoned me when something hadn’t gone her way.

You are repulsive, she’d told me that more times than I could count.

Hence our arrangement, she would pretend I didn’t exist as long as I stayed out of her way and did everything perfectly.

I wracked my brain, desperate to remember if I’d slipped up. Had I forgotten to lock the back door? Did I leave the stove on? Had I simply breathed too loudly near her? Nothing came to mind, but that didn’t matter. Better to hurry to her before she stormed upstairs herself. That would be worse.

I abandoned the laundry I was folding and scurried down the narrow hallway, head lowered. My heart thumped too fast against my ribs, making my hands shake.

One rule was ironclad: Never look her in the eye, or that would be interpreted as a challenge. And that was the last thing I wanted.

I crossed the threshold into the kitchen, eyes fixed on the floor, willing myself to be as small and silent as possible.

“Ma… ma’aaa…”

The word barely left my mouth before her hand struck me. A sharp, blistering slap across my left cheek sent my vision scattering into blinding pinpricks.

I staggered but didn’t fall. I’d learned how to take a hit by now.

I shouldn’t have spoken. I knew better. But how else was I supposed to get her attention when she hadn’t even turned around?

“You dare torture my delicate ears with that croaked voice of yours?” she spat, her disgust practically dripping from each word.

I didn’t need to look up. I knew that expression by heart, the twisted sneer, the wrinkled nose, the curling lip that told me exactly how little she thought of me.

If only my voice worked right. If only I could talk like everyone else, maybe she’d look at me and see something worthwhile. Maybe she’d stop pretending I was a mistake that just wouldn’t go away.

“What did I expect from such an imbecile?” she muttered, turning her back to me with a dramatic sigh. “You don’t even understand human language.”

She moved toward the table, the scent of scorched food thick in the air. My heart dropped.

No… no, it can’t be burnt. I checked it. I checked it twice.

“Tell me,” she began slowly, voice cold and casual, like she was commenting on the weather “why I deserved a burnt breakfast this morning?”

I swallowed, hard. My legs were shaking now, but I forced them to stay still.

She picked up a piece of toast, holding it like it personally offended her. It wasn’t even that burnt. Just a little crisp. But to Ginny, imperfection was a crime.

“And how,” she said, running her fingers along the blackened edge, “should I punish you for wasting food?”

Her voice was too calm. That was always the most terrifying part. Even though I wasn’t allowed to look up, I could still smell what was happening.

The sharp sting of smoke curling through the air was all I needed to know. Someone had tampered with the food. Again.

It wasn’t the first time. I had followed every step, checked the timer, watched the heat, even triple-checked the bread. There was no way it burned on its own. But none of that mattered to Ginny.

She knew I wouldn’t make such mistakes. I’d been taught how to cook since I was four, drilled with the precision of a soldier. Burnt food wasn’t in my nature.

Still, something had gone wrong. And someone had to pay for it.

I could almost hear the satisfaction in her silence. Food was wasted. That was all the justification she needed. An outlet for her pent up frustration. Her steps drew nearer again, slow and measured.

I frantically signed the word sorry, fingers trembling, hoping she might catch it and let it be enough, just this once.

But the glint of polished cane in her hand told me it wouldn’t be. I sank to my knees, unbuttoning my shirt with practiced fingers.

I told myself it would be over soon. I always told myself that.

But the moment the cold leather cracked against my skin, tearing fire across my back, I knew it was a lie. It was never over.

The first strike stole the air from my lungs. The second made the room spin.

And the third was when I let go, drifting away into that quiet place I’d built inside myself. The place where she couldn’t reach me.