006.

Mira's POV

The medic pressed two fingers against my ribs. I winced.

"Breath out," she said. "Slowly."

I exhaled. Pain gripped my side like an electric shock.

She nodded. "Not broken. But close."

Thank Goodness.

She moved to my shoulder next. She rotated it carefully and I bit my lip, trying not to scream. The pain in my shoulder was worse than the ribs. I had known that since the moment Caden knocked me down.

"Soft tissue injury," she noted. "You need to rest it for at least three days. Then you'll be fine."

"I have drills tomorrow."

She looked at me over her glasses. "You have bruised ribs and a shoulder that will swell by morning if you don't ice it properly tonight."

"So I need to ice it and stay away from the drills? Noted."

She gave me a hard look, wrote something on her note, and left me alone in the camp's medic room.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall.

The room was small and smelled like antiseptic. A single window let in grey afternoon light. Outside I could hear the distant sounds of the camp continuing without me. Footsteps. Someone calling instructions.

I replayed the fight from the beginning. I had been ahead.

And then one second. One second where my head moved left when it should have stayed forward.

I got distracted and lost.

My jaw tightened. Caden had hit me with a full extension wing strike while I was turned away.

~Omegas belong in the peace zone.~

That was what Caden said after. Not good fight. Not even the basic acknowledgment that a fighter owed another fighter after a bout like that. He looked at me and said what everyone here had been thinking since the moment I walked through the gate.

He was no different from any of them. He had just hidden it better for a few minutes while we were fighting.

The door opened. Josh came in and shut it behind him.

He looked at my shoulder first, then my face. He shook his head.

I watched him pull a chair from the corner and sit down close.

He did not say anything right away. His nose flared and he tapped his foot.

"How bad is the pain?" he said finally.

"Not bad."

"How many bones have you broken?"

"None, thankfully. I have bruised ribs and shoulder injury, though. But it's fine."

"It's not fine."

"I'm sitting up and talking. It could be so much worse."

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"You shouldn't be hurt at all. I promised Mom you'll be fine."

"I'm fine."

Josh shook his head and kept silent. Then he said suddenly. "You were supposed to be a guest. No fighting."

"They provoked me."

He sat up and looked into my eyes. "The leopard fight, I understood. The boy was rude and you had already issued the challenge before I got there. But Caden..." He stopped. "You called him out in front of the whole camp. You had just come out of a fight. You were already hurt."

"I know."

"That was impulsive."

"I know."

"You can't keep doing that. Every time someone says something you don't like..."

"You're right. I should have walked away."

He looked at me carefully. Like he was checking whether I meant it or just saying it to end the conversation.

I meant it. Mostly.

"I just." I stopped. Started again. "I couldn't stand there and let them disrespect me again."

Josh was quiet.

"I'm so tired of it," I said, my voice cracking. "I'm tired of having to justify being in every room I walk into."

"I know you are."

"So don't tell me to just walk away like it's simple."

"I'm not saying it's simple." He looked at me steadily. "I'm saying impulsive decisions get you hurt. And I can't always be there."

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll be less impulsive."

"Thank you." He sat back. Something in his face eased.

He was quiet again for a moment. Like he was deciding whether to say something or not.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

He held back a smile. "Something is happening at camp."

I waited.

"The mate bond energy." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's been building since yesterday. You can feel it if you're sensitive to it. Like static in the air." He paused. "I found my mate this morning."

I stared at him.

"Her name is Serena. She's from Stormveil Academy." Josh rubbed his hands together. "I didn't expect it. I wasn't even thinking about it. She was just standing there during the morning drill and then... It just happened."

I was happy for him. Josh deserved that.

"That's wonderful."

He smiled. "Yeah."

I smiled back at him and then looked down at my hands.

The warmth stayed for a moment. Then it settled into something quieter underneath.

A mate. The bond. Every shifter could dream about it.

Not me.

Omegas without a shift had no bond energy to offer. Nothing to recognise and nothing to be recognised by. The mate bond required two spirits to find each other. I didn't have that, or any hope of having a mate.

Just then a group of students passed close to the window. Their voices drifted in, catching my attention.

"Did you hear? Caden found his mate. . ."

"Everyone's trying to figure out who the lucky girl is. . ."

"I heard it's Vessa. She has the beauty and prestige fit for the Crest heir. . ."

The voices faded as they moved on down the path.

"Did you hear, too? About Caden?" I asked Josh.

He nodded. "People have been talking about it since this afternoon. The news has spread around like wild fire. Someone saw the bond mark beginning to surface on his neck after the fight. Caden hasn't said anything. The whole camp is trying to guess who his mate is."

I said nothing. I should have been happy for him. Finding a mate was a precious thing every shifter desired.

But I looked down at my hands. My knuckles were scraped raw on the right side.

Caden told me Omegas belonged in the peace zone forty minutes ago. I thought he was a good guy, but he was nothing but an arrogant prick.

"I have to go now," Josh said. "I'll check on you tomorrow."

"I can't wait to leave here so I'll meet your mate."

Josh chuckled. "Of course, you'll meet her."

He gave my shoulder a pat and walked to the door. As soon as he opened it, excited voices floated in, chattering about Caden's unknown mate.

"...whoever she is, her life has changed forever..."

"I don't envy her. She's going to have the whole royal bloodline watching her..."

Josh closed the door and the voices died down.

I closed my eyes and imagined I hadn't been distracted during the fight. I might have won. It would have been on record that I beat one of the strongest—

Someone knocked. I tensed. Did Josh forget something?

"Come in," I said.

The door swung open. A boy I didn't recognise walked in. Young, maybe fifteen, wearing an Ironridge training shirt. He looked at me.

"Are you Mira Larsen?"

"Yes."

He held out a folded piece of paper. "Someone asked me to give you this."

He left before I could ask who.

I looked at the paper in my hand. Just a single fold. I opened it.

~Come to Training Room B right now.~

— Caden.