Mercy Has A Price

In a few days, Mara had reached another conclusion about Larkin College. This school treated physical education like a military campaign. And she had made a friend, Dave Thornton.

She stood near the massive indoor gymnasium doors holding her timetable while students streamed past carrying sports bags embroidered with silver crests and surnames that sounded inherited instead of earned.

Inside, whistles echoed sharply across polished courts while sneakers squealed against hardwood floors. Somewhere deeper within the building, metal weights slammed together hard enough to suggest either intense training or unresolved childhood issues.

Mara looked down at her schedule again. Combat Athletics. She blinked slowly. “What kind of educational institution offers combat as a group activity?” A passing student answered without stopping. “Mandatory first years.” That felt deeply concerning, for Mara who could not help but check the timetable again. Combat Athletics. She checked it a third time. The words stubbornly refused to become normal. "Why does this sound like something invented by people with unresolved lawsuits?"

The gymnasium itself looked less like a school facility and more like wealthy people had weaponized architecture. Glass walls overlooked indoor courts while elevated running tracks circled overhead beneath iron beams and hanging championship banners.

Students clustered naturally into familiar social groups. Athletes, socialites and quiet academic types. Then there were the others. The ones Mara had started noticing more carefully now. The ones who were beautiful in unsettling ways, too controlled and too aware of everything around them.

Unbeknownst to Mara, nearly every wolf inside the gym had already scented her arrival. The reaction was subtle but unmistakable. Heads turned, conversations paused and attention followed her in ways she could not explain.

The problem was that none of them understood why an Alpha’s human mate had entered Larkin College. Which meant tension lived beneath the entire room before Mara even stepped onto the court. “First years over here.” A tall instructor blew his whistle sharply near the basketball courts. He looked somewhere between a former athlete and an active prison warden.

“Pair up.” Mara immediately distrusted those words. Around her, students moved quickly towards familiar faces. Mara adjusted the strap of her bag while watching the social sorting happen in real time. Nobody picked randomly. Interesting...Mara mused.

Then a voice spoke beside her. “You look like you’re considering escape routes.” Mara turned. Dave Thornton stood there holding a gym shirt beneath one arm, amusement flickering across his face. Relief arrived annoyingly fast. “Oh good,” Mara sighed. “A familiar civilian.” Dave laughed softly. “You hate this already?” “This building smells like expensive violence.” Dave chuckled. “That’s strangely accurate.”

Mara looked around carefully. “Why does everyone here seem emotionally prepared for combat?” “You ask dangerous questions casually.” “You people keep saying that like it explains things.” Before Dave could answer, movement near the far courts shifted the atmosphere subtly. Conversations lowered and postures straightened. Even the instructor paused briefly before continuing attendance.

Mara followed the shift instinctively. Alaric Arden entered the gym alongside two other men. One blond and one dark-skinned and broad-shouldered enough to look professionally dangerous. Lucien and Drake. Though Mara did not know their names yet. What she did notice was the reaction. Again.

That same invisible rearranging of space around Alaric. Students moved aside unconsciously. It was not fear exactly but more like deference. Like his presence carried its own gravity. Mara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “There,” she muttered. Dave followed her gaze and immediately looked tired. “What now?” “That weird thing again.” “What weird thing?” “The cult leader energy.”

Dave nearly choked laughing. Unfortunately, Alaric heard her. From across the gymnasium, his gaze lifted instantly toward her. And there it was again...that unbearable feeling. Like being seen too directly. Mara hated how immediately aware of herself she became beneath that stare. Which was ridiculous because he was just a man. An excessively intimidating, unfairly attractive and deeply suspicious man. But still just a man.

Beside Alaric, Lucien looked faintly startled. Drake outright smirked. Clearly nobody spoke about Alaric Arden that way and survived socially afterward. Mara considered that everybody at Larkin needed resilience training. “Alright!” the instructor barked. “Warm-up laps first.”

Groans spread immediately through the gym. Mara brightened. Finally, something normal. Running she understood. The whistle blew sharply and students began circling the indoor track overhead. Within minutes Mara realized something horrifying. These people ran competitively. For them, it was not just mere athletics, but it was emotionally driven.

Two girls nearly shoulder-checked each other into academic ruin over lane positioning. One boy sprinted like his bloodline depended on cardiovascular dominance. “This school desperately needs hobbies,” Mara muttered while passing Dave. “You’re in the hobby.” “That explains the trauma.”

She settled into an easy pace, breathing steadily as students gradually spread across the track. Then someone accelerated beside her effortlessly. Mara did not need to look. Her nervous system recognized Alaric before her brain caught up. And that annoyed her very much.

“You run often,” he observed calmly. Mara kept her eyes forward. “I grew up on a farm. Everything is far away.” His gaze lingered briefly on her profile. “You don’t tire easily.” “Neither do you.” A pause followed, then, “No.” Something about the answer felt layered strangely beneath the surface.

Mara glanced sideways at him. Even running, he looked controlled. Not strained or winded. Like his body operated differently from everyone else’s. Which honestly felt unfair to ordinary humans. Around them, several students watched openly now. One girl nearly stumbled while staring. Another visibly slowed to avoid getting too close to Alaric.

Mara frowned faintly. “You know,” she said between breaths, “people behave around you like medieval peasants spotting royalty.” Alaric looked at her calmly. “And you don’t?” “No. I grew up around livestock. Intimidation stopped impressing me early.” For one brief moment, something warmer, deeper and dangerous flickered behind his eyes.

The feeling hit Mara unexpectedly hard and her pulse stumbled once before correcting itself. Traitorous organ. Mara cursed inwardly. Ahead of them, two male students collided hard rounding a corner. One shoved the other aggressively and the atmosphere shifted instantly. Several nearby wolves stiffened.

Aggression spread quickly among their kind. Faster than humans understood. The larger student grabbed the other by the front of his shirt. “You got a problem?” Mara sighed heavily. “Apparently yes.” The buff student scoffed. "Mind your business." Then Mara responded. "You made it everyone's business when you started a public performance." Before Dave or anyone else could stop her, she veered directly toward them. Alaric’s entire body tightened instantly. “Mara.” Too late.

She stepped between the two boys without hesitation. “Gentlemen,” she said flatly, “if you’re going to reenact testosterone documentaries, at least move away from traffic.” Both students stared at her. One human and one wolf. Though Mara remained blissfully unaware of the difference.

The wolf bared his teeth slightly. Not enough for humans to notice but enough for Alaric and enough for every wolf nearby. Danger crackled sharply through the air. Lucien moved immediately below the track and Drake followed. Dave swore softly beneath his breath. And Mara, completely unaware she had just inserted herself into a dominance dispute between wolves, crossed her arms impatiently.

“Well?” she asked. “Are we solving problems or auditioning for prison?” The wolf stepped quickly and aggressively toward her. Every protective instinct inside Alaric surged violently at once. The thought hit with brutal force. The next second, the pressure exploded across the gymnasium and every wolf froze instantly. Silence slammed through the entire room.

Students looked around in confusion as the atmosphere turned suddenly heavy enough to feel. Mara felt it too. A strange cold pressure brushed against her skin before fading again. The aggressive wolf stepped back immediately, submission visible in every rigid line of his body. Because Alaric had commanded it and every wolf present had answered instinctively.

Mara looked slowly between all of them. Then narrowed her eyes. “…Okay,” she said carefully. “Now I’m absolutely certain this school is in a cult.”