Chapter 5

The school loomed like a fortress.

Silver Creek High sat at the edge of town where the forest crept close, ivy crawling up its stone walls like nature was slowly reclaiming it. The building was old, older than the human town itself and Lily could feel it the moment she stepped out of Derek’s truck.

Power lingered here.

Pack power.

Her stomach twisted.

“This is where you stop pretending you’re invisible,” Derek said quietly beside her.

Lily shot him a glare. “I’ve never pretended that.”

“Yes, you have,” he replied calmly. “You’ve survived by staying small. That ends today.”

Students were already gathered in clusters across the wide courtyard. Some laughed. Some shoved. Some stood stiff and alert, eyes sharp, postures dominant.

Wolves.

Lily could feel their gazes slide toward her like knives.

Then Derek closed the truck door.

The effect was immediate.

Conversations stopped. Heads turned. Whispers spread like wildfire.

“That’s Derek Stone.”

“The alpha heir.”

“Who’s the girl?”

“She smells… different.”

Lily swallowed.

Derek didn’t slow. He walked straight into the crowd, and without touching her, he positioned himself just close enough that anyone watching would understand.

She was under his protection.

Her skin crawled.

“Rule one,” Derek murmured. “You walk beside me. Not behind. Not ahead.”

“I don’t need,”

“Yes, you do.”

They entered the building together.

Inside, the halls buzzed with energy, lockers slamming, voices echoing, dominance pushing against submission in subtle, constant ways. Lily felt it all. Every emotion hit her harder than it should have.

She stumbled.

Derek caught her elbow instantly.

Too fast.

Too familiar.

“Careful,” he said, low. “Don’t show weakness.”

A tall blond boy blocked their path.

“Stone,” he drawled. “Didn’t know you collected strays.”

Lily stiffened.

Derek’s expression went glacial.

“This is my sister,” he said evenly. “You will speak to her with respect.”

The blond laughed. “She doesn’t look like pack.”

Derek leaned closer, voice dropping into something dangerous. “And you don’t look brave enough to test me.”

Silence.

The boy stepped back.

Lily stared at Derek, heart pounding.

He hadn’t touched him.

He hadn’t raised his voice.

And yet everyone around them looked terrified.

As they walked on, Lily whispered, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes,” Derek said quietly, “I did.”

She looked up at him. “Why?”

His jaw tightened.

“Because if they sense you’re unprotected,” he said, “they’ll tear you apart.”

The rest of the day unfolded like a slow, suffocating dream.

Everywhere Lily went, she felt eyes on her.

Not curious eyes. Not friendly ones.

Evaluating eyes.

She walked beside Derek through the halls, her shoulders stiff, her senses overwhelmed by the constant press of pack energy. Wolves didn’t need to bare teeth or growl to assert dominance. It was in the way they stood. The way they looked at you like they were deciding whether you were worth noticing or worth breaking.

Derek stopped at a locker near the center of the hallway.

“This is yours,” he said.

Lily blinked. “How did you,”

“I had the administration assign it this morning.” He opened the locker beside it. His. “You’re next to me.”

“I didn’t agree to that.”

“You agreed to the debt,” he replied calmly. “This falls under protection.”

Protection. Or surveillance.

She shoved her backpack into the locker harder than necessary.

As students passed, Lily caught snippets of whispers.

“Is she human?”

“No, but she smells wrong.”

“She’s tiny.”

“Why is Stone guarding her?”

A girl with sharp eyes and long black hair slowed as she passed them. Her gaze lingered on Lily, then flicked to Derek.

“You didn’t say you were getting a pet, Stone,” she said coolly.

Derek didn’t even look at her. “Move along, Rhea.”

Rhea smiled, all teeth and calculation. “Careful. Pets get hurt.”

Lily’s breath hitched.

Derek finally turned. His eyes went hard. “So do threats.”

Rhea held his gaze for a long second, then laughed and walked away.

Lily’s hands were shaking.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“Rhea Blackwood,” Derek said. “Beta bloodline. Ambitious. Cruel. Avoid her.”

“Good advice,” Lily muttered.

The bell rang before she could say more.

Classes blurred together.

In English, Lily sat quietly while Derek was greeted like royalty. In Biology, the teacher paired them automatically.

“Stone can help you catch up,” the man said.

Derek didn’t argue.

In History, someone deliberately kicked Lily’s chair from behind. She stiffened, forcing herself not to react.

Omega.

Weak.

Easy.

Her wolf stirred uneasily inside her chest, and Luna’s presence echoed in her mind like a soft whine. Lily pressed her fingers into her thigh under the desk, grounding herself.

By lunch, she was exhausted.

The cafeteria was divided the way packs always were, alphas and betas at the center tables, lower ranks around the edges. Humans clustered near the windows, oblivious to the invisible hierarchy ruling the room.

Derek walked straight to the central table.

Every conversation stopped.

“This is a bad idea,” Lily whispered.

“Sit,” he said quietly.

She hesitated.

Then she felt it again, that strange pull in her chest, firm and undeniable, like a command wrapped in instinct.

Her body moved before her mind caught up.

She sat.

The silence was deafening.

Derek took the seat beside her, casual, composed. “Anyone have a problem?”

No one spoke.

Lily’s face burned.

He opened his lunch and leaned closer. “Eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You are. And omegas who don’t eat get lightheaded.”

She glared at him. “Stop saying that word.”

“Stop being one,” he shot back softly.

That stung more than she expected.

As she pulled out her sandwich, a boy across the table sneered. “Didn’t know you were into charity work, Stone.”

Derek didn’t look at him. “Didn’t know you were into talking when you weren’t invited.”

The boy flushed and shut up.

Lily swallowed a bite of food she couldn’t taste.

This wasn’t protection.

This was ownership.

When lunch finally ended, Lily was ready to bolt.

But Derek stood.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he said.

She stared at him. “Why?”

“Because,” he replied evenly, “this is where you start paying your debt.”

Her pulse spiked. “Now?”

“Yes.”

They left the cafeteria together, tension trailing behind them like a shadow. He led her down a quieter hallway toward the administrative wing.

“You’re enjoying this,” Lily accused under her breath.

Derek stopped abruptly and turned to face her.

“No,” he said. “I’m preventing something worse.”

“By humiliating me?”

“By showing the pack you’re untouchable.”

“I didn’t ask for,”

“You don’t get to ask,” he interrupted. His voice dropped. “Not yet.”

They stood there, inches apart. Lily could see the faint scar on his hand, the one she’d never really looked at before. Could feel the heat of him, steady and grounding and infuriating all at once.

“You don’t trust me,” she said quietly.

“No,” Derek agreed. “But I don’t trust the pack more.”

He stepped back and opened a door marked STUDENT RECORDS.

Inside, shelves of files lined the walls. The air smelled like paper and dust.

“What are we doing here?” Lily asked.

Derek closed the door behind them.

“This,” he said, “is your first task.”

She crossed her arms. “I’m listening.”

“There’s a name in these records,” he said. “An omega. Female. Age sixteen. She disappeared two months ago.”

Lily’s breath caught. “Disappeared how?”

“Officially?” Derek’s jaw tightened. “Transferred. Unofficially? Taken.”

“By who?”

“That’s what you’re going to help me find out.”

Lily stared at him. “Why me?”

“Because she was registered as weak.” His eyes locked onto hers. “And you’re not.”

Silence filled the room.

“I don’t even know how to do this,” Lily said.

“You will.” Derek stepped closer. “Your abilities, whatever you’re hiding, they react to pain. Fear. Traces of pack magic. I need you to read the files. Feel what doesn’t belong.”

Her heart pounded. “And if I refuse?”

Derek’s voice softened, dangerously so. “Then another omega disappears.”

Lily’s stomach twisted.

She looked at the shelves. At the countless names. Lives catalogued and controlled.

Slowly, she reached for the first file.

As her fingers brushed the paper, a sharp pulse shot through her chest.

Her vision blurred.

Fear. Cold. Screaming.

Lily gasped and stumbled back.

Derek caught her instantly.

“What did you see?” he demanded.

Her voice shook. “She’s alive.”

Derek’s eyes darkened.

And in that moment, Lily realized something terrifying.

This debt wasn’t about the past.

It was about a war already in motion.

And she was standing right at the center of it.