Rhea

The sun was warm against my skin as we exited the pack house, but it did nothing to ease the suffocating weight pressing down on me.

The Caine brothers flanked me like a living wall, their towering forms moving in quiet synchronicity that screamed one thing: control. Their shadows stretched long across the gravel drive, dark sentinels that made my stomach twist.

The sleek black SUVs gleamed in the morning light, runes carved faintly into the rims glowing with protective enchantments. Their tinted windows reflected back an image I barely recognized—me, a girl trapped between four alphas who acted like my entire existence was theirs to dictate. This wasn’t an escort to the academy. This was a damn transport, and I was the package.

Every step toward the car felt like another link in the chain they were wrapping around me. My pulse picked up, my fists clenched, but they moved in sync, their presence closing in, making escape impossible.

And of course, Callum chose that moment to piss me off first.

“The academy is a fresh start, little Luna,” he said, voice low, controlled, his words more decree than conversation. His arms were folded across his chest, shoulders squared, every line of his posture screaming immovable authority. “A chance to show everyone who you belong to.”

I stopped short so fast Jaxon nearly clipped my shoulder. Spinning, I shot Callum a glare sharp enough to cut steel.

“I don’t belong to anyone,” I snapped.

He didn’t flinch. His stormy grey eyes locked on mine, unreadable but unyielding. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, calm as stone. “You belong to us. And it’s time Lycandra knows it.”

The words pressed against me like weight, suffocating, pulling heat into my cheeks. My hands curled into fists. “I’m not a possession, Alpha Callum. You don’t get to claim me like some kind of prize.”

Behind him, Jaxon shifted, stepping just a fraction closer. He didn’t speak right away, but his grey eyes tracked me like a predator, hungry and unwavering. His silence was worse than words. When he did speak, it was smooth, quiet, lethal.

“Enough, sunshine.” His voice was cool, measured, but his jaw flexed hard. “The academy isn’t just about you. It’s about making sure everyone understands the consequences of touching what’s ours.”

My breath stuttered, but I forced myself to stand straighter.

“Maybe I don’t want to be yours.”

Rory chuckled, low and amused, brushing a hand through his messy hair as he leaned against the SUV like he was watching a show. His smirk cut sharply against the morning light. “Oh, princess,” he drawled, eyes gleaming with mischief. “You already are. Fighting it just makes it more fun for us.”

I opened my mouth, ready to set his smug ass on fire, but then Seth was at my back. I hadn’t even heard him move. His palm brushed the small of my spine, gentle but deliberate, heat bleeding through the thin fabric of my dress. He leaned in, his lips almost brushing my ear as his voice dropped into a smooth murmur.

“Relax, snowflake,” he whispered, teasing warmth in his tone that curled down my spine. “You’ll see soon enough—being ours isn’t the prison you think it is.”

My chest tightened, my heart hammering too fast, not from his words but from the sheer intensity of all of them pressing in at once. Like they were stripping me bare with their presence alone. I jerked away from Seth, wrapping my arms tight around myself like that thin barrier could protect me.

“I don’t need your protection, I’m capable of protecting myself” I bit out, my voice sharp.

That cracked Callum’s composure. His eyes darkened, a flicker of raw hunger slipping through his mask as his Alpha aura pressed against me, heavy, suffocating. His voice, steady but rougher now, rolled through the air like a promise.

“No, little Luna,” he said, calm but edged with steel. “You aren’t. And even if you could, it’s not your choice. You’re ours to protect, whether you like it or not.”

My jaw locked. My pulse was screaming, but I forced a laugh anyway, sharp and brittle. “Overbearing, possessive, and controlling. Goddess, what a fucking catch!”

“Careful, big brother,” Rory said lightly, his grin widening as his gaze flicked between me and Callum. He tapped a finger to his temple like he was storing every reaction away. “You’re scaring her.” Then he winked at me. “Don’t mind him, princess. He takes the whole ‘Alpha’ thing way too seriously.”

Jaxon’s lips twitched at that—half amusement, half warning—but he didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His stare said everything: get in the car before I put you there myself.

Callum broke first, turning with that sharp, decisive stride of his toward the SUV. Jaxon followed, shoulders stiff, his silence heavy. Rory pushed off the car, all lazy confidence, and Seth stayed close enough that I felt the heat of him at my side.

“You coming, princess?” Rory asked, tilting his head.

Grinding my teeth, I moved. Because what the hell else could I do? The last thing I needed was to give the pack house driveway an Alpha-versus-me spectacle. I’d cause my scene later, on my terms.

In the SUV, I made one last grab at independence. “I can sit with Lila,” I muttered, nodding toward the second vehicle, where my best friend was already in the passenger seat beside Theo.

“No.” Callum’s answer was immediate, clipped, not even looking at me. “You’re with us.”

Of-fucking-course I was.

One sharp look from Jaxon had me climbing in without another word. The leather interior swallowed me in the scent of smoke, pine, and something darker—them. Callum slid into the driver’s seat, Jaxon claimed shotgun, and I ended up sandwiched between Rory and Seth.

The SUV purred to life, runes glowing faintly on the dash, the hum of magic vibrating under my feet.

Silence stretched—thick, tense. Until, of course, Rory broke it.

“So, princess,” he drawled, tilting his head, “any big plans for your grand return?”

I kept my gaze glued to the window. “Survive.”

Seth chuckled, his knee brushing mine, his voice smooth as he leaned in just a little too close. “Oh, you’ll do more than survive, snowflake. You’ll thrive. With us at your side, no one will dare touch you.”

I turned slowly, arching a brow at him. “Because you’ve been such a great influence so far?”

Rory snorted, nudging my shoulder with his. “Feisty. I like that.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him lightly away, but the small smirk tugging at his mouth told me I’d just given him exactly what he wanted.

The SUV cut down the winding forest road, the ward-carved gates closing behind us. Outside, Lycandra stretched wide—rolling hills, enchanted rivers glowing faintly under the sun, and the jagged silhouette of the academy waiting in the distance like a fortress.

The world was wide. Free.

But inside the car?

I’d never felt more caged.

By the time we reached Silver Ridge Academy, my nerves were shredded raw.

The academy loomed like a fortress carved straight out of legend—towering obsidian-and-moonstone walls rising high above the sprawling courtyard, their etched runes glowing faintly in the sunlight. Wards shimmered in the air, twisting like gold threads as they wrapped around the gates, pulsing with layered protections. Students milled about in clusters, their laughter and chatter echoing across the cobblestones, but the second our SUVs rolled to a stop, the sound fractured.

All eyes turned to us.

The Caine brothers climbed out first, and the courtyard fell into a silence so sharp it cut. Four shadows, four towers of dominance, their presence dragging gravity itself down into the ground.

Callum adjusted his cuff, his storm-grey gaze scanning the crowd as though measuring and dismissing them in the same breath. Jaxon moved slower, deliberate, his grey eyes sharp and unyielding as they swept the courtyard—like a predator cataloguing prey. Rory leaned lazily against the door, smirking as whispers rippled outward, and Seth slammed his door shut with a cocky grin, tossing his keys in the air as if this were just another casual morning.

And then there was me.

I slid out after them, feeling the weight of every stare land squarely on my shoulders.

Callum leaned down slightly, his voice low but firm, brushing across my ear like a command. “Head high, little Luna. Let them see the queen you are.”

I wanted to tell him to shove it. Instead, I rolled my eyes but lifted my chin anyway, stepping forward as though I hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours drowning in chaos. The corner of my mouth betrayed me, twitching at the faintest smile I tried to smother.

The whispers started immediately.

Jaxon’s smirk cut across the space between us as he leaned close, his breath warm against my ear. “Let them stare, sunshine. They’re just jealous they’ll never have you… or be you.”

I snorted, heat crawling up my neck. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

His smirk deepened, sharp and merciless. “Always.”

We cut through the sea of students, their voices rising in hushed waves—Caine brothers, mate, Luna, Ridge Storm—until we reached the steps of the administration building. Callum stopped abruptly, his hand brushing the small of my back, directing me like he had every right.

“Stay here with Rory and Seth,” he said, tone final. “Jax and I will handle the paperwork for your dorms.”

Before I could argue, he and Jaxon were already disappearing inside, their broad shoulders cutting through the carved archway as if the building itself parted for them.

Which left me standing between chaos one and chaos two.

Rory tilted his head, crossing his arms over his chest, a spark of amusement glinting in his eyes. “So, princess,” he drawled, “are you going to keep fighting us, or are you finally going to admit you belong with us?”

I crossed my arms right back, matching his stance. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Seth grinned, leaning casually against the stone wall, his storm-grey eyes sparkling with mischief. “Oh, snowflake,” he said, voice dripping with smug certainty, “we’ve got all the time in Lycandra.”

And then—Callum’s voice slid through the mind link, deep and commanding, wrapping around me like a chain.

Little Luna, we will announce you today. Everyone will know you’re our mate and their to-be Luna. Your Luna ceremony will be next weekend.

My head snapped up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.