Chapter 3

The admissions center hall.

I sat at the verification desk and slid my wrist into the scanner.

The scanner would draw a single drop of my blood and match it against the blood seal on record with Royal Academy central — the royal academy's biometric lock, keyed to a single applicant. A match would finalize my application.

Damien sat next to me, flipping a coin between his fingers, looking bored.

But I knew his attention hadn't left my screen.

The scanner hummed and lit up blue.

Then a line of red text flashed across the screen:

[Authentication failed: This blood seal was already used at 2:00 a.m. today. Each applicant's blood seal may only be used once.]

My brow tightened.

I put my finger back in.

Same message.

My stomach dropped.

"What's wrong?"

Damien stopped flipping the coin and leaned in to read the screen.

"Your blood seal's already been used?"

I bit my lip. My fingers were trembling a little.

"That's not possible."

"Only I can activate my blood seal. Unless —"

Unless someone had gotten hold of my blood.

Damien's eyes went dark.

My heart sank. Three days ago, Julian had taken me to a checkup. He said he was worried about my health. In my previous life, I didn't suspect a thing.

That was when he got it.

I stood up so fast the chair scraped.

"It was Julian."

"He stole my blood sample."

Damien pulled me gently back down by the wrist.

"Easy."

"If he pulled a stunt like this, he's going to come to you."

Right on cue, my phone buzzed.

Julian's name on the screen.

I took a breath and answered.

Julian's lazy voice came through.

"Ivy. You at the admissions center?"

"Authentication failed, huh? Panicking a little?"

I gripped the phone. My nails bit into my palm.

"Julian. What do you want?"

He laughed.

"I told you. Celeste is getting that slot."

"Here's what's going to happen. You go home right now, stand in front of the administrator, voluntarily give up your direct admission, and publicly announce that Celeste is taking over your combat record."

"Then I'll unlock your blood seal. You can resubmit tonight, through the retake channel."

"Otherwise? The application closes tomorrow at sunset, and you're staying behind to train for a year."

He used the gentlest voice to deliver the cruelest threat.

"Julian, this is a crime!"

I was shaking.

"A crime?"

He laughed under his breath.

"So report me."

"Who do you think the elders will believe — some hysterical little warrior, or the Thorne pack Alpha heir?"

"Ivy. Stop struggling."

"You can't win this."

"Be a good girl. Tonight I'll take you to that steakhouse you love."

The slap-and-sugar routine. He'd refined it to an art.

I closed my eyes.

I was fighting the urge to reach through the phone and strangle him.

"And if I don't?"

Two seconds of silence on the other end.

Then Celeste's voice.

"Juliaaan. Who are you on the phone with? My ice cream's melting~"

Julian's tone went instantly soft.

"Coming."

Then cold again, for me.

"Ivy. My patience has limits."

"Tonight. Eight o'clock. The steakhouse. My usual seat."

"I won't wait."

He hung up.

The dial tone droned in my ear.

I let the phone drop into my lap. My eyes were stinging.

Not because I was upset.

Because that feeling — of having your agency ripped away from you — was suffocating.

A warm, heavy hand came to rest on my head.

It ruffled my hair gently.

"What are you crying for."

Damien's voice was low and rough, with a strange, steadying pull to it.

He turned my chair so I was facing him.

His mouth lifted at the corner.

He pulled a card from the inside of his jacket.

The card was pure black. No text. Just one small mark — a winged wolf carrying a crescent moon in its jaws.

The personal seal of the Alpha King — the supreme ruler of all werewolf packs.

In the entire werewolf world, fewer than ten people were allowed to carry that card.

He pressed it to the scanner. The blue light flashed gold.

[Identity confirmed. Green channel activated. Applicant: Ivy Hale. Authentication bypassed.]

[Application submitted.]

[Admission status: Approved by the Alpha King's Royal Academy.]

I stared.

I looked up at him.

"Damien. How did you do that?"

He looked down at me, smiling lazily.

"Give me ten minutes."

"I'm going to turn Julian's application into scrap paper."