LOGINLila’s POVThe phone slipped from my hand, clattering against the hallway floor with a sound that seemed too loud in the silence. My heart hammered so hard I could feel it in my throat, choking off the scream that wanted to escape.We’ve been waiting for you to call. The man behind the call had said.It echoed in my head, smooth and terrifying in its casualness. They had Joan’s phone. Which meant they had Joan. And now they knew I was looking for her.I snatched the phone up with trembling fingers and ran.My feet pounded against the stairs, taking them two at a time, my breath coming in sharp gasps. Some students still out in the lobby looked up as I burst through, but I didn’t stop, didn’t slow. I just ran, across the dark campus, past the library and the student center, until I reached my own building.I decided against the elevators and took the stairs instead. By the time I reached my floor, my legs were burning and I was shaking so badly I could barely get my key in the lock.I
Lila’s POVI stood there dumbfounded, speechless even.Dante moved past me, his eyes scanning every corner of the room with the focused attention of someone trained to notice details others would miss. He knelt by where Joan’s ritual circle had been, running his fingers across the floorboards. When he stood, his expression was stern.“Concealment magic,” he said quietly. “Strong concealment magic. Someone came in after you left and wiped everything clean. It wasn’t just physically, but magically too. They removed all evidence that anything unusual happened here.”My hands trembled as I touched my bed, the only thing in the room that still looked the same. “But Joan… where’s Joan?”Dante’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know.”Those words scare me more than anything, because if he didn’t know where she was. How was I going to find her?“What if the witch council took them both?” I whispered, trying to make sense of what happened here“Maybe.” He crossed to the window, peering out at the campu
Lila’s POV“I am the Alpha King.” He said and my mind went blank. Then it raced, trying to process what he’d just said. Alpha King. The Alpha King. The one who ruled over all the packs in North America. The one whose name was whispered with reverence and fear in equal measure. The one I’d heard stories about as a child, but never thought I’d meet because wolves like me… omegas, rejects, we didn’t exist in the same world as kings.“That’s…” I shook my head, denial rising even as something deep inside me recognized the truth of his words. The way he commanded a room. The way even Eryndra had asked about him. The weight of his presence that I’d felt from the very beginning. “That’s impossible.”“Is it?” He tilted his head slightly, and for a moment I saw something flash in those blue eyes, something wild that made my breath catch. “You’ve felt it since the first time we met. Your wolf recognized me even if you didn’t.”He’s right, Eryndra said quietly, “Why didn’t you tell me from the
Lila’s POVThe world snapped back into focus so violently I gasped, my body jerking forward. Joan’s hands were still gripping mine, her eyes wide with alarm. The candle had gone out, and the water in the bowl had turned black.And Jeile stood in the doorway.Her eyes were no longer the casual brown I’d grown used to, but they glowed faintly with an amber light that made my skin crawl. The air around her was filled with heat, and I could smell it now the sharp, acrid scent of old magic.“What the hell is going on here?” she repeated, although I knew she knew. Joan moved first, stepping in front of me, but her hands were shaking. “Jeile, this isn’t….”“Save it.” Jeile’s gaze went over the chalk marks, the candles, and the blackened water. She looked disgusted. “A revealing ritual? Really? How pedestrian.” She stepped fully into the room and slammed the door behind her with the lock clicking without her touching it.My heart hammered against my ribs. I wanted to run, but there was nowhe
Lila’s POV Joan’s room felt smaller than it should have and when she finally got up, her chair scraped against the floor, which made my teeth ache. And as if she had seen something that I had not, she spoke. “We need to go back to your room,” she said. Her voice came out low but it was steady. “Now.” The lower part of my stomach twisted. “Back to my room? With Jeile possibly there?” “That’s exactly why we need to go there.” Joan was already gathering things from her desk drawer, I did not know what they were but they looked like what she'd use for the ritual. “If she’s an amber witch, there will be traces in the room, residues. The ritual needs to be performed where she lives, where her energy saturates the space.” I placed my palm against my chest, trying to calm my heart hammering on my ribs. “What kind of ritual? I thought you said we needed to test her first.” “Yes I said that, but something came up and we need to move fast. And as for the kind of ritual it is called a
I walked into class that morning with my decision fixed like a stone in my chest, the goal was to find Joan, and get answers. If it means I had to search every hallway and knock on every hostel door, I would. The question about Jeile’s sudden change had been buzzing under my skin all night; it wouldn’t leave me alone.I didn’t need to look far. Joan sat where she always did, the corner of the lecture hall that felt like a small island to her. She had her notebook open, dark curls tucked neatly behind one ear. Seeing her there felt like finding a familiar landmark in a strange town; relief warmed through me so quickly my knees felt a little unsteady.I dropped into the seat beside her before anyone could, leaning in close. “Joan,” I whispered. My voice felt too loud in the quiet row. She looked up, and the easy smile I’d come to recognize softened into something like concern the moment she saw me.“You look like you didn’t sleep,” she said, but she didn’t sound amused.I leaned closer







