Chapter 6

Adrian

Kaia Ashbourne had never hit me before.

She'd chased me for three years. Written wish letters, made public declarations, endured mockery that would have broken most people. She once stood outside my classroom in the rain,waiting to walk me to lunch.

She never shows any negative emotions.

I watched her disappear down the corridor. Her back was straight, her stride even, and she didn't look behind her after that smile.

Best wishes to you both.

What was that supposed to mean?

Lila's fingers were still on my face. I looked down at her. She flinched and dropped her hand.

"I wasn't trying to — I know you and Kaia have history." She twisted the handkerchief between her palms. "I would never come between—"

Around us, murmurs swelled. A girl nearby crossed her arms and stared. A boy by the lockers said, low but clear: "They look pretty cozy."

"Aren't they together now?"

"Isn't she the one who tore up the wall?"

Lila's face drained. She stepped away from me, arms wrapped around herself.

I studied her. The hunched shoulders. The eyes that wouldn't meet mine. The handkerchief she'd produced from nowhere at exactly the right moment.

The picture assembled itself.

Kaia had ripped up her wish letter this morning — something she would never have done under any circumstance I could imagine. Then the confession wall was destroyed, and while I'd blamed Kaia, the actual culprit was Lila. The nightbloom reagent had proven it in front of everyone.

Lila had been orbiting Kaia for months. A small, harmless omega. Background noise.

Small didn't mean harmless. Kaia saw something. Something that made her destroy a letter she'd spent three years writing.

I looked at Lila until she squirmed.

I had always been satisfied with Kaia Ashbourne. She was strong, smart, connected. Silvercrest's heir, top-three combat ranking, the oldest bloodline in the region. Every metric that mattered — she was at the top.

I’d waited until the final year to choose a dance partner for one reason: to make sure no better option would appear. Three years of pursuit gave me leverage. Her public devotion made her predictable. Predictable was useful.

Lila was an omega with no family backing, no pack worth mentioning, and no political value. I had never considered her as anything other than scenery — someone who amplified Kaia's generosity and made her look maternal, protective. Good traits for a future Luna.

"Lila." I kept my voice gentle. Gentle cost nothing and returned everything. "Thank you for worrying about me. But I think it's best if we keep some distance."

She nodded, eyes glistening. "Of course."

Good. Kaia was angry. Anger was a phase, and phases ended. I'd clear the air about Lila, give Kaia space, and she'd come back.

She always came back.

Kaia

The flower arranging classroom was tucked on the second floor of the arts building, between ceramics and music theory. Afternoon sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows. Buckets of fresh-cut stems lined the walls, filling the room with the green scent of things still growing.

The students called it the bride's class. A class for omegas and future lunas who wanted the gentle arts — table settings, bouquet composition, the language of flowers for ceremonies and pack events.

I used to take a full schedule of these. Etiquette, floral design, pack hospitality, ceremonial protocol. Everything a good Luna should know. Everything Adrian's wife should master.

I'd dropped most of them this morning. Swapped in combat strategy, pack law, territorial governance. The courses an Alpha took.

I kept this one. Not for the flowers.

Mrs. Fairhollow, the instructor, was a tall woman with silver-streaked hair and hands that moved through stems and wire with surgical precision. She looked like a florist. She was a sitting member of the Werewolf High Council — the only woman to hold a seat in its current term.

In my past life, years from now, I'd met her at a pack banquet. I was pouring wine for Adrian and straightening place settings. She'd pulled me aside and said, very quietly:

You could have been the first female Alpha, you know.

I laughed it off back then. Went back to my place settings.

After class, I stayed behind. She was cleaning her shears when I said it.

"I want to become a female Alpha. Can you tell me what that takes?"

Her hands went still. She looked at me over her reading glasses.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

She set down the shears and perched on the edge of her desk. For the next half hour, she told me things nobody had ever told me. Legal pathways, precedents, obstacles. No she-wolf had done it before, but the laws didn't explicitly forbid it — they'd simply never been tested. It required top marks, verified Alpha-class combat ranking, and a formal petition to the council backed by her pack's elders.

"The petition alone takes six months," she said. "And you'll need a sponsor on the council. Someone willing to stake their reputation."

She looked at me over her glasses. The kind of look that measured everything.

"It won't be popular. You'll need to be better than every male candidate. And even then, half the council will look for excuses."

"I know."

She studied me for a long moment. Then she smiled. "Come back next week. I'll prepare some materials."

I walked out carrying the flower arrangement I’d made in class and something warm in my chest that had nothing to do with Adrian Blackwell. The afternoon light caught the white petals and turned them gold at the edges. I was thinking about council petitions and combat rankings. For the first time in a long while, I was thinking about a future that was mine.

I turned the corner and nearly walked into Adrian.

He stood in the pathway, hands in his pockets, that warm expression locked into place. His eyes moved to the flowers and his face softened.

"Kaia." His voice was gentle. "I'm glad I caught you. I wanted you to know — Lila and I aren't together. I made that clear to her."

He tilted his head at the arrangement. "White camellias. In the language of flowers — a peace offering." He smiled. "You didn't have to. But it means a lot."