The chains still burned on my wrists long after the ritual ended. Even though the guards had removed them, my skin carried the memory—angry welts, the sting of silver crawling under the surface like it wanted to stay there forever. I pressed my arms against my chest, curling into myself as Kael half-dragged me through the dim corridors of the academy. His grip was rough, almost punishing, but I didn’t pull away. The fury rolling off him was the only thing keeping me upright. No one dared stop us. Students pressed against the walls, their eyes sharp, their whispers sharper. Selene’s smirk followed us in my mind, replaying in every blink. She saw me break. She saw me burn. Kael shoved open the door to one of the unused training rooms, slamming it behind us with a crack that echoed off the stone walls. The sound jolted through me. My breath came uneven, my ribs aching, but worse than that ache was something else. Heat. It started low in my belly, coiling tighter with every se
The silver burned the moment it touched my skin. Chains hissed against my wrists, my ankles, coiling like serpents until I was bound to the ritual dais. Every instinct screamed to tear free, to shift, to run—but the silver bit deeper with each attempt, searing through my veins, blistering my skin. My wolf whimpered inside me, trapped and powerless. The Council chamber had gone silent. Dozens of eyes watched from the shadows, eager for a crack, a scream, a sign that the omega girl wasn’t strong enough to stand in their sacred circle. Selene stood at the edge of the platform, her smile wickedly sweet, golden hair gleaming like a crown. She wanted me to break. She needed it. “Begin,” the Head Councilor commanded. The floor beneath me lit with runes, carved deep into the stone, filling with crimson light as one of the elders sliced a blade across my palm. Blood dripped into the grooves, sizzling as though the stone drank it. Pain exploded through me. Not from the cut, but from
LENA. The Council chambers were colder than I imagined. Stone walls soared high above, carved with the Fenrir crest in jagged relief, silver torchlight catching on sharp edges. The chamber smelled of iron and incense, heavy with centuries of judgment. Wolves didn’t whisper here. They obeyed. They feared. I stood in the center, every eye on me. Kael’s hand brushed mine once before we entered, a fleeting anchor, but now he stood to the side, flanked by guards. They hadn’t allowed him near me, not with the charges stamped against my name. My pulse thudded painfully in my throat as I forced myself to lift my chin. I would not cower. Not here. Not now. “Lena Ashbourne,” the Head Councilor’s voice boomed, echoing off the stone. His robes pooled at his feet, silver chains glinting across his chest. “Daughter of Caleb Ashbourne, branded rogue and convicted of Alpha blood treachery. Do you deny your lineage?” The words sliced through me, each one deliberate, meant to wound. My
KAEL. My wolf wouldn’t settle. The moment that Council snake walked away, the fury in my chest turned molten. Every instinct screamed to rip the letter apart, storm the Council chambers, and tear down their marble walls until the elders bled apologies at my feet. But Lena’s shaking hand in mine had stopped me. Her fear had chained me to stillness when every bone in me wanted war. Now, hours later, I prowled my father’s private hall, the Council’s seal still burning against my palm. Magnus Fenrir sat at the end of the chamber, draped in black and silver robes, his presence filling the room like thunder before a storm. He didn’t rise when I entered. He didn’t need to. His wolf weighed heavy in the air, pressing down on mine, reminding me that he wasn’t just Alpha of Silverfang — he was my Alpha. I hated the way my wolf bowed inside me. “You disobeyed me,” he said at last, his voice low, measured, dangerous. I clenched my jaw. “I defended my mate.” His gaze sharpened, s
The whispers didn’t die. They followed me everywhere I went, curling under doorways and sliding down corridors like smoke I couldn’t escape. The courtyard scene had spread across every phone in Silverfang. No one needed to look at me directly anymore; they only had to glance down at their screens, replaying Selene’s poisonous voice on loop, over and over, until her words felt tattooed across my skin. Rogue’s daughter. Omega slut. Curse. I kept my head low, but it didn’t matter. When I walked into lecture halls, conversations snapped shut like jaws. When I sat in the dining hall, the space around me grew hollow, untouched. Even the air felt colder now. Kael tried to shield me. He always did. His presence at my side was iron, the warning in his gaze enough to scatter most wolves before they could spit venom to my face. But I still felt it. The weight of their eyes. The disgust they didn’t bother hiding. I used to think invisibility was the worst fate here. I was wrong. B
The courtyard was too quiet when we stepped into it. Usually it buzzed at this hour—students hurrying between lectures, wolves sparring in the training pits, gossip crackling from every corner. But today, silence pressed down heavy. Kael’s hand gripped mine tighter. His body blocked me slightly as we walked, his shoulders broad, his chest tense. His wolf was awake, pacing under his skin. Something was wrong. Then I saw it. The center of the courtyard had been cleared. A platform stood there, makeshift but solid, wood dragged from the training grounds. A banner of Silverfang colors hung behind it, the crest of the Fenrir family bold against the fabric. And Selene stood on the platform. Her hair shone like spun gold in the sunlight. Her uniform skirt had been pressed crisp, her blouse cut just enough to draw eyes. She held a microphone, her smile sweet as poison. Students crowded the edges of the courtyard, phones already lifted, eyes sharp with hunger. Selene’s voic