Une

LENA.

In Silverfang Academy, the first thing they teach you is that blood smells sweeter when it’s spilled in front of an audience.

That lesson wasn’t written in textbooks. It was carved into whispers, into the looks the Alphas’ children threw across the hall, into the way omegas like me were expected to keep our heads down.

And that morning, my head was literally trapped in a mop closet.

The door slammed, the lock clicked, and laughter faded on the other side. Someone had shoved me in there on purpose. Again.

The air smelled of bleach and dust. My palms pushed against the wooden door until they stung. “Not funny,” I hissed, even though I knew they wouldn’t hear. Or care. Omegas didn’t get rescues.

By the time I kicked my way out, my knees were bruised and the assembly had already started.

Silverfang’s annual ceremony wasn’t something you were late to. Three packs gathered in the massive auditorium, banners hanging from the ceiling, elders seated on velvet chairs. It was where alliances were made, where secrets were traded in smiles. It was also being livestreamed to every member of the tri-pack alliance.

And me? I was climbing the back stairs, breathless, trying not to look like I had crawled out of a janitor’s tomb.

The balcony was crowded. Students in silk dresses and sharp blazers filled every row. I squeezed through them, clutching the first drink I could grab from a passing tray. Maybe if I looked like I belonged, no one would notice.

But Silverfang always noticed.

A voice, low and commanding, cut through the hum of chatter. “Move.”

I froze. The drink trembled in my hand. When I turned, my gaze slammed into storm-gray eyes that made my stomach flip.

Kael Blackthorn.

Second son of the Alpha of Pack Blackthorn. Future CEO of the Blackthorn Conglomerate. The Academy’s untouchable prince.

And, unfortunately, the man whose pristine white shirt I had just baptized in crimson punch.

The liquid spread down his chest like blood. Gasps echoed. Phones lifted instantly, flashes capturing every detail.

Heat crawled up my neck. “I…”

The word strangled itself. My throat closed. My lungs forgot their job.

Kael didn’t flinch. He looked at me the way people looked at gum stuck to their shoe. Cold. Patient. Ready to scrape me off.

Selene, his fiancée, was the first to laugh. Of course she was. Her laugh rang like bells dipped in venom. “An omega spilling blood on the Blackthorn heir? How poetic.”

Snickers followed. Whispers spread like fire through dry grass. My fingers clenched around the empty cup. My ears burned.

“Pathetic,” someone muttered.

Kael moved then. Slowly, deliberately, he shrugged out of his blazer and tossed it over my shoulders. The fabric was warm, heavy, and smelled like cedarwood and winter storms.

The auditorium went silent.

His voice carried, low and sharp, meant for the entire hall. “Accidents happen. Don’t they?”

It wasn’t kindness. It was a warning.

And everyone knew it.

The elders at the front shifted uncomfortably. Selene’s smile faltered, then snapped back into place like glass trying not to crack.

I wanted to disappear. My heart slammed against my ribs, so loud I thought the entire balcony could hear it.

But Kael’s gaze didn’t move from me.

It pinned me down, like he knew I was hiding something.

And maybe I was.

Because beneath the punch and shame, beneath the laughter drilling holes into my skin, something else stirred. His scent hit me. Not faint. Not vague. Sharp. Electric. Like lightning before a storm.

It rolled over me, through me, deep into bone. My wolf whimpered inside, straining against the chains I had locked her in.

Mate.

The word burned in my mind.

No. No, it couldn’t be. He was engaged. He was untouchable. He was everything I swore I’d stay away from.

I shoved the thought down so hard it left a scar.

The ceremony continued, but I didn’t hear a word. Not the elders’ speeches, not the pledges, not the announcement about the prophecy that bound the packs’ futures together. The only thing I heard was the echo of my wolf whispering one word over and over.

Mate.

When it finally ended, I bolted for the exit. My chest ached. My hands shook. If I could just make it outside, if I could just breathe, maybe the world would stop spinning.

But Silverfang didn’t let omegas escape that easily.

At the foot of the stairs, Selene waited. Her heels clicked like a countdown as she walked toward me, her entourage circling like predators.

“You think wearing his jacket makes you special?” she said, eyes glittering. She tugged the fabric from my shoulders and tossed it into one of her friends’ arms. “You’re nothing. Remember that.”

I kept my mouth shut. Words were weapons, and mine would only get me killed here.

They shoved past me, laughter trailing behind them like perfume.

I exhaled, long and shaky.

The courtyard was quiet, shadows stretching as the sun dipped. I leaned against the wall, trying to steady myself. My wolf clawed at the inside of my chest, restless, angry, howling a truth I couldn’t accept.

Then a car pulled up. Black, sleek, the kind that screamed power.

The back door opened.

Kael stepped out.

My breath caught. He had changed shirts, but his gaze was the same storm as before. Focused. Dangerous. Like he had already made a decision about me.

He didn’t waste words. He didn’t waste time.

“Get in,” he said.

The order hit me like a whip. My knees almost buckled. My wolf howled again, louder this time, demanding obedience, demanding closeness.

Every instinct screamed to run.

Every bone in my body burned to obey.

And Silverfang Academy? It watched from its windows, hungry for the next drop of blood.