What Is Happening?

Chapter Six

Knox

She means it.

I can tell because she hasn’t flinched once. Her breathing is uneven, but her eyes haven’t left mine since she said those words.

Loud enough for every elder, student, and guard in the courtyard to hear.

I look at Alaric.

His composure is beginning to crack. His hands are bound with iron laced with suppressants, preventing him from shifting. I’ve watched him try twice.

Both times, his body tensed as if his wolf were about to emerge, only for the attempt to fail.

Now he’s standing there, helpless, with desperation written all over his face.

I turn back to Tessa.

“Take her.”

I step away from her, giving the guards room to move in.

Everything happens at once.

Alaric surges forward, putting himself between Tessa and the nearest guard despite his bound hands.

“Knox, don’t do this. You have no idea what you’re—”

“Remove him.”

Two guards seize Alaric by the arms and pull him back.

“You don’t understand what you’re doing!” he shouts.

“Take him further away.”

They drag him toward the far end of the courtyard. When he continues shouting, I give another order.

“Gag him.”

That finally shuts him up.

Movement catches my attention to the left.

Levana’s nails have disappeared beneath pink fur spreading up her forearms. Her eyes have changed, too. Her wolf is close to the surface, and she isn’t happy.

Landon catches her arm.

“Levana.”

“Let go.”

“Think about where you are.”

“I know exactly where I am!”

“Elders. Council panel,” Caius says, stepping beside them. “Think before you do something you’ll regret.”

“She’s my friend!”

“And shifting in front of the council won’t help her,” Landon says. “It’ll make things worse for both of you.”

Levana looks at Tessa.

“Stay back,” Tessa says quietly.

Levana’s jaw tightens, but she listens.

Interesting.

A wolfless girl, an abomination by every accepted measure, and Levana Ashcroft actually listens to her.

The guards approach Tessa.

She doesn’t move. Her chin stays raised, her hands relaxed at her sides. She looks at me as if she has any say in what happens next.

Stupid girl.

She has no wolf, no rank, and no power. All she has is the borrowed name of a man currently being held back by two guards.

And yet she stands there challenging me.

The first guard takes her arm. She allows him to.

The second reaches for her other side, and Tessa turns her head and spits directly at his face.

The courtyard falls silent.

The guard wipes his cheek. His expression hardens.

Then he slaps her.

The sound carries across the courtyard. Tessa’s head snaps to the side.

Heat spreads through my left palm.

I close my hand.

The sensation fades enough for me to ignore it. I look at Tessa again.

She’s straightened. A red mark is already forming on her cheek, but she doesn’t touch it. She simply looks at me.

As if I’m the one who struck her.

I hold her gaze and nod at the guards to continue.

They start leading her toward the side gate.

The guard who slapped her grips her arm again, his fingers digging into her skin. Tessa’s jaw tightens, but she makes no sound.

The heat in my palm sharpens.

I flex my fingers.

What the hell?

The guard shoves her forward. She stumbles, and pain shoots through my hand so suddenly that my breath catches.

I clench my fist, trying to contain it.

The mark is burning.

Not warming. Not tingling.

Burning.

I press my hand against my side and look toward the council. The elders watch in silence, waiting for me to finish what I’ve started.

Then I look at Tessa.

Her eyes are wet now, but she refuses to cry. She keeps her chin raised as the guard pulls her along.

The pain intensifies until I can barely close my fingers.

“Stop.”

My voice comes out too quietly. The noise of the courtyard swallows it.

The guard raises his hand again.

“STOP!”

The entire courtyard freezes.

The guard lowers his arm. The elders look up, and Landon and Caius turn toward me. Even Levana stops fighting to look away.

I realize I’m gripping my left wrist with my right hand.

I don’t remember doing it.

The mark pulses beneath my palm, sending another wave of pain through my arm. Sweat runs down the back of my neck.

I don’t sweat.

“Everyone out.”

Nobody moves immediately.

“Now.”

The guards release Tessa and withdraw. The council members gather their papers and leave without questioning me. The elders follow, exchanging looks I don’t bother to interpret.

Landon and Caius let go of Levana.

She looks at Tessa, who gives her a small nod. Reluctantly, Levana follows the others.

Alaric is dragged away with the guards.

Soon, the courtyard is empty.

Just me and Tessa.

The mark I placed on her is burning beneath my palm.

I know it’s connected to her. I was the one who created the connection.

But a debt mark shouldn’t react like this. It shouldn’t hurt when she does, and it certainly shouldn’t make me lose control in front of the entire council.

Tessa watches me clutch my wrist, and for once, she looks just as confused as I feel.

I step closer.

She backs away until she reaches the wall.

I stop in front of her, trying to ignore the pain still twisting through my palm.

Then I reach for her.

My left hand closes around her jaw. The movement is rougher than I intended.

Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t look away.

“I marked you,” I say quietly. “So why the hell am I the one feeling your pain?”