The Weight of Secrets

Sable's POV

---

I don't remember moving. One second I'm frozen in the hallway, the door handle turning. The next, I'm in my servant's room with the door shut, my back against the wall, my hand over my mouth.

My heart is beating so loud I'm sure they can hear it.

Through the thin wall, Odette's voice drifts in. Sweet. Fake. The voice she uses when she wants something.

"I'm serious, Dorian. You didn't see what I saw."

"I believe you." That's Dorian Voss. Garrick's older cousin. One of Alpha Whitmore's enforcers. His voice is low, calm. Dangerous. "But you need to be careful. Accusations like this, they require proof."

"I have proof. I've been watching her. The way she moves. The way she looks at people when she thinks no one's watching. Something is wrong with her wolf."

I press my ear harder against the wall.

"She's never shifted," Odette continues. "Two years at this academy, and nothing. That's not normal. That's not weak. That's hiding."

"Interesting." A pause. "And you think she's a threat to the Alpha Trials?"

"I think she's a threat to everything." Odette's voice drops. "My father adopted her for a reason. He's never told me why. But I've seen the way he looks at her. Like she's a weapon he's waiting to use."

My blood runs cold.

"Then we'll take care of it," Dorian says. "Your father will want to know."

Footsteps. The suite door opens. Closes.

Silence.

I slide down the wall until I'm sitting on the floor, knees pulled to my chest. My hands are shaking.

Odette isn't just cruel. She's plotting. She's been watching me, studying me, building a case against me. And Dorian Voss, one of the most dangerous enforcers in the pack, is on her side.

I'm not just invisible anymore.

I'm a target.

---

The summons comes at 6:00 AM.

A junior enforcer knocks on my door, tells me Headmaster Crane wants to see me immediately. No explanation. No warning.

I dress quickly, my hands still trembling. I don't bother with makeup. I don't bother with anything that might make me look like I'm trying.

The Headmaster's office is on the top floor of the main building. I've only been here once before, two years ago, when Alpha Whitmore first brought me to the academy. The memory makes my stomach turn.

When I walk in, Alpha Whitmore is standing by the window. Headmaster Crane is behind his desk, a thin man with sharp eyes and a sharper smile.

"Sable." Alpha Whitmore turns. His face is unreadable. "Sit down."

I sit.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

"Fine."

"Sleeping well?"

"Yes."

"Any changes?" His eyes narrow. "With your wolf?"

And there it is.

"No," I say. "Nothing."

Headmaster Crane leans forward. "You've never shifted. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"In two years at this academy, surrounded by wolves, during full moons, during challenges, you've never once felt the pull?"

"I feel it." I keep my voice steady. "I just... can't."

"Can't or won't?"

The question hangs in the air.

"Can't," I repeat.

Alpha Whitmore walks toward me, slow and deliberate. He stops in front of my chair, looking down at me. I've seen him do this to other people. It's a power move. It works.

"Sable," he says quietly. "I brought you into my home. I gave you a chance when no one else would. You owe me honesty."

"I'm being honest."

"Are you?" He tilts his head. "Because I've heard otherwise."

My heart stops.

"With the Alpha Trials approaching," he continues, "all students must undergo a mandatory wolf assessment. Every wolf. No exceptions." He pauses. "Including you."

The room spins.

"When?" I manage.

"One week." He straightens. "You have one week to prepare. I suggest you use it wisely."

I don't remember leaving the office. I don't remember walking through the halls. The next thing I know, I'm in the main courtyard, and the announcement is being broadcast over the speakers.

"Attention, students. The Alpha Trials will begin in two weeks. For the first time in Ravencrest history, all students are required to participate. This is not optional. This is not negotiable. Every wolf will be tested. Every wolf will fight. May the strongest survive."

The courtyard erupts.

Some students cheer. Others look terrified. I just stand there, frozen.

The Alpha Trials are brutal. Designed to push wolves to their breaking points. Most years, at least one student dies. Sometimes more.

And now I have to participate.

And in one week, I have to submit to a wolf assessment that will reveal exactly what I am.

I'm dead. Either way, I'm dead.

---

I find a quiet corner of the library, but I can't focus on any of the books. My mind is spinning.

"You look like someone just told you the world is ending."

I look up.

Stellan Crowe is standing in front of me, holding a book I didn't see him pick up. His pale eyes are calm, almost amused.

"Go away," I say.

"Not yet." He sits across from me, uninvited. "You heard the announcement."

"Everyone heard the announcement."

"And you're scared."

"I'm not scared." I'm terrified.

"You are." He leans forward. "But you don't have to be."

I stare at him. "What do you want?"

"To help."

"Why?"

He smiles. That strange, knowing smile. "Because I've been waiting for you."

Before I can respond, a shadow falls over the table.

Garrick Voss.

He's even bigger up close. All muscle and anger and barely contained violence. He looks at Stellan, then at me.

"What are you doing?" he demands.

"Talking," Stellan says. "You should try it sometime."

"Shut up." Garrick's eyes fix on me. "You. The orphan. You're the one everyone's talking about."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play dumb." He leans down, hands on the table, face inches from mine. "I heard about you. Never shifted. Never fought. Never did anything except follow Odette around like a dog." He smirks. "And now you have to fight in the Trials. How long do you think you'll last?"

"Long enough."

The words come out before I can stop them.

Garrick's smirk falters. Something flickers in his eyes. Surprise. Maybe respect.

"Long enough," he repeats. "We'll see."

He walks away.

Stellan is still smiling.

"That was interesting," he says.

"Shut up."

"I'm serious." He stands, tucking the book under his arm. "You just stood up to Garrick Voss. Most people don't do that. Most people can't." He pauses. "But you're not most people, are you?"

He walks away before I can answer.

And across the room, I see Merrick Hale watching me. His dark eyes are calculating, cold. He doesn't smile. He doesn't look away.

He just watches.

---

That night, I go to the woods.

I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm here. But something is pulling me. My wolf. She's been getting stronger every day, and now she's practically screaming.

I walk deep into the trees, far from the academy, far from everyone. The moon is almost full. The woman's words echo in my head. The moon is almost full. It's time to remember.

I stop in a small clearing. The stream nearby babbles softly. The trees form a canopy overhead, blocking most of the moonlight.

I close my eyes.

Okay, I tell my wolf. I'm ready. Show me what you are.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then, heat floods through my body. My bones crack. My skin splits. I bite down on my scream as my body contorts, shifts, changes.

When I open my eyes, the world is different. Sharper. Brighter. I can smell everything. Hear everything. Feel everything.

I look down at my reflection in the stream.

And I freeze.

The wolf staring back at me is massive. Black as midnight. With eyes that glow silver instead of gold.

Silver eyes. Like the woman in my dreams. Like the Moon-Touched.

I'm not a normal wolf. I never was.

I'm something else.

And then I hear it.

A howl. Deep. Resonant. Powerful enough to shake the trees.

I turn.

At the edge of the clearing, three wolves stand watching me. One black as night. One brown with calculating eyes. One white as snow.

The three Alphas.

They've followed me.

They've seen.

Garrick shifts first. Naked and unashamed, he walks toward me, his eyes burning with something I can't name.

"What the hell are you?" he demands.

Behind him, Stellan shifts back to human. He's smiling. Like he's been waiting for this moment his entire life.