Two

KAMARI POV

“Dammit, Father.” Zena raked a hand through her hair. “There has to be another way.”

I stood there in silence, watching her argue on my behalf.

She’d been home for barely fifteen minutes, and she was already trying to save me.

Because you need saving, you fool.

I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to go to Wolfstone.

I didn’t want to die.

It’s not like I had a death wish. Yet those seemed to be my only choices. Be executed by the High Council for refusing their summons… Or die in Wolfstone trying to survive a place built for Lycans.

Either way, I lost.

“Oh, Kamari.”

The anger vanished from Zena’s face the moment she looked at me. Worry filled her warm brown eyes as she crossed the room and wrapped me in a fierce embrace.

For the first time since I’d walked into Father’s office, I let myself breathe.

“Hi, Zena,” I murmured, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

She pulled back just enough to cup my face in her hands, studying me as though making sure I was really standing in front of her.

“It’s good to see you,” she whispered.

“You too.”

She swallowed hard before turning back to Father.

“You can’t do this.”

“My hands are tied,” Father said wearily. “You attended the Academy. You know the law. Every eligible child from Glendale must answer the Academy’s summons.”

“Kamari isn’t an eligible child!” Zena fired back. “She spent her entire life training to be a healer. You’re sending her into a place designed to break warriors.”

Her voice cracked. “You’re sending her there knowing she won’t survive.”

The room fell silent.

Father lowered his head, and for a long moment, no one spoke.When he finally looked up, there was nothing but resignation in his eyes.

“You think I don’t know that?”

His voice was quiet. “You think I haven’t searched for another way since that decree arrived?”

He looked at Zena, then at me.“If there were another choice…”He swallowed.“I would have taken it.”

The room fell silent once more.

I searched his face for any sign that this was some cruel joke. That at any moment he’d sigh, tell us the decree had been sent in error, and send me back to the Healing Quarter.

Instead, all I saw was defeat. Father never looked defeated. Not even when neighboring packs threatened war. Not even when famine swept through Glendale three winters ago.

Yet the man standing before me now looked as though the fight had already been beaten out of him.

I took a deep breath. I hated seeing them like this.

My entire life, Father and Zena had done everything they could to keep me safe, to shield me from the truth of the world beyond Glendale’s borders.

Now there was nothing either of them could do.

At twenty-six, Zena was the female version of Father.

Tall and powerfully built, every inch of her body had been shaped by years of relentless training and countless hours riding her bonded beast. Her sun-kissed skin was unmarred, her golden-brown hair cropped short for combat, and she carried herself with the quiet confidence of someone who had never doubted her place in the world.

She looked every bit the Lycan she was born to be.

Blessed by the Moon. Chosen. Feared.

Then there was me.

Smaller. Fragile.

The hands of a healer instead of a warrior.

A human hidden beneath a lie that had lasted my entire life. Father’s expression said everything he couldn’t bring himself to voice.

He knew exactly what Wolfstone would do to someone like me.

I lifted my chin. “I’ll go.”

“What?” Zena spun toward me, disbelief etched across her face.

“I said I’ll go.”

“Kamari—”I cut Zena off before she could finish.

“It’s useless arguing about it.” I forced the words past the tightness in my throat. “If refusing means exposing the truth… and getting us all killed, then there isn’t a choice.”

Neither of them spoke.

I looked at Father.

“So tell me.”I say, trying to steady my voice “When do I leave?”

The silence stretched between us.Long enough for hope to bloom. Long enough for it to die.

Father finally lifted his eyes to meet mine.

“Tomorrow.”

The word echoed through the room.

Tomorrow.

Not next week. Not in a month’s time. Tomorrow.

My stomach dropped.

Less than a day. Less than a day before I walked into a city that wasn’t built for people like me. A city where one mistake could have my head hang on a wall

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So… that’s it?”

Father looked away. “The carriage leaves at first light.”

I gave a slow nod, surprised by how steady I felt. Perhaps the shock had a way of numbing everything else.

“I’ll pack my things.”

“You don’t understand,” Zena said, stepping in front of me before I could move. “Wolfstone isn’t like Glendale.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.” She shook her head. “You think this is another town. It isn’t.”

Her voice grew quieter.” They don’t care who your father is. They don’t care if you’re noble.They don’t care if you live or die. The Academy breaks people, Kamari.”

I forced a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.

“Then I’ll try not to break.”

“This is not a joke!” she snapped

“I’m not taking it as one.” I says trying not to sound frustrated “What else am I supposed to do? Cry?”

Zena’s jaw tightened. “You’ve never held a combat blade.”

“I know.”

“You’ve never hunted.”

“I know that Zena.”

“You can’t shift,” she whispered.

My breath caught.

The room fell deathly still. Father’s gaze snapped to the guards standing outside the open doors.

“Leave us.”

The guards bowed without question and pulled the doors shut behind them. Only when the latch clicked into place did Father speak again.

“No one,” he said quietly, “must ever hear those words.”

His eyes settled on me. “From the moment you enter Wolfstone, you are Lycan. You have always been Lycan. And you will remain Lycan.”

His voice hardened. “ If anyone suspects otherwise, don’t deny it.”

My brows drew together. “What?”

“Run.”

I stared at him.

“If your secret is exposed…” He paused, the strain in his voice unmistakable. “Don’t try to explain. Don’t try to defend yourself.”He met my gaze. Run, Kamari.”

A chill swept through me.