جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Training resumed the following week.The academy grounds looked the same.Same sharp-lined buildings carved from blackstone. Same statues of ancient Alphas towering like guardians. Same wind snapping through the banners overhead, each embroidered with the sigil of the founding packs.But for Rayne Valen, everything had changed.She stood at the edge of the training yard, back ramrod straight, trying not to flinch at every shout, every clash of metal on metal. Her body still ached—healing too slow, bones too stiff—but the pain wasn’t what made her stomach twist.It was the eyes.Lucian's gaze had become a familiar burn on her skin—dangerous, comforting, unreadable.She gripped the hilt of her training blade tighter.Just survive. Keep your head down. Be invisible again.Rayne moved through the drills like a ghost, her body obeying commands while her mind drifted—always, always—to him.He was everywhere. His scent lingered on her cloak. His voice echoed in her mind. His presence haunted

The day after the summons, tension threaded through the academy like a stormcloud waiting to break.Rayne felt it in every glance.Every whispered conversation that ended the moment she entered a room.The Trial of Shadows had changed things—and not just between her and Lucian. The academy had noticed a difference. Eyes were sharper now. Words heavier.And trust?That was long gone.She was walking back from the training yard alone, bruised and aching from another round of drills. The sun dipped behind the blackstone towers, casting the halls in gold-shadowed light.She rounded the corner near the central archway when she heard the low laugh.Xavier.He leaned against the wall like he owned the academy, arms crossed, hair tousled like he'd just come from a photoshoot instead of combat class. Kade stood beside him, tall and smirking, flipping a coin between his fingers.Rayne didn’t stop. She didn’t even look.“Where’s your guard dog, Valen?” Xavier called out, voice lazy, amused.She

The hearing chamber was a cold, towering space carved into the oldest wing of Blackmoon Academy. The walls were made of thick, gray stone, etched with sigils from the earliest packs—testaments to a time when power was proven with blood and fire, not rules and regulation.Rayne stood beside Lucian at the center of the room, her hands clenched tightly behind her back. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears, almost louder than the voices echoing around them.Instructor Rhys Calloway paced in front of the tribunal.“To reiterate, the complaint claims that Lucian Wolfe and Rei Valen entered the Trial of Shadows together and remained together throughout, which would constitute a direct violation of academy instructions given to them.”Across the dais, the panel of senior Alphas sat like judges—silent, stern, and intimidating.Calloway’s voice lowered. “And yet—no concrete proof has been presented.”Murmurs rustled through the chamber.“No witnesses saw them cross paths. No evidence they fought a

Xavier hadn’t stopped thinking about them.Rei Valen and Lucian Wolfe.The hearing may have cleared them officially, but it didn’t settle right in Xavier’s gut. He’d watched them too closely for too long—seen the looks, the proximity, the stolen glances they tried to hide. And more importantly, he’d seen how Lucian had changed.The infamous lone wolf. Blackmoon’s golden warrior. Now too distracted to see what was coming for him.Good.Xavier stood in one of the upper balconies of the West Tower, overlooking the academy training grounds as he thought deep on the plan brewing in his mind.“How long do we play the waiting game?” Kade asked, leaning against the pillar beside him.Xavier’s jaw clenched. “Not long. We can’t afford to.”“They’re hiding something, but no one seems to care,” Kade said with a sneer. “The council didn’t even ask the right questions. That hearing was a joke.”“They only care about evidence,” Xavier muttered. “Not suspicion.”“And we have none.”“Yet,” Xavier adde

Outside, Xavier leaned against a column, arms folded casually.He straightened as Lucian approached, eyes dancing with mock concern.“Everything okay?” he asked innocently.Lucian didn’t stop walking.But he knew.The air around him shimmered with anger, and Xavier felt the power Lucian barely restrained as he passed him.“You should be careful, Wolfe,” Xavier said, just loud enough for him to hear. “Some people are watching you very closely now.”Lucian stopped.His back still turned, his voice low.“If you want a fight, Xavier, you don’t have to hide behind lies. You can come get one.”“Oh, but where’s the fun in that?” Xavier said, smiling.Lucian didn’t respond.He walked on—his mind already racing.Someone was lying.Someone was watching.And someone, very soon, was going to regret it.----Rayne waited outside the training hall, pacing slowly beside the stone archway. Like all roads leads to Rome, all her thoughts were on—Lucian.He’d disappeared into the council chamber with a