Nova's wolf stood in the ring. Glowing like the moon with blood on her back from where Helga had taken a bite.

  She put her head down, taking control back.

  She saw their faces.

  Her classmates. Professor Draven. The warriors.

  Eyes wide. Frozen. Uncertain. Afraid.

  Nova took one shaky step back. Then another.

  She looked toward Aeron — his face pale, mouth parted, eyes locked on her.

  Nova: Do they think I'm a monster?

  Seraphine: Let them.

  Panic clawed through her ribs.

  Seraphine took over again. She didn't remember the moment she turned to run. Only the blur of trees as she sprinted from the ring, snow exploding beneath her paws.

  Voices called after her.

  She didn't hear them.

  She crashed into the forest, leaping over roots, weaving through trees. Seraphine ran with the speed of an Alpha, body low, tail streaming behind like a ribbon of white fire.

  She didn't know where she was going.

  Only that she had to get away from the stares and silence. And from disappointing Aeron.

  Nova: Were they afraid?

  Seraphine whimpered deep in her throat, a raw, wounded sound.

  She ran faster, paws slamming into the earth.

  Snow whipped past her, branches scratched her glowing fur and caught some of the blood already on her shoulder, but she didn't stop.

  Nova: Am I the monster Ashbane said I was?

  She didn't know how far she ran.

  And even in the quiet hush of the forest, the sound of their silence still chased her.

  ???

  Fin was seated across from Princess Meredith at a high table overlooking the east training field, half-listening as she described the various renovations she wanted when she moved into his castle.

  His gaze had drifted again to the window.

  He could feel some of her emotions through the matebond, but he couldn't get a full view of what was happening, until now.

  And then... silver light hit.

  He turned looking out the window and saw.

  A wolf had shifted. Not just any wolf. A white wolf.

  He blinked once. Then again.

  No one he'd ever met had a white wolf.

  That wasn't just beyond rare. They were thought to be a myth by most.

  A white wolf was a sign of the Moon Goddess herself — her touch, her mark, her claim.

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  And there was one that just exploded into being in the middle of his training field.

  His throat went dry.

  Across from him, the Princess was still talking — about how she wanted the west wing "redecorated in crimson and ivory like her mother's throne hall."

  He stood abruptly.

  "Excuse me," he said flatly.

  "What? We're not done—"

  "No, we're not. But I am."

  He didn't wait for her permission or look back.

  He was already halfway down the corridor, one hand pressing to his temple as his mindlink flared to life. He had a horrible feeling in his chest.

  Something was wrong.

  His mindlink hit four people, jolting all of them: Draven, Aeron, Cael, and Jax.

  Fin: What the hell just happened?

  The replies came quickly.

  Cael: Just saw a girl shift into a white wolf. She's gone. Took off into the forest.

  Jax: She ran like she was being hunted. I couldn't get to her in time.

  Aeron: You felt that, didn't you? That wasn't just any shift.

  Draven: Alpha, I will talk to the student and handle this. She was attacked when her back was turned after she won the match. I don't even know how she knew in time to shift, but... thank the gods she did.

  Cael: Why was the match not called when the warrior shifted? That should be an automatic win for the opponent.

  Draven: Brutus wanted to vet her as an early recruit. We thought Helga was testing her.

  Fin: You're telling me, one of my trained warriors...Our pack's elite attacked an unsuspecting student in human form... from the back after a match was already called in front everyone?

  Finric stopped walking.

  This was almost unbelievable. No way a trained warrior would be that stupid... right?

  The rage rose so quickly it felt cold.

  Someone attacked her from behind. After the match. After she'd won.

  Fin: Is the attacker alive?

  Draven: Yes. Sterling is furious.

  Fin: Immediate arrest. Blood test. Aeron, check for traces of dark magic. Alpha's order.

  Cael: On it Alpha.

  Aeron: Wonderful. So we've lost the student, a warrior committed a felony. Productive afternoon

  Fin took a deep breath. Slowly. It didn't help.

  Aeron: No traces of dark magic on the warrior.

  Fin: Who is the student?

  He already knew the answer.

  Jax: Nova. I'm going after her.

  Fin walked faster, cape flaring behind him as he reached the stairwell that would take him outside. He didn't say don't. But he didn't say go either.

  White wolf.

  Why now?

  Why here?

  And why did it have to be her?

  His wolf stirred deep inside him.

  Xeon: Mate.

  Fin descended the final steps toward the field, the weight of his boots echoing over stone.

  He expected chaos. But what he got was stillness.

  The training yard was quiet. Warriors were frozen mid-movement. Students stood clumped in uncertain huddles.

  His gaze swept the field.

  The brown wolf lay, with her eyes still looking angry.

  Nova would have been killed if she hadn't shifted.

  His jaw tensed at the thought.

  "We need to bring her back before someone else does," Cael said.

  Before Fin could answer, a commotion broke out from the edge of the crowd.

  A warrior shouted, "Stop them—!"

  Then fur.

  Four wolves.

  A streak of red, grey, black, and brown disappeared into the woods. Younger. Early warriors or maybe still students.

  "Was that—?"

  Draven sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Students who just disobeyed a direct order to stay put."

  "Our patrol is dealing with rogue attacks a few miles from here," Fin growled.

  Draven exhaled in frustration. "They will have consequences. All of them. Entire class."

  The Alpha was silent.

  Cael was Beta for a reason. "I'll get the four wolf pups. Draven, with me. Now." He turned to Fin. "She went that way. Jax left just before you arrived."

  Fin's wolf, Xeon, growled inside him. He was no longer willing to wait.

  Fin hadn't let his wolf take full control in years. Not since the war. Not since his father died.

  But this— This was different. This was need. The kind that rattled your ribs until you couldn't breathe without answering it.

  She was out there. Alone. Scared. And she had no idea what she meant to him.

  Bones cracked, limbs contorted, and his wolf burst forth.

  Black, massive, with golden eyes.

  Snow exploded beneath his paws as he launched into the trees, moving faster than wind, tearing through pine and frozen brush.

  He followed her scent, vanilla and moonlight. He also picked up something else laced in her scent. Fear.

  He felt a pang in his chest at the thought.

  She's scared.

  She thinks she did something wrong.

  And now she was running like she thought she was hunted.

  He growled a sound filled with something darker than rage — guilt.

  Fin pushed harder. His wolf roared inside him. He was going at Alpha speed.

  He didn't care that omega student warriors had already broken ranks to chase her. Didn't care that Aeron was probably cursing from the field.

  He would find her first.

  Because for the first time in his life, he didn't want to be Alpha.

  He just wanted to be hers.