I should have been focused.


    I should have been preparing myself, mentally running through the techniques I’d learned and observed, anticipating my opponent’s strengths and weaknesses,


    But all I could see was Max


    He stood across the field, muscles tense, movements precise as he dodged a strike from his friend as they spared before ss started. Even now, pissed at me beyond belief, he was a force to be reckoned with


    and falling


    I <b>took </b>a hesitant step toward him, watching as he ran a hand through his already tousled hair, his chest rising steadily. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. I opened my mouth to call out to him, to try to say something–anything–but just as his silver eyesnded on me.


    His jaw licked.


    And he turned <b>away</b>.


    My breath hitched before I blow out a defeated sigh. Despite the hollowness in my chest and the evident look in his eyes that he wanted nothing to do with me, I <b>took </b>another step, my pulse pounding-


    “Max,” I whispered once I was close enough, but he had already moved on, already focused on something–someone- anything that wasn’t me.


    Pain pierced through my chest, but before I could chase after him, a sharp voice cut through the tension.


    “<b>Johal </b>Instructor Bastian called just as the hour for Combat and Training struck. I watched Max walk <b>away </b>with a heaviness in my heart as I turned to nce at Instructor Batsain with his regr clipboard with the list of challenges for today


    And my challenge had been the first to be called.


    I clenched my fists, forcing my emotions down as I exhaled slowly and turned away. Not now. I had to push it down now. As I walked toward the designated ring, my steps faltered slightly when I caught Nate’s eyes from across the field


    He had been watching


    300


    He <b>had </b>seen everything.


    His brows lifted in silent question, and for a second, I thought he was about toe over. Instead, his gaze flickered to Intrsyor Bstain who I now realized was heading straight for me.


    “Are you ready for the challenge?” he asked in a tone that seemed normal to anyone who might have heard, but I knew exactly what he was asking. Did I use the dagger in anticipation of the shift.


    I lifted my pinky subtly, shing him the tiny, almost invisible prick.


    His shoulders rxed slightly, and he gave the smallest nod. It was a bit, odd.. seeing the sternest instructor in the most rigid academy in the world care if I lived or died.


    It just made me even more curious. What <b>the </b>hell would be the waste of a millennium if I died?


    I brushed it off as I turned toward the makeshift curtained–off enclosure where students would shift before their matches. It wasn’t really private–nothing in this damn school ever was–but it provided enough coverage for students to strip and shift without a full audience.


    I stepped behind it, my fingers shaking slightly as I pulled off my clothes, folding them neatly before exhaling deeply This is it


    My first shift in front of the entire academy. My first challenge in wolf form. The snow was about ankle length and we were freezing out asses off. But this was just another day at the Alpha Training Academy, where if you aren’t ufortable, you aren’t doing it right


    Taking another breath, Het go


    I felt the familiar snap of my bones, the rush of heat crawling beneath my skin as my body twisted and morphed, the change familiar yet still unsettling My ws elongated, fur <b>sprouting </b>along my limbs as my spine stretched and cracked. And then I was on all fours. It had been way to exhrating to be in this form again, even if it v


    Sessfully unlocked!


    and we both knew it. It felt so free–so


    My Wolf hadn’t been too keen about using the dagger, but i think she <b>understood </b>that we would die if I didn’t


    I rolled my shoulders, stretching slightly, shaking out my fur as I stepped forward, past the enclosure and into the open Then–gasps,


    A sharp, collective intake of breath rippled through the crowd


    My ears twitched and I froze


    For a terrifying moment, I thought the dagger hadn’t worked. That something had gone wrong and whatever it was that Bastain and Max were afraid of, was now evident to everyone.


    Panic shot through me, and my wolf whimpered


    But then I caught a glimpse of Bastain’s face and he didn’t look like I was doomed. He didn’t even look shocked–as if he expected what he saw,


    I caught Max’s gaze across the ring too, and though there was shock in his eyes, the amazement outweighed it, despite his anger. It was then that I realized that most of the gazes were the same, and I huffed in relief.


    “Holy shit,” Eva whispered, suddenly right in front of me.


    Her eyes were wide–not in fear, but in absolute awe.


    “You’re beautiful, she breathed, reaching out hesitantly as if unsure if she was even allowed to touch me.


    I blinked, confusion knotting my chest.


    Beautiful?


    My wolf huffed in amusement, but my unease remained, I turned slightly, eyes scanning the other students. They weren’t just staring.


    They were gaping


    Murmurs rippled through the crowd, hushed whispers, wide–eyed disbelief.


    I turned sharply, twisting my head to nce at Nate even though I didn’t want to a hundred percent. Ethan was with him and they looked perfectly fine. Nate had a knowing smirk on his face–somewhat proud, too, though I didn’t understand why. But it was then that it dawned on me that they had seen my wolf before. No one else ever had. And I was a fully white wolf


    Ethan had been fully ck. That had always been our one difference apart from gender differences.


    But as I looked around now–at the other wolves shifting for their matches, at the other students in the crowd I


    remembered that white wolves were incredibly rare. They weren’t impossible, just rare.


    Every other wolf was barely fully white.


    They were either ck and white, or majonty white with spots of other colors.


    But me?


    I was pure white.


    No. I was only white.


    Something about that plus <b>what </b>Max has been telling me, and even more Bastain’s sudden interest told me that it wasn’t so much of a coincidence anymore.


    A sense of unease curled deep in my gut, but I forced it down.


    I didn’t have time for this


    I could analyze itter–after I won.


    The second–year male opposite me was already shifted, his massive form towering as his fur bristled. He let out a deep, guttural growl, lowering himself into an offensive stance


    I mirrored it, but at thest second, instead of waiting for the signal-


    I lunged.


    Surprise worked to my advantage.


    He hadn’t expected me to attack first, and his hesitation cost him,


    I crashed into him, using all the weight I had, my teeth sinking into the thick muscle along his shoulder


    I He snarled, shaking


    me off, but not before I tasted blood


    The match was on


    We circled each other, snapping, dodging, biting I <b>used </b>every move I had observed and from my wolf’s natural instincts What I practiced with Nate, Eva and even Max couldn’t help me in <b>wolf </b>form. It was <b>now </b>strictly up to my wolf to keep me alive


    He was strong. He was experienced


    But I was faster.


    We collided, ws slicing through fur, jaws snapping dangerously close to vital spots. His movements were calcted. precise, like he had fought a hundred battles before this one. But I had one advantage–he was expecting me to be weak


    He underestimated me


    I darted beneath him, my paws skidding against the floor as I twisted just in time to avoid his fangs snapping toward my throat. I lunged for his exposed side, sinking my teeth into the thick muscle of his ribs.


    He snarled in surprise, twisting violently, and before I could react-


    Pain


    His teeth found purchase along my side, piercing deep enough to send a sharp, searing burn shooting up my ribs.


    I yelped, wrenching myself free, my breath ragged. The scent of my own blood filled my nose.


    The pain was blinding, every nerve in my body screaming as my legs buckled slightly beneath me. I staggered, but I refused


    Across the field, I saw Bastian move. He was about to call the match. But I didn’t want him to.


    With a guttural growl, I forced my body back onto my feet, ignoring the sharp pangs ripping through my ribcage and I charged.


    My vision pulsed as I moved, each step slower than thest, but my determination burned hotter than my pain.


    Then sudden agony caused me to bellow in pain as hended a second bite.


    This time deeper.


    I barely felt the impact at first. But then the pain exploded, like fire spreading through my body, like ws tearing through me from the inside out.


    out beneath me.


    My vision blurred as my legs s gave out


    A pained wall ripped from my throat again, my body crashing onto the ground. The force of the fall sent another wave of agony rolling through me, my head spinning as I fought to keep my consciousness.


    I could barely think, barely breathe. My lungs burned, my limbs trembled, my wolf howled in distress. Bastain had no choice but to call the match whether I wanted it or not because the wolf would have killed me.


    The edges of my vision darkened.


    I tried–moon goddess, I tried to stay upright, to crawl toward the enclosure.


    But my body was done.


    And before I even made it past the makeshift curtain, I shifted back


    Before the entire school had a chance to see my nakedness, a warmth enveloped me.


    I recognized the scent instantly as Nate’s, and despite myself, I rxed into him.


    He moved fast, shielding my body with his own, his arms wrapping around me tightly, his body blocking me from the crowd.


    I barely felt the fabric of the robe as he wrapped it around me, barely registering the weight of it settling over my trembling


    form


    His arms tightened.


    I sucked in a shallow breath, my entire body screaming in pain.


    Through hazy, blood–loss–blurred vision, I turned my head just enough-


    And met Mar’s eyes


    His expression was unreadable, but his jaw ticked at Nate’s actions.


    His eyes were dark, stormy, his hands clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles had gone white


    He didn’t move toward me


    Didn’t even flinch


    But I could feel his rage Feel his frustration


    I felt a little sce when I also felt his worry


    Nate lifted me easily cradling me against his chest as he turned toward the exit.


    I didn’t even have the strength to protest


    Didn’t have the energy to fight the exhaustion closing in on <ol><li></li></ol>


    And then-


    Darkness