Chapter 8

Lyra

I woke with a start, coated in a cold sweat, heart pounding. As I struggled to draw in calm breaths, I pressed my hand to my chest and reached deep within for my wolf.

“Jade…”

“I’m here,” her voice replied instantly. “It was just a nightmare.”

I nodded faintly as my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room around me. Indeed, I was still in my dorm, not covered in blood in a forest. A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was six in the morning.

For a few minutes, I laid back down, trying to calm my racing heart.

I was here. Safe. Alive. By the Moon Goddess’s grace, I’d been given chance after chance.

And in this life, my wolf was by my side again. I hadn’t lost her for good last time. That, at least, was a comfort.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment as I recalled the final part of my dream that had awoken me: Kael’s Alpha trial.

In my past life, Kael had attended a final Alpha trial , a test from the Council to ensure he was truly ready to take his father’s place.

He was meant to spend three days in the forest, surviving on his own and searching for a great white stag that he would have to hunt and kill. Only once he brought it back could he be named Alpha of the Northern Territories, King of the North, on his birthday.

But something had gone wrong during the trial. I’d felt it through the fated mate bond we shared—Kael had been ambushed and drugged in the forest.

In a panic, I had forcibly broken the seal on my wolf so I could shift to save him. I’d managed one shift, just enough to find and fight off his attackers, before my wolf died.

After my wolf’s death, I went into a week-long coma. The healers couldn’t determine the cause of my sudden illness, and chalked it up to venturing into the forest alone to find Kael and being frightened by the experience.

I became a laughingstock. And apparently Bianca had taken the credit for saving Kael while I was unconscious, so by the time I awoke, I was already labeled as the pathetic wolfless who had injured herself with a simple venture into the woods.

I didn’t bother defending myself. Kael had been unconscious throughout the fight, and I knew that he would never believe that I had been the one to fight off his attackers, so what was the point?

Besides, by that point, I was already dying. Ronan had made it clear that if I broke the seal before I was ready, my wolf would die and so would I.

I had intentionally given my own life to save Kael. That was a mistake I would never repeat in this life.

By the time seven o’clock rolled around, I was dressed and ready to go. Bianca and I made our way down to the auditorium, where the freshman ceremony would be held. We took our seats near the front.

“I heard your foster brother is giving a speech today,” she said, nudging me with her elbow. “He’s the Alpha student representative this year. Well… Every year.”

My jaw clenched at the reminder. Kael was always the most popular student in high school, and college was no different.

And it wasn’t just because he was the future King of the North, either. He genuinely garnered a lot of praise and attention because of his good grades, prowess in every sport imaginable, incredible looks, and charming personality.

The thought nearly made me laugh out loud. If only they knew the real Kael.

“Oh, and there’s Cassidy. She’s his girlfriend, right?”

My eyes slid over to Cassidy, who was taking her seat a little ways down from me. In her pink mini skirt and neatly-pressed blouse, blonde hair pulled back into a perfect ponytail, she looked every inch the beautiful cheerleader who would capture the heart of any guy she wanted.

Except for Kael, apparently; because when he passed by with his entourage, he didn’t even look at her.

“Kael, baby!” Cassidy shot to her feet and held out her arms for a hug. “You look—”

Nothing. He just walked right on by, completely ignoring her.

I couldn’t help the snicker that burst out of me. Even though I tried to cover my mouth with my hand, Cassidy heard it and snapped her head toward me, hazel eyes blazing.

Only then did Kael turn to look. Cassidy immediately straightened, forcing her adoring smile back into place, and blew him a kiss. But he wasn’t looking at her.

Onyx eyes directly met mine instead.

He held my gaze for a long moment, and during that time, I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away. It was unlike Kael to look at me like that, especially for so long and in front of all these people.

It was… entrancing.

And in my past life, I would have taken such a look and cherished it forever.

But in this life, I managed to tear my gaze away and shove those silly thoughts right where they belonged: in the garbage of my mind, right along with everything else that didn’t matter to me like what I had eaten for breakfast.

The principal then took the stage, clearing his throat and attracting everyone’s attention.

Principal Morris was just as old and decrepit as I remembered, his spine curling over and his footsteps shuffling across the stage. He wore wire-rimmed glasses on the tip of his birdlike nose and had bushy eyebrows that always seemed to twitch when he talked, and his voice was so soft and wobbly that we all had to lean forward to hear him.

“Freshmen,” he said, “it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Ravencrest University.”

The auditorium filled with howls and stomping feet. Bianca cupped her hands around her mouth and joined in. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her, although I couldn’t help but smile and join in on the feet-stomping.

Principal Morris waved his gnarled hands to quiet everyone, then said, “Before we begin the formal introduction ceremony, I do have one announcement.” His face grew solemn as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Recently, there have been sightings of fugitives from Silvercrest Pack in the area.”

My heart stuttered.

“As you all know, these fugitives have been known to be violent, so the new rules this year are for your own safety—not to control you. This year, the eastern forest is officially restricted. Anyone who goes there will be expelled.”

The crowd murmured, some even openly booing. The eastern forest was a beloved part of Ravencrest—it was often where students went to party in the woods, amongst the ruins of an ancient pack that had been gone for centuries.

“I know it’s not ideal,” Principal Morris went on, “but I must stress how important it is that you all abide by the rules. There will also be an 8pm curfew until the fugitives are apprehended.”

I bit my lip, considering. In my past life, I hadn’t been here for this announcement, so I wasn’t aware of any of this. All I knew was that the forest was off-limits and that there was a curfew, but I was so focused on Kael anyway that I didn’t care about any of that.

But now I knew that survivors from my pack were out there. Which meant one thing…

They might know something. Or at the very least, their presence could provide me with clues as to what had truly happened to my pack.

After the ceremony, I quickly made my way out of the auditorium, my mind racing. If I could find a way to locate the fugitives, perhaps I could question them, or at least study them to find out why they were attacking people…

“Going somewhere?”

A pink skirt stepped in my way, and I slowly lifted my gaze to see Cassidy towering over me in her heels, slender arms folded across her chest. Her red lips were tilted up into a smile that had no kindness in it.

“Well, yes,” I replied curtly. “I do actually have places to be.”

Cassidy’s lip curled to reveal partially extended fangs. “You were mocking me earlier. I saw your little smirk.”

“I wasn’t—”

“Let’s teach her a lesson, girls.”

Before I could react, several of Cassidy’s cronies surrounded me. I swung my satchel around in an attempt to fight them off, but I was outnumbered. Two of them gripped my arms while another rushed over to a nearby door and flung it open.

They shoved me inside so forcefully that I stumbled forward, and the door slammed shut behind me.

I slammed right into a firm chest. The very same chest that I had slammed into in the forest all those years ago.

Kael’s chest. Bare.

And then it hit me. I was in the males’ locker room.