She doesn’t say anything at first. Just looks from me, to my father, to the others watching her.
Her voice is small, afraid, edged in disbelief. “This… this is real?”
No one answers.
She looks around at the faces—some human, some not—and I see her expression change.
She understands now.
She’s in trouble.
I release a breath, every muscle in my chest tightening. “You’re like us, Maya. A wolf shifter. You just don’t know it yet.”
The bonfire crackles. Maya stands motionless, rooted to the earth like she needs it to stay upright.
Dax says nothing now, just watches her with quiet sympathy.
She looks down at her hands, then back up at me. “You’re telling me... I’m one of you?”
“You’re something more,” I say, my voice steady. “We all felt it tonight. So did you.”
Maya’s jaw works, but no words come. Not yet.
She looks over at Cassie and back to me. “Do I have to fight her?”
“No,” I say immediately. “You don’t. She’s trying to push you. That’s all.” I look at my father. “This is out of line.”
But he doesn’t step in. His expression is cool, calculating.
The old laws still hold.
And right now, they’re not on Maya’s side.
“She accepted the circle,” Cassie says, arms folded, her voice dripping satisfaction. “She stood in it. Took the moon’s witness. The Pack has the right.”
“No,” I snap, stepping forward. “She didn’t know what that meant. She’s not pack. She didn’t consent to anything.”
Cassie raises an eyebrow. “She stepped into the sacred circle under the full moon. That’s consent enough, Bolton. You can’t rewrite the laws just because it’s inconvenient for you.”
“She thought it was a school tradition,” I say, heat rising in my voice. “You know she doesn’t understand what a challenge means.”
“Well, maybe she should’ve asked before playing Luna-in-waiting.”
“That’s enough,” I bark. “You’re twisting this, Cassie. She didn’t ask for this.”
“And yet she’s here,” Cassie sneers. “With you. Standing in front of the pack like she belongs.”
“Enough,” my father’s voice booms across the clearing.
The circle goes still.
He steps forward, gaze like frost on steel. “She may not have understood the circle, but you did, son.”
I turn toward him, my jaw clenched.
“You knew what it meant to bring her here. To place her before the fire. To let her stand where only the blooded do.” His tone is low, deliberate. “And you are responsible for what follows. Did you think there wouldn’t be consequences?”
My heart slams in my chest.
