When he speaks again, it is quieter—but no less powerful.
“You are not without worth, Cassie. But if you continue down this road, you will be without a place.”
Cassie swallows hard. Her gaze lowers for the first time that night.
“Yes, Alpha,” she says, voice rough.
He turns to the rest of the room.
“Let this be the last interruption. The future Luna has risen. We move forward as one.”
More than a few heads nod this time.
Cassie’s jaw tightens, but the fight in her eyes dims—replaced by something else. Wound. Maybe regret. Maybe not. She looks at mejust once, and I see the question in her eyes she won’t say aloud:Why wasn’t I enough?
Then she turns on her heel, disappearing into the corridor without another word.
I watch her go, the scent of frustration still lingering in the air behind her.
And I wonder if it might finally be over.
Not just this challenge.
But whatever Cassie believed she and I were supposed to be.
Chapter 17
Maya
Lunch at Stone Mountain High has never been anything special.
But today, everything feels… off.
Not bad. Not exactly. Just different.
The hallway feels brighter. The cafeteria louder. The stares more obvious.
I know what they’re seeing.
I’m not the new girl anymore.
I’m the girl who shifted in the circle. The girl who beat Cassie. The girl who stood beside Bolton Sharpe while the entire pack watched and didn’t run.
They’re not pretending I’m invisible anymore. They’re watching.
Some with curiosity. Some with something sharper.
I slide into my usual lunch table with a tray of mystery pasta and a juice box I grabbed without thinking. Rick’s already there, spinning a pen between his fingers and grinning like the world is still exactly as it’s always been.
“Hey, future valedictorian-slash-forest goddess.” His eyes twinkle as he sets his pen down. “Had any more mystical visions or late-night howling lately?”
My stomach flips. But I force a smile and roll my eyes. “Only when I forget to take my allergy meds.”
He snorts. “Classic. You know, for someone who spent two weeks trying to go full witness protection in the back row of English class, you’ve had a pretty dramatic rise to school legend.”
“Infamy, more like,” I mutter.
Rick leans in, lowering his voice like we’re conspiring. “Okay, but real talk. What the hell happened at that bonfire? You disappeared, and then suddenly everyone’s whispering like you lit the woods on fire with your mind or something.”
