Dawn came too early.
It always did.
The faint gold bleed of sunlight filtered through the curtains as I rolled out of bed, dragging a hand over my face. My body ached from yesterday's drills and Valora's particular brand of distraction.
I pulled on my running gear-black shorts, a fitted shirt, and new sneakers, trying to shake off the image of Rivan sitting on that fallen oak, his cryptic words about a "red wolf" echoing in my head. What the hell did he mean?
Rivan's voice had felt too real. The red wolf. What the hell did he mean by that?
I pushed the thought aside, grabbed my running gear, and slipped out into the hallway. The academy's dorm corridors were still half-dark, the kind of quiet only broken by the hum of magic in the air. My steps echoed softly against the marble floors until I stopped in front of Kiyan's door.
Sure enough, I heard moaning. Loud, breathy, unashamed.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. "For fuck's sake."
I banged my fist on the door. "Kiyan! Dawn runs. Let's go!"
An excited, muffled voice came back. "Ten more minutes!"
And then Seraphine's unmistakable murmur followed, too low for me to catch the words but high enough to make my ears burn.
I knocked again, louder. "You've got five."
No answer this time, just a louder moan in response.
I shook my head, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms. I moved to the handrail nearby, resting my elbows on it, my gaze drifting to the empty hallway as my mind wandered back to the dream. Rivan's face, his easy grin, the way he'd patted my back like no time had passed-it felt so real.
But that "red wolf" comment? It gnawed at me, a puzzle I couldn't piece together. The more I turned it over, the more it frustrated me, like chasing a scent in a storm.
A groan escaped me before I realized it. "What the hell did you mean, Riv?"
I was about to go knock again when the door flung open.
Kiyan stumbled out, shirtless, sweaty, hair sticking up in every possible direction. Red scratch marks crisscrossed his shoulders and back, and the grin plastered on his face could've powered half the realm.
"Morning, sunshine," he said, stretching like a cat.
I stared at him flatly. "You're insufferable."
"I love you too, bro."
I shook my head, fighting a smirk. "How the hell did I end up with you as my beta?"
Kiyan laughed, falling into step beside me as we headed out. "You're lucky to have me, Aklan. Imagine a beta as stuck-up as you. Disaster. The whole school would be doomed."
I shook my head, lips twitching despite myself. "Remind me why I made you my Beta again?"
"Because deep down, you love me," he said easily, jogging ahead.
"Keep telling yourself that."
But the truth was, he wasn't wrong. Kiyan wasn't just my Beta, he was my brother in every way that mattered. Through bloodshed, through battles, through the night, everything went to hell. He had been there through the worst moments of my life, especially the one that haunted me like a plague, the one I couldn't outrun no matter how fast I moved.
He had stayed by my side, and though I would rather have my fur ripped off than say it aloud, life without him would have been unbearable.
We reached the training grounds just as the first light spilt across the field. The air was sharp with dew, the grass glistening faintly under the rising sun. We started jogging, steady and silent, the rhythmic thud of our feet the only sound.
After a while, Kiyan muttered something.
"What?" I asked, glancing sideways.
He nodded toward a figure standing alone near the center of the field.
"What about it?"
Kiyan sighed, exasperated. "That's the girl."
"What girl?"
"The new recruit. The one you told to report for punishment last night."
I blinked. "You can't be serious."
"I am. She's still there."
I scoffed. "No one's stupid enough to stand outside all night."
He didn't say anything. Just gave me that look - the kind that said you're going to feel like an ass in five seconds.
I exhaled sharply. "This is ridiculous." But even as I said it, my feet were already moving.
I cursed under my breath and jogged toward the centre of the training ground, my sneakers crunching against the frost-covered grass. As I got closer, the figure came into focus- the wolfling. She looked up at me, her face pale, her lips tinged blue from the cold. She was shivering so hard her teeth chattered, her fingers red and raw, her hazel eyes burning with that same fiery hatred from yesterday.
She had been out here all night.
I clenched my jaw. "Are you insane?" My voice came out sharper than a sword. "Did I tell you to stay here all night?"
She didn't answer.
"I said report for punishment, not freeze to death waiting for me."
Still nothing. Just that glare. Like she thought if she looked hard enough, she could burn me alive with it.
Her silence only stoked my frustration. " When you didn't see me, why didn't you just leave?"
Still nothing. Just that look, like she could kill me with her eyes alone. My temper snapped, and I tapped into the beast within.
My voice dropped into that low, guttural growl that carried the weight of my lineage. "Speak."
The wolfling let out a scream, her hands flying to her ears as she crumpled to the ground, with pain twisting her features. My chest heaved, the beast's voice still thrumming through me.
Kiyan stepped in front of me, his hands raised.
"Your Highness," he said firmly, his tone a mix of respect and warning. "Calm down."
I closed my eyes, forcing my breathing to steady, the beast retreating as I reined myself in.
Kiyan crouched in front of her, his voice gentle. "Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?"
I noticed it then, a thin trickle of blood seeping from her ears, a sign the beast's voice had hit her harder than it should have. Kiyan tried to help her up, but she was shaking too violently, and her body was too cold.
Kiyan looked up at me, his eyes were hard. "She's freezing."
I frowned because I was confused. "Why?"
A wolf should've been able to keep her body temperature stable - even in subzero weather. The shifter realm taught us that much; we were built for survival, our blood running hot enough to fend off the worst conditions. The ability to adapt, to endure.
Unless-
I looked closer. She wasn't just cold, she was powerless.
"She doesn't have her wolf," I muttered, the realization hitting me like a punch. I shook my head, a mix of pity and frustration settling in my gut. She looked powerless, miserable, curled in on herself like a wounded animal.
Kiyan glanced at me, his expression mirroring my thoughts. "Wolfless," he confirmed, his voice low.
He exhaled quietly, pity crossing his features. Then he slid an arm under her knees and another around her back, lifting her easily. She didn't fight him; she was too weak to.
"We're taking her to the healing centre."
I nodded, falling into step behind him as we crossed the campus, the early morning silence broken only by the crunch of our steps. The wolfling, could I even call her that when she hadn't even had her wolf's dawn yet? Her shivering form and those burning hazel eyes stayed with me, stirring that same nagging feeling from yesterday.
I looked at her - limp in Kiyan's arms, blood drying at the curve of her jaw, her breath shallow but defiant even in weakness.
For some reason, my chest tightened.
Something about her-her face, her intensity, those eyes felt like a ghost from my past, one I had seen before, one I couldn't name but couldn't shake either.
