It was evening in the grand dining hall, a space where understated luxury met rustic charm. The soaring ceiling was held up by massive, unpolished oak beams, and the walls were paneled with the same solid, dark wood, giving the room a feeling of being inside a great forest. Couches with thick leather cushions were arranged around low, sturdy oak tables, while smaller two-seater tables and a few long communal ones dotted the rest of the floor. Despite the opulent, woodsy decor, the hall was anything but serene. A constant, boisterous hum of conversation and laughter filled the air, mingling with the clatter of silverware and the soft, purposeful footsteps of maids and servers. The maids, dressed in simple black and white, glided silently between tables, clearing empty plates and refreshing the large platters of food that were arranged on a central buffet.
At one of the tables, the lone topic of conversation was the beta's daughter, Trinity. She sat alone, her food barely touched, a circle of silent bodyguards acting as a human barrier. Her presence was both an easy topic and a source of palpable tension. The stares that had followed her throughout the day hadn't lessened with the end of classes. She was still a subject of intense, voyeuristic curiosity.
Ryan watched Trinity, her golden eyes, so completely foreign to him, fixed on nothing in particular. She hadn't spoken a word, not a whisper or a grunt. She was completely silent, as if she couldn't speak at all. Her eyes, usually full of a defiant spark and raw energy, were hollowed out, and Ryan couldn't understand it.
"What the hell happened? Why is she so weird?" Jess threw her hands up in frustration. She had never seen Trinity so despondent, so unlike herself.
"Apparently, she was attacked in the woods," Mona offered, her tone unsure. "It could make anyone a bit scared." She just assumed Trinity needed more time to feel safe again.
"There's no way she was attacked," Noah said as he came to sit next to Jess. "It was a drill. There weren't any rogues." He reached under the table, his hand resting on Jess's thigh.
Jess glanced at him, rolling her eyes at his clumsy attempt at seduction. "Come to my room tonight," he whispered low into her ear.
Ryan did his best to ignore the budding relationship between Jess and Noah, forcing himself to be chill. This wasn't pissing him off. He wasn't jealous, irritated, or annoyed. He was fine.
Johnny, however, felt a growing sense of awkwardness as they all discussed Trinity. He had more information but didn't want to hurt them, nor did he want them to have false hope. If what he suspected was right, Trinity could possibly die. "Do you guys know what happens when your wolf emerges late in life?" he asked casually.
Noah answered without a second thought, "Everyone knows. You start to show signs around age two and turn into your wolf between five and ten. Any later than that, you'll most likely die." He looked around the table, a sudden, uncomfortable realization hitting him as he noticed that not everyone had emerged at age two. He cleared his throat. Picking off Jess's plate. Only for her to slap his hand away, as he stole a drumstick.
Ryan's gaze went back to Trinity. Her glowing eyes. He thought about how she had walked into class earlier with her eyes closed, moving as if she had been blind her entire life. She was wearing earbuds, yet she seemed to hear everything, a sensitivity that reminded him of his brother, Grayson. Ryan's brother used to listen to music, but even with earbuds, nothing escaped him. The way Trinity could move and hear, even while deliberately dulling her senses, seemed more wolf than human.
"Sometimes defectives have their wolves emerge," Johnny said, blurting it out.
"Wait, she's sitting by herself because her wolf is emerging?" Timothy spoke around a mouthful of food, confusion clouding his face. He wanted to know how she did it, hoping that all of them could have their wolves emerge.
The way they all looked at him, as if he knew how to make them all wolves, was alarming. "I don't know that much," Johnny said, holding up his hands. "It's just, if you go to the dome..." He noticed their blank expressions and reminded himself the defectives hadn't been here long. "The place where you pray here. There are books about wolves emerging in defectives." Johnny felt a wave of uncertainty, worried his sister might try something dangerous.
He looked at his sister, noticing how Noah was curled around her. The sight made him angry. He spoke crisp words directly into Noah's mind, Take your hands off her.
Noah simply smiled, pretending not to hear. He knew Johnny was weaker than him and couldn't do a thing. He paid him no attention. Spitefully pulling just closer to his chest.
"Why didn't anybody tell us?" Timothy wondered aloud. Everyone had acted as if being a defective was an illness, only to find out it had a cure. What was the point of ostracizing them when they could simply be cured? He could be cured.
"How do you know this?" Jess questioned, wondering if Johnny had looked into this for her, a way to help her.
"What does this mean for Trinity?" Ryan's thoughts circled back to the beta's daughter. He didn't believe in miracle cures. If any defective could have their wolf emerge, the only reason they didn't do it had to be because it was dangerous.
"Wait, I just—wait—" Johnny held his hands up, wanting them all to stop asking questions. He wasn't a doctor or a scientist. He didn't want to put dangerous thoughts in their heads. "Look, I just don't know that much. It's dangerous! Most defectives die when trying to get their wolves to emerge." He remembered the gruesome images in the books—the defectives didn't just go peacefully. They died gruesome deaths. "I don't know if that's what's happening with Trinity. It's just... she reminds me of a pup when their wolf first emerges."
Noah frowned, but he thought about Johnny's words. He was right. Trinity did seem kind of the same. "Pups are clumsy when their wolves emerge," he said, his brow furrowed as he recalled his own younger days. "You don't know how to focus on anything, so you close your eyes because it's easier. Slowly, you get accustomed to your new world. You're constantly crying because you feel like your ears are going to explode. It's the worst kind of growing pains."
"Can anyone read these books?" Ryan asked, his eyes still fixed on Trinity. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.
A new voice interrupted, cutting into their conversation. "No. Some of the knowledge there is dangerous." Luca interjected, pulling up a chair and sitting down at their table. He was tired of listening in from afar. He needed to know what was going on with Trinity, and it seemed the people closest to her knew just as much as he did. "Only the alpha and beta and a few others can access everything. There are different methods of becoming stronger in the library, specific to other packs, and young wolves are not allowed to read them. Only some Warriors can." He looked at the group. "I have a feeling they will let me read the books," he offered, knowing they all wanted to understand what was happening.
Mona's heart pounded against her ribs. She surreptitiously rubbed her sweaty palms on her shorts, her eyes darting to Luca in her peripheral vision. A treacherous thought took hold: if she were lucky enough for her own wolf to emerge, her life would be so different. She wouldn't have to constantly prove her worth or fight so hard just to be noticed. She could simply relax. Then came the bitter, ugly part of the fantasy. If Trinity became a wolf, Mona knew she'd lose any chance with Luca, even the fleeting, physical one they'd shared. She hated herself for the thought, a poisonous envy coiling in her gut.
The group fell into a pensive silence, each member lost in their own thoughts. They worried for Trinity, yet a flicker of curiosity burned within them—was the risk of a late emergence worth the reward? Each of them pondered the question, imagining the life they could have had if they, too, had been wolves.
Trinity, finished with her food, stood up. She was done hearing the conversations about her ultimate demise. She had already heard it all. Grabbing her plate, she calmly made her way to the sink, leaving her dishes for the maids to clean up. She walked outside, staring into the dense canopy of trees. It was the only thing that seemed to bring her peace. The sun had already set, but even after a day of training, she didn't feel tired, only lost. Her mind was a blur, and she lost herself in the sea of green before her.
In his office, Boris looked out the window, wishing the trees would open up so he could see Trinity and know what she was doing. He could feel her, but the feeling was a void of emotion, as if she were trapped somewhere underneath a stoic limbo. He could feel their bond, clear as day, yet he felt nothing—no joy, happiness, relief, anger, or sadness. She was just in this weird state of nothing, and it made him extremely worried.
A hard knock sounded on his office door, pulling him back to the present. "Come in."
Jeremiah, one of the warriors in charge of their spy network, entered and bowed his head respectfully. "Beta," he said, "We've found the council's whereabouts. They have just left the Silverbite pack, and our scouts are on their way. Soon we'll know exactly where you'll need to be."
"Good. I'll inform the alpha." Once the door shut behind him, Boris cursed under his breath. He wanted more time. He needed more time. It was terrible to have to entrust something so precious to anyone other than himself. Soon, he would have to leave Trinity alone. She would have to find her own way, and until she did, he would hide her.