Harris didn't know when it started-only at some point during the afternoon drills, Olivia began watching him. Not in the way trainers usually did. Not sharp, just assessing. Almost...curious.
He felt it between reps, like a prickle at the back of his neck. When he finally looked up, she was leaning against the edge of the training yard, arm folded, shadow brushing her boots like it was alive. She didn't smile, just tilted her head.
"Harris," she said, like she'd been expecting him.
He swallowed and smirked. "The one and only."
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Your stance."
"Yeah...what about it?"
"You're overthinking it."
His ears burned "I-"
"And you're afraid of what happens if you stop."
That landed too close. He stiffened, ready for correction, for exposure, for embarrassment-but instead she stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"Walk with me." It wasn't a command, but somehow it felt worse.
They moved to the shaded edge of the yard, where the wards hummed faintly and the air felt thicker, safer. Olivia knelt and traced a simple rune into the dirt with her finger. "Touch it."
Harris did as instructed.
"Now close your eyes, listen." she softly encouraged. "Tell me what you feel."
His throat went dry, he was scared of the rune, of the magic. He imagined the rune being blown away by a gust of wind, slowly disassembling. "...it came apart," he admitted. "Like it wanted to, like I imagined."
Olivia nodded, unsurprised. "And does that scare you?"
Harris thought before he spoke. "Yes"
"That's good." she said "It should."
He stared at her. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No," Olivia replied calmly. It's supposed to make you honest." She glanced at him then, eyes steady, not judging. "You're not broken Harris. You're untrained. You are not less than your brother."
He let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "I don't even know where I fit," he admitted quietly. "Cedric's...ahead. Everyone else knows who they are."
Olivia rose, brushing dirt from her hands. "Belonging isn't something you inherit. It's something you choose to stay for." she paused. "If you want, I'll train you."
His eyes widened. "You would?"
Olivia laughed, "I already am."
That night, Harris sat on the edge of his bed, phone glowing in the dim light, the dorms around him alive with quiet laughter and the scrape of chairs from the cafeteria.
Harris:
Dude, this place is insane. Training's intense, extra drills, extra expectations.
He hesitated, thumbs hovering.
Olivia's helping me. She noticed things. Stuff I didn't even know I could do.
I took apart a shadow rune today. Didn't mean to. It just...unraveled. Really freaked me out.
He stared at the screen, chest tight.
Everyone's excited here. I think I should be too. But sometimes I feel like I'm watching it from the outside.
The reply came faster than he expected.
That doesn't sound safe man. Shadow rune? Dude. You sure Thunder Heart isn't messing around?
Harris's fingers tightened around the phone. Why did it feel like Eli was turning everything negative?
But far away- the Veiled One smiled- the seeds have been planted, let them take root.
Classes
Training didn't change overnight. The bells still rang at dawn. Boots still hit packed earth. The cadence of drills, sparring rotations, and cooldowns stayed exactly the same. No announcements. No spectacle. But by the end of the week, Colt was no longer watching the grounds the way an Alpha watches a pack. He was watching it like a strategist.
"You see it too," Niall said beside him, arms crossed as the trainees cycled through pair work.
Colt nodded. "They're all strong. But not in the same way. Somehow it feels like we've hit a...plateau."
Stacy wrapped her arms around Colt from behind and rested her head against is back. "They keep trying to match each other instead of using what's already there."
Nessa hummed softly. "That makes...sense. They're forcing symmetry where there should be balance."
Olivia's shadows curled lazily at her feet. "They don't know which instincts to trust yet."
"Ladies," Colt slowly said. "That is the problem and solution."
Everyone looked at Colt like he had lost his mind. Colt laughed. "We need to stop trying to shape them into one thing." he explained, "We teach them how to become themselves."
Niall cracked a grin. "Classes, let them choose what they want to know. Let them decide."
By midday the next day, the cafeteria was louder than usual- metal tray clattering, voice overlapping, energy loose and unguarded. It slowly quieted as Colt walked near the center of the room. "Finish eating," he called calmly. "No rush."
That alone drew attention. When the noise completely settled Colt said, "Nothing's changing," he said bluntly. "Same schedule, same expectations, same standards." A ripple of relief moved through the room. "But," Colt added, "we're adding options."
He gestured to the open space along the walls where chalkboards had been set up.
"Classes," Colt continued. "In the afternoon, after lunch. Completely voluntary. You listen and you leave if it's not for you."
No one spoke.
"We are going to start with three classes, three different paths." Colt said. "Not ranks. Not assignments. Just tools."
He pointed to the first board.
"Logic and calculation. Strategy. Pattern recognition. Anticipation. If you think before you move, this is for you."
Some students straightened unconsciously.
Niall tapped the the second board. "Warriors. Those who learn by doing. Pressure, endurance, close combat. You don't hesitate-you act."
Several students exchanged glances, eyes lighting.
Nessa moved to the third board, fingers brushing the chalk lightly. "Magic reactive training. Runes, sensitivity, flow. If you feel things before you understand them."
Stacy smiled softly, "Find what you love, or learn what you don't understand. These aren't boxes. They're doors, Walk through as many as you want. Walk away whenever you need."
Olivia added, "If you think one path is 'better' than another, you've already missed the point."
The tension broke.
Over the next days, the grounds became something new. Some students lingered over meals, debating formations with Colt. Others went to the gym to spar under Niall's watchful eye. A quiet common room filled with runes and whispers as Nessa guided those who could sense magic but didn't yet trust it.
Threading through it all was Stacy's calm presence and Olivia's shadows, moving where they were needed most.
Logic, Steel, and Flow
Lunch no longer meant escape from training-it became an extension of it. Food was eaten quickly in anticipation of the classes. Slowly, without anyone realizing it, lines that had once separated packs began to blur.
Colt's group drew those who watched before they moved. Zane sat there more often than not, elbows on the table, eyes narrowed in thought as Colt sketched formations in quick strokes. Ryder leaned close, asking questions instead of asserting answers. Even Andrew who was once all bravado, listened now, jaw tight, absorbing instead of interrupting.
"This isn't about winning the fight you're in," Colt said one afternoon, tapping the chalk against the board. "It's about ending the one that hasn't started yet."
Zane nodded slowly. "Anticipation beats strength."
"Every time," Colt replied.
On the training grounds, the warriors learned differently. Niall didn't lecture. He threw them into motion-short, brutal drills that forced instinct to sharpen under pressure. Garrett thrived there, grinning through bruises. Zeke learned restraint. Oz learned patience.
Leadership began to look less like command and more like awareness.
Magic That Listens
Nessa's room was rarely loud-but it was never empty. Harris hovered there the first day, unsure, hands tucked into his sleeves like he might need to hide them. Cedric sat across from him, focused, steady, already comfortable with the language of runes.
Harris expected comparison. He didn't get it. Instead, Olivia slid a rune tile toward toward him. "Touch it."
"I might break it," Harris muttered.
"Then we learn from it." she replied.
He hesitated, then pressed his fingers to the surface. The shadows responded immediately, unfurling, not wild, just curious. The rune loosened, threads separating cleanly instead of tearing apart. Harris sucked in his breath. "I didn't force it."
"No," Olivia said softly. "You listened."
That was the moment something shifted. He stopped flinching when the shadows moved. He started guiding them. By the third session, he could deconstruct shadow runes deliberately, layer by layer, reassembling them with adjustments that made Nessa pause and Olivia smile.
"See?" Olivia murmured once, low enough only he could hear. "Not darkness just depth."
Harris texted Eli
Training's switched up. They added classes now, just optional stuff you know. I found something I'm really good at man.
A pause then-
I'm getting better with shadows. Like...actually better. I don't panic anymore.
The response came quickly.
Eli:
Sounds intense. You sure that place isn't changing you too fast?
Harris frowned-then got mad, really mad.
Dude, what the fuck is your problem? So what if it's intense. I like it, I'm growing, not breaking apart, and I'm seen here.
Harris watched the conversation bubbles dance
Eli:
Bro, chill. I just don't believe that everything is all rainbows and happy shiny people holding hands. It's all too...much. Like living in a fantasy land.
Harris:
Whatever dude. This is real and I'm a part of something better.
With that Harris shut his phone off in frustration.
Leaders Learning to Lead
Zane noticed the change before anyone said it out loud. During sparring, people checked their footing for others. During drills, advice was offered without ego. Harper and a fae girl became inseparable, illusion and light magic weaving seamlessly as they trained-outshining the rest without isolating themselves.
Zane found himself stepping in to steady arguments instead of escalate them. One afternoon, he caught Stacy watching the yard, eyes soft but alert.
"Is this what you hoped for." he asked.
She smiled. "This is what happens when people are trusted with who they already are."
Nearby Harris laughed-really laughed- as Harper corrected his stance, illusions flickering playfully around them. For the first time since arriving, Harris didn't feel like he was standing at the edge of something. He felt like he was inside it.
Planning
The idea started, as most thing did, with Dixie standing in the middle of the pack house kitchen, hands on her hips, staring at nothing in particular.
"They're not just leaving." she said finally. "They're graduating."
Charlie looked up from a ledger. "We weren't planning on-"
"Oh yes we are!" Dixie cut in, already moving. "We most definitely are."
By the end of the hour, the kitchen table was covered in lists. Food, seating, space, invitations.
"This needs to be formal enough that the parents understand the significance." Dixie said, tapping her pen, "but not so stiff the kids feel like they're being inspected."
Stacy leaned against the counter, biting into an apple deep in thought. "A ceremony and a celebration."
"Exactly." Dixie said. "Recognition first, joy after."
Colt nodded in agreement while he took the apple from Stacy. "They've earned it."
Isaac, seated with a mug in hand, grunted in agreement. "First round made it through without breaking each other or starting a war. That alone deserves food."
Charlie smiled faintly. "Food is always important."
Dixie took the planning like it was a sacred calling. By the time word spread that the first round of trainees would officially graduate, she already had three clipboards, a color-coded chart schedule, and a mental map of the entire Thunder Heart grounds. This wasn't going to be a "cake and congratulations" event. This was going to be a statement.
Parents would be invited, all of them. Alphas, Lunas, Betas, and younger siblings. Thunder Heart had trained their children, trusted them, shaped them-and Dixie wanted every parent to see exactly what that meant.
Dixie insisted on dancing.
"Because if they can fight together," she told Colt sharply, jabbing her pen towards him, "they can celebrate together."
Apologies
Harris was sitting on the low stone wall near the training fields when his phone buzzed.
Eli:
Hey man, I'm sorry I made you mad. I shouldn't have been so negative. I just...miss you man. Playing video games without you sucks.
Harris frowned at the screen. The knot in his chest-one that had been sitting there since that last awkward exchange- loosed just a little.
Harris:
It's fine. I know everything is...a lot.
There was a pause. Long enough that Harris wondered if Eli had put the phone down.
Then-
Eli:
So, what's up? Learn any death defying skills yet? Mastered shadow kung fu?
Harris huffed a quiet laugh, glancing at the grounds where Cedric, Harper, and Liora were finishing evening drills, their movements cleaner, sharper than they'd been weeks ago.
Harris:
Yeah, I can properly kick your ass now. They're planning this big graduation type thing now. Like really big.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Eli:
Graduation? Already? You've only been there a few weeks!
Harris:
First group that came here dumbass. Parents are coming, it's gonna be hell of a party. Dixie is planning it...and she is insane.
He didn't mention the pride that came with it. Didn't admit how strange it felt to imagine his parents standing here. Seeing how much Cedric has changed.
Eli:
Sounds like they are planning on showing off, lol. But hey, I'm sure they deserve it.
On the other end of the connection, unseen and unfelt, the Veiled One smiled-quietly pleased. The celebration would gather everyone in one place. Families, leaders, protectors. Joy lowering guards that vigilance usually kept raised.
And Harris, unaware, kept talking-about music, about the lights Dixie had them string through the trees, about how for the first time in a long while, everyone had something to celebrate.
The party has just began.