Fin descended the final steps toward the field, the weight of his boots echoing over stone.
He expected chaos.
What he got was stillness.
The training yard was quiet as snow settled, light flakes drifting like ash from the sky. Warriors were frozen mid-movement. Students stood clumped in uncertain huddles.
And in the center of it all—
The ring.
Scorched where she'd shifted.
His gaze swept the field.
The brown wolf lay, with her eyes still looking angry.
Nova would have died for attacking from behind. If she hadn't shifted…
If she hadn't shifted.
Draven approached from the side, his expression grim.
Fin's jaw tensed.
"We need to bring her back before someone else does." Cael said.
Before Fin could answer, a commotion broke out from the edge of the crowd.
Boots pounded.
A warrior shouted, "Stop them—!"
Then fur. Four wolves. A streak of red, grey, black, and brown disappearing into the woods.
Younger. Early warriors or maybe still students.
"Was that—?"
Draven sighed, exhaling hard. "They just disobeyed a direct order to say put."
"Our patrol is dealing with rogue attacks a few miles from here." Fin growled.
Draven exhaled in frustration. "They will have consequences. All of them. Entire class. What in the gods name has gotten into everyone today."
The Alpha was silent.
Beta Cael seemed to be deep in thought and spoke. "I will get the 4 wolf pups. Draven, come with me."
He and Draven shifted, running in that direction.
Fin's wolf growled inside him. He was trying to remain calm and focus on if there was anything else he needed to manage before going after Nova.
But his wolf... his wolf was no longer waiting.
It had been scratching at the surface since the first flash of white fur. Since that haunting silver glow. Since the moment she turned and ran from the ring like her world had shattered.
He hadn't let his wolf take full control in years.
Not since the war. Not since his father died. But this— This was different. This wasn't fury. It was need. The kind that clawed down your throat and rattled your ribs until you couldn't breathe without answering it.
She was out there. Alone. Scared. And she had no idea what she meant to him. His hands curled at his sides. Snow swirled around him. His heart beat once—hard.
And the next moment— He was gone.
Bones cracked, limbs contorted, and with a flash of shadow and heat, his wolf burst forth — sleek, massive, and black as obsidian, his fur laced with faint streaks of silver that shimmered beneath the winter sun.
He didn't wait. Didn't think. Didn't announce himself.
Snow exploded beneath his paws as he launched into the trees, moving faster than wind, tearing through pine and frozen brush as if the forest itself was nothing but smoke in his path.
He felt her scent before he saw it — like vanilla and moonlight, faint but growing. He also picked up another scent on her. Was it fear? Yes, he'd smelt it before with other wolves and prey. He felt a pang in his chest feeling her through their mate bond.
She's scared.
She thinks she did something wrong.
He growled low in his chest, a sound filled with something darker than rage — guilt.
And now she was running like she thought she was hunted.
Fin pushed harder. His wolf roared inside him. He was going at Alpha speed.
He didn't care that omega student warriors had already broken ranks to chase her.
Didn't care that Aeron was probably cursing from the field.
He would find her first.
Because for the first time in his life…
He didn't want to be Alpha. He just wanted to be hers.