torms, rose over the valley, and the flags of the packs of every law-track blew in the wounded wind. The very air buzzed with dominati

witch's smoke still lingering on her skin, her spiri

as if her body was revolting at the predicisession moment. She kept the cloak clutched tight around her shoulders. S

with calloused hands placed upon his knees, his greye

projecting with her voice lowered to

archment back at her.He dipped a claw in a vial of silver ink, touching the crest of the

dropping into a shallow silver dish. The Beta studied the ripples, nostrils flaring once.

loodline confirmed. Dormitory 308. O

knees. She offered a quick thank you and moved on into the courty

or arrogance. Serena maneuvered her way through them, feigning cockiness, lifting her chin in the same way that she'd seen h

er father's pack. These boys were heirs hon

rced through the noise

the line instinctively. Serena stepped into

e alone silenced the courtyard. His gray eyes scanned the recruits

erve the bloodlines you proclaim. If you fail..." He smiled, coldly, devoi

pled through

r four-stripe wonder. He will speak to you

ed in her father's hall, on the lips of elders who dar

ed forward, she was

Black

ough the crowd like he was

g about him suggested disarray because he moved with purpose. Every step was subdued, his shoulders square to match the storm in his blue eyes, which washed over the line of

her, but she felt him like a storm building above her.

t's

r to Nig

seniors in Spa

simply stared back calmly into their eyes, his absence of body language was enoug

evenly, though he was low,

er the recruit's face again the cold steel

peers, by your instructors, and by yourself. Fail once, and you will never get back

g his arms, as if he had

Each recruit will receiv

onto their uniforms in gold thread, and Serena could hear her pulse get louder with each n

ale of M

on his face, holding the ceremonial needle in his hand. Up close, he was worse - dangerously magnetic. His scent twisted and

second, she felt stripped. Could he see

arm, but to her chest, his palm brush

. Serena's body acted before h

L

rippled through the recruits. Damien's head snappe

, trembling. Panic gripped he

red. "There was a

he silence felt so thick tha

amien

aw, his lips curving in a smile that di

ly her to hear. "Careful, Vale.

her away as if she were nothing more than a curiosity. But Serena felt the

but the recruits whispe

see t

ped Blac

dead by

ts. With every set of eyes on her,

n with shaky hands. The room was tidy, and it smelled softly of cedar and steel.

stil

ighlighted by the sunlight. He glanced back toward

il grin stretching, "if it isn't

s gut d

moon s

he first day, she has made a public enemy of Dami

ding the matter before her, pretending she made a mistake and this was not the room ass

d at the ankles, as if this room was his, and she was invading it. "You j

ness in the air around them, every intake of breath felt like a blade scrapping her lungs

rawled. "Not the same wolf who slapp

ep her voice steady and even lower and masc

t's your excuse, you should keep practicing better

maybe you're not much of an A

le

eyes narrowed, his mouth twisted somewhere between annoyance and amusement. "I'll give y

g, while her heart was pounding against

with unnerving intensity. "Regardless. Wolves

t there was a warning cont

er hands busy. She needed to get some air and try to regulate her

inventory of her confidence possibly peeling off layers she wasn't ready to reveal

t. "I'd hate to lose my roommate before I've had a proper cha

to hers leaped to a heat rush in her stride. And just like that, as he disappeared, now

shoulder to shoulder, jackets stark against the sheen of mist clinging to the grass. Off th

unning from the ridges of his brow down to his jaw. "F

mp that echoed in Serena's bones. When it open, she co

other side." He said, "If you untie the bag, you fail.

wept through the recruits, but it was crushed

ng she had ever encountered. The current was voracious, predatory. She could feel the

splashing and clawing their way to safety, bleeding but alive. A few of them cut the rope halfway in,

st paralyzed. But she stepped out anyway, without hesitation,

already dragging at her as she approached the bank. She swallowed

too much at stake. Not

ju

swallowed

and sent her tumbling into darkness. Her arms beat the water, legs desperately kic

push through a small space of air to take a r

ice in her head scre

e over for her. She would

ut her fingers were numb. Her ankle smashed against a rock and pa

n h

ked around her waist. Hans that were yanking her up,

hing blurred, but she could see a glimpse of dark hair stu

mi

dn't afford to have his attention. Every second