Rejected by the Alpha, Crowned by the Shadow

e's

two useful things: the coffee in the student union coul

the east corridor

I caught the doorframe before my knees hit the floor, but the hallway had already erupted. Students laughed wh

st class. At Blackthorn, humiliation on

with herself. As the daughter of one of Nightfall's highest-ranking Betas, she had

ly, was drippi

asked. "I thought you could u

shadows shifted toward her boots, stretching against th

ach tig

nd they were

my jaw between her fingers. Her manicured nails presse

ed behind the

e whispered. One bite, and s

e followed befor

Don't fight back, and never

ther of us knew exac

een weaker than every shifted werewolf in that hallway, yet strange things happened whenever I became frighte

d our lives into two suitcases and le

rip. "Still pretending

out you enough to

. Blaire's smile slipped, and she shoved me har

eeves and gathered beneath my palm while a stud

"You and your mother are charity cases. Naomi got on he

on because we were new, poor, and too

"My mother ne

re than beg. Women l

st. The nearest overhead l

otice. They were t

ved yo

n border three weeks earlier, her hands covered in blood as she kept Luna Amara alive after a rogue attack. My mother had spent h

all. He had also ordered us not to discuss what had happened, though

e truth, and I couldn't

books and step

ou think yo

m of her heels approaching from the next corridor. "You remember Pr

face ti

failed twic

e crowd before she could be caught beside the bucket. Her friends fol

stroom before my ha

nd glasses that refused to sit straight. I was wringing water from one

e look at m

odd

to strangers." She opened her bag, pulled out a folded black

bly cost more than ev

't tak

pressed it into my hands.

ag

n softened slightly. "For what it's wor

Sloane ate her fries as if lending expensive clothes to half-drowned strangers wa

neve

armed me, and Sloane had become the first person at B

west corridor when I walk

s skated across the floor, and I cau

I said, l

y died in

toos disappearing beneath the sleeves of a racing jacket, and silver snak

IRE R

, and the noise a

ment. My pulse stumbled as warmth moved beneath my skin, sharp and

stood the

ared

nd me, but his fingers closed around my jaw, tilting my face toward the light as

breathing changed, barely enough for anyone else t

s face

e buried it so quickly

ere you'r

the corridor. Students moved out

ather my papers. "Please tel

N

n of Wildfire Racing." She glanced after him. "Half this ca

st notebook. "Whic

e a worksheet. "Blaire has spent two years trying to get his atte

o watch where

ke he was about to either k

my cheeks. "You're

ht my arm before we separated

tly what I in

d intentions didn'

dent Services was small eno

IRE R

SSISTANT

PAY. IMMED

n she claimed was helping left her too weak to climb the stairs without resting. We had barely finished unpack

f out of it. Less than an hour later, someone cal

hould have

e, it felt

r stays in another city. I had mostly handled inventory, cleaned tools, and entered service records, but the mechani

nd sleek, while crew members moved between

n his fifties, and wore a Wildfire mechanic's shirt with the name pat

he new as

Benn

tion and data entry. Record what you see and report anything unusual

on I had applied fo

ar while the man moved between the nearby stations. When I reached the rear b

ks scored the

d the man over. "The brake line on Engine Seven

ned it. "Good catch. Put it in

ault into the maintenance system, then added my name. Befor

xt morning, every phone in my lectu

ore the turn, and shot toward the barrier. The footage cut of

te appeared a

. WILDFIRE RACING OPENS

ds wen

and searched for the report

sn't

ng. No warning

rary badge entering the Engine Seven work zone, but there was no re

had reported

had been near Zane W