my chest, cold and foreboding. My breath hitched

asked, my voice steady despit

Healers Academy in Central Territory-it's not just a school. It's directly under the Alpha King's

ame was whispered with reverence and fear throughout the t

sed, sensing

ou to leave. If you make it to the Academy, it'll weaken their hold on the West as

I could stop it. "Of course they will.

ey don't get to decide your fate, Aoife. You've worked too hard for

p inside me, a flicker of hope

-

the clinic, the weight of Zeke's

said. The truth of it echoed in Tara's eyes

gth, but he also values loyalty and determination. If you get into the Academy, Aoife, you'll

was the gnawing edge of fear. The Nightshade Pack wasn't above d

-

ion. Between my shifts at the clinic, sparring with Zeke, a

friends seemed to have made it their mission to make my life he

, I found my books scattered across the gr

a mock pout, her frien

forced myself to take a deep breath. Reacting w

to break me," I said quietly

nt, and I felt a flicker of t

-

d a note slipped under my door. The handwriti

he Academy. Give up now,

hreat pressing down on me. Someone in the pack knew my pla

-

way to our training grounds the next morning. Zek

darkened. "You look like you'

without a word, my han

ing. "This is serious, Aoife. Whoev

ely above a whisper. "But I wo

ed a hand on my shoulder. "We'

-

n, but my mind was elsewhere. Each strike and counte

"If you can't focus here, how will you handl

to concentrate. Each punch, each block, was a reminder of w

y muscles ached, but the fir

ooled down. "But you need to trust yourself

-

at the clinic, preparing supplies f

xing herbs. "But for the Nightshade Pack, it's also a time of scruti

nother layer of tension to t

-

that night, the sound of footsteps b

ut the path

heart race, and I quickened m

shake the feeling that someone had been