Chapter 1

"Ivy. This whole playing-hard-to-get routine is pathetic. You think picking Damien – that useless nothing of a brother – is going to force me to give up Celeste?" He strode up to me. "Celeste didn't pass the screening. She's falling apart right now. You're a warrior. Are you really going to stoop to fighting an Omega that fragile for attention?"

I looked at him calmly. The burning pain of the silver pit from my previous life still lived in my skin. I could still see Julian's face at the edge of that pit. No hesitation, no pity. Just annoyance. I didn't cry. I didn't argue. I just tightened my grip on Damien's arm a little more.

Julian's eyes flicked down to my hand on Damien. For a second, I saw the rage and jealousy there. "Remember this. The Luna position is yours. That's enough." Then he pulled a mint out of his pocket – I always ate these when I was nervous. He grabbed my hand, pressed the candy into my palm, and his voice softened. "Eat it. You always want one when you're nervous. Let me help Celeste through this year of training. Then I'll take you up north for a holiday. Stop making a scene."

I lowered my eyes and looked at the mint in my hand. In my previous life, it was exactly these little gestures – the slap, then the sweet – that fooled me into thinking he actually cared. I raised my hand. And right in front of him, I dropped the mint on the ground.

Julian's face went white with rage. He stared at me, jaw clenched. "Ivy. Enough. How much longer are you going to drag this out?"

Damien – silent the whole time – suddenly laughed. He caught my wrist and pulled me back against his chest. "Julian. Are you deaf, or do you just not speak human?" Damien's voice was rough, and his eyes were ice. "Ivy said it. She's going to the Royal Academy with me. She picked me as her mate."

Julian scoffed like he'd heard the joke of the century. "Damien. You can't even fully shift into your wolf form. You think you get to pick up my leftovers?"

That was the label that had followed Damien since he was a child. Eighteen years ago, at the twins' naming ceremony, the pack's old witch had declared in front of everyone: the younger brother, Damien, was born weak, his bloodline failing. The older brother, Julian, was a natural-born Alpha.

Julian's supremely confident gaze settled back on my face, like he already had the outcome in hand. "Ivy. The application closes tomorrow at sunset. I'm giving you one night to cool off."

Just then, from behind one of the garden columns, came a delicate, tearful whimper. Celeste was standing there in a little white dress, eyes rimmed red. "Julian... d-did I make Ivy upset again? I'm sorry, it's my fault – I'm just so weak, I couldn't even pass the screening. I'll go, I don't want to be a burden..." She covered her face and made to run off.

Julian's expression snapped. He shot me a vicious look. "If anything happens to Celeste, that's on you." He turned and went after her at a run. Leaving only his retreating back. On his way out, he stepped right on that mint. He didn't even look.

In my previous life, that exact view of his back broke my heart for a full year. This time, it just seemed absurd. I watched them go without so much as a ripple inside me.

Then a strong arm tightened around my waist. Damien's warm thumb was rubbing circles into my side, harder than it needed to be. He rested his chin in the crook of my neck. His breath was hot against my ear. "Ivy. What you said just now – about going to the Royal Academy with me. Was it real? Or were you just trying to piss him off?"

I turned my head. And met the obsession and possessiveness in his eyes. I reached up and gently smoothed the crease between his brows. "Of course it was real. This time, I only want you."

Something dark flickered in Damien's eyes. He stared at me for a long moment, then leaned down and bit my earlobe. "Good. You said it. Remember that. If you lie to me, Ivy, I'll drag you down to hell with me."

The edge in his voice sent a shiver through me. But I smiled anyway. "Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock. We'll go submit our applications at the admissions center. See you there."

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Chapter 2

The next morning, I'd just finished washing up and walked out of my room – and found the living room full of people. My mother. The Luna of the Thorne pack – Julian's mother, Seraphina. And Celeste, with swollen, red-rimmed eyes. Julian was lounging in an armchair.

"Ivy, you're up. Come sit." Seraphina spoke first. I walked over and sat in the farthest chair from them. "Luna Seraphina. Something you need this early?"

Seraphina took a sip of her tea. There was a kind of charity in her gaze. "It's like this, Ivy. Celeste didn't do well in the screening. Her combat score came up short. She didn't make the cutoff. We were thinking – you still hold a direct admission slot to the Royal Academy, don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes. Celeste's mother and mine both served the Thornes. My direct admission came from clearing rogues on the border – I still carry three scars from it. The deepest one runs across my collarbone, left by an Alpha-rank rogue. That wolf nearly tore my artery open. With that admission slot, getting into the Royal Academy was already a done deal for me.

In my previous life, I sat right here, and they took turns working me over with guilt. In the end, to prove my love for Julian, I gave the slot to Celeste. Celeste used it to walk into the Academy and climbed her way up by attaching herself to high-ranking Alphas. And I stayed behind in the pack house to train with Julian – who finally shoved me into the silver pit.

I let out a cold laugh.

Celeste's tears fell instantly. She dropped to her knees in front of me and clutched at the leg of my pants. "Ivy, please help me! Everyone in the pack is laughing at me. If I don't get into the Academy, my father's a gambler – he'll sell me to rogues to pay off his debts! You're such a strong fighter. Even without the slot, you could retake the screening and still pass. But I'm not you. This slot is my only way out!"

Her tears just kept coming. My mother softened at the sight and rushed over to help her up. "Ivy. Please. Help Celeste. You two grew up together. When did you become so heartless?"

I looked at my mother. "Mom. That slot nearly cost me my life. You know how I got these scars? What makes her two rounds of crying worth more than that?" I tugged my collar down and showed her the jagged scar across my collarbone. My mother's face stiffened for a second. Then she looked away.

Seraphina's expression went cold. "Ivy. That's not how you talk. Once you form the mate bond with Julian, you'll be the Luna of this pack. Isn't protecting the pack's Omegas exactly a Luna's duty?"

The sheer audacity of it made me laugh. "Who said I was forming a mate bond with Julian?"

The room went dead silent. Julian, in his chair, tugged at his collar. There was a flicker of irritation in his eyes. "Ivy. Are you still sulking about yesterday?" He stood up and came over. "I told you. Celeste is unstable right now. She can't take any more. The Thorne pack has already pulled the right strings. All you have to do today is go to the admissions center, stand in front of the administrator, voluntarily give up your direct admission, and sign a transfer statement. Then we can have Celeste take your combat record and enter in your place. Just think of it as a good deed. Once we're at the Academy, I'll formally announce your status as Luna candidate to everyone. Isn't that enough?"

I looked at him. And felt my stomach turn. "Julian. Have you lost your mind? If you feel so sorry for her, why don't you stay behind and train with her yourself? Using my future to fund your 'devotion' – what kind of Alpha heir does that make you?"

Julian's face changed. He grabbed my wrist, hard. "Ivy. Watch your mouth." He dropped his voice. It had gone icy. "Don't think I don't know what you're playing at. Dragging Damien into this – that was meant to make me jealous, wasn't it? I'm telling you to stop. Push me too far, and you won't even get to be Luna."

I yanked my wrist out of his grip. It was already ringed in red. "The Luna position? Save it for your precious little Celeste. I don't want it." I turned and walked toward the door.

Celeste burst into louder sobs behind me. Julian's furious roar echoed through the room. "Ivy! Walk out that door today, and don't expect me to speak to you again!"

I didn't look back. I pushed the door open and walked out.

Damien was leaning against the iron gate outside, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. When he saw me, the corner of his mouth lifted. "Done arguing?"

I took a slow breath. "Let's go. Admissions center."

Damien took my canvas bag and tucked me against his side. "Alright. Let's go take back what's yours." He glanced down at the red marks on my wrist. The smile vanished. But he didn't say a word.

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Chapter 3

The admissions center hall. I sat at the verification desk and slid my wrist into the scanner. The scanner would draw a single drop of my blood and match it against the blood seal on record with Royal Academy central – the royal academy's biometric lock, keyed to a single applicant. A match would finalize my application.

Damien sat next to me, flipping a coin between his fingers, looking bored. But I knew his attention hadn't left my screen.

The scanner hummed and lit up blue. Then a line of red text flashed across the screen: [Authentication failed: This blood seal was already used at 2:00 a.m. today. Each applicant's blood seal may only be used once.]

My brow tightened. I put my finger back in. Same message. My stomach dropped.

"What's wrong?" Damien stopped flipping the coin and leaned in to read the screen. "Your blood seal's already been used?"

I bit my lip. My fingers were trembling a little. "That's not possible. Only I can activate my blood seal. Unless –" "Unless someone had gotten hold of my blood."

Damien's eyes went dark.

My heart sank. Three days ago, Julian had taken me to a checkup. He said he was worried about my health. In my previous life, I didn't suspect a thing. That was when he got it. I stood up so fast the chair scraped. "It was Julian. He stole my blood sample."

Damien pulled me gently back down by the wrist. "Easy. If he pulled a stunt like this, he's going to come to you."

Right on cue, my phone buzzed. Julian's name on the screen. I took a breath and answered.

Julian's lazy voice came through. "Ivy. You at the admissions center? Authentication failed, huh? Panicking a little?"

I gripped the phone. My nails bit into my palm. "Julian. What do you want?"

He laughed. "I told you. Celeste is getting that slot. Here's what's going to happen. You go home right now, stand in front of the administrator, voluntarily give up your direct admission, and publicly announce that Celeste is taking over your combat record. Then I'll unlock your blood seal. You can resubmit tonight, through the retake channel. Otherwise? The application closes tomorrow at sunset, and you're staying behind to train for a year."

He used the gentlest voice to deliver the cruelest threat.

"Julian, this is a crime!" I was shaking.

"A crime?" He laughed under his breath. "So report me. Who do you think the elders will believe – some hysterical little warrior, or the Thorne pack Alpha heir? Ivy. Stop struggling. You can't win this. Be a good girl. Tonight I'll take you to that steakhouse you love."

The slap-and-sugar routine. He'd refined it to an art.

I closed my eyes. I was fighting the urge to reach through the phone and strangle him. "And if I don't?"

Two seconds of silence on the other end. Then Celeste's voice. "Julian. Who are you on the phone with? My ice cream's melting~"

Julian's tone went instantly soft. "Coming." Then cold again, for me. "Ivy. My patience has limits. Tonight. Eight o'clock. The steakhouse. My usual seat. I won't wait."

He hung up. The dial tone droned in my ear. I let the phone drop into my lap. My eyes were stinging. Not because I was upset. Because that feeling – of having your agency ripped away from you – was suffocating.

A warm, heavy hand came to rest on my head. It ruffled my hair gently. "What are you crying for." Damien's voice was low and rough, with a strange, steadying pull to it.

He turned my chair so I was facing him. His mouth lifted at the corner. He pulled a card from the inside of his jacket.

The card was pure black. No text. Just one small mark – a winged wolf carrying a crescent moon in its jaws. The personal seal of the Alpha King – the supreme ruler of all werewolf packs. In the entire werewolf world, fewer than ten people were allowed to carry that card.

He pressed it to the scanner. The blue light flashed gold.

[Identity confirmed. Green channel activated. Applicant: Ivy Hale. Authentication bypassed. Application submitted. Admission status: Approved by the Alpha King's Royal Academy.]

I stared. I looked up at him. "Damien. How did you do that?"

He looked down at me, smiling lazily. "Give me ten minutes. I'm going to turn Julian's application into scrap paper."

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