"Tomorrow morning," he says. "Everyone will know. Be ready for that."
I nod and leave before the bond can pull me back to him.
News spreads faster than I expected.
By the time I walk to the dining hall for breakfast the next morning, whispers follow me like shadows. Students I pass stop mid-conversation to stare. A group of freshman girls actually move out of my path, eyes wide with something between fear and awe.
I'm not nobody anymore. I'm Silverpelt. I'm under Alpha protection. I'm Caspian Jett's.
The change is visceral and immediate and I hate how much relief mixes with the resentment.
I'm almost to the dining hall entrance when Sera Whitlock steps into my path.
She's not alone this time. Three other high-status girls flank her, all of them daughters of powerful packs, all of them dressed in expensive clothes that broadcast their breeding. Designertraining gear that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Perfectly styled hair despite the early hour. Sera stands in the center wearing a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"Congratulations." Her voice drips false sweetness. "You got what you wanted. Caspian's protection."
I stop walking and meet her gaze. Up close I can see the strain around her mouth, the tightness in her shoulders. She's barely holding it together.
"Is there something you want, Sera?"
"Just curious how long you think that lasts." She tilts her head and her blonde ponytail swings. "Once he realizes you're not worth the trouble?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Her smile turns vicious and something ugly flashes in her eyes. "I meant you're a manipulative little bitch who spreads her legs for anyone with power." The girls beside her laugh but there's something brittle underneath. Desperation. Fear. "Did you really think sleeping your way into protection would work? That we wouldn't see through it?"
The accusation stings but I don't let it show. My hands want to curl into fists but I force them to stay loose at my sides. "If you have a problem with Caspian's decision, take it up with him. Not me."
I start to walk past her and she grabs my arm. Her nails dig in through my sleeve hard enough to leave a mark. Her wolf is right there beneath her skin, bristling with rage and territorial fury. I can smell it on her, the sharp scent of barely leashed violence.
"He was supposed to be mine," she hisses, voice low enough the other students won't hear. "We've been promised since we were children. And you think you can just show up and take him?"
I look at her hand on my arm, then at her face. "Let go."
"Or what? You'll run to your Alpha for protection?" She's shaking now, control fracturing. "He's not your Alpha. He's mine. He'll always be mine."
"Sera." One of the other girls touches her shoulder. "People are watching."
She releases me and steps back, chest heaving like she's been running. Her nails press into her palms. The scent coming off her sharpens to something acrid, something that makes the back of my neck prickle. Wanting to rip into me for touching what she considers hers.
I could say something cruel, could twist the knife. Instead I just walk past her into the dining hall and leave her standing there with her carefully constructed world crumbling around her.
Inside, the noise doesn't quite stop when I enter but it shifts. Conversations pause mid-word. Heads turn. Everyone knows.
I grab food I don't want and find an empty table near the windows. For the first time since arriving at this Academy, no one bothers me while I eat. No one even approaches.
It's not respect. It's fear of consequences. I'm untouchable now because touching me means answering to Caspian.
I should feel triumphant. Instead I just feel tired.
Knox appears and drops into the seat across from me without asking permission. He's wearing his usual dark clothes, hair slightly damp like he just showered. There's a fresh bruise on his jaw that wasn't there yesterday.
"How's it feel? Being claimed."
"I'm not claimed." I stab at my eggs without looking at him. "I'm under protection."
"Tell yourself that." His pale eyes hold amusement. "But they all see it. You're his now. Officially."
