But for tonight, it's enough.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Caspian finds me in the library two days after the chapel meeting.
I'm buried in a History textbook when his shadow falls across the page. I look up and he's standing there with three of his Dominion lieutenants flanking him. Every conversation in the surrounding area goes quiet. Students lean back in their chairs, pretending not to watch while absolutely watching.
"Dominion meeting tonight at eight." His voice carries enough that nearby students can hear, making it public and impossible to refuse. "Dominion headquarters. Your presence is required."
My stomach drops. Required. Not requested. The Dominion doesn't ask.
I close my textbook slowly, keeping my hands steady even though they want to shake. "What's this about?"
"You'll find out tonight." His voice has dropped into something that isn't quite human. The bond between us pulls like a fishhook in my chest but it's not complete yet. I can feel thepull but not his thoughts, not his emotions. Just the relentless drag toward him.
One of his lieutenants, a dark-haired male I recognize from Combat Training, watches me with cold assessment. Judging. Calculating. Seeing if I'll refuse.
I won't give them the satisfaction. "I'll be there."
Caspian nods once and leaves, his inner circle following. The moment they're gone, whispers explode around me. Everyone wants to know what the Dominion wants with the pack less nobody. Everyone has theories.
None of them are wrong.
The Dominion meeting room is in the oldest part of campus, a stone building that predates the Academy itself. I've never been inside before and walking through the heavy wooden doors feels like stepping into pack history. The air smells different here - old wood and smoke, leather and dominance. Centuries of Alpha decisions soaked into the stones.
The room is circular, high ceilings with exposed beams carved with pack symbols I don't recognize. Windows look out over dark forest and the moon is just visible through the glass. A large table dominates the center, dark wood polished to a shine, and eight males sit around it. Caspian at the head. His inner circle flanking him on both sides.
All of them turn when I enter and the weight of their attention makes my skin prickle. These aren't students playing at hierarchy. These are the males who will inherit packs, who will shape shifter politics for the next generation. Power radiates from all of them but especially from Caspian.
His eyes find mine and the bond between us pulls so hard I have to fight not to step toward him.
He stands and the movement draws every eye in the room. "Close the door."
I do, and the sound of it shutting echoes.
"Come here." He gestures to the empty space in front of the table.
I walk forward and stop a few feet away, hyperaware of how outnumbered I am. Eight dominant males and one pack less female. The power imbalance is staggering.
Caspian's eyes track over me and I feel the bond between us pull tight. Not complete yet but getting stronger every day. "Your assessment period is over."
Silence. Every male at the table watches me.
"You came to this Academy as an unknown," Caspian continues, voice carrying authority that makes my wolf want to bare her throat. "No pack. No family. No status. We tested you to see if you were worth protecting or if you'd break under pressure."
One of his lieutenants, a dark-haired male I recognize from Combat Training, leans forward. "Most break. You didn't."
"You endured trials that would have destroyed weaker wolves," another adds. Blonde, scarred jaw. "You survived what we designed to break you."
My hands clench at my sides. They're talking about the bullying, the torment, the systematic cruelty like it was a test I passed instead of torture I survived. Rage builds in my chest but I force it down.
Caspian goes still in the way that precedes violence. "And then we discovered what you are." He pauses. "Silverpelt. Last of a bloodline that was supposed to be extinct. Rare. Powerful. Hunted."
The word hangs in the air. Hunted. By the Council. By Chase. By everyone who sees Silverpelt as a threat.
"The Dominion recognizes what you are," Caspian says, and something in his tone changes. Less formal. More personal. "And I am formalizing the protection claim I already made against a Council enforcer in the woods. Under ancientDominion pack law, that claim is now absolute. Nova Bardot stands under Jett Pack protection, uncontested, permanent, and binding on every pack that answers to this council."
The room goes completely silent.
