Page 186 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

“That is not the same as belonging.” Susie smooths her hands over her skirt. “You are welcome to keep sitting with us for as long as you like, but I think you might feel less alone if you allowed us to welcome you properly. As a member.”

“With an initiation,” Harvey adds, grinning. “Ours is only an oath and a book quiz, but perhaps we could spice it up?”

Everyone groans.

From what I can gather, every pack has an initiation. For some, it is little more than an oath spoken in an empty classroom. Others require a demonstration of courage. The larger packs usually have a sexual component, though I’ve tried not to listen to the gossip about those.

“And technically, I’m co-leader of this pack,” Harvey says with mock solemnity. “As the male alpha, I would gladly volunteer to initiate K—”

Clara elbows him sharply in the ribs.

“Ow. It was a joke.”

Susie leans closer. “Being alone here is difficult. A pack gives you people who will stand beside you—here, and sometimes even after graduation. Protection. Influence. Connections you would never have on your own.”

Yes. And the stronger the pack, the better.

“Thanks. I’ll consider it,” I say, scanning the other packs sitting in circles around us. The Academy is not held together by locks alone. It is held together by loyalties, favours and fear. If I cannot escape that hierarchy, perhaps I can use it.

My gaze settles upon the Poplarins. Chelsea sits with one leg crossed over the other, listening to a younger wolf, while Mark reclines beside her, his broad shoulders filling his blazer. Students come and go constantly, carrying messages and requesting favours.

Then I remember Mark’s wand. The star-flecked mist folding around the three of us while the made vampire stood mere feet away, unable to see us.

A witch.

Mark had practically admitted it. Who else would be powerful enough to supply the Poplarins with magic?

We Poplarins have our connections.

Connections. Plural.

The thought sends a flicker of excitement through me. The witch may only be one of them. Mark’s pack could have built their own network beneath the vampires’ noses, trading favours, information and magical artefacts just as the Resistance does.

If so, I need to know more.

Routes. Allies. Weaknesses in the vampires’ defences. Anything that might help us.

And if joining the Poplarins is the only way to uncover it, perhaps I do not need to trust them.

All I have to do is infiltrate them.

I glance back at Susie. She is still watching me hopefully.

Her offer is genuine. Part of me wants to accept it. Her pack has biscuits, book discussions and people I have begun to care about far more than I wanted to.

But kindness is not enough when the odds are already stacked against me.

She starts talking again, but I rise mid-sentence. “Sorry Susie, I just remembered something I have to do. But thank you.”

Mark and Chelsea have left the circle and are climbing the stairs towards the dining-hall doors. If I am going to surrender what remains of my pride, I may as well receive something useful in return.

I catch up to them in the antechamber after breakfast. They are speaking to another group of wolves, who excuse themselves as I approach.

Chelsea notices me first. Her amber eyes narrow, and she folds her arms across her blazer. “If you have come to lecture me again, Kira, save your breath.”

“I haven’t.” I look at Mark. “I want to join your pack.”

His brows rise.