Chapter 9: He Was Never Entitled to Me

By morning, half the academy seemed to know that Silvercrest’s Alpha heir had arrived. The other half seemed to know that he had spent an hour in the library with me. I blamed werewolf hearing, teenage boredom, and the fact that Ashvale Academy treated visiting packs like royal delegations. Maya intercepted me before homeroom. “Please tell me the rumor is true.” “What rumor?” “That Rowan Blackwood personally asked you to show him the tactical archive.” “He didn’t ask for me personally. Ms. Hale introduced us.” Maya grabbed my sleeve. “You spent an hour alone with the future Alpha of Silvercrest and you’re correcting the administrative details?” I laughed despite myself. “It wasn’t like that.” Her expression turned sly. “Then why do you smell like cedar?” I nearly walked into a locker. “Maya!” She burst out laughing. Across the hallway, a locker door slammed. Cole stood twenty feet away. He had heard every word.

Amber was beside him. She followed his stare toward me, then looked back at him. “Seriously?” she said loudly. “You’re still obsessing over Princess?” Cole ignored her. That alone seemed to surprise Amber. I turned away and entered the classroom. My new seat at the back felt better than it had yesterday. Maya sat one row ahead and shifted around to talk to me until Ms. Hale entered. Cole never once called my name. But I felt his eyes on me through almost the entire lesson. When the bell rang for the visiting evaluations, everyone poured toward the outdoor arena. Ashvale’s training grounds stretched behind the academy in a wide oval bordered by pine forest. Three visiting packs had erected temporary banners along the fence. Silvercrest’s banner was black and silver. Rowan stood beneath it. He wore training clothes instead of yesterday’s academy jacket, and I finally understood why Ms. Hale had called him one of their top combat candidates. He wasn’t built like the boys who trained solely to look intimidating. His strength was compact and controlled. Every movement seemed deliberate. When his gaze found me in the crowd, his expression softened. Echo practically wagged her tail. I refused to acknowledge how embarrassing my own wolf had become.

The first evaluation was speed. The second was scent tracking. The third was controlled combat. Cole dominated the first two among Ashvale students. He had always been gifted physically, and warrior training had only sharpened him. When his name was announced for controlled combat, cheers rose from our classmates. Amber shouted the loudest. Cole entered the ring. His opponent was a broad-shouldered student from Pinehaven. The match lasted less than a minute. Cole dodged a strike, swept the other boy’s legs, and pinned him cleanly. The instructor blew the whistle. Normally, I would have been on my feet cheering. I had attended almost every one of Cole’s training matches since middle school. Today, I remained seated and marked observations on my strategy sheet. When Cole stood, his gaze immediately searched the spectators. It found me. I looked back down at my notes. His victory had nothing to do with me anymore.

Rowan’s turn came later. His opponent was one of Ashvale’s senior combat candidates. The match began quietly. For the first twenty seconds, Rowan barely attacked. He watched. Adjusted. Learned. Then the senior lunged. Rowan shifted half a step, redirected his momentum, locked his arm, and put him on the ground so smoothly that several instructors exchanged impressed looks. No unnecessary force. No humiliation. No roar of dominance. Just control. My pen stopped moving. Echo purred. *Strong.* “Yes, I noticed,” I muttered under my breath. Maya turned. “What?” “Nothing.” When Rowan left the ring, he didn’t look toward the cheering Silvercrest students first. He looked at me. I gave him a small smile. He returned it. A sharp crack sounded behind us. Cole had snapped his pencil.

The team assignments were announced after lunch. Ms. Hale stood with the visiting instructors at the center of the arena. “Aurora Vale.” I stepped forward. “Your first combat candidate will be Rowan Blackwood.” Whispers erupted. My pulse jumped. Rowan walked to my side. “Your second candidate will be Maya Chen.” Maya made a strangled noise. I turned. “You’re combat?” “Hybrid placement,” she whispered. “Long story.” I grinned. Across the lineup, Cole’s face was unreadable. He had been assigned to Amber’s strategy team. Amber looked delighted. Cole did not. For the first time, the arrangement that had been forming between them for months no longer bothered me. In fact, it felt strangely appropriate. They had chosen each other’s side again and again. Now they could stand on it without me in the middle.

Our first practice session began immediately. The trial involved retrieving three markers from a wooded course while defending a central flag. I studied the map. “Rowan, everyone is going to expect you to take the direct combat route.” “Probably.” “So don’t.” His eyebrows lifted. I pointed toward the eastern ravine. “You go here. Maya takes the central marker, then intentionally retreats if challenged.” Maya stared at me. “You want me to run away?” “I want them to think you’re running away.” A grin spread across Rowan’s face. “What do I do after the ravine?” “Nothing for thirty seconds.” He looked delighted. “That sounds suspiciously easy.” “Trust me.” His expression became unexpectedly serious. “I do.” Two simple words. My chest tightened. I forced myself back to the map.

The strategy worked. Maya drew two defenders toward the central route. Rowan waited in the ravine until their scent trails moved away, then crossed behind them and collected both outer markers. By the time the opposing strategist realized what had happened, we had already won. Ms. Hale gave us the highest practice score. Rowan bumped his fist lightly against Maya’s. Then he looked at me. “Good call, strategist.” Pride warmed me. Not because Cole had praised me. Not because anyone had defended me. Because I had done something well and someone had simply recognized it. That should never have felt revolutionary. But it did.

As we left the arena, Amber stepped into our path. “Cute strategy.” Her tone made the compliment meaningless. Maya sighed. “Do you ever get tired?” Amber ignored her. Her gaze settled on me. “I guess hiding behind Silvercrest’s future Alpha is one way to recover from getting dumped.” The world around us quieted. Rowan’s expression sharpened, but he didn’t move. He waited. For me. That mattered. I smiled at Amber. “Who dumped me?” She blinked. “Cole.” “Interesting. Because I’m the one who told him never to speak to me again.” A few nearby students slowed down. Amber folded her arms. “Whatever helps you sleep.” “No, I’m genuinely curious. Did Cole tell you he dumped me?” Her eyes flicked toward him. Cole was approaching from behind her. His face changed when he heard the question. “No,” he said. Amber turned. Cole stopped several feet away. “Aurora ended things.” The admission fell heavily. Amber’s mouth tightened. I expected satisfaction. Instead, I felt nothing. That was better.

Amber recovered quickly. “So she throws a tantrum and now everyone has to pretend she’s some independent queen?” “Amber,” Cole warned. She stared at him. “What? Yesterday you agreed she has a princess complex.” Cole flinched. The memory was clearly less funny now. Amber laughed bitterly. “Unbelievable.” She turned to me. “You know what? Keep playing victim. Everyone knows you’ve spent your whole life clinging to Cole.” I looked at her calmly. “You’re right about one thing.” She paused. “I did spend years clinging to him.” Cole’s eyes locked on mine. “And I’m embarrassed it took me this long to stop.” His face drained of color. Amber looked almost pleased until I continued. “But don’t confuse that with you winning something. Cole isn’t a prize I lost to you.” The students nearby went silent. I adjusted my bag. “You can have whatever relationship with him you want. It has nothing to do with me.” Then I walked away.

Rowan caught up near the academy doors. “You handled that better than I would have.” “What would you have done?” “Silvercrest has a very nice disciplinary office. I’m familiar with the chairs.” I laughed. He smiled. Then his gaze became serious. “Was he the one?” I knew exactly what he meant. “Yes.” Rowan stopped walking. The warmth disappeared from his face. For the first time, I felt the full presence of the wolf inside him. Not directed at me. Never at me. But powerful enough that the air seemed to tighten. “He hit you.” “Yes.” “And he’s the boy you were talking about yesterday.” I nodded. Rowan looked back toward the arena. Cole was still there. “Rowan.” His eyes returned to mine. “I don’t need you to fight him.” The tension in his shoulders eased by a fraction. “I know.” “Do you?” “Yes.” He exhaled. “Wanting to break his jaw and believing I have the right to do it are two different things.” Echo approved so loudly I nearly rolled my eyes. Rowan continued, “If he threatens you, that changes.” “That’s fair.” We resumed walking.

At the front gate, Cole was waiting again. This time, Rowan was beside me. Cole’s gaze went directly to the distance between us. “Aurora, I need to talk to you.” “No.” His jaw tightened. “Alone.” “No.” Rowan remained silent. Cole looked at him. “This is between me and her.” Rowan’s voice was calm. “She said no.” Cole’s wolf flashed in his eyes. “I wasn’t talking to you.” “And I wasn’t answering for her. She already answered.” The difference was so obvious it almost hurt. Cole used to speak for me constantly. Rowan was simply making sure my answer wasn’t ignored. Cole looked at me. “You’re really going to let some guy you met yesterday interfere in twelve years of history?” I stepped closer—not because I was afraid, but because I wanted him to hear me clearly. “Rowan isn’t interfering with anything.” Cole’s expression twisted. “You barely know him.” “That’s true.” “Then why is he standing beside you like he belongs there?” Echo stirred. I looked at Rowan. He was watching me, waiting. I could tell him. I could keep it private. The choice was mine. I turned back to Cole. “Because he’s my mate.” Everything in Cole’s face disappeared. For one terrible second, he looked like someone had struck him. Amber, standing several yards behind him, went completely still. Cole stared at me. “No.” It was barely a whisper. I didn’t answer. His eyes flashed gold. “No. That’s not possible.” Echo rose inside me, calm and certain. Cole took one step backward. “You were supposed to—” He stopped. But I knew the rest. You were supposed to choose me. I looked at the boy I had loved for nine years. Once, those unfinished words would have broken my heart. Now they only proved how deeply Cole had mistaken my devotion for something he owned. “I was never supposed to belong to you,” I said. Then I walked through the gates with my true mate beside me.