CHAPTER 32
1469 Words
ADINNA’S POV
Back at the dorm, I can’t shake off the strange feeling in my chest. It has been growing since the boutique. I tell myself it’s nothing but nerves about the Ball, but that doesn’t convince me. Something feels different. I feel different. It’s like my skin doesn’t fit anymore.
Riley is stretched out on her bed, kicking her feet in the air and humming a tune from the radio. She’s glowing, of course. Everything about her looks bright. She hasn’t stopped talking since we got back.
“Ashton said he reserved us a table near the balcony,” she says, twirling a pen between her fingers. “Can you believe that? He actually remembered I love the view from there.”
I nod absentmindedly, staring at the ceiling.
She turns to me, grinning. “He’s the sweetest. He even said he’d save me a dance.”
I smirk a little. “Sounds like he’s planning to ask you out.”
“Stop joking,” she laughs, rolling onto her side. “But really, I think tonight might be special.”
I hum a reply. My thoughts are elsewhere. The woman at the boutique, the way her eyes lingered on my necklace, her words about destinies keep echoing in my mind. I twist the Ace card between my fingers, the chain cold against my skin.
Riley suddenly falls quiet. “Adinna?”
“Hmm?”
She studies me for a moment. “Do you ever wonder who your mate might be?”
The question hits me like a spark. My wolf stirs inside me restlessly, but I manage to keep my face still. “Not really.”
“Liar,” she teases. “Every girl thinks about it.”
“Not me,” I say quickly. “I have more important things to worry about. Like avoiding the four alphas every single day of my life to prevent humiliation.”
Riley sits up, crossing her legs on her bed. “You say that like you don’t want one.”
“I don’t,” I reply, sharper than I meant to.
Her smile fades a little. “Okay, no need to bite.”
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, rubbing my arm. “I just don’t want to depend on someone else. Mates complicate everything.”
She looks at me for a moment, her expression softening. “Maybe. But they can also make things clearer.”
“Or mess them up even worse,” I mutter.
Riley sighs. “You really don’t believe in happy endings, do you?”
I try to smile, but it feels wrong. “Not for people like me.”
She gives me a look but doesn’t push. “Well, I hope you’re wrong. Maybe the ball will prove it.”
I let out a half-hearted laugh and roll onto my side. “Yeah, maybe.”
That night, when the room finally goes quiet, I can’t sleep. My thoughts keep circling. I turn again and again until exhaustion finally pulls me under.
At first, everything is silent. Then darkness shifts.
A low growl rumbles through the air, close enough that I feel it in my bones. I can’t see anything, but I know I’m not alone. My heart pounds. Something stirs in the shadows, and I see eyes. Four of them, glowing faintly, too bright to belong to one creature.
I freeze as the air thickens around me, and my wolf goes completely still inside me, alert and trembling.
Then the whisper comes. Rough, deep, and close.
“Mine.”
The word crawls through the dark like smoke. I spin around but see nothing but those four eyes, watching, unblinking.
“Who’s there?” My voice sounds small.
“Mine,” the whisper repeats.
I jolt awake. My lungs burn. The room tilts for a second before I realize where I am. Riley snores softly across the room. The clock glows past midnight.
My hand clutches my necklace without thinking. The Ace card presses into my palm, cool and sharp. I hold it tight until my pulse slows.
It was just a dream. Just a dream.
But my wolf doesn’t believe it. She paces again, agitated, whispering warnings I can’t understand. I sit there for a long time, staring at the shadows until the first light of dawn filters through the window.
When morning comes, the Academy feels different. The usual quiet buzz of routine has turned electric. Banners hang from the walls, silver and blue. Music drifts from the courtyard. Students rush by with boxes, lights, decorations, and laughter.
The Solstice Ball fever has taken over.
Everywhere I turn, people are talking about it. Dresses, shoes, partners, rumors. Even the professors look lighter. The whole Academy buzzes like it’s alive.
Still, I can’t shake the dread in my stomach. Each laugh, each note of music, feels like it’s building toward something I can’t see yet. Something waiting.
I spend the afternoon pretending to study while Riley flits in and out of the room, too excited to stay still. By evening, she’s turned into chaos.
She bursts into the dorm like a whirlwind, her curls styled and lipstick perfect. “Get up! We’re going to be late!”
“I still haven’t decided if I’m going,” I say.
She gasps, scandalized. “What do you mean, if? You’re absolutely going!”
“Riley, I don’t feel like going.”
“Nope. No excuses.” She claps her hands. “You’re dressing up, and you’re going to enjoy it.”
Before I can argue, she yanks the covers off my bed and tosses a makeup bag at me.
“Riley—”
“Don’t fight it. Ashton’s already outside.”
I pause. “Outside? As in our outside?”
She nods eagerly. “Waiting like a gentleman. You should see him. He looks so good I almost fainted.”
I groan. “You’re impossible.”
“And you love me,” she sings, pulling open the box with my black gown inside.
I stare at it, still unsure. The memory of my dream clings to me.
Riley catches me. “Don’t tell me you’re backing out now. Come on, Adinna, you have to show everyone you’re not afraid of them—or of him.”
The mention of Jace makes my chest tighten. I glance away. “This isn’t about him.”
“Maybe not,” she says softly. “But you deserve to look and feel powerful.”
Her words echo something Miss Liora said. I take a breath and nod slowly. “Fine.”
Riley squeals, nearly jumping. “Yes! Okay, sit. I’ll handle your hair.”
I let her push me into the chair by the mirror. Her hands move quickly, twisting, pinning, brushing. She hums under her breath, completely in her element. I barely recognize myself when she’s done.
She pulls back and grins. “There. You look like a goddess.”
I glance in the mirror. My hair falls over my shoulder in soft waves. The black gown fits like it was made for me. My lips are painted a soft rose, nothing too bold. For a moment, I actually feel pretty.
A knock at the door startles me.
Riley rushes to open it. Ashton stands there in a tailored suit, his blond hair neat, his eyes warm when they land on Riley. Then they flick to me.
“Well,” he says, a small smile forming. “Didn’t think you cleaned up this well.”
I blink. “Thanks, I guess.”
He chuckles. “It’s a compliment, Adinna.”
Riley smirks at me and whispers, “Told you.”
I nudge her with my elbow. “Stop.”
She grins wider. “Tonight might surprise you.”
“I don’t want surprises,” I mutter. “I’ve had enough of those.”
“Too bad,” she says cheerfully. “The night doesn’t care what you want.”
Ashton holds out his arm to her. She takes it without hesitation, her face glowing. Before we leave, I glance at the window one last time. The moon hangs low, heavy and golden, spilling light across the campus.
Something inside me shifts. My wolf stirs again, uneasy. The same cold whisper from the dream brushes through my mind.
Mine.
I press the Ace card against my chest and close my eyes for a moment. “Just a dream,” I whisper to myself.
Then I open the door and step outside.
The halls of the Academy are alive with music and laughter, and though Riley’s excitement fills the space around me, I can’t shake the feeling that tonight isn’t just another celebration.
It feels like the start of something, and I don’t know whether to run toward it or away.
- Writer
