The sparring circle vibrated with tension. Every eye was on me—students packed shoulder to shoulder, council members leaning forward in their carved seats. Gideon stood opposite, already smiling like he'd won.
The first exchange was brutal. He moved faster than I expected, his strike aimed not just to land, but to humiliate. I blocked it, but his strength drove me back. My boots scraped against the chalk lines.
Whispers rippled through the crowd. She's not ready. She'll lose.
Then something inside me snapped awake.
My wolf had been restless for weeks, pacing just beneath my skin. Now she surged forward. Heat flooded my chest and rushed into my limbs. And threaded through it all was Darius. His wolf pressed against mine through the bond, close enough that I felt his pulse inside me.
My
