Chapter 17
Maya
Lunch at Stone Mountain High has never been anything special.
But today, everything feels… off.
Not bad. Not exactly. Just different.
The hallway feels brighter. The cafeteria louder. The stares more obvious.
I know what they’re seeing.
I’m not the new girl anymore.
I’m the girl who shifted in the circle. The girl who beat Cassie. The girl who stood beside Bolton Sharpe while the entire pack watched and didn’t run.
They’re not pretending I’m invisible anymore. They’re watching.
Some with curiosity. Some with something sharper.
I slide into my usual lunch table with a tray of mystery pasta and a juice box I grabbed without thinking. Rick’s already there, spinning a pen between his fingers and grinning like the world is still exactly as it’s always been.
“Hey, future valedictorian-slash-forest goddess.” His eyes twinkle as he sets his pen down. “Had any more mystical visions or late-night howling lately?”
My stomach flips. But I force a smile and roll my eyes. “Only when I forget to take my allergy meds.”
He snorts. “Classic. You know, for someone who spent two weeks trying to go full witness protection in the back row of English class, you’ve had a pretty dramatic rise to school legend.”
“Infamy, more like,” I mutter.
Rick leans in, lowering his voice like we’re conspiring. “Okay, but real talk. What the hell happened at that bonfire? You disappeared, and then suddenly everyone’s whispering like you lit the woods on fire with your mind or something.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek. I’d love to tell him the truth. I really would.
That I’m not fully human. That my wolf exploded out of me like some kind of lunar supernova. That I’m mated. Mated to the guy with the icy blue eyes and the future of a whole pack riding on his shoulders.
But Rick’s human.
And humans aren’t supposed to know.
“I didn’t light anything on fire,” I say, trying to keep it light. “Just... stood up to Cassie. That alone probably earned me a spot in the gossip hall of fame.”
He whistles. “Yeah, well, careful. I heard she’s been glaring holes in your locker door like she’s trying to unlock it with hate.”
I shrug. “She lost. She’ll recover.”
Rick raises an eyebrow. “You say that, but I saw the way she looked at you in trig yesterday. That girl’s plotting something. Probably with glitter and teeth.”
I snort. “That’s oddly accurate.”
Before he can say more, movement catches my eye.
Graceful. Fluid. Lila Sharpe, Bolton’s younger sister, slides through the cafeteria entrance like she owns the air around her.
She’s dressed in dark jeans and a black Stone Mountain hoodie, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, face partially hidden behind a pair of oversized sunglasses.
Like she’d rather be anywhere else, but plans to look good doing it.
She spots me instantly and veers off course, making a beeline toward our table.
Rick straightens. “Uh-oh. Incoming Sharpe.”
“Be nice,” I mumble.
Lila stops at the edge of the table, arms crossed, sunglasses still on even though we’re indoors.
She nods at Rick. “Human.”
Rick blinks. “Okay. That’s… not ominous at all.”
She turns to me. “Walk with me?”
I glance at Rick. “Be right back.”
He throws up his hands. “Sure. I love being left out of mysterious, half-coded conversations.”
Lila’s already moving.
I follow her out the side doors near the vending machines, into the narrow strip of sunlit pavement between the cafeteria and the gym. The noise from the lunch crowd fades behind us.
Lila pulls off her sunglasses and finally looks at me.
It’s the first time we’ve spoken since the challenge.
“You good?” she says after a beat.
I blink. “You mean after nearly getting my ribs cracked by a girl who thinks eyeliner is a personality trait?”
Lila smirks. “I mean after shifting for the first time in front of half the senior class and everyone who’s ever sniffed a tree and thought it was sacred.”
“Right. That.”
Silence stretches between us. She leans against the brick wall, arms folded, watching me with this measured expression that makes me feel like I’m being weighed on some invisible scale.
“You look different,” she says finally.
“Thanks?” I offer.
“No, I mean it,” she says. “You moved like a kid when you got here. Like you were just trying not to get stepped on. Now you walk like you’re waiting for someone to try you.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s a warning,” she says flatly. “For them. Not you.”
That surprises me.
“Didn’t think you’d be on my side,” I admit.
“Don’t make it weird,” she mutters. “I’m not on your side.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“I’m on the side of whatever stops Cassie from acting like Luna means prom queen with claws,” she grumbles. “And for the record? I liked watching you flatten her.”
I glance down at my sneakers, unsure what to say.
“She’s not done,” Lila continues. “You embarrassed her. In front of everyone. That kind of thing doesn’t go away.”
I nod. “I know.”
“She’ll wait,” Lila says. “Cassie’s smart. She plays long games.”
“Then I’ll play longer.”
That earns me a short, quiet laugh.
“Good,” she says. “Because there’s something else you need to know.”
Her tone shifts. The fire fades into something heavier.
“There’s been a whisper. On the border,” she adds. “Dad hasn’t said anything official, which means he doesn’t want to spook the council—but the patrols have doubled.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, my voice barely audible.
She nods. “Rogues. Not close. Not yet. But they’re watching the mountain again. Like they’re waiting.”
Something cold slips down my spine.
“Does Bolton know?”
“Of course,” she says. “He’s been running night drills with Dax and the others. You’ll start training soon too. Wolves who’ve shifted have to be ready.”
I blink. “He hasn’t mentioned it.”
“He will,” she says. “He’s trying to protect you first. That’s what mates do.”
We fall into silence for another moment.
Finally, Lila pushes off the wall.
“I think you’ll be a good Luna,” she says, voice casual but tight.
I stare. “Wow. Was that an actual compliment?”
She groans. “Don’t make me regret it.”
I grin.
Then her expression sobers again.
“But you should be ready,” she says. “Because the bond changed things. For you. For Bolton. You’re not just a girl from nowhere anymore. You’re someone the rogues might come for.”
I swallow hard. “Because of who my dad was?”
“And because of who you are now,” she says. “Mated. Shifted. Pack-adjacent. There’s power in that. And power draws enemies.”
My throat is dry.
“But you’re not alone,” she adds. “And the council knows that now.”
She pulls her sunglasses back on, like the conversation didn’t just wedge a dozen new fears into my chest.
“C’mon. Let’s get back before Rick eats your pasta.”
I blink. “How did you know I had pasta?”
She smirks. “Wolves have excellent noses.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So what—you could smell the marinara and cafeteria mystery meat from across campus?”
She shrugs like it’s obvious. “Among other things.”
I narrow my eyes at her, but she just flashes me a sharp smile and starts walking without waiting for a response. The sun glints off her sunglasses as she slips back through the double doors, head high, like she’s never been wrong and doesn’t plan to start now.
I follow Lila back into the noise and heat of the building, the hallway feels sharper. Brighter. Like I’ve peeled off a layer of static I didn’t know I was wearing.
I catch a few more stares. Hear a whisper or two that cuts off when I pass.
It doesn’t rattle me like it would’ve a week ago.
Because now I know who I am.
Or at least, I’m starting to find out.