Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
I'm still shaking when I wake up.
The morning light filters through the curtains and I stare at the ceiling trying to force my heartbeat back to normal. Yesterday's inquiry plays on repeat behind my eyelids. Chase's cold eyes. Owen's apologetic face. The small leather notebook recording every answer I gave.
Every lie.
Lily's bed is empty. She must have left for early breakfast, probably giving me space after watching me stumble back to the dorm last night looking like I'd been through a war. I had.
I drag myself out of bed and pull on clothes without thinking about what I'm choosing. Jeans, sweater, boots. Armor for another day of pretending everything's fine while the Council builds their case against me.
The dining hall is packed when I arrive. I push through the doors and the noise doesn't quite stop but it shifts. Conversations pause mid-word. Heads turn. Yesterday's summons to the Headmaster's office is apparently the hottest gossip on campus.
"Did you hear she was in there for over an hour?"
"Chase Valemont himself. Official Council inquiry."
"What do you think they asked her about?"
I keep my head up and walk to the food line. Let them whisper. Let them stare. I survived Chase's questions yesterday and I'll survive their curiosity today.
I'm filling my plate with eggs I don't want when a presence registers at my back. Solid, commanding, radiating Alpha authority that makes the students around me take involuntary steps backward.
"Morning, Nova."
Caspian's voice is casual but his proximity is intent. I turn and find him standing closer than necessary, his body language screaming territorial possession to everyone watching.
"Caspian." I keep my tone neutral.
"Walk with me."
It's not a question. He takes my tray from my hands and starts toward an empty table, leaving me no choice but to follow. The whispers intensify behind us.
"Is that Caspian Jett?"
"Walking with her?"
"Since when does Caspian Jett walk with her?"
I sit across from him and he pushes the tray back to me. "Eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"Eat anyway." Alpha command threading through his voice. "You look like you haven't slept."
"I haven't." I pick up my fork to make him stop staring. "What do you want, Caspian?"
"To walk you to class."
My fork pauses halfway to my mouth. "Why?"
"Because Chase wants you isolated." He leans back in his chair, arms crossed, the picture of casual dominance. "Makes you easier to take if no one's watching."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know." His eyes meet mine directly. "But you don't have to anymore."
The pack claim pulls tight between us, something that makes his wolf recognize mine as pack. I want to argue but I'm so tired of fighting alone.
"And what does walking me to class accomplish?"
"It tells Chase that if he wants you, he has to go through me." Caspian's smile has teeth. "Through Jett Pack. Through my father's influence on the Council. It makes you harder to take quietly."
Political maneuvering disguised as personal protection. I should hate it, should resist being used as a chess piece in pack politics. But the part of me that's been running on fumes since I got to this Academy wants to lean into the shield he's offering.
"Fine." I force myself to eat. "One class. We'll see how it goes."
His smile widens. "That's my girl."
The possessive claim in those words should irritate me. Instead, they settle something restless in my chest.
We walk across campus together after breakfast. Caspian matches my pace, close enough that his arm brushes mine occasionally, far enough to give me space. But his presence beside me changes everything.
Students move out of our way. Conversations stop mid-sentence. An Alpha walking beside someone is a statement, and everyone on campus knows how to read it.
Protection. Possession. Pack.
"You're enjoying this," I mutter as we pass a group of whispering girls.
"Enjoying what?"
"The attention. The spectacle."
"I'm enjoying knowing you're safe." He glances down at me. "There's a difference."
We reach the History building and my stomach clenches. Julian's class. I'll have to sit there for an hour feeling the mate bond hum between us while pretending he's just my professor. While hiding what we are from everyone including Caspian walking beside me.
Chase is leaning against the wall near the entrance.
Caspian sees him the same moment I do. His entire posture changes. Shoulders back, spine straight, every inch the Alpha heir to a major pack. He doesn't slow down, doesn't hesitate, just walks us straight toward the Council enforcer with absolute confidence.
Chase pushes off the wall as we approach. His eyes track from me to Caspian and back again.
"Miss Bardot." Polite, cold. "Mr. Jett."
"Valemont." Caspian's voice is flat. Neutral. But his body language screams challenge.
They're the same height but Caspian is broader, younger, radiating the raw Alpha power that comes from generations of strong bloodlines. Chase is older, more experienced, carrying Council authority like armor.
The air between them crackles with tension.
"I trust the inquiry yesterday was... illuminating," Chase says, still looking at me.
"It was thorough." I keep my voice steady.
"We'll have follow-up questions soon."
"I'm sure you will."
Caspian shifts slightly, putting himself more directly between me and Chase. The movement is subtle but the message is clear. Chase's eyes narrow.
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Jett. Miss Bardot is perfectly capable of answering questions on her own."
"I'm sure she is." Caspian doesn't move. "But she's under my protection now. Any further inquiries go through me first."
"Council authority supersedes pack politics."
"Does it?" Caspian's smile is all teeth. "My father serves on the Council. I'm sure he'd be interested to hear about these... informal inquiries you're conducting without proper oversight."
Chase's jaw tightens. For a long moment they just stare at each other, two wolves sizing each other up, neither willing to back down first.
Finally Chase looks away. Just a fraction, just enough. But it's there.
Caspian saw it too. His smile sharpens.
"Enjoy your class, Miss Bardot." Chase steps aside, gesturing to the door. "Professor Harmon is waiting."
I walk past him into the building, hyperaware of both males behind me. The mate bond with Julian flares the moment I cross the threshold, responding to my racing heart and the adrenaline flooding my system.
Caspian catches up to me at the classroom door. "I'll be here when class ends."
"You don't have to do that."
"I'll be here." He says it with finality. Alpha deciding. Then his expression softens slightly. "You did well out there. Didn't give him anything."
"Thanks." The word feels inadequate.
He nods once and walks away. I watch him go, then turn to face the classroom. Through the doorway I can see Julian at his desk, head bent over papers. But I feel the exact moment he senses me standing there. The bond pulls tight.
I take a breath and walk inside.
The training hall is empty when I arrive that evening.
I changed out of class clothes into workout gear and came straight here, bypassing dinner because I couldn't face the dining hall again, couldn't handle more stares and whispers about Caspian walking me to every class today like I'm something precious that needs protecting.
I work through warm-ups, stretching muscles that are tight from tension. Then I start on combat drills. Striking the practice dummy with enough force to make it swing on its chain. Again. Again. Again.
Every hit is me fighting back against a world that wants to control me or kill me. Every strike releases a fraction of the fear and anger I've been carrying since Chase pulled out that leather notebook.
I'm so focused on the rhythm of hit-recover-hit that I don't notice I'm not alone anymore until a voice cuts through my concentration.
"You're dropping your left shoulder."
I spin around, staff raised. The training hall is dark beyond the circle of light I'm working in and Knox steps out of it, unhurried, like he's been standing in the shadows long enough that his eyes have adjusted.
He's in the corner nearest the weapon rack, arms crossed, pale eyes tracking me with the calm attention of something that has been watching for a while.
My heart hammers but I force myself to stillness. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough." He walks into the light. "You're telegraphing the strike. Anyone with combat training would see it coming."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Will you?" He circles me slowly, assessing. "Or will you keep training alone, working on bad form, making yourself vulnerable?"
"I can handle myself."
"Against other students, maybe." He stops in front of me. "Against Council enforcers? Against Chase?"
My hands clench into fists. "What do you want, Knox?"
"To watch your back." He crosses his arms. "Chase is hunting you. Council building a case. You walk around campus alone, train alone. Makes you vulnerable."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know. But two sets of eyes are better than one." He gestures to the practice dummy. "Show me the form again."
I hesitate, then move through the striking sequence. Knox watches with unsettling intensity.
"There." He steps closer. "You're protecting your left side. Old injury?"
"Cracked rib. A few weeks ago."
"It's healed now. Stop favoring it." He demonstrates the proper form, movements exact and measured. "Strike from center, keep both shoulders level, rotate through the hip."
I copy his movement. Better. Stronger.
"Good." He circles me again. "Now do it until it's instinct."
I work through the sequence while Knox watches. He corrects my footwork twice, adjusts my stance once, then falls silent. Just observing while I train.
After twenty minutes my muscles are burning and sweat drips down my spine. I stop, breathing hard, and find Knox still there. Still watching.
"Why are you really here?" I ask.