Eight

SILAS POV

“Well… it’s always a fucking disaster.”

Registration Day.

The one day of the year guaranteed to test what little patience I had left.

The Great Hall was packed with recruits from every territory across the realm. Some stood proudly, convinced they were destined for greatness. Others looked like they’d rather throw themselves off the mountain than take another step into Wolfstone.

Neither type impressed me. This year’s intake was different The High Council had expanded the summons.

For the first time in decades, the invitations hadn’t gone only to the children of High Lords and noble bloodlines. Commoners had been called. Sons and daughters of Alphas who had never before been considered worthy had received the Academy’s seal.

Even the Fifth Wing had changed.

Healers would no longer train as volunteers after graduation. They would enter Wolfstone alongside everyone else and earn their place the same way every Lycan did.

Personally, I thought it would end badly.

Most of them wouldn’t last.

Two hours into registration and I was already regretting agreeing to oversee it.

Half the recruits couldn’t follow simple instructions.

The other half asked questions after being told not to.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as another name was called.

“Kamari Walder.”

I looked up before I could stop myself.

A fucking Walder.

For a second, I wondered what the hell the Council had been thinking. One Walder was enough.

Zena Walder had spent four years at Wolfstone testing every rule, every commander, and every ounce of patience I possessed.

If defiance were a competition, she’d have graduated at the top of her class.

And then there was High Lord Raelan Walder.

The man’s reputation reached every corner of the realm. Mention his name in any room and people walked the other way.

The last thing this Academy needed was another Walder. I shifted my attention to the girl standing at the registration table.

She looked nothing like her sister.

She looked too thin and small. As though a strong mountain wind would knock her flat on her back.

Her eyes stayed on me; I could see the fear in them.  She wasn’t moving and she was keeping the line.  I was already running out of patience.

“Move,” I said coldly.

Instead of moving, she continued staring.

For Moon’s sake. Was she stupid?

Or had the Council started admitting recruits who couldn’t follow the simplest order?

The official beside me cleared his throat awkwardly.

I didn’t take my eyes off her. “Move,” I repeated.

That finally seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she’d fallen into.

She lowered her head so quickly she nearly missed her footing, stumbling dangerously close to the edge of the cliff before catching herself at the last second.

Too bad she almost fell… and died. It would have been a delightful sight.

She hurried away without another glance, disappearing into the crowd as though she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

“Next,” I said flatly, already done wasting another second thinking about Kamari Walder.

Registration dragged on for another hour before the last recruit was finally processed.

About damn time.

I handed the ledger back to the registrar before making my way toward the Great Hall. By now every first-year had gathered inside, filling the stone seats from one end of the hall to the other. The noise was deafening.

The sound of people who had no idea what they’d just signed themselves up for. The moment I stepped through the doors, the hall fell silent.

I walked to the center of the platform, the other Wing Commanders taking their places behind me.

“Welcome to Wolfstone.” Hundreds of eyes stared back at me.

Some eager. Some terrified. None of it mattered.

“You weren’t summoned here because of your family name or because your parents carry a title. You were summoned because the High Council believes you possess the potential to serve this realm.”

I paused, letting my eyes travel across the hall.

“They could be wrong.”

A few recruits shifted uncomfortably.

“Your place here isn’t permanent. It has to be earned. Every day. Every trial. Every drop of blood you spill.”

No one spoke.

“You’ll now be assigned to the Wing chosen for you by the Council.”

A servant placed the assignment ledger into my hands.

I broke the wax seal and opened it.

“The following names will report to their assigned Wings.”

I started with the First Wing before moving through the Second and Fifth. One recruit after another hurried to their commanders without question.

Then I reached the Third Wing.

“Kamari Walder.” I didn’t bother looking up as I read the next line. “Third Wing.”

She stayed silent. My eyes lifted from the page.

She hadn’t moved or answered her name.  Instead, she stood there staring at me with the same bewildered expression she’d worn during registration.

“What?” she said, with confusion in her eyes.

The single word echoed through the hall.

There it was.  The oozing arrogance  I’d expected from a Walder.

“There has to be some mistake,” she continued, her voice shaking. “I can’t be in the Third Wing. I think—”

“Are you questioning me?” I yelled,  The entire hall fell silent again. Every recruit turned to look at her, but I never took my eyes off the girl standing in the middle of the room.

I’d dealt with one Walder before. I had no problem putting another one in her place.

She swallowed, and for the first time since she’d spoken, I caught the fear in her eyes. Good. At least she was beginning to understand where she was.

“N-no, Commander,” she stammered. “I only meant… I’ve trained as a healer my entire life.”

A few recruits laughed under their breath.

I didn’t even spare them a glance.

“And?” I asked.

She blinked, clearly thrown by the question.

“I thought I’d be assigned to the Fifth Wing.”

“You thought.” The words left my mouth colder than I intended, but I didn’t care. “That was your first mistake.”  I closed the ledger and took a step toward her. She instinctively took one back.

“Wolfstone doesn’t assign Wings based on what you think you are. The High Council has already decided where you belong long before you ever stepped through these gates.”

Her fingers tightened around the bronze token in her hand.

“I… I’m sorry, Commander,” she said

“You should be.”

The hall remained silent, every recruit watching the exchange unfold.

“If the Council believed you belonged in the Fifth Wing, you would be standing with the Fifth Wing.” I held up the ledger. “Instead, your name is written under the Third.”

I watched the color drain from her face.

“There are only two possibilities, Walder. Either the Council made a fucking mistake…” I paused just long enough for hope to flicker across her face before crushing it. “…or you’re challenging the authority.”

She lowered her eyes to the floor.

“I won’t repeat myself a third time.” I pointed toward the line of Third Wing recruits already gathering.

“Report to your Wing.”

For a heartbeat she didn’t move.

My patience snapped. “Now,” I yelled louder. She flinched as though I’d struck her.

Without another word, she hurried across the hall, almost tripping over another recruit in her rush to obey.

Pathetic. I shook my head and reopened the ledger.