Chapter 165: Today, They Will See My Wolf

Adeline’s POV~

I woke up in the middle of the night, after sleeping the whole day away, and for a few seconds I didn’t know where I was. My eyes were heavy and my head felt foggy, but one thing was clear. There was heat all around me, deep, steady heat, like I was wrapped inside a warm storm.

I fixed my sight in the dark and looked up. It was Raven.

I was in Raven’s arms. I had fallen asleep in Blake’s arms, and now I had woken up in Raven’s. My heart gave a slow, confused thump. How did that happen? When did he take me?

I could still smell the other three princes on my skin and in the sheets, faint but clear, like their shadows were still in the room with us. It should have scared me, but it didn’t. It only made me feel strangely safe, and that scared me even more.

I lifted my head from his chest, wanting to see his face, but the moment I moved, his arms pulled me back and pressed me tight against his neck.

"Shh... Don’t go..." he murmured, his voice deep and rough with sleep.

I almost smiled. The prince everyone feared, the one with the cold eyes and the hard words, was holding me like a lost child holds a blanket. I didn’t pull away. I just stayed there, listening to his heartbeat and wondering how something so soft could live inside someone who portrayed himself so dangerous.

When I woke up again, the sun was already bright.

Today was the day. Today I was going to the academy for combat training.

I had been thinking about it since I opened my eyes. The training ground was where the trained alphas of the lycan academy fought each other to prove their power. It was blood, power, and pride. The pride of being strong enough to kill your opponent. But it all happened under strict rules, and the guards would step in and separate the wolves the moment a fight went too far.

And today, I would be standing in the middle of that ground.

Me, an omega, fighting against an alpha. It sounded like a suicide plan, and I knew it. But I wanted to try anyway, because for the first time in my life I wasn’t alone. Everyone thought I was a defect, a scentless nobody with no wolf, and now I knew the truth. I had a wolf. My omega was real, and she was mine. My other half.

I clutched the pendant around my neck so hard that it left a mark on my palm. Then I turned to find something to wear, and my heart sank.

There was nothing I could use. Everything in the closet was silk gowns, long and shiny, the kind a queen or a royal princess would wear. I was neither of those things. So why had the dowager luna filled my room with them? Was she trying to dress me up like something I wasn’t? Or was it something else?

Then there was a knock, and the door opened. It was the dowager luna.

She gave me a warm smile as she stepped in, her eyes soft. "Adeline, sweetie. I heard that you asked for breakfast yourself for the first time since you came here." She sounded almost surprised, almost happy.

"Yes, dowager luna," I said.

Her smile faltered a little. She looked caught off guard that I had called her by her title, even though there was nobody else in the room. I didn’t know how to tell her why. I was scared. I had trusted her, and some part of me still did, even after I found that bugging device hidden in the bedside lamp. I didn’t know what to believe, and that was the worst part.

"I asked the alpha servant to bring me something to eat," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"How am I supposed to go to the grounds without any strength? My wolf doesn’t need food, but my body does. And I need a set of clothes too, dowager luna. I’m going to the academy today for the combat training."

Her smile dropped completely.

"You’re going to fight?" she asked, stepping closer. "Are you sure you’re ready to fight an alpha, Adeline? I really don’t think you should..."

"I’m sure," I cut in gently, though my voice was shaking. "I’m not doing it for anyone else. I’m doing it for myself. I got my omega, my wolf, my other half, and I just want to shift in front of everyone and make it official. I’m not a defect, and I’m not wolfless anymore. Are you afraid I’ll get myself killed? Do you think I’m weak?"

I didn’t even notice that my eyes had started to glisten.

"No, sweetie. Never," the dowager luna said quickly, taking my hands in hers. "You killed an alpha rogue with a stick, a sharp one. You ripped his throat apart with it, just to save me. Do you remember that? A weak girl cannot do that."

I nodded slowly. I did remember. I remembered the blood, the fear, and how my hands had moved before my mind could stop them.

"It’s fine," she said, and her voice was soft but firm. "I believe in you. I’m not going to stop you from doing this. Do whatever you want, and I’ll always be there for you. Just stay safe. And if your opponent doesn’t play fair, don’t you hesitate to drive a silver knife through his throat. I will always have your back."

I almost laughed. She gave me a small hug and then pulled away, ordered the alpha servant to bring me what I had asked for, and soon I was holding a black hoodie, jeans, and a set of inner clothes.

Hearing her say that she believed in me, and that she had my back, made me feel warm inside. But one question kept whispering in a corner of my mind, and I couldn’t make it go away.

Was it all an act? Or was she really my savior?

I changed and walked down the stairs, a little happy, thinking about shifting for the first time in front of everyone. In front of the same people who had despised me and humiliated me. Today I would stand in front of every student in that academy and turn into my wolf, and I would let my wolf to take control.