Nova stepped into the ring, every pair of eyes trained on her — classmates, warriors, instructors. Her breath came fast in the cold air, but her heartbeat was steady. The snow crunched beneath her boots.
She looked at Draven for reassurance. Even though she wasn't happy with him at the moment, she still trusted him. He'd been great up until last night. He gave her a small, silent nod from the edge of the sparring circle. She took a breath.
Across from her, Helga Emberhide spat on the ground. She was a true warrior — taller, broader, grinning like a wolf with a fresh kill. She rolled her shoulders and cracked her knuckles.
Just breathe, Nova told herself. Let her come to you. Nova knew her physical size had limits. The only way to win would be to use the opponent's size against them. Just like she had yesterday.
The moment the Colonel blew the whistle, Helga lunged.
Nova didn't flinch.
She pivoted to the side, the blow missing her cheek by an inch. Helga's fist swung again at Nova's chest. Nova dodged, stone face. Helga grabbed for her throat — but Nova slipped free. A bead of sweat formed on Nova's forehead, but she wouldn't show her emotions.
Her fear in this moment stemmed from being watched by the pack's best warriors and her classmates. Her fear stemmed from not wanting to disappoint Aeron and use magic or loose control.
She learned a great deal about sparring over the past few months, and Nova reminded herself to treat this like she would any other sparring session. Worst case, she would lose just like all of her classmates had. Not the end of the world.
Helga grunted in frustration as Nova twisted, light on her feet, hair whipping like silver thread.
The approach wasn't brute strength.
It was patience.
Let the opponent wear herself out.
Helga roared and charged again — teeth bared.
Nova slid under her arm and planted her foot behind her, tripping Helga. She grabbed Helga's shoulder at the same time, throwing her off-balance and twisted her arm behind her back.
In a blink, Nova's arm was locked around Helga's neck with one arm pinned to her back painfully. Helga, dropped to one knee, struggling against the hold.
Gasps rippled from the watching crowd.
Down One.
The Colonel's voice rang out. "Reset."
Helga spat into the snow, jaw clenching. "Lucky bitch," she snarled.
Nova said nothing.
She didn't need to.
Not to her knowledge, Jax entered the training grounds. His brows were creased. Did Nova get the first down?
Helga seemed like the type who would pull hair just based on her comments. Nova quickly redid her hair into a french braid and tucked the end under her training gear.
They reset.
The Colonel whistled and round two began.
Helga shouted loud enough for the arena to her: "Don't want your pretty hair to be pulled now do we? Unless it's in bed, right? Preferably by our Gamma or Alpha."
Nova didn't respond but felt her cheeks flush. She was doing her best to keep composed and keep her face the same. That comment was especially annoying as she hadn't spoken to the Alpha once since coming here. Ridiculous.
She heard snickers from the warriors. From the stands Rael did a slow clap and sarcastically responded so everyone could hear. "Careful, Helga — your jealousy's showing. Might want to tuck that back in before someone steps on it."
The stands erupted with low chuckles and a few outright howls. Even the Colonel's mouth twitched like he was fighting a grin.
From the stands on the other side of the field, Beta Cael muttered under his breath."What the hell…"
Before Helga could bark something back, Ash leaned forward from two rows up, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"Yeah, Helga! Maybe if you focused less on Nova's hair and more on your own aim, you'd stop punching the air and actually land a hit!"
The class burst out laughing; even a few of Helga's own teammates couldn't help it.
Helga's jaw flexed, eyes narrowing to slits. Nova didn't turn—she just rolled her shoulders back, composure steady, pretending none of it touched her.
Helga moved slower — calculating now, not just charging. For a minute, her and Nova circled each other. The tension was thick and you could hear a pin drop with how quiet it was. Both of them thinking, watching the hands, the hips, the feet.
Then Helga feinted left, spun right, and caught Nova off-guard.
An arm slammed into her middle.
She hit the ground hard — ribs first.
Before she could recover, a sharp knee drove into her ribs hard, knocking the wind from her lungs.
A hand shoved her shoulder. She was flat on her back in the snow with Helga on top of her.
Pain screamed through her ribs.
Helga grinned above her and with an annoying smirk.
"What's wrong, little bastard slave?" she called out loud enough for the crowd. "Don't want to mess up that pretty face? Are you scared you might disappoint your dead mommy? I heard she was like you. No better than a common whore."
Nova's vision blurred.
Not from the pain.
From anger. And something else… deeper. Hot. Uncoiling in her chest. The warrior didn't expect what came next.
Nova knew she already lost, but didn't wait for the whistle. She twisted and planted left heel to the ground, followed by a kick with her right using every ounce of her strength. Her boot slammed into Helga's gut with such force, she flew back a few meters, hit the ground on her back, and gasped for air like she'd been hit by a battering ram.
The crowd erupted into shocked voices.
"Did you see that—?"
Nova flipped onto her feet in one clean motion. She wasn't going to take this sitting down if this was going to be personal. Her classmates and Draven didn't seem surprised. Like that was normal for her.
Her lip was bleeding. Her fists were clenched.
Her expression?
Pissed.
This wasn't a match anymore. This was personal. Everyone stared and whispers rang out from the warriors. Her classmates glared at Helga.
Cael muttered again, "Did that warrior just call her a bastard slave and her mother a whore… what the actual hell is happening."
Jax didn't answer. He felt her anger hit him like a shockwave — hot, sharp, blindingly clear. Not just sensed it. Felt it.
Like her fury had reached out and synced with his own. He'd never felt that from her before. But of course that would be the thing that shattered her quiet composure. She was strong, steady, kind — but she wasn't made of stone.
Helga rose slowly, wincing from where she'd landed. Her eyes fixed on Nova — no longer amused. Now she was angry.
The colonel's voice rang out again.
"Reset. One to One."
Helga spat into the snow and stalked back into position."Aww, is the little wolf angry now? Your mommy would be proud of the show you are putting on. Just enough to turn on the warriors."
Ellie couldn't take it anymore. She yelled across the field. "Funny—because the only thing you've turned on today is everyone's secondhand embarrassment!"
There was a huge laugh from the crowd on both sides. Even Nova cracks a small smile.
Cael immediately stiffened when he heard her voice. Eyes locked on the redhead.
Colonel Sterling blew the whistle.
"Guess the rumors are true," Helga sneered, voice rising loud enough again for everyone to hear. "You really do think you're something special, don't you? The delicate little mystery everyone's suddenly obsessed with."
Nova steadied her breath, ignoring the ache in her ribs. Her wolf stirred faintly for the time since she could remember.
She wolf hummed under her skin like a live wire.
Nova said nothing.
Helga's lip curled. "What is it, huh? A secret lover? Daddy pulling strings from the grave? Or maybe you're just the pity project of the year."
A few snorts of cruel laughter from the warriors.
"Must be nice, though. A pretty little face. All those boys falling over themselves. I heard Gamma Thorne carried you to the infirmary after you fainted in class. Bet you cried real soft about your dead mommy while he stroked your hair and promised to protect you forever."
Nova dryly responded, "It's funny. You keep accusing me of having things handed to me, and yet here you are — handing me more reasons to beat you."
She couldn't wait for this to be over.
There were some snickers from the crowd.
Helga circled closer and continued. "And that's the thing about girls like you, isn't it? Pretty enough to get fucked. Fragile enough to get protected. But no personality, dumb, and ugly on the inside. No one would pick someone like you as their actual mate. Just a toy. Oh I've heard from Princess Meredith, all about you."
About half the warriors laughed. Less than before.
Nova didn't respond again. Trying her best to keep composed.
"Deep down, you know what you really are. Dead weight. Unmarked. Unworthy. And when they're done fucking you, they will throw you away. You'll have nothing. Not power. Not your wolf. Not even your name." Helga added.
The crowd stilled slightly — the shift in her venom finally registering.
Helga didn't stop.
"You're a warm body in a cold bed, sweetheart. That's all you'll ever be."
Nova exhaled — slow and measured — but her vision sparked at the edges.
She could feel it.
That heat.
That pressure.
Silver-lined fury coiling in her bloodstream. She swallowed, pushing her wolf down.
Helga's eyes narrowed, voice low but still loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Do you still wake up crying for your dead whore of a mother? It's funny, I heard you're a slut just like her."
Helga leaned in, noticing a bead of sweat on Nova's brow.
"You know, if I'd been losing to a girl half my size, I'd be lashing out too." Ash called out to the field. Snickers erupted.
"Don't let her get into your head!" Millie, another one of her classmates shouted.
"Why don't you kids mind your own business and let her fight her own battles." A warrior bellowed back across the field.
Sterling and Draven looked at each other for a second, shocked. This was not normal. A little trash talk here and there but never personal like this. They stared for a second, mindlinking something. Neither intervened.
Helga came fast — too fast.
Nova dodged once, then twice, her ribs screaming, but she moved like air— letting the blows skim just past her. She didn't try to match brute strength.
She waited.
Let her burn herself out.
Waited for the overstep.
Then — there it was.
A punch too wide.
Nova ducked, pivoted, and swept the warrior's legs out from under her with a clean, brutal twist of her body.
The larger woman hit the snow with a grunt, shoulder first, and Nova was on her in a blink — knee to chest, fist hovering just above the woman's throat.
The ring fell silent.
"Down Two," the Colonel called, his voice less amused now.
Gasps rippled through the warrior side of the field. A few shifted uncomfortably.
Nova stood and backed off as instructed, chest heaving, sweat freezing at her temples.
She didn't look at the crowd.
Didn't look at her professor or the colonel.
But her eyes flicked — just once — to Aeron, who hadn't moved.
He was still watching her. Book closed. Was that pride on his face?
Helga snarled low in her throat, her hands curling into fists.
"The warriors and I heard all about you from the princess. You and your mother are cut from the same cloth. If not me right now, then someone will put you in your place very soon. You wait." she hissed.
Nova stared at her. Didn't speak.
Helga's face twisted.
"Answer me, you little slut —"
Then she shifted. Bones snapped. Clothes tore. Fur erupted in thick brown waves.
The crowd gasped.
"Shift is against sparring protocol." Beta Cael's voice boomed down from the stands.
Too late.
Helga — now a massive brown she-wolf with a black stomach and black eyes — lunged.
Nova leapt back just in time to avoid being shredded.
The she-wolf skidded and circled her, snarling.
Nova's pulse thudded in her ears.
She looked at Draven confused. Why wasn't he calling it? He just stared back, not nodding or saying a word. His eyes then met with Colonel Brutus. They clearly were mindlinking."Nova, if they aren't going to call it and she wants to fight dirty… You fight dirty right back!" Kylan — the smallest male of her classmates yelled loud. His voice, as loud as an alpha's and she heard.
"Stay focused. Finish this." Draven said in a low voice.
Nova looked at Draven again for a split moment wondering if she misheard him. He didn't acknowledge.
"In real combat, they'll shift. You might not be able to. You could be cuffed. Injured. Dosed with silver. What then? Figure this out without shifting." Colonel Brutus called, studying Nova. His interest piqued for the first time today.
Even though one of his best warriors had lost control, he would not call that out and embarrass her.
He stood at the edge of the ring with arms crossed, a frown etched between his brows.
The she-wolf was circling again.
Nova waited.
And that terrified the she-wolf more than rage ever could. The brown she-wolf circled again, growling low, tail lashing behind her like a whip.
Nova didn't flinch. The wolf lunged again. Nova spun away, letting the creature skid past in the snow.
Still no shift. Still no magic. Just instinct. Balance. Patience.
One of the other students near the edge of the field whispered too loudly, "We haven't practiced sparring human to wolf combat yet!"
The colonel's voice exploded across the field:
"You think the enemy waits for your lesson plan?!"
The student shut up instantly.
The Colonel stepped forward, glaring across the group.
"You think you get to ask for a handbook when your lungs are filling with blood and your friends are dying beside you? No. You survive. You adapt. You use what you've got — and you finish it."
He pointed toward Nova, who seemed perfectly calm on the surface. "Watch her."
Nova's face gave away her thoughts at that moment. Confusion. She had no clue what she was doing here. Why would they watch her?
The she-wolf growled and lunged again — teeth bared, twice as fast.
Nova dodged it. The wolf spun back around sprinting as fast as she could towards her.
She pivoted low, breath steady, mind racing. Think. No magic.
Her gaze darted to the ground — snow packed with dirt. Not much, but enough. She scooped a handful and hurled it into the wolf's eyes just as it lunged. The beast snarled, half-blinded, veering off-course. Nova stepped in, driving a sharp kick up under its chest — not to knock it back, but still able to twist its momentum midair. The wolf stumbled sideways.
She seized the opening.
With brutal precision, Nova slammed her knee into its ribs, forcing it off balance, then caught its massive shoulder and used its own weight against it — flipping the creature into the snow with a crunch and a burst of white powder.
Nova was small and very thin. But she was a shifter. No one could argue based on her strength here, even if they've never seen her shift.
The crowd gasped.
Even the warriors stood from the stands, leaning forward. Alert.
Nova stood over the she-wolf — unshifted, breathing hard, her hair half undone, a streak of blood turning red across her jaw from Helga's claw and a busted lip — but still standing.
The brown she-wolf bared her teeth again… but didn't rise.
Not yet.
The Colonel raised one hand, voice sharp and final.
"Three. Match goes to Nova."
Nova's hands fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath. That took more out of her than she realized.
Milo, Ash, Rael, Ellie, Millie, Kylan, and all of her other classmates were yelling, and rushed to the field.
Nova blinked against the swirl of snowflakes and saw her classmates running towards her. Draven… just standing there with his arms crossed, proud as hell but trying not to show it and Aeron behind him was beaming.
Applause echoed faintly from a few of the warriors who had gone against Helga. Nova stood still, her breath fogging in the cold air, blood drying on her lip. Her rib ached. Her knees trembled. But she'd held the line.
The only emotion that flooded through her was relief that she didn't lose control and it was over.
She didn't shift. Didn't glow. Didn't lose control.
As classmates rushed the edges of the ring, Rael shouted something she didn't catch, and Elle was already an arms distance away.
Nova gave them the smallest smile — just a flicker at the corner of her lips — and turned to walk away from the ring.
"Nova!" Elle screamed.
But Nova didn't hear the rest.
Because behind her the she-wolf snarled.
There was no warning.
No protocol.
Only fur and teeth and a betrayal of every rule they had.
The brown wolf launched from the snow, jaws wide — eyes wild.
Nova turned just in time to see death coming.
She didn't think.
She didn't scream.
She shifted.
Light burst outward in a silver flash.
Multiple people in the crowd screamed.
The brown wolf collided with her mid-shift, which was dangerous, but less dangerous than being hit from the back in human form. Nova's wolf was knocked down from mid-air, landing on her side. She got back up on 4 paws quickly.
Helga's wolf was still larger and absorbed the hit with ease. She lunged again, teeth snapping just inches from her Nova's throat.
Nova dodged, but Helga was able to take a bit out of her shoulder. Nova's wolf whimpered loudly in pain. That hurt. Did she get a chunk of muscle? Nova had never ran through the forest in her wolf form, let alone fought a trained warrior.
People were yelling in the crowd but she didn't hear them. Was this normal protocol?
Nova's white fur glowed like moonlight under water, but she now had blood trickling on the back of her shoulder from where helga had clamped onto her. The silver color turned red by the time it reached the top of her fur.
Nova's wolf called in her mind.
Seraphine:Let me handle her.
She was relieved to hear her wolf's voice again and agreed to let her take over.
"Shift back, both of you." Colonel Brutus called. But neither moved.
The brown wolf made another run full speed at Nova. But this time, Nova's wolf went back at her head on, which was not what Helga was expecting. Nova jumped, and landed on Helga's back, knocking Helga backward like she weighed nothing, sending her crashing into the snow with a heavy thud that silenced the entire field.
Helga didn't move.
People stood frozen.
The warriors. Her classmates. Even the Colonel.
The brown she-wolf didn't rise again.
Didn't move. Didn't dare.
And Nova — breath heavy, fur rippling— stood over her in total silence.
At the edge of the stands, Aeron stood now, his book dropped, eyes wide. Not in fear or anger, but in disbelief. Her wolf was a lightning-strikes-only-once sight and he almost couldn't believe it.
From a balcony overhead, Fin clenched his goblet. He wasn't even trying to fake that he was paying attention to Princess Meredith anymore.
In the corner of her vision, Nova saw Jax, staring with an expression she couldn't name. Was that shock or fear on his face? When did he get there?
The Gamma. The one who'd carried her. Sat beside her. Tried to make her laugh.
And just behind him…Beta Cael.
Back from his mission. Eyes locked on her. He didn't know her and he probably thought the worst.
"Holy gods," someone whispered.
No one moved. No one spoke.
Except for one trembling warrior, barely audible: "Her wolf is…"