The Great Hall of the Academy had been transformed into a cathedral of obsidian and starlight for the Parent Weekend Gala.
Floating candles dipped in violet wax hovered near the vaulted ceiling, casting a flickering glow over the most influential families of the shifter and mage realms. But the air wasn't filled with the usual polite chatter. It was thick with a heavy, vibrating silence that parted whenever Mary walked by.
The rumor had spread like wildfire: Mary, the girl from nowhere, had stripped the wolf from Samantha's soul.
"They're staring at us like we're about to sacrifice a goat on the buffet table," Avery whispered, adjusting the neckline of her dress.
Avery looked like a force of nature. She wore a floor-length gown of deep moss-green silk that seemed to shimmer with life; every time she moved, tiny white blossoms bloomed and wilted in her braided hair.
Next to her, Jada was the embodiment of the night sky in a structured midnight-black jumpsuit with silver embroidery that looked like constellations.
Then there was Mary.
As the Rank #1 student and acting Sovereign, Mary had been dressed by the Academy's finest stylists—under the strict supervision of Vale and the four Alphas.
She wore a gown of iridescent violet silk that mimicked the shimmering scales of her Valkyrie wings.
The back was daringly low, revealing the glowing silver seal between her shoulder blades, and a slit up the side showed off combat-ready heels. She looked like a goddess who had just stepped out of a war and was deciding whether or not to start another one.
Behind her, the four Alphas—Axel, Dante, Kieran, and Caspian—were a wall of devastatingly handsome muscle. They wore matching charcoal suits with violet silk ties, their eyes never leaving the crowd, their scents mingling into a singular, overwhelming aroma of cedar, spice, and impending violence.
"Just smile and don't spirit-strip anyone before dessert," Dante joked, leaning into Mary's ear. "It ruins the appetite."
"I'm not making promises," Mary muttered, her eyes finding Marvin in the crowd.
The Truth Bomb at the Round Table
After the initial formalities, Vale cleared a private, warded dining room for the core group and their parents. The tension inside was so thick you could have carved it with a dagger.
Marvin sat at the head of the table, looking strangely comfortable in the high-backed velvet chair. Beside him were Avery's parents—her mother, a soft-spoken woman who had spent years as a florist, and her father, a high school librarian. Across from them sat Jada's father, a man who usually focused on tax returns.
"Okay," Mary said, standing at the foot of the table. "No more lies. Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Thorne, Mr. Brooks… you aren't who you think you are."
Vale stepped forward, her expression
uncharacteristically soft. "You were all subjected to a Lethe-wipe—a total memory replacement. You were high-ranking officials of the Aethelgardian Court. You were sent here to protect the Princess and her Shield-Maidens."
She touched a crystal on the table, and a wave of blue light washed over the parents.
The reaction was instantaneous. Avery's mother gasped, her eyes glowing a vibrant, mossy green.
"I… I remember the Great Forest," she whispered, her voice deepening with power. "I wasn't selling orchids. I was the High Druid of the Northern Reaches."
Jada's father gripped the table, his shadows suddenly detaching from his feet and swirling around the room like ink in water. "I was the Master of Whispers," he rasped, looking at his daughter with a terrifying new clarity. "I didn't do taxes. I did… secrets."
But it was Marvin who stayed the calmest. He looked at his hands, then at Mary. "The birds," he said quietly. "I remember why I hated the birds now. They were Malakor's spies."
He looked at the four Alphas. "And I remember training three of you when you were just pups in the palace yard."
"Wait," Avery blinked, looking at her mother. "So you're a High Druid? Does this mean I don't have to go to college for botany?"
"Avery, honey, you are the botany," her mother replied with a small, regal smile.
The Mate Snap
The heavy atmosphere was broken by a sudden, violent crash from the hallway. A young man, a newly arrived guardian named Ronen—who had been assigned to the perimeter security—burst into the room, looking for Vale.
The second he crossed the threshold, Avery froze. The flower in her hair didn't just bloom; it exploded into a bouquet of lilies.
Ronen stopped dead. His eyes, usually a dull brown, flashed a brilliant, earthy amber. The scent of ozone and rain-drenched soil filled the room so strongly it made everyone's head swim.
"Mate," Ronen whispered, his voice like grinding stone.
Avery didn't even hesitate.
She vaulted over the table—ignoring the fine china—and landed right in front of him.
"You've got to be kidding me," she said, her face flushed with a mixture of annoyance and pure, unadulterated attraction. "I'm wearing a five-thousand-dollar dress and you show up smelling like a thunderstorm?"
She grabbed his jacket and pulled him into a kiss that sent a shockwave of green light through the room. Roots literally cracked the floorboards, pinning Ronen to the spot.
"Well," Dante whispered to Kieran. "I guess we're adding a fifth to the carpool."
The bonding was intense and immediate.
Throughout the rest of the Gala, Avery and Ronen were inseparable, their powers bleeding into one another—wherever they stood, the carpet seemed to turn into soft, lush grass.
The Final Farewell
As the Gala wound down and the first light of dawn touched the Academy towers, it was time to leave.
The portal to Aethelgard was humming in the courtyard, a swirling vortex of gold and violet.
Marvin stood with Mary at the edge of the fountain. The "Teacher" persona was gone; standing there was a man with the posture of a General and the eyes of a father who had seen too much.
"You're going to be a magnificent Queen, Mary," Marvin said, his voice thick. "Not because of the wings or the power. But because you've always been the kind of girl who looks for the truth, even when it hurts."
He turned toward the four Alphas—Axel, Dante, Kieran, and Caspian—and the newcomers, Ronen and Myles. Marvin's aura flared, a crushing weight of pure, veteran Alpha energy that made even Axel take a half-step back.
"Listen to me, boys," Marvin said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low register. "I know she's an Alpha. I know she's more powerful than all of you combined. But she is my daughter. If you let a single hair on her head be harmed, if you fail to stand by her side when the darkness comes, I will find a way to break through the Lethe-wipe again, and I will show you exactly why they called me the Captain of the Iron Guard. Do I make myself clear?"
The Alphas didn't argue. They bowed their heads in unison. "Crystal clear, Captain," Caspian replied, his voice full of respect.
The Portal Shift
Caspian stepped toward the portal, holding the royal seal. "Mary, it's time. Your parents—the King and Queen—are waiting. It's just supposed to be us."
Mary looked at Avery, Jada, and Myles. She looked at their parents, who were now standing with the dignity of the lords and ladies they truly were. She looked at Ronen, Avery's new mate, who was already standing protectively behind her.
"No," Mary said, her violet eyes flashing. "A Queen doesn't go alone. And she doesn't leave her Shield-Maidens behind."
She reached out, grabbing Jada's hand on one side and Avery's on the other. Jada grabbed Myles, and Avery grabbed Ronen.
"Wait!" Vale shouted. "The portal isn't calibrated for that much power!"
"Calibrate this," Mary growled.
She slammed her mage-fire into the portal, overriding the coordinates. The gold and violet light turned into a blinding white supernova. Instead of just taking the "royals," the portal expanded, its gravitational pull becoming an irresistible force.
"Mary, what are you doing?!" Axel yelled as they were all lifted off their feet.
"I'm bringing the whole pack!" Mary laughed, a wild, free sound.
With a final, deafening crack of thunder, the entire group—Mary, her four mates, Avery and her new mate Ronen, Jada and Myles—were sucked into the vortex.
The last thing Mary saw before the world turned into starlight was Marvin standing in the courtyard, a proud, sad smile on his face, waving a single donut box as the portal snapped shut.
Chapter 15: The Golden Spire
The world didn't just stop; it tilted.
When Mary's boots hit solid ground, she wasn't in the Forbidden Woods, and she wasn't at the Academy. She was standing on a balcony made of solid white quartz, overlooking a city of floating islands and waterfalls that defied gravity.
The air smelled of jasmine and ancient magic.
But as she turned around, she realized they weren't alone.
Standing in front of them wasn't just the King and Queen. There was a line of armored soldiers, their spears leveled at the group. And in the center of the room, sitting on a smaller throne with a look of absolute horror, was a young man who looked exactly like Mary—her twin brother, the Prince the prophecy had forgotten to mention.
"Who are they?" the Prince demanded, his voice trembling. "And why does that girl have my mother's eyes?"
Mary looked at her mates, her friends, and her glowing hands.
"I'm Mary," she said, her wings unfurling to their full, terrifying span, shattering the quartz railing behind her. "And I think we need to talk about the family business."