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CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

NOVA

I bomb my transmutation final so hard that even Professor Imantu gives me a yikes expression as I hand in my exam.

I barely manage to turn a stone into something resembling a frog before it pops back into a rock, and my attempt at shifting my own hand into a wolf paw ends with my fingers halfway melting before the professor steps in and stops it.

Tai trails behind me as I storm out of the room as soon as I’m dismissed, my phone clutched in my palm. One text, Callum. That’s all I need. You know how much I worry, so why the hell are you doing this again?

I’ve left voicemails, typed out messages, even swung by his dorm twice—no sign of him. It stings more because we’ve been here before, and he knows how it torments me when he pulls a disappearing act. My thoughts run rampant. Can’t he see that silence only drives me insane?

Tai says nothing, but I sense his concern at my back. I want to snap at him or bury my head in his chest—I can’t decide which urge is stronger. Instead, I let out a harsh breath and keep marching, each step echoing my growing frustration.

While I haven’t heard from who I need, someone has texted me. Echo.

His message came in just after I left my final:

Echo

Have you reconsidered our offer?

Short. Professional. No indication of who the hell they really are, where they are, or how they even have access to this damn app on my phone. I’d stopped looking at the burner phone they gave me, but that didn’t stop them from getting in touch.

I don’t respond right away. Instead, I shove my phone into my pocket and start toward my next class.

Then, just as I pass through the courtyard, my screen buzzes again and I pull it out.

Alpha

How’s my favorite omega holding up?

Heat prickles up my neck. I bite my lip, torn between ignoring it and answering.

The thing is, I like talking to him. More than I should.

So I give in.

I’ve been better. Finals week is kicking my ass.

His response is immediate.

Alpha

Poor thing. Wish I could make it better for you.

My stomach flips. My wolf stirs, pleased. I roll my eyes at her. You’re ridiculous.

You’re the one replying.

I don’t dignify her with a response. Instead, I tuck my phone away, ignoring the way my fingers twitch to keep texting him.

By the middle of the week, my hope that Callum will respond is turning into something bitter and ugly. I really thought he’d have learned to open up to me instead of dipping and ghosting when things get tough, but clearly not.

The rational part of me says to stop wasting my energy on someone who clearly doesn’t want to talk. The wounded, emotional part of me wants to kick down his dorm room door and demand answers. Am I unlovable because I’m a monster? Too much to handle?

Too much like my real father?

We don’t have any meal times together now that I’m in regular classes. We don’t share any classes anymore, so I don’t see him in those, anyway. I miss him.

The worst part? My wolf is just as much of a mess as I am.

Something’s wrong.

Yeah. He’s ghosting us. Again.

She growls, unsettled. No. Something’s wrong.

I push the thought away. What else could be wrong? He’s probably just realizing he got what he wanted, and now he doesn’t need me.

The realization makes something crack inside me.

I should have known better. Should have seen this coming.

Tai notices. Of course he does.

“Hey,” he says over lunch, picking at his plate. “How can I help?”

I shove a bite of food into my mouth, refusing to answer. What can I say? ‘Drag my beta back here and demand answers?’

He doesn’t push, but I can feel his frown on me the entire time. I feel like such a fucking bitch because it’s affecting my relationship with him, too. Yes, he still sleeps in my bed with me, especially now that Sylus has stopped staying in the dorm room. We still make love and cuddle, but emotionally, I’m somewhere else.

Grieving.

Not only am I missing Callum, but I really enjoyed poking at Sylus, and I’m pissed he can dish it, but he can’t take it. He can be cruel, throwing slurs at me and stomping out like I’m nothing. Yet I’ve also seen flashes of someone else entirely. Like that night when I got stuck in my wolf form and he held himself back, like he was trying to protect me from his own impulses. It doesn’t change what he’s done, but it keeps rattling around in my head. Which version of him is real? And why does it feel like I’m caught in the middle?

By the time night rolls around, another text from Echo comes through.

Echo

You’ve been quiet.

Busy.

Grieving, actually.

Echo

Understandable. We’ll be in touch soon.

I stare at the message long after it arrives.

Before class this morning, I stopped at the clinic to have my labs drawn so they can test my levels post-heat. Just a quick blood test and exam. Thankfully, not invasive, as I had a different doctor this time—a male beta who was really nice, but also not hot. I don’t think I could take another appointment like the last one. It was over in just a few minutes. Though secretly, both my wolf and I were bummed Dr. Hayes wasn’t working today.

Is it horrible of me? Yes.

But I think between Callum, Sylus, and bombing most of my finals so far, I’m just feeling extra emotional and needy.

I’m halfway through the final question on my last exam for the day when my phone vibrates against my thigh. My heart jumps, a surge of nerves twisting in my gut. Could be a spam notification—or it could be the clinic with my lab results.

I bite my lip, trying to keep focus on my exam paper. Seconds tick by, and the vibration echoes in my mind, refusing to let me concentrate. Finally, the proctor calls time, and I practically sprint to the front, dropping my test with a shaky hand. A few curious looks follow me, but I ignore them, weaving through the rows before exiting and pulling Tai to a quiet corner in the hall.

I dig my phone from my pocket, pulse spiking.

There it is: an email from Hearth and Haven. Hands trembling, I quickly tap the link that takes me to their portal. My breath shortens with every second it takes to load. I half expect the screen to glitch out just to torture me.

But then, “Lab Results: Post-Heat Hormone Panel” appears at the top of my phone. My eyes skim the lines, heart pounding hard enough that I swear I can hear it echo off the linoleum floor.

Novaleigh Drake,

Thank you for coming in for your post-heat blood test and examination. Our findings indicate that, due to your unique biological background, your hormone levels are increasing rather than leveling off. This pattern suggests your future heats may intensify beyond the norm. We recommend planning for additional Beta support in subsequent sessions to ensure your safety and well-being.

My breath catches. Additional Beta support. Most fae only need an alpha after their first heat. But me? I’m likely to keep climbing, like I’m leveling up in some bizarre, inconvenient game. A surge of emotions floods me: anxiety, relief … excitement?

Because if I’m allowed Betas, that means Tai can be there with me next time—for real. No more tiptoeing around the clinic’s rules about alpha-only sessions. A shaky laugh escapes, and I clamp a hand over my mouth. I’m scared, sure—intense might mean even worse pain—but the idea of having him in that room banishes some of my dread.

My joy wobbles as I think of my Highlander. Gods, I wish he was here too. Maybe this news would snap him out of his radio silence. I want him beside me—no knot required—just…him. And Tai.

And Alpha.

Him, too.

My heart beats triple-time, like I’ve got electricity coursing through my veins.

Tai’s dark brows furrow at the look on my face. “What’s?—”

I shove my phone toward him, the email open. “Read.”

“This mean what I think it does?”

I’m so giddy I rise onto the balls of my feet. “Yep.”

“Thank fuck.” He smirks, but then it falters as the quickest flash of grief shadows his eyes. It’s there and gone so fast, I probably imagined it.

On our way out of the building, I leave a message for Callum, rattling on about how the doctor says my magic might ramp up even more. Maybe I sound too excited, or maybe I’m sharing way too much, because by the time the message beeps at me that I’ve reached the maximum allotted duration, I have to hang up. My stomach twists.

Is this why he’s disappeared on me? Great—one more thing to beat myself up over. Too much, too fast.

I pull my phone out before bed and open my messages. Tai is in the shower because the Spar Games coach had him do a demonstration of a few combat moves for their upcoming tournament against Solstice Academy this weekend. Rose tried talking me into trying out for the team, but after I got done laughing, I told her no. I’m so not a people-person. I’m more of a slink-in-the-shadows, solo kind of person.

There are a few automated texts from various shopping outlets I’ve bought things from, but still nothing from Callum, because of course not.

There is one from Alpha.

Alpha

Thinking about you.

I hesitate, my pulse skipping.

That’s dangerous.

We’d both decided we don’t want to know anything about the other person, so why can’t we stop fucking texting each other? He’s obsessed with his Dream Girl , I’m grieving Callum, and I’m in love with Tai.

It’s because we need a complete pack.

I don’t want anyone else.

You can’t lie to me.

I’d never form a pack with an alpha who is obsessed with another female.

She whimpers inside my head like I’ve kicked her.

Alpha

What can I say? I like danger.

A smirk tugs at my lips before I can stop it.

He doesn’t push for details. Doesn’t pry or demand anything from me. But he’s there.

And fuck, I hate how much I like it.

Tai sprawls across my bed, tossing a small notebook onto my stomach. He’s wearing a snug black T-shirt and loose gray sweats—an unfairly distracting combination—and Fang is perched at his side, bright-eyed and wagging her tail as he sneaks her the occasional scrap from lunch.

“What are you going to do?”

I close my eyes, pressing a hand over them in a futile attempt to block out my swirling thoughts. “I don’t know,” I admit.

Today’s my last day of finals, so I technically have a free chunk of time to cram for my last exam and practice my magic. But all I can focus on is how Callum has gone AWOL and what the hell that means.

On top of that, most of my grades are already in. I’m failing so many classes I’ve just received an email letting me know I’m officially on academic probation. I sigh, tossing my phone onto the nightstand.

Tai hesitates, then nudges the corner of his notebook against my arm. “What if you talk to your mom or Rose? Maybe they can give you some advice or a pep talk.”

I exhale a shaky breath, lowering my hand so I can look at him. “They’ve got their hands full with Seren and the remodel. I don’t want to dump my drama on them when they’ve barely had time to settle in.”

Rose and her mates have been staying at our family home on Rexuna because Theo and Mekhi are helping my parents expand the home. It’s a big house, but it’s getting smaller the more our family expands.

Tai props himself on an elbow and gives Fang another tidbit, my snowfurl greedily licking his fingers. “They’re still your family. They’d probably be happy you reached out.”

I know what he’s really getting at. They’ve got way more resources at their disposal and have logs of who comes in and out of Bedlam. I’m afraid to ask them if Callum is on that list.

If he’s left me and gone back to Earth.

“Maybe,” I concede, resting a forearm across my eyes again. “But I can’t shake this feeling that it’s my mess to figure out.”

He reaches out, lightly tapping the notebook against my shoulder. “Do you want to study some more?”

I should be worrying about magic, exams, the fact that I still can’t conjure anything more than a leaf without fucking something up.

But all I can think about is Callum.

How he held me.

How he promised he wasn’t going anywhere.

And yet, he’s gone.

Tai sighs, stretching. “Look, I hate to say it, but maybe you should just … forget him. If he’s not answering, then what’s the point of waiting around? You deserve better than this.” He swallows. “You should work on making some friends next semester.”

I press my lips together. I don’t want to admit he might be right. But I also can’t shake the feeling in my gut.

Not just heartbreak.

Not just rejection.

Something deeper.

Something wrong.