Chapter 24 I Don’t Like Sharing

Chapter 24 I Don’t Like Sharing
Seara woke up to the strong aroma of oatmeal and stewed meat the standard breakfast for a wolf fighter. On the nightstand, an ivory white healer’s uniform with silver embroidery on the collar lay neatly folded.

“Wake up, Eighty Percent Luna Candidate. Your time for lazing around is over,” Winona’s hoarse voice called from the doorway.

Seara groaned, pulling the blanket higher over her head. “Can’t I just have one day without that percentage label?”

“Ask your Alpha. He gave me direct orders to drag you down to the basement today,” Winona replied mercilessly.

Their training took place in a room buried deep beneath the healing pavilion. The walls were made of White Chalcedony stone, capable of balancing energy and bringing good fortune so that Seara’s training wouldn’t be detected by the Elder Stroud faction, who were on the hunt for her mistakes.

“Sit!” Winona commanded. “Vis Sanatrix isn’t just healing magic. It’s a manifestation of your soul. If your soul is chaotic, your power will become poison.”

Seara sat cross-legged in the center of a concentric circle drawn with holy salt. She closed her eyes, trying to summon the warm current that had saved her yesterday at the altar.

“Focus on pure memories,” Winona instructed.
Seara pictured her father. The old man’s smile, the masculine scent of his robe, and the way he’d ruffle her hair when she failed a lesson. Instantly, Seara’s palms radiated a soft, soothing green light. The cold room suddenly felt like spring.

“Good. Now maintain it,” Winona praised.

However, Seara’s focus wavered. A vision of Delcy’s face, belittling her, suddenly flashed before her. Then, the burning heat from the Ancestral Stone when it rejected her energy yesterday returned to haunt her.

The green light transformed into wild flashes of electricity. A thin trail of black smoke began to rise from her wrist, right above Ash Fang’s Mark.

“Seara, control it!” Winona shouted, leaping backward as a small explosion struck the flowerpot in the corner of the room, shattering it into pieces.

“I can’t. It’s too hot.” Seara gasped, clutching her tight chest.

“You’re not concentrating. You’re letting whatever you’re thinking about disrupt your energy channels!” Winona scolded in a sharp tone. “How do you expect to become a Luna Healer if your emotions are as volatile as a firecracker fuse?”

Seara dropped her hands to the floor, sweat pouring down her face. “Can’t you go easy on me for just five minutes? I just woke up from fainting yesterday, Winona.”

Winona crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing sharply. “On the battlefield later, your enemies won’t give you a five minute break just because you feel dizzy. My scolding is nothing compared to Rogue Ash Fang’s claws tearing your throat open.”

Seara snorted, wiping the sweat from her temples. “Fine, I get it. But give me a moment to breathe. Just five minutes. Please.”

Winona let out a long sigh, seeing both determination and vulnerability in Seara’s eyes. “Five minutes. No more.”

Just as Seara was about to stretch her legs, the heavy door of the meditation room creaked open. Hurried footsteps echoed as they drew closer.

Seara hoped it was Austin, but the reality revealed a different figure.

Nolan stepped inside in his elegant gray robe. His usually haughty face now betrayed genuine anxiety.

“Seara,” he called softly.

Winona looked up, her expression shifting to a mix of respect and irritation. As a guest with a status equal to Austin’s on the grand council, Nolan’s access was nearly impossible to restrict.

“I’m going to check the potion stock upstairs. This session is temporarily postponed,” Winona grumbled. She shot a warning glance at Seara before darting out, leaving the two of them in silence.

Nolan approached, kneeling before Seara without minding the dust on the floor. He took Seara’s left hand, examining the burn scar that was beginning to fade.

“I just heard what happened at yesterday’s ritual. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you,” Nolan whispered.

“I’m fine, Nolan. Really. Austin’s watching over me,” Seara replied, trying to pull her hand away politely, but Nolan gripped it tighter.

“Austin protected you by dragging you into the Elders’ political dangers?” Nolan’s voice dropped, heavy with emotional tension. “He’ll only make you a target, Seara.”

Seara frowned. “This is my responsibility as a Luna candidate.”

“You don’t have to carry that burden!” Nolan suddenly stood up, pulling Seara to her feet with him. His eyes flashed with an intensity that left Seara transfixed.

“I’ve held this in for far too long since the first time we met. Seara, I like you. Leave this pack house. Come with me to my home. I’ll make you my mate without any tests or insults from the Elders.”

Seara froze. “Nolan, what are you saying? I…”

“I’m not asking for an immediate answer,” Nolan cut in. Before Seara could react, Nolan pulled her into a protective embrace. “But I want you to know, there’s another man ready to give you his world without having to hurt you every day.”

Seara was pinned against Nolan’s chest, the scent of snow and mint flooding her senses. She was about to push Nolan’s shoulder away when a loud thud echoed from the direction of the door.

The meditation room door didn’t just open it was flung off its hinges by the explosive power of an Alpha.

Austin stood there. His jaw tightened until the muscles in his neck tensed. His eyes now glowed a bright gold, a sign that his wolf had taken control.

In his hand, he crumpled a medical report from Winona until the paper turned to pulp.

“Let her go now,” Austin hissed. His voice was no longer human, but a low growl that made the room’s walls seem to tremble.

Nolan didn’t let go of Seara. Instead, he tightened his grip, turning toward Austin with a provocative smirk. “You’re too late, Austin. You’re always too late to protect what should have been yours.”

Seara could feel the temperature in the room drop drastically, while the energy in her wrists began to pulse wildly in response to the rage of the two men before her.

“Nolan, let me go,” Seara whispered frantically.

“Don’t give him orders, Seara,” Austin retorted, stepping forward with the speed of a predator. “Because in a second, I’ll rip his arm off if he touches your skin again.”

The tension in the room reached a boiling point. Seara was trapped between the embrace of a man offering peace and the gaze of a man promising a storm.

“Austin, it’s not what it looks like!” Seara shouted, trying to break free from Nolan’s embrace.

“Oh, I see it very clearly, Seara Louisette,” Austin replied, now just a step away from them. “And I don’t like sharing.”