Chapter 14 Pack Politics
The video spread like wildfire.
By breakfast the next morning, everyone had seen it. Students whispered as Luna passed. Some pointed. Others turned away.
Nova stayed close. Protective. But even she couldn't shield Luna from the stares.
"Just ignore them," Nova muttered as they got food. "They'll find something else to gossip about next week."
"Will they? Because it feels like I'm the only thing anyone's talking about."
They found seats at their usual table in the back. Marcus was already there. He nodded in greeting but didn't speak.
The table beside them was full of second years. Their conversation carried clearly.
"Did you see the video? She was completely out of control."
"Professor Thorne should never have moved her to advanced training. She's not ready."
"Eclipse wolves are always unstable. Everyone knows that. It's in their blood."
"I heard she hurt someone during the rogue creature trial. Faculty covered it up."
Luna's hands clenched around her fork. None of that was true. But rumors didn't need truth. They just needed repetition.
"Hey." Nova kicked her under the table. "What did I just say? Ignore them."
"Kind of hard when they're sitting five feet away."
"Then we eat fast and leave."
But leaving meant going to class. Where more students would stare. More whispers would follow.
Luna forced herself to eat. The food tasted like cardboard.
A shadow fell across their table.
Luna looked up. Jade stood there. The second-year Alpha who'd warned her about Darius weeks ago.
"Can I sit?"
"It's a free country," Nova said. Defensive. Protective.
Jade sat anyway. She looked directly at Luna. "You're being targeted."
"No kidding."
"I'm serious. That video wasn't random. Someone planned it. Filmed you during private training. Edited it to make you look dangerous. Then posted it at peak viewing time. This is a coordinated attack."
"Darius."
"Probably. But not just him. He has allies. Students who do his dirty work. Spread rumors. Plant evidence. Make your life hell until you either leave or break."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I've seen it before. Last year, a third-year Beta challenged Darius's authority. Within two weeks, she was isolated. No friends. No allies. Students avoided her like she had a disease. She transferred out before winter break."
Luna's stomach twisted. "What am I supposed to do? Fight back?"
"No. Fighting back is what they want. Gives them ammunition. More videos. More proof that you're unstable." Jade leaned forward. "You need allies. Real ones. Students who aren't afraid of Darius. Who'll stand with you when things get worse."
"Things are going to get worse?"
"Always do. Darius doesn't start something he doesn't finish." Jade stood. "Watch your back, Eclipse. And be smart about who you trust."
She walked away. Leaving Luna more unsettled than before.
"She's right," Marcus said quietly. First words he'd spoken all breakfast. "You need allies. And fast."
"Where am I supposed to find allies when everyone thinks I'm dangerous?"
"Find other outsiders. People who don't care about Darius's opinion. People who've been where you are."
"Like who?"
Marcus gestured around the Great Hall. "Omegas. Lower-ranked students. Anyone Darius and his group have pushed aside. We're more common than you think."
Nova nodded. "He's right. There's a whole section of students who hate the Alpha hierarchy. Who'd love to see someone challenge it. You just need to find them."
Luna looked around. Saw students eating quietly at back tables. Alone or in small groups. Keeping their heads down.
How many of them felt like she did? Isolated. Targeted. Trapped in a social structure designed to keep them powerless?
"Okay. So how do I approach them without making it obvious?"
"You don't approach," Nova said. "You let them come to you. Word's already spreading that you stood up to Darius during training. That you won't back down even when he pushes. Some students respect that."
"And the ones who don't?"
"Avoid them. Don't give them reasons to make your life harder."
Luna finished eating and they left the Great Hall. Classes started in ten minutes.
She made it halfway across the courtyard before someone blocked her path.
A senior girl. Tall. Blonde. Perfect posture. Her mark was a wolf head. Detailed. Beautiful. Alpha rank for sure.
"Luna Eclipse." Not a question. A statement.
"That's me."
"I'm Cassandra. Fourth year. I wanted to talk to you about the video."
Luna's guard went up. "What about it?"
"I think it's garbage. Manipulated footage designed to make you look bad. And I wanted you to know not everyone buys it."
That was unexpected. "Thank you?"
"Don't thank me yet. I'm not offering friendship. I'm offering advice. You're playing a game you don't understand. Pack politics here are brutal. Every move you make is watched. Every mistake is weaponized. You need to be smarter."
"I'm trying."
"Try harder. Stop giving Darius ammunition. Stop losing control in public. Stop trusting people you shouldn't trust."
"Who shouldn't I trust?"
Cassandra's eyes flicked toward something behind Luna. "Ask yourself why your mentor was conveniently absent when that video was filmed. Ask yourself who benefits most from you looking unstable."
She walked past Luna without waiting for a response.
Luna turned. Ryder stood near the training grounds. Talking to Professor Thorne. Looking completely normal.
But Cassandra's words echoed.
Why hadn't Ryder noticed someone following them? Why hadn't he sensed the threat?
Unless he'd known. Unless he'd allowed it.
Luna's mark pulsed. She shook her head. No. She couldn't afford to suspect everyone. That way led to paranoia and isolation.
Classes passed in a blur. Luna barely paid attention. Her mind raced with politics and alliances and threats she couldn't see coming.
By evening, she was exhausted. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically.
She returned to her dorm and collapsed onto her bed.
Nova was at her desk. "How was your day?"
"Terrible. Yours?"
"Also terrible. Professor Cael assigned a ten-page paper on wolf history. Due Monday."
"Great. More stress."
Luna closed her eyes. Tried to shut out the world. Tried to find some peace.
A sound at the door made her look up.
Something had been slid underneath. A small white envelope.
Nova saw it too. "What's that?"
Luna got up and retrieved it. Her name was written on the front. Block letters. No return address.
She opened it. Inside was a single piece of paper. One sentence written in the same block letters.
You don't belong here.
Luna's hands started shaking.
"What does it say?" Nova asked.
Luna showed her.
Nova's face went pale. "That's a threat."
"You think?"
"Luna, this is serious. Someone's escalating. First the video. Now this. You need to report it."
"Report it to who? The same faculty who moved me to advanced training knowing students would resent it? The same professors who let Darius run his little campaigns without consequences?"
"So what, you just ignore it?"
"I don't know. I don't know what to do."
Luna sat on her bed. Staring at the note. Five words that carried so much weight.
Someone wanted her gone. Out of Silverwood. Out of their territory. Out of their way.
And they were willing to intimidate her to make it happen.
The question was: how far would they go?
And more importantly: how was Luna supposed to fight back when she didn't even know who her real enemies were?
She touched her mark. It pulsed. Steady. Insistent.
Like a heartbeat.
Or a warning.