Chapter 81 A White Wolf

Chapter 81 A White Wolf
Skylar
“Why are you acting like this, Michael?” I kept my voice firm, trying to force him to take a step back, but it was completely useless.
Instead of retreating, Michael pinned me squarely against the heavy shut door. It’s leaving barely a fraction of an inch between us, so close that his broad chest brushed mine with every ragged breath I took.
His Alpha aura rolled off him in suffocating, hot waves. Behind those glowing golden irises, a dangerous crimson glint flashed—his raw, inner beast rebelling in sheer frustration at feeling side-lined.
I could feel his wolf clawing beneath his skin, frantic and possessive. In my own mind, Iven was doing the exact same thing, pacing restlessly against my ribs.
\[Don’t brush him off, Skylar!\] Iven growled in my head, her voice vibrating with shared agitation. \[He’s losing his bloody mind over us.\]
“I’m jealous. Do I really need to spell it out for you any clearer?” Michael barked, his voice cracking with a harsh dangerous edge.
“Your jealousy is bloody barmy!” I shot back.
My hands bracing against his chest to push him away, though he didn’t budge an inch. “You haven’t even marked me yet, Michael! And here I am, lying through my teeth to my own parents just so they don’t look down on you or question your standing!”
“Oh, so that’s what you want?” A dark, predatory smirk flickered across his face. “Fine. I’ll mark you right now so every single wolf in your father’s pack knows you belong to me, and you’ll never get to ignore me again.”
“Michael, for Goddess’s sake, can you think rationally for two seconds?” I whispered. “You were the one who kept saying you were still traumatised by wolf bonds!”
“Yeah, well, this is me being rational, Juliette,” he muttered, his voice dropping into a low. “I nearly snapped Irlan’s neck earlier when he casually mentioned he’d been invited, while I didn’t get a bloody word.”
I let out a heavy sigh, looking straight into those golden eyes swirling with paranoia and wounded pride.
“We’re bonded, Michael. We literally agreed that we’d meet each other halfway. Besides, our moon bond isn’t going to magically shatter just because of some bloody, stupid family dinner!”
Yet, deep down in my gut, the spiralling confusion was eating me alive. My head and my heart were at total war.
I was genuinely torn about whether to bring my mate along or leave him stewing alone at the academy.
My father, Alpha Seth, had sent a formal invitation explicitly naming Irlan.
Then there was Gils, whom I’d personally invited as my trusted friend, albeit with a few unsaid ‘friends-with-benefits’ complications lurking under the surface.
And as for Elroth? That slippery Incubus prince wouldn't give a toss about rules or formal invites anyway. He’d just tear right through dimensions with his spatial teleportation whenever he fancied, clinging to me wherever I set foot.
Still, I knew I had to be fair to Michael too. He deserved to share in my life, to feel wanted, to indulge in the intense desire burning between us without feeling like a dirty little secret.
Before I could even attempt to step sideways and catch my breath, Michael’s hand shot out. His fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice, trapping me against the wood.
The grip was cold, unyielding, and totally possessive. The moment his skin made full contact with mine, the mate-bond flared to life with a scalding, electric surge.
It shot up my arm, a white-hot current slamming straight into the core of my chest.
“Let go of me, Michael. You don't need to be so rough.”
He didn't hear me. His anger evaporated into a deep that vibrated through his throat.
The magical surge from our bond violently spiked, triggering an instinctive self-defence mechanism deep within my blood—one I couldn't control even if I tried.
Then, in a split second, the world went completely dead silent.
Everything around us froze solid. The howl of the wind outside the window cut off instantly. The speckles of dust suspended in the air locked in place.
My time-stopping magic—my Chronomancy—had triggered all on its own, forced out by the sheer overload of my emotional state.
“Please, not now, oh Goddess...” I whimpered under my breath.
I took sharp, ragged breaths, realising I was the only thing capable of moving in this eerie, frozen pocket of time.
I glanced up at Michael. He was frozen like a statue, his iron grip still locked around my wrist, his face carved into a timeless expression of dark rage.
Then, the fragile illusion of quiet shattered.
Gigi, my bizarre little canary perching in her cage over by the desk, suddenly started chirping loudly, flapping her wings in a frantic frenzy.
A sudden memory flashed in my mind—the realization that Gigi carried the essence of my grandmother.
Whenever I experienced a massive spike of raw emotion toward any of my mates, the bird would react instantly.
Her shrill notes pierced right through the dense, frozen layer of stopped time.
Beneath my skin, Iven went utterly wild. She clawed frantically at the walls of my consciousness, roaring for freedom, demanding to take over my body right then and there.
\[Release me, Skylar! Let us run!\] Iven screamed in my head.
A searing heat burst through my veins, setting every nerve on fire. My body trembled violently as Iven forced her way out, demanding her wolf form.
My bones cracked and shifted, realigning themselves under a wave of pain that felt terrifyingly exhilarating.
A blinding, pure light burst from my pores, enveloping my skin. For the very first time in my life, the shifting process—which usually felt like a torture session due to my magical anomalies—happened seamlessly, without a single hitch.
I let go. I surrendered total control. In a heartbeat, my human form melted away, replaced by a massive, snow-white wolf with fur as bright as pristine winter snow.