Rejected by Four Mates: Awakening of the Silver Wolf

Elion

Hours Earlier

---

Using both my werewolf abilities and witchcraft at the same time had always felt like trying to tame two wild, incompatible beasts inside one fragile cage. It drained me faster than anything else. My wolf sharpened every instinct, heightened my senses until the world became almost painfully vivid, while my witchcraft pulled from deep mental focus and spiritual reserves. Forcing them to coexist was like pouring fire and lightning into the same vein and praying my body wouldn’t tear itself apart from the inside.

Yet somehow, compelling that Sentinel earlier had been disturbingly easy.

Too... easy.

That was what unsettled me the most.

I had expected heavy resistance, searing pain, or at least a mental struggle worthy of an elite guard. Sentinels weren’t weak academy students... they were trained monsters wrapped in dark armor and absolute authority. But the moment I pushed my magic into his mind, his defenses had cracked like thin ice. Almost as if something else had already weakened him. Or distracted him.

The thought lingered like a thorn in my mind as we continued the back-breaking labor across the massive punishment field under the cold, unforgiving glow of the full moon.

After Thorne had suddenly materialized and vanished in his desperate search for Nyx, the rest of us had no choice but to stay behind and serve out the ridiculous punishment assigned to the entire Red Dorm.

Honestly, if anyone could track her down in this chaos, it was probably Thorne. The bastard could follow her soul’s scent through the gates of hell itself if he set his mind to it.

Still, something deep inside me hated the idea.

Even my wolf disliked it.

Not because I distrusted Thorne’s abilities, but because the thought of Nyx being alone with another man, especially one that seems to have a history with her.... irritated me far more than I had any right to feel.

Pathetic.

I knew myself too well. Whatever this thing between Nyx and me was, it could never become something real or lasting.

I desired her, yes. Craved her presence, her fire, her unexpected softness more than I cared to admit. But I also knew my own patterns. The moment emotions grew too heavy, too dangerous, I withdrew. I always did. It was safer that way.

It was easier to want someone than to keep them.

Sometimes I convinced myself I preferred this arrangement... wanting Nyx while she hovered in that perfect gray space between not fully hating me and not fully wanting me either. Safe. Temporary and Manageable.

At least, that was what I kept repeating to myself like a tired mantra.

Yet no matter how hard I tried to focus on the endless task before me, my thoughts kept circling back to her like a curse I couldn’t break.

How had she supposedly touched the Veil Mirror?

Why had the Arbiters isolated her so intentionally while forcing the rest of us away?

And most importantly... what were they doing to her right now?

Can Thorne really save her alone?

"Do you want him to save her?" Zyn’s voice suddenly echoed inside my head, calm and probing.

My grip tightened around the rusted cutting blade until my knuckles turned white.

Can I? I asked quietly.

My wolf fell silent for a long moment before answering.

No.... And you shouldn’t.

I frowned, dragging the blade viciously through another thick patch of cursed thorn-bushes.

Zyn continued, his tone steady and almost gentle.

We want her. That much is obvious. But wanting someone and being good for them are two very different things. Don’t get too attached to a girl you know you can never truly keep.

I scoffed under my breath. "I’m not attached to her," I muttered quietly.

Even I heard how weak the lie sounded.

Because if this was only lust, Nyx wouldn’t still be occupying every corner of my mind like this.

I wiped sweat from my brow and kept working, muscles burning as the enchanted field seemed to fight back against every slash. Around us, the punishment grounds stretched endlessly, dense black weeds and vicious thorn vines covering the earth like a living nightmare designed specifically to exhaust supernatural bodies. The academy must had enchanted the field to regrow slowly, ensuring the punishment remained truly grueling.

Theo slammed his blade down aggressively nearby, clearly at the end of his patience. "Are we really just going to stay here cutting fucking grass while we have no idea what’s happening to Thorne and Nyx?" he snapped.

"The best thing we can do right now is finish this quickly so we can go help them," Kaden answered calmly, never pausing his steady, powerful swings.

Lyra wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before glaring at the seemingly infinite field ahead. "With this enormous place? Do you honestly think we’re finishing before sunrise?"

Theo suddenly straightened, eyes bright with reckless energy. "What if we fight our way out instead?"

I stared at him. "You want to fight six Sentinels?"

Theo shrugged. "You compelled one earlier. Who knows? Maybe together we can actually take them down."

At that, all of us instinctively glanced toward the six Sentinels stationed like statues at the edge of the field. Silent. Masked. Watching us like executioners waiting for the slightest excuse to intervene.

Four against six.

Terrible odds.

Especially against Sentinels.

Lyra smiled slowly, though the expression held no real humor. "Are you sure about that?" she asked Theo lightly.

Theo hesitated. "...Not completely."

"Thought so," Kaden muttered, stabbing another vine with unnecessary violence.

"No unnecessary heroics," he continued. "We finish this first. Otherwise we’ll end up with something far worse than grass duty."

"Our dorm already has a terrible reputation," I added dryly. "It’s honestly impressive. We manage to earn punishment even when we’re outperforming everyone else."

"That part is actually true," Lyra sighed.

Theo looked between all of us, restless. "So there’s seriously no way to speed this up?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why was he this anxious about Nyx? The guy looked more restless than my wolf during mating season.

Kaden exhaled heavily. "We don’t have vampires among us. They’re the fastest at physical labor."

"We do have a pureblood werewolf," Lyra teased, glancing at Kaden.

He gave her an unimpressed look. "Not fast enough to clear this entire cursed field alone."

Then Lyra’s eyes shifted toward me, thoughtful and calculating.

"Unless..." she murmured.

I immediately disliked that look. "What?"

"How about we cheat?" she suggested casually, lowering her voice.

Theo looked instantly interested. Kaden looked exhausted.

I folded my arms. "Explain."

Lyra stepped closer, whispering despite the distance to the Sentinels. "You use compulsion magic again. Not strong enough to fully control them... just enough to cloud their focus for a few minutes. While you distract them, I’ll cast an acceleration spell on the field."

Theo blinked. "You can actually do that?"

Lyra lifted her chin proudly. "I was born a witch, remember?"

The proud tone clearly annoyed Kaden, but he didn’t argue.

Probably because none of us wanted to spend the entire day in this nightmare field.

I sighed heavily. "If this fails, we’re dead."

Lyra grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief and determination. "Then let’s try not to fail."

The spell nearly killed us.

Not literally.

But close enough that I wouldn’t want to repeat it anytime soon.

I planted my feet firmly and pushed every ounce of magic I possessed toward the six Sentinels. Invisible pressure surged outward from my mind, wrapping around their senses like thick, disorienting fog.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then slowly... one Sentinel blinked harder. Another frowned. Their razor-sharp focus dulled just enough.

Pain exploded through my skull like nails being driven into my brain. Compelling one had strained me earlier. Six at once felt like my mind was being shredded.

Beside me, Lyra slammed both palms against the earth. Ancient violet runes ignited beneath her hands in glowing, intricate circles. The entire field trembled violently.

Then the thorn-bushes began to wither and collapse at an unnatural speed. Vines shriveled. Weeds turned to ash. Sections of the field crumbled as if devoured by invisible flames.

Theo stared in open shock. "Holy shit..."

Even Kaden looked genuinely impressed.

But Lyra’s nose had started bleeding heavily. Her breathing grew ragged as she poured more power into the spell. It wasn’t elegant or controlled... it was raw, dangerous brute force.

It still took far longer than we hoped.

Minutes stretched into a grueling hour or more before the field finally stopped regenerating.

The moment the last patch collapsed into dust...

Lyra crumpled.

Theo caught her before she hit the ground. "Lyra!"

She weakly lifted a hand. "I’m alive," she groaned. "Unfortunately."

I released the compulsion and staggered backward as violent dizziness slammed into me. One Sentinel narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You finished unusually quickly and easily."

"Easily?" I snapped, irritation sharpening my tone. "We almost died doing it."

The Sentinel looked unconvinced, but they eventually dismissed us.

The second we were free, all four of us headed straight back toward the dormitories at a fast pace.

Toward Nyx.

Toward answers.

Toward whatever fresh disaster awaited us.

---

By the time we reached the Red Dorm building, the sky had deepened into full evening darkness. Something immediately felt wrong. A group of students clustered near the entrance, whispering anxiously.

Then Liora appeared.

Her arm was heavily bandaged, and white cloth wrapped part of her forehead, stained faintly pink with blood beneath the moonlight.

Theo frowned. "What happened to you?"

Liora forced a weak smile. "I slipped in the bathroom."

Before we could press her, she spoke again, voice low and urgent. "I heard Nyx was punished."

Every muscle in my body tightened like a coiled spring.

Beside me, Theo straightened sharply with lyra on his back. "And Thorne?" Kaden asked.

"Frozen by Ysara’s spell," Liora answered softly.

A dangerous, heavy silence fell over us.

Then Kaden’s voice dropped into something dark and lethal. "What about Nyx? What punishment did she get?"

Liora hesitated, eyes flickering nervously between us before she finally whispered:

"Twenty-seven strokes."

The world around me went deathly still.

Twenty-seven?

For one heartbeat, I genuinely thought I had misheard her.

Then pure rage exploded inside my chest with such violence it nearly blinded me. My wolf snarled savagely in my head, the sound echoing through my bones.

Destroy them.

And for the first time that night...

And i completely agreed on this.