The Cruel Wager

Avery

My heart swelled with joy at the thought that my grueling hard work and dedication had finally paid off. The long, exhausting nights memorizing complex poultices and deciphering crumbling ancient texts had secured my miraculous promotion to the Healing Program. But if I was being honest with myself, the overriding thrill wasn't just the academic achievement. It was the breathtaking realization that I would be existing in Reece's world once again.

I desperately held onto the precious memories of his past kindnesses, replaying them in my mind like a lifeline. I vividly remembered the heavy, suffocating dust of the academy archives. The towering wooden shelves had seemed to mock my struggle as I tried to balance towering, cumbersome textbooks on my frail arms. My muscles had burned, the books slipping from my grasp, when he had seemingly materialized out of nowhere. His strong, calloused hands had reached out, effortlessly taking the massive burden from me. He had smiled—a bright, genuine expression that reached his dark eyes—and joked about future healers needing to protect their spines before they even graduated.

Then there was the incident in the crowded dining hall. The memory of cruel, sneering purebloods deliberately knocking the heavy food tray from my hands still made my chest tight. The loud clatter of the metal tray hitting the stone floor had echoed across the room, followed by the wet splatter of hot stew soaking my shoes. Before the crushing weight of humiliation could make me cry, Reece was there. He fiercely defended me, fixing the laughing purebloods with a harsh, commanding glare that sent them scurrying away in immediate silence. He had knelt beside me right there in the mess, helping me gather my ruined lunch. He had squeezed my shoulder, his touch radiating a comforting warmth. *Don't worry. I'm here now.*

Those fleeting, beautiful moments had sustained my fragile hope for nearly a year. They made me believe he truly saw me as more than just a pathetic, wolfless girl undeserving of a place at this prestigious school. Even as he advanced to the upper-level Warrior classes and our casual, daily encounters faded away into nothing, I refused to let go of that hope.

Determined to prove that his past gentleness had to mean something real, I stopped walking near the edge of the training grounds. I reached into my uniform pocket, my fingers tightly clutching the handmade pale blue card. I had painstakingly and carefully written out an invitation, asking him to be my partner for the Moon Dance. I spent hours at my tiny desk, adorning the edges of the parchment with delicate silver moonflowers, making sure every petal looked flawless. On the back, I had drawn a small, heartfelt sketch of his gray-brown wolf form. It wasn't the work of a master artist, but I had poured every ounce of my admiration into capturing the proud tilt of his head.

My heart raced in my chest, a terrified, frantic rhythm that made me dizzy. *He isn't shallow,* I reminded myself, forcing my lungs to draw a steady breath of the crisp autumn air. *He never cared about bloodlines. He helped me when no one else would. He has a good heart.*

Mustering every ounce of courage I possessed, I approached him outside the arena changing rooms. The courtyard was mostly empty, the afternoon shadows stretching long across the paving stones. Reece stood alone beneath the sprawling laurel trees. He had just finished washing up and had traded his heavy, sweat-soaked training leathers for a simple, breathable linen shirt. The pale fabric contrasted sharply with his sun-kissed skin, his damp dark hair catching the fading sunlight as he stared out at the horizon.

My legs trembled with every step I took. The gravel crunched loudly under my shoes, announcing my arrival. Reece slowly turned his head.

"Hi," I managed to say, my voice coming out small and shaky. I cleared my throat, forcing myself to stand taller, ignoring the sweat gathering on my palms. "I saw your match earlier. You were incredible out there."

I braced myself for his smile, waiting for that familiar, comforting warmth to light up his face.

Instead, his expression instantly shifted into something frighteningly polite. A cold mask fell over his features, erasing the relaxed boy from a moment ago. He looked merely pleasant, closed off, and utterly impersonal.

"Thanks," he said. His tone was clipped, carrying a sharp, dismissive edge. "That's kind of you."

A heavy, suffocating silence stretched between us like a vast chasm. His posture radiated a clear, unspoken desire to be left alone. He shifted his weight away from me, his eyes darting toward the stone pathway leading to the Beta dormitories as if calculating the quickest escape route.

My hands shook. *Do it now,* I ordered myself, biting the inside of my cheek.

"I..." I stammered, pulling the meticulously crafted card from my pocket and holding it out. "I wanted to give you something."

Reece looked down at my trembling hand. For a long, agonizing second, he didn't move. Then, he reached out and took it with the careful, distant politeness one might show to a strange, bothersome child offering a messy finger painting. His fingers barely brushed the paper, ensuring he didn't accidentally touch my skin.

I stood frozen, barely daring to breathe. I watched his eyes scan my careful calligraphy, reading the words asking for the honor of his partnership at the Moon Dance. I watched him flip the card over, his gaze landing directly on my clumsy wolf sketch.

His expression remained devastatingly blank. Not a single flicker of surprise, joy, or pleasure crossed his handsome features. He just stared at the card as if it were a minor, confusing inconvenience.

Before I could find my voice to explain the meaning behind the moonflowers, heavy boots crunched loudly on the gravel behind me.

A tall Beta strode over, interrupting the tense silence. He had broad, muscular shoulders and a sharp, arrogant jawline. He stopped short the second his eyes landed on me.

"Wait," the newcomer said, stepping closer to inspect my uniform. "You're here? In the advanced division?"

I shrank back, instinctively crossing my arms over my chest to make myself smaller. "I... yes."

"Gavin Morrison," he introduced himself, though the name meant nothing to me.

Gavin's gaze flicked rapidly between me and Reece. A cruel, calculating gleam lit up his eyes. He let out a sharp, grating laugh that made my skin prickle with intense dread.

"I'll be damned," Gavin loudly declared. He looked at Reece, his smirk widening into a malicious grin. "I thought for sure the bet was off when I realized she was still stuck in the basic track."

*Bet.*

The word struck me like a physical, vicious slap to the face. The air instantly vanished from my lungs. A high-pitched ringing started in my ears, drowning out the rustling leaves of the laurel trees.

I stared at Reece, my heart screaming for him to deny it. I needed him to tell Gavin he was lying, to tell him to shut up, to defend me just like he had in the dining hall all those months ago.

Reece's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly at the intrusion. But he stubbornly refused to look at me. He kept his dark eyes fixed straight ahead, his profile rigid and unyielding in the fading light.

Then, in a move of casual cruelty that broke something permanent inside my chest, Reece lifted his hand. He handed my heartfelt, handmade card directly over to Gavin.

My stomach dropped into a bottomless abyss.

Gavin eagerly snatched the pale blue paper from Reece's grasp. His predatory, mocking grin widened as he read my deeply personal invitation out loud.

"Moon Dance invitation," Gavin mocked, his tone dripping with fake awe. He flipped the card over and let out a loud, ugly snort. "Cute little wolf doodle too."

He shook his head, marveling at the card like it was the funniest joke he had ever seen. "She really chased you all the way to the advanced division, didn't she? Now that is some serious dedication."

Gavin's eyes gleamed with malicious amusement as he clapped Reece hard on the shoulder. "Congratulations, man. I have to admit, I figured you would have called off this whole bet thing by now. I really didn't believe you had it in you to keep the act going for this long."

The solid ground felt as though it were tilting sharply beneath my feet. The ancient laurel trees blurred into a sickly, spinning wash of green and gray. The warm afternoon breeze suddenly felt freezing against my skin, chilling my blood.

The library. The dining hall. The ruined herb garden.

An act. All of it had just been a sick, twisted act.

I stared at them in pure horror. My throat tightened so painfully I could barely draw breath. My hands balled into fists, shaking uncontrollably at my sides.

"What..." My voice trembled so badly I barely recognized the broken, shattered sound leaving my own lips. "What are you talking about?"