Chapter 2

Briar stood obediently beside him.

The two of them acted as if nothing had happened, as though they'd simply come over to celebrate our bright futures together.

"Talia, try these! I waited in line for half an hour to get them."

I sat on the couch and watched them take off their shoes and walk inside.

They looked so comfortable that anyone would think they lived here.

Kellan sat down beside me and nudged my arm.

"Why'd you hang up on me yesterday?"

"Bad connection," I replied flatly.

"Then why didn't you answer my messages?"

"I forgot."

He gave a casual nod. "Oh."

And just like that, he dropped the subject.

During lunch, Kellan kept talking about how his parents had been packing lately.

They planned to move closer to Concord Academy once his admission results came through.

Briar immediately joined the conversation.

"My parents have already started looking at houses near the academy. They want to make sure I have a comfortable place to stay."

My mother smiled and picked up where they left off.

"If Talia gets into Concord Academy too, wouldn't it be wonderful if both our families could move there together?"

Kellan turned toward me. "Talia will definitely get in."

Briar smiled brightly.

"Exactly! Just imagining the three of us training at Concord together makes me so excited."

I lowered my head and pushed the food around my plate with my fork.

After lunch, my mother went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Kellan got up to use the bathroom.

That left Briar and me alone in the living room.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Then Briar casually took another bite of her smoked venison strip and smiled.

"Talia, I heard something interesting at the market the other day."

She leaned back against the couch.

"Apparently, there's a girl from another settlement who grew up with a boy. They've been close for years, and everyone assumed they'd end up together."

I glanced at her but said nothing.

"But then the boy fell for another girl. His new girlfriend didn't like how close he was to his childhood friend, so he secretly changed the girl's academy application."

Briar paused, watching my expression.

"He sent her to Ironfang Camp instead of the academy she'd wanted, while he and his girlfriend planned to attend Concord together."

She tilted her head, wearing an innocent smile.

"What do you think? Was he wrong to do that?"

I looked straight into her eyes.

She had long eyelashes and beautiful eyes that curved into crescents whenever she smiled.

"I think both of them are messed up," I said.

Her smile immediately stiffened.

"If a man can't make his own girlfriend feel secure, he's pathetic. And if he has to ruin another person's future just to prove his loyalty, there's something seriously wrong with him."

I picked up my glass and took a sip.

"And the girlfriend isn't any better. Instead of dealing with her own insecurities, she goes after someone who hasn't done anything wrong."

I watched Briar's expression slowly change.

"Honestly, people like that could probably convince themselves that a worthless piece of trash is some priceless treasure."

Briar's fingers tightened around the half-eaten strip of venison.

"And if she's so worried that her boyfriend might betray her, doesn't that tell her something about the kind of man she's dating?"

I gave her a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

"If you ask me, those two deserve each other. They should stay together forever and stop making everyone else's lives miserable."

Briar pressed her lips together.

I wasn't done.

"And if I were that girl, I'd keep every piece of evidence and take both of them straight to the Pack Guard Office."

She didn't get a chance to answer.

Kellan came out of the bathroom, drying his hands with a towel.

He glanced at me, then at Briar.

"What are you two talking about?"

Briar quickly forced a smile. "Nothing."

I leaned back against the couch.

"We were just discussing whether secretly changing someone else's beast-mark registration violates pack law."

Kellan's expression changed instantly.

His brows drew together as he looked at Briar.

She lowered her eyes, tearing a small piece from the smoked venison strip in her hand.

A moment later, Kellan cleared his throat.

"Well... we should get going. We've got something to take care of this afternoon."

Neither of them said much after that.

As Kellan put on his shoes at the entrance, he glanced back at me.

I didn't even look up.

The moment the door closed, I heard Briar whisper something in the hallway.

Her voice was too low for me to make out the words.

But judging by her tone, I was fairly certain it wasn't anything nice.

Over the next two days, Kellan sent me several messages every day.

[Talia, you've finalized your academy application, right?]

[You've submitted it already, haven't you?]

[It's nothing serious. I'm just looking out for you.]

Eventually, I replied.

[Why are you asking?]