KOL

The Forest of Death lay in the northernmost reaches of the academy, buried deep within ancient, twisting woods where even the sunlight struggled to reach the ground.

It was forbidden to every student. The creatures there were volatile. Not even the councils had been able to fight one in close contact.

Yet, despite the heavy wards and warnings, the academy still lost around ten souls there each year.

Dash and Elyse had more sense than to venture into a cursed place like that. Or so I thought.

I glanced at Eric. His jaw had gone slack, eyes staring blankly ahead as if the words hadn’t fully sunk in yet. Everything always circled back to Elyse for him.

"That bastard," Eric snarled through gritted teeth, voice low and venomous. "If I find him, I’m going to kill him."

"Perhaps we should focus on actually reaching them first instead of planning murders," I muttered.

At this moment, that was all that mattered.

"Yes, yes," Eric grunted, nodding sharply. "After we find her. I’m still going to kill him."

We started toward the door when Headmaster Alaric’s voice cut through the mindlink again.

"You can’t leave."

Eric and I froze. Heavy silence settled between us. The only sound was the low rumble of distant thunder. The rain had finally stopped, leaving behind a cool, damp wind that drifted through the open doorway and brushed against my skin.

I inhaled the crisp air, letting it fill my dry throat.

"What do you mean we can’t leave?" I asked.

"It’s the Forest of Death," he replied simply.

"We are well aware of that!" Eric snapped, voicing exactly what was burning on the tip of my tongue.

We knew. No need to repeat it.

"For all we know, she’s in danger," Eric continued angrily. "You and that damned council know the forest is infested with monsters. Yet you do nothing to fix it. You just let it slide and watch students get hurt every fucking time!"

"If things were done purely on emotion," another voice replied almost instantly — cool, measured.

I glanced at Eric. His jaw clenched so tightly I could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin.

"Father," he grunted.

Lord Callahan went on as if his son hadn’t spoken. "If we all acted based on our emotions, many of us wouldn’t be here today."

"Because you’re all weaklings," Eric muttered under his breath, loud enough for me to hear but low enough that his father and Headmaster Alaric couldn’t catch it.

"I always told you, boy, you are too weak to carry the responsibility of an Alpha," Lord Callahan said coldly. "Your brother Kain would never act this way..."

"Are you sure?" Eric cut him off, a dangerous glare hardening his face. "Are you sure your precious Kain would never do this?"

The dare in his voice was unmistakable. I didn’t think Lord Callahan cared what Eric said. In fact, he never seemed to care about Eric at all. I had seen it for myself many times.

And I pitied him for it. But knowing Eric, he wouldn’t want my pity.

"That girl," Lord Callahan continued, completely ignoring the provocation.

"Elyse," Eric sneered, venom dripping from every syllable. "Her name is Elyse Maddox."

"That girl is in the Forest of Death," Lord Callahan dismissed him as if he hadn’t spoken at all.

I swallowed hard, resisting the strong urge to butt in and force him to say her name properly.

"You are forbidden from entering that forest," Lord Callahan added coldly. "I have only two sons, and I will not watch everything get destroyed because of one foolish girl."

"Two sons?" Eric marched toward the wall he had been glaring at and slammed his palm against it.

The sharp crack echoed through the hallway like a gunshot. "Since when the hell did I suddenly become your son?!"

"Eric..." Headmaster Alaric murmured in warning.

"Stay out of it!" Eric shouted.

I winced, my ear twitching at the volume.

"For eighteen years, you never saw me as anything but a mere fucking disturbance," Eric snarled. "Now what the hell changed your mind? Is your precious son no longer precious enough that you have to claim me too?!"

"Eric," I said quietly. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

He shot me a quick, furious glare over his shoulder. "Don’t even get me started on why my father would prefer someone who doesn’t share the same blood as him over his own damned son!"

"Whoa," I said, raising my hands. "I promise you, it’s not what you’re thinking."

"Of course it isn’t," he grunted bitterly.

It really wasn’t. Eric believed his father had some sort of affection for me — that he preferred me as a son. That wasn’t true. Even though, on the outside, it sometimes looked exactly like that.

Lord Callahan didn’t say anything else. Eric’s words must have struck deeper than he let on.

"I am going into that forest," Eric insisted, "I don’t care if I die today. It’ll all be for her sake. I don’t have a family that wants me anyway."

"Please don’t make this harder than it already is," Headmaster Alaric groaned.

"My mind is made up," Eric said, with a note of finality in his voice. "When I return, feel free to toss me back into the vault with a double dose of wolfsbane and oleander."

He stalked out of the hallway, leaving me staring after him.

"I am going to get into trouble for this," Headmaster Alaric muttered, sounding exhausted.

I knew that. Whenever a student did something wrong, he was always the one the higher-ups held responsible.

It made no sense — many of us were old enough to make our own decisions — but he was always the one who paid the price.

"How about you send the House Alphas to search for them?" I suggested. "We can combine our power and—"

"I can’t have all of you going into that place!" he cut in. "The houses would be left unprotected..."

"That is why we have House leaders," I pointed out, scowling.

Headmaster Alaric sighed heavily. Before he could respond, I added, "You were the one who said we need to find ourselves. Now there’s an opportunity for us to do that, and you won’t even let us."

I snorted in disbelief. "How are we supposed to become Alphas outside the academy if we’re never given a chance to prove ourselves?"

Headmaster Alaric stayed quiet. I wasn’t surprised. He was the council’s errand boy.

"If you don’t want to say anything about it, then I’m with Eric." I started toward the door, a fierce determination settling in my chest. "Elyse is my mate. If anyone is going to save her, it should be us."

"Asher..."

"Toss me into the same prison as Eric," I mumbled.

My father would be livid. It was better to see him angry than that usual cold, expressionless look on his face.

As soon as I stepped outside, Headmaster Alaric’s voice came through the link one last time.

"I’m counting on all of you."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "All of..."

"Yes sir!" Azrael, Elliott, and Lance said at the same time.

He agreed?

Hope unfurled in my chest like a fragile flame. I glanced toward where Eric stood near his car. His face was twisted in a deep frown. He was still connected to the mindlink.

"I am counting on all of you to save Miss Maddox and Mr. Armstrong."

"We will, sir," they repeated together.

For two people who were supposedly poisoned, Lance and Elliott sounded remarkably like their normal selves.

"A rescue mission with two poisoned people?" Eric scoffed. "Make it make sense."

"We can fight!" Elliott snapped. "Besides, it’s not like we ingested it..."

"Yeah," Eric answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You’re stupid enough to go near it."

"Shut up, Callahan!" Elliott hissed.

"No, you shut up, retard," Eric snapped back.

"Boys," Headmaster Alaric cut through their bickering. "Am I making a mistake by letting you go into that forest?"

"No sir!" Everyone replied. Including Eric.

"Good," Headmaster Alaric said. "That is no place to settle who is better than the other or dig up excuses from a year ago to beat each other up."

"You understand what you are standing against?"

Eric and I nodded. He slid into his car and started the engine with a low growl. I opened the passenger door and stepped inside, the leather seat cool against my damp clothes.

"You understand the rules of the forest?" Headmaster Alaric asked one last time.

Again, Eric and I bobbed our heads.

Then, in a quieter voice, he added, "Don’t die."

"I have no intention of doing that," Eric murmured.

Neither did I. But with a threat like the Forest of Death looming ahead and the rivalry between us always surfacing at the worst possible moments, it felt almost inevitable.

All of us arrived at the edge of the forest at the same time.

The moment we stepped past the treeline, the first five rules we had drilled into our heads for surviving the Forest of Death instantly vanished.