Chapter 34

Dylan

D ylan roared as she struggled to break free from her containment. Her canines slid down in her mouth, and her nails were long enough to imbed into the wooden chair to which she was tied. Cole's magic was inside her mind, and she felt it beginning to do its job of removing the wall between her and her wolf. Her wolf paced inside of her mind and pushed for her to shift. She felt her body responding to her wolf's order, but she wasn't sure if it was because her wolf wanted to save her or was celebrating the chance to take over. That wasn't the nature of her wolf usually, but right now, things did not look like they would lean in her favor.

She heard Hunter and Jackson growling and their chairs scraping across the floor as they tried to break free. Dylan focused on her wolf, picturing herself standing in front of her to get her attention. Her wolf snarled at her.

He should not be inside of our minds!

Dylan breathed easier hearing her wolf say that. It meant she was unhappy with Cole doing this, and they could still fight together instead of fighting against each other. How do we stop this?

Shift.

We are outmatched.

Not as outmatched as you think.

Dylan trusted her wolf and allowed her shift's magic to take over. The thought of remaining confident in her abilities and entering the school undetected came to mind. It was a risk since she was in the presence of other Shadowborns, but she needed the edge of her astral form. Dylan called on the magic which allowed her to go astral. She felt the power of her wolf course through her and then imagined herself sinking to the ground through the chair. At the same time, Dylan pushed back on Cole's power, and she saw him stumble backward at the force. When Cole grunted and then snarled as the connection between them severed.

"Impossible!" He bellowed as he stared down at her.

Dylan smirked. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

She pushed her power into her mates, allowing them to shift into an astral form. Cole stepped back again, and his face contorted in rage and disbelief as her mates stood from their chairs, not held back from their bindings like her. Dylan stood up and allowed her power to spill through the room. She wore a satisfactory grin on her face as Cole and his friends dropped to their knees. She felt another wave of power and satisfaction, knowing she was holding the magic to keep their astral form.

"That is impossible! No one has given their mates the power of their Shadow Wolf!" Cole snarled while keeping his eyes down to the ground.

Dylan chuckled. "Looks like every Shadowborn at this school has learned how to do things no other Shadowborns can do. Maybe you should have realized that after talking to Lupe."

Cole flinched at the mention of Lupe. Dylan looked at Cole closer and noticed he was trying not to look at her. She knew it was for a different reason than the fact that she outranked him. Hunter and Jackson gave their input on their opinions through the bond that Cole's flinching could indicate she did have something to do with all of this. Dylan wasn't on that ship just yet.

"Tell me, Cole, what does Lupe have to do with any of this?"

The wolf continued to look away. "She has nothing to do with this. Lupe would not help us in any way because of her position as the Council member of the werewolves. She knows of our existence, but that is about it."

Dylan heard his heart race, and the scent of his perspiration hit Dylan's nose. He was lying. Lupe was more involved than what he was saying. "Liar," she snarled at him. He still would not look in her eyes. It was either so she did not feel like he was going to challenge her or because he knew Dylan would be able to tell if he continued to lie.

"Lupe would not join in with us when I approached her with our plan. There was a time when I thought she would be on our side, but she hasn't done anything to further our chances of making our plan worldwide. Could you imagine the power we wolves would have if the morality of humans did not bind us? I have been living without the human half inside of me for a couple of months now. It has been riveting!"

Dylan wanted to slap him, but she was still in her astral form. If Cole managed to learn how to break from the bonds that the Great Moon set, then he could know how to weasel himself out of being held in place by her power. With her and her mates being in astral form, it would be harder for them to land any physical move. She kept the power in place and moved closer to Cole.

"You sound psychotic talking like that. I don't care about how you feel now that you no longer have a human side. I guess that means the human half of you has died, and only the wolf remains. I don't want to know what consequences you will face when standing before the Great Moon on your judgment day. She may love all her children, but I am pretty sure she isn't going to let this shit slide. I do care about what Lupe has to do with all of this shit. Why did she allow you to do what you have inside of her school?"

Cole smirked. "She believes we are onto something. Lupe knows little of what we are doing but understands my motivation. The possibility of someone being able to shed the chains that the Great Moon has placed around our souls gave her hope that she, too, would have those chains removed."

Dylan wasn't sure what Cole could mean there. Lupe seemed happily mated to Teowulf and even happy with who she was as a person. She was a powerful werewolf and even a Shadowborn. With her position, she could influence all the younger wolves that passed through here and convince them to become what Cole has become. Having chains removed from her soul could mean she wants to be like Cole, so she wouldn't have the human morals that Cole said, but maybe there was more to that.

"So, you are trying to convince me that Lupe is not happy with her life and wants yours? She is happily mated and even has a high position in a school. Nice try, Cole. You are not going to sway me to your side."

"You can choose to believe what you wish."

Jackson's energy brushed against her mind. He was trying to stay calm too, but he was holding on by a thread, He is stalling, Dylan. Cole is waiting for us to slip up right now by baiting us into believing in something that could get us angry. Lupe has been a role model for you, and he knows it. Don't listen to him.

This is a tactic many use. He wants you to believe Lupe is not the person you have come to know.

The game of tug of war played inside of Dylan's mind between the sides of what she thought of Lupe. On one side, Dylan believed Cole was lying to her and Lupe was not the villain here. She was a Council Member at the academy! She was there to be the rock for every werewolf student here and even knew how to stay calm enough to calm other wolves. If Lupe were in a pack, she would be a Luna. The person that kept everyone grounded and made the pack run like a well-oiled machine. Yet the other side was Lupe trying to find a way to amass enough power so she would never feel less than ever again. Every Shadowborn felt that way at one point or another in their life. It was a low point of being different. Some believed them to be evil, and some believed them to be just a threat to their existence because of their unknown power. It was possible. Lupe seemed to thrive during their sparring matches and kept Dylan on her toes the entire time. That was a power trip in itself when the person was another powerful opponent. But it did not feel like it was who Lupe was to Dylan.

Lupe could be pulling wool over your eyes, but that is not something to figure out right now. We need to fight our way out of here. Hunter told her.

While Dylan contemplates her views on Lupe, she allows her power to drop enough for their enemies to move. They all stood to face off against her and her mates. Dylan was tired of using her power here anyway. Whatever Cole was doing was not something she wanted to leak out into the rest of the world. Either he needed to be carted off in handcuffs for Enforcers to take care of, or his heart needed to stop beating under her claws. No matter how she looked at it, Cole was someone she could not trust to be a functioning member of their society and any other pack. He believed half of the human souls needed to die so the wolf could run free. That was not a plan she needed to run rampant through their world. It was a plan where many people could die if they did not survive the process. If Cole were part of her pack, it would be up to her and her mates to end him before he caused too much damage. In this case, the three deaths she knew of were two too many.

The odds were not in their favor, but it was not out of the question to win. Dylan and her mates were all powerful werewolves and Alphas. Jackson may have been a Beta in his pack, but he had enough power to run his own if he could. That was the reason he was Beta, after all. Judging from what she felt in the room, Cole was at a decent power level, and so were the other males. The females weren't too far off from them. They are all fairly decent opponents. However, that was not a match for three Alphas unless they played dirty.

Cole already knew it was a fight. He howled to alert the rest before crouching into an attack position. The rest of the wolves lunged, and her men jumped into action without a second thought. Without the time to shift into their wolves beforehand, this was going to be a physical match in their human forms. Dylan released her power from her mates just before their fists connected with the bigger of the men, Alex and Lex. The females ran at Dylan first. With only two of them, Dylan felt confident she could come out on top of this fight. She had fought multiple people before, as it was a regular training session in her pack. Brandy was the first on Dylan, throwing punches right and left in a frenzy. Dylan moved accordingly, trying her best to keep her energy up so she could use it at the right time to win. Dylan evaded the blows coming at her from Brandy, and the other female thought she could get one up on her by coming from the side. Dylan lowered her head as a haymaker came from her side, which was aimed at her temple. With the bow from her head and the trajectory of the arm, Brandy was almost hit in the face by Dylan's maneuver.

Dylan punched outward and was able to slam her fist in the other female's diaphragm, knocking the wind out of her while Brandy tried to kick Dylan in the chest. Dylan grabbed Brandy's leg and began punching her thigh. Brandy was too busy trying to get her leg out of its hold to notice Dylan grabbing her calf and then twisting it so Brandy's body would have to twist with it. It was clear Brandy was not given much training in this capacity as she landed on her stomach, smacking her face on the hard floor.

The other female tackled Dylan to the ground. Dylan knew how to roll Lex off her and get on top. Once she had the female under her body and pinned because of her weight, Dylan started punching her in the face over and over until she heard the crunch of a broken nose and jaw. Blood spurted in different directions, and finally, the female's eyes closed, and she no longer tried to fight back.

That's when Brandy emerged in her wolf form.

Dylan saw the white and gray wolf staring back at her, baring her teeth and dripping saliva from her mouth.

How the fuck did she shift that fast?

No one could shift under a minute. It was a huge thing for Dylan even to be able to shift that fast. If this was what not having a wall was like, and the wolf being the only inhabitant of the body, she and her mates were in deep shit.

Brandy leaped at Dylan, and the only plan she could think of was to fall back on her back and kick her knees up so the wolf couldn't get at her neck. Brandy snapped her jaws at Dylan's face. Her knees kept the wolf from accomplishing her goal, and she wasn't able to get a good footing to take over. Dylan rolled to the side, and the wolf fell off her. Knowing she was facing a wolf instead of a human, Dylan called on the power of her Shadow Wolf. Brandy snarled as she knew she couldn't attack Dylan in this form. There was a flicker in Brandy's form, making Dylan think she would call on her own astral form. Another shimmer.

Maybe Brandy wasn't a Shadowborn. Cole was the Shadowborn, and she was trying to use his astral form like she saw me do with my mates.

Not every Shadowborn seemed to have the same ability. Dylan didn't expect this, but she was happy it was different for every person. If Cole was able to do what she did, Dylan shuddered at the thought. She just needed this small reprieve to take in the rest of the fight. Her mates were fighting the rest of the opponents outside of Cole. He stood against the wall as if he were trying to make himself disappear. Her mates had taken care of at least three males that she could see, and the other two were currently fighting for their lives.

It was amazing to witness her mates working in tandem against the enemy. If one of the males looked as if they were going to switch up and attack the person they weren't originally fighting, the mate would pull the male back and seem to up the intensity of the fight.

While she watched the fight, Dylan noticed Brandy jumping through her form as if she would drop her astral magic for her to land her blow. Dylan chuckled at the attempt, but it would not hold up. Dylan kept her eyes on Cole, and she wanted to charge at him instead. She knew better than to leave Brandy this crazy in her wolf form. Instead, she waited until Brandy jumped at her again. With a quick turn of her body to put her in a safer position before dropping her astral form and throwing her arm down across Brandy's back. The female dropped to the ground like a sack of rocks before Dylan grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

Another sweep through the room to ensure her mates were okay, Dylan found they were better than okay. The other wolves were on the floor, either knocked out or their necks were skewed in the wrong direction. Jackson and Hunter had Cole cornered. They were just standing there while Cole shook with fear. Dylan sniffed the air, and she mostly smelled blood and anguish. When she looked at Cole again, his eyes were glowing.

Brandy whimpered as her new mate filled the room with his power. She bared her neck to him, but it caused Dylan to feel anger as Cole thought he had bested them in some way. He was not more powerful than the three of them, even when mated. If he thought he was going to make it out of this room, he thought wrong.

Dylan dragged Brandy's limp body with her over to where Cole stood. She was a little shocked at the she-wolf since she was not fighting back at all. It was suspicious, but most wolves would also submit when they knew they were bested. Without the human half of the man fueling their motive, the wolf in charge of the body would most likely realize when someone more dominant had them by the scruff of their neck. Brandy knew she was beaten and was just along for the ride at the moment. At least, that was what Dylan was hoping for. If Brandy decided to feign being beaten to make a surprise attack, she would be in for a rude awakening. The only way the two of them would have a full mate bond would be if they were true mates. The Great Moon was a creator who showed she loved her children and did what she could to make them happy. Overriding the true mates they had been given just because the wolf was in charge of the bonds. If Cole had that kind of power to make the bond mirror an actual true mate bond, they could talk to each other through it. Dylan doubted that was possible, but so far, a lot of things had surprised her since coming to the academy.

"You are surrounded, Cole. Your people have fallen. You have two choices here: Either submit now and turn yourself in or die trying to escape."

Cole chuckled. "It is not my only option. I can still break the walls between all three of your minds, turning you into my creations. Once I do, your wolf will recognize me as its Alpha, and I can even turn your mates against you."

Jackson and Hunter snarled and stepped in front of Dylan. The eyeroll Dylan gave as an answer felt so hard it hurt her head. "I don't think the Great Moon is on your side for this, Cole. I also don't think you are strong enough to win here. But by all means, you can surely try."

Brandy moved her head with her mouth agape, and Dylan lifted her in the air and slammed her to the ground before her mouth was able to wrap around her leg. Dylan proceeded to put her legs over Brandy's body and held the back of Brandy's neck in one hand and then her muzzle in the other. The wolf fought, not giving Dylan much of a choice. If the wolf had accepted she was in the presence of someone more dominant and chosen to fight, that was a sign of being feral. Feral wolves could not be saved. Without a second thought, Dylan twisted Brandy's neck until she heard the life severing pop. Cole lunged when he heard the sound, and both of her mates jumped to put him against the wall. They held him there as he snarled and fought to get himself to Dylan.

Hmm. He did love her then. No male will just sit back and watch someone kill their mate who they loved.

Cole was foaming at the mouth as he struggled against Jackson and Hunter's hold. They had him pinned by his arms and put their weight against his shoulders so he couldn't find a way out. "I will kill you! I will find your family and make them all my puppets! I will make you regret the day you came to this academy for killing my mate!"

Dylan scoffed at him. "If you couldn't turn me, you wouldn't come close to my pack either. You are not someone to fear, Cole. You are someone to pity. You couldn't win your mate over for whatever reason, so you became the villain as the darkness took hold of you. You weren't strong enough to fight against that darkness, so you allowed it to take you over. You believe we need to give in to the wolf, but the wolf balances the man. You would have realized that if your human half hadn't been so broken over being rejected."

Cole tried to lunge again, but it was no use. Dylan continued.

"Rejection isn't always a defining moment; sometimes, it's an opportunity for self-reflection. I once believed that being chosen by the Great Moon meant I didn't need to work for love. But my mate rejected me because of something he despised. Sitting at that school, I questioned whether I wanted someone who couldn't accept me as I was. My answer? No. Arrogant, perhaps, but I knew myself. My untamed Shadow Wolf was my nemesis—I doubted my ability to control it. Now, I realize the Great Moon had a purpose for me. I came here to learn, to find mates who'd embrace the real me. And perhaps you, too, have a different purpose here. It's not what you're doing now, but something deeper."

"I came here to find greatness in myself! I know my purpose, and it was not to be with that bitch who rejected me! It was to find the inner power of my Shadow Wolf, and I have! I will not have some pup tell me differently!"

Spit literally spilled down his mouth as he spoke. He was so far gone in his anger, and Dylan knew she wouldn't reach him. He didn't want to be saved.

Dylan stepped forward and punched into Cole's chest cavity. As she pulled her arm out, she held his heart in her hand. Cole had blood in his mouth as his head fell forward. Her mates stepped away and allowed his body to hit the floor. There was a twinge of guilt sweeping through her as Dylan looked down at Cole's body. She will never grow used to the feeling of having to take a life.

"What now?" Jackson asked her as he wrapped his arms around her.

Dylan sighed and put her head on his chest. "Now we find out how involved Lupe was in this."