Chapter 36

Dylan

A few weeks had passed since the showdown, and it was now the middle of the semester. Nothing exciting had happened over those weeks, and Lupe had kept her distance outside of their one-on-one. The mentorship class every Friday had not gone terribly, which surprised Dylan. They continued to spar and explore her astral form. Dylan noticed that her fighting in her astral form had not been as hard as it had been when she first arrived at the academy. If anything, Dylan noticed she was transitioning into her astral form faster and was able to keep her astral power in her human form as well as her wolf form until she chose to drop it. Whatever happened that night with Cole had been the key to her mastering her Shadow Wolf.

It also surprised Dylan how Lupe acted as though that night had never happened. She was still the warm and knowledgeable teacher who pointed out when her stances needed work and complimented her as often as she could about her confidence, which had been the issue all along. Dylan felt it was more than that, but Lupe had not disclosed anything about what she needed to change. However, Lupe had a handout prepared about her progress, and everything had already been checked off outside of one.

"I would like for you to continue seeing me every Friday. I want you to practice every week while using your astral form. I would even like to extend it for your mates to come next time. I would like to see your ability work for me. Once it is proven someone has an ability, I would have to witness it and ensure you are able to control the ability. I understand you said this was something you can do in battle, but not for the duration, but I would like to see how long you are able to hold it and if there is anything else you can do while it is in use."

She would be required to do this since her Shadow Wolf had shown they had an ability other than going astral. If it weren't on the checklist to complete to check off all the boxes so she could go home, Dylan wouldn't have agreed to do it. Knowing Lupe could become a threat to her, Dylan would rather stay as far away as she could from Lupe. However, until she was given the green light to go home, she would have to finish her classes, meaning she would need to bring Jackson and Hunter along next Friday.

Before she left the mat to return to her suite, Lupe called her name.

"Dylan, I hate to do this to you, but I have received a report that someone is here to see you."

A growl ripped through her as the only person who would choose to come see her was someone she didn't want to see. Was this a way for Lupe to make Dylan feel like she was not in control, as she thought? At any given moment, Lupe could bring him here and remind her of how Lupe could change the game at any given time.

"I don't want to see him." Dylan bit out as her wolf perked up and began to pace.

"I understand you may not want to see him, but it may be good for your progress to do so. We can note how this exchange goes so when the semester ends, we can evaluate if the bond will be restored or not."

Dylan felt her canines lengthen, and she bared her teeth at Lupe. "The bond will not be restored. He doesn't want me. He came here to taunt me."

Lupe sighed. "Please, Dylan. It will look better on you to see him today. As I said, we can note how this goes so that we will know if we can send you home at the end of the semester because the bond between you two would never be restored."

Dylan did not want to go anywhere near Silas. Dylan didn't want to deal with anything else after what she had been through the last several weeks. Silas coming here could not mean anything good. He either heard her power had increased or she was mated to others. Silas did not want to fix the bond, considering he hired the Enforcers to kill her while she was at the academy. But if this did not go well, she had the protection of the school as well, and it would go on record that their bond would not be restored when she completed the classes.

Dylan scoffed, rolled her neck and shoulders, and then her eyes. There was no getting around this, so she might as well face it head on. "Fine. Where do I meet him?"

Lupe paused and Dylan felt like it was time to think about the best place for her to meet him. "Here. We will bring him here. I suggest you reach out to your mates and have them come to meet you as well. If he would choose to complete the bond with you, he needs to know who they are."

Dylan nodded as Lupe walked off toward the school. She reached out to her mates.

Silas is here. Lupe wants you two here as well.

Shit. We are out running to burn off some energy. Jackson told her.

We will be there as soon as we can. Hunter finished the thought.

Dylan frowned as Silas's tall frame came into view. The sun's rays illuminated his auburn hair, bringing out the red tone. It was not styled in the spiky fashion he had it when they first met, which she honestly could say made him look more breathtaking than before. His emerald eyes scanned the area before they met hers. Just like the day they met; she felt the tingling feeling of his power caressing her skin. With the feeling of his power calling out her own, her wolf surged to the surface once more. Even though they had not seen each other for a month, it made no difference to their wolves. The bond is severed when he rejects her, but Dylan still feels her wolf calling out to her mate. It was torture to be in his presence and still feel the way she did before he rejected her.

Silas's broad shoulders matched Hunter's, and the pang of missing her other mates went through her. They both poured love and support into the bonds so she wouldn't feel alone. Feeling them present with her had Dylan standing straighter with a new feeling of strength. Silas scanned her body a few times, which Dylan knew was because of the tight bodysuit they made them wear during combat class. Since her one-on-one was more combat than anything, she tended to wear it because it was the best outfit for such things. The fabric clung to her as it was designed, leaving not much to the imagination as it defined every small curve she had. Silas walked a circle around her and took everything in. The heat of his gaze made her shift from foot to foot. She flashed a flirtatious smile at him, and even gave him a wink. His smile reached his ears as he continued the circle. Every inch of her wanted to reach out and touch him, make him feel the way she did right now. Dylan looked him over, and there wasn't any difference from the last time she had seen him. His power still felt the same, and he still made her feel like she was the only female on the planet for him.

The thought of him forgetting the reasons why he rejected her to be a thing of the past crossed her mind. With how he looked at her, maybe there was a chance for the bond to be restored. He looked at her the way Jackson and Hunter did now, which seemed to be something fated mates shared. An undying love of how the other looks and makes them feel. No matter how often they saw or touched each other, it still felt like the first time. If he still looked at her this way, maybe he felt like he made a mistake

"The school reached out to me and said you can control your Shadow Wolf now. Is that true?"

His words felt like a cold bucket of water was tossed onto her. He was still only thinking about why he rejected her. Why she allowed herself to believe Silas would be anything other than the man she met, loved, and hated all in the same day was beyond her.

"Yes, I can control my Shadow Wolf."

He nodded and then started to walk another circle around her as if sizing her up. Dylan felt her wolf pacing in her mind, waiting for Silas to either tell them they were accepting the bond or still rejecting it. She needed to know if her mate still wanted her. Dylan felt like she had been sitting on the edge of a cliff while waiting for Silas to decide. At least, that was how it felt while he continued to assess her.

"I understand Shadowborns are able to manipulate pack magic to make everyone feel the strength of their power instead of just their mates. Is that true?"

The eyeroll she gave him went unnoticed as he was behind her. "That's what I heard. I haven't had the chance to put that into use."

His chest rumbled at the thought, and Dylan's stomach twisted at him, feeling delighted to hear her power could make his pack stronger. As much as a Luna should strengthen a pack, she didn't think this was something to look for in a mate.

Dylan's purple hair was around her neck until a strong wind ripped through the area. She felt when her hair blew to her back and then a loud snarl erupted from Silas. Dylan looked over at him with her eyebrow cocked. Was he snarling at me?

"You bear another's mark? How dare you!" Silas screamed at her.

Dylan realized he had seen her mate marks from Jackson and Hunter. A confused look passed across her face as she looked at Silas. His canines were lengthened, and his nails formed claws. His eyes were glowing in a vibrant green as they pinned her in place. Power invaded her space as he tried to wrap her up in it and force her to submit to him.

Stupid wolf, you forgot who is more dominant.

Dylan stood on her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. There was no chance of her bowing down to him. Especially if he was mad because she found other mates when females were guaranteed to have multiple mates. He had no reason to be mad, and she was not going to tolerate him getting pissed off about something the Great Moon dictated. Sure, she didn't want one mate, and now she had two completely bonded to her and another still possibly in the air to bond with her. Dylan knew better than to fight with fate now that she avoided Hunter at all costs and still ended up mated to him.

What the Great Moon wants, the Great Moon achieves.

"How dare I? I am a female Werewolf. The Great Moon has opened the bonds for females to have multiple mates for a reason. Why you seem to think I would not find other mates is quite honestly one of the stupidest things I ever heard." Dylan spat at him and didn't allow her eyes to leave his.

She already noticed Silas wouldn't look away from her eyes. Her wolf felt the challenge, but she didn't want to fight him because the mate bond was still there, reaching out to Silas in his close proximity. However, her wolf also did not like Silas disrespecting her mates. Jackson and Hunter had already devoted themselves to her. Silas has not.

"I was not made aware you found other mates! Shouldn't I have been notified of such things? You are my mate!"

Dylan scoffed and shook her head. "I believe, in our world, it isn't the males who get to say that. As a female of our race, I get to say who is mine and who isn't. A female is imperative for our species to survive, and the Great Moon has shown us how crucial females are to our species. Without me, your wolf will lose themselves to a darkness that can take them over and turn them into nothing but a killing machine."

"How was I left out of this decision? The Great Moon may have chosen for you to have multiple mates, but it should be a decision we should have made together!"

It was surprising to hear those words come out of Silas's mouth. His eyes were still glowing, meaning the wolf was in charge, but his speech was still all man. Did Silas want this bond to work out, and was he just mad that he was not here to learn more about her mates before she bonded with them? That would be a twist she didn't see coming.

"There wasn't much of a decision to be made, Silas. The Great Moon opened the bonds after the first touch, just like it did with you." He snarled at her, but she ignored him. "If you want this to work, then you need to understand that I am going to do things my way. Just because we are mates does not mean you get to dictate what I do or how I do it."

Jackson and Hunter came into view behind Silas. Silas didn't notice as he breathed heavily, and his face grew red with anger. Inside of soul, Dylan felt the bond between them tingling as if it wanted to be restored. Dylan sucked in a breath as it pulsed with an energy so foreign she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad. Before she bent over as pain radiated through her chest, strong arms wrapped around her. Silas's lips crashed into hers, and the bond between them was stitched back into place. The energy of the magic restoring reverberated inside of her, and if it weren't for Silas holding her up, she would be on the ground.

To her surprise, Silas's lips were soft, and she felt his fear of her walking away from this come through the bond. He allowed her to see how he felt through the bond and how he questioned whether sending her to this academy was the best thing to do. Now that she was mated to two others, he realized she could easily walk away from him. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her and hated how he treated her the night he rejected her. When he pulled away, his hands were on her back to keep her in place. His eyes were filled with tears, and he bowed his head in shame.

"I made a mistake that night. I understand it may have been The Great Moon's plan all along, so you were able to find your other mates, but that does not make my mistake any less." Silas let her go and then dropped to his knees. Jackson and Hunter were closer now, but they weren't doing anything to stop Silas from doing what he was doing. They were bonded to her, and now that Silas's bond was restored enough, they were able to feel his emotions right along with her. "I'm on my knees to ask for forgiveness, Dylan Pierce. Please accept my bond along with the others. Restore our bond so we can follow the destiny the Great Moon has set for us. Without you, I was a hollow shell of rage. I don't want to feel that way anymore. I understand my place, and that is by your side. Will you accept my bond?"

Dylan sucked in a breath at his words. This was the last thing she expected Silas to say when she heard he was here. What could she do?

Make him pay for rejecting us. Make him go through what he put us through. Make him feel what we felt.

Dylan's lips curled into a smile at her wolf's words. "Silas Lynch, I reject you as my fated mate." The bond severed between them again, causing Silas to cry out in pain. Dylan stood on her feet as she stared down at him. She knew what to do next and hoped he understood why this moment would end this way. "I demand that you attend R.I.S.E Academy to learn the importance of a fated mate."

The End…For Now