The alarm on Ryan's phone buzzed, but he didn't move. His body felt like lead pressed into the mattress, every muscle aching as if he'd run miles barefoot on broken glass. He cracked one eye open and instantly regretted it—the sunlight stabbing through the blinds only made the pounding in his head worse.
The night replayed in flashes. The Shadowbound's violet eyes. The sound of chains breaking. Aria's voice calling his name. And above it all, Vaelrion's taunting smirk echoing in his mind like smoke clinging to his lungs.
Ryan groaned and pulled the blanket over his face. For a second, he almost let himself sink back into unconsciousness. But the system didn't allow mercy.
[Quest Update: Gather Your Pack.][Timeframe: 16 days until the Blood Moon.]
Ryan clenched his jaw. Sixteen days. That number felt like a noose tightening.
The knock on his door was soft, but enough to jolt him upright. He stumbled out of bed, dragging a hoodie over his bare shoulders, and opened the door a crack.
Aria stood there, arms crossed, hair still damp from a morning shower. She didn't look like she'd slept either—dark circles rimmed her eyes, though her posture was as sharp as ever.
"You look like hell," she said flatly.
"Morning to you too," Ryan muttered, stepping aside.
She walked in without asking, scanning the room like she always did—one glance at the desk, another at the half-empty coffee cup, then her eyes landed on his hand.
The mark pulsed faintly beneath his sleeve. Even covered, it was obvious.
"It's stable now," Ryan said before she could ask. "No more burning. Just… constant."
"Like a heartbeat," she murmured, pulling the chair from his desk and sitting. "That's how it should be. You passed the trial. It's part of you now."
Ryan sat on the bed, rubbing at his temples. "Part of me or not, I don't know what the system wants from me. Gather your pack?" He laughed bitterly. "I can barely keep myself together."
Aria studied him quietly, then leaned forward. "That's exactly why you need others. Wolves don't survive alone. Not the wild ones, not even the chosen ones."
Her words should have felt comforting. They didn't. The idea of people looking to him—to follow him—twisted his stomach. "What if I fail them?"
Aria's gaze softened, rare and fleeting. "Then you'll fail together. That's what a pack is."
The silence stretched. Ryan let her words settle, though they didn't take root as easily as she made them sound. He wasn't sure if he believed he could be anyone's Alpha, let alone the True one.
By mid-morning, the campus was buzzing with life again. Students crisscrossed the courtyard, books under their arms, voices light with gossip and laughter. It looked normal—painfully normal—like monsters hadn't nearly gutted Ryan beneath the lantern poles the night before.
Ryan kept his hoodie pulled low and shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he followed Aria toward the cafeteria. He hated how every glance felt like it lingered too long. He caught whispers—"That's the guy from the festival, right?"—but forced himself to keep walking.
Inside, the air smelled of coffee and buttered bread. The noise was almost soothing, a reminder of the mundane. He grabbed a tray, though the sight of food made his stomach churn.
"Over here!" Ethan waved from a corner table, his usual grin firmly in place.
Ryan hesitated. After everything, he wasn't sure he could play normal. But Aria nudged him toward the table, sliding into the seat across from Ethan while Ryan dropped beside her.
"You missed morning lecture," Ethan said, sliding half a muffin across the table. "Professor Avery roasted you alive for not handing in that essay. Said—and I quote—'He might be able to catch lantern poles, but he can't catch a deadline.'"
Ryan managed a weak chuckle. "Guess I deserve that."
Ethan leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Seriously though, man. You okay? You've been… different since the festival."
Ryan froze. The resonance hummed faintly in his chest, steady as a drumbeat. He could feel it stretching outward, brushing against Ethan's nerves. He didn't mean to do it, but Ethan's anxious frown softened almost immediately. His posture eased, like some unseen weight had lifted.
Ryan pulled back sharply, unsettled. The resonance wasn't just power. It was influence. Control.
"I'm fine," Ryan said quickly, forcing the words. "Just tired."
Ethan studied him for a moment longer, then shrugged, grinning again. "Fair enough. Just don't disappear on me, alright? I'll hold your essays hostage if you do."
Ryan smiled faintly, but his mind spun. If even Ethan felt the resonance without realizing it, what would happen when more people stood near him? Was that leadership… or manipulation?
Classes blurred together in a haze of lectures and notes he barely absorbed. By afternoon, Ryan slipped out early, drawn by the quiet of the athletics field.
A few students lingered, practicing archery again. Ryan leaned on the fence, watching arrows thud into targets. His claws itched, remembering the feel of the bowstring.
"Want a try?" a voice asked.
Ryan turned. A younger student—first-year, by the look of her—held out a spare bow. She was small, nervous, her hands trembling just enough to make the arrow wobble.
He hesitated. Every instinct screamed to stay unnoticed. But the system whispered at the edge of his mind.
[Opportunity Detected: Potential Pack Bond.]
Ryan sighed, taking the bow. The string hummed under his fingers, familiar now. He loosed the arrow in one smooth motion. It struck the target clean in the center.
The girl's eyes widened. "How—? I can't even get close."
"Here." Ryan handed the bow back, stepping behind her. He adjusted her stance gently, nudging her elbow, steadying her grip. "Don't fight the bow. Let it pull you, then release."
She tried again. This time, the arrow struck just shy of the center. Her face lit up.
"See? Better."
Her smile was small but bright, the kind Ryan hadn't seen in weeks. For a moment, he forgot the weight pressing on him.
The system chimed softly.
[Pack Member Potential Identified: Status—Unawakened.]
Ryan blinked. The girl was already chatting excitedly with her friends, not even realizing anything had changed. But something in her gaze lingered on him, a spark of trust born from a simple gesture.
Aria's voice came from behind him. "Congratulations. You just recruited your first pup."
Ryan turned. She leaned casually against the fence, but there was amusement in her eyes.
He scowled. "Don't call her that. I just helped."
"That's how it starts," Aria said. Her tone softened, rare and sincere. "You don't realize how much people see in you, Ryan. You don't have to force it. Just… let them choose."
Ryan looked back at the girl, at the arrow still quivering in the target. For the first time, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he didn't have to walk this road completely alone.
That night, Ryan sat at his desk, staring at his hand. The mark pulsed steadily, no longer burning, no longer unstable.
He thought of Ethan's easy grin, the girl's bright smile, Aria's quiet faith.
The system's words echoed in his mind.
[Gather Your Pack.]
Ryan flexed his hand, the wolf-shaped crest glowing faintly beneath his skin. For the first time since the festival, he didn't just feel hunted.
He felt… responsible.
And that scared him more than any monster Vaelrion could send.