Chapter 10
Vanya
The sun filtered through the high arched windows of Combat and Strategy Theory, lighting the polished wooden floors and old stone walls in warm streaks.
Professor Thorne—graying, sharp-eyed, with a body like he still trained every morning—strode in with the kind of presence that made everyone sit straighter. He dropped a thick, battered book onto the podium.
“Alright, boys,” he began, voice brisk. “Today’s question is simple. You’re trapped. Your team is dead. Your body’s broken. You’re surrounded by enemies. There is no escape. What does an Alpha do when there’s no way out?”
A few hands went up, tentative. I stayed quiet.
“Farrin,” Thorne called out.
A stocky boy with a buzzcut answered, “You keep fighting until your last breath. Die with honor.”
Some of the guys
