Chapter 161 The School’s Growth
The old stable block had been transformed again.
What had once been a single classroom was now three. What had once served thirty-seven students now served nearly a hundred. The courtyard had been expanded, the well replaced with a fountain, the muddy paths paved with stone. Children’s laughter echoed off the whitewashed walls.
Seren stood at the entrance, Lysa beside her, watching the new students arrive.
They came in pairs and trios—human children in patched coats, wolf children in fine wool. Some walked with their parents. Others came alone. A few looked terrified. Most looked curious. The older ones carried toolboxes and satchels.
“Ninety-four enrolled,” Lysa read from her list. “Forty-seven human, forty-seven wolf. Ages six to eighteen.”
“The older students?”
“Vocational training. Blacksmithing. Carpentry. Healing. Agriculture.” Lysa lowered her list. “Master Corin’s idea. He said not everyone needs to be a scholar. Some kids just want to work.”
Seren nodded. “He’s right.”
A wolf pup ran past, chasing a human boy. Neither seemed to remember that they were supposed to be enemies.
The new wing was dedicated to trades.
Blacksmithing forges glowed at one end. Carpentry benches lined the walls. A small garden had been planted for the healing students, with labeled herbs and raised beds. The agriculture students had their own plot behind the stables.
Seren walked through the rooms, observing.
A human girl was learning to shoe a horse from a wolf farrier. A wolf boy was measuring wood alongside a human carpenter. In the healing garden, human and wolf students worked side by side, their hands in the soil.
“This is what we fought for,” Seren said quietly.
Lysa nodded. “This is what we keep fighting for.”
The protests began at noon.
Lord Pemberton stood at the school gates, flanked by members of the Pure Blood League. Their white ribbons fluttered in the breeze. Behind them, a crowd of conservative wolves held signs and shouted slogans.
“The school teaches equality!” someone called. “It teaches our children that wolves and humans are the same!”
“They are not the same!” another voice joined. “Hierarchy is natural! Hierarchy is sacred!”
Seren walked to the gates. The guards tensed. She waved them back.
“Lord Pemberton.” She nodded. “You’re blocking the entrance.”
“We’re exercising our right to protest.” His voice was steady, but his hands trembled. “The school has changed. It’s not just about reading and writing anymore. It’s about erasing the lines between species.”
“The school teaches facts. What students conclude on is their own business.”
“You teach equality.”
“I teach that a wolf can shoe a horse and a human can forge a blade. I teach that skill matters more than species. If that leads to equality, then equality is simply the truth.”
The crowd murmured.
Pemberton stepped closer. “Your Majesty, I respect you. I supported the charter. I danced at your wedding. But this—” he gestured at the school, at the students, at the vocational wing—”this goes too far.”
“How?”
“Because if children grow up believing they are equal, they will demand equal treatment. Equal rights. Equal power. And then where will wolves be?”
Seren met his eyes.
“Where wolves have always been. Strong. Capable. Necessary. Equality doesn’t mean erasure, Lord Pemberton. It means recognizing that both species have value. That both species have strengths. That both species deserve to thrive.”
“And wolf hierarchy?”
“Is a social construct. Not a biological imperative.” Her voice was gentle. “The ancient texts show that wolves and humans lived as equals once. Before the hierarchy. Before the laws. Before fear drove us apart.”
Pemberton was silent.
“You’re asking us to unlearn thousands of years of history.”
“I’m asking you to learn something new. That’s what the school is for.”
The protest continued for hours.
But no one threw rocks. No one shouted insults. The league members stood with their signs, and the students walked past them into the school. After a while, some of the older children started talking to the protesters. Asking questions. Listening.
A wolf boy approached Pemberton.
“My father says you’re trying to destroy wolf culture,” the boy said. “But my best friend is human. He shares his lunch with me. He helped me with my reading. Is he destroying wolf culture?”
Pemberton’s face softened.
“No,” he said. “He’s building something new.”
The boy nodded and ran back to his friend.
Pemberton watched him go.
Then he turned and walked away.
That night, Seren told the triplets about the protest.
Kael was angry. “Pemberton crossed a line.”
“He protested peacefully. No violence. No arrests needed.”
“Yet.”
Theron stretched. “He’s not wrong about one thing. The school is changing. The older students, the vocational training—it’s preparing humans and wolves to work together. Not as master and servant. As equals.”
Aeron nodded. “That’s the point.”
“The point is terrifying to wolves who built their identity on hierarchy.”
Seren sat on the edge of the bed. “Then we help them build a new identity. One that doesn’t depend on standing on someone else’s neck.”
Kael pulled her close. “You’re asking a lot.”
“I’m asking the same thing I always ask. Courage. Patience. Hope.”
The bond hummed.
The next morning, Seren visited the school again.
The vocational wing was busy. The forge glowed. The carpentry benches were covered in sawdust. In the healing garden, a human girl was showing a wolf boy how to identify feverfew.
Master Corin approached. “Your Majesty. The new students are settling in.”
“Any problems?”
“A few. The older wolves are struggling with the idea of learning from humans. The older humans are afraid of the wolves.” He smiled. “But the children don’t care. The children just want to learn.”
“That’s the future.”
“Yes.” He looked at the students. “That’s the future.”
Seren watched the children play.
The wolf pup and the human boy were chasing each other around the fountain. Neither of them seemed to care about hierarchy or tradition or the fears of their parents.
They just ran.
And Seren thought that maybe, someday, the rest of the kingdom would learn to run with them.