The Fifth Point of the Star

The University of Aethelgard is the most prestigious supernatural academy in the world, a sanctuary for the elite where power is cultivated and legacies are forged. It's the last place anyone would expect to find a feral, unclaimed Arctic fox shifter like Kaelith.

For years, Kaelith has survived on pure instinct. His life before Aethelgard was a cycle of cold, harsh environments and colder, harsher treatment. Physical abuse has taught him that touch is a prelude to pain and warmth is a lie. He trusts no one and relies on his "Thermal Duality"-the ability to become ice-cold and unreadable-to keep the world at bay. His acceptance to Aethelgard is a fluke, a scholarship based on raw, untamed power that the university's headmasters see as potential, not a person.

He arrives at his assigned dorm, Ivory Tower Room 7, with a single battered bag and a plan to be invisible. He pushes the door open to chaos.

The room is a sprawling suite, warm and lived-in. Four young men are scattered around, their easy camaraderie a palpable force. They are a unit, a perfect, completed circle.