Chapter 2

The morning I left for Evermoor Academy was colder than I thought it would be, even though the calendar said it was still summer. My packed bag sat by the door, reminding me this wasn’t a nightmare I could just wake up from.

Every time I saw it, my stomach flipped. The bag was too small for what I was feeling. Just some shirts, jeans, shoes, notebooks, pens, and the necklace Dad gave me for my seventeenth birthday, that’s all. It didn’t seem like much, but it felt like I was carrying my whole life.

I made pancakes anyway because it felt wrong to leave without giving Dad something warm before the day fell apart. Dad was already at the table when I walked in, holding his coffee mug with both hands. He hadn’t taken a drink. His eyes looked far away, sad in a way that made my chest hurt.

“Morning,” I said quietly, putting the plate in front of him.

He blinked, like he’d forgotten where he was. “You didn’t have to do this, Aria.”

“I know.” I sat down across from him, resting my chin on my hand. “But if I left it to you, you would burn the house down trying to make bacon.”

He smiled a little, but it disappeared right away. It got quiet, uncomfortably so. Usually, Dad filled mornings with grumbling, stories, or yelling about my brothers leaving muddy boots by the door. Today, he looked like he was dealing with something big inside.

“Dad,” I said softly. “It’s going to be alright. I’ll be alright.”

He looked at me, his eyes worried. “Aria, you don’t know what you’re getting into. That school isn’t like your normal human school. It’s filled with people that has power at their fingertips, it isn’t safe for you”.”

My throat tightened, but I smiled and put my hand over his. His palm was rough and warm. “I’m the daughter of the Alpha of the Fullmoon wolves,” I joked. “Who would mess with me?”

This time, his smile was more real. “Am I really that bad?”

“With your reputation?” I said, grinning. “I pity the person who tries”

He sighed, shaking his head but he still looked sad. He held my hand tighter. “Remember what I told you.”

I nodded. “Keep my head down, and survive until the year is over.”

His voice cracked. “That’s all I ask, Aaria. By then the council would have realized their mistake, just come back to me”.

Before I could say anything, someone ran down the stairs.

“Is she gone yet?” Elias yelled, bursting into the kitchen. His shirt was half-buttoned, his hair a mess, and he was grinning like crazy. “No? ohhh man, I was already planning to turn your room into a gym.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You think I won’t come back to haunt you?”

“Do it,” Caleb said calmly, walking in looking neat as usual. “Maybe then, you would be less annoying.”

I pretended to be shocked, grabbing my chest. “Me? Annoying? Lies!”

“You’re lucky Dad loves you,” Elias said, stealing bacon from my plate. “Or else, we would have left you at a bus stop a long time ago.”

“Touch my food again,” I warned, narrowing my eyes, “and I’ll make you bald in your sleep.”

“See?” Elias laughed, grinning at Caleb. “She’s already threatening people. She’ll fit in great at Evermoor.”

Dad glared at him, but I couldn’t help laughing. Even though I was sad, I felt good. This was what I would miss the most, the noise, the teasing, the way we joked.

The taxi’s horn cut through the moment. I stood up slowly, grabbing my bags. The sound felt like a countdown. Outside, the morning air was cool, smelling like pine from the woods around our house. For a second, I wished I could stay there forever on the driveway, with the peeling paint on the porch and the sound of laughter in the house.

Elias hugged me first. He smelled like soap. He squeezed me so tight it hurt, “Don’t get killed, okay?” he said into my hair.

“Wow,” I said, laughing a little even though I felt like crying. “That’s really nice, thanks.”

Caleb hugged me quickly and quietly, he held my shoulder for a moment, steady and strong. “Find a way to reach out to us. If you don’t, I will think you’re dead, and will come burn the school down, got it?”

I swallowed. “Got it.”

Then Dad hugged me. He held me tight, shaking a little, and for a second, I felt like a kid again. He kissed my head, his voice low. “Remember, Aria, keep your head down and come back.”

“I promise.” He didn’t let go right away, neither did I. When he did, my face was wet. Damn the council for putting me through this, damn them for taking me away from the only family I had. As an orphan, I hit jackpot when Alpha Roderick adopted me. It wasn’t every day you get a second family that accepts and love you unconditionally like their very own.

The taxi driver didn’t say anything as I got in the back. I closed the door. As the car drove off, I looked back. Dad stood tall in the sunlight, raising his hand, as if he could stop the world from taking me. Elias and Caleb were next to him, still arguing, but they watched the car until it disappeared around the corner.

I put my head against the cold glass. I felt pain in my chest. I wanted to tell the driver to stop, to let me out, to run back to my father and say, **Forget it, I’m not going** but the car kept moving.

Evermoor Academy.….the name felt heavy and scary. Every kid in our pack grew up hearing stories about it. Hidden in the mountains, kept secret by magic that no human could pass. Some called it a school for the Elites, others called it a fort. Some whispered it was a trap disguised as an opportunity. Humans didn’t go there, ever.

I couldn’t even tell Philip and Eve where I was going. Saying goodbye to them has been so hard. Eve had cried, warning me to better not have a new best friend….I smiled. Like I could get another if I tried. Philip had been heartbroken, I had to break up with him because let’s face it, asking him to wait for me won’t be fair knowing what I was up against.

I looked out the window, watching the trees go by as tears roll down my eyes, I’m going to miss them so much. My phone buzzed.

**You okay? ** Dad

I smiled a little, I typed: **I’m fine. I’ll text when I get there**.

He didn’t answer right away. Then the signal disappeared, I looked at my phone. Three bars, then two, then one, then nothing. No signal.

The screen was blank. My stomach dropped, I almost started crying again, I turned off my phone and put it in my bag. Looks like it will just be me, fuck.

The hours passed. The sound of the tires made me sleepy, except the occasional call of birds in the forest. Suddenly, the forest opened up and we stopped. My eyes widened. There was a huge black iron gate in front of us, so tall it seemed to touch the sky. The bars were twisted into shapes I didn’t recognize, with glowing symbols carved into the metal.

The gates opened silently, as if they had been waiting. Inside was a courtyard bigger than our pack house. A black stone road was shiny and new, with marble and silver lampposts. There were lawns and fountains that sparkled in the light and the cars? Dear lord in heaven, they looked so expensive. Black sedans with tinted windows, sports cars and limousines that were huge. My family wasn’t poor but this people were obviously on another level.

The driver stopped in front of the biggest building I had ever seen. It was old, the stone heavy and impressive. Ivy climbed the walls, and stone creatures sat at each corner, their eyes glowing. The doors looked like they had been holding back secrets for years.

**Admissions** It says. The letter said to go to Admissions first. So this must be it, the heart of Evermoor Academy.

The driver cleared his throat. “We’re here.”

“Oh,” I said quickly. “Right. Thank you.”

I got out and looked around. There were students everywhere. They all looked the same at first, but then I noticed the details. They wore black blazers with a silver design, a book with roses around it. The boys wore white shirts and trousers, and the girls wore skirts. Everyone’s shoes shined.

My hair, dark brown, falling in waves just past my shoulders caught in the breeze, tangling across my face. I pushed it back, my fingers trembling, trying not to notice the way students had paused mid-step to stare. Their gazes were sharp, curious, some openly hostile. I wanted to shrink, to melt into the gravel.

**Keep your head down, Aria. Be invisible**.

I looked at the ground, grabbed my bag, and walked forward. There was a line at the admissions doors, with students laughing and talking. They all looked like they knew each other. As I got closer, they stopped talking and the courtyard went quiet.

I got red in the face but I kept moving, time to get this over and done with…..I obviously don’t belong here. I couldn’t help hearing the whispers around me though.

“No way…”

“She can’t be—”

“Human?”

My heart pounded. I bit my lip, looking down. **Just get in line. Don’t listen to them**. I got to the end of the line, standing behind a girl with silver hair. Then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around. A boy stood there, taller than me, maybe nineteen or twenty years old. He had brown eyes and chestnut hair that was messy.

“Sorry,” he said. “You’re in the wrong line.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

He pointed to the side of the building. “Donors don’t come through the admissions hall. There’s a separate entrance.”

My stomach dropped. Donors? As in blood donors?……Human. Ohhhh, he thinks human are only useful for their blood, how condescending. I stood up straight, now wasn’t the time to get mad.

“I’m not a donor,” I said. “But thanks.”

He looked surprised. “Wait…..you’re enrolled here?”

“Yes.”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

He looked confused, he rubbed the back of his neck glancing at his friends, who were snickering behind him.

“No offense, but that’s not possible,” he said. “Humans are not accepted here, invitations are bound by magic”

I thought about my letter, with my glowing name. “I thought the same thing,” I said quietly.

He blinked, then laughed. “So they really enrolled you. A human.” He shook his head and turned to his friends. “Guess history is changing guys.”

They laughed, talking like I wasn’t there. I stood there, my fingers digging into my palm. So no human has been ever accepted before? Hmm, maybe I’m to be the first human? But why me? I’m obviously nothing special.

I walked forward, feeling heavy. Hopefully once I got inside, admissions would realize the mistake. They wound send me home, back to Dad, back to normal.

My chest ached with hope and dread as I moved forward, each step heavier than the last.