Chapter 1

Tonight is the night I die. 

Loud howls filled the room, splitting through the silence like a blade. My eyes flicked on either side of me as I stood in the centre of the moon beam, the altar was before me, blood still dripped from my palm into it—a symbol of the ceremony. 

My palms were sweaty, heart racing. Nothing was happening. The rest howled, their eyes glowing unnaturally but I just stood there, plain. Normal. Uninteresting. 

I'd failed the ceremony. 

And I was dying, but it wasn't a physical death. It was from the feeling of embarrassment and the shame I'd no doubt brought to my family.

As the cheers for those who had successfully completed the ceremony calmed down, I suddenly felt all eyes flick towards me. I knew the moment they saw that I hadn't manifested my wolf, I saw their faces contort in a mix of confusion and disgust. 

I heard the High Priestess whispering some words as though they would enable me to suddenly manifest something I didn't possess. It wasn't that I didn't have a wolf— at least I didn't believe it to be the case. But I was different. And they couldn't know that.

My eyes fell to the crowd. I saw my mother's eyes, pale. Gentle. Worried. And my father, his expression unreadable but I could somehow see the disappointment through it. And then my eyes randomly locked on someone else.

Green eyes, blonde hair, blank expression. The Alpha's son. His eyes met mine for half a breath before he stood up, walking out of the ceremony, seemingly uninterested. My eyes lingered long after he was gone.

And just like that, it was over. No doubt I'd be the talk of the pack for weeks to come. 

But there was no time to mourn that because the very next day, I was heading into Crimson Claw Academy. 

“Caĺl us if you ever need anything,” my mother wanted softly, brushing my hair aside. 

My father stared at me for a while before I finally entered the car. I wasn't sure what I was expecting him to say. He hadn't said anything about the ceremony still and he wasn't much of a talker but those eyes of his had told me to be safe. 

The drive to the academy was anything but fun. Somehow I was dreading it more than I ever dreaded the coming of age ceremony. Because I could only fail once at that. But here? I could fail a thousand times over. I'd only gotten a spot as a gift from the Alpha to my father for his exceptional service. 

I knew I wouldn't last long here.

The car finally pulled to a stop in front of the huge building. The academy had been in existence for centuries and its architecture was a proof of that. Old, gothic and yet it maintained the same quality of elegance as the more modern campus buildings. 

I'd already gotten out of the car, but my legs refused to move as I stared at what was to be my home for the next few weeks, or days—depending on how long it took me to mess up. 

My thoughts of impending doom were soon interrupted by the sound of my name. I spun around to see Seth walking towards me. He had a big smile plastered on his face, his arms wide open as he pulled me into a big bear hug. 

“Hey there, pigeon.” He pulled away, using his long standing nickname for me. Seth was my best friend—my only friend. He'd gotten into the academy last year and was currently a year above me now.

“I like barely saw you this holiday.” He grinned 

“Well that's because you decided to stay back for like half the holiday.” I fired back

He ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. “I had to. I've got team tryouts in a couple of days and I need to ace it so I needed the extra practice.”

He grabbed my bags, already leading me inside. My eyes kept darting everywhere. I was sure my entire aura screamed ‘freshman’

“Didn't you already try out last year?” 

“Yeah, but I didn't get in. First years rarely ever do but it was worth a shot.” 

I replied with an oh and a small nod. 

We stopped in front of large double doors that connected to two separate hallways. 

“Oh great, we're in the same hall.” He smiled leading me in while my own face was horrified by the thought of boys and girls sleeping together. Who's bright idea was that?

“Aren't male and female dormitories supposed to be separated?”

“They are, but each hall shares a common room and then one section is fully for the boys the other for the girls. So it's not like they put us in the same rooms, that's against the rules, actually.” 

People had already arrived, they chattered in the common room, some sipped coffee, and some were busy doing work outs. It was too much chaos for me. I knew for sure I'd be making my room my biggest companion.

“You should get settled into your room first so I can give you a tour.” 

“How about I just stay in my room till the end of semester?” 

“When I'm around? No way.” He chuckled.

I pulled out my phone for the schedule we'd been sent a few days before. My room number. 32. 

Seth helped me locate it fairly easily. Thankfully there was only one other bed so I wouldn't have to worry about too much interaction. I silently hoped my supposed roommate would just disappear or decide to drop out. 

“You got here first so you get to choose the better bed. Sweet.” Seth looked at both corners and picked the one which he considered better and plopped my bags down on it.

As I made a move to collapse on the bed myself, he dragged me out of the room. “Come on, adventure awaits.” 

Just as I'm about to gain back my footing, I feel myself crash into someone, or something—one minute I was standing, the next I was tumbling to the ground. What I was touching felt too hard to be human. And yet, it was. 

My eyes opened, I looked down at my hands still feeling his abs… then my eyes flicked up to his eyes. Green eyes. Blonde hair. Distant expression. I was sure my cheeks were red as a tomato then as I realised who it was. 

Cade.