The journey

Lyra’s POV

Pulling away from Aurelia, we began to drive down the five-mile driveway to the main road. At one point, it had been beautifully paved, with no bumps, no potholes, and especially no sinkholes.

But, like anything, add a bit of neglect and a century-long conflict, and it would fade and warp over time.

Clutching the manila envelope in my hand, I was super curious to see what kind of normalcy Commander Rourke and the council came up with for Rowan and me.

Making sure that Rowan and I were ready, the Commander nodded for both of us to open the envelopes.

Enclosed in my envelope were several pages, and just from a quick glance, they looked like school transfer documents.

Pulling out the first document, it looked almost like a birth certificate. My name, with a slight deviation of my last name, address, and parents' names. Attached to that same document was a photo I don't remember ever taking. I looked happy, innocent, and definitely not someone who belonged to an elite assassin training program.

Sighing, "I know this is only gonna keep getting better!" I said as sarcastically as I meant it to.

Commander rolled his eyes, "Turn to the next page."

As instructed, we both turned to the next piece of paper in our hands, which held school transcripts, specifically our trade school transcripts. This would allow us to "successfully" transfer

into the Alpha Academy via the human exchange program.

The human exchange program had been going on for the past five years in preparation for this exact moment. Every year, three to five humans would attend Alpha Academy for one year as a ruse for their trade school education in preparation for future "Leadership."

I personally didn't take them as a dumb species, but how many leaders did they think we needed in Aurelia?

Continuing through the next few pages was just basic information on housing, meal plans, class schedules, and a piece of paper that included the name of a spy already in place, in case information needed to be passed on.

We quickly memorized the spy's name and contact information, then tore the paper up and put it in a cup of water to dissolve any evidence that might incriminate us before the mission even began.

According to the file, my name was:

Lyra Smith 

DOB: 12/01/2007

Occupation: Leadership Student

Allergies: None

Honestly, I don't know what would be the hardest undercover task for Rowan and me, pretending to be weak during their grueling physical education classes, which doubled as training, or the fact that we were supposed to be super excited about leadership courses, which is where we are planning to intercept and "befriend" the heirs.

Rowan and the Commander were speaking in the background, but I had tuned them and everything else out a long time ago. Staring out the small window of the armored car, watching the scenery go by.

We had left about an hour ago after pulling onto the better-maintained roads of the public roadway. The roadways were controlled by whatever werewolf faction controlled that territory. They had the money to do it and spared no expense to make sure their beloved werewolves could travel by vehicle or paw in absolute comfort.

We had hours to go if there weren't any complications, and for all our sakes, I hope there weren't any.

Feeling myself fall asleep, I smelt the familiar scent of cigar smoke floating in the air of the armored car, mixed with the sharp, woody notes of whiskey. Somehow, that seemed to comfort me with oddly familiar smells of home.

Before my eyes closed completely, I felt a warm, strong hand close over mine, giving me the reassurance I didn't know I needed.