Chapter 2

Zena's POV

Being a rogue means no pack, protection, or even rights. Rogue means anyone can kill me on sight and face no consequences.

I make up my mind to survive outside the pack grounds at all cost.

I don't remember leaving, nor do I remember the guards shoving me forward, nor the gate slamming behind me. I just remember running.

We're alive, Skye whispers. It is the only comfort she can offer.

I must have slept, because I wake to howls.

My legs won’t stop shaking.

I run again. Through forests, across roads, through small towns where I steal bread from dumpsters and water from garden hoses. The howls never stop.

Three days. I run for three days straight, sleeping under dried leaves and eating nothing.

I only survive on the water I drink from the dirty puddles.

On the fourth night, I stumble out of the woods onto a paved road. My legs give out. I collapse on the ground with shaky breaths.

The howls are closer now. They must have found my trail again.

Get up, Skye urges. Get UP.

If I give up now and remain on the ground, I will be tortured and killed.

I drag my weak, shaky frame up.

At the entrance to a long, tree-lined driveway, gold lettering shines in the moonlight.

Shadowmire Academy

Excellence in Leadership Since 1874

Welcoming the Next Generation of Pack Leaders

My heart stutters. An academy?

We just found a means of escape! Skye rejoices. I can't agree less.

I manage to stumble toward the driveway and hide behind a row of cars.

A sigh of relief escapes my lips as I slip through the shadows and follow a group of three boys toward the entrance.

It is a good thing six months of torture made me skinny, masculine, and flat-chested. If this is indeed an all-boys school, then I will have no trouble fitting in.

I have my guess, but I don't want to jump to conclusions.

One of them glances back. “You lost, man?”

My throat closes.

“I'm running late,” I manage. The words scrape out, lower than my natural pitch. “My family couldn’t get me here on time.”

He shrugs. “It happens. Are you in East Hall too?”

I nod. I have no idea what East Hall is, but I will figure it out.

We walk through the massive oak doors together. The entry hall swallows us whole. Wolves everywhere. Young, strong, Alpha-born, and all MALE.

Skye presses against my mind. Breathe, Zena. You’re just another male student and… this is the perfect escape plan.

No one would expect a girl rogue to be in an all-boys school.

The boys run off toward a staircase and I am alone in the chaos.

Students push past with boxes, parents give last-minute instructions, and a bored administrator at a folding table checks names off a list.

I need a name and a fake identity.

“Hey! Little boy over there!”

I freeze. The administrator is waving me over.

There are obvious lines of aging on her face, her glasses are perched on her nose, and she looks me up and down. “I don’t have you checked in. Name?”

Zane, Skye supplies. You’re Zane now.

“Zane,” I say. “Kingston. I was… my family, they had to… I was supposed to check in late.”

The administrator frowns, flipping through pages. “Kingston… I don’t see a Kingston on my list.”

My pulse thunders. Someone jostles me from behind, a tall wolf with dark hair and an easy laugh. He glances at me, then at the administrator.

“New kid? Yeah, they added him this morning. My dad knows the headmaster.” The stranger grins, slinging an arm around my shoulders like we have known each other for years. “Zane, right? You’re in my hall. East, third floor. Come on, I’ll show you.”

He steers me away before the woman can respond.

I let him, too stunned to do anything else. We walk through the crowd, up a staircase and down a hallway lined with doors.

“My name’s Marcus,” he says when we are out of earshot. He drops his arm and studies me with sharp gray eyes. “You looked like you needed help. What’s the real story?”

My throat tightens. “I have no story. Just running late, that's all.”

Marcus’s gaze flicks over my too-thin frame, the messy hair, and the shadows under my eyes. He doesn’t believe me. I see it in the way his nostrils flare.

However, he just shrugs. “Whatever, man. Welcome to Shadowmire.” He points to a door at the end of the hall. “That one’s empty. Room 317. Get settled before the RA does rounds.”

He walks away without looking back.

I stand in the hallway with my every nerve screaming. The empty door stands before me. I push open Room 317.

It is small. Three beds, three desks, and a narrow window overlooking the driveway. My hands shake as I close the door behind me.

We are finally safe, Zena, Skye breathes.

“No we aren't, Skye. Let me guess. My roommates are boys too.” I roll my eyes and blurt out in defeat.

The door bursts open and I step back instinctively.

My gaze travels to the door...two boys are laughing as they drag their luggage in.

What do we do now? Skye questions as she starts to grow restless.

My hands shake by my sides too.

I don’t know what to do. If they find out I am a girl, then I am as good as dead.

Hide! Skye suggests, but it is already too late as their eyes fall on me.