LOGINMia’s POVThe moment the tournament officially began, everything changed.The excitement that had filled the grounds earlier shifted into something heavier.More serious.Students who had been laughing moments before were now standing straighter, watching every movement around them.Everyone wanted to know who would stand out.Who would surprise them.Who would fail.The first event was announced shortly after the introductions.A team challenge.Three students from each academy would enter the field and complete a series of tasks designed to test coordination, speed, and control.Brin looked at the field, then at us.“So…”She paused.“Are we pretending we’re not nervous?”Liora smiled faintly.“Is that what you were planning to do?”“Yes.”“You’re not very convincing.”“I know.”I looked toward the field.The large arena had been divided into different sections.Obstacles.Training areas.Marked zones.Everything had been carefully prepared.This wasn’t just a competition.It was a
Mia’s POVI barely slept.Not because the room was uncomfortable.Not because the journey had exhausted me.But because every time I closed my eyes, I saw him.The way he looked at me.The way he said my name like it was something he had been waiting to say for a long time.And that pendant.I touched the one around my neck instinctively.The small silver chain rested against my skin, familiar and reassuring.I had owned it for as long as I could remember.It was one of the few things that had always been mine.Something I never questioned.Until now.Because someone else had recognized it.And I didn’t know why.“Mia.”I opened my eyes.Brin was standing beside my bed, already dressed.“You’ve been staring at the ceiling for five minutes.”I blinked.“I have?”“Yes.”She crossed her arms.“Should I be concerned?”I sat up slowly.“No.”She raised an eyebrow.“You are a terrible liar.”From the other side of the room, Liora tied her hair back before looking at me.“You’re thinking abo
Mia’s POVSlowly—I turned.For a brief second, all I saw were rows of students seated behind us.Faces I didn’t recognize.Some were paying attention to the principal.Others whispered quietly among themselves.No one was looking at me.Then my eyes stopped.A few rows behind us, someone was watching me.He was standing near the side aisle instead of sitting like everyone else.Tall.Dark hair fell neatly across his forehead, slightly longer than most of the boys around him. He wasn’t smiling, yet there was nothing cold about his expression.He simply looked…Calm.As though the noise inside the auditorium had never reached him.Our eyes met.Something inside me stilled.I couldn’t explain it.It wasn’t fear.It wasn’t recognition either.It was simply…Strange.He tilted his head ever so slightly.“So…”His voice was the same one I had heard moments ago.“You turned.”I blinked.“You were calling me?”His lips curved into the faintest smile.“I was.”I frowned.“Do I know you?”“No.
Mia’s POV Room 14.Me.Brin.Liora.For a second, I just stared at it, making sure I wasn’t reading it wrong. Around me, students kept crowding forward, voices overlapping, people calling names, laughing, complaining, dragging bags across the polished floor.But for that moment, all I could see was that one line.Room 14.“We are together,” I said, looking up at them.Brin let out a dramatic gasp so loud that two people beside us turned to stare.“This,” she said solemnly, “is fate.”Liora leaned closer to check the list herself and smiled softly.The pathway buzzed with restless excitement around us. Some students were celebrating because they got their friends. Others were already trying to negotiate switches. Few looked like they regretted coming at all.There was something strangely comforting about it.“Come on,” Brin said, grabbing her bag. “Before someone steals my future bed.”“You think people are waiting to fight you for a bunk bed?” I asked.“Yes.” She said.“She might be
Mia’s POV This morning felt different.My exams were over and it was time for the tournament.I stood in front of my mirror, staring at my reflection while my fingers hovered over my packed bag. Everything inside felt unfamiliar in a good way—folded clothes, a few books, small things that I forgot that I owned.We were leaving the academy environment and going into the heart of Sablethorn.I tightened the strap of my bag and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.I was a little bit excited.Not because of the tournament.But because it meant movement.I was going to change my environment and the endless cycle of classes, pressure and silence.I left my room and made my way to school.The corridors already felt alive in a different way. Students moved faster than usual, voices louder, laughter spilling into spaces that were usually quiet. Bags were swung over shoulders. We were not wearing our uniforms today. Just normal clothes.Large school buses were in the compound waiti
Alpha Bladen's POVI woke to silence.Not the peaceful kind.The heavy kind—the kid that sits on your chest before you even open your eyes, as if your body already knows something your mind hasn’t caught up to yet.For a long moment, I stayed still.Breathing.Listening.My body felt wrong.Heavy. Weak. Like every bone had been taken apart and put back in the wrong places. Even lifting my hand felt like a decision I had to think about first.I frowned and forced my eyes opened.The ceiling above me looked familiar.Mine.But something about the room felt strange.I stared for a second longer, trying to make sense of it through the fog in my head.Then I realized.The room was upside down.Well—not literally.But close enough.The chair near the table had been knocked over and pushed back into place carelessly. The curtains hung unevenly. One side half torn from where someone must have grabbed it too hard. Glass still glittered faintly near the window despite someone’s attempt to clean
Loren POV“It was you,” he whispered again.The words did not sound loud, but they seemed to travel further than they should have, settling heavily in the air and in the cell.No one moved at that moment.Mia stood beside me,her posture straight but tense, as though something inside her had locked i
Alpha Bladen POVBloodmoon did not wake to silence that morning, it woke to bells.Not the sharp warning chimes of danger, not the frantic calls that had become far too familiar in recent weeks, but deep ceremonial bells that rolled through the pack like steady heartbeats. They echoed off stone and
Mia Heather POVThe moment the door clicked shut behind the last student, Liora stepped closer, eyes filled with concern. Brin hovered beside her, fingers nervously twisting the hem of her uniform."Are you– Are you really okay?" Liora asked, voice low, almost a whisper, as if speaking louder might
Loren’s POVI stood in the doorway longer than I should have, watching Mia curled beneath the blankets, her breathing slow and even.I was sure she'd have a long first day and a part of me wanted to stay and guide her through, protect her from the ravaging wolves in Aetherion but I thought against







