Chapter 4: The Wolf's Den Angela’s POV

The heavy iron gates of Accademia Alpha loomed over me like a giant black cage. The school was completely isolated, tucked deep into the dark, rolling hills right outside Florence. Tall pine trees surrounded the massive stone walls, blocking out the rest of the world.

I stood frozen at the entrance, gripping the straps of my cheap duffel bag. My chest hurt under the tight medical bandages, and the cold mountain wind bit into my oversized jacket. I stared at the long, empty road stretching back toward the city. I could turn back right now. I could run away, hide in the dirty alleys of Naples, and figure something else out.

But then I remembered my mother’s cold eyes. I remembered Uncle Tonio’s gravelly voice talking about four hundred euros. I had absolutely no real alternative. If I ran back, they would grab me and sell me off to the Branco Ovest pack.

"Hey! Are you lost, little guy?"

I jumped, spinning around. A massive, black Jeep had pulled up silently beside me. The driver leaned out the open window, resting a thick, muscular arm on the metal door. He was stunning. He had messy blond hair, glowing golden skin, and a wide, confident smirk that made my stomach do a nervous flip. He was a werewolf. The pure, aggressive energy rolling off his body made the air feel instantly hot and heavy.

"No," I lied, trying to force my voice into a deeper, rougher pitch. "I am just walking to the main building. For the orientation."

"Walking?" The guy laughed, a rich, teasing sound. "That is a two-mile hike up a steep hill, pretty boy. You'll pass out before you reach the front doors. Get in. I’ll give you a ride."

"I am fine," I muttered, taking a step back. "I can walk."

He pushed the car door open and leaned out further, his amber eyes dropping down my body in a slow, hungry sweep. "I don't bite. At least, not unless you ask me to."

My face burned hot. I quickly climbed into the passenger seat, keeping my bag pressed firmly against my chest to hide any curves the bandages might have missed.

"I am Marco," he said, throwing the Jeep into drive and speeding up the winding road. "Year Three. What is your name, fresh meat?"

"Angelo," I mumbled, staring straight ahead.

"Angelo," Marco repeated slowly, letting the name roll off his tongue. He suddenly reached over the center console and ran his large, warm hand through my short, choppy hair. I gasped, pressing myself against the car door.

"Relax," Marco teased, a dirty, wicked smile spreading across his handsome face. He leaned closer, and his nose brushed against my neck. I stopped breathing entirely. "You smell incredibly sweet for a human boy, Angelo. Like vanilla and panic. You are shaking."

"I am just cold," I lied, pushing his heavy arm away.

"Sure you are," Marco chuckled darkly, his eyes flashing with raw alpha dominance. "You better watch yourself in there. A lot of the guys in this school have not been around a human in a long time. You look soft. You act soft. If you keep acting like a nervous little mouse, someone is going to pin you down and eat you alive."

"I can take care of myself," I said firmly, though my hands were sweating inside my pockets.

Marco pulled the Jeep to a stop in front of a giant, ancient stone building. He leaned over and unbuckled my seatbelt for me, his chest pressing deliberately against my arm. "Good luck, pretty boy. I will be seeing you around."

I scrambled out of the car, my heart beating frantically against my ribs. I was completely flustered, my skin buzzing from his intense proximity. If all the students here were this dangerous, this casually possessive and touchy, my disguise was in serious trouble.

I hurried up the wide stone steps and pushed through the heavy wooden doors. The entrance hall was grand, filled with marble statues and dark red carpets. A stern-looking woman with perfectly pinned gray hair was waiting by a large wooden desk.

"Name?" she asked sharply, not even looking up.

"Angelo," I said. "I am the new human scholarship student."

The woman finally looked up. Her eyes were cold, and her face was pale. "I am Preside Rossi. The principal. Come with me. You are late for orientation."

I followed her down a long, quiet hallway. She didn't say another word, but I could feel her eyes darting back to look at me, full of an uneasy, nervous tension.

She pushed open a set of double doors, leading me into a massive lecture hall. Over seventy new students were packed into the rows of wooden seats. Every single one of them was huge. They had broad shoulders, thick muscles, and sharp, predatory eyes. The sheer amount of testosterone and alpha energy in the room was suffocating. I kept my head down, slipping into an empty seat in the back row while a loud, strict teacher read off the school rules from a podium.

"No fighting in the dining halls," the teacher barked. "No leaving the academy grounds after midnight. And absolutely no switching your assigned houses or rooms. Your assignments are final."

I grabbed the thick welcome packet resting on my desk. I flipped it open, scanning the pages for my name.

"Hey," a low voice whispered next to me.

I looked over. A tall guy with dark brown hair and friendly green eyes was leaning toward me. He didn't look as scary as Marco, but he was still massive.

"I am Stefano," he whispered, holding out a large hand.

"Angelo," I replied, shaking his hand quickly. His grip was entirely too strong.

"You are the human, right?" Stefano asked, a bright, excited smile on his face. "Everyone was talking about you. I heard a human actually got the scholarship this year. It is pretty cool. What house did they put you in?"

I looked down at my paper. "The gold house."

Stefano’s eyes lit up even more. "No way! Me too! The gold house is the best one. It is the most prestigious house on campus. They only put the top alphas in there. And you, apparently. What room number did you get?"

I ran my finger down the printed list of numbers. "Room fifty-six."

Stefano froze.

The bright, friendly smile completely vanished from his face. His green eyes widened in absolute shock, and all the color drained from his skin. He stared at me like I had just told him I was a ghost.

"What?" Stefano choked out, his voice cracking. "What room did you just say?"

"Room fifty-six," I repeated, my stomach suddenly twisting into a tight knot. "Why? Is there something wrong with that room?"

Stefano quickly leaned closer, his voice dropping into a terrified, desperate whisper. "Are you insane? You can't be in room fifty-six, Angelo. You have to go to the principal right now and beg her to change it. Beg her on your hands and knees if you have to."

"I can't change it," I whispered back, panic rising in my throat. "The teacher just said the assignments are final. Stefano, you are scaring me. What is wrong with room fifty-six? Who is in there?"

Stefano swallowed hard, looking nervously around the room to make sure nobody was listening to us.

"Room fifty-six does not have a second bed, Angelo," Stefano whispered, his hands actually shaking. "It has been a single room for three years. Because nobody survives living with him."

"Living with who?" I demanded, my breath coming in short, rapid gasps.

"Dante," Stefano breathed, the name sounding like a curse on his lips.

"I don't know who that is," I said, my chest aching from how tight my binder was suddenly feeling.

Stefano stared at me with pure pity. "Dante is the most dangerous student in this entire academy. He is violent. He is ruthless. He breaks anyone who looks at him wrong."

Stefano paused, leaning in so close his lips almost touched my ear.

"Dante is the Alpha," Stefano whispered, his voice trembling with raw fear. "He is the heir to the Branco Ovest."

The revelation hit me like a physical blow.

My vision blurred, and a loud, ringing noise filled my ears. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I felt like the floor had just opened up and swallowed me whole.

The Branco Ovest.

The exact same brutal, savage werewolf pack my mother and Uncle Tonio were planning to sell me to. The monsters who bought human girls to use them, break them, and throw them away.

I had chopped off my hair. I had bound my chest until I could barely breathe. I had paid my own mother my life savings to escape them. I had fled entirely across the country, hiding under a fake name and dirty, baggy clothes, praying to God that I was finally safe.

But I wasn't safe.

I had run right into the fire. I had walked straight into the cage with the most dangerous monster of them all. I was assigned to sleep in the exact same room as the Alpha of the Branco Ovest pack.

I gripped the edges of my wooden desk, my knuckles turning completely white. A devastating, heavy dread settled into my bones. If Dante found out I was a girl... if he discovered who I really was... he wouldn't just expel me. He would take me. He would claim me, lock me in that room, and do whatever his cruel, possessive pack did to human women.

I was completely trapped, and the nightmare I had risked absolutely everything to escape was now waiting for me behind the door of room fifty-six.