CHAPTER 2

Seraphina’s POV

The moment the driver drove through the iron gates of Noxshade Academy, I knew I was in a different world entirely. Even the air seemed to hold secrets and smelt like something ancient.

The driver halted the car in front of a building that looked more like an eerie castle than an Academy. 

I had barely crossed the threshold into the courtyard when something lunged from the shadows.

A blur of motion—low growls, claws scraping stone. I screamed as a huge, furred shape snarled in my face, red eyes glowing in the gloom. I stumbled back, heart leaping to my throat.

The thing paused—and then burst into laughter.

No. He burst into laughter.

The werewolf dropped the illusion of menace like it was just a game. His form shimmered for a second before he straightened up into a broad-shouldered, sharp-jawed guy, wearing that crooked grin that told me he knew exactly how much he’d humiliated me.

Laughter broke out behind him from students lining the balconies and others who clustered nearby.

“She actually screamed!” one girl cackled.

“Bet she wet the bed too,” another snorted.

I wanted the ground to swallow me. My knuckles clenched, every part of me vibrating with a warning I didn’t understand. Again.

Then—salvation.

“Enough!”

The voice cracked through the courtyard like a whip. Everyone flinched, including wolf-boy. A woman strode into view, her heels clicking sharply—tall, elegant, with a commanding presence that made even the werewolf step back. Her steel-gray eyes pinned him like a blade.

“Mr. Thorne,” she said coolly, “another prank and you’ll spend the next full moon cleaning cauldrons with your teeth.”

He smirked—but didn’t speak. Just dipped his chin in mock submission.

“Ms. Vale,” the teacher turned to me, her voice gentler. “Come.”

I followed in silence, cheeks still burning. She led me through labyrinthine halls lit by flickering sconces and charmed glass orbs. The academy felt like a relic—gothic archways, crumbling tapestries, and ceiling murals that shimmered when you weren’t looking directly at them.

We arrived at an intricately carved oak door. The teacher knocked once, then opened it.

Inside sat the Headmistress—a tall, statuesque woman with white-blond hair braided like a crown and dark skin that glowed like onyx under the candlelight. Her eyes gleamed with age and something unreadable.

“Welcome to Noxshade Academy, Seraphina Vale,” she said.

I swallowed. “Thanks, I guess.”

“You are here because you have awakened abilities,” she continued. “This school exists for people like you—creatures of myth, born from bloodlines long buried. You will learn to survive. To control. Or you will perish, ” she spoke directly, not in a comforting manner.

Afterwards, she handed me a slim black folder. Inside it lies my schedule, a campus map, and a pin with a silver badge shaped like a crescent moon and star.

“Class starts in twenty minutes,” she added. “You’ll be in the Upperman division. Senior year.”

That meant I’d be out of this place sooner. Relief settled in, barely.

The first teacher nodded toward the hallway. I followed quietly behind her until we walked through the entrance of another building that had the likeness of an empire.

“Your dorm is in West Spire, room 517. You’ll find your uniform ready. Change quickly.”

“Wait, where’s—” I started.

But she was gone, slamming the door behind her like a clap of thunder.

I sighed as I walked through the hallway, trying to navigate through with the direction she had given. 

So this was my life now.

I was eventually able to locate my room. The dorm was small but cozy—gothic windows, carved headboard, desk with antique books stacked haphazardly. A neatly folded uniform sat on the bed—a deep crimson blazer lined in silver thread, fitted high-waisted black skirt, white blouse with ruffled collar, and a silver tie with my badge pinned to it.

I slipped into it quickly. The blazer hugged my frame perfectly, cinching my waist and tapering over my hips. The skirt flared just above the knee, neat but not restricting. The colors—crimson and silver—contrasted with my warm brown skin like fire on velvet. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

I didn’t look like a girl who just got kicked out of her old life. I looked like someone who could survive in a place like this.

Or at least pretend to.

I stepped into the hall, map in hand, trying not to panic. Everything felt weird. The shadows flickered like they were whispering, and portraits on the wall tracked me with knowing eyes.

I heard low laughter as I passed. Whispers.

“…screamed like a banshee…”

“…first day and already a show…”

I kept my head down.

Then—movement ahead.

A group of students with the same silver badge as mine turned down a corridor. I recognized the emblem and assumed they must be my classmates. Without thinking, I followed them.

I was so focused on keeping up that I didn’t see him until I slammed right into his chest.

My books hit the ground with a dramatic thud.

I looked up—and froze.

It was him. The wolf.

He stared down at me, and for a moment, time did something strange. It twisted and froze.

Our eyes locked.

And something snapped.

It wasn’t violent. It was… magnetic. I felt a pull inside me—quick, sudden. Like invisible strings had just latched to my chest and were yanking me forward. My heart raced, palms turned clammy.

Then, as quickly as it came, he snapped out of it.

His gaze hardened.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he barked. “Are you blind or just weird?”

I flinched.

“You better watch where you’re going next time,” he muttered, stepping around me, hands stuffed in his pockets like he couldn’t be bothered.

I stood there blinking.

How could someone that rude look that good?

Tall. Broad-shouldered. That lean muscle that hinted at raw strength—more predator than athlete. Messy raven-black hair fell over steel-blue eyes. His uniform looked more like rebellion than regulation, with the blazer shrugged off his shoulder and his tie loose like he didn’t care.

Tobias looked like a toddler next to him.

I knelt quickly to gather my books and trailed after the others, ducking into the hall they’d just entered.

It was massive.

Vaulted ceilings stretched high above, with chandeliers that hovered without support. Murals of ancient creatures—phoenixes, leviathans, dragons—covered the walls, moving subtly as if alive. Wooden benches and arched windows lined the room. It felt more like a cathedral to magic than a classroom.

Everyone here wore the same badge.

I slipped into a seat beside a girl with eyes like molten silver and hair like liquid obsidian twisted into twin knots.

She turned to me, smiling with sharp, inhuman teeth. “You’re the screamer.”

Great.

“I’m Lira. Shadow fae. You?”

“Seraphina. Human—I think.”

She snorted. “Not with that power surge you pulled earlier.”

I opened my mouth to ask more, but then the room fell silent.

The professor had entered.

He looked normal—clean-cut, gray suit, salt-and-pepper hair. Except for one thing.

He made no sound.

His footsteps were silent. Not even a whisper on the marble.

It was as if the air had carried him.

He walked to the front and scanned the class.

“Today, we begin with your first assessment,” he said, voice crisp. “It will not be theoretical.”

Oh, yay.

“You’ve been grouped in pairs already. The task requires unity. Fail to work together, and you’ll both lose points.”

He began calling names.

One by one, students moved to find their partners.

Then—

“Thorne.”

The werewolf stood lazily, stretching his neck like a bored lion.

“Vale.”

I blinked.

Wait, what?

We both stared at each other in stunned silence.

His face twisted into a frown.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”