Mein Geheimnis, mein Peiniger, meine Freunde

Lilia's POV

“Just breathe, Lilia. Don’t vomit on your boots. Don't pass out. Just… don’t fuck this up.”

I was muttering under my breath, my voice barely a whisper against the howling wind that whipped around the iron gates of Redwood Academy.

My fingers were white-knuckled around the strap of my duffel bag, my heart pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird.

“What was that?”

The voice was gruff, coming from the man standing behind the reinforced glass of the security booth. He was a mountain of a man with a thick neck and eyes that looked like they hadn’t seen a wink of sleep in a decade.

I jumped, my eyes widening.

“Nothing! Just… practicing my scales. I’m a singer. Internal rehearsals, you know?”

The man’s gaze didn’t soften. He looked at me like I was a particularly annoying bug he was considering squashing.

“Step into the scanner. Arms up. Legs apart.”

I did as I was told.

The scanner was a heavy circular arch that glowed with a faint pulsing blue light.

As I stepped inside, I could feel the silver-laced hum of it vibrating through my marrow. It was checking for everything... weapons, contraband and most importantly, the strength of the beast inside me.

The hum intensified, red light flickered near my left eye and my stomach did a slow nauseating roll. My palms were slick with sweat. What if they see through me? What if they know I’m not just another transfer student?

The machine gave a final beep and the light turned green.

The gatekeeper grunted, hitting a button and with a groan of metal and the clanking of chains, the massive black iron gates... topped with stone gargoyles that looked far too much like snarling wolves... slowly swung open.

I took a breath, the first real one in five minutes.

“Move it, girl,” the guard growled. “I don't have all day.”

I hurried through and behind me, the gates slammed shut with a finality that made my blood run cold.

I was officially inside Redwood Academy.

The place looked like it had been ripped straight out of a gothic horror movie.. with all black stone, pointed spires that pierced the grey clouds and ivy that crawled up the walls like dark vein-filled fingers.

It was hauntingly beautiful  but the air felt saturated with the scent of wood, rain and the scent of hundreds of predators living under one roof.

“Welcome, Lilia Morozova. You’re exactly on time.”

I nearly leaped out of my skin.

Standing at the top of the stone stairs was a woman who looked like she’d been carved from marble.

She wore a tailored black suit that hugged a figure as sharp as a blade. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun so tight it looked painful and her eyes... a piercing, intelligent grey... seemed to read my entire life story in a single glance.

“I’m Professor Lena Gromova,” she said, her voice smooth and intimidating. “Follow me. We have much to cover and very little time.”

I hurried up the stairs to join her and as we walked through the entrance hall, my eyes darted everywhere.

The ceilings were vaulted, painted with scenes of ancient wars and the chandeliers were made of what looked like.. bones?

“Redwood is more than just a school,” Professor Gromova said. “For centuries, it has been the crucible where the future of our kind is forged. This is the training ground for the elite. Especially the Alpha heirs. We do not produce followers here.. we produce leaders.”

I nodded, trying to look impressed but my mind was elsewhere.

My secret was heavy in my chest.. I wasn't here to lead.. I was here for Anica.

My cousin had been the light of my life... brave, warm and far more talented than me.

When she got her invitation to Redwood, we’d celebrated.. then the letters stopped.. then the school claimed she’d simply ‘departed’ of her own accord. But Anica would never leave without telling me. Never!

“Are you listening, Miss Morozova?” Gromova’s voice snapped me back.

“Yes, Professor. Elite. Leaders. Got it.”

“Good. Redwood is a privilege, not a right. Many find the pressure… too much to bear.”

As she spoke, we passed a wide balcony overlooking a courtyard and suddenly, a jolt of electricity shot through my body.

It was almost like a a magnetic tug so strong it felt like someone had hooked a wire to my heart and yanked.

I stopped in my tracks and turned toward the courtyard.

Down below, four guys were standing in a loose circle, the fog swirling around their boots.

I couldn't see their faces clearly from this distance but the energy coming off them was suffocating.

One was massive, his shoulders broad enough to carry the world. Another had an athletic restless energy even while standing still. The third was lean and poised and the fourth had a rugged unkempt look that suggested he’d just walked out of a forest.

They were looking right at me. I could feel their collective gaze on me.

As soon as I shifted my weight to get a better look, all four of them turned away in perfect unison, disappearing into the mist of the courtyard as if they’d never been there and the magnetic pull snapped, leaving me feeling cold and strangely hollow.

“Miss Morozova? Is there a problem?” Gromova asked, her eyebrows arched.

We climbed another flight of stairs and walked down a dim hallway lined with doors and Gromova stopped at room 302 and pushed it open.

The room was large but it felt cramped because of the tension radiating from the girl sitting on the edge of one of the four-poster beds.

She was tall and elegant with features so sharp she could probably draw blood just by looking at someone. Her hair was a platinum blonde and she was currently polishing a silver dagger with a piece of silk.

“Serafina Draculesti, meet your new roommate, Lilia Morozova,” Gromova announced.

Serafina didn’t even look up at first. She just kept polishing.

“Another one? Honestly, Professor, I thought this was not the shelter for the underprivileged.”

Gromova’s voice turned to ice.

“Serafina. Play nice or you’ll find yourself spending the semester in the dungeons cleaning the silver. Am I clear?”

Serafina finally looked up, her blue eyes cold and mocking.

“Crystal, Professor.”

Gromova gave me one last look... one that felt suspiciously like a warning... and swept out of the room, the door clicking shut behind her.

I stood there, holding my bag feeling the Serafina’s stare.

“You can take the bed by the window,” Serafina said, her voice dripping with disdain.

She stood up, walking toward me with a predatory grace. She was a few inches taller than me and she used every bit of that height to look down her nose at my worn jeans and combat boots.

“Where did you come from, anyway? Some backwater pack where you all share a single toothbrush?”

I was tired, I was scared and I didn't have the patience for a mean-girl routine.

“Actually, we had two toothbrushes. But we lost one in a tragic breaking and entering. Was that your pack?”

Serafina’s eyes narrowed.

“You think you’re funny? You look like a gutter rat that managed to sneak past the gates. Give it a week. You’ll be begging to go back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”

“Well,” I said, dropping my bag onto my bed and looking her dead in the eye. “At least in my ‘hole,’ we don’t spend all day polishing knives to make up for the fact that we have the personality of a wet brick. You might want to try some moisturizer, Serafina. All that bitterness is starting to make you look… old.”

Serafina’s face turned red. She took a step toward me, her claws beginning to lengthen and her eyes flashing a dangerous amber.

“You little bitch. I’ll rip that tongue right out of...”

“ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS.”

A booming voice erupted from the speakers mounted in the corners of the ceiling, saving my throat from being shredded.

“ORIENTATION FOR NEW STUDENTS WILL BEGIN IN FIVE MINUTES IN THE GRAND HALL. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY.”

Serafina growled, the sound vibrating in her chest as she retracted her claws though she looked like she wanted to use them on me.

“You got lucky. But stay out of my way, Morozova. This school eats girls like you for breakfast.”

She shoved past me, her shoulder hitting mine hard enough to make me stumble.

I waited a few seconds, taking a shaky breath before following her out.

I didn't know where the Grand Hall was, so I just followed the stream of students beginning to fill the hallway.

I was trying to keep my head down and trying to blend in when I realized I was going the wrong way. I turned a corner too fast, looking back at a map I pulled from my pocket and..

Thud.

It was like running into a stone wall.. a very hot and very hard stone wall.

I bounced off the chest of the person I’d hit, my heels skidding on the floor.

I would have hit the ground if a pair of large powerful hands hadn’t shot out to grab my upper arms, steadying me.

The contact was like a bolt of lightning and heat flared where his fingers touched my skin, making my breath hitch in my throat.

“Watch where you’re going,” a deep voice commanded.

I looked up and the world seemed to stop.

The young man holding me was beautiful in a way that was almost terrifying.

He was tall with his chest broad and solid beneath a black sweater. His hair was dark and slightly messy but it was his eyes that caught me. They were a piercing icy blue... cold enough to freeze but with a hidden fire that seemed to burn right through my clothes.

He didn't let go of my arms. Instead, he leaned down slightly and my heart stopped as he tilted his head, his nose drifting toward the crook of my neck.

He didn't just smell me.. he inhaled me.

His grip tightened, his fingers digging into my muscles and a dangerous growl rumbled deep in his chest.

He pulled back, his eyes searching mine with a look of suspicion. His lip curled in a sneer that didn't quite hide the way his pupils had blown wide.

“You,” he hissed, his voice dropping. “Your scent… it’s wrong.”

I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink.

“I... I’m new. I was just looking for the hall.”

He leaned closer, his face inches from mine.

I could feel the heat radiating from his body, the raw Alpha power that made every cell in my body want to either bow down or run for my life.

“No,” he said, his gaze dropping to my lips before snapping back to my eyes. “You don't belong here…”