Chapter 1: Congratulations!

My eyes darted anxiously over the pages, skimming past every irrelevant detail, my heart thundering against my ribcage as I searched for the one thing that mattered. My hands trembled uncontrollably.

Oh goddess, please!

Then I saw it. A familiar name, bold and undeniable, jumped off the screen. My breath hitched, and for a second, I swore my heart stopped altogether.

Aurora Roy.

My name.

A small squeal escaped my lips.

I made it?

Was this perhaps a different list? My gaze darted back to the highlights at the top of the page.

Congratulations, you've qualified for the Tryouts for Twilight Academy.

I blinked, staring at the words as if they might change. The bold letters seemed to mock me.

Was there perhaps another Aurora Roy?

But no,it was there, undoubtedly me.

Aurora Roy, Clearwater Pack.

My thoughts spun wildly, a chaotic mix of disbelief and hope. I stood frozen in the middle of the school hallway, the noise around me melting into a distant hum. 

The chatter, the laughter, even the occasional taunt, all of it faded away, leaving only the pounding of my heart.

I’ll be leaving Clearwater.

The thought was almost too much to process. I had spent so long convincing myself that rejection was inevitable.

 After all, how could I measure up to Twilight's standard? I didn’t have my wolf yet. I couldn’t shift like almost everyone else, a fact that made me a target for endless ridicule. 

But still, I was a skilled healer. And it seemed that was enough for them. My potential had been noticed, despite everything, and now I had a chance.

I would be going to Twilight Academy as a healer major.

I read the line again, and then once more, as if staring at the words long enough would finally make them real. My fingers brushed over the screen, tracing the letters, a small, nervous laugh escaping my lips. It wasn’t a prank. It wasn’t a mistake. It was real.

I was in.

I actually made it to tryouts.

“Move it, freak.”

The sneer cut through my thoughts like a blade. Gigi, with her perfectly polished smile and her ever-present posse of giggling minions, shoved me hard as she passed. The force sent me stumbling, and everything I was holding slipped from my grasp, tumbling to the floor in a scattered mess.

I only managed to grab my phone.

My papers, my notebook, my bag—all of it lay sprawled at my feet. Gigi didn’t bother sparing me a second glance as she stomped on them..

I was going to fire back as usual, maybe call Gigi a bimbo or something else that perfectly summed up her pretty face and non-existent brain cells. But instead, I took a deep breath and let their foolishness slide. I was in too good a mood to let them ruin it.

Besides, engaging would mean staring at her makeup-plastered face for even longer, and I just couldn’t be bothered.

“Freak,” she said with a smirk staring right at me,her voice dripping with mockery.

I couldn’t even muster the energy to be annoyed. Why would I? I wouldn’t have to deal with her much longer. I'd be leaving soon. The thought made me smile.

“What’s she smiling at?” one of Gigi's’s minions asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

I grinned even wider, the satisfaction bubbling inside me.

The school bell rang, snapping me back to reality. It was time for class. I turned on my heel, walking away without sparing them another glance.

“She’s a sorry case,” one of them said pitifully as I left.

I shook it off, forcing myself to keep my excitement in check. There was no one around to share my good news with, I had no one here, not a single friend.

I sighed softly. 

I’d just have to wait until school was over.

I stumbled slightly as I reached the doorframe of my next class: Potions. As I stepped inside, an unnatural hush fell over the room.

“Her?” someone whispered, loud enough for me to catch.

The news had spread.

Everyone sat in their usual groups, their heads bent close together as they murmured. Their eyes darted toward me, only to quickly avert their gaze, as if looking at me might somehow taint them.

“I cannot believe this little mutt is actually going to Twilight Academy,” someone muttered, their tone dripping with disdain.

I clenched my fists, forcing my head high as I made my way to my usual seat. The whispers followed me.

“Is this for real?” another voice hissed.

“Has Twilight lost its standards? I mean, her?” Gigi's’s sharp tone cut through the room, her disbelief echoing in every word.

The class seemed to share the same opinion.

Was it really so hard to believe? I thought, rolling my eyes in irritation as I sank into my seat. Typical Clearwater High nonsense.

The girl sitting next to me was staring blatantly, and I shot her a glare. She quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

I was so tired of these people.

I was one of the best healer students here. My invitation to try out for the most prestigious school in the shifter society spoke for itself! Yet, they all looked at me like I’d somehow cheated my way in.

Just because I couldn’t shift?

Twilight wasn’t just any school. It was the school. The most exclusive shifter academy in existence. Only the most gifted were accepted, a handpicked selection of elite shifters from every corner of society. 

Being invited was the dream of every ambitious wolf, and for someone like me—coming from one of the smallest, most insignificant packs.

This was my chance. A chance to train, to rise above the limitations of being born low-tier

Clearwater Pack wasn’t just small, it was irrelevant. We sat at the bottom of the shifter hierarchy, barely worth a second glance from anyone in the higher divisions.

The Primals ruled the werewolf world with their wealth and powerful bloodlines, the ultimate apex of wolf society.

 And above even them was the Lycan Kingdom, perched firmly at the top of the food chain, a world of unimaginable power and privilege.

Meanwhile, we Clearwater wolves were nothing more than the scraps at the bottom.

A small village. 

The whole shifter society pretty much operated on what bloodline you belonged to.

Twilight Academy catered to the best of the best, not just werewolves but Lycans as well. Admissions heavily favored those with ancient, pure and pure bloodlines, the ones who were good enough to uphold the prestige of the school.

It was highly competitive. A school filled with the children of Alphas, influential pack leaders, and even wolf and Lycan royalty. The current Wolf King and Lycan King were said to have graduated from there.

That wasn’t to say ordinary packs were excluded entirely. Some kids from smaller, less prominent packs like mine had a chance to try out for a spot. 

They were the ones who showed extraordinary potential, the gifted individuals who could break through the barriers of their lineage. This had been Twilight's tradition for generations. 

Over the decades, a handful of students from Clearwater had made it as far as the tryouts. But none had ever become permanent students.

I was determined to be the first.

Twilight wasn’t just a school, it was the gateway to every opportunity I could ever dream of.

 It was a place where I could master my skills, learning from the most skilled teachers, professors, mages, and shifter warriors.

The process wasn’t easy. After the initial tryouts, successful candidates would stay at the school for a few months, undergoing tests and training. Only those who proved their worth could become full-fledged students. It would be intense and exhausting.

But I wanted this more than anything.

I wanted to hone my abilities as a healer and potions maker, the only things I was actually good at. They were my passion, my lifeline. But there was another reason I wanted to go to Twilight.

Her.

Twilight was renowned for its advanced technology, a legacy of its origins. Once, the academy had been a military fort, guarding the main entrance to the shifter society during the wars between shifters and other supernatural creatures as well as Human hunters several years ago. 

After then, the school had evolved, training promising young shifters to be the protectors and leaders of our world. It wasn’t just werewolves and Lycans who walked its halls.

The history, the prestige, the opportunities, it was everything I’d ever dreamed of.

I couldn’t contain my excitement.

Cherry on top was the fact that Twilight had the best of everything. The best lecturers, retired warriors turned instructors, and even the most skilled healers taught there. It was that exclusive, that untouchable, and now I had a foot in the door.

The only problem? Convincing Mom.

Just thinking about her made me groan softly.

"Her mom probably always knew she was strange," Lana sighed wistfully, her words cutting through my thoughts like a blade.

The gossip was still going strong. Great. And to make things worse, the Potions teacher was running late.

"I wish she'd just stayed hidden away with her weird family instead of Beta Mason stepping in and forcing us to deal with her," someone else added.

They were really laying it on thick today. I kept my expression blank, my poker face firmly in place. Their words stung, but I refused to let it show.

"She’s so weird. I’m glad she’s leaving," another voice chimed in.

"Don’t get too comfortable," Gigi's sneering voice broke through. "She’ll be back soon enough when they realize there’s no way she’ll meet Twilight’s standards."

"True," one of her minions agreed, "but at least we’ll get a few weeks of peace without her freakish aura ruining the air around here!"

I took a deep breath, willing myself to block them out.

Don’t let it get to you.

Their words might sting now, but they wouldn’t matter in a few weeks. Soon, I’d be out of Clearwater, one step closer to my dream.

Now all I needed was Mom to say yes.