Crestfall Academy

Adira

Being confused was an understatement. How did I go from being in that dreadful place to standing in this massive hall with a piano bench in the centre, polished marbled floor and book shelves lining the wall.

What was going on here? Whose pack was this and worse, why was I even here?

As I remained rooted to the same spot, thoughts that stemmed from fear flashed through my mind. When that woman made mention of the dead young Alpha, could it be that he did something bad and they were looking for a replica or…

The huge doors that swung open cut short my thoughts, the woman from earlier coming into the hall but this time she had company. A man and a woman, dressed gracefully yet their eyes were sulken—Like they have been wailing.

With the aura that swirled around them. They didn’t seem like normal wolves.

The Alpha and Luna?

The moment the woman’s eyes met mine, she froze, her shoulders sagged and she bursted into tears, slipping into the arms of the man who stared at me in horror.

For the second time, what the fuck was going on.

The woman from earlier, moved towards me, reaching for my hands and her face curved into a smile. “Adira, right?”

I bobbed my head. “Yes, Adira”

A grin split her face. “I am Katie and you are welcome to the Beastly Shadow Pack—“

The moment she uttered those words, my heart turned cold in my chest, the name of the pack rattling consistently in my head before my eyes widened in shock.

The same Beastly Shadow Pack!

Four packs ruled Callid Land, the beastly Shadow Pack, Black Moon Pack, Golden claws pack and the Eclipsed Shield Moon Pack—the terrific packs to have ever existed, always fighting for the Callid Land Sceptre.

Because of the consistent war in the packs, the four packs came together as one to create an academy for fair play. However, this academy isn’t your normal one, it is a brutal training ground where the weak, wolfless kind were trampled upon.

Every thirty years, the crestfall academy would be opened for a new session where trial games determines the students ranking. The representatives of the pack that ranked first in each term would get to hold the sceptre temporarily. At the end of the session, the final trial games would be held, and the one who brought the sceptre back to their pack would be crowned Alpha of all Alphas, ruling over the other packs for a long period—up to thirty years—until the next cycle begins and the trials start again.

While everyone, including small packs that had little or no chances to hold the sceptre, applied to the Crestfall Academy, I never did. It has never crossed my mind. Most of the low-ranking wolves who went there, thinking they would have the chance to work in the werewolf court at least, never came back home alive.

The fight for power, for survival and the brutal games in the Crestfall academy would only come to an end when the one spoken in the prophecy comes to restore peace and balance to Callid Land. According to what I had heard, the liberator would be a man with an extraordinary wolf and he would hold the sceptre forever.

However, that prophecy hadn’t come to pass for the past five hundred years.

It was as good as useless.

The woman called Katie broke my train of thoughts, taking my hands in hers while leading me towards the sobbing couple. “Meet Alpha Harlan and Luna Rolana,”

My heart scudded hard in my chest and I lowered my head before them.

They didn’t say a word.

“Can I know what is going on?”

She smiled at me, sauntered towards the wall and in the blink of an eye, she pulled the red drape to the side but what happened next was beyond me. A gasp escaped me, eyes almost bulging out of its sockets when it came in contact with the huge framed picture that was hung on the wall.

A young man with golden blonde hair, a crown adorned with crystals sitting on his head. His jaw was clenched, spring green eyes mirroring a storm and worse, he looked just like me.

Like my masculine version. This was me.

My mouth dropped and I had to rub my hands on my eyes to be sure that I was seeing right. Luna Rolana bursted into tears again, crumbling to the ground while Katie wiped away the stray tear that slid down her cheek.

“Not only am I Katie but I am the priestess of this pack, taken over from my mum who died years back…”She fixed her eyes back to the huge framed picture. “This is Young Alpha Flynn, Adira. Strong, masculine but the moon goddess struck him with an illness that lasted months and he passed away a week ago”

I was still in shock, heartbroken at the sight of the grieving couple but at the same time, what has this got to do with me?

The Alpha sauntered to me, his brown eyes piercing mine as he stared at me in disbelief. “You look just like my son. How old are you?”

I lowered my gaze. “Nineteen”

His eyes softened. “Date of birth?”

“18th of April”

He sucked in a deep breath, placed a hand on my shoulder and terror gripped me immediately. “Flynn was born on the 1st of August. It is surprising how you look exactly like him”

Luna Rolana took tiny steps towards me while Alpha Harlan stepped back. Her eyes narrowed on me, staring at me indecisively before she pulled me into a hug. “The moon goddess surely has a solution for every problem…” She pulled away and cupped my face. “You will save us and everyone in this pack” A faint smile crossed her face.

I was still confused.

The priestess chuckled, despite the pain her eyes held. “The moon goddess always has a plan…” Her words trailed before she cleared her throat. “Let’s not waste time and get to why you are here, as you know, when a high ranking wolf dies in Callid Land, a star would disappear”

“Since Flynn gave up the ghost, a star has vanished,”

I turned to look at the Alpha. “When a star of the Beastly Shadow vanishes, it means we have become prey to the other packs in this territory. When they find out that I have no heir anymore and Flynn who was supposed to retain the sceptre here is gone, they would join hands ravage the pack and massacre my family completely”

“If that doesn’t happen, my estranged brother would kick me to the curb, take over the pack. Our lives are at risk here?”

Confusion nudged at me further because why were they telling me all of this. What has this got to do with me?

“Okay…” I glanced back and forth at them in confusion.

The Luna smiled wistfully, tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You are no longer, Adira. Your home isn’t yours anymore and we are giving you a chance at a new life. You would be taking the place of my son”

“You are now Flynn!”

It took a whole lot of restraint for me not to snort out a laugh. Maybe this was a joke or perhaps my hearing was impaired but when I saw the serious expression etched on their faces, it hit me slowly that this wasn’t a joke.

If I became Flynn, it meant that I would join that dreadful Crestfall academy?

I shook my head at the realization. “No, this can’t work. I am a young girl, no wolf, weak and…”

“It doesn’t matter, you will be trained in combat skills” Alpha Harlan countered.

My voice cracked. “No…No…it isn’t impossible”

“Everything is possible when we make it happen,” Katie responded.

How was this supposed to work? Was this a dream? Even if it happened, what about the missing star?

The Luna had given the instruction for someone to come in with scissors and with every step that she took towards me, my heart pounded hard in my chest. “You have to do this, Adira. If you don’t, it means you will be returned to that auction house where you would end up being tossed around as an object for sex”

My pulse quickened, beads of sweat forming on my head but surprisingly, I stilled. Maybe it was the glint of pity in her eyes that struck me and held me in place?

Before I could process things, the sharp snip of scissors echoed through the room, strands of my thick mane hair falling to the ground, settling on my shoulders as I remained rooted to the same spot in disbelief.

As if that wasn’t enough, Katie placed the crown adorned with rare crystals on my head. “You are now Flynn Hitchcock, Young Alpha of Beastly Shadow Pack and the pack’s representative at Crestfall Academy.”