CHAPTER FOUR

Lilia’s POV

I stared at the note like it might suddenly grow teeth and bite me and I read it again..

'The gardens. Behind the lunar glass greenhouse. Thirty minutes after dark. Come quickly. It’s a matter of life and death.'

Yeah… because that didn’t sound like a setup at all.

I sat on the edge of my bed, the paper trembling slightly between my fingers, my brain already spinning through worst-case scenarios.

There were about a hundred ways this could go wrong and not a single one ended with me walking back to my room alive and unmaimed.

“Who the hell even...”

The door slammed open and I flinched just as Serafina strode in like she owned the entire damn building.

Her boots clicked annoyingly and her long platinum hair swinging behind her like a weapon.

Her eyes landed on me immediately and then they dropped.. straight to my hand.

“What’s that?” she asked with her voice sweet in that fake way that made my teeth itch.

“Nothing.”

“Funny,” she said, already walking toward me slowly and deliberately like she was stalking prey. “Because it looked like something.”

Before I could react, she lunged but I’d learned my lesson with Dmitri.

The second she moved, I ripped the paper in half.. then again.. then again.

Tiny white scraps fluttered down between us like snow and Serafina froze.

Her face… oh, that was priceless. For half a second she just stared like her brain couldn’t process what I’d done. Then her expression twisted ugly.

“You stupid bitch,” she snapped, grabbing my wrist. “What was that?”

“Confetti,” I said, jerking my hand free. “Thought the room needed decoration.”

Her nails dug into my arm again, harder this time.

“Was it from a boy? From Dmitri?”

“Goddess, I hope not,” I muttered. “If that’s how they flirt here, I’m transferring.”

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion flickering there now deeper than simple jealousy. She crouched, picking up one of the torn pieces, but it was useless... nothing readable.

“You think you’re clever,” she said softly, standing back up. “You think you can play games here.”

“I’m not playing anything,” I shot back. “You’re the one acting like I just stole your boyfriend.”

Her lips curled.

“You don’t have the class to steal anything from me.”

“Good,” I said, shrugging. “Less competition.”

For a second, I thought she might actually hit me.

Instead, she stepped back smoothing her hair like nothing had happened.

“Whatever it was, you just made a mistake tearing it. Opportunities don’t come twice in this place.”

“Or traps,” I said under my breath.

Her smile turned thin.

“Careful, Morozova. You’re already walking on very thin ice.”

She turned and walked back to her space like she hadn’t just tried to rip something out of my hands.

I exhaled slowly, my heart still racing.

“Yeah,” I muttered to myself, staring at the shredded paper on the floor. “Definitely not suspicious at all.”

***

The next morning, I got to History of the Packs earlier than everyone else.

Not because I was eager but because I needed space to think.

The classroom smelled like old paper and wood with sunlight filtering weakly through tall windows that barely warmed anything.

I dropped into a seat near the middle, pulling my bag onto the desk and staring at it like answers might crawl out if I looked hard enough.

Who sent the note?

Why me?

And why the hell did it feel important enough that I’d torn it anyway?

“Wrong seat.”

The voice came out of nowhere and I blinked, without looking up at first.

“Excuse me?”

“I said,” the voice repeated, calmer this time, “you’re in the wrong seat.”

I rolled my eyes before I even looked up.

“Is this one of those weird territorial wolf things? Because I’m really not in the mood...”

Then I looked.. and my brain just… paused.

Dmitri sat across from me with arms folded and his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead with his icy eyes locked on mine like he was already annoyed I existed.

His broad shoulders stretched the fabric of his uniform with posture rigid controlled and dangerous.

To his right, Gavril leaned back in his chair, one arm draped lazily over the backrest, his shirt slightly open at the collar like he didn’t care about rules. His hair was a mess of dark waves with his grin sharp and amused as he watched me.

Next to me...

Shit.

The guy beside me had sharp clean features.. light brown hair perfectly in place with his expression calm but focused.

Viktor Kamen with his fingers tapping lightly against a notebook.

And then there was the last one..

Leaning back with boots crossed and arms thick with muscle with a faint scar cutting through his brow... Leonov Konstantin.

His gaze was steady and unreadable but there was something heavy about it. Like he could break something just by deciding to.

All four of them.. around me.

“Well,” I said slowly, forcing my voice to stay normal, “guess I picked the VIP section.”

Dmitri’s jaw tightened.

“Move.”

“No,” Gavril said instantly, not even looking at him. “Let her stay.”

Dmitri turned his head slightly with eyes narrowing.

“She doesn’t belong here.”

“Neither do most people,” Gavril shrugged. “Doesn’t stop them.”

Viktor glanced at me with a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

“I like her. She doesn’t look like she’s about to faint.”

Leonov said nothing, just watched.

Dmitri exhaled sharply, standing up so abruptly his chair scraped against the floor.

“Do whatever you want.”

And just like that, he walked away.

I blinked.

“Did I just cause a family breakup?”

Gavril laughed.

“Relax. He’s always like that.”

“Comforting,” I muttered.

I reached into my bag for my history book but found nothing. I frowned, digging deeper.. but still nothing.

“Looking for this?” Viktor’s voice came softly.

I looked up.

He was holding my notebook.. my notebook..?!

“How the hell did you...”

Too late.. he flipped through it fast.. way too fast and the pages blurred under his fingers like a damn fan.

“Hey!” I lunged forward, snatching it back. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Viktor didn’t look fazed. He just leaned back slightly with his eyes narrowing.

“You write a lot,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” I snapped. “It’s called notes. People do it.”

His gaze sharpened.

“Careful what you write here.”

A chill slid down my spine.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” he said calmly, “not everyone would appreciate your opinions on pack hierarchy.”

My stomach dropped.

Shit.

I clutched the notebook tighter, forcing a shrug.

“Maybe they should try being less shitty then.”

Gavril chuckled under his breath and Leonov’s lips twitched slightly.

I stood up, grabbing my bag.

“You’re all creeps.”

And I walked away to another seat before they could say anything else.

***

Night came too slowly.. then too fast.

I waited until Serafina was distracted... arguing loudly with someone down the hall... before slipping into the bathroom.

I locked the door, climbed onto the sink and shoved the window open with a grunt wme cold air rushed in.

“Great,” I whispered. “Perfect night to die.”

I climbed out anyway.

The ground wasn’t far but I still landed harder than I expected with knees jolting as I straightened. The academy loomed behind me with all black stone and shadows and the windows glowing faintly like watching eyes.

I pulled my jacket tighter and started moving.

The gardens were darker than I expected.

Trees stretched overhead, branches twisting like skeletal fingers and the glass greenhouse visible in the distance... moonlight reflecting off its curved surface like a blade.

“Hello?” I called softly.

I stepped closer with boots crunching softly against gravel and every nerve in my body screaming that this was a bad idea.

“Okay,” I muttered. “If this is a prank, it’s really not funny...”

A sound.. behind me.. so soft.. way too soft.

My breath hitched and I turned slightly, trying to listen with my heart pounding so loud it drowned everything else out.

“Hello?” I whispered.

Another step.. closer..

I started to turn... before a hand suddenly clamped over my mouth…!