The wolves of Roverthhood

Chapter Two 

*****

The carriage stopped.

Elara pressed her forehead against the window of the car. Roverthhood Academy loomed behind black, barbed iron gates that were gilded with curling letters. Stone towers rose like sharp teeth beyond them. It felt colder in the air itself.

The driver opened her door. “We’re here, Miss.”

Elara stepped out, clutching the single suitcase Robin had allowed. The gates creaked open, and her heart thudded. She passed through  students in immaculate uniforms laughing  sharply and cuttingly.They  looked at her judging  her through their eyes.

The courtyard raids of golden statues of wolves snarled from pedestals. There is a plaque on the wall boldly written on "Strength. Power"  Dominion.

Elara whispered, “Cruelty, more like.

As she enters the main hall, it’s glistened with chandeliers, marble floors, and crystal lights  and  there is ruddy weather, beauty, and conceit everywhere. With voices resonating in thoughtless derision, students lounged like kings and queens.

A girl brushed past, perfume thick. “Watch it.”

Elara hugged her suitcase closer and found her dorm room. Alone, she set her things down, staring at the bare bed. The air smelled of polish and roses though it felt like prison walls closing in.

By lunchtime,she had plucked up courage and walked towards the expansive dining hall. There were countless tables lining  with a hum of superior students gathered in groups. No seat was empty except for the farthest corner.

Elara walked there, tray trembling in her hands. She sat, eyes fixed on the bread roll before her.

“New girl.”

The voice was low and sharp like a blade. She looked up. A tall and keen-eyed guy standing In front of her, “Derek Blackthorne” as some students whispered, his smile curling like a predator playing with its victim.

"Hey stranger, There's no place for you here."

Elara forced her voice steady. “Neither do you, apparently, if you’re wasting your time on me.”

His laugh was soft, dangerous. “Bold. I like bold.” He leaned down, hand braced on the table. “Maybe I’ll break you in front of everyone. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“Step away, Derek.”

The command came from across the hall. Robert Sinclair strode toward them, calm, assured, his dark hair falling into his eyes. His presence cut through the noise like steel.

Derek’s smile thinned. “Always the hero.”

“Or maybe just decent,” Robert said. He moved between them, sliding into the seat beside Elara. “Sit somewhere else, Derek. She’s with me.”

Gasps whispered through the hall. All eyes shifted. Elara’s cheeks flamed.

Derek straightened slowly. “You’ll regret this, Sinclair.”

“Doubtful.” Robert’s voice was cold.

Derek left, his stare lingering like a promise of violence.

Elara whispered, “You didn’t have to—”

“Yes, I did,” Robert cut in. He lifted his fork casually. “No one eats alone here unless they’re marked prey. Sit with me.”

For the first time that day, Elara breathed. But across the hall, Alice Sterling’s eyes narrowed. Her lips curved into a cold smile. Her clique leaned close, whispering like snakes.

---

Classes dragged on. The air was thick with lectures about power, wealth, and legacy. Elara barely listened. Whispers followed her everywhere.

After class, as she crossed the courtyard, Alice and her girls stepped into her path. Alice’s beauty was polished sharp, her smile poisonous.

“You think you can sit with Robert Sinclair?” Alice’s voice rang sweet and venomous.

“I didn’t ask him,” Elara said.

“You should’ve refused.” Alice snapped her fingers. Two girls lifted buckets. A sudden splash—thick mud coated Elara’s uniform, dripping heavy against the white fabric.

Laughter rang. Alice leaned close, her perfume cloying. “Stay away from Robert. Or next time, it won’t be mud.”

Elara’s fists clenched, but words caught in her throat. The clique walked away, smug and cruel.

She stood trembling, mud dripping to the stones. Students pointed, smirked, whispered.

“Elara.”

Her head turned. Robert stood in the archway, fury dark in his eyes. He walked toward her, stripping off his jacket in one motion.

“Put this on.”

“I can’t—”

He  said firmly. “Do it,” he draped the jacket over her shoulders gently. He steadied her by taking her arm.

As he guided her forward, the hall became quiet. Every pupil observed. Wildfire-like whispers hissed. Alice's grin disappeared, and her glare charred the atmosphere.

Robert leaned close. “Don’t let them see you break. Not here.”

Elara’s steps steadied under his hold. But inside, her heart was hammered.

---

That night, the dorm halls fell quiet. Elara sat on her bed, Robert’s jacket folded neatly beside her. She couldn’t sleep. Clara’s words echoed in her mind: Marriage will free you. But nothing felt freeing here.

There was a knock on the door.

“Elara?”

 Alice called , her voice came so soft and  coaxing.

Elara stiffened. “What do you want?”

“Peace. I don’t like fighting. Meet me outside. No tricks. Just… talk.”

Elara hesitated. Against reason, she slipped from her bed, jacket tight around her. She followed Alice  out into the night.

Alice smiled calmly as she waited by the fountain l“See? No tricks. I only wanted to explain. Robert is mine. He’s been mine for years. You’re new. You don’t have idea how things work here.”

" I told you,  I have no  interest in him," Elara declared.

"It still doesn't matter." Alice smiles wiredly. You disrespect and made me feel ashamed today. There are consequences for that.

A figure stepped out of the darkness. Derek. In the lantern light, his smile stretched spitefully.

Elara's blood became icy.

“You said peace,” she whispered.

Alice stepped back. “I lied.”

Derek’s hand reached for her wrist. “Time to play.”

Elara tore free, shoving past running, her lungs burning and heart pounding as  Derek’s laugh echoed behind her.

She ran down a path that wound into shadowy woods and through the gates at the courtyard's edge. Her arms were clawed at by branches. The wet leaves caused her shoes to slip.

“Run faster,” Derek called. His voice carried, closer than it should’ve been.

Elara staggered, gasping for air. A clearing appeared as the trees became thinner. There—an old temple tumbling into ruin, stone pillars broken. The walls were choked with vines, but there was a faint pulse inside.

A glow.

Elara staggered toward it, chest heaving. The light spread across the stones, soft, alive, whispering.

She pressed a hand to the ruined arch. The glow flared, swallowing the dark.

Behind her, Derek shouted, “What the hell—”

The temple shivered. The ground beneath her feet hummed.

Elara’s eyes widened. Forgotten magic breathed awake.