LOGINETHAN The moment I stepped onto campus the next morning, I knew there was definitely going to be chaos.A cold pressure pressed against my skin, like something unseen was crawling over me. At first I thought it was just leftover exhaustion from last night, but then I saw black fog slithering out from the cracks of the main hall, spilling over the courtyard like a living thing.Students were screaming. Books hit the ground. People ran in every direction.And the fog had already found it's way into their system.I watched a boy in front of me inhale a lungful before he even realized it. His veins turned dark instantly, spiderwebbing beneath his skin. His eyes rolled back, his spine twisted at an unnatural angle, and when he looked at me again he had fanged shadows where pupils used to be.“What the hell…? No—NO! Stay back!” another student shouted, but it was too late. The twisted boy lunged with claws that hadn’t existed seconds ago.Everything collapsed into chaos.Students were atta
PROFESSOR KIERAN The moment Marcus lifted the torch above my head, I felt my wolf hurl itself against my chest, snarling for release. The silver net tightened as I struggled, the metal burning into my skin like molten wire. Every breath came heavier, slower, poisoned by the silver stench clogging my lungs.The students were shouting over each other, like a single roaring beast trying to swallow me whole.“He’s a monster!”“Kill him before he turns on us!”“Burn the wolf!”My vision blurred at the edges, but I refused to show any sign of weakness. If this was how I died, I would face it heads on.Marcus stepped forward, flames flickering greedily along the torch. Sweat rolled down the side of my face.“See?” Marcus sneered, turning to the crowd. “Proof. Do you see it now? Wolves live among us. They pretend to be your teachers, your friends, your protectors. But they’re nothing more than beasts.”I snarled, the words ripping out of me through clenched teeth.“You don’t know a damn thin
LESSIE The chains scraped against my wrists again.A slow, grating drag of metal over raw, torn skin. I sucked in a sharp breath as the movement sent another wave of pain spiraling up my arms, settling deep into my bones. I didn’t know how long I’d been hanging there. Time didn’t exist in the Shadow Realm. There was no sun to tell me morning had come. No moon to show that night was near.Just darkness and pain.I sagged forward, my head dipping as strands of hair clung to the sweat on my face. Everything in me felt drained—my strength, my courage, even the stubborn spark that had kept me alive this long. My legs trembled uselessly beneath me, unable to do more than drag against the cold ground.My chest ached with every breath I managed to pull in. My throat burned from earlier screams. My ribs felt bruised, maybe cracked. My lips were dry, split at the corners. I felt weak, so weak it scared me.Because weakness was exactly what he wanted.Every second I hung here, I felt pieces of
PROFESSOR KIERAN The moment I stepped into the quad, the air shifted immediately, as if nature itself was very well calling me a monster. I moved forward and looked right in the eyes of everyone in front. Students crowded the space, torches blazing in their hands, the glow painting their terrified faces. Even before anyone spoke, I felt their emotions crackling through the air, a chaotic mix of panic, anger, and something even more dangerous, ignorance.And it was ignorance that Marcus Vale fed on.He stood on the raised steps at the center of the quad, blade still glinting with the fading reflection of the torch he’d nearly used to execute my packmate. The boy was still on the ground, gasping, clutching his side. His human face was streaked with tears, blood, and fear. Students surrounded him like vultures hungry for a corpse.My wolf surged the moment I saw him.“Enough,” I growled, stepping forward.Every head snapped in my direction, as they started switching off their Torches an
ETHANThe moment I stepped onto campus that morning, I knew something was off. And not the kind of feeling you can brush off with a nervous laugh or a hopeful lie. This was the kind of feeling that crawled up your spine and whispered, run.The university looked like a war zone waiting for a spark.People were shouting. Doors were barricaded. Windows had been smashed. Fear clung to the air so thick I could almost taste it.And underneath all of it, I scented them.Hunters were out in the open, walking casually as if they owned the place.My heartbeat slammed in my chest. Dante need to know.Before I could move, someone grabbed my arm.“Ethan!”Sandra.Her face was red, eyes wild, as if she hadn’t slept at all. She practically stumbled toward me, gripping my jacket with both hands.“Where is Lessie?!” she demanded, her voice cracking. “Tell me you know where she is because I swear the last time I saw her, she was with you and Professor Dante, so don’t you dare lie to me right now!”“San
LESSIEThe cold in the Shadow Realm was not like any cold I had ever felt. It wasn’t the kind that made your skin shiver or your fingers numb—it was the kind that crawled into you, like darkness learning the shape of your bones.I knelt on the polished black stone floor of the Sovereign’s throne room, the chains around my wrists dragging me down every time I tried to lift my head. Silver-forged links tightened with every breath I took, cutting into my skin until warm blood slid down my fingers and dripped onto the ground.“Stubborn,” the Sovereign said, his voice echoing like a thousand whispers layered together. He lounged lazily on his throne—if a throne could be called that. It was alive, made of twisted obsidian, its sides shaped like screaming faces carved into stone. Its eyes glowed faintly… watching me.I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet his gaze.He smiled slowly, dark amusement dripping from the curl of his lips.“You defy me even now,” he murmured. “How tiresome. Ho