Chapter 3

The journey to the Academy took an entire day—train first, then horseback through terrain too rugged for vehicles. By nightfall, I could see the Academy's stone towers looming against the darkening sky.

This has to work, I told my wolf.

It will, she responded. We'll make it work.

The registration hall was nearly empty when I arrived. A stern-faced man with a scar across his jaw looked up from a stack of papers.

"Name," he barked.

"Ari Blackwood," I said, keeping my voice steady and low.

"Pack."

"Lunar Vale."

He scanned a list, found my name, and grunted. "Blackwood... small pack, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

He looked me over with narrowed eyes. My heart hammered in my chest, but I held his gaze.

Finally, he stamped my papers and handed me a key. "Hall Three, Bunk 17. Orientation's tomorrow night. Don't be late."

I followed the directions through stone corridors that smelled of sweat and testosterone. Hall Three was a long room with rows of bunk beds on either side. About twenty other young men were already there, unpacking or talking in groups.

I made my way to Bunk 17, keeping my head down. The bottom bunk was already claimed, so I tossed my bag onto the top and began unpacking the essentials.

"Hey, new guy!" a voice called from below. A lanky boy with messy brown hair popped his head up to my level. "I'm Riley. Looks like we're bunkmates."

"Ari," I replied, offering a brief nod.

Riley seemed unbothered by my curtness. "First time at the Academy? Me too. I'm nervous as hell, but trying not to show it." He lowered his voice. "Do you know who's here this year? This is like, the royal year."

Despite myself, I was curious. "Royal year?"

"Dude, yes!" Riley's eyes lit up. "The Lycan Prince, Kieran Moonveil, is here. A freaking Lycan! One of them is worth like fifty of us in battle."

My stomach tightened. Lycans were like werewolves but stronger, faster, more lethal. They existed outside Alpha King Aldrich's control, just like my pack.

"Not just that," Riley continued. "Alpha King's son himself, Donovan Silverclaw, is attending. Talk about pressure—imagine training alongside the future king."

I tried not to flinch at Donovan's name. Right now, he should be realizing I hadn't shown up at the altar. Right now, I should be in a wedding dress, not binding my chest in a boys' dormitory.

"There's also the heir to the Eastern Territories, Elias Stormheart, and the twins from the Southern Coast, Theo and Leo Ravenwing." Riley rattled on. "It's like a who's who of future alphas. And here I am, nobody from nowhere."

"Me too," I mumbled, thinking how true that actually was.

"Anyway," Riley yawned, "big day tomorrow. They say the first day weeds out half the contenders."

"Great," I muttered, lying back on my bunk.

As the lights dimmed and the hall quieted, I stared at the ceiling. Tonight, I should be Mrs. Donovan Silverclaw. Instead, I was Ari Blackwood, nobody from nowhere, about to face the most brutal training program for male alphas.

And somewhere, Donovan was realizing I was gone.

Sleep didn't come easily, but exhaustion eventually won.

...

"Blackwood!" a voice barked, jolting me awake. A stern-faced man in Academy uniform stood by my bunk. "Message."

He thrust a sealed envelope at me and moved on. I blinked, recognizing the seal—the fake seal of Lunar Vale that Marcus had created. My heart raced. Had something gone wrong already?

I slipped away to a quiet corner and broke the seal. As I unfolded the paper, my blood froze. This wasn't from Marcus or my cousins.

The handwriting was unmistakable—my father's. At the top was the Vittori insignia, our family's mafia and pack symbol.

My hands trembled as I read:

Emma,

Yesterday, I sat in a church waiting for my daughter who never appeared. The shame and dishonor you brought upon our family is immeasurable. I was prepared to disown you, to cut you from the Vittori line forever.

Tears blurred my vision. I blinked them back furiously, afraid someone might see.

But then I learned the truth. Your brother confronted Donovan about his treatment of you. Their argument became violent. This morning, Joshua was found dead in his room.

My hands shook as I read the letter.

Joshua is dead.

The paper crumpled in my grip, my vision blurring. My brother—my protector, my best friend—gone. Because of me. Because I ran.

Donovan did this.

I forced myself to breathe, to think. If I lost control now, if I shifted or screamed or let even a single tear fall, I was dead. The Academy would sniff out weakness like blood in the water.

I had to be stronger than this.

I had to be ruthless.

***I have no doubt Donovan killed him. Hours after your brother's body was discovered, Donovan departed for the Alpha Academy, but not before serving me with an official declaration of war against our pack, to commence in one year when he returns as Alpha King.

I don't know how you knew to run, or how you secured a place at the Academy, but I now understand your choice. With Joshua gone, the alpha position falls to you, Emma. It is your birthright now.

You are already where you need to be. Fight. Learn. Earn that seat. In one year, return to us, avenge your brother, and protect our pack from the man you were meant to marry.

Your father***

I straightened, shoving the grief down into the darkest part of me, where it festered into something sharper. Something lethal.

Donovan is here.

Somewhere in this fortress of stone and brutality, the man who murdered my brother walked freely, untouchable.

But not for long.

I folded the letter carefully, tucking it into the hidden pocket of my jacket. Then I turned back toward the dormitory, my face blank.

Riley was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the storm inside me. The rest of the hall was quiet, the other recruits lost in dreams of dominance and power.

None of them knew what was coming.

None of them knew who was coming.

Because I wasn’t just Emma Vittori anymore.

I wasn’t just a runaway bride.

I was the heir to the Vittori Syndicate.

I was the last hope of my pack.

And in one year, when Donovan returned to claim his throne, he would find me waiting.

But first, I had to survive the Academy.

First, I had to become something worse than they ever imagined.

I climbed back into my bunk, staring at the ceiling, my father’s final words ringing in my skull like a vow:

“Fight. Learn. Earn that seat.”

I closed my eyes.

And for the first time in my life, I let myself truly hate.

Tomorrow, the real game begins. Tomorrow, I become a monster.