Chapter 5

He looked at the name tag on my breast pocket, reading the pack name.he didn’t recognize it. Men like Donovan only bothered to learn important pack names. When he realized I was practically useless, he lowered his guard. I’d been with him for one year, I know how he operates.

“ See,’’ Luna, my wolf, says. “ He’s so arrogant that he’s convinced he can never know someone of such a low-status pack. His arrogance might save us.’’

As if on que, something like amusement flickered across his face.

"Watch where you're going," he said as I passed too close. His voice carried that familiar arrogant tone. "Some of us actually matter here."

I kept walking, but he stepped into my path. "Did you hear me, nobody?"

"I heard you," I said quietly, keeping my voice low and faking fear.

"Good." He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me back against the lockers. The metal dug into my spine. "Remember that. You're nothing here. Just another wannabe from a pack so small it barely exists."

Other boys had stopped to watch. Donovan was performing now, establishing his dominance for an audience. I could fight back—I knew I could take him. But that would draw exactly the kind of attention I couldn't afford.

So I lowered my eyes and nodded. "Yes, Alpha Prince."

Donovan smiled. "Good boy. Maybe you'll survive longer than I thought."

He walked away, leaving me pressed against the lockers with my heart pounding. Not from fear, but from rage. The urge to shift, to let my wolf tear his throat out, was almost overwhelming.

I forced myself to breathe and rejoined Riley in the food line. He chattered on about the breakfast options, oblivious to what had just happened.

We found seats at one of the long tables, surrounded by the low murmur of conversation. Boys speculated about the upcoming challenges, traded stories about their packs, sized each other up like predators circling prey.

That's when a teacher in academy uniform walked into the hall. He carried a large board under one arm, and two workers followed behind him, dragging a heavy chest. The moment he appeared, the entire hall fell silent.

He said nothing. Didn't introduce himself or explain what was happening. He simply flipped the board over so we could all see what was written there in stark black letters:

Mission One: LOCATE YOUR ROOMMATE. KILL THEM.

Then he walked out with the two staff members and locked the door behind them. A digital timer on the wall began counting down from thirty minutes.

The silence that followed was deafening. Boys stared at the board, reading and rereading those seven words. Someone laughed nervously.

"This has to be a joke," a boy from a smaller pack muttered. He stood up and walked to the door, pulling at the handle. It didn't budge. He pulled harder, panic creeping into his voice. "Hey! HEY! This isn't funny!"

More boys rushed to the doors, pounding on them, trying to pry them open. But they were truly locked. The reality began to sink in—this wasn't orientation. This was the first test.

Time seemed to stand still as every future alpha in that hall stared at each other. Roommates sat side by side, friends they'd made during orientation, boys who'd shared stories about their packs just moments before.

At that moment, I remembered my brother’s training at the academy.

‘’Évery test they give you answers a question about who you’ll be as Alpha.’’

As I looked around, the real question landed on me: Are you man enough to brutally murder an acquaintance for the good of your pack?

I looked at Riley. He was staring back at me, and I saw the exact moment his expression changed. The friendly, nervous boy disappeared, replaced by something harder. Something desperate.

That's when I knew. Everyone in this room had come to the same conclusion.

As if controlled by a single mind, the hall erupted into chaos.

Lunch tables flipped as boys dashed toward the chest of weapons. The sound of scraping chairs and pounding feet filled the air. I saw swords, machetes, katanas, knives—every kind of blade imaginable.

Riley's claws shot out without warning, slashing across my face. I jerked back just in time, feeling the wind from his strike. His claws missed by an inch.

In that moment, I realized survival of the fittest was an understatement. You needed to be heartless in this place. Completely ruthless.

That's when I rushed toward the weapons chest. Boys were grabbing frantically, some taking two weapons each, leaving barely any for others. I managed to snatch the last sword just as Riley came after me again, .

"Riley, stop!"

"I'm sorry, Ari," he panted. "But I have to protect my pack. I cannot fail."

I managed to snatch the last sword just as claws raked the air. I spun around to find Riley.

He lunged again, claws extended. I sidestepped easily, using the flat of my sword to knock him off balance. He crashed into a table, sending plates flying.

All around us, the dining hall had become a battlefield. Future alphas fought with desperate savagery, some fully shifted into their wolf forms, others fighting in their human shapes with whatever weapons they'd managed to grab. The sounds of snarling, screaming, and metal against metal filled the air.

"Please stop," I begged Riley as he circled me again. "We don't have to do this."

But he wasn't listening. His eyes had gone gold, his wolf taking over. He feinted left, then came at me from the right. I dodged again, slamming the pommel of my sword against his shoulder. He stumbled but didn't go down.

"You're too soft," he snarled. "That's why you'll die here."

He was right about one thing—I was holding back. Every instinct screamed at me to end this, to use the lethal skills my father had drilled into me since childhood. But Riley was my friend. The only friend I had in this nightmare place.

That moment of hesitation nearly cost me everything.

Riley suddenly stopped his attack, shoulders sagging in defeat. "You're right," he said, his voice returning to normal. "This is insane. I can't do this."

Relief flooded through me. I turned away, lowering my sword. "Thank god. We can figure out another way—"

Pain exploded across my back as Riley's sword bit deep between my shoulder blades. I spun around, seeing his face twisted with guilt and determination.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Danger screamed through every nerve in my body. My wolf burst to the surface without warning, the shift happening so fast it was violent. One moment I was Ari, the next I was my wolf—larger than most, with midnight-black fur and eyes like burning gold.

I spun toward Riley, ready to pounce, when claws came flying through the air and ripped out his throat.

Riley stood there for a moment, eyes wide with shock, blood pouring from the gaping wound in his neck. Then he collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.

My wolf stood over his body, scanning the chaos to see who had killed my only friend in this godforsaken place. Across the room, I spotted a man standing with a bloodied sword, two bodies at his feet. He was tall, powerfully built, with dark hair and the kind of presence that made other wolves instinctively step back.

I didn't know him. Didn't know why he'd saved my life by killing Riley. And I wasn't sure I was grateful for it. Riley had been confused, desperate—I could have talked him down. He didn't have to die.

The timer stopped. The door swung open.

I shifted back quickly, grabbing Riley's shirt to cover myself as my human form returned. If someone sees me naked, they’ll know I’m a girl.

I ran past the teacher and back toward the dorms. I wrapped my chest up and put on some loose clothes.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.

I checked my appearance quickly—hair messy but boyish, clothes loose enough to hide my shape, bandages secure. Only then did I open the door.

The devil himself stood in my doorway.

Donovan smiled at me like we were old friends. "Hi," he said casually. "Everyone saw how you fought out there. Only five wolves fought well and killed brutally as instructed. It was all part of an initiative to pair students well. Glad I got to see you fight—you're great competition."

My hands shook. I gripped the doorframe to keep them steady. "What's happening? Why are you here?"

"I've been paired with who management believes is," he shook his head like he was sharing a joke, "a worthy final opponent. In other words, you and I will fight to the death in our final exam here at the academy. So for the next ten months, we sleep three feet away and get to become best of friends."

My blood turned to ice. "What?"

The words he spoke next were enough to stop my heart.

"I'm Donovan Silverclaw, future Alpha King. I'm your new roommate."