Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ivy's pov

The sharp tips of the silver spears were inches from my throat. I could feel the cold coming off the metal. I looked at Marcus, the soldier who had once taught me how to ride horses and laughed at my jokes, now looked at me me with pity in his eyes, I wasn't the girl he had protected for years, I was now a mistake that needed to be erased.

"Run," Marcus whispered.

I didn't wait. I turned and ran into the thick darkness of the forest. My bare feet slammed against the rock. Behind me, the silence of the clearing broke into a roar of shouts and heavy boots.

"There she goes! Don't let the human freak escape!"

I ran until my lungs felt like they were filled with anything but air. I pushed through the thorns that shredded my thin white gown, leaving strips of silk hanging from the branches. I was running through the Silver-Mist woods, my home, but tonight, the trees felt like strangers.

I scrambled up a steep hill and suddenly stopped. In front of me was a very deep, narrow valley with high, rocky walls. At the bottom of it a river was screaming, its water crashing against the stones far below.

I stood on the edge, the wind whipping my long hair across my face. To my left was the drop into the black water, to my right was a wall of solid stone. I was trapped.

"I hear her! She’s near the ledge!"

The voices were so close I could hear the snapping of twigs. I pressed my back against the stone wall, I couldn't breathe. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I looked at the dark forest, waiting for the soldiers to burst through and kill me.

"No, please," I whispered. "Please, Mother Goddess..."

Suddenly, a hand reached out from a dark gap in the rock, it was a small, tiny cave hidden by vines.

Before I could scream, I was dragged into the darkness. A warm, wrinkled palm slammed over my mouth.

"Quiet, Ivy. Not a breath," a voice whispered.

I froze. That scent... 

"Grandmother?" I breathed against her skin.

She didn't answer. She kept her hand over my mouth, pressing me into the deepest corner of the cave. Through the curtain of vines, I watched as Marcus and three other soldiers burst into the small clearing. They held their spears low, their eyes hungry.

"Where is she?" Marcus growled. "I smelled her blood right here."

"Maybe the coward jumped," another soldier spat, looking into the deep river "It’s a long way down. No one survives that. Let’s check the lower trail. The pack wants her gone before the sun touches the trees."

I watched, tears burning my eyes, as the men I had known my whole life turned and ran. I waited until the sound of their boots faded completely. Only then did I collapse into my grandmother’s arms, sobbing into her shawl.

"They hate me, Gran," I choked out. "My own father... he just turned his back."

"I know, my little bird. I know," she murmured, stroking my hair. "But we have no time for tears. You cannot be here when the sun rises. If the pack finds you on this land after dawn, they are legally allowed to kill you. We must change everything."

She pulled me deeper into the cave where a small lantern flickered. She reached into a bag and pulled out a pair of heavy, silver scissors.

"I have a plan," she said. "I know a man, Professor Valerius. He teaches at a school far from these mountains. He is an old friend, a man who knows the secrets of the blood. He knows why some wolves stay asleep in their bodies. If you find him, he might have the herbs to wake your wolf. But there is a catch."

I looked at her, wiping my eyes. "What catch?"

"The school is Black-Ridge Academy. It is for the sons of the most powerful Alphas in the world. They do not allow girls. And they 

certainly do not allow humans."

I stared at her. "An all-boys school? Gran, I can't..."

"You must," she said firmly. "You will go as a boy, we will change your face, your hair, and your smell."

She looked at my long, flowing hair. It was the color of a winter sunset..deep gold and soft red. It was my pride.

"Do it," I whispered, though my heart ached.

I felt the cold metal of the scissors touch my neck. 

Large clumps of my sunset-colored hair hit the dirt. 

My grandmother was crying silently, her hands shaking as she cut it all away, tears rolled down my eyes as I saw my hair falling. She cut it until it was really short, barely reaching my ears.

Then, she pulled out a jar of thick, black paste. "This is the ink of the moon-berry," she said. She rubbed it into my scalp. It was really cold and smelled bad. When she was done, my hair was no longer gold. It was ink-black, dark and dull as a starless night.

She handed me a bundle of clothes. "Put these on. Quickly."

I stripped off the torn white gown, my skin shivering in the cold. I pulled on black trousers, white shirt, and a black blazer. 

"How did you have all this ready?" I asked, looking at the uniform.

I held the small glass vial she had given me. It contained a grey liquid that smelled like rain and charcoal.

She just looked at me with sadness in her eyes but said nothing to my question, "Rub that on your neck and wrists. It will hide the sweet scent of a girl. To them, you will smell like nothing but a boy."

She pressed a card into my hand. It was an ID card for the school.

"This is who you are now," she said. "Keep your head down. Speak only when you must. The boys at Black-Ridge are predators. They are stronger and more dangerous than anyone in our pack. Find Professor Valerius, get the herbs, and leave. Stay no more than a week."

I looked at the clothes, then at the ID card, then at the scent-blocker bottle.

"Gran," I said, my voice trembling with more than just cold. "How did you have all this ready? The uniform... it’s my size. The ID card has my face on it. The scent-blocker..." I looked her in the eyes, my heart freezing. "Did you know? Did you know I wasn't going to shift tonight?"

My grandmother’s face had a look of profound guilt flash across her features, her eyes moving away from mine. She didn't deny it. She didn't even try.

"How long, Gran?" I demanded, my voice rising. "If you knew I was going to turn out like this, why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me stand there like a fool in front of the whole pack?"

She grabbed my shoulders, her grip surprisingly strong. "There is no time for this, Ivy! You need to leave now!"

"Answer me!" I screamed, but she just shoved me toward the cave entrance.

"Go! If you want to live, you go now!"

She led me out to a dirt road where a rusted truck sat idling. A man with sat inside. My grandmother reached into her pouch and pulled out several heavy silver coins. In our village, we didn't use paper money, we used these old, heavy coins for everything.

She handed the coins to the man. "Take him to the gates of the Academy."

The man nodded. "Get in the back."

This was it. The moment I had to leave. 

I turned to my grandmother, my chest tight. "Gran... what if I never come back? What if I can't find the Professor?"

She grabbed my face with both her hands, her eyes were wet with tears. 

"You are the daughter of an Alpha, Ivy. You have a lion's heart, even if you don't have a wolf's teeth yet. You will survive. Now go, before the sun finds us."

She kissed my forehead one last time and shoved me toward the truck. I scrambled into the back, burying myself under a pile of dry, scratchy hay.

As the truck started to move, I watched through the gaps in the wood. My grandmother stood alone on the road, her small figure getting smaller and smaller until the darkness swallowed her whole. I lay there in the hay, crying silently, as I left behind my name, my family, and my life.

The journey lasted two insufferable days. I had absolutely nothing to eat. I spent the time huddled in the dark, my mind a storm of betrayal. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Gran’s guilty face. She had known. She had prepared for my failure weeks, maybe months, in advance. Why? 

By the time the truck stopped at the gates of Black-Ridge Academy, I felt like a shell of a person. 

I had lost weight, my face was gaunt, my eyes rimmed with red from two days of silent crying.

The driver walked to the back and handed me a small bag. "Your grandma kept this for you," he grunted.

I opened it. More clothes. Another uniform. Socks. Underwear. All in my size.

The questions intensified until I felt dizzy. She hadn't just suspected, she had known exactly where I would end up. I took the bag with shaking hands, feeling a deep sense of dread.

I approached the massive black stone fortress. As I stepped toward the towering iron doors, they opened up on their own. I gasped as I walked inside.

The opulence and magic of the place awed me, but I was too tired to truly appreciate it. I felt small, weak, and utterly alone.

I looked at the ID card Gran had given me. The name read, Nicole Martins. My dorm was Suite 412.

I walked through the main hall, trying to look like I belonged, though I was shivering. A woman sat at a high desk, her eyes fixed on a book in front of her

"ID card and name," she said, not looking up.

"I... Iv.." I stopped, my heart stopping. I cleared my throat, my voice cracking. "Nicole. Nicole Martins," I stammered.

The woman looked up, her brow furrowed in annoyance. "Excuse me?"

I realized I had spoken in my natural, high-pitched female voice. I saw her eyes wander over my frame, I was tiny compared to the hulking Alphas roaming the halls. I had no muscle, no scent of power, I started to panic, what if she finds out? I pulled myself up, channeling every ounce of "Alpha energy" I had seen my father use to command the pack. I lowered my voice, making it as gravelly and masculine as I could.

"Nick for short," I repeated firmly, staring her down. "This is my card in case you need to cross-check something. I’ve had a long journey and I’d like to find my room."

The woman stared at me for a long minute, her eyes curious, then she shook her head and stamped a paper. "Suite 412. Up the stairs, west wing. Get moving, Martins."

I sighed in relief, my legs nearly giving out. I forced myself to walk slowly until I was out of her sight, then I bolted for the stairs.

The dorm room was small, a single bed, a desk, and a wardrobe, but it was my sanctuary for a long time. I locked the door and collapsed. I made it to the bathroom, stripped off the boy's clothes, and let the hot water wash away the hay. I sat on the floor of the shower and sobbed. I remembered my father’s back. I remembered the stones. I remembered Gran’s secret preparation.

"I will get my wolf," I told myself, clutching my stomach. "I will find the Professor, get the herbs, and I will make them regret ever turning their backs on me."

After the shower, I applied the scent-blocker to my neck and wrists, the rain-and-charcoal smell masking my feminine musk. My stomach let out a violent, echoing growl. I hadn't eaten in forty-eight hours.

I dressed in the Uniform my Grandma had packed for me and exited the room, there had to be something to eat somewhere.

I followed the loud voices and the smell of roasted meat to the cafeteria.

The room was giant, with high ceilings and long wooden tables. It was filled with hundreds of boys. But they weren't just boys, they were Alphas. I could feel the power in the room, it was like a heavy aura pressing against my skin. I felt like a mouse in a room full of cats.

I grabbed a tray of food, my hands trembling. I found a seat at a table in the far corner, trying to be invisible. But the peace didn't last.

In the center of the room, a tray hit the floor. A group of three large students stood over a smaller, thin boy.

"Look at this mess," the leader sneered. He was huge, with a scar on his chin. "You bumped into me, runt. Now my boots are dirty."

"I... I'm sorry," the smaller boy whispered, his eyes wide with fear.

"Clean it up," the bully laughed, kicking the boy’s leg so hard he fell onto his hands and knees in the spilled food. "Use your shirt. Or maybe your tongue."

The surrounding students didn't help. They either laughed or went back to their food.

I felt a heat rising in my chest. This wasn't right. I thought about the stones my pack had thrown at me. I thought about how no one stood up for me, not even my father. My blood began to boil and before I could stop myself, I stood up.

"Leave him alone!" my voice rang out across the cafeteria.

The room went deathly silent. Hundreds of Alphas turned their heads to look at me.

The bully turned around slowly, a grin spreading across his face. "What did you say, little pup?"

I stepped forward, my heart drumming against my ribs. "I said, pick on someone your own size, he said he was sorry."

The bully started to walk toward me. But suddenly, a loud SLAM echoed from the back of the room.

A guy who had been sitting with three other guys at a table in the shadows stood up. He was taller than everyone else, with dark hair that fell over his forehead, just him standing up made the air feel thin, like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.

In a blur, a speed so fast I couldn't even see him move, he was there.

One second he was twenty feet away, the next, he was right in front of me.

His hand shot out and he grabbed my throat and slammed me hard against the stone wall. I gasped as the air was knocked out of me. My head hit the stone with a dull sound.

He was so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

He didn't speak. 

He leaned his head down, his nose pressing into the side of my neck, right where the scent-blocker was strongest.

He took a long, slow breath, sniffing my skin.

My blood turned to ice, did he smell it? Did he know?

He pulled back just a bit, his gold eyes burning into mine. A dark, dangerous smile played on his lips.

"And what exactly are you..." he growled, his voice a low, vibrating rumble that shook my very soul. "...Kitten?"