Chapter 1 – The Wrong Academy

The black iron gates opened before I touched them. That should have been my first sign to turn around. Instead, I tightened my grip on the handle of my suitcase and stared at the stone towers rising beyond them.

Wolf Academy looked less like a university and more like a forgotten royal estate. Ivy climbed the gray walls. Silver wolf statues guarded the entrance. Behind the main building, I could see dormitories, training grounds, a forest, and several glass halls reflecting the pale morning sun. Above the gate, two words had been carved into polished stone.

WOLF ACADEMY.

I pulled the acceptance letter from my jacket pocket and checked it again. My name was there. The address was correct. The official seal matched the enormous silver crest above my head. It still had to be a mistake. I was human.

A group of students walked past me through the gates. They looked ordinary enough in jeans, jackets, and backpacks, but something about them made me step aside. They moved too quietly. Too confidently. Like they always knew exactly what was happening around them. One of the boys turned toward me. His nostrils flared. He stopped. The girl beside him followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing.

“Human,” she whispered.

My stomach tightened. They did not laugh. They did not threaten me. They simply stared for another second before continuing toward the main building. That somehow felt worse. I walked onto campus, dragging my suitcase behind me. More heads turned. Some students whispered. Others watched me with open confusion. Every one of them seemed able to smell what I already knew. I did not belong here. The admissions office stood beside the central courtyard. I hurried inside before anyone else could examine me like a strange animal. A woman with short black hair sat behind the reception desk.

“Name?” she asked without looking up.

“Violet.”

Her fingers moved across the keyboard. “Surname?”

I opened my mouth. A violent crash shook the corridor behind me. Two male students burst through a wooden side table, scattering papers and broken flowerpots across the floor. The receptionist jumped up.

“Take your fight outside!”

One of the boys bared teeth that were much too sharp to be human. The other laughed. Neither looked embarrassed. The receptionist dropped back into her chair with a sigh.

“Violet is enough.”

I stared at the ruined table.

“Does that happen often?”

“Only on quiet mornings.”

She found my file and frowned. For one hopeful second, I thought she had discovered the error.

“There’s a note here,” she said.

“Does it say I’m supposed to be somewhere else?”

“No.”

“That I was admitted by mistake?”

“No.”

My hope disappeared. She printed a card and slid it across the desk.

“You’re required to meet Principal Luca before receiving your final schedule.”

“Why?”

“The note doesn’t say.”

“Is that normal?”

“No.”

Wonderful. She pointed me toward the west tower and allowed me to leave my suitcase near her desk.

The academy’s corridors were filled with students. Some had eyes in colors I had never seen naturally. Gold, silver, bright green. One girl’s pupils narrowed as I passed her. A boy leaning against the wall inhaled slowly, then looked at me as though he could not understand what he smelled. I kept walking. At the bottom of the west tower, two students were fighting near a staircase. One slammed the other against the wall. A professor walked by carrying a pile of books.

“Fighting is permitted in the courtyard,” she said. “Killing is not permitted anywhere.”

The students immediately separated. I climbed the stairs faster. By the time I reached the top floor, my heart was pounding from more than exhaustion. The doors to the principal’s office were already open.

I stepped inside and stopped. The man standing near the window could not have been older than twenty-seven. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a dark suit that made him look more like a wealthy heir than the head of a university. His light brown hair was neatly styled, and his eyes were a clear, striking blue. He turned toward me.

“Violet.”

The way he said my name made me uneasy. Not because it sounded threatening. Because it sounded familiar.

“You know who I am?”

“I do.”

“That makes this easier.” I straightened my shoulders. “There has been a mistake.”

“No.”

I blinked. “You didn’t even check.”

“I don’t need to.”

I looked at the large desk between us. “This is Wolf Academy.”

“I am aware.”

“A university for werewolves.”

“And several magical bloodlines.”

“I’m human.”

“I know.”

His calm answer irritated me.

“Then why am I here?”

Principal Luca gestured toward a chair, but I remained standing. Behind him, glass doors opened onto a private garden. Purple flowers covered the paths. Silver leaves shimmered on unusual plants, and an enormous tree stood at the center. A crest had been carved into its trunk. My pendant suddenly warmed against my chest. I pressed my fingers over it. Principal Luca noticed. His gaze dropped to the amulet for only a second, but his expression changed. Something softened in his face before the familiar calm returned.

“Your admission was approved personally by me,” he said.

“You admitted me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He sat behind his desk and folded his hands. I waited. He did not answer.

“Did you know my parents?”

His eyes held mine.

“I cannot discuss that.”

“That isn’t a no.”

“No,” he agreed quietly. “It isn’t.”

Frustration tightened my throat. Everyone downstairs could smell that I was human. The students knew I did not belong. The receptionist knew my file was unusual. And now this impossibly young principal was looking at me as if he had been waiting for my arrival.

“I came here because I thought I had earned a place at a university,” I said. “Not because someone wanted to play games with me.”

“I am not playing with you.”

“Then tell me the truth.”

“I will tell you what I can.”

“That sounds convenient.”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“You are exactly where you are supposed to be, Violet.”

“Why?”

His smile remained, but sadness briefly entered his eyes.

“That is the one answer I cannot give you today.”

I pushed the chair away from the desk.

“Then I’m leaving.”

“You are free to try.”

I stared at him. He did not sound like he was threatening me. He sounded certain I would return.

“Your room is in the eastern residence,” he continued. “Second floor. Number twenty-seven.”

“I haven’t agreed to stay.”

“No. But your room is waiting.”

I turned toward the door.

“Violet.”

I looked back. For a moment, Principal Luca no longer looked like a powerful man surrounded by secrets. He looked lonely.

“Welcome to Wolf Academy.”

I left without answering. Halfway down the corridor, I realized my temporary student card was still on his desk. I turned back, but the office door had nearly closed. Before I reached it, I heard him walk toward the garden. Then came a long, unsteady breath. When he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper.

“She’s finally here.”