All Chapters of Mystic Grove Academy: The Alpha’s Mark: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

Maya Bennett stared at her pre calc textbook, trying to make sense of the numbers on the page, when her right hand started to itch. Not the dull burn from scribbling too many notes this was sharp, deep under her skin, like something was pushing its way out between her knuckles. She tucked her fingers under her thigh and pressed down hard, hoping it’d fade before Ms. Davis noticed she wasn’t paying attention. Again. “Maya?” She looked up to find half the class watching her. Great. “You okay over there?” Ms. Davis asked, eyebrows drawn tight the way they got when she thought someone was about to throw up. “You look a little pale.” “Just hungry,” Maya lied, forcing a smile that felt stiff on her face. “Skipped breakfast.” From the next row over, Zara kicked her ankle under the table ….their code for bullshit, we ate waffles together an hour ago. Maya shot her a quick look that said I’ll explain later and turned back to the board, but the itching had already spread up her fore

The cafeteria was chaos in the best way voices overlapping, silverware clattering, the warm smell of garlic bread and baked pasta mixing with something sweet Maya couldn’t place. Zara had dragged her straight there after dropping her off at the dorm (“You can’t survive on vending machine chips, trust me”) and now they were weaving through tables packed with students from every faction she’d seen so far sirens singing low harmonies in one corner, witches passing notes written in glowing ink, even a few kids with wings folded tight against their backs. “Over here!” Zara called, waving from a table tucked near a window. Elara was already there, elbow deep in a bowl of spaghetti, while Leo was picking through a salad like he was looking for something hidden under the lettuce. Maya slid into the bench next to Elara, who looked up with a sheepish grin …there was a streak of marinara sauce on her cheek. “Not my fault this time!” Elara said, as if Maya had asked. “The pasta’s enchanted

The mark on my arm still glows when he’s close not bright enough for anyone to spot, just a soft silver warmth that seeps right through my shirt like I’ve got a hot water bottle pressed to my skin. I’ve been dodging Ryder Blackwood like he’s carrying the plague ever since he pressed his palm to me in the cafeteria three days back, but Mystic Grove Academy only has so many classrooms for Advanced Shifting. “Bennett.” I jump so hard I nearly send the bucket of moonpetal water flying across the room. Ryder’s leaning against the door frame, arms folded over his chest, looking like he hasn’t slept more than two hours a night since Monday. Which he probably hasn’t word’s been spreading fast that the missing first year still hasn’t turned up, and the pack’s been running patrols around the clock. “Blackwood,” I mumble, turning back to stirring my bowl. The petals are supposed to turn deep blue when you’ve got a handle on your focus. Mine are stuck somewhere between purple and grey. “What d

Elara collapses the second she’s clear of the door, and Kai’s there before any of us can move catching her gently, lowering her to the ground like she’s made of glass. Smoke’s still curling out of her room, but it doesn’t smell like burnt wood or fabric it smells like something sharp and bitter, like burnt metal and old magic.“Someone get Professor Thorne,” Ryder calls out, and a couple of first years take off running. He turns back to Elara, his jaw tight. “What came for you? Was it one of the Shadows?”She shakes her head, wincing as Kai brushes singed hair out of her face. “It looked like a teacher. Mrs. Hale from Potions. But her eyes… they were black. Like no light could get in.”Zara pushes through the crowd then, throwing her arms around Elara. “I told you we should’ve stayed together! I knew something was off with Mrs. Hale she’s been staring at us in class all week.”I move closer, and that hum from the woods is back only this time it’s loud enough that I swear everyone must