All Chapters of THE ALPHA I WAS TO KILL: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

My fingers hesitated beneath the fold; I almost stuffed the paper back into my bag. “If I didn't read it, nothing would change. Mum would still be safe, I would still leave. Everything would stay simple.” I thought to myself. Except nothing had been simple since I stepped into Grimhalden. I unfolded the page; it was older than I expected. The corners were soft with age, and a faint brown stain stretched across one edge. It was like a page copied from another book.Across the top, someone had written. Council Record.Beneath it were names; most had been crossed out. Some had faded until they were almost impossible to read. My eyes drifted down the page...then stopped.Darius ValeMy breath caught. His name hadn't been crossed out. Instead, someone had written beside it in dark ink. Status: MissingMy eyes went over it, again and again. I couldn't stop reading. The word refused to change."...No." I laughed once. A small, confused laugh."No..."The Witch said he died; Professor Rowa

The first thing Instructor Rowan said that morning was,"If any of you throw a knife at another student..." He paused, looking around the training field. "...I will personally throw you out of this academy."A few students laughed, nobody believed he was joking.The outdoor arena buzzed with noise. Wooden targets had been lined up across the field, each painted with thick black circles. I was so relieved we are finally out of the mysterious whispering forest. Today's lesson looked simple, Knife throwing, but I know nothing at Grimhalden was ever simple. Rowan folded his hands behind his back."A wolf doesn't always fight with claws. Sometimes..." He picked up a throwing knife from the rack beside him. "...distance is survival."Without warning, he threw it. The knife spun twice straight into the centre of the target. Not even close to the edge, exact middle.Several students applauded. Rowan didn't even look impressed."That," he said, "is what you're aiming for."I already knew I wa

By the next morning, Grimhalden felt alive again. The fear that had followed us home from the Whispering Forest had begun to fade. Students laughed in the corridors, classes resumed, and for the first time in days, the academy felt almost normal. That evening, the Great Hall looked nothing like itself.Gone were the rows of desks and stern professors with endless lectures. In their place stood long wooden tables covered with food I couldn't even name. Candles floated beneath the high ceiling, their soft light reflecting against the stained-glass windows.Music drifted through the hall, not loud enough to drown conversations. Just enough to make the room feel alive. For the first time since arriving at Grimhalden, nobody looked frightened.Students laughed. Someone was trying—and failing—to teach first-years how to dance. A group of Alphas argued over who had scored the highest during the forest trial. Even the instructors looked almost human. It looked like a normal school and almost l

The next morning, I spent the first half of Professor Rowan's lesson staring at the empty seat beside the window. Cassian wasn't there.He had asked me to meet him after class, but he hadn't shown up, that was not like him. Because he was the sort of person who apologised to books after accidentally dropping them.Lila nudged my elbow."You've looked over there six times." She said,"I have not." I said, covering my face."You just made seven.""I was... observing.""You were worrying.""...Maybe a little."She smiled without looking up from her notes."I knew it."When the lesson ended, students poured into the corridor."Cassian!" I called.He wasn't outside or in the courtyard. He didn't show up for lunch either. By the time I reached the library, I was beginning to wonder if he'd disappeared again. I found him exactly where I should have expected, buried beneath books.He looked up when I stopped beside the table."Oh." He said."...That's all?""I wasn't expecting you." He said.

"It's snowing."Someone near the window gasped.The first snow arrived during Professor Rowan's lecture. At first, nobody noticed, then every head turned at once.Outside, tiny white flakes drifted through the morning sky, settling gently over the stone towers of Grimhalden.For a moment, Rowan looked. Then he calmly closed his book."Class dismissed."The room stayed silent."...Really?" someone whispered.Rowan picked up his notes."It's the First Snow."He looked around the room."Try not to break anything expensive."Then he walked out. The classroom exploded.By the time I reached the courtyard, it barely looked like the same academy. Snow covered the rooftops.The old statues wore white caps. Students were outside, some were throwing snowballs, others were building crooked snow wolves that looked more like oversized sheep. Music drifted from somewhere near the dining hall. Long tables had been carried outside, covered with pastries, roasted chestnuts and steaming mugs of chocol