All Chapters of THE ALPHA I WAS TO KILL: Chapter 71 - Chapter 79

The first exam arrived sooner than I expected. Exams in Grimhalden are always different from my past school. I didn't get the perfect grades last term. A lot of the exams required different abilities that I couldn't even align with. The feeling of having better grades gripped me. That I want to give my all to the examination.Written theory in the morning, then combat in the afternoon.By lunchtime, half the academy looked exhausted.I sat beneath one of the courtyard trees, staring at my exam paper. I had done well. Not perfectly, but well.Cassian dropped onto the grass beside me.“How many did you answer?” he asked.“All of them.”His eyebrows lifted.“That was ambitious.”“You left some blank.” I asked.“I prefer intellectual honesty,” he said.“You mean you didn't know them?” I asked. “I prefer intellectual honesty,” he added.I laughed.Across the courtyard, Selene was arguing with another student about one of the questions.Maeve was eating. Of course.And Adrian was leaning

Adrian.Adrian woke before dawn. The room was silent. At this moment the academy hadn't begun stirring yet. He sat on the edge of his bed with a black envelope in his hand.It had slipped beneath his door sometime during the night. He stared and the envelope like he knew what was there but clueless. There wasn't a name, a seal or a signature.He already knew who it was from. He opened it. There were only a few words inside.“The girl continues to awaken.”His jaw tightened. He read the next line, with a lot of curiosity.“You were given a purpose. Do not forget it.”Adrian stared at the paper. For several seconds, he didn't move. Then he folded it once and the paper disappeared into his fist.A knock sounded. He looked up.Kael stood outside the doorway.“You received it.”Adrian said nothing. Kael's eyes dropped briefly to his hand.“You know what you're expected to do.”Adrian's expression hardened.“I know.”Kael waited. Adrian looked toward the window. Beyond it, the first light w

Lila… I waited until the corridor was empty. The academy had gone quiet hours ago. Most students were asleep.I stood near the old stairwell with my hands tucked into the sleeves of my robe, listening to the faint sound of footsteps approaching.Adrian appeared from the shadows. He stopped several feet away. Neither of us spoke immediately. Then I reached into my pocket.A folded piece of paper, small. Nothing that would look important to anyone else.I held it out gently. Adrian took it after long hesitation. His eyes moved over the writing.“Nira's schedule?”I nodded.“Classes. Training. Library.”He folded the paper once.“Anything else?”I hesitated. Then said quietly,“She can hear heartbeats now.”His eyes lifted. I saw something change in his face.“How strong?” Adrian asked.“I don't know.” I replied.“Has she told anyone?”“Cassian doesn't know.”Adrian waited.“She told me.”The words felt heavier once they were spoken. Adrian looked away.“You shouldn't have let her.”My

By the time class ended, my boots were dirty, my notes were incomplete, and Maeve had somehow acquired a handful of hay that she insisted was not her fault. Selene looked ready to resign from their group permanently.“You distracted the creature,” she complained.“I was encouraging it,” Maeve replied.“You offered it food from your pocket!” she said. “It looked hungry.”“It tried to bite you!” Selene exclaimed. “It was a misunderstanding.”Lila burst out laughing.I joined her, and even Selene's furious expression began to crack.We walked back towards the main buildings with the other students, the afternoon sun falling across the stone path. People were discussing the lesson, arguing about who had performed best and complaining about the next assignment.For once, I wasn't listening for danger. I was listening to my friends argue about hay and it felt good. At the steps, Adrian caught up with us.“So,” he said, falling into step beside me, “you survived.”I looked at him. “Were yo

After class, Professor Rowan gathered us beneath the covered walkway to discuss our observations.Most of the students had dirt on their uniforms. One had a grass stain across his cheek, and another was still picking hay out of her hair.The instructor looked thoroughly unimpressed by all of us.“Today was not about proving that you could control a creature,” he said. “It was about learning when not to interfere. Strength without judgement is merely another problem for someone else to solve.”His gaze travelled across the group.“Remember that.”I thought about the creature's flattened ears and the way it had hesitated when its path was blocked. I'd been so focused on completing the exercise that I hadn't understood what it needed until I stopped trying to direct every movement.There was probably a lesson in that. I just wasn't ready to admit how many other things it might apply to. As we gathered our belongings, a boy from another group approached me.“You were the one who told that