Chapter 3 3

"We should leave," Liora whispered in my head for the hundredth time. "Pack up, run before dawn."

"And go where?" I muttered at the ceiling, eyes wide in the moonlight. Every creak of the building made me flinch. "Back to Malrick? Back to being owned?"

"Better than being dead."

I pressed my lips together, fighting the truth in her words. Giving up wasn’t an option. Not yet.

The door creaked at 2 a.m. I shut my eyes fast, breathing slow. Kai slipped inside, moving like a shadow. He peeled off his shirt, and my lashes fluttered just enough to catch a glimpse.

Scratches. Fresh ones. Blood smeared across his back. My stomach twisted. Where had he been? Who had he fought?

The shower hissed on. By the time he returned to bed, I was still wide awake, drowning in questions I couldn’t ask.

By morning, Kai was gone again. Bed neatly made. Like he was never here at all.

Professor Grimm droned in Werewolf History, his voice brittle as bone.

"Today," he said, "we discuss the Great Purge of 1847, when Alpha families erased dangerous bloodlines."

My hand froze mid-note.

"The Ravencrest Pack led the charge," Grimm continued, "hunting those families to extinction… or so they claimed."

I glanced at the platinum-blond head in the front row. Zeke Ravencrest sat perfectly still. Watching. Listening.

Then Grimm’s gaze cut across the room straight into mine.

"Some bloodlines proved harder to kill. Rumors say descendants still live… hidden in plain sight."

Liora growled in my chest. "He knows."

"He doesn’t," I lied to both of us, gripping my pen so tight my knuckles ached.

After class, I bolted only to hear, “Mr. Cross.”

I froze. Turned. “Yes, sir?”

Grimm’s eyes narrowed. “Your eyes… very distinctive. Tell me, do you know of the Silverbane bloodline?”

My heart stopped. Don’t react. Don’t react.

“Only from books. They’re extinct.”

His smile was thin, too knowing. “So the records claim. But I’ve lived long enough to know records lie.”

I forced a shrug. “I’m just a Beta, sir. Nothing special.”

"Of course." His voice dropped to a whisper. “Be careful, Arden. This Academy drags secrets into the light, whether we want them revealed or not.”

By lunch, I was choking on paranoia. I sat outside, shoving down a tasteless sandwich when Marcus Blackwood dropped his tray across from mine.

"You look like hell," he said. “Rough night?”

"Something like that."

He leaned in, voice low. “Those scent blockers you’re using? Obvious. Anyone with half a nose can tell.”

I stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

"Sure you don’t." His grin was easy, but his tone wasn’t mocking. “I don’t care what you’re hiding. Could be bad blood, could be enemies. Doesn’t matter. But Zeke Ravencrest? He’s been asking questions. And when Zeke gets curious…” He shook his head. “People vanish.”

Before I could respond, a shadow fell over us.

Zeke.

"If it isn’t our mysterious first-year." His pale eyes pinned me like a knife. “Arden Cross, right? The Beta who fights like an Alpha.”

I kept my voice flat. “Just trying to eat lunch.”

"Of course," Zeke said smoothly, sliding into the seat beside me without permission. His friends flanked him, boxing me in. “Tell me, Arden… where are you from?”

"Nowhere special."

"How delightfully vague. And family?”

"Dead."

"Tragic. And your pack?”

"None. My parents were rogues."

His smirk sharpened. “Funny. I asked around. No one remembers a family of rogues named Cross.”

My stomach dropped. “Maybe you asked the wrong people.”

"Maybe." His voice was silk over steel. “Or maybe someone’s lying.”

One of his lackeys leaned forward, sniffing. “You smell wrong. Like you’re covering something.”

Liora’s voice cut sharp in my head. "Run."

But then

"Is there a problem here?"

Kai.

He strode over, green eyes locked on Zeke like a blade.

Zeke’s smirk faltered, just slightly. “No problem. Just a friendly chat.”

"Looks unfriendly to me," Kai drawled. “Cross needs air.”

It wasn’t a suggestion.

Zeke stood with lazy grace, eyes glittering as he leaned close. “This isn’t over, Cross. I’ll get my answers.”

He and his crew drifted off, the courtyard suddenly silent.

Kai slid into his spot. “You okay?”

I swallowed hard. “Thanks.”

"Don’t thank me. Zeke doesn’t let go once he bites. He’ll keep digging until he proves what you are.”

"And what do you think I am?"

He studied me, too long. “Trouble. The kind too stubborn to ask for help.”

"I don’t need help."

"Everyone does, sometimes," he said quietly. “Even people pretending to be something they’re not.”

The words cut deep. I stood fast. “I should go.”

"Arden," he said, voice low, warning. “Be careful tonight. Zeke likes his visits… private.”

That night, homework blurred before my eyes. Every creak of the hall made me jump. I was alone. Vulnerable.

At 9 p.m., a soft knock rattled my door. Too soft.

I crept forward, pressed my ear to the wood. Nothing. No breath. No heartbeat.

Impossible. Unless

I flung the door open.

A single white rose lay on the floor.

Attached: a note in elegant script.

"I know what you are. Meet me at the old bell tower at midnight, or everyone else will know too. Come alone. – A friend"

My hands shook as I read it.

Liora snarled. “It’s a trap. Don’t go.”

"If I don’t," I whispered, staring at the rose

, “they’ll expose me anyway.”

The clock ticked. 9:15 p.m.

Less than three hours until midnight. Less than three hours until my secret decided my fate.