CROWN OF SILENCE: FORBIDDEN BLOODLINE

LYRA ANDREA SILVERTONGUE

It’s not supposed to matter.

This is the lie I’ve lived with for eighteen years, until mother told me I’d be attending the werewolf academy, marrying a stranger, and asking no questions.

She calls it destiny.

I call it a cage.

Either way, the truth she refuses to give to me awaits behind those iron gates.

“WELCOME TO GRIMHOWL ACADEMY.”

My blood pulses thick and heavy in my veins as I read the words out of those metal bars.

Black clouds brushes past the edges of my sight when I skim through the tagline on the bars that makes me tumble forward in the back seat.

“Death waits all who seek entry.”

Cold slams against my skin. A shiver runs down my spine.

“Are you alright, Lyra?” Mum’s voice breezes past my ears, all while giving me that look that tells me she worried about me, and at the same time couldn’t give two cents about me.

“I’m alright, mum,” I move my gaze away from those emerald-green eyes, back to the death-note that almost took away my consciousness, and…

“What in the sevens?”

My voice breaks out of my throat, the words leaving my lips before I can slam the breaks on them.

“What’s the matter, love?”

Mum asks, and I swear just a second ago I’d read the tagline in a perfect-worded English. Now it says something in a language I cannot understand.

“Duath I’lhuth hain a thand.”

“Nothing, mum,” I respond, as the massive gates opens and our car rolls in.

“I know how inconvenient this is for you, little Rose,” her hot, steamy breath brushes against the back of my ear as she pulls closer towards me. “But this is for your best interest.”

Best interest?

The words prick my eardrums and hammers against my skull so hard my head aches.

This woman makes me want to wrap my fingers in her hair and smash her face against the windshield.

Best interest would be treating me like your own flesh and blood, rather than some privilege cunt who’s lucky the algorithm fell on her that day.

My golden-green eyes are hard on her emerald ones, searching for multiples ways I can kill her and get away with murder.

“We’ve arrived.”

The driver at the front seat breaks up the heat, and I tear my gaze away from her.

I’m about to step out of the car when her hand suddenly wraps around my wrist.

“Tell no none who you truly are, Lyra,” the sound of her voice coils low and deep, and her eyes burrow into mine. “If word ever got out that you are…”

“I know, mum,” I cut in, saving myself the repeated lecture. “No one will know who I really am.”

I slam the door shut and watch the black Mercedes struts itself out through the gates, and something tells me I won’t be seeing her again for quite a long while.

I turn to welcome myself into my newly found hellhole when halfway into the turn, a red-head smashes into me, dropping me butt first into the floor.

“Watch where you’re going, creepy,” she fires and walks away like I’m at fault. Normally, I’d have taught her a manner or two, but the yellow glint in her eyes is enough to tell me she’s gotten her wolf.

And for a wolf-less girl of eighteen, that means getting into a certain body bag with your throat ripped out of your neck.

Goddess, how do I survive in a school filled with different creatures, without a wolf?

Most people get their wolf as early as sixteen, and late bloomers by eighteen. But here I am, four months into eighteen and still… wolf-less.

I take a lungful of cloying air and make it back to my feet continuing my journey into the large building that looks like Hogwarts from Harry Potter.

I’m about to find the restroom so I can relieve the pressure in my bladder when someone bumps into me from behind for the second time in a row.

“Watch it.”

A deep gravel-edged voice rumbles behind me, precisely a man, and I’m about to lose my cool.

I snap backwards immediately, but my eyes come in contact with a broad, sturdy chest, his open shirt framing muscle built to stand its ground.

“Move.”

He growls and I have to lift my face just to look at that silver-grey eyes sinking to the back of his head and silver eyebrows lining his face.

His chiseled jaw and long grey hair shape his face to make him outstanding, but I did not take karate lessons just to have a six-foot-five with muscles built for damnation bully me out of my rights.

“Do you talk to everyone like that, or am I special?”

I fire back at him and watch his brows knit together, his expression changing from confusing to dangerous all in a second.

“Do you know who I am?” he grunts, folding his arms together as the broad expanse of his muscles stretches taut against the fabric of his sleeves.

“Am I supposed to care?” I spat back. “Unless you’re the headmaster of the Academy, I suggest you get the fuck out of my way.”

Gasps and murmurs fill the room, and as much as I hate being the center of attention, putting arrogant pricks in their place is never an opportunity to pass on.

One of the guys behind him smirks and scoffs and I’m about to give him the middle finger when a middle-aged woman’s voice echoes across the room.

“All freshmen must report to the main hall for orientation and distribution.”

I flip my hair aside and brush past him, following the others into the orientation hall when someone grabs my wrist and pulls me to herself.

“Holy shit. That was awesome,” she blurts out, and I have to look twice at the raven-haired girl to see if we’ve met before.

She diffuses the look on my face and lets go of my hand.

“I’m sorry for holding you that way,” she mutters. “It’s just that I haven’t seen anyone talk to them that way before. You honestly have no idea who they are?”

“Should I?” I retort.

“Umm… yeah! Those boys are next in line to be Alphas.”

I couldn’t care more.

“I’m Emily, by the way.”

“Lyra Sunstone,” I replied.

We make it to our seats as Professor Damien; the head teacher for Dark Arts, sorts us into our different denominations.

Emily and I are sorted into the Crescent Denomination.

“Can’t wait to see who our guardians are.”

when the door opens and four huge figures walks in, I feel my pulse drop within my veins.

Professor Damien clears his throat and gets ready to introduce the guys that needs no further introduction to me.

“Everyone, this is Kyle, Lucian, Echo, and Domenico. These are your guardians in this great academy."

How are they supposed to be our guardians?

Aren’t they sophomores?

My thoughts are cut in half when the four of them finds me in the midst.

Kyle’s eyes bleeds into red, and I swear I can hear a growl ripping out of his chest.