The morning mist clung to the academy grounds, curling like pale fingers over the training yard. Bells tolled somewhere in the distance, deep and resonant, summoning students to their first class of the day.
Elara kept her hood pulled low as she crossed the courtyard. Every instinct told her not to draw attention, not to invite the wolves circling her scent. Yet even hidden, she felt the weight of eyes. Whispers followed her like shadows.
Half-blood. Weak. Prey.
She'd heard it all before. But here, the words weren't just gossip. They were promises.
The academy devoured weakness.
---
The first class was Combat Theory. The instructor, a broad-shouldered wolf named Fenric, barked orders until the students assembled in a ring of dirt and stone. His voice carried the roughness of someone who had killed and enjoyed it.
"Pairs," he snapped. "Today we test your reflexes. Remember, this is Bloodfang Academy. No mercy. No restraint. Show weakness, and you'll bleed for it."
Wolves shifted eagerly, fangs glinting as pairs formed. Elara lingered at the edge, her pulse drumming.
"Transfer," Fenric barked, his gaze locking on her. "Step forward."
Dozens of eyes followed as Elara obeyed.
"She'll die in the first strike," someone muttered. Laughter rippled.
"Your opponent," Fenric continued, "will be Valen."
A murmur rolled through the crowd. Of course. One of them.
Valen Rylan stalked forward, the scar across his jaw catching the light. His grin was sharp, feral, and cruel. "This will be fun."
Elara's stomach coiled, but she forced her breathing steady. She couldn't win ,not against him. But she also couldn't crumble. Not here. Not in front of all of them.
---
The fight began.
Valen moved like lightning, lunging at her with claws half-formed. Elara barely dodged, stumbling back as the crowd roared. He was faster, stronger, everything a pure-blood heir was bred to be.
But she wasn't helpless. She ducked under his second swipe, instinct guiding her feet. For a moment, the world sharpened ,every sound, every movement magnified. Her blood hummed with something darker, something not entirely her own.
She twisted aside just in time, and Valen's claws sliced through empty air. Gasps rippled.
"Lucky," Valen snarled, circling her. His eyes glowed gold, rage simmering. He lunged again, this time faster, his claws aimed for her throat.
Elara froze,then moved. Not by thought, but by instinct. She dropped low, her hand snapping up to catch his wrist. For the briefest second, power surged through her veins, black and cold, and Valen's momentum faltered.
A hush fell.
Valen staggered back, eyes wide with shock. She had stopped him.
Elara's chest heaved. Her hand tingled where it had touched him, her pulse thrumming with that strange, forbidden energy. She released him quickly, retreating a step.
Fenric's brows lifted, but he said nothing. The crowd, however, erupted.
"Did you see that?"
"She blocked him!"
"No way a half-blood....."
Valen's shock curdled into fury. His lips peeled back, revealing sharp fangs. "You think you're clever, little mutt?" He lunged again, faster, harder, murderous intent blazing.
But before his claws could connect, a voice cut through the chaos.
"That's enough."
The words were low, commanding, absolute.
The crowd parted instantly as Darius Thorne stepped into the ring. His amber gaze burned, locking on Elara as though peeling back her skin. He didn't look at Valen, didn't need to. His authority was unquestioned.
Valen froze, chest heaving, then stepped back with a snarl. "She's hiding something, Darius. No half-blood moves like that."
Darius ignored him. His attention never wavered from Elara.
Slowly, he circled her, like a predator appraising unfamiliar prey. Every step tightened the noose of tension. The world shrank until there was only him, and her, and the silence pressing in.
"You surprise me," he murmured finally, voice smooth but edged with steel. "Most transfers crumble on their first day. But you… You resist."
Elara swallowed hard, forcing her chin up. "I'm not here to be anyone's prey."
The faintest smile curved his lips, though it never reached his eyes. "Bold words. Let's see if you can back them."
He stepped closer, so close she could feel the heat of him, the electric danger radiating from his skin. His voice dropped, meant for her alone.
"You smell wrong, girl. Not weak. Not human. Something else." His eyes flickered, molten amber brightening with suspicion. "And I will find out what."
Then, as abruptly as he'd appeared, he turned away. "Class dismissed."
The crowd scattered, murmuring with restless energy. Valen shot Elara a glare sharp enough to flay skin before stalking off with Kael and Cassian at his side.
Darius lingered only a moment longer, glancing back once, and in that glance was a promise.
The hunt had begun.
---
Later, in the solitude of her dorm, Elara pressed her hands against the mirror. Her reflection stared back , pale skin, storm-dark hair, eyes that always seemed too luminous.
She had almost slipped today. The darkness in her blood had surged, eager to be freed. For years she had buried it, locked it away. If they discovered the truth .... if they realized what she really was ..... she wouldn't just be prey. She would be executed.
A knock shattered her thoughts.
"Elara." The voice was quiet, almost kind.
When she opened the door, she found Cassian Gideon standing there. Unlike the others, his expression wasn't cruel. His eyes, dark and steady, studied her with unsettling calm.
"You should be careful," he said softly. "The more you fight back, the more Darius will notice."
Elara's heart lurched. "Why warn me?"
Cassian's mouth curved into something like a smile, though it held no warmth. "Because the F4 doesn't hunt aimlessly. When Darius marks someone, it never ends well."
And with that, he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into the silence.
Elara closed the door, her breath uneven.
She wasn't safe. Not from Valen's rage. Not from the academy's whispers. And certainly not from Darius Thorne.
But beneath the fear, something else burned stronger .... defiance.
If they wanted to hunt her, then let them.
Because prey had teeth too.