The courtyard was dispersed in scattered clusters, students breaking off toward different wings of the academy. Torches lit narrow paths that twisted between towers and shadowed arches. Aria kept her head low, following the stream of new arrivals into a smaller hall branching off the main dome.
The air inside smelled of pine smoke and iron polish. Wolf crests hung on every wall, stitched in colors bold enough to make her eyes ache. At the end of the corridor stood a heavy oak door carved with snarling wolves.
A stern attendant, his face a map of old scars, unrolled another scroll. "Dormitory assignments. Listen well, your pack begins here." His voice cracked like a whip, silencing the low murmur of newcomers.
Names rattled down the list. One by one, heirs peeled off toward the stairwells. When "Aria Gray" rang out, snickers followed.
"No line? What's she doing here?"
"She'll be gone by sunrise."
Heat burned under Aria's skin, but she didn't lift her gaze. Better to let their contempt wash past. Better to let them think she was nothing.
A laugh, light, quick, slipped through the sneers. "Ignore them," a girl said, sliding into step beside her as they crossed the threshold. Her curls bounced with every movement, her grin sharp enough to bite yet oddly welcoming. "I'm Liora. You're Aria, right? The infamous mystery girl."
Aria stiffened at the word "infamous," but Liora's eyes glittered with mischief rather than malice.
The dormitory itself opened wide, vaulted beams overhead, a stone hearth roaring at one end, bunks lined against the walls. Shadows clung to the corners, but the air was alive with the restless energy of too many heirs forced under one roof.
Aria dropped her satchel on the lowest empty bunk. She felt stares crawling over her, whispers curling around the rafters.
Liora flopped onto the mattress above hers, propping her chin on her hands. "Don't mind them," she said breezily. "They're just bored. Tomorrow will give them something better to talk about."
Aria looked up, wary. "Tomorrow?"
Liora's grin widened. "The bond tests."
The words thudded heavily in Aria's chest.
Aria's grip on her satchel tightened at Liora's words. "The… bond tests?" she asked carefully, trying to keep her voice flat.
Liora rolled onto her side, kicking her boots off. "Mm. Tomorrow night, under the crescent. They pair us, see whose wolves snap, whose wolves bend." Her eyes gleamed. "Some bonds are fate, some are political, but either way, it's messy."
Aria forced a nod, though dread churned in her gut. Fate was the last thing she could afford.
Before she could ask more, a shadow loomed across their bunks.
"Well, well. Look what the mountain dragged in."
A boy leaned against the bedpost, smirk crooked, eyes flashing with copper light. His arms were corded with muscle, his voice thick with arrogance. "Aria Gray, right? No crest, no clan, no nothing. Guess that makes you prey."
A few other heirs nearby snickered, emboldened by his words. The boy's grin widened as he leaned closer. "I wonder how long before you crack."
Aria's nails dug into her palm. She forced herself to stay still, to keep her hood low. Any flash of temper, any slip, and she risked revealing too much.
Before the silence stretched too long, Liora yawned dramatically. "Really, Kellan? That's the best you've got? 'Prey'? I've heard scarier taunts from sheep." She flicked her hand dismissively. "Go practice in front of a mirror before you embarrass yourself further."
Laughter rippled from a few bunks, this time at Kellan's expense. His smirk faltered, eyes narrowing at Liora. For a moment, Aria thought he'd strike.
But then he straightened, jaw tight. "Enjoy your little jokes. Tomorrow, the bonds will decide." His glare slid back to Aria. "And some of us will make sure you don't last long."
He stalked off, leaving the air thicker than before.
Aria exhaled slowly, the tension in her shoulders loosening only slightly. She glanced up. Liora winked.
"Rule one," Liora said softly, voice only for her. "Never show fear. Rule two? Make friends with someone who knows how to talk faster than she can fight."
Aria almost smiled, almost. But the relief was short-lived.
A howl ripped the night, close, too close. It vibrated through the dormitory walls, low and guttural, silencing every voice inside.
Then another answered.
The room went still. Even the fire in the hearth seemed to crouch lower, flames flickering nervously.
Sleep never came.
Even after the dormitory settled into restless silence, Aria lay awake on the lower bunk, staring at the faint cracks of moonlight spilling across the stone floor. Each creak of wood, each breath from the other heirs, pressed heavily against her chest. And underneath it all lingered the memory of those howls, close, guttural, too knowing.
Finally, she slipped from her bed. Bare feet padded against cold stone as she edged through the hall, careful to avoid the loose planks that groaned too loudly.
The corridor stretched long and dim, and torchlight burned down to embers. Shadows gathered thick around the arches, and the air smelled faintly of smoke and wolf musk. She pulled her cloak tighter, her pulse quickening as though the walls themselves might lunge at her.
At the far end, an open arch led onto a balcony. Moonlight spilled across it in silver sheets, bright enough to wash the shadows clean.
And there,
A figure stood at the railing, tall and still, face turned up toward the night sky.
Aria froze, heart thundering. The moonlight etched his form in sharp relief: broad shoulders, hair black as ink. His posture carried a quiet, dangerous calm, the stillness of a predator.
Kaelen Draven.
Her stomach lurched. She shrank into an alcove, pressing her back to the stone, breath locked tight in her lungs.
For a long moment, Kaelen didn't move. He stood as though carved into the night itself, gaze fixed on the moon. Then, low and rough, his voice carried across the air, speaking to no one, or perhaps to the shadows themselves.
"They'll break before the week is out." A pause, the faintest curl of disdain in his tone. "And the ceremony will show us who was never meant to be here."
Aria's blood chilled. Ceremony. He meant the bond tests.
Her hand clutched her satchel strap as though it might anchor her. She knew she should leave, retreat before his wolf's instincts caught the scent of fear radiating off her.
But she couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Kaelen's head shifted suddenly, eyes sweeping the balcony's edge.
Aria pressed herself deeper into the shadow, every nerve screaming. If he saw her, if he even sensed her,
The silence stretched like a wire about to snap.
By morning, Aria's nerves were frayed. She hadn't slept after the balcony, Kaelen's voice, his certainty about the ceremony, had carved into her mind like a blade she couldn't pull free.
The dormitory buzzed as heirs shuffled for the day, voices sharp with rivalry, laughter edged like claws. Liora appeared at her side, cheeks flushed from sleep but eyes bright as ever.
"Rough night?" she teased, then didn't wait for an answer. "Forget that. We've got bigger problems."
Aria glanced up warily. "What problems?"
Liora leaned close, lowering her voice. "You really don't know? The bonding ceremony isn't just a test. It's… fate's way of sorting us." She gestured with her hands, dramatic even in a whisper. "Wolves choose, not us. You stand in the circle, you breathe the moonlight, and if your blood carries Alpha weight, the bond burns through you like fire."
Aria's stomach twisted. She tried to mask it, but Liora noticed, her grin softening.
"Relax," she said. "Most of us won't bond at all. It only snaps when there's… potential. True lineage, true blood. Royals, mostly."
Aria swallowed hard. Royals. Her pulse hammered in her throat. If the ceremony ignited for her, if her wolf betrayed her, every heir in this academy would know exactly who she was.
She forced a casual tone. "And what happens if it does snap?"
Liora's grin returned, though sharper now. "Then you're bound. Life, soul, power, whether you want it or not. And if it happens with the wrong person? Well, good luck surviving the fallout."
The chatter of the dorm hushed suddenly. A messenger entered, scroll in hand, voice ringing over the bunks. "The roster for tonight's ceremony has been posted."
Every heir surged toward the board at once, the air alive with tension.
Aria hung back, her pulse a frantic drum. She didn't need to look; she already knew fate was cruel enough to place her in the circle.
Liora elbowed her, eyes sparkling as she scanned the list. "Well, well. Guess who's in."
Aria's throat dried. "Who?"
Liora's grin widened. "You, Gray. Front and center."
The words hit harder than any blow. Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, restless, betraying her fear.
Tonight, there would be no hiding.
The day dragged like a blade against stone. Training assessments, introductions, endless speeches from staff, all a blur against the single fact pressing into Aria's skull: her name was on the roster. Tonight, under the crescent moon, she would step into the circle.
And fate would decide.
By nightfall, the dormitory simmered with restless energy. Heirs sharpened blades, polished armor, whispered in corners. Some laughed, eager. Others pretended calm while their eyes darted like prey awaiting the hunt.
Aria sat on her bunk, cloak drawn tight, staring at the shadows dancing across the beams. Her wolf shifted uneasily beneath her skin, pacing, scratching, straining. It knew what she denied.
Liora dropped down from the bunk above, flopping onto the mattress beside her. "You're wound tighter than a crossbow string," she muttered. "Relax. The ceremony's not the end of the world."
Easy for her to say. She wasn't the last hidden heir of a slaughtered bloodline.
Aria forced a brittle smile. "I'll try."
The dorm grew quieter as night deepened, conversations tapering into hushed murmurs. Aria lay back, staring at the wooden slats above her, willing herself to calm.
Then, voices. Low, conspiratorial, drifting from the far corner.
"…Kaelen Draven…"
Her pulse quickened instantly.
"…he's on the roster too. You didn't hear it from me, but they're pairing him with the mystery girl."
"…Aria Gray?"
"…Who else? Imagine, no crest girl tied to the Alpha Prince himself. What a joke."
Aria's breath caught, the air turning sharp in her lungs. She gripped the blanket tight, every nerve alive with panic.
Paired with Kaelen. The words pulsed in her mind like a curse.
The moonlight spilled across the floorboards, pale and merciless. Somewhere outside, a wolf howled, a long, mournful sound that threaded straight into her bones.
And in that moment, she knew tomorrow wouldn't just test her disguise. It would shatter it.