Blackmoon's stone towers stared down like they wanted her gone, heavy and cold as Lila climbed the spiral stairs. Day two, and the place felt like a trap for outsiders like her, no pack, no power. Ivy scratched at the walls outside, like the building was alive, whispering through cracks. Her boots echoed, each step screaming she didn't belong.
She stood by a balcony overlooking the plateau, the view hitting hard, forest thick to sharp cliffs, fog swirling like ghosts below. Pretty but deadly, one slip and you'd fall forever. Lila leaned on the railing, cold air clearing her head. Yesterday's mess stuck with her, Sienna's hate, Ravenna's friendship, that cloaked figure in the fog. Her scar itched, like it was warning her.
A door creaked behind. She spun, heart jumping. Nothing, just wind? But footsteps came, slow and sure. Someone was climbing. Lila pressed against the wall, looking down. A shadow stretched, then Kieran Maddox appeared, twenty one, gold eyes shining with that cocky grin. His beta blood made him act like he owned the world.
"Outsider likes heights," he said, leaning on the doorframe. "Or you hiding from Sienna?"
"What do you want?" Lila snapped, arms crossed, not in the mood.
He laughed, stepping close, too close. "Checking on new blood, heard Sienna's after you, she's loud but harmless, me? I'm fun trouble."
His look lingered, sending a twisted spark through her. "I didn't ask for an introduction, and i don't need a babysitter either."
"You might, this place eats weaklings, and you smell like one." He winked, brushing hair from her face. She smacked his hand, but he grinned. "Spicy, I like it."
A howl cut the air, birds flying from pines. Kieran's smile dropped, something dark in his eyes. "Full moon's close, gets wild."
He left fast, leaving her shaky. The towers' stares pressed harder, like stone judged her. Going down, corridors buzzed with whispers, eyes dodging hers. "Outsider, watch her."
Classes started in the library, shelves towering with old books smelling of dust and power. The teacher, an old beta, talked about ancient packs, but Lila's mind drifted. Her scar pulsed, and she touched it, lost in thought. Was it always like this?
During a break, she wandered deep into the stacks. Shadows moved, footsteps copying hers. In a dusty corner, a book sat open, The Crescent Betrayal. The picture stopped her, a wolf with a moon scar just as hers, eyes wild. Her hand shook touching the page. Her scar burned, and a whisper came. "Betrayed, risen." She slammed it shut, heart racing. Random? Or meant for her?
Running out, she crashed into a hard chest. Strong hands caught her, light skin, tall. Professor Adrian Voss, mid twenties, alpha vibe huge. His dark eyes hit hers, warm for a second, then ice. "Watch it, Sinclair," he said, voice low, hands staying too long.
"Sorry," she mumbled, pulling back. But his look held secrets, twisted and hot.
He nodded and left. Her heart pounded, thrill and fear mixing. Who was he? Why did his touch feel like trouble waiting?
The library's maze stayed with her as she left, its shadows clinging like they wanted to keep her. Back in the corridors, whispers grew sharper, students' glances cutting deeper. "She doesn't belong," one hissed, a beta with sharp cheekbones. Lila's fists clenched, but she kept walking, feeling the weight of their judgment. Her scar throbbed harder now, like it was trying to tell her something, a secret buried in her skin she didn't understand.
She slipped into an empty classroom to catch her breath, the air heavy with old chalk and wax. A window overlooked the foggy forest, and she stared out, trying to shake the unease. That book, that wolf, it felt too close, like it knew her. The whispers from the fog echoed in her head, "Betrayer, risen," and she wondered if they were about her or something else, something Blackmoon hid in its stones.
A noise behind her made her turn, a soft scrape like claws on wood. Nothing there, but the air felt wrong, too still. She backed toward the door, heart in her throat, when a shadow flickered across the window. That cloaked figure again, tall and still, watching from the fog. Lila froze, staring, but it didn't move, just stood like it owned the night. "What do you want?" she whispered, voice barely audible.
The figure raised a hand, slow, like it was calling her. Then it was gone, swallowed by the mist. Lila's breath hitched, her scar burning so hot she gasped, pressing her hand to it. Was it her mother? No, she'd been gone too long, a ghost from a past Lila barely remembered. But the figure felt familiar, like a memory she couldn't grab.
She ran back to her dorm, corridors darker now, lanterns flickering like they were laughing at her. Locking the door, she leaned against it, at this point, she questioned why she came in the first place. "Was it a trap?" she thought to herself, "But why?" heart racing. The whispers didn't stop, seeping through the walls. "She rises, the crescent wakes." Her scar pulsed in time with her heartbeat, and she slid to the floor, hugging her knees. Blackmoon wasn't just a school, it was a puzzle, and she was a piece that didn't fit, not yet.
That night, towers stared from her window, watching her. The cloaked figure came closer in dreams, still and creepy, its voice a hiss. "You can't hide." Lila woke, heart racing, Adrian's touch lingering, a thrilling hint of the storm coming in Blackmoon's walls. She lay awake, scar throbbing, wondering what his past hid and why it felt tied to her own secrets. The academy's stones seemed to hum, alive with secrets, and she felt them closing in, a cage tightening around her. Sleep didn't come again, the whispers too loud, the towers' stares too heavy, and she knew tomorrow would bring more questions, more danger, and maybe answers she wasn't ready for.