Lila's scholarship felt like a noose, tightening with every step through Blackmoon's shadowy premises. Whispers dogged her, suspicion thick as the fog outside. "How'd she get in? Cheated probably." "No pack, no power, what's her deal?" She ignores them, chin up, but doubt twisted in her gut, her fair skin prickling under the weight of their stares. She came to prove herself, but the academy seemed hell bent on breaking her spirit.
Morning brought pack dynamics class in the dining hall, hierarchy talk over plates of food. Ravenna found her fast, sliding a plate of eggs her way. "Ignore the glares, they're just mad you earned your spot, not born to it."
Lila forced a smile. "Easy for you, beta, you're one of them."
Ravenna's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Sure, but I've seen outsiders crash, don't let Sienna push you out."
Later that same day in the class, which was her first class lesson in Blackmoon, Sienna strutted in, her alpha aura heavy, her crew trailing like shadows. She zeroed in on Lila, lips curling in a sneer. "Scholarship girl thinks she's hot stuff, bet you begged your way in, on your knees maybe?"
The hall went silent, tension coiling tight. Lila stood, fury burning. "Jealous your money can't buy brains, Vey?"
Sienna growled, stepping closer. "You don't know who you're messing with, stray."
A deep voice cut through. "Enough." Professor Callahan walked in, late forties, gray hair, eyes steady, demanding respect. Not an alpha, but his presence carried weight. "Sit, Vey, class starts now."
Sienna backed off, her glare sharp as claws. Callahan lectured on loyalty, his eyes hitting Lila hard. "Outsiders prove their worth twice over, suspicion's the pack's first shield."
His words stung, like he knew something she didn't. After class, Lila approached him, heart thumping. "Professor, about the scholarship, why me?"
"Earn it, Sinclair, or leave." His tone carried a creepy warning, like he was hiding secrets.
Suspicion fueled her paranoia all day. In the library, books seemed rearranged, pages marked with notes on hybrids, half breeds banished for betrayal. Her scar throbbed, memories flickering, was it a childhood accident or something darker? She shook it off, but unease grew, a knot in her chest that wouldn't loosen.
Kieran cornered her in the corridor later, his charm turned up high. "Sienna's gunning for you, need backup?"
"Why do you care?" she asked, not trusting his golden eyes.
He leaned close, breath warm on her ear. "You're interesting, I hate boring."
His touch sent a spark, twisted and wrong, but she pulled away. "I fight my own battles."
As he sauntered off, she caught Adrian watching from a distance, his face dark. Jealousy? Or something deeper, more dangerous? Her scar pulsed again, like it was trying to tell her something.
The day dragged, each whisper and glance piling on pressure. In the training hall, she overheard two betas muttering about "the scholarship gamble," how the council picked outsiders to test, not to keep. Lila's stomach churned. Was she a pawn in some game? She tried focusing on sparring drills, but her moves were sloppy, her mind stuck on Callahan's warning and the library's creepy books. Every shadow seemed to hide a threat, every creak of the old floors a warning.
Evening brought a twisted turn. Back in her dorm, a note slid under her door, scrawled in jagged ink. "Scholarship secrets will bury you, leave now." Her heart raced, fingers trembling as she clutched the paper. Sienna's doing? Or someone higher, like Callahan? She shoved it in her pocket, anger mixing with fear. No way she'd run, not when she'd fought so hard to get here.
She slipped out, drawn to the cliffs' edge where the fog was thickest. The whispers came again, louder, curling around her like smoke. "Suspicion grows, crescent falls." Her scar burned, hot and angry, and she pressed her hand to it, wincing. Then she saw it, the cloaked figure, standing motionless on the cliff's edge, its stillness chilling her bones.
"Who are you?" Lila shouted, voice cracking in the wind.
The figure turned, face hidden in shadow, voice a rough rasp. "Your past's catching up." It stepped back, vanishing over the edge, no splash, no cry, like it was never there.
Lila's breath hitched, her mind spinning. Was it real? A trick? She stumbled back to her room, the note burning a hole in her pocket. Suspicion clawed at her, the scholarship wasn't a gift, it was bait, and she was the fish. Sleep brought nightmares, hunted by claws made of the academy's distrust, tearing at secrets she didn't even know she had.
The next morning, she avoided the dining hall, grabbing coffee from a corner stall instead. Ravenna caught up, her red curls bouncing. "You look spooked, what's up?"
Lila hesitated, then showed her the note. Ravenna's face darkened. "This is bad, Lila, someone's trying to scare you out, could be Sienna, but feels bigger, like council level."
"Council?" Lila's voice shook. "Why me?"
Ravenna shrugged, but her eyes were uneasy. "You're different, they don't like different, watch your back."
The day stretched on, classes a blur of lectures and more whispers. In history, a professor mentioned ancient betrayals, wolves with strange marks cast out for shaking the hierarchy. Lila's scar throbbed harder, and she hid it under her collar, feeling eyes everywhere. Even the library felt like a trap now, its maze of shelves hiding more than just books.
By night, she was jumpy, checking her door twice before locking it. The fog outside pressed against her window, and she swore she heard her name in its whispers. She sat on her bed, clutching the note, rereading it until the words blurred. Who knew what about her? Was it tied to the scar, the whispers, that figure? Blackmoon wasn't just testing her, it was unraveling her, one twisted thread at a time. She lay down, scar pulsing, heart racing, knowing the academy's suspicions were a blade at her throat, waiting to cut.