The only reason I came to the Academy was to survive. Love was never in the plan.
The bus lurched to a stop, and I grabbed my duffel bag before the driver could give me that look. The one that said he knew exactly what I was: unwanted, tainted, the girl who shouldn't exist. I'd seen it enough times to recognize it in strangers.
Moonrise Academy rose in front of me like a fortress. Stone walls covered in ivy, iron gates that looked more like a prison than a school. Figures moved behind windows, shadows with glowing eyes. Wolves. Alphas, Betas, Omegas. Everyone here had a place, a rank, a purpose.
Everyone except me.
I adjusted the strap on my shoulder and walked through the gates. Every step felt heavy, like the ground itself wanted to reject me. Students stopped mid-conversation to stare. Some whispered. Others didn't bother hiding their disgust.
"Is that her?"
"The Bennett girl?"
"Heard her bloodline is cursed."
"No wolf. Can you imagine?"
I kept my eyes forward. Chin up. Back straight. My aunt Mara's voice echoed in my head: "Don't you dare show them weakness, Elara. They'll eat you alive."
The main courtyard opened up ahead, and that's when I saw them.
Alphas.
A group of them sparred in the center, shirtless and brutal. Muscles rippled under sweat-slicked skin. Claws extended, teeth bared. They moved like predators, every strike calculated, every dodge instinctual. The crowd around them cheered and shouted, placing bets on who would win.
I should have kept walking. Should have found the registrar's office and kept my head down. But something stopped me.
One of them stood taller than the rest. Broader shoulders. Dark hair that fell across his forehead in messy waves. He moved with a confidence that bordered on arrogance, blocking strikes like they were nothing, countering with precision that made the others stumble back.
Darius Fenrir.
I'd heard the name before I even arrived. The Alpha heir. Next in line to lead one of the most powerful packs in the territory. Engaged to my perfect, beautiful sister Janessa. The golden couple everyone worshiped.
And the boy who'd made my childhood hell.
He hadn't seen me yet. Good. I turned to leave before he could.
"Well, well. Look who finally showed up."
My stomach dropped.
I turned slowly. Darius stood at the edge of the training ring, arms crossed, sweat dripping down his chest. His eyes locked onto mine, and the world seemed to tilt for a second. Gold eyes. Piercing. Dangerous.
"Elara Bennett," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Didn't think you'd actually show your face here."
The crowd went silent. Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
I forced a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "Disappointed?"
"Surprised," he said, stepping closer. "Thought you'd be smart enough to stay away."
"Guess I'm full of surprises."
He stopped a few feet in front of me, towering over me by at least a head. His presence was suffocating, the kind that made lesser wolves submit without a word. But I wasn't a wolf. I had no rank. No instinct telling me to bow.
So I didn't.
His jaw tightened. "You don't belong here."
"That's not your call to make."
Someone in the crowd laughed. Darius's eyes flashed, and the laughter cut off immediately.
"Your family barely scrapes by," he continued, voice low and cruel. "You've got no wolf. No power. No lineage worth mentioning. What exactly do you think you're going to accomplish here?"
My hands clenched into fists. I'd heard it all before. From my pack. From my own family. But hearing it from him, in front of everyone, made my chest burn with something I refused to name.
"I'm here to learn," I said evenly. "Same as everyone else."
"You're here because the council felt sorry for you," he said. "Don't mistake pity for belonging."
The crowd murmured in agreement. A few girls giggled behind their hands.
I met his gaze and refused to look away. "And you're here because your daddy handed you a title you haven't earned yet. So maybe we're both pretending."
The courtyard went dead silent.
Darius's eyes darkened. His wolf surged beneath his skin, a ripple of power that made the air around us crackle. For a second, I thought he might actually hit me.
But then he smiled. Cold. Dangerous.
"You've got a mouth on you," he said. "Let's see how long that lasts."
He turned and walked back to the sparring ring. The crowd parted for him like water. The moment he was gone, the whispers started up again, louder this time.
"Did she really just talk back to him?"
"She's insane."
"He's going to destroy her."
I grabbed my bag and walked toward the dorms. My heart pounded in my chest, but I refused to let them see it. Refused to let him see it.
The dorm building was older than the main hall, with narrow hallways and creaky floors. My room was on the third floor, a small single with a window overlooking the forest. The bed was thin. The desk was scratched. But it was mine, and that was all that mattered.
I dropped my bag and sat on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
This was a mistake.
Coming here. Thinking I could survive in a place built for wolves when I didn't even have one. My eighteenth birthday had come and gone a week ago, and nothing had happened. No shift. No wolf. Just me, standing in front of a mirror, wondering what was wrong with me.
My phone buzzed.
Aunt Mara:How is it?
I typed back quickly. It's fine.
Aunt Mara:Liar.
I smiled despite myself. She knew me too well.
Aunt Mara:You belong there, Elara. Don't let anyone tell you different.
I wanted to believe her. I really did.
But belief didn't change the fact that I was the only student at Moonrise Academy without a wolf. The only one who didn't fit.
The only one Darius Fenrir would make sure stayed at the bottom.
I stood and walked to the window. The forest stretched out endlessly, dark and alive. Somewhere out there, wolves ran free, hunting, living, thriving.
And I was stuck here. Pretending.
A knock at the door startled me.
I crossed the room and opened it cautiously. A girl with auburn hair and kind eyes stood on the other side, holding a stack of papers.
"Elara Bennett?" she asked.
I nodded.
"I'm Celeste Lune. Student council. I'm supposed to give you your schedule and show you around campus."
"Thanks," I said, taking the papers.
Celeste hesitated. "I heard what happened in the courtyard."
"Word travels fast."
"It always does when it involves Darius." She lowered her voice. "For what it's worth, I think you were brave. Most people wouldn't have stood up to him like that."
"Brave or stupid?"
She smiled. "Little bit of both, maybe."
I almost laughed. "I'll take it."
Celeste showed me the dining hall, the library, the training grounds. The campus was massive, bigger than I'd expected, with buildings that dated back centuries. Wolves had history here. Bloodlines. Legacies.
And I had nothing.
By the time we finished the tour, the sun was setting. Students headed toward the dining hall in groups, laughing and shoving each other playfully. I followed Celeste inside, trying to ignore the stares.
The dining hall was loud. Long wooden tables stretched across the room, packed with students. Alphas sat at the front. Betas in the middle. Omegas near the back.
I didn't know where I fit.
Celeste led me to a table near the side, away from the main crowd. "This is where most of us sit. The ones who don't really fit the hierarchy."
I sat down, grateful for the distance.
Across the room, Darius sat at the head of the Alpha table, surrounded by his pack. They laughed at something he said, loud and confident. A girl with blonde hair sat next to him, leaning in close.
Not my sister. But someone who looked at him like she owned him.
Good. Let her have him.
I picked at my food, listening to Celeste talk about classes and professors. She was nice. Normal. The kind of person I could maybe be friends with if I didn't screw it up.
But then I felt it.
A pull.
Sharp and sudden, like someone had hooked a line around my chest and yanked.
I looked up, and my eyes locked with Darius's.
He was staring at me from across the room, his expression unreadable. The blonde girl next to him was still talking, but he wasn't listening. His entire focus was on me.
And then I felt it again. Stronger this time. A hum beneath my skin, low and insistent, like something inside me was waking up for the first time.
What the hell?
Darius stood abruptly, cutting off the blonde mid-sentence. He crossed the dining hall in long strides, and the crowd parted for him automatically.
He stopped in front of my table.
Celeste went quiet.
I looked up at him, confused and irritated. "What do you want?"
He didn't answer right away. His eyes scanned my face, searching for something I didn't understand.
And then I heard it.
A voice. Deep. Rough. Not spoken aloud, but inside my head.
"Mate."
My breath caught.
No.
No, no, no.
Darius's wolf growled in my mind, low and possessive and absolutely certain.
"Mate."