Chosen By Ruin

Welcome To Hell: SupraVeil Academy

"How did I get an admission into an academy that doesn't accept humans?" I almost scoff, the idea sounding as ridiculous as it feels. There’s no logic I can grasp that supports it.

Part of me wants to believe he’s toying with me.

“Hannah Wales was already accepted before her death,” Alpha Soren says, taking another slow drag from his cigarette before exhaling the smoke between us. “And you… are now Hannah Wales.”

I say nothing. My blank stare must have expressed the confusion and frustration building inside me.

He chuckles under his breath. “Ask just one question.”

Typical of him.

I take the offer. “Who’s Hannah Wales and…what do you mean by I’m now her?

Alpha Soren suddenly drops his cigarette on the floor, his face turning serious as he leans forward.

“That’s two questions. I said- ask one.”

I exhale heavily, my hands curling into the hem of the pale blue shirt I have on.

“What happens if I refuse to go on this mission?”

A faint smile curves his lips. “Kol wouldn’t like it if I told him I want my money back because I no longer want to buy you.”

I swallow. If he returns me to Kol, that means death. He wouldn’t spare me this time around.

I only get to ask one question and I just wasted it.

“Or…do you need me to tell Kol that you’ve been secretly training with daggers?” He asks and I freeze. Nobody knows about my private training except my secret trainer and Aunt Maerra.

Maerra must have told him. Disappointment coils deep in my guts.

Without dwelling on that part, Alpha Soren pulls out a large brown envelope and slides it across the desk toward me. “Everything you need to know about Hannah Wales is inside. Your mission too. Read it tonight.” His eyes lock on mine. “I want your signature on the paper before daybreak.”

He wasn’t joking after all. This is real.

“I…”

“You will be set free if you succeed.” He cuts me smoothly.

Freedom. All I’ve ever fought for since I was dragged into this pack at seven.

My hand trembles as I take the envelope.

“You’re dismissed, Liliana.” He leans back. “I’ll take you to Supraveil in the morning.”

A deep, unfamiliar dread settles in my chest.

Elena’s death is secondary to my worry now.

~

That’s how I find myself in front of the massive gates of Supraveil Academy the next morning, re-slinging the heavy backpack that’s been threatening to cut my shoulders off due to its weight.

I crossed a long narrow bridge to get here after an eight-hour car journey filled with silence and not more than three words from Alpha Soren whenever I asked questions.

I didn’t sleep overnight. My eyes feel heavy. I spent the night thinking of how to survive in a supernatural school that has not a single human in it.

And all I have to do is pretend I am a wolf because Hannah Wales was one. I hope it will be as easy as I’ve read in the file Soren gave me.

It was detailed.

The Luna who governs this school is the Alpha heir’s mother, and she happens to be close friends with Hannah Wales’ parents.

Hannah Wales was forced to shift into her wolf and died. And somehow, only Alpha Soren knows about her death yet because both she and her parents belong to the Bloodfangs pack—his pack.

But he’s made them believe she’s already on her way to this school. By the time they realize she’s dead, I would already be done with my one-month task and be free.

And I now wear her identity.

My dark brown hair is now a striking blonde. My blue eyes are hidden beneath golden-brown contacts. A pyramid and star tattoo is inked neatly onto my wrist.

Everything about me has been altered into her identity.

And the only reason I was given to kill the cursed Alpha heir- who happens to be real after all- is because the Alpha title doesn’t belong to him, and he has to die before he ruins Supraveil’s image, which- for a reason Alpha Soren didn’t reveal—is strangely connected to him and his pack.

Xaden Draven has to die. That’s the highlight.

And I am to find a way to poison him with a seed Alpha Soren gave me.

I check the time on my wristwatch. 10:15 a.m.

I was told registration for new students is by 10 a.m. today.

I rush inside the gate, mentally promising myself to tour around this huge castle city disguised as an academy later.

I find the registration hall in no time after asking a few students—only one of whom is kind enough to answer me. And that’s only after I helped her pick up a small brown envelope that slipped from her bag without her noticing.

She beams at me.

“I’m heading there too, you can follow me.” I do that.

She’s a pretty brunette with a beautiful pair of brown eyes. She’s taller than me, her smile confident.

I can’t help but wonder which species of supernatural she belongs to.

“I’m Sloane. Should be in my second year, but I repeated. You?”

I don’t take the information to heart. I’m not here to make friends, but I reply anyway.

“Hannah. First year.”

My eyes take in several artworks as we pass through different sections.

A massive black wolf. A castle drowning in butterflies. Snakes coiled around dark flowers.

Then—A dragon.

My steps slow.

A strange chill crawls up my arm, spreading down my spine as my gaze locks onto it. It’s enormous.

Beautiful and terrifying all at once.

Do dragons really exist?

“Beautiful, right? I love them too,” Sloane says.

I glance sideways. “Yeah,” I reply curtly.

“Here we are,” she says when we reach another section with ‘Registrar Office’ clamped to its front.

I notice a poster beside the door.

“The Seven Unbreakable Rules Of Supraveil Academy…”

My eyes skim past it without actually reading.

“Students are forbidden from… investigating… ruling councils…”

I don’t bother to read it properly. Since I won't ever need to.

I follow Sloane in, and soon we’re lining up in a queue that’s growing shorter by the minute. Some officials at the front are registering students accordingly.

Not so late after all.

I didn’t expect the office to be this big. It looks more like a hall.

Everything here… hums with a strange energy.

It’s obvious I’m in a completely different world. I can feel it.

My eyes finally settle on what’s happening at the front when it’s only four of us left.

Wait…

“What’s that circle thing they are placing their hands on?” I ask Sloane.

She turns slightly. “Oh, you don’t know how registration works?”

I shake my head, a small anxiety weaving its way in. “No, I don’t.”

“That circle is called the Species Discovery. We place our hands on it, and it reveals what you are. If you’re a wolf or a witch, it reflects it for everyone to see. Your ability shows too. It all gets documented.”

My stomach plummets heavily. Why didn’t Alpha Soren tell me about this? I am only human…what will the glassy circle revealI am?

“Rhys Hardin. Wizard with motion ability.” Another student name is documented, then he exits the registration office. My eyes follow the wizard out, envying his freedom.

For a moment, I’m tempted to run.

But where would I go? My heart races as Sloane steps forward.

After her—It’s me. I’m doomed.

I start to feel sick from the inside. “Name?”

“Sloane Mulligan.” She answers confidently. I need that kind of confidence right now.

“Check the list if her name is there." The woman says to the man beside her. I swallow hard. “It is.” He shows her name to the woman and she nods, then Sloane is instructed to put her hand on the species discovery.

After a few seconds, the tanned woman raises her head up. “Sloane Mulligan. Werewolf.” She raises a brow at her. “Your wolf is weak and its ability isn’t prominent yet. I suggest that when training starts; you take it seriously to strengthen your wolf. You will have to re-do this registration later. You are dismissed.”

Sloane bows to the woman then exits.

“Next.”

I swallow hard. My hands tremble at my sides. Not only am I scared of my fate because I’m next, but her calling takes me back to last night after Elena was killed and I was called up next to race.

“Hannah…Wales.” I mutter.

A strange current suddenly passes through me and my heart races very fast. It feels like… electricity threading through my veins.

I feel it before I hear the sound of boots clicking on the floor.

My head jerks sideways before I even realize why.

I’m drawn.

Black hair frames his sharp features. He’s tall. Broad. Dressed entirely in black.

And when he tilts his head to the side and his eyes lock onto mine- I freeze.

He’s…unreal. Completely stunning. And he has the most beautiful pair of bluest eyes I had ever seen before. What is he? And how powerful is he that a human like me has to feel his presence coursing through my body?

He doesn’t look away from me- it’s as if he’s having thoughts about me too judging from the way his thick dark brows are pulled a little together until the man in front of him speaks. “How may I help you this time around, Dominion Xaden?”

The name hits me instantly at the same time I place my hand on the species discovery.

My heart pounds for two reasons- The first, because he’s Xaden, the very Cursed Alpha Heir I was sent into this academy to kill- and the other reason is because I might die before I ever get the chance to carry out that task.

This thing would expose that I am human, and that wouldn’t be looked over.

But before the fear can settle deeply, the woman gives me the total shock of my life by saying. “Hannah Wales... A Wolf.”