Chapter 7
1249 Words
Kael’s words haunted me all night.
“I don’t know who you are, Rory. But I’m going to find out.”
He didn’t sound angry. He sounded determined. And Kael—when he set his mind to something—didn’t back down.
By the time morning came, I felt like I’d aged ten years. I didn’t know whether to confront him or avoid him. So I did what I always did when I didn’t have a plan.
I trained.
The field was cold, the grass stiff with dew, and the sun hadn’t even risen properly. But my fists were warm, my blood hotter. I punched harder than usual, faster, sharper, trying to drown out the storm in my head.
“Working out some demons?”
I paused, breathing heavily. Kael stood a few feet away, arms crossed, sweat glistening on his forehead like he’d been there too.
“Something like that,” I muttered.
We stared at each other for a moment. Just breathing.
“I don’t want to fight with you,” he said finally.
“Then stop pushing,” I snapped, too tired to filter it.
“I’m not the one sneaking around and hiding things.”
“Neither am I the one keeping notes on someone I call my friend.”
That made him flinch. Good.
“You read the notebook,” he said flatly.
“You left it on your bed.”
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” I lied.
He nodded slowly. “Then let’s just get through this week, yeah? Trials are coming.”
I stiffened. Trials.
The Alpha Trials. Where we were tested in strategy, combat, endurance, and loyalty. Where failure wasn’t just embarrassing—it was dangerous. The lowest scorers were often cut from the program. Or worse, reassigned.
And if anyone suspected I was a girl? I wouldn’t just be reassigned. I’d be exposed.
I forced a nod. “Yeah. Let’s focus.”
Kael walked off without another word, and I tried to convince myself that this little truce was enough.
But I knew better.
Back at the dorm, I showered, changed, and checked the map Riven gave me. Four names were circled: Cadets from different cohorts, each marked with a red dot near their name.
One of them was someone I recognized—Jace, a second-year who always seemed to know more than he let on. I’d seen him talking to Nolan before the arrest. Always looking over his shoulder.
I kept my eye on him during classes. He sat in the corner, didn’t raise his hand, didn’t speak unless spoken to. But something about him buzzed with nervous energy.
I followed him after lunch, careful not to be obvious. He walked fast, cutting through the west wing toward the training pits, then doubled back toward the mess hall. Just when I thought I’d lost him, he stopped at a service door and looked around.
I ducked behind a statue.
He reached into his pocket, tapped something against the lock—a keycard?—and slipped inside.
I waited five seconds before moving.
The door was heavy, metal, and it closed with a hiss. I pulled it open just enough to peek in. A narrow stairwell, concrete walls, one flickering light.
I slipped in, keeping quiet.
He was heading down. Fast.
I followed carefully, heart pounding.
Two floors down, the stairs opened into a wide underground corridor. The walls were lined with crates and old lockers. And there, just at the far end—I saw him.
Talking to someone.
I couldn’t make out the voice, but it was deep. Confident. Older. Whoever it was didn’t sound like a cadet.
My blood ran cold.
I pressed myself against the wall and strained to hear.
“…the girl. You’re sure?”
My breath caught.
Jace nodded. “She’s hiding in plain sight. But I don’t know her real name yet.”
“You’ll find it,” the voice said. “Or you’ll end up like Nolan.”
Jace flinched.
“Keep watching her. Don’t act until I say. And if you tell anyone—”
“I won’t,” Jace said quickly. “I swear.”
The older man grunted, then walked off through a different corridor.
Jace turned and came back the way he came.
I bolted up the stairs before he could see me, heart slamming in my chest. My boots slipped once—just a whisper of sound—but enough to make him pause.
I froze two steps from the top, holding my breath.
But after a few seconds, he kept walking.
I waited until I heard the door close, then exhaled so hard I nearly collapsed.
They know.
Someone in the Academy—not just a student, but a higher-up—knew there was a girl here. And Jace… Jace was trying to find out who.
Me.
I ran straight to the courtyard where Riven usually hung out. I found him tossing a knife at a wooden post, eyes blank.
“We have a problem,” I said.
“No kidding,” he muttered. “There’s always a problem.”
“No, this one’s worse. There’s someone—someone high up—involved in the search. And Jace is working with him.”
Riven stopped throwing the knife.
“What did you hear?”
I told him everything. He listened without interrupting.
When I was done, he muttered, “I knew it.”
“You knew?”
“Suspected,” he corrected. “But this confirms it. They’re not just looking for you. They’re planning to use you.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If they can expose you at the Trials, in front of the Head Alpha, they can make an example of you. Prove that the Academy isn’t weak. That they can root out ‘traitors’ and spies.”
My mouth went dry. “So I’m bait?”
“You always were,” he said quietly.
I stared at him. “You knew from the start, didn’t you?”
“That you were a girl? Yeah.”
“And you didn’t say anything?”
“I needed to see what kind of wolf you were.”
I stepped back, shaking my head. “You’re just like the rest of them.”
“No,” he said. “I’m the one keeping you alive.”
I didn’t know whether to thank him or punch him.
But right now, I needed a plan.
“What do I do?”
“You survive the Trials. Beat them at their own game. And you make damn sure that when they try to expose you… they have nothing.”
“And if they do?”
Riven looked me dead in the eye. “Then run.”
That night, I didn’t sleep again. I stared at the ceiling, the events of the day spinning in my mind. The Academy wasn’t just training future Alphas—it was hiding secrets. Twisting power into something dangerous.
And I was right in the middle of it.
I thought I was being clever sneaking in disguised. But I wasn’t the only one hiding something.
Everyone had their masks.
The question was… whose mask would fall first?
I rolled over in bed just as Kael turned in his sleep and whispered, barely audible, “Aria…”
I froze.
He said my name.
My real name.
- Writer
