CHAPTER ONE : The Academy
The letter arrived on a rainy morning.
I almost threw it away.
Royal Blackwood Academy. A school for elites. For royalty. For people born into power. Not for someone like me.
Yet my name was printed clearly across the envelope.
Elena Vale. Accepted.
The acceptance letter had to be a mistake.
Royal Blackwood Academy wasn't a normal school. Everyone knew that. It was a place for elites, for heirs, for the powerful. Not for someone like me.
I was a poor nobody who had just moved here recently along with my mother so how the hell did I get accepted here.
Still, I stood at the giant gates, clutching the letter in my shaking hands.
The moment I stepped inside, the air changed.
I should have known something was wrong the moment I stepped through the gates.
The air felt heavy.
Conversations slowly died.
Every student turned to look at me, their eyes sharp… almost predatory.
A group of girls whispered loudly.
“Why is a human here?”
My steps faltered. Human?
Then I felt it.
Two different stares.
One burning. One chilling
A burning stare from the left.
A tall boy with golden eyes watched me like I offended his existence. His jaw tightened, and something about him felt dangerous.
“She smells wrong,” he muttered.
Before I could react, another voice came from behind me.
“Careful, Alpha… you might scare her.”
I turned.
A pale boy leaned against the wall, red eyes glinting with amusement. He looked at me like I was something interesting… something he wanted.
My heart started racing.
I didn’t understand why…
But somehow…
I felt like I had just stepped into a war.
I tried to ignore the stares.
It wasn’t easy.
Every step I took felt heavier, like I was walking into something I didn’t understand. The students lining the hallway looked… different. Too perfect. Too sharp. Their eyes followed me like predators watching prey.
I tightened my grip on my bag.
Just get to the office. Get your schedule. Leave.
That was the plan.
Unfortunately, the universe had other ideas.
Someone suddenly stepped in front of me.
I froze.
He was tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair slightly messy like he didn’t care about appearances. But it was his eyes that made my heart stutter — golden. Not brown. Not hazel. Gold.
And they were narrowed at me.
“You,” he said, voice low and dangerous.
I blinked. “Me?”
His nose twitched slightly, like he was smelling the air. His expression darkened.
“She smells human.”
A murmur spread through the hallway.
My stomach dropped.
Human? What was that supposed to mean?
Why was every one saying that.
Weren't they also humans?
Before I could respond, another voice cut in.
“And yet… not entirely.”
I turned.
A second boy approached slowly, hands in his pockets. Pale skin. Hair as white as pure snow. Red eyes that glowed faintly under the light. He looked calm, but something about him felt… wrong. Like he was more dangerous than the first.
His gaze locked onto mine.
I couldn’t breathe.
“How interesting,” he murmured.
The golden-eyed boy stepped closer to me, placing himself between us. His jaw tightened.
“Stay away, Adrian.”
So his name was Adrian.
Adrian smirked slightly. “You don’t own the hallway, Kael.”
Kael.
The tension between them felt electric.
And somehow… I was in the middle of it.
Kael leaned closer to me. Too close. My heart started racing again.
“You shouldn’t be here, human,” he said quietly. “This place will eat you alive.”
I swallowed.
“I… I just transferred.”
His eyes flashed.
“That was a mistake.”
Before I could answer, someone bumped into my shoulder hard. I stumbled forward, nearly falling.
A girl with long silver hair looked at me with disgust.
“Watch where you’re going,” she snapped. “Humans should stay where they belong.”
Laughter broke out around us.
My face burned.
I bent quickly, picking up my fallen books. My fingers trembled, but I refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.
Then suddenly—
A hand reached down and picked up one of my books.
I looked up.
A third boy stood beside me. Quiet. Sharp grey eyes. Expression unreadable. He handed the book back without saying anything.
Our fingers brushed.
A strange chill ran through me.
Kael noticed. His expression darkened instantly.
“Rowan,” he warned.
The quiet boy — Rowan — stepped back immediately, his face turning cold again like nothing had happened.
But I saw it.
He had helped me.
Even though everyone else was watching.
And somehow… that scared me more.
