Chapter Five
1149 Words
The Outsider
The tension hanging over the courtyard remained long after Lily and Ethan's eyes met.
It felt like the entire academy had stopped breathing.
Students stood frozen, openly staring between them while whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"Did Ethan just look at her?"
"No way."
"The Alpha Heir never notices anyone."
"Why is he staring at an outsider?"
Lily's stomach tightened.
She didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of it.
Before she could think any further, a sharp voice cut through the crowd.
"Enough."
The murmuring immediately died down.
A woman in her early thirties walked confidently through the students. Unlike everyone Lily had seen so far, she didn't seem intimidating.
She seemed normal.
Warm, human.
Her chestnut-brown hair was tied neatly behind her head and she wore a dark academy uniform with a silver staff badge pinned to her collar.
"Return to your activities," she instructed.
The students reluctantly obeyed.
Even then, many of them continued glancing back at Lily.
The woman turned toward her and smiled.
"You must be Lily Carter."
Lily nodded quickly.
"Yes."
"I'm Professor Elara Whitmore. Head of Student Affairs. I'll be responsible for helping you settle in."
Lily instantly liked her.
She was probably the first friendly face she had seen since arriving.
"Come along."
The academy tour lasted almost two hours.
And every minute left Lily more overwhelmed than the last.
Blackthorn Academy wasn't a school.
It was an entire world.
The buildings alone looked older than Ashvale itself.
Towering stone walls stretched endlessly across the mountainside while enormous stained-glass windows reflected the gray afternoon sky. Ancient wolf statues guarded nearly every entrance and beautiful carvings decorated the high walkways connecting different sections of the academy.
Everything looked expensive and important.
And everything made Lily feel smaller.
Professor Whitmore patiently explained each area.
"These are the lecture halls."
The rooms looked larger than the community center back home.
"Over there is the academy library."
Lily's eyes widened.
The library occupied an entire building.
Thousands of books filled towering shelves that stretched upward for several floors.
She had never seen so many books in her life.
"The western field is used for wolf-form training."
Lily stopped walking.
Wolf-form training.
The field was massive.
Students sparred under the supervision of instructors while others practiced speed drills.
She had never seen anything like it.
Not in Ashvale.
Not anywhere.
Professor Whitmore continued walking.
"The northern field is used for polo matches and inter-pack competitions."
"The gymnasium is beyond those buildings."
"The cafeteria is in the central wing."
"The staff quarters are located in the eastern district."
Every new location somehow seemed bigger than the previous one.
By the end of the tour, Lily's head was spinning.
Then they arrived at a separate section of the academy.
Unlike the rest of Blackthorn, this area was heavily guarded.
Large iron gates blocked the entrance.
Silver wolf crests decorated the walls.
Even the atmosphere felt different.
More serious.
Professor Whitmore stopped walking.
"That is the Alpha Heir Quarter."
Lily immediately looked toward it.
The buildings were breathtaking.
Private. Elegant. Intimidating
"Only Alpha heirs and select members of the academy council are permitted access."
"So students can't go there?"
Professor Whitmore shook her head firmly.
"Absolutely not."
That only made Lily more curious.
The tour eventually ended at the registration office.
Several documents later, Lily officially became a student of Blackthorn Academy.
She received: her academy uniform, class schedule, student identification card, dormitory access card and enough textbooks to break her back.
By the time she finally left the office, she was exhausted.
"Your dormitory is on the third floor," Professor Whitmore explained.
Lily frowned slightly.
"Third floor?"
The professor smiled.
"Blackthorn assigns housing according to family rank and social standing."
That immediately sounded ridiculous.
As they walked toward the dormitory building, Professor Whitmore explained further.
"The first floor houses Alpha bloodlines and high-profile families."
"The second and third floors are reserved for Beta wolves and respected middle-tier families."
Lily blinked.
"And lower-class students?"
The professor hesitated.
"There aren't any."
Lily almost laughed.
Of course there weren't.
This was Blackthorn Academy for God's sake.
Even the "middle class" here probably owned mansions.
The amount of segregation inside the academy shocked her.
Everything seemed divided by status.
Rank, power and bloodline.
It felt less like a school and more like a kingdom.
Finally, they arrived outside Room 307.
Professor Whitmore handed over a keycard.
"This is your room."
Lily took a deep breath and reached for the door handle.
Before she could touch it, the door swung open by itself.
Lily blinked fast,
That was strange.
But honestly?
After everything she'd seen today, it barely registered.
Her attention immediately shifted to the room.
And the two girls inside it.
The room itself was beautiful.
Three beds.
Large windows overlooking the mountains, private study desks and reading area.
It was bigger than her entire bedroom back home.
But the atmosphere inside wasn't welcoming.
Not even slightly.
Both girls stared directly at her.
One looked openly annoyed.
The other was merely curious.
Lily forced a smile.
"Hi. I'm Lily Carter and I'm the….. "
"Outsider?" the annoyed girl interrupted immediately.
The word dripped with disgust.
"Yeah. We know."
The girl rolled her eyes dramatically.
She had long blonde hair and the expression of someone who believed the world existed solely to inconvenience her.
"I'm Vanessa Sterling."
Lily recognized the surname instantly.
One of the wealthiest wolf families in the territories.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"I still can't believe they actually let a scholarship student into Blackthorn."
The second girl sighed loudly.
"Ignore her."
She pulled one side of her headphones down.
"I'm Maya."
Unlike Vanessa, she seemed relatively normal.
"Welcome to Blackthorn."
"Thanks."
Vanessa snorted.
Maya ignored her completely and returned to her music.
Awkward silence followed.
Lily slowly carried her luggage inside.
This was going to be a very long year.
Several hours later, evening settled over the academy.
The mountains outside disappeared beneath darkness while students moved between buildings for dinner.
Unable to sit inside any longer, Lily decided to explore.
Just a little.
She carefully followed one of the stone pathways branching away from the dormitory.
At first everything seemed normal.
Then she realized something.
The path was empty.
Completely empty.
No students.
No teachers.
Nobody.
A cold breeze brushed past her.
The further she walked, the quieter everything became.
Soon she found herself standing before a massive black iron gate.
It looked ancient.
Forbidden.
And strangely familiar.
Beyond the gate stood a private stone building surrounded by silver lanterns.
Then Lily remembered.
The Alpha Heir Quarter.
Her stomach dropped.
"Oh no."
She immediately turned around.
And froze.
Someone was standing behind her.
Tall.
Silent.
Watching.
The moonlight revealed sharp gray eyes.
And for the second time that day,
Lily Carter found herself standing face-to-face with Ethan Blackwood, the Alpha heir.
- Writer
