BlackMoor Academy

Blackmooor Academy

Strength Through Survival

The gates creaked open.

As the van rolled forward, Nyra noticed claw marks covering the walls.

Some looked fresh.

The doors burst open moments later.

Cold rain slammed into her face.

“Out,” a guard barked.

Chains rattled as the prisoners climbed into the mud.

Nyra stepped out slowly, boots sinking into black water. The air smelled like wet stone, pine trees…

…and blood.

Students stood along the massive courtyard watching the new arrivals.

Some smirked.

Some looked hungry.

Most wore black uniforms marked with silver wolf symbols stitched across the chest.

Predators watching prey.

Nyra kept her head down until someone spoke.

“Well,” a deep voice drawled lazily, “they somehow managed to bring in weaker trash than last year.”

Laughter echoed around the courtyard.

Nyra looked up.

And immediately wished she hadn’t.

The boy standing at the top of the stone staircase looked dangerous in a way that made her instincts scream.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair dripping rainwater into golden eyes.

A black tattoo curled along the side of his throat like claws.

Kaiden Draven.

Even Nyra had heard stories about him.

The monster of Blackmoor.

Rumors said he’d ripped another student’s throat out during a Moon Trial last winter.

Rumors said the Headmaster covered it up.

Rumors said Kaiden enjoyed it.

His golden eyes swept over the prisoners carelessly…

before stopping on Nyra.

The world seemed to pause.

Something sharp twisted painfully beneath her ribs.

Not attraction.

Something stranger.

Recognition.

Kaiden’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.

Interest.

Nyra hated it instantly.

A guard shoved her forward.

“Move.”

She stumbled slightly in the mud.

A few students laughed.

Kaiden descended the staircase slowly, hands in his pockets, gaze never leaving her.

Every instinct told Nyra to back away.

Instead, she straightened.

Bad idea.

His mouth curved faintly.

“She has teeth,” he murmured.

The guard beside Nyra stiffened nervously. “Draven, don’t start—”

Too late.

Kaiden stopped directly in front of her.

Up close, he was worse.

There was something wrong about the way he looked at people. Like he was constantly deciding whether they were worth breaking.

Rain slid down his face as his eyes flicked toward the number stitched onto her prison jacket.

“Nyra Vale,” he read softly.

Then his gaze lifted back to hers.

“The murderer.”

Silence spread through the courtyard.

Nyra felt every pair of eyes on her.

Her nails dug into her palms.

“I didn’t kill anyone,” she said coldly.

Kaiden tilted his head.

“That’s funny,” he replied. “They all say that.”

A few students laughed again.

Nyra should’ve stayed quiet.

Should’ve looked away.

Instead she stepped closer.

Close enough to see surprise flicker briefly across his face.

“Keep staring at me like that,” she said quietly, “and people might start thinking you’re obsessed.”

The courtyard went dead silent.

One girl actually choked.

The guard near Nyra whispered: “Oh, she’s dead.”

Kaiden stared at her for a long moment.

Then he smiled.

Not a normal smile.

The kind predators gave before tearing something apart.

“Careful, Vale,” he said softly. “Blackmoor eats girls like you alive.”

Nyra forced herself not to react.

“Then it better choke.”

For one dangerous second, Kaiden looked genuinely amused.

Then alarms suddenly blared across the academy.

Students froze.

The sound echoed through the mountains.

Kaiden’s expression darkened instantly.

A second later—

A scream tore through the courtyard.

Everyone turned.

One of the guards near the transport van collapsed to the ground clutching his throat.

Blood poured between his fingers.

And standing behind him—

was a wolf.

Too large.

Too thin.

Its silver eyes locked directly onto Nyra.

The creature growled.

Not at the crowd.

At her.

Then chaos exploded.

The creature hit the courtyard like a nightmare unleashed.

Students screamed and scattered as claws ripped across stone.

Kaiden recovered first.

Of course he did.

He shoved himself off the shattered staircase, blood dripping down his shoulder as a low growl rumbled in his chest.

The silver-eyed creature circled slowly now.

Watching.

Hunting.

Its gaze never left Nyra.

The rain poured harder, soaking her clothes as panic clawed up her throat.

Why is it looking at me?

"Get everyone inside!" a guard shouted.

Nobody listened.

Fear had already taken over.

The creature moved suddenly-

straight toward Nyra.

Fast.

Too fast.

Nyra barely had time to stumble backward before Kaiden stepped directly between them.

The silver-eyed wolf slammed into him violently.

The force cracked stone beneath their feet.

Gasps erupted around the courtyard as Kaiden grabbed the creature by the throat and threw it across the ground.

The thing rolled unnaturally before rising again.

Its bones cracked as it straightened.

Wrong.

Everything about it was wrong.

Kaiden's eyes narrowed.

"That's impossible," someone whispered nearby.

The creature tilted its head slowly.

Then smiled.

A real smile.

Nyra's stomach twisted.

Wolves didn't smile like that.

Kaiden seemed to realize the same thing.

"Everyone back," he ordered sharply.

Nobody argued this time.

Even the older students looked terrified.

The creature's silver gaze drifted back to Nyra.

Then its mouth opened.

"Found..."

Its voice sounded broken.

Like multiple voices speaking at once beneath water.

Nyra froze.

Kaiden did too.

The creature took another step toward her.

"Shadow..."

The word barely formed before Kaiden attacked again.

He shifted mid-lunge, bones snapping violently as his massive black wolf crashed into the creature.

The courtyard exploded into chaos.

The two wolves tore across the rain-soaked stone in a frenzy of claws and snarls. Kaiden's wolf was huge - powerful enough to make the ground tremble beneath him.

But the silver-eyed creature fought like it felt no pain.

It clawed across Kaiden's side viciously before sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

Kaiden roared.

Students backed away immediately.

Nyra couldn't move.

Something about the creature pulled at her.

Like a thread tightening inside her chest.

The silver-eyed wolf suddenly looked at her again while Kaiden pinned it to the ground.

And for one horrifying second-

Nyra heard a voice inside her head.

Run.

Her breath caught.

The creature jerked violently beneath Kaiden's grip.

Then another voice echoed through her mind.

Not the creature's.

Deeper.

Older.

Wake up.

Pain exploded behind Nyra's eyes.

She gasped, clutching her head as strange shadows flickered briefly around her feet.

Nobody noticed.

Nobody except Kaiden.

His wolf froze mid-attack.

Golden eyes locked onto her.

Shock flashed across them.

The creature used the distraction instantly.

It slammed Kaiden backward into the staircase hard enough to crack stone.

Students screamed again.

The silver-eyed wolf rose slowly.

Blood dripped from its jaws.

Then it looked directly at Nyra one last time.

And bowed.

The entire courtyard went silent.

Even the rain seemed quieter.

Kaiden stared at the creature in disbelief.

So did everyone else.

Because wolves didn't bow.

Not unless they recognized something stronger.

Fear curled coldly through Nyra's stomach.

The creature's silver eyes glowed brighter.

Then-

Bang.

A gunshot split through the courtyard.

The creature collapsed instantly.

Smoke curled from the silver bullet lodged in its skull.

Headmaster Voss lowered the gun calmly.

His expression unreadable.

"Well," he said smoothly into the silence, "that complicates things."

Headmaster Voss lowered the silver gun slowly as smoke curled through the rain.

The dead creature twitched once beneath Kaiden's claws.

Then went still.

Nobody moved.

Nobody even breathed.

Because the creature had bowed to Nyra.

And everyone had seen it.

Nyra felt dozens of eyes turn toward her instantly.

Fear.

Confusion.

Suspicion.

Kaiden shifted back into human form slowly, chest rising hard with each breath. Blood streamed down his shoulder and across the black tattoo curling along his neck.

He barely seemed to notice.

His eyes stayed locked on Nyra.

Like he was seeing her differently now.

That terrified her more than the monster had.

Headmaster Voss stepped forward calmly, boots splashing through blood and rainwater.

"Escort the students inside," he ordered smoothly.

Nobody moved.

The Headmaster's expression sharpened slightly.

"Now."

That got them moving.

Students immediately rushed toward the academy doors in panicked groups, whispering frantically to each other.

"She made it bow-"

"What is she?"

"That thing spoke to her-"

Nyra swallowed hard.

A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Kaiden.

His grip was warm despite the freezing rain.

"Come with me," he said quietly.

Nyra yanked her arm free instantly.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

His jaw tightened.

"That wasn't a request."

"And I'm still not going."

For a second, irritation flashed across his face.

Then something dangerous replaced it.

Not anger.

Fear.

Kaiden stepped closer until his voice dropped low enough that only she could hear.

"You have no idea what you just did."

Nyra forced herself not to back away.

"Neither do you."

A pause.

Then unexpectedly-

Kaiden smiled slightly.

Like her defiance amused him.

Before either of them could say anything else, Headmaster Voss appeared beside them.

The old wolf's gray eyes lingered on Nyra carefully.

Too carefully.

"Miss Vale," he said pleasantly,

"welcome to Blackmoor Academy."

Nyra didn't miss the warning beneath the politeness.

The Headmaster glanced briefly toward the dead creature.

"Your arrival seems... eventful."

"That thing attacked us," Nyra snapped.

"No," Headmaster Voss corrected softly.

"It attacked you."

Silence.

Rain hammered against the courtyard stones.

Nyra's pulse quickened.

The Headmaster studied her another moment before smiling faintly.

"We'll speak tomorrow."

Something about the way he said it made dread curl down her spine.

Kaiden clearly noticed too.

His expression darkened instantly.

"She's under Fang protection," he said suddenly.

The entire courtyard froze again.

Nyra blinked.

"What?"

Several nearby students looked horrified.

Even the guards exchanged nervous glances.

One boy muttered: "Oh, she's screwed."

Nyra frowned harder. "What does that mean?"

Sable suddenly appeared beside her looking equally alarmed.

"It means nobody in Blackmoor can touch you now."

Nyra glanced between them.

"That sounds helpful."

"It's not," Sable whispered.

Kaiden ignored both of them.

Golden eyes remained fixed on the Headmaster.

"She stays with my faction.

The Headmaster looked mildly surprised.

"Interesting."

Nyra crossed her arms immediately.

"No."

Kaiden looked at her slowly.

"No?"

"I'm not joining your weird murder cult."

A few students nearby actually laughed.

Kaiden stepped closer again.

Too close.

"You don't understand how this place works yet, Vale."

"I understand you're bossy."

"And you're a problem."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

For one dangerous second, Nyra thought he might actually smile again.

Instead, his gaze dropped briefly to the fading shadows flickering around her boots.

His expression hardened immediately.

"You're coming with me."

Before she could argue-

The academy lights suddenly flickered.

Every wolf in the courtyard went still.

A deep howl echoed from somewhere beneath the ground.

Not outside.

Below them.

Nyra felt the sound vibrate through her bones.

Students backed away nervously.

The dead creature on the courtyard stones twitched again.

Then-

Its silver eyes snapped open.

Someone screamed.

The corpse moved impossibly fast.

It launched upward with a horrifying snarl straight toward Nyra-

And without thinking-

Nyra threw her hand forward.

Darkness exploded across the courtyard.

Shadows burst from beneath her feet like living smoke, slamming into the creature midair hard enough to send it crashing violently into the academy wall.

Stone shattered.

Silence followed.

Complete silence.

The shadows slowly curled back around Nyra's hands before disappearing.

Her breathing stopped.

So did everyone else's.

Because every single person in the courtyard had just seen it.

Forbidden magic.

Kaiden stared at her in shock.

Sable looked ready to faint.

And Headmaster Voss...

smiled.

Not kindly.

Hungrily.

Nyra's stomach dropped.

Because suddenly she understood something terrifying.

Blackmoor Academy wasn't trying to keep monsters out.

It was trying to keep them in.

And somehow...

she had just become the most dangerous thing there.