BlackMoor Academy

Fang territory

Nyra woke to screaming.

Her eyes snapped open as pounding footsteps thundered through the hallway outside her dorm.

For one disoriented second, she forgot where she was.

Then she saw the cracked stone ceiling above her.

Blackmoor.

The courtyard.

The shadows.

Her stomach twisted violently.

"Oh good," Sable muttered from the other bed. "You're alive."

Nyra pushed herself upright slowly.

Every muscle in her body ached.

"What happened after..." She hesitated.l"Last night?"

Sable stared at her.

"You unleashed forbidden shadow magic in front of the entire academy."

"...Right."

"And now everyone thinks you're either cursed, possessed, or about to murder them."

Nyra rubbed her face tiredly.

"Amazing."

Sable threw a black uniform onto Nyra's bed.

"Get dressed."

Nyra frowned at the silver claw symbol stitched onto the jacket.

"What's this?"

Sable looked horrified.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"That's Fang colors."

Nyra blinked. "And that means?"

"It means Kaiden officially claimed you for his faction last night."

Nyra nearly choked.

"He WHAT?"

Before Sable could answer, the dorm door swung open hard enough to hit the wall.

Kaiden walked in like he owned the room.

Which, honestly, he probably did.

His black uniform hung loosely over broad shoulders, the sleeves rolled slightly up his forearms. The bandages from last night were gone completely.

Werewolf healing.

Lucky him.

Nyra immediately grabbed the nearest object off her bedside table and threw it at his head.

Kaiden caught the book easily without even flinching.

"That was rude."

"You claimed me?!"

Sable made a quiet sound somewhere between fear and amusement.

Kaiden tossed the book back onto the bed casually.

"You needed protection."

"I needed a warning!"

"You would've argued."

"I'm arguing now!"

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Nyra hated how unfairly attractive that expression was.

Sable noticed immediately.

And unfortunately looked delighted by it.

Kaiden's golden eyes drifted briefly toward the fading black shadows beneath Nyra's fingertips.

His amusement disappeared instantly.

"You need to learn control."

Nyra's chest tightened.

"So it's true," she said quietly. "I really did that."

Kaiden was silent for a moment.

Then: "Yes."

The room suddenly felt colder.

Nyra looked away first.

"What am I?"

Something unreadable flickered across Kaiden's face.

"Dangerous."

Not exactly comforting.

Before Nyra could respond, a loud bell echoed through the academy halls.

Sable groaned dramatically.

"Great. Morning trials."

Nyra frowned. "Morning what?"

Kaiden looked almost entertained again.

"You'll see."

That answer did not help.

Ten minutes later, Nyra understood why nobody liked Morning Trials.

Hundreds of students crowded into a massive arena carved directly into the mountainside.

Rain poured through the open ceiling above, soaking the black stone platforms circling the combat pit below.

The energy in the arena felt vicious.

Like bloodsport.

Students shouted across faction sections while guards patrolled the edges carrying silver weapons.

Nyra noticed something immediately.

Everyone stared at her.

Whispers spread through the arena the second she entered beside Kaiden.

"That's her."

"The Shadowborn girl."

"She attacked a corpse-"

"No, the corpse attacked her-"

"She made shadows move.

Nyra pulled the sleeves of her uniform lower.

Kaiden walked beside her calmly, completely unaffected by the attention.

Annoying.

Sable leaned closer to Nyra.

"Congratulations," she whispered. "You're officially academy gossip."

"Wonderful."

The Fang faction occupied the highest section overlooking the arena floor.

Students moved out of Kaiden's way automatically as he approached.

Fear.

Respect.

Both.

Nyra sat cautiously beside Sable while Kaiden remained standing near the railing overlooking the combat pit below.

Like a king watching his kingdom.

The thought irritated her immediately.

A loud horn suddenly echoed through the arena.

Headmaster Voss stepped onto the platform below.

The entire academy fell silent.

"Welcome," the Headmaster announced smoothly, "to the first Moon Trial of the semester."

A massive iron gate behind him groaned open slowly.

Something growled in the darkness beyond it.

Nyra's stomach dropped.

Headmaster Voss smiled.

"Today's lesson," he said calmly, "is survival."

Then the creature stepped into the arena.

And Nyra realized immediately-

it was another silver-eyed monster.

Every scream beneath Blackmoor stopped at once.

Silence crashed over the arena.

The kind of silence that felt wrong.

Nyra's breathing turned uneven as the vision faded from her mind in broken fragments.

Chains.

Laboratories.

Silver eyes staring through iron cages.

Her knees nearly buckled.

Kaiden caught her before she hit the ground.

The movement startled both of them.

His hand wrapped tightly around her arm while the other steadied her waist instinctively.

Warm.

Solid.

Safe.

Nyra hated how much her body noticed that.

The entire arena stared openly now.

Not at the Hollow Wolf anymore.

At her.

Kaiden's voice dropped low beside her ear.

"What did you see?"

Nyra swallowed hard.

"I-I don't know."

Lie.

He knew it was a lie too.

Before he could push further, the Hollow Wolf suddenly lifted its head again.

Its silver eyes locked onto Headmaster Voss.

And growled.

A real growl this time.

Hatred.

The Headmaster's pleasant expression didn't change, but something cold flickered behind his eyes.

Interesting.

The creature began backing away slowly from Nyra.

Fearfully.

Like it finally understood what she was.

Or what she could become.

Then the arena gates exploded open.

Guards flooded inside carrying silver-tipped weapons while several older wolves shifted instantly into massive wolf forms.

The Hollow Wolf snarled violently.

Chaos erupted again.

"Contain it!"

"It's losing control-"

Nyra flinched as the creature slammed one guard across the arena floor hard enough to leave a trail of blood behind him.

Students screamed and rushed backward in panic.

Kaiden shoved Nyra behind him immediately.

Protective.

Again.

"You need to leave," he snapped.

Nyra stared at him incredulously. "You think now is the time to boss me around?"

"Yes."

The Hollow Wolf suddenly roared.

Not angry.

Agonized.

Its body jerked unnaturally as black veins spread rapidly beneath its skin. Bones cracked loudly. Its claws dug into the arena floor like it was trying to hold itself together.

Something was happening to it.

Something bad.

Headmaster Voss's expression darkened slightly.

"Well," he murmured. "That's unfortunate timing."

Nyra frowned.

Timing?

Then the creature looked at her one final time.

And whispered:

"They lied to you."

Nyra's heart stopped.

A second later-

The Hollow Wolf exploded.

Black smoke burst violently across the arena as students screamed in horror. Guards staggered backward coughing while dark ash rained down onto the stone floor.

Nyra covered her mouth instinctively.

When the smoke finally cleared-

nothing remained.

No body.

No blood.

Nothing.

The entire academy stood frozen in shock.

Sable looked sick beside her.

"What the hell was that?"

Nobody answered.

Because nobody knew.

But Nyra noticed something important.

Kaiden wasn't looking at the arena anymore.

He was staring directly at Headmaster Voss.

And for the first time since arriving at Blackmoor-

Kaiden looked afraid.

The Headmaster slowly adjusted his gloves before addressing the students calmly.

"The trial is over."

Nobody moved.

Headmaster Voss smiled faintly.

"Return to your dormitories."

Still nobody moved.

Then his eyes shifted toward Nyra.

"Miss Vale," he said softly, "a word."

Kaiden stepped in front of her immediately.

"No.

The single word echoed sharply through the silent arena.

Several students looked horrified that someone had just openly defied the Headmaster.

Voss raised one eyebrow.

"You are not in charge here, Mr. Draven."

Kaiden's jaw tightened.

"Neither are you."

The atmosphere instantly turned dangerous.

Nyra looked between them carefully.

This wasn't normal authority tension.

This felt personal.

Ancient.

The Headmaster's gaze sharpened slightly.

"You're becoming emotional."

"And you're becoming suspicious."

Several nearby guards shifted nervously.

Sable whispered: "Oh my god, he's actually challenging him."

Nyra frowned. "Is that bad?"

"Do you enjoy almost dying? Because that's how you almost die."

Headmaster Voss's attention returned to Nyra.

"You've had a very difficult introduction to Blackmoor," he said smoothly. "I merely wish to help you understand your... abilities."

Every instinct in Nyra's body screamed danger.

Kaiden must've sensed it too.

Because his voice turned deadly quiet.

"She's not going anywhere alone."

The Headmaster smiled slowly.

"That sounds almost protective."

Kaiden didn't answer.

Which was answer enough.

Students immediately noticed.

Whispers exploded through the arena again.

"Kaiden's protecting her-"

"He never protects anyone-"

"What is she to him?"

Nyra wished the ground would swallow her whole.

Unfortunately, Blackmoor clearly preferred public humiliation.

Headmaster Voss looked amused now.

"Very well," he said lightly. "Miss Vale may return to the Fang wing."

Nyra blinked.

"The what now?"

Sable made a choking sound.

Kaiden exhaled slowly like he already regretted everything.

Then alarms suddenly blared across the academy again.

But this time-

they sounded different.

Lower.

More violent.

The color of the emergency lights shifted from red...

to black.

Every wolf in the arena froze instantly.

Even Kaiden went still.

Nyra frowned. "Why does everyone suddenly look terrified?"

Sable's face had gone completely pale.

"Because," she whispered shakily, "the black alarm means something escaped the tunnels."

The black alarms continued screaming through the arena.

Students panicked instantly.

Some rushed for the exits while others backed toward their faction leaders, fear written openly across their faces.

Nyra frowned.

Whatever escaped the tunnels...

everyone feared it more than the Hollow Wolves.

Even Kaiden.

The realization sent unease crawling down her spine.

The emergency lights flashed black again.

Then the entire arena shook violently.

Stone cracked beneath their feet.

Somewhere below them-

something massive slammed against metal.

A deafening roar echoed through Blackmoor.

Not wolf.

Not human.

Ancient.

Nyra felt the sound inside her chest.

Around the arena, several wolves whimpered instinctively.

Kaiden grabbed Nyra's wrist immediately.

"We're leaving."

Nyra resisted instantly. "You're finally going to explain what's happening."

"No time."

"That's getting really annoying."

Another violent impact shook the academy.

Dust rained from the ceiling overhead.

Students screamed below as one of the arena gates bent inward slightly like something enormous had hit it from the other side.

Sable's face went completely pale.

"Oh, that's bad."

Nyra stared at the gate. "What exactly escaped?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Kaiden's grip tightened around her wrist.

Then quietly:

"The Warden."

The name alone seemed to affect the air around them.

Several nearby students flinched visibly.

Nyra frowned harder. "That means absolutely nothing to me."

"It should," Kaiden muttered darkly.

Headmaster Voss stepped calmly to the center platform again despite the panic spreading around him.

His composure no longer looked comforting.

It looked dangerous.

"All students return to faction wings immediately," he ordered smoothly. "Lockdown protocol is now active."

The academy lights flickered again.

Then went completely dark.

This time, the screams started instantly.

Nyra's heartbeat jumped.

Something moved through the arena below.

Fast.

Far too fast.

The darkness lasted only seconds before emergency lights flashed back on-

And one student was gone.

Blood streaked across the stone floor where he'd been standing moments earlier.

Panic exploded.

"Oh my god-"

"It took him-"

"RUN!"

Students surged toward the exits.

Kaiden shoved Nyra behind him again while several Fang wolves shifted protectively around them.

Nyra's pulse raced.

Then she saw it.

At the very top of the arena wall-

a massive shadow crouched upside down against the stone ceiling.

Watching.

Its body was enormous, wrapped in chains that dragged and rattled softly as it moved. Glowing silver eyes burned from the darkness beneath a twisted wolf skull mask fused to its face.

Nyra stopped breathing.

The creature tilted its head slowly.

And looked directly at her.

Not hunting.

Recognizing.

The chains around its body suddenly began rattling violently.

Then every light in the arena exploded.

Darkness swallowed Blackmoor whole.

Students screamed everywhere around them.

Kaiden swore under his breath.

"Stay beside me."

For once-

Nyra didn't argue.

A deep growl echoed somewhere impossibly close.

Then another.

The Warden was moving through the dark.

Hunting.

Nyra could hear chains dragging slowly across stone now.

Closer.

Closer-

Then suddenly-

a hand grabbed hers.

Warm.

Not Kaiden.

Nyra froze instantly.

Because Kaiden was still beside her.

So who-

A cold voice whispered beside her ear:

"You shouldn't have come back."

Nyra's blood turned to ice.

The emergency lights snapped back on.

The hand disappeared.

But scratched into the stone wall directly in front of her were fresh words:

SHADOWBORN HEIR

Students nearby noticed immediately.

Fear spread across their faces.

Kaiden stared at the writing with deadly intensity.

Sable looked seconds away from passing out.

And Headmaster Voss-

smiled.

Nyra's stomach dropped.

Because suddenly she realized something horrifying.

The creatures beneath Blackmoor weren't trying to kill her.

They were trying to find her.