CHAPTER 8: KAEL'S WARNING
2515 Words
The academy gates were shaking.
I could hear the noise from the East Tower.
Howls.
Shouting.
The sharp ring of the emergency bells.
Blackmoon Academy had always felt untouchable to me.
It was surrounded by ancient wards, protected by powerful Alphas, and built to withstand attacks from the strongest wolves in the territory.
But tonight, something had changed.
The academy was afraid.
And somehow, the hunters outside were here for me.
“Aria, move!”
Kael grabbed my arm.
I stumbled after him as we ran through the corridor.
Lucian was ahead of us, looking over his shoulder every few seconds.
Rowan followed behind.
Gideon was speaking to several guards near the staircase, giving orders so quickly that they barely had time to respond.
“Seal the eastern gates.”
“Move the younger students to the lower halls.”
“Get the instructors to the courtyard.”
“And nobody leaves the academy.”
I stopped.
“Nobody leaves?”
Gideon looked at me.
“Not until we know who attacked us.”
“But they're here for me.”
His jaw tightened.
“That doesn't mean you should blame yourself.”
“They wouldn't be here if I wasn't.”
“Aria.”
His voice became firm.
“You are not responsible for the people hunting you.”
I wanted to believe him.
I really did.
But my mother's warning was still in my pocket.
Do not trust Gideon.
I looked away.
Kael noticed.
He didn't say anything.
He simply pulled me farther down the corridor.
We reached the main staircase.
Students were pouring into the lower halls.
Some were crying.
Others were shifting partially, their eyes glowing as they prepared for a fight.
Teachers shouted instructions.
The entire academy had become chaotic.
A loud crash came from somewhere outside.
Everyone froze.
Then came another.
The eastern gates.
“They're breaking through,” someone shouted.
A teacher ran toward the courtyard.
Kael grabbed my wrist.
“This way.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“I thought you said nowhere was safe.”
“I said the academy isn't safe.”
He pulled me into a narrow hallway.
Lucian followed.
Rowan closed the door behind us.
For the first time since the attack began, we were alone.
I looked at Kael.
“What aren't you telling me?”
He didn't answer.
“Kael.”
He stared at me.
Then he said quietly, “You need to listen to me.”
His voice was different.
No sarcasm.
No coldness.
No arrogance.
Just seriousness.
“You cannot trust everyone who claims they're protecting you.”
My heart sank.
“You mean Gideon.”
“I mean everyone.”
Lucian frowned.
“Kael…”
“No.”
Kael turned toward him.
“She needs to know.”
Lucian sighed.
“I know.”
Kael looked back at me.
“The council wants your power. The hunters want your bloodline. Gideon knows something about your parents. Corvin is involved with the council.”
He paused.
“And there's something else.”
“What?”
“The person who attacked us in the library wasn't a normal hunter.”
I remembered the shadow.
The strange voice.
The way it had looked at Rowan.
“What was it?”
“We don't know.”
“Then how can you be sure it wasn't a hunter?”
“Because hunters are wolves.”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“That thing wasn't.”
A chill moved through me.
“Then what was it?”
“I don't know.”
He looked toward the door.
“But whatever it was, it recognized you.”
Nyx stirred inside my mind.
She didn't speak.
That scared me.
Usually she had something to say.
A warning.
A memory.
A clue.
Now there was only silence.
I closed my eyes.
“Nyx?”
Nothing.
“Nyx, are you there?”
Still nothing.
Lucian noticed my expression.
“What's wrong?”
“My wolf.”
Kael's face changed.
“What about her?”
“She isn't answering.”
Rowan stepped closer.
“She'll come back.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
His amber eyes met mine.
“Because she always has.”
The words were strange.
Too certain.
Like he knew Nyx.
Like he knew something about her that I didn't.
Before I could question him, another explosion shook the academy.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Lucian grabbed the wall.
“They're inside.”
Kael's eyes hardened.
“No.”
A howl echoed through the hallway.
It wasn't a normal wolf howl.
It sounded distorted.
Almost human.
Every wolf in the building went silent.
Rowan's face changed.
His wolf rose instantly.
He looked toward the eastern corridor.
“They're coming.”
“Who?” I asked.
Rowan didn't answer.
Kael opened the door slightly.
The hallway outside was empty.
“Stay here.”
I stared at him.
“Where are you going?”
“To find out what we're dealing with.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
I frowned.
“You can't just tell me to stay behind.”
“Yes, I can.”
“You're not my Alpha.”
Kael's expression didn't change.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But I'm warning you as someone who has watched this academy for three years.”
He lowered his voice.
“You are powerful now, Aria. But you don't know how to use that power.”
“I can learn.”
“You will.”
His eyes held mine.
“But tonight isn't the night to prove anything.”
I crossed my arms.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Survive.”
The word hit differently than I expected.
Kael continued.
“Listen to me carefully. If the hunters get inside this building, don't fight unless you have no choice.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because your power is reacting to fear.”
I remembered the training arena.
The moment Darian had attacked me.
The anger.
The panic.
The silver energy.
Kael continued.
“Every time you lose control, you give them information.”
“What kind of information?”
“They're learning what triggers your power.”
My stomach tightened.
“So the attack is a test?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“We don't know what they're doing.”
Kael glanced toward Rowan.
“But we know they're interested in you.”
Rowan nodded.
“More than interested.”
Everyone looked at him.
He seemed reluctant to continue.
“What did you see when they took you?” Kael asked.
Rowan's jaw tightened.
“Nothing at first.”
“And then?”
“They asked me about Aria.”
I swallowed.
“What exactly did they ask?”
Rowan looked at me.
“They wanted to know if my wolf reacted to you.”
My blood went cold.
“What did you say?”
“The truth.”
“What truth?”
“That it did.”
Silence.
Lucian looked between us.
“Why would they care?”
Rowan's expression darkened.
“Because they already knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That our wolves were connected.”
I looked at Kael.
He was thinking.
“What if that's why they took Rowan?” I asked.
Kael nodded slowly.
“To study the connection.”
“And Selene?”
Nobody answered.
My chest tightened.
“We can't leave her.”
Kael looked at me.
“Aria…”
“She disappeared before Rowan.”
“You don't know if she's a victim.”
“She could be.”
“She could also be involved.”
I shook my head.
“She hates me. But I don't think she would help people who are experimenting on students.”
Lucian looked thoughtful.
“Neither do I.”
Kael sighed.
“Fine.”
He looked toward the hallway.
“We'll find her.”
A scream echoed from downstairs.
We all froze.
Then another.
Kael opened the door.
“Stay behind me.”
This time, I didn't argue.
We moved through the corridor.
The emergency lights flickered above us.
At the end of the hallway, a group of students were running toward us.
“What's happening?” Lucian asked.
“They're in the west hall!”
“How many?”
“I don't know!”
A student stopped suddenly.
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
“You.”
I froze.
“What?”
“You're the reason they're here.”
The words cut deeper than they should have.
Another student grabbed her arm.
“Don't!”
But she pulled away.
“My brother disappeared because of this!”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
“He was one of the students who disappeared!”
Kael stepped between us.
“Enough.”
The girl stared at him.
“You're protecting her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Kael didn't hesitate.
“Because she's not your enemy.”
The girl looked at me.
For a second, I thought she might say something else.
Instead, she ran.
I watched her disappear.
My chest felt heavy.
Three missing students.
Selene.
Rowan.
My parents.
Everything seemed connected.
But I couldn't see the pattern.
Not yet.
We reached the west hall.
The windows were shattered.
A cold wind blew through the corridor.
Silver smoke drifted across the floor.
Rowan stopped.
“Don't breathe it.”
Lucian covered his mouth.
“What is it?”
“Wolfsbane.”
Kael shook his head.
“No.”
He crouched and touched the edge of the smoke without making direct contact.
“Not wolfsbane.”
“Then what?”
“Something older.”
My pendant suddenly became hot.
I grabbed it.
Nyx finally spoke.
“Leave.”
I almost stumbled.
“Nyx?”
“Leave this place.”
“Why?”
“Because they are trying to wake something up.”
My heart pounded.
“What?”
Silence.
Then:
“Something that remembers me.”
A sound came from the end of the hall.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone was walking toward us.
Kael immediately drew his weapon.
Lucian moved beside him.
Rowan's eyes turned amber.
I felt silver energy gathering in my hands.
Kael noticed.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Don't use your power.”
“They're coming.”
“I know.”
“I can help.”
Kael stepped directly in front of me.
“Listen to me.”
His voice was quiet but firm.
“If you release that power here, every supernatural creature in this academy will know exactly where you are.”
My hands trembled.
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“Trust me.”
The footsteps stopped.
A figure appeared through the smoke.
Black hood.
Silver markings.
Face hidden.
The stranger raised one hand.
A strange symbol appeared in the air.
My crescent mark answered.
Pain shot through my chest.
I gasped.
Kael caught my shoulder.
“Aria!”
The figure spoke.
“The blood of the Moon Wolf.”
Rowan stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The stranger ignored him.
“The last guardian.”
Kael tightened his grip on his weapon.
“Take one more step and you'll regret it.”
The stranger laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
The silver symbol grew brighter.
“You are protecting the door.”
Kael's expression changed.
“What door?”
The stranger's attention shifted toward him.
“The one beneath your academy.”
My heart stopped.
The forbidden library.
The black door.
The Hollow.
The stranger continued.
“When she awakens completely, the door will open.”
I felt Nyx recoil.
“No…”
The stranger suddenly looked directly at me.
“Your wolf remembers.”
My breathing stopped.
“Who are you?”
The figure tilted its head.
“Ask the Alpha who raised you.”
My stomach twisted.
“Gideon?”
The stranger laughed.
“He knows.”
Then the figure vanished.
The smoke disappeared with it.
The corridor fell silent.
Lucian stared at the empty space.
“Did anyone else see that?”
“Yes,” Kael said.
Rowan looked at me.
“Aria.”
I couldn't move.
The stranger's words kept repeating inside my head.
Ask the Alpha who raised you.
He knows.
Kael turned toward me.
“That's why I warned you.”
I looked at him.
“About Gideon?”
“About everyone.”
He lowered his weapon.
“There are things happening inside Blackmoon that even the council doesn't want students to know.”
I swallowed.
“Then what do I do?”
Kael looked toward the dark corridor.
“We find the truth before they find you.”
“And if we can't?”
His eyes met mine.
“Then we make sure you survive long enough to find it.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Rowan suddenly turned.
“Someone is coming.”
Lucian listened.
“Where?”
“Behind us.”
We spun around.
At the far end of the corridor stood a familiar figure.
Long brown hair.
Blue eyes.
A pale face.
Selene.
I stared at her.
“Selene?”
She didn't answer.
She looked frightened.
Terrified.
And there was something dark wrapped around her wrist.
A silver mark.
The same kind of marking I'd seen in the laboratory.
She took one step toward us.
“Aria…”
Her voice broke.
“I need your help.”
Kael immediately moved in front of me.
“Stay where you are.”
Selene looked at him.
“They have my mother.”
Everyone froze.
“What?” Lucian asked.
Selene's eyes filled with tears.
“The council.”
She looked at me.
“They told me if I didn't bring them to you…”
She swallowed.
“They would kill her.”
My heart dropped.
Kael's expression hardened.
“Where is your mother?”
Selene shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why come here?”
Selene looked at me.
“Because they gave me a choice.”
She slowly raised her marked wrist.
“Bring them Aria…”
Her voice trembled.
“Or never see my mother again.”
The hallway became silent.
I stared at Selene.
For ten years, she had made my life miserable.
She had humiliated me.
Belittled me.
Made me feel like I didn't belong.
But now she looked terrified.
Not angry.
Not jealous.
Terrified.
I took one step forward.
Kael immediately grabbed my arm.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“She needs help.”
“She could be leading them to us.”
“I know.”
“Then you can't go near her.”
Selene suddenly screamed.
“RUN!”
The academy lights went out.
All of them.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.
Then dozens of silver eyes appeared in the darkness.
Kael pulled me behind him.
Lucian shifted his stance.
Rowan's wolf growled.
And Selene whispered from somewhere in the darkness:
“They found us.”
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