Loving a Wolf in the Hunted School

Chapter 1: The Girl Who Entered Hall 13 They said no girl should go to Hall 13 after midnight. I went anyway. My name is Elena Hart, and I just transferred to Blackwood Academy, the most haunted boarding school in the country. Old stone buildings, fog that never leaves, and a bell that rings by itself at midnight. Everyone warned me about him on my first day. "Kian Black lives in Hall 13," my roommate whispered. "He is not human. If he looks at you, run." I laughed. Until I saw him. It was 11:58 PM. I was in the library, looking for a book about Blackwood's history, when the lights started flickering. The shadows moved. Something cold touched my neck, and a voice whispered, "Luna..." I turned and screamed. The bookshelf was shaking. A dark hand made of smoke was reaching for me. Then he appeared. A tall boy, black hoodie, jet-black hair, and the most dangerous golden eyes I had ever seen. He moved so fast I didn't see him walk. One second he was at the door, the next he was in front of me. He grabbed my waist and pulled me against his chest. His body was warm. Too warm. Like fire. "Don't look at it," he growled in my ear. His voice was low, like a real wolf. He raised his hand and the shadow screamed. The golden light burst from his palm and the smoke disappeared. The lights stopped flickering. I was breathing hard, my face buried in his shirt. He smelled like pine and rain and something wild. "Are you hurt?" he asked. I looked up. His golden eyes were glowing in the dark. Not normal. Glowing like a wolf's. "No... I'm..." He was still holding my waist. His grip was possessive. Tight. Like he would not let me go. "What's your name?" he asked. "Elena. Elena Hart." "Elena." He said my name like he was tasting it. "You shouldn't be here after midnight, Elena. This school hunts pure hearts like yours." "And you? Are you part of the hunt?" He smiled, but it was not a kind smile. It was dangerous. "I am the wolf they warned you about, little Luna. Kian Black." Kian Black. The boy from Hall 13. Everyone was right. He was terrifying. And beautiful. "You saved me," I whispered. "I shouldn't have," he said, letting go of me suddenly. "Now it knows your scent. It will come for you again." "What will?" "The ghost of Blackwood. The one who cursed me." He turned to leave, but I grabbed his hand. It was burning hot. "Wait. What do you mean cursed you?" He looked at my hand holding his. His eyes flashed yellow. "You really want to know, new girl?" "Yes." "One hundred years ago, a girl died in Hall 13. She was a witch. She cursed this school. Every boy who enters Hall 13 after midnight becomes a beast. A wolf. I broke the rule when I was sixteen. Now I am trapped." My heart stopped. "You're a... werewolf?" He leaned down, so close I could feel his breath on my lips. "And you, Elena Hart, just entered Hall 13 at 11:59. You broke the rule too. Now you are marked." The big bell rang. Midnight. From somewhere deep in the school, another bell answered. A cold, broken bell that should not ring. Kian's eyes widened. "No. It's too early." "What is happening?" He pulled me again, this time more desperate, more possessive. "It's calling you. It wants you, Luna. Because you are pure." "I'm not going anywhere with-" He didn't let me finish. He lifted me off the ground as if I weighed nothing and carried me out of the library. My arms were around his neck, my heart beating like crazy. "Put me down! What are you doing?" "Saving your life," he growled. "You are mine now. Do you understand? You entered my hall. You are mine to protect." I should have been scared. I should have screamed. But when he said "You are MINE," with that deep, growling voice, and his golden eyes looking at me like I was the only thing in this world... I didn't feel fear. I felt something else. Something hot and dangerous. He put me down in front of my dormitory. The hallway was empty. "Stay in your room tonight. Don't open the window, no matter who calls your name. Promise me." "I... I promise." He touched my cheek. His thumb brushed my lips. "Good girl." Then he disappeared into the fog, and I swear I saw a giant black wolf's shadow behind him. I ran to my room and locked the door. On my desk, there was a note that wasn't there before. Written in old, bleeding ink: _WELCOME HOME, LUNA._ I turned off the light and under my window, I could hear a wolf howling. And it was calling my name. I didn't sleep all night. That note was still on my desk. _WELCOME HOME, LUNA._ Who left it there? My door was locked. At 6 AM, I finally got the courage to open it and throw it in the trash. The ink was still wet. It stained my fingers red. Like blood. I went to class with dark circles under my eyes. Blackwood Academy in the morning looked normal — rich kids in uniforms, teachers with coffee. But everyone stared at me. Because I was the girl who was carried by Kian Black. "Elena Hart, right?" A blonde girl sat next to me in History class. Her name tag said Jessica. "You are famous already. No one survives Hall 13 after midnight." "I didn't go to Hall 13. I was in the library." "The library IS Hall 13 after 11 PM," she whispered. "Didn't anyone tell you? And Kian... he never touches anyone. He hates girls. So why did he carry you?" I didn't have an answer. Just then, the door opened and the whole class went silent. Kian walked in. Black jeans, black shirt, his hood down this time. His black hair was messy, like he had been running in the forest. His golden-brown eyes scanned the class and stopped on me. My breath caught. He didn't say anything. He walked straight to the desk behind me and sat down. I could feel him behind me. His heat. His scent. Pine and rain. "Mr. Black, nice of you to join us," the teacher said, nervous. Kian didn't answer. He was looking at my neck. During the whole class, I felt his eyes on me. When I shifted, his chair creaked closer. Then I felt it — a piece of paper landing on my desk. I opened it. _You didn't keep your promise. You opened the window._ My hand started shaking. How did he know? At 3 AM, I thought I heard someone calling my name from outside. "Elena..." I opened the window for one second. Just one second. There was nothing but fog. I turned around. Kian was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. So close. "You smell like fog," he whispered, so only I could hear. "It touched you." The bell rang. Everyone left fast, avoiding him. I tried to leave too, but his hand caught my wrist. "Let go." "No." He pulled me, not to the door, but to the empty corner behind the bookshelves. He pushed me gently against the wall and caged me with his arms. "Kian, what are you-" "Did it speak to you?" His voice was angry, possessive. "What did it say?" "Nothing! I just heard wind!" "Liar." His golden eyes flashed. He leaned closer, his nose almost touching my neck, inhaling. "Your scent changed. You are marked stronger now." My heart was beating so fast I thought it would explode. He was so close. His lips were inches from my skin. "Kian, people will see-" "Let them see," he growled. "Let them see that you are mine. So no other stupid boy tries to sit next to you again." I pushed his chest, but it was like pushing a wall. "I am not yours!" "You entered my hall. You wear my scent from last night. You ARE mine, Elena." And then he did something that shocked me. He pulled down the collar of my shirt slightly and pressed his lips — not a kiss — a bite. A soft bite on the spot where my neck meets my shoulder. Marking. I gasped. It didn't hurt. It burned. "Kian!" He let go, his eyes dark. "Now no ghost can claim you. Only I can." I touched my neck. There was no blood, but a faint red mark. "What did you do to me?" "Protected you," he said. "Tonight it will come for you. The witch. She was the first Luna. She died because she fell in love with a human. Now she hates any girl who is loved by a wolf." "I'm not loved by-" "You are," he cut me off. "By me." The classroom door slammed. We both looked. Jessica was standing there, phone in hand, eyes wide. She had recorded everything. Kian's face turned cold. Murderous cold. "Delete it," he said to her. Jessica ran. Kian looked back at me, his possessive mask breaking for a second. For a second, he looked scared. Scared for me. "Go to your dorm now, Elena. And tonight, when the bell rings, no matter what you hear, don't leave your room. I will be outside your window." "You will?" "I have to. Because if she takes you, I will burn this whole haunted school down." He left me there, my neck still tingling from his bite, his scent all over me. I went back to my dorm. On my pillow, there was something new. A single black wolf hair. And a dead white rose. And under my bed, something scratched. _Scratch. Scratch. Scratch._ Calling my name again. *Elena... Luna... come home...*