CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The moment Lila and I stepped into the cafeteria, conversations slowed. Forks paused halfway to mouths. Students looked at me, then quickly looked away when I caught them.

"I miss being ignored." I sighed

As we walked farther inside, students began whispering.

"That's her..."

"The Bell accepted her."

"The Night Stalker bowed."

"She's the Unranked Elite."

The title still sounded ridiculous, Unranked Elite. Those two words weren't even supposed to belong in the same sentence. I grabbed a tray and muttered, "Can I exchange the title for a normal school life?"

"No refunds," Lila replied.

Before we could sit down, someone blocked our table. It was the same Beta boy who had laughed when I couldn't name my rank during Power Class.

"Mind if I join you?"

I looked up. "Weren't you the one who called me an Omega?"

His smile faded. "I... misjudged you."

"You did."

He stood there awkwardly before walking away without another word.

Lila burst into laughter. "That was painful to watch."

The second he walked away, Lila burst into laughter.

"You didn't have to roast him like that."

"I didn't…I simply reminded him of his previous performance."

She pointed at me with a piece of bread. "I like this version of you."

"I'll take it."

For the first time since arriving at Grimhalden, breakfast felt... normal. Well, as normal as breakfast could be in a school where wolves argued over raw steak and someone across the hall was trying to convince another student that coffee should count as a healing potion. Halfway through eating, the hall suddenly fell silent. I looked up, and it was Adrain.

Students naturally moved aside as he walked through the hall, their conversations dropping into whispers. He came straight to my table. 

"Morning."

"Morning." I swallowed.

He glanced at the empty seat beside me.

"May I?"

Before I could answer, Lila stood. "I just remembered I promised someone my notes."

"You never said—" frowning.

"I was about to."

She gave me a quick wink before disappearing into the crowd. “Traitor”. Adrian sat down, and neither of us spoke for a few seconds. Then he looked around the hall.

"They've started."

"Started what?"

"Choosing sides."

He rested his arms on the table."In Grimhalden, strength attracts followers."

"I don't feel very strong."

"You don't have to…Whether you understand it or not... people will believe you're important."

I stared at him. "So they're being nice because they think I have power?"

"Some are."

"And the others?"

"They're waiting for you to fail."

That answer settled heavily in my chest. "I preferred it when nobody noticed me."

"No."

He shook his head. "You preferred knowing where you stood."

I couldn't argue with that. An instructor entered the hall and struck the floor once with the end of his staff. It wasn't midnight anymore.

"All first-year students to the western arena."

The dining hall emptied almost immediately. Lila was waiting for me outside.

"What did Mr. Popular want?"

"I think he just gave me a life lesson."

The arena was larger than any training ground I'd seen so far. Stone pillars surrounded a wide circle of packed earth. Weapon racks lined the walls, holding swords, staves, spears, daggers, bows, and weapons I couldn't even name. Instructor Kael stood at the center.

"Today," he announced, "you will choose your training weapon." "The weapon chooses the wolf," Kael continued. "Do not force it."

One by one, students approached the racks. A Beta lifted a spear with ease, followed by a gamma claiming twin daggers; another student chose a heavy hammer nearly as tall as he was.

I stepped forward, reaching out to a sword. I reached for one weapon after another, but none responded. The silence around me grew heavier with each failed attempt. Heat crept into my face.

"This is embarrassing."A few students snickered.

"Enough," Keal spoke. He studied the untouched rack for a long moment. "Interesting." That was all he said.

As the lesson ended, students drifted away in groups, still whispering. I stayed behind, staring at the rows of silent weapons. The other students slowly filtered out of the western arena, their voices blending into one long stream of whispers.

I turned. Adrian was walking toward me with his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark academy coat. The evening breeze stirred the silver trim on his sleeves, but his expression remained as calm as ever.

"I was hoping one of them would suddenly feel guilty," I admitted.

"They don't feel guilt."

He stopped beside me and looked over the weapon rack. "You know why they rejected you?"

“No” 

"They're waiting."

I looked back at the weapons. "Everyone keeps saying things are waiting for me. The Bell. The Night Stalker. Now the weapons. Am I the only person who doesn't know what's going on?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Probably."

"I was afraid you'd say that."I sighed dramatically.

For a brief moment, neither of us spoke. Students crossed the arena in groups, laughing as they compared weapons. Some swung swords through the air. Others proudly carried spears across their shoulders.

"They all seem like they know exactly who they are," I murmured.

"They don't…They just pretend better."

That answer lingered in my mind.

"You've been asking about ranks since the day you arrived."Adrian folded his arms.

"Then explain them without sounding like a mysterious old man."

He picked up a small stick from the ground and drew four circles in the sand.

Adrian drew four circles in the dirt.

"Alphas lead. Betas enforce. Gammas gather information. Deltas keep the academy running."

"And Omegas?"

"Ignored."

He reached into his pocket and handed me a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it, and it was a timetable—every morning before first bell. The location written at the bottom was one I'd never visited. "The East Cliff?"

He nodded. "From tomorrow onward."

"I don't even have a weapon."

"You have instincts."

"They nearly got me eaten."

"They kept you alive."

I looked at the paper, then back at him. "So...You're offering to train me?"

"I'm telling you that I'm going to."

"I don't remember agreeing."

"You'll be there."

"And if I'm not?"

His calm smile returned. "You will be."

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because," he said quietly, "whether you realize it or not...someone else is already preparing for you." Before I could ask what that meant, he disappeared into the crowd.

I stood alone, staring at the timetable in my hand. By the time I returned to the dormitory, the corridors had fallen silent. Lila was already curled up beneath her blanket, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed.

We talked for a while—mostly about classes, cafeteria food, and how Grimhalden somehow managed to make every day stranger than the last. Eventually, the room grew quiet, and Lila's breathing became slow and steady.

I thought I had fallen asleep; a faint click pulled me awake. I opened one eye; the room was dark except for the pale moonlight spilling across the floor. Lila was standing by the door. Lila slipped through the door without making a sound. I counted to ten before following. When I stepped into the corridor...

She was gone.