chapter one

ELORA'S pov

“Are you insane? That school is an all boys’ college, an Alpha-only Academy!” Mother’s voice penetrated my room, the thin walls of the house vibrated with the sound as she thrummed from the hallway to Dad’s study. “She would never survive there! Or might I add, we are in hiding because we are wanted?”

“We taught her well enough, she would survive just fine.” Father’s voice came next, he sounded calm but I knew deep down he was anything but. I looked up through my long lashes, the rusted mirror before me showed the reflection of the person I used to be, the person I was about to loose. My long black hair fell all around me, my soft rosy skin glistening through my reflection.

What the fuck was I thinking when I told Dad I could do this? I would never pass off for a boy, more-so an Alpha. I would be caught two seconds into the academy grounds.

“She’s Eighteen.” Dad’s tone got strained. “And we both know we were framed, she needs to get revenge for us, she need to get those files and prove our innocence, only then can we stop leaving in hiding. Are you not tired of hiding like a traitor?”

Mom’s voice cracked as she fought breaking down. “I am, the goddess knows I am, but she’s our only child, if they find out she is a girl, if they sniff her out, or worse, finds out she is from the Banished tribe, she would be dead, everyone in these woods would be dead, I know they are counting on you, I know they all want to return home but..“

Jerking from my vanity, I opened the door and pulled the study room open.

“I can do it, Mom. Have some faith in me.” I forced a smile, pushing my hands into my jacket to hide the fidgeting little thing. I could hear the movement of people around the small wooden house we lived, everyone who had been banished for a treason or two hid out here, and father was their chief. I gestured toward the noise outside. “They are counting on us, we caused their banishment, we owe it to them to fix that, I am your only hope.”

“But you’re a girl, my only daughter.” Tears spilled from Mother’s eyes.

“But I’ve killed more men than I can care to count.” I reminded and her lips quirked up, she knew I was right. “I’ll attend the school for three sessions, that’s five months, steal the documents from the son of that bastard, and i’d be back here.”

Father’s eyes held the words he didn’t say, he was proud of me. “I have made a portion that would hide your scent, they should never be able to know you’re a woman and are not an alpha.”

I nodded, keeping my chin up, Mother exhaled, walking towards me and pulling me into a hug.

“Let’s go get you fixed then.” Mother forced a smile, we had no other option, and she knew it too.

The woods stretched around us as we moved further out of it, I held the handle of my box tighter, the man who had been paid to drop me off took turns like he had been in and out of the woods a thousand times before, unlike Dad and Mom, no one had seen my face, I was the daughter of the Banished Alpha, but no one knew what I looked like. I ran a hand through my short wolf-cut hair, one mom had cut while preparing me, holding the scent blocker veil in my hand, I reapplied on my inner wrist, the back of my neck, and my ankle.

“We have arrived, Sir” The driver said as he came to a stop, the huge ancient gates of Blackwood Alpha Institute.

I rose a brow, because being part of the banished, he knew I was a woman, but shrugged it off and came down. My brown box was tightly in my hands, I exhaled, watched the huge building that looked like a medieval war fortress.

Students and cars filled the arena, today was supposed to be the start of a new session, they were definitely new entries too.

I heard the engine roar to life, reversing before it stopped next to where I stood, he rolled the glass down. “Good luck, Princess Elora. We believe in you.”

He gave a genuine smile, and a second later, he was speeding away.

I took the first full inhale I did all day, proceeding towards the huge Academy gates, ones I had a feeling would change everything I knew and believed in, starting from my name, Lucius Bernard.

****

Minutes later, all new entries were settled into the Academy, I had not been given a roommate yet, and I thanked the goddess for it, I had enough time to learn how to live like a man, to act like one too.

My heart jerked the second the huge bells of the school rang, vibrating through the halls, it was dinner time. Heavens knew I could never get used to that sound.

I turned towards the mirror in the small room, it had a space for two people, considering the second empty bed next to me.

I had pulled on a baggie hoodie, I already possessed a small breast size, having to pull a bandage around it helped to hide it even more, the wolf-cut hair fell around my face, hiding my lashes a tad bit. I reapplied my scent blocker and walked out and towards the dinner hall.

The sound of plates clashing around each other was everywhere, different people sat at different angles, talking to each other and eating,

I grabbed a tray, keeping my eyes low as I tried to blend into the flow of bodies moving through the cafeteria line. Their scents were overwhelming, so much it threatened to block my nostrils, too many alphas in one space, all pulsing with dominance I knew I couldn’t match no matter how many hours I trained. I kept my head down, muscles stiff, avoiding every and any attention. I had to blend if I wanted to survive.

The line moved again and I grabbed food..whatever they were serving, I didn’t care. My hand trembled slightly as I reached for a cup of water. I couldn’t afford to be clumsy, even though my brain scrambled through the blood that flooded there from inhaling too much of their scents.

I turned and my breath caught, three guys stood from a side of the table, walking towards the food line. For a second, I forgot how to take in air, they walked shoulder-to-shoulder like they owned the entire hall, and maybe they did. Everything about them screamed danger. Sharp eyes. Lean muscle. Power that filled the air around them like static before a storm.

The one in the center was taller than the rest. Black hair, tousled like a hand had been run through it a thousand times. Sharp jaw, purple eyes and lips curved into a frown as though everything annoyed him. The room seemed to bend around him.

Shaking my head to pull myself away from whatever the fuck that trance was, I walked towards my seat, keeping my head down, my eyes widened and my body shook as I crashed into something, no someone.

My tray collided into a chest, falling to the ground in a loud thunderstorm, my heart spiked, I looked up instantly, meeting purple and angry eyes. His food tray crashed to the ground next, its contents splashing across his boots, dripping onto his black uniform pants. Everyone stopped.

The entire hall went dead, no one tried breathing, it was like everyone had died. My life flashed in my eyes and my eyes widened in horror. “Shit..I’m sorry, I didn’t see..”

Before I could finish, a hand slammed into my chest, pushing me back hard.

My back hit the wall, knocking the breath from my lungs. Trays clattered nearby. Students gasped and turned, but no one stepped in.

Before I could regain my composure, he was on me, his hand pressed flat against my chest, pinning me there like I weighed nothing. His other hand braced beside my head as he leaned in, crowding me, his body blocking out the light from the cafeteria so all I could see was him and him alone.

His eyes glowed, changing from a purple to a bright red.

Every instinct inside me screamed, fight, run, submit.

But I didn’t move. I couldn’t. If I so much as twitched, the bandages might slip, the scent blocker might falter, and it would all be over.

He leaned in closer, close enough that I could feel his breath on my ear.

And then, in a voice so low no one else could hear, he growled. “Who the fuck are you.”

He leaned closer, his face to mine and our lips inches apart. “And why do you have that scent?”