Chapter 1 A new school

Chapter One

Elara’s POV

The air smelled different the moment I stepped out of the car. Sharp. Cold. Like winter and secrets. Crescent Ridge Academy rose in front of me, tall stone walls and tall glass windows. It did not look like a school. It looked like a castle dressed in ice. My father said it was the best place for me, far away from the city and all the noise. He said I would like it here, that I would make friends and find myself. But he did not know that I carried a shadow inside me, something that made me feel different no matter where I went.

Students walked past, laughing, pulling their jackets tight against the morning chill. Some wore the academy’s hockey jerseys, dark blue with a silver wolf’s head printed across the front. Their voices carried easily, full of pride. The Crescent Ridge Wolves. That was the team everyone talked about, the team that won almost every championship. Even in the city I had heard of them.

I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and forced myself forward. This was supposed to be a fresh start. I promised myself I would keep my head down. No trouble. No attention. Just get through the year.

Inside the main hall everything shone. Polished floors, banners hanging with the school crest, and a huge trophy case right in the center. Most of the awards were for hockey. There were pictures too, teams lined up with wide smiles, medals hanging around their necks. But in every picture one boy caught my eye.

Tall. Dark hair. Eyes that seemed too sharp for a camera to dull. Even frozen in a photo he looked alive, dangerous. His hand always rested in the center of the group, like he was the one holding everyone together. My chest tightened, though I did not know why. I told myself to look away, but my eyes stayed on his face longer than they should have.

“Elara Morgan”

I jumped and spun around. A woman with short blond hair and a tight blazer stood by the office door. She smiled but not too warmly. “I am Mrs Grant, the dean. Welcome to Crescent Ridge Academy. Come, I will show you to your locker and classes.”

I nodded, mumbling a quiet thank you, and followed. Students looked at me as I passed. Some whispered. A few smirked. My skin prickled. I pulled my jacket closer even though I was not cold.

Mrs Grant stopped in front of a tall locker. “Here. Your schedule is inside. If you need anything, come to the office. And remember, Crescent Ridge values discipline and focus. We expect our students to act with respect.” Her eyes softened just a little. “It takes courage to start fresh. You will find your place.”

I gave her another nod, but the knot in my stomach did not ease.

By lunchtime I was tired of walking into rooms full of strangers. I grabbed a tray and searched for an empty table. The cafeteria was loud, full of voices and the clatter of trays. My eyes caught on the group at the center. They did not sit like normal students. They sat like they owned the place.

The hockey team.

Everyone’s attention circled around them. The boys in dark jackets, easy smiles, loud laughs. But at the center sat him, the boy from the pictures. Broad shoulders, dark hair falling slightly over his forehead, his jaw sharp as if carved from stone. His eyes, even from across the room, seemed to pull everything into them. Cold. Watchful. Alpha.

I tried to look away, but his gaze lifted suddenly and locked with mine. My breath caught. His eyes were not just brown. They burned gold, like the last light before sunset. I froze. Heat rushed under my skin, crawling up my neck. It was too much, too fast, like my body knew something my mind did not.

A smile curved across his lips, slow and dangerous. Then he leaned back, whispering something to the boy next to him. That boy looked at me too, his grin sharp, playful. A ripple passed through the group, and suddenly I was the focus of the entire table.

I tore my eyes away, gripping my tray tighter, and sat at the far corner of the room. My heart thudded hard against my ribs. Why did it feel like I had just been claimed without a word?

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Whispers followed me in every hallway. Who is the new girl. Why did Kael look at her. Did you see the way he stared.

Kael. So that was his name.

By last period my head hurt. I wanted nothing more than to leave the building and breathe fresh air. But fate had other plans.

I walked toward my locker, and the hallway was quiet for once. The sound of footsteps echoed behind me. I turned.

He stood there, Kael, the alpha hockey player.

Up close he was even taller, his presence filling the hallway like shadow and fire. His eyes caught mine, and I could not move.

“You are new.” His voice was smooth but deep, carrying a weight that made my knees weak.

“Yes,” I whispered, clutching the strap of my bag.

His eyes flicked over me, sharp, searching. For a moment I thought he might smile again, but instead he leaned closer. The air between us tightened, charged.

“You smell like you do not belong here,” he said softly, almost like a secret. “But you do. You belong to me.”

My heart stopped. I could not breathe. Before I could ask what he meant, he stepped back, his eyes gleaming gold again. Then he turned and walked away, leaving me frozen in place, my pulse racing, my thoughts tangled.

I did not know him. I did not even know why he said those words. But deep inside, where the shadow I carried always lived, something stirred. Something old. Something that whispered the same truth he had.

I belonged to him.

And that was only the beginning.

Tbc