Chapter 3 The Letter

LENA'S POV

"You told me I'd find the truth here, Mom..." I whispered as I carefully unfolded the worn letter resting in my hands. My thumb traced the familiar handwriting before I forced myself to read it again. "I just hope you were right."

Sleep had been impossible.

Every time I closed my eyes, yesterday replayed itself like a nightmare that refused to end. I saw Ryder Knight's strange gaze lingering on me whenever he thought I wasn't looking. It wasn't the curious stare I'd expected from someone who had just met a girl without a wolf.

There was confusion in his eyes, almost as though he couldn't understand why I existed in the first place. Whatever his problem was, it wasn't mine to solve. I hadn't come to Knights Academy because of Ryder Knight or his famous hockey team. I had come because my mother had sent me here, and until I uncovered the truth she'd died protecting, nothing else mattered.

The room was still dark when I reached into my backpack and carefully pulled out the letter. The paper had grown soft around the edges from years of being folded and unfolded, yet I still handled it like it could disappear if I wasn't careful enough. It was the last thing my mother had ever written to me, and no matter how many times I read it, the words never became easier.

"Don't trust the Alpha Council, no matter how kind they seem."

My chest tightened.

"The answers you're searching for are hidden beneath Knights Academy."

I swallowed slowly as my eyes moved to the final lines.

"Whatever happens, Lena... never let anyone discover the seal on your wolf."

I lowered the letter into my lap and stared at the page for a long time, hoping the answers would somehow appear if I looked hard enough. Instead, all I felt was the same frustration I'd carried for years. She'd warned me about danger but never explained who wanted to hurt me. She'd written about a seal on my wolf even though I'd spent my entire life believing I didn't have one. Most painful of all, she'd died before she could tell me why any of it mattered.

"I don't understand," I admitted quietly, blinking back the sting in my eyes as I folded the letter with practiced care. "You gave me warnings instead of answers, but I promise I'll figure this out. Whatever's hidden beneath this academy... whatever the Alpha Council is trying to protect... I'll find it."

A sharp knock interrupted my thoughts.

Startled, I slipped the letter back into my backpack before crossing the room and opening the door.

A cheerful girl with curly brown hair stood outside balancing two takeaway cups of coffee. The moment our eyes met, she smiled so brightly that it was impossible not to smile back.

"You must be Lena," she said before I had the chance to introduce myself, holding one cup toward me. "I'm Maya Brooks, your roommate. I figured your first morning here deserved coffee because everyone knows surviving Knights Academy without caffeine is basically impossible."

I accepted the cup with a grateful smile.

"Thank you. That's really thoughtful."

"I know," Maya replied with a dramatic sigh as she stepped inside without waiting to be invited. "I'm hoping you'll appreciate me enough to ignore the fact that I snore."

I laughed.

"You snore?"

"Like a dying bear, according to my last roommate."

The laugh that escaped me felt strange after everything that had happened yesterday. It had been a long time since someone had made me forget my worries, even if it was only for a few seconds.

Less than twenty minutes later, Maya had somehow convinced me to let her show me around campus. She talked almost nonstop as we walked between the towering stone buildings, pointing out classrooms, the library, training grounds and every shortcut students used to avoid difficult professors. Every person we passed seemed to know her, and she somehow managed to greet almost all of them by name before continuing whatever story she'd been telling me.

"And that's the hockey arena," she said, pointing toward the largest building on campus just as a loud roar erupted from inside. "Honestly, don't be surprised if half the academy disappears whenever the team practices."

Almost immediately, a group of students rushed past us wearing jerseys with Ryder's name across the back.

"Hurry!" one of the girls shouted excitedly. "Practice already started!"

I watched them disappear before turning back to Maya.

"Is hockey really that serious here?"

She stared at me in disbelief.

"Please don't tell me you have no idea who Ryder Knight is."

"I met him yesterday."

"You met him?" she repeated so loudly that two passing students looked our way. "As in... actually spoke to him?"

"He walked me back to my dorm after detention."

Maya stopped walking altogether.

"Lena, do you realize there are girls on this campus who'd frame the security footage if Ryder looked at them for more than three seconds?"

I couldn't help laughing.

"I honestly don't understand the obsession."

"You will."

Curiosity got the better of me.

The moment we stepped inside the arena, the noise hit me first. Hundreds of students filled the stands, cheering over what was only a practice session. On the ice, Ryder moved with a confidence that immediately explained why everyone admired him. He glided effortlessly between defenders before sending the puck into the top corner of the net, earning another eruption of applause from the crowd.

"He makes it look easy," Maya said proudly.

I watched him for another moment before shrugging.

"I'll admit he's talented."

"That's all you've got?"

"He's still just another student."

Almost as though he'd heard me, Ryder lifted his head.

His eyes found mine among the crowd.

For one brief second, neither of us looked away but I broke the eye contact first.

"We should go," I said quietly.

That evening, after unpacking the last of my belongings, I reached beneath my pillow and pulled out my mother's letter once more. After reading it in silence, I slipped it beneath the mattress where no one would think to look before heading into the bathroom for a shower.

The moment I stepped back into my room, every instinct I had screamed that something was wrong.

Nothing had been stolen or broken but the desk drawer I'd closed before leaving now sat half open. The wardrobe door wasn't fully shut anymore, and the chair beside my desk had been moved ever so slightly. Anyone else would've dismissed it, but I knew exactly how I'd left my room.

Someone had been here.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I hurried to the bed and reached beneath the mattress with trembling hands. Relief flooded through me the instant my fingers touched the folded paper, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

Whoever had searched my room hadn't been looking for money.

They hadn't been looking for clothes.

Clutching the letter tightly against my chest, I stared at the disturbed room as a cold shiver raced down my spine.

"Whoever came in here..." I whispered, my voice barely audible in the empty room, "...was searching for my mother's letter.”

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter