Chapter1
I was the only remaining bloodline of the White Wolf. I thought if I just kept my heritage buried and played the part of a harmless orphan, I could survive in this academy.
But tonight, the wolf fang was gone. A blood-red haze seeped into the edges of my vision. I had to get that fang back before dawn. The full moon was fast approaching. If I couldn't suppress the creature inside me any longer, everyone in this school would know—that the penniless girl cowering in the corner was a monster.
Before my father sacrificed himself to get me out, his final words to me were: "Find Richard, and never take off the wolf fang."
It was more than the only keepsake I had left in this world—it was the seal suppressing the White Wolf blood inside me.
But now, the space just below my collarbone felt terrifyingly bare.
I stood before my hallway locker, frantically tearing everything out of my backpack and slamming it onto the floor. Pens, notebooks, and loose change scattered across the linoleum. Nothing. Coat pockets, pants pockets—all completely empty.
"Nothing... how can it not be here?"
Cold sweat instantly soaked through my shirt. The faint, cheerful melody of the dismissal bell echoed from the PA system as a cluster of laughing students shoved past me.
"Watch it, freak." Someone intentionally slammed hard into my shoulder. It was Chloe, the heiress to the academy's wealthiest donor family and my chief tormentor. She waved a hand in front of her face in exaggerated disgust. "What is that smell on you? Like a wild animal that hasn't bathed in days. There should be a limit to Director Richard's charity. I can't believe he shoved trash like you into my class."
Normally, I would have just lowered my head and waited for her to finish and leave.
But today, none of her words registered. All I could hear was the swallowing sound in her throat and the heavy, rushing pulse of blood pumping through her carotid artery. My fingertips began to burn, and a primal, savage restlessness surged from the depths of my chest.
The wolf within me let out a low snarl: I want to snap her neck.
I bit down hard on my tongue. The sharp spike of pain brought back a split second of sanity.
"Sorry." My trembling hands locked onto the edge of the metal locker.
Chloe sneered and strutted away.
The corridor gradually emptied out. My legs finally gave way, and I slid down the locker door until I hit the floor, my body shaking uncontrollably.
I was losing control. If I didn't get that fang back immediately, I would transform into an unrecognizable monster tonight, right here in this boarding school.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to retrace my steps.
During the afternoon biology dissection class, the mild-mannered Dean of Students with his gold-rimmed glasses had demanded everyone put on gloves to handle the animal specimens. I had stared at the pendant, terrified it would draw unwanted attention—it was the first time in my week here that I had let it leave my skin. After agonizing hesitation, I had untied the cord and shoved it into the hidden compartment under the lab bench.
It was still in the second-floor science lab.
The heavy click of the outer gates locking echoed from outside. Night was falling.
Staring at the dying sunset through my window, memories of the thunderstorm from a week ago surged back.
Seven days ago, covered in mud and gashes, I had pounded on Director Richard's heavy oak doors. He was a human, my father's closest friend of twenty years. I hadn't been able to retrieve my father's remains; I hadn't even dared to look back. What was left of my pack's territory after that night, I still didn't know.
When Richard saw me, he had kept muttering, "Poor child." Yet, the moment his eyes caught the wolf fang at my collar, the hand offering me a towel had frozen for a fraction of a second.
"You're safe now, child," he patted my shoulder. "I'll arrange for your immediate enrollment."
"But there is one rule at this school you must defend with your life." He leaned down and tilted my chin up. "After sunset, no matter what you hear, you must never step foot in the academic building. Never."
For a full week, I had disguised myself as a ghost, strictly obeying that rule.
But right now, the night had already swallowed the sun.
Snatching up a small flashlight, I pushed open my dorm room door.
My breathing turned heavy and erratic. My gums began to itch with a dull, throbbing ache. My hearing magnified infinitely—I could hear a security guard crushing fallen leaves far in the distance, could pick out the infinitesimal rustle of insects crawling through the dirt.
Avoiding the sweeping beams of security flashlights, I pressed my body against the freezing brick veneer and vaulted through a half-open ventilation window on the ground floor.
The main hallway was pitch-black. The science lab sat at the very end of the second floor.
I clicked off my flashlight and relied on my increasingly acute night vision, taking the stairs one smooth step at a time.
The exact second my boot touched the tiles of the second-floor hallway, a violent numbness shot through my fingertips.
I glanced down at my hands.
The wolf inside me flicked its tail, silently warning me—at the end of the corridor, something was waiting for me.
