Aria Langston’s life is turned upside down when the ruthless Ravencrest Pack attacks her home, Silverwood. The younger wolves are taken to Ravencrest High, forced to live among their enemies, while their families remain locked up for refusing to surrender.

As an omega, Aria is ignored, making it easier for her to spy and find a way to free her pack. The last person she ever wanted to cross paths with is Kai Blackthorn, the future Alpha of Ravencrest.

He’s powerful, arrogant, and completely untouchable. She wants nothing to do with him. But then she’s assigned to be his personal tutor.

And fate has other plans.

Kai Blackthorn is her mate.

Aria Langston.

The screams of my people was what I remembered the most. Piercing, raw and endless. That had cut through the night like a steel blade and they were louder than the roaring flames of our house crashing down and the deafening sounds of wolves fighting just outside the door.

It was pure chaos, the kind our parents had told us when we were pups. About bigger packs attacking the smaller ones for power and strength, the forgotten wars and history.

But I was living in it now, this was real. This was my pack. Silverwood being attacked by Ravencrest.

“Aria!” I heard my mother behind me, trying to pack what little important things we had and stuffing them into a bag as my father pushed the sofa towards the door to avoid the flames from getting to the room we were in.

I couldn’t move as I watched what was happening outside, the gut wrenching screen from our neighbor as a big brown wolf burst open through their front door.

“Aria Langston!” My mothers voice snapped my head towards her as tears filled my eyes, her hands trembling as they shook my back to her. Her big green eyes were wide with fear as she blinked back the tears threatening to fall past them.

“You have to go! You have to escape before Ravencrest wolves catch you!” She shouted through the screams outside and I shook my head in disagreement.

“No! No!” I screamed back at her. I planted my feet to the ground, shaking from the fear of it all. Why did this have to happen? Silverwood had always been quiet, calm and peaceful. We never stirred any trouble with other packs. We minded our business and never interfered with the other packs' fight for power. But I guess having no enemies also meant having no allies.

“Why are they doing this?” I asked, my voice softening as I allowed tears fall from my eyes as my father came to hold my mother, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“I don’t know. The Ravencrest pack have been looking to expand their pack. They are here for power, land or whatever excuse they’ve made up.” My father said and I shook my head again.

“But we are not fighters, we would never hurt anyone. But look at what they’ve done to our home.” I explained, as my mother wiped the tears from my eyes before pushing a bag against my chest.

“Aria, look at me.” She said softly, placing her palm against my cheeks. “You have to run, yo—”

“I can’t,” I cried. “I can’t leave you both. I won’t.”

“You will if you want us to survive. They would be here any moment and they would burn down this house to the ground. If you don’t leave now, you will be caught in it.” My father said as a loud bang erupted from outside causing three of us to jump in freight.

“I have packed a few things for you. Go to the woods. Don’t stop until you are far from here.” My mother said as she helped me place the bag over my shoulders.

“We love you always.” My father said before pulling us into a tight hug.

“I don’t want to leave.” I started to sob, suddenly feeling fear settling into my bones as my vision blurred behind my foggy glasses stained with smoke.

“You would be safe if you run. Your wolf hasn't fully developed yet so don’t shift or you will be slower.” My mom said as she wiped her tears and gave me a soft kiss on the cheeks.

“I—I can’t leave you. Please don’t make me.” I whispered as I cried harder. “Please, mom, dad. I’m scared.”

A loud sound filled the air as the door slammed open behind us. I screamed as I saw movements coming towards us. It was a big brown wolf.

“Get her out of here!” My father screamed as he shoved us away, his body already beginning to shift, bones breaking as fur sprouted up his arms. My mother didn’t wait as she grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me towards the back door.

“I have to go back to your father. I love you Aria. Your father and I do. You have to be strong and live for us.” She said to me softly as she opened the door behind me and pushed me outside and slammed it shut.

“No!” I screamed as I pushed myself up the floor and started banging on the door but it wouldn't bulge.

“Mom! Dad!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face as I shivered in fear.

“Please, I’m scared.” I whispered as I heard a loud scream behind me and I turned around.

Outside was pure chaos. Our pack was in shambles. My people were running around in fear, shifting in desperation to attack, some rushing in panic. The Ravencrest wolves were huge, massive as compared to ours. They were ruthless as they tore through our small village, their loud growls and howls filling the air as they attacked without mercy. I watched their jaws snapping the lives of our smaller wolves.

I saw a young boy, no older than eight, sprinting barefoot across the clearing, tears streaming down his eyes. He looked like he didn’t even have his wolf yet but they didn’t care. A Ravencrest wolf attacked him, pinning him to the ground and dragging him away.

I staggered back in fear. They were ruthless and fear filled every fiber of my being.

It was like living in a nightmare.

I stepped back again, the air was thick with growls and screams from my people and the metallic smell of blood lingered around me. I was too scared to do anything. I couldn’t fight, I couldn’t even transform yet.

I looked at the door again, tears running down my cheeks as I remembered my mothers words.

“I love you too.” I said softly as I sprinted into the woods without looking back. My breath came out in ragged gasps as I tried to find my way in the dark woods, branches tore at my dress and my heart pounded in my chest, threatening to burst out.

My lungs burned with every breath and my feet hurt. The sound of the attack faded slowly behind me but the thick air and smoke followed me through the woods.

I didn’t know how far I had run before I tripped against a branch, falling hard on the forest floor. I screamed in pain as sharp stones pierced through my palm.

Then I heard it.

A low growl that froze me for a second before I slowly turned in its direction.

My breath hitched as I saw the wolf behind me. It was massive as it stepped out of the shadows. Midnight fur surrounded it and I almost missed the streaks of silver that ran along its chest and back. Its eyes glowed under the moonlight, a piercing blue with the same silver sheen as its fur.

It was a Ravencrest wolf.

I staggered to find my footing again, trying to back away but my legs struggled to hold me as I collapsed to the floor again. The wolf took a step forward and I gasped in fear.

It wasn’t just any wolf. This one seemed different from the others, something about it screamed power. I stumbled back as tears filled my eyes again and my body trembled with fear as it drew closer to me.

“Pl-please,” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper as my lower tips trembled in fear.

But he didn’t listen. He didn’t hesitate to attack me. And in a blur motion, he lunged at me. I screamed as the massive wolf tackled me to the ground, knocking the air out of me. But it didn’t stop as I tried to get away from his heavy force.

Pain shot through my shoulder as sharp teeth clamped my shoulder, not enough to break my bones but enough to tear my skin and force me into submission.

It was meant to make me submit. And I did.

I couldn’t fight anymore. A cry escaped my lips as I felt blood trickle down my shoulders as I laid pinned to the floor. My body went limp as my fear overwhelmed me. Panic surged through me as I realized I couldn’t escape. My vision blurred as I whispered softly.

“Why?”

The wolf jaws on my shoulder loosened and I prepared for the worst, feeling its heavy breath against my skin before it stepped away.

I blinked back my tears in surprise as I dared to look up. It was shifting, the fur melting away and was slowly replaced by skin. My fear spiked as I watched, too terrified to move.

I blinked again, suddenly feeling darkness looming over me to claim me. My shoulder was losing a lot of blood and I struggled to see the person who had attacked me.

The transformation finished and I caught a small glimpse of the person. It was a man, tall and broad, radiating with so much authority and power. But I couldn’t see his face. I blinked again, my glasses foggy and barely making anything.

Suddenly, I felt large hands pick me up carefully from the floor and then the feeling of warm skin against mine. I struggled to look up at his face but I couldn’t stay awake any longer. My vision slowly turned dark but my gaze caught something against his chest.

A tattoo over his heart.

It was a wolf paw print, simple but very striking against his white skin. It was dark and underneath it, I could make out some initials. N.B.

Warmth filled me as the person pressed me against his chest and this time I didn’t fight back the darkness. Exhaustion and pain overtook me as the world around me blurred and everything went black.

Aria.

I woke up with a start, my heart hammering in my chest as if I had just been ripped out from a nightmare. Which I had. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. But I knew I didn’t feel the comfort of home.

The room was dim and there were low murmurs of sleep and the faint scent of wolves around the room. The pain in my shoulder brought it all back. The attack, the night everything changed.

The midnight black wolf.

The fear…

I was in Ravencrest.

The sting from the bite made me hiss in pain as I shifted in my narrow bunk bed. My fingers carefully touched the bandaged area on my right shoulder where he had bitten me. The wound was only partially healed because my healing process wasn’t as quick as it should be, due to my underdeveloped wolf.

It’s been a month since that night, a month since I had seen my parents. A month since my home, my pack had been destroyed and we were dragged here to live under Ravencrest rules.

I looked around the room, the sun rising and casting its glow into the huge room they had packed all Silverwood wolves in. While a lot of my people had escaped, many of us were also captured. They had separated us into those above eighteen and those below eighteen.

The wolves below eighteen had been given no choice and forced to be integrated into their schools where they would watch us and monitor our movements, forcing us into their pack.

The older ones above eighteen had been asked to swear allegiance but what I people lacked in strength, they made up in stubbornness. And they had refused, devoting themselves to our pack. Being loyal. But Ravencrest had been forced to put them into prisons until they changed their minds. Safe to say all the wolves above eighteen were in their dungeons while the rest of us had been packed into this room, monitored and stripped off everything we valued and finally forced to attend their high school.

“Another bad dream?” I heard a soft voice as I turned to face my best friend who was climbing to the top of the bunk, my bed. Lila had auburn hair that was pulled into a messy bun and her soft hazel eyes were drowsy from sleep.

“Yeah,” I answered softly, bringing my knees to my chest as Lila sat beside me staring at the ceiling.

“Me too.” She admitted, tucking her hair behind her ears as she sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about that night.” I watched her look around the room, the other members of our pack were all sleeping, they looked tired.

“Everyone looks so tired, so lost and hopeless. Ravencrest has drained the life out of us.”

“I miss home.” I whispered, my voice cracking as Lila nodded.

“Do you think they found Alec?” She asked. My heart clenched at Lila’s older brother’s name. She had grown up with him when her parents had passed away two years ago in a fire.

“I’m sure he’s ok. If anyone would survive, it’s Alec.”

Lila smiled softly but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I hope so. It’s just… I don’t know how to stop worrying. Everyday gets harder, the last couple of weeks, we’ve been working on their farms and doing all sorts of menial jobs and now they want us to go to school with them.” Lila scoffed.

I exhaled at the thought. The idea of going to school with the same people who had attacked us just a few weeks ago brought knots to my stomach. It was all we had heard about last week. The Ravencrest wolves had made it clear to us during an announcement that their goal was to integrate us into their pack, forcing us to attend their high school as part of their effort to ‘train’ us and ‘give us a better life’.

“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to imagine what it’s like to sit in the same class with the people who murdered our friends and destroyed our pack.” I said angrily.

“Me neither.” Lila glanced at my shoulder, her expression softening. “Does it still hurt?” She asked.

“Just a little.” I lied, the bite wasn’t the worst thing that happened to me that night. It was the humiliation that came with the pain, the submission and the way the wolf, no, the man had forced me to yield and submit to him. That had hurt more than the physical wound he had inflicted on me. And if I found him, I would make him pay.

“Do you think we’ll ever go back home?” I asked quickly, trying to change the subject so I didn’t worry Lila about the pain anymore.

I didn’t answer because I didn’t know if we would ever go back home and just as Lila was about to say something again, the doors burst open.

“Oh moon goddess!” Lila grumbled under her breath as my stomach sank at the familiar sound of the morning bell, loud and shrill making all the others jump.

The bright lights flickered on, blinding me for imminent before it illuminated the cramped room.

“Wake up Silverwood!” A sharp voice barked, one that I had heard every morning.

I turned to the sharp no nonsense Ravencrest member at the door of the room. She was the dorm leader, the one in cheer of making sure we were awake, dressed and shoved to the assembly grounds for our daily duties. But today instead of her usual routine of calling our names and assigning us to our posts, she had with her a big plastic wheel cart that had something that looked like uniforms in them.

Her steel gray eyes scanned the room with the same precision as a hawk before they stopped on Lila in my bed. Her eyes narrowed as she walked towards our bunk.

“Lila Monroe.” She spat with anger. “If I remember correctly, your sleeping position is right under Aria Langston. What are you doing on her bed?”

Lila stiffened beside me as she started to speak. “I was just talking to Aria…”

Mrs Holt raised an eyebrow. “About what? Were you both planning an escape?”

“No!”

“No!”

We both said in unison but she only rolled her eyes as she started to walk away. “Lila Monroe, you have dinner duty tonight. Next time you’ll be in bed at lights out.”

I watched Lila's shoulders slump as she muttered. “Yes ma’am.” Then she slid back to the bottom bunk without another word. I could only glare hatefully at the back of Mrs Holt’s gray head.

“Eyes on me, Silverwood!” She barked again as some others widened their eyes, trying to fight back sleep as they looked up at the woman that terrorized us every morning. She stood in front of the room.

“Today is your first day at Ravencrest High. I want you all washed, dressed and ready in an hour. Every single one of twenty of you would be outside and ready to go at eight.”

I heard the sound of grumbling as a few of us rolled out from their bunks annoyed.

“Does anyone have anything to say to me?!” She barked again as the room fell silent.

“I thought so.” She said as she reached for the cart. “You’ve all been assigned uniforms with your name tags on them. You would be wearing them to school everyday, you have two pairs each and one training pair. There are school bags, school shoes of various sizes, notebooks and any stationary you would need in the cart. Pick two each and keep them safe, they would not be replaced if they go missing. Other notebooks and textbooks would be provided in school.”

I saw one of my pack members raise her hand. Mary was one of the smartest in our pack and she took her studies very seriously.

Her voice filled the room. “We didn’t wear uniforms in our old pack.” She said sternly.

Mrs Holt smirked at her. “Does this look like Silverwood to you?” She asked as Mary visibly swallowed.

“Answer me!”

“No ma’am.” She answered, her jaw ticking in suppressed anger.

“Good. Because Ravencrest is nothing like your weak, little pathetic excuse of your pack. We are about six thousand times larger than your pack and over here we have an order of doing things. You would obey them or you would be thrown in prison. Is that understood?”

“Yes.” Mary answered again.

“Perfect. And anyone who dares ask any stupid questions or who is late to assembly would be given dinner duty along with Lila Monroe. Now get ready and meet me outside for your sandwiches.” She finished before looking around again, finding nothing to complain about, she left us and everyone breathed in relief.

“I can’t believe this?”

“School with the Ravens?” Ravens, a name we had given to every member of the Ravencrest pack.

“Cowards.”

Murmurs filled the room as everyone moved to the cart to get their uniforms and other things. A few of the much younger wolves seemed excited while the teens were annoyed.

“They are making us go to school after they attacked us?” I asked Lila as we reached for the uniforms and carefully looked through for ours.

“It’s their way of making us fall in line. Force us into their world and make us forget ours.” She answered.

The uniforms weren’t as flashy as I had expected. Just a plain white button up shirt with a dark blue sweater vest with embroidered Ravencrest High School logo of a raven in front of a wolf shield and a moon above it. Then a dark blue pleated short skirt, a dark silver tie and a pair of dark blue knee length socks.

I found mine and the name tag attached to it.

“Aria Langston. Status: Omega. Strength: 3/10. Origin: Silverwood Pack.” I scoffed. “Seriously?”

“What’s wrong?” Lila asked, looking away from the cart and at my name tag as her eyes widened in disbelief.

“They put our status and strength in our tags. As if being here wasn’t humiliating enough.”

Lila winced as she quickly found her uniform and frowned in disappointment. “Lila Monroe. Status: Omega. Strength: 2/10. Origin: Silverwood Pack.”

For a moment we stood in silence, letting the shame settle in. It wasn’t just embarrassing, it was cruel. Having our status displayed like that for everyone to see felt like a reminder of how insignificant we were.

Lila looked around as others grumbled at the sight of their tags. “Well at least we aren’t alone in this. Do you think they all have these too? The Ravens?”

“I don’t know. We are going to find out aren’t we? Since we’ll be stuck with them for more than eight hours everyday in school. It’s all about control to remind us that we don’t belong.”

“Come on Aria. Let’s get prepared. The last thing you need is being on dinner duty.”

“I might as well consider it so I get stuck with you tonight.” I chucked as Lila pulled us towards the bathroom.

I sighed, feeling a heavy weight on my injured shoulder. I could feel it, the wolf that bit me attended Ravencrest High. And if today was going to be all about meeting them, I knew I would hate every bit of the minute.

Aria.

The air definitely felt heavier in here. Just standing in front of Ravencrest High School, I could feel the heavy weight of something bad settle deep in my stomach.

A massive building stood in front of us, bigger and more intimidating than Silverwood High ever was. It was a towering structure with big windows that I could almost feel eyes watching us from them. It had black and silver engravings and the big Raven crest logo hanging from a flag. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

I swallowed hard as I felt Lila’s arm grave mine as if nudging me to look at something. I followed her direction to notice some Ravencrest students heading into the school building. They were staring at us, sneering even.

All twenty of us stood in front of the school eating what was left of our sandwiches because they hadn’t given us enough time to have them in the dorms. But at the sight of the Ravens, we stopped immediately as they looked down on us.

It was clear from their first glance, we didn’t belong here and they didn’t like us.

The Ravens as we called them moved in a very quiet arrogance, they held their head high and their sharp eyes were cold and assessing. They wore the same uniform as us but there was a slight difference. Instead of the same sweaters we had on, they had sharp navy blue blazers that had been tailored perfectly for each of them. And their ties were navy blue instead of the silver ones we wore.

But apart from the clear distinction in our uniforms another thing that set the Ravencrest and the Silverwoods was the way they held themselves.

They looked perfect, poised. Their uniforms were sharp and neat and their postures screamed confidence from every angle. Meanwhile all twenty of us stood awkwardly in front of the school as if we didn’t know what to do, trying to adjust into our new uniforms.

Mrs Holt, the dorm leader, had told us to wait here and we would be addressed by the principal of the school.

And just immediately, a woman stepped out from the building. She was a tall figure, elegant and had sharp features. She wore a dark green pantsuit and a silver Ravencrest emblem pinned to her chest.

I knew she was the principal. I could feel her aura as her eyes swept over us, cold, stern and unreadable.

“Welcome to Ravencrest High,” she said, her voice sharp and precise. “I am Principal Regina Hartley. And as you all know, you are here as a part of your pack’s transition into Ravencrest. It is our duty to ensure that you are fully integrated into our pack effectively.”

I glanced at Lila who met my gaze with a worried look. They didn’t want to integrate us. They wanted us to submit to their rules.

The principal stopped stepping aside as some students came out of the building, about ten of them and they stood beside her. They looked smart and poised too, and like the rest, they watched with curiosity. I also noticed some students had opened their windows and some stood at the balconies looking down at us and some even taking pictures on their phones and laughing.

“To ensure your smooth transition into Ravencrest High, two of you would be paired and assigned to a Ravencrest student as your guide. They would introduce you to the school’s structure and system. They would be here to assist you in adapting to our way of life.”

“Or keep a tab on us.” I murmured gently to Lila who nodded in agreement.

I listened as the Principal called out names and parodying my pack mates with vacuous raven students. One by one, our people stapled forward, stiff and exhausted as they were matched with their guides.

And then she called out names.

“Aria Langston and Lila Monroe, you will be assigned to Maya Rivera. You are all dismissed. Classes start at fifteen, no late entries.” She finished before disappearing into the building.

“What do you think she’s like? Our guide I mean?” Lila asked and I shrugged as a petite girl stepped towards us. She was slightly smaller than the other guides, around our heights. She had a warm olive skin and dark brown wavy hair that reached her shoulders. Her hazel eyes and pointed nose were surrounded with freckles.

“Hello, I’m Maya.” She said softly with a genuine smile. “I’ll be your guide this term. And which one of you is Aria?”

“I am.” I responded as she smiled wider.

“You’re the one who was the captain of the Debates club at your school?”

“Yeah?” I raised a brow. “How did you know that?”

“Oh we have your files here and we’ve been given some information about you prior to your resumption.”

“Are you kidding?” Lila asked as I finally noticed a bunch of files on her arm. “Can we have a look?”

“I’m sorry that’s private information. But I’m sure there’s so much more to you than some pieces of paper and I’m looking forward to finding more about you. The good thing is we are in the same grade so we can become good friends.” Maya said cheerfully and Lila and I exchanged wary glances before following her into the school.

“Come on. I’ll walk you through everything.” Maya said as we stood behind her taking everything in. Ravencrest was even bigger and more beautiful on the inside.

Students filled the hall, some in front of their lockers that lined the side of the wall. I observed the Ravens. They looked so smart and confident as they moved. Some of them sent us glares or scowls but I didn’t mind.

As we walked, I noticed the Ravens had a similar name tag to us, pinned to their blazers but something about theirs was different but I couldn’t tell.

“Ravencrest High school is home to thousands of students in our pack. And some other pack members have transferred here due to our high quality of education and wolf training.” Maya turned to us and I looked down at her tag.

Maya Rivera. Rank 6. Strength: 4/10.

My eyes narrowed as I raised a brow.

Rank?

“What’s the ranking system here?” I suddenly asked, cutting her shirt as she spoke and Lila followed my eyes and spotted her tag.

“Oh. It’s our pack hierarchy. Every wolf in Ravencrest is ranked based on your status and their role.” She explained.

Rank 6? Did that mean that was low?

“Yeah I know, not really impressive.” She chuckled in embarrassment before she started walking and we followed behind.

Here at Ravencrest. It is important that everyone knows their place and their importance on the pack. It helps us recognize who is higher than us. It’s simple.

Rank 1 is the highest, only the alphas belong in that rank.

Rank 2 wolves are betas, second in commands, elders and their children.

Rank 3 includes the scout leaders, hunter leaders, and basically and wolf that holds a position of leadership.

Rank 4 included the scouts, guards, hunters, fighters, doctors, nurses and medical trainees.” Maya explained easily as we listened closely.

“Rank 5 are mostly the caregivers, those who focus on farming, production, maintenance and stuff like that.”

“And Rank 6?” Lila asked.

Maya gave us a thin smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Those of us who don’t hold any real position. Wolves without no claim to power or leadership. Just ordinary wolves.”

I frowned seeing her shoulders slump. She was one of the lowest ranked wolves on Ravencrest. It makes sense why she didn’t look down on us in disgust.

Because she wasn’t much different from us.

“It’s almost the same as being an omega. But Ravencrest likes to deal with numbers. In the coming months your ranks would be decided in the training you undergo and then the ranking ceremony would take place and your tags would be changed to display your position to everyone. But more information would be given about that in the coming events.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as Maya continued down the hall.

“The ranking system keeps everything in order. And just so you know everyone here follows it.”

“Of course they do.” I said under my breath and didn’t say anything else as she stopped in front of a locker and tapped her fingers against it.

“Locker 246. This one is yours Aria.”

I stepped forward hesitantly as I looked at the tall lockers, they were bigger than the ones we had back home.

I turned to ask Maya something about keeping snacks in them when I noticed her staring at the locker beside mine.

Locker 245.

I saw something flicker across her eyes that looked like hesitation and a bit of fear?

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I exchanged glances with Lila who was frowning at her reaction too.

“Nothing.” She answered quickly before handing me a folded piece of paper. This is your timetable. It has your schedule, class times and locations. Inside your locker you would see your textbooks and notebooks inside.” She said before taking Lila’s arm and pulling her further down the hall.

I felt a strange feeling in my stomach. She was acting differently. I turned to the locker beside mine. Locker 245. There was nothing special about it so why was she so uncomfortable?

“Come on Lila. Let’s find your locker next.” She said quickly as she looked down the hall briefly and Lila shot me a questioning look obviously noticing the tension that had come between us. I shrugged at her.

“I’ll see you at lunch in the cafeteria. Everyone has lunch at the same time.” Maya said and Lila waved at me and adjusted her bag strap nervously.

“Wait at the entrance, ok?” I told her as she nodded before she pulled Lila hurriedly down the hall and I watched them walk down the hall.

What was that about?

I eyed her movement for a few seconds but I couldn’t decipher what had her panties in a twist. I shifted my gaze to the locker again. It was normal. But if Maya, a raven who has spent years in the school, felt nervous about some locker. Then maybe I should too.

I looked around to see other students walking around the hall, some of them looked at me with disgust and some snickered. I noticed some of their tags with their strength. 5/10, many had 6/10 and some even 7/10. I don’t notice any strength higher than 7.

I shivered and opened the locker to find my textbooks and notebooks neatly arranged. I unfolded my timetable and scanned it to find that my first period was Mathematics. I quickly took out my textbook and a notebook. I needed to hurry before the locker beside me magically turned into some monster because I couldn’t understand why Maya had been scared.

I sighed, pushing my glasses up my nose and I mentally prepared myself for the first day in Ravencrest High. It was obvious that this wasn’t just a school. It was enemy territory and we were nothing more than unwanted guests.

I pushed my textbook to my chest and muttered a small prayer to the moon goddess, inhaling deeply as I tried to prepare myself.

I closed my locker and turned only to slam straight into a solid wall of muscle beside me. The impact sent me stumbling backward and my glass slid off the bridge of my nose.

I grunted, finding my balance as I quickly used my glasses up my nose and blinked up at the figure towering over me.

He was standing way too close.

But it wasn’t his height that stopped me in my tracks. My heart leapt into my throat as my gaze found his name tag pinned to his blazer. The bold letters practically glaring at me.

Kai Blackthorn.

Rank 1.

Strength: 10/10.

My breath caught.

10/10?

My stomach twisted and all I could do was stand there, my pulse hammering in my chest as I suddenly felt a wave of weakness in my bones. And for the first time in Ravencrest territory, I felt truly powerless.