Wolf-Marked

CHAPTER ONE

               NYX

“You’re insane if you think I’ll let her go there,” Mother said, her voice fraying at the edges. She wasn’t exactly yelling, but the way her footsteps hit the hallway floor said more than enough. She was pissed. “That place isn’t safe and you know it. Agreeing to send your only daughter to an all male school? Like that isn't bad enough, everyone there are alpha's, she would not survive it and you know this."

“I’m not letting her,” Dad replied. He always sounded so calm, like that made the words more reasonable. “She’s the one who asked.”

I sat still in front of my bathroom mirror. The glass had a crack running down the middle, splitting my face in two. It was still me on either side but in my imagination, the girl on the left still had her lashes, her softness. The one on the right looked like someone else entirely. Looked like a boy. 

I exhaled, placing the scissors over the last chunk of my blond hair, my eyes filled with tears as I cut it off, letting the short edges that now stopped over my shoulder sway.

“You think this is smart?” Mom’s voice trembled now. “That we send our only daughter into a school built for Alphas? Into a place where the second they sense she isn't a boy she’ll be ripped apart?”

“She won’t be,” Dad said tightly. “She’ll be covered. Her scent would be masked. I also made an elixer that would give her a fake alpha scent, no one will know. She’s been trained for this since she could walk.”

I reached for the bandage on the floor beside me and started wrapping it tight around my chest again. I’d already done it once, but it didn’t feel right. I was leaving today, and if I was going to survive, I needed to double check everything. Including my voice before I even uttered words, I inhaled and exhaled. It would be exactly like Dad and I had practiced. Forge a deeper voice, walk with pride, but not too much that you grab attention, but enough so you aren't targeted.

The house wasn’t big. I could hear every word, every footstep outside the small cabin we lived in, I knew others most have heard the screaming and came around. 

“She’s just a girl,” she whispered. “They won’t care. If they find out where she’s from, who she really is, they’ll do more than kill her. They’ll send her back to us in pieces. And then they’ll burn this whole place to ash.”

Exhaling, I stepped out of my room, down the stairs, and pushed open the study door.

Both of them turned to me. Mom’s cheeks were wet. Dad’s hands were clenched.

“I can do this,” I said. I tried to keep my voice steady, but the words scratched my throat. “I have to.”

"Nyx..." Mom's voice cracked. 

Outside, I could hear the others, those that had been cursed and exiled, just like us. Going about their lives in the camp. 

“They believe in us,” I said softly. “They’re only here in hiding because of you. Because of what they lost. I owe them this.”

Mom turned away for a second, wiping her face, and when she looked back, her voice was almost small. “But you’re my child.”

I smiled faintly. “And the only person here who's scent has not been marked for exile. If there's anyone that would sneak into that school and get the royal stamp from the alpha King's son, it's me.”

She smiled through the tears, and I could tell she was proud of me, even though I knew this was hard for her. 

“I won’t be gone long,” I said, even though I had no idea how true that was. “I get in, steal the seal, get out. One semester.”

Dad stepped forward, unscrewing the lid of the small glass vial he’d held in his pocket. “Three drops every morning. Neck, spine, ankles. It should hide your feminine scent from the alpha's and also give you an alpha scent of your own."

Grabbing it, I smiled, he had packed some more for me in the box, I had seen him making a bunch earlier. "Thanks Dad."

"If your blocker fades, even for a second—”

“I know.” I inhaled and he nodded. 

Mom reached out, touching the ends of my newly cut hair. “You don’t look like her anymore. But when you come back, I'll make sure to get an elixer for fast hair growth.”

I laughed, a smile appearing on her chin before I pulled her into a hug. 

I had to do this, for my family, for those that counted on father, for those who had been exiled unjustly by the Alpha King. An exhale passed through me.

            ***

The school wasn’t in the woods like I’d expected.

It was deeper, I've never been far away from the safe camp, while my scent wasn't branded like the rest in the pack, I couldn't still leave because if I made even a mistake, I could put the entire camp in danger.  We drove for hours before we got out of the woods, and into another where the tall building of the school was now visible. 

We arrived just before dusk. The driver said nothing the entire trip until we pulled up to the gates.

He cut the engine, turning toward me, and studied my face. “You don’t have to be him all the time,” he said finally. “Just enough to survive, but don't forget to be you when you're alone.”

I gave a small nod.

He didn’t say goodbye. Just drove off and left me standing in front of the iron gates of Ashmoor Academy, the last place in the world anyone sane would willingly go. Especially one who was a girl and not an alpha. 

               ***

They hadn’t assigned me a roommate. Yet.

The room was narrow, A small bed, a desk bolted to the wall, a single barred window. There was a second bed on the other side, still empty. I didn’t know if I’d be lucky enough for it to stay that way, I trained with Dad over and over about how to do this but this was not Dad and the safe camp anymore, this was the enemies territory, and these were real vipers. 

I unzipped my bag slowly, pulling out the elixir again. I placed it on my sweat glands before I stepped into the school, but I redid it either way. 

Memorizing the name Dad gave me, I whispered, "Ash Ryker. That was me now."

The bell rang. I jumped at the sound. The entire stone floor vibrated, according to my schedule, it had to be dinner time.

I took my time walking down the hall. I tried to act like I belonged. Like the boots on my feet weren’t too big,  like my heart wasn’t crawling up my throat.

The dining hall was louder than I’d imagined. Dozens of Alphas flanked either sides of the cafeteria, food utensils clashing over each other, chattering sounds and.... My head blurred, my senses threatening to comburst Their scents, Moon, their scents were too thick. 

It filled the air in a heavy and intoxicating manner, there were too many alpha's in one room.

I could feel every air I took claw at my chest, like even if no one knew I wasn't a boy, their scents did and it attacked me. Or I was just overthinking it. 

Grabbing a food tray, I kept my eyes on the ground, and shuffled into the line.

In split second, the air changed and the entire cafeteria broke out to a cheer, I peeped a glance at those who had caused the commotion, it was the three figures who had just walked into the hall. My breath hitched when I saw them, I instantly understood why everywhere had turned crazy. 

The three looked like they were descendants of the moon goddess herself, striding into the hall with their hands in their pockets, their aura was dark and filled with danger and authority. My eyes met the one in the middle. The one who's brows were furrowed, he looked more dangerously handsome than the other two, while the other two winked and played around with the other guys that hailed them, the one in the middle did nothing of that sort. 

I instantly felt bad for anyone who would come relatively close to being on his bad side, he looked as deadly as any poisoned flower. 

Sighing, I turned away from them, my food had been served, muttering a thank you in a deep voice, I kept my head down and walked with speed towards the side of the table I had spoted earlier had been empty. 

My heart lurched as my tray braged into someone, the other end poking my stomach so hard it hurt. 

My tray slanted, food splattered everywhere. My body jerked, and my breath caught hard in my lungs.

Everyone went quiet, I watched the slimy food droll down the black jean I stood before.  

Slowly, I looked up, and my stomach dropped.

It was him.

The one in the middle. The one with the cold eyes and dangerous presence. The silence in the cafeteria turned more deadly, like we were in a graveyard, or more like I was the corpse. 

My head cranked up to meet his full height, I was like a toy before him, his uniform was soaked. His boots, once black and polished dripped with stew and whatever else had been on my tray. 

My heart rate spiked as I found his snaring green eyes again, “I—”

My voice cracked. Shit. “I didn’t mean to—”

Before I could finish, his hand collided with my chest. I stumbled back, slamming into the stone wall behind me. The air was knocked from my lungs with the impact, my tray hitting the ground with a clatter that echoed into the silence. Everyone gasped.

He was in front of me in seconds. Like he didn’t even need to move, one hand pressed against my chest, pinning me to the wall while the other braced near my head. 

I winced from the pain and before I could register a thing,  he leaned in, our faces too close, lips mere inches apart. 

I tried to breathe. I couldn’t.

“Who the fuck are you?” his eyes flashed from green, changing to a red as it burned through mine.  “And why do you have that scent?”