Chapter 3 Shadows And Secrets

LINA'S POV

The dorm's dim light flickered as I yanked off my cap, my reflection in the cracked mirror showing a boy who wasn't me. My heart hadn't stopped racing since the Alpha Trials, and the pendant around my neck still burned from the strain of hiding my scent through that gauntlet of traps and fists. I'd survived-barely-but the memory of that stranger's cold eyes at the bridge's end clung to me like damp fur. He wasn't Bryce, wasn't Kade. He was something else, and my wolf hadn't stopped growling since.

"Linc, you look like you saw a ghost," Jasper said, sprawled on his bed, his glasses fogged from the arena's dust. He was nursing a bruised cheek but grinning like he'd won a medal. "You made it through the Trials, man. Fifteen out of thirty. That's something."

"Yeah," I said, forcing a smile as I tucked my hair tighter under the cap. "Something." But my mind wasn't on the victory. It was on Professor Elias's stare, Kade's cryptic warning, and that stranger who'd watched me like he knew my secret. I'd come to Silverclaw High to prove I could lead my father's pack, not to play prey, but this place was a maze of threats, and I was already lost.

I sat on my bed, the springs creaking, and rubbed the pendant. Its magic was my lifeline, but it felt fragile, like a promise ready to break. "Jasper, you ever see a guy at the Trials, tall, lean, kinda... intense? Not a student, maybe?"

He frowned, pushing up his glasses. "Intense how? Half the guys here look like they wanna eat you for breakfast."

"Not like Bryce," I said, struggling to describe it. "He was older, maybe a senior. Watched me at the end, then vanished."

Jasper shrugged, tossing a protein bar my way. "Probably some upperclassman scoping the competition. You stood out, Linc. Tripping Bryce like that? Ballsy."

I caught the bar, my grin half-hearted. Ballsy or stupid, it had painted a target on my back. I needed to be invisible, not a spectacle, but my wolf loved the fight too much. She was restless, clawing at my chest, and I didn't know how long I could keep her caged.

A sharp knock rattled the door. I stiffened, shoving the cap back on. "Who's there?" I called, my voice low, practiced.

"Professor Elias," came the reply, crisp and commanding. My pulse spiked, that tug in my chest flaring like a spark. My wolf whined, Mate, and I cursed her timing. Two mates in one school? Either I was cursed, or the moon goddess had a sick sense of humor.

Jasper scrambled to his feet, suddenly serious. "Uh, come in, sir!"

The door swung open, and Elias filled the frame, his dark blazer sharp against the dorm's drab walls. His eyes-storm-gray, piercing-swept the room before landing on me. My pendant warmed, and I fought the urge to shrink back. He was just a professor, I told myself. Just doing his job.

"Linc, is it?" he said, his voice smooth but edged, like a blade wrapped in silk. "You performed... adequately in the Trials. I need a word. Alone."

Jasper's eyes widened, but he grabbed his bag. "I, uh, need to hit the library anyway. Catch you later, Linc." He bolted, leaving me with Elias and a room that suddenly felt too small.

I stood, my boots scuffing the floor. "What's this about, sir?" My voice held, but my hands were clammy. Had he seen something in the Trials? Did he suspect?

Elias closed the door, the click loud in the silence. He leaned against the desk, arms crossed, studying me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve. "Ironfang pack," he said, almost to himself. "I've read their histories. Small, isolated. No record of a Linc."

My throat tightened. "We're not big on paperwork," I said, forcing a shrug. "My father keeps things old-school."

He raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Your father. The Alpha, I presume? Yet he sent you here, barely trained, to compete with wolves twice your size." His gaze flicked to my cap, then back to my eyes. "Why?"

I swallowed, my wolf bristling at the challenge in his tone. "Because I'm good enough," I said, meeting his stare. "Size isn't everything."

A faint smile tugged at his lips, gone as fast as it came. "Bold words. Reckless, but bold." He stepped closer, and my breath caught. His scent-cedar and something sharp, like a winter storm-hit me hard, and that tug turned molten. My wolf was practically howling, and I clenched my fists to stay grounded.

"Reckless gets you killed here," he said, his voice low. "Silverclaw High isn't a game. If you're hiding something, it'll come out. And when it does, no one will save you."

My pendant burned, and I prayed he couldn't hear my heart hammering. "I'm not hiding anything," I lied, my voice steady despite the panic clawing my insides. "Just here to prove myself, like everyone else."

He held my gaze, searching, then stepped back. "We'll see." He turned to leave but paused, glancing over his shoulder. "Your strategy in the maze was clever. Keep that up, and you might survive the week."

The door closed behind him, and I collapsed onto the bed, my breath ragged. He knew something-or suspected it. I had to be more careful, but how? This place was a pressure cooker, and every move I made seemed to draw more eyes.

I barely had time to process before another knock came, this one sharper. "Linc, open up!"

Kade's voice, all arrogance and heat, sent my wolf into a tailspin. I groaned, dragging myself to the door. Couldn't I get five minutes without a crisis?

I opened it, and there he was, leaning against the frame, his dark hair mussed and his blazer slung over one shoulder. His smirk was infuriating, but that tug in my chest was worse, pulling me toward him like a magnet. "What do you want?" I snapped, keeping my voice rough.

"Nice to see you too, newbie," he said, stepping inside uninvited. He scanned the room, then me, his eyes lingering a beat too long. "Heard Elias paid you a visit. You in trouble already?"

"None of your business," I said, crossing my arms. My pendant was still warm, and Kade's presence wasn't helping. His scent-leather and wildfire-made my wolf restless, and I hated how it scrambled my thoughts.

He chuckled, low and dangerous. "Everything's my business around here. You're the talk of the Trials, tripping Bryce like some street fighter. Not bad for a scrawny kid."

"Scrawny?" I bristled, forgetting my caution. "I made it through, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." His smirk faded, replaced by something sharper, like he was seeing me for the first time. "But you've got a target on you now. Bryce won't let that slide, and he's not the only one watching."

My mind flashed to the stranger at the bridge. "Who else?" I asked, too quickly. Kade's eyes narrowed, and I cursed myself for sounding desperate.

"Curious, huh?" He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "Stick around, Linc. You'll find out soon enough." His gaze flicked to my cap, and for a heart-stopping second, I thought he'd yank it off. Instead, he turned, heading for the door. "Watch your back. Wouldn't want you gone before I figure you out."

He left, and I locked the door, my hands shaking. Kade was trouble, Elias was a threat, and that stranger whoever he was felt like a storm on the horizon. I needed allies, answers, something to keep me afloat. Jasper was a start, but I couldn't trust him with the truth. Not yet.

I pulled out my father's old journal, hidden in my bag, and flipped to his last entry. Strength isn't muscle, Lina. It's will. Lead with that, and no one can break you. I traced the words, my throat tight. He believed in me, even when the elders didn't. I wouldn't let him down.

A bell rang, signaling dinner, but my appetite was gone. I headed out, blending into the hall's chaos, when a shadow moved at the corridor's end. That scent-sharp, unfamiliar-hit me again. The stranger. He stood under a flickering light, his lean frame tense, his eyes locked on me. My wolf snarled, urging me to run, but I froze as he stepped forward, his voice low and cold.

"You don't belong here, Ironfang," he said, his words slicing through the noise. "And I'm going to prove it."

He vanished into the crowd before I could respond, leaving my heart in my throat. My pendant flared, hotter than ever, and I knew one thing for sure: my secret was a ticking bomb, and someone had just lit the fuse.