*Jiselle*
Now would have been a good time to admit that I had seen a rogue before today.
But, of course, it was toote for that.
The memory flooded back suddenly, sharp and intrusive.
That wolf. The one that wasn’t from the academy.
I had seen it during the Strategic Evasion assignment, standing there in the shadows, watching. At the time, I had been too distracted–too focused on surviving, on making it through,
Then Max was taken, tortured, broken.
And everything else that rogue, the odd feeling it gave me–it <b>had </b>all faded into the background.
I had forgotten about it. Everyone had.
And now, somehow, rogues had infiltrated the most secure institution in the world,
The attack came fast and brutal.
One moment, the academy was standing strong, and the next–chaos..
Howls pierced the night, echoing off the stone walls. The sharp ng of metal rang out, swords shing, steel meeting steel Heavy paws thundered against the earth, snarls cutting through the air like des.
I could hear it–the sheer desperation in the growls, the fury in the roars.
But something wasn’t right.
Not away. Toward.
My breath came in sharp, ragged bursts as I darted through the academy grounds, eyes scanning for any sign of Max, Ethan, or Eva.
Where were they?
Hell, where was Nate?
He had shoved me toward the school, ordering me to get inside the dorms before vanishing into the fight.
But I needed to find someone. Anyone.
Students shifted around me, ws shing, bodies colliding. Some were holding their own, driving rogues back into the treeline, but others–they were struggling.
I lunged toward a second–year, grabbing his arm as he spun mid–fight. His eyes were wide, wild, his <b>wolf </b>barely beneath the
surface
“How many of them? I gasped, my pulse pounding.
He barely took his eyes off the fight as he shoved a rogue back. “About twenty?”
Twenty?
That wasn’t enough
Not to win
Not to overtake the academy
Then why the hell were they here?
I sucked in a breath, stepping <b>back</b>, watching the way the <b>rogues </b>moved–strategic, calcted. They weren’t blindly attacking They weren’t trying to win
They wore testing us
Something about that twisted in my gut, an uneasy feeling settling deep in my bones.
And
A blur of movement
Too fast Too precise
Sessfully unlocked!
I barely had time to react before a rogue in human form stepped directly into my path, his stance rxed, his expression almost emused
He wasn’t fighting
He was waiting.
The sight of him froze me in ce.
His face was lined with old scars, his dark eyes gleaming with something too intelligent, too knowing.
His lips curled into a smirk. “You’re one of them,”
My blood ran cold.
Estiffened
One of them?
My heart pounded violently, my wolf wing at my insides, demanding to be let out.
But I couldn’t move
His smirk deepened as if he could hear the panic racing through my thoughts.
“Not yet, he mused, tilting his head. “But soon.”
I sucked in a shaky breath.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded, shifting my stance. I needed to run. I needed to fight. I needed to do something.
But his gaze pinned me in ce.
“I wonder,” he murmured, his voice unnervingly calm. “Do you even know what you are?”
The world tilted
A cold sensation crept through me, drowning out the heat of battle.
I took a stumbling step back, my breathing uneven.
And then–he moved.
Fast
Too fast
His hand shot out, fingers reaching straight for my throat.
Instinct took over
I didn’t think I just reacted as my fear and alert went through the roof. I screamed, jumping back but then something snapped inside me–a rush of heat, a force pulsing outward like a shockwave.
The rogue’s body seized violently, his eyes widening in agony as he dropped to his knees, clutching his head.
A strangled scream tore from his throat and I gasped, staggering back as my heart raced.
It took me a while to realize what was happening and where I’ve seen it before. My first challenge with Eman, she looked like she was in pain because something in me had snapped. I wasn’t even touching him, yet he was kneeling there, screaming at the top of his lungs and clutching his head like his brain was melting
Was I hurting him mentally?
about sle…..
Something Nate had said came back to me from the day I confronted him about sleeping with Emari. He said I left her with a headache for three days
Could I cause mental pain?
I had done that
“Let <b>go</b>, you crazy bitch the rogue screamed, as his eyes bled and I panicked
I was going to kill him. He would be the first person I ever killed. And had no idea how to stop
“1-1 can’t I didn’t even realize I was crying until I spoke
The rogue screamed again, and I forced it to stop but it wouldn’t
“I don’t know how to stop! I’m sony”
A hand grabbed my shoulder and swerved me around. Dark brown eyes met mine as he spun me around, and a serious- looking instructor B?stain
“That’s because you’re not the one doing it he gritted out as he snapped the rogue’s neck as if it <b>was </b>a stick and pulled me away from the choos
Students were still fighting for their lives, but no one stopped him as he dragged me through the academy halls, downdors, and into an empty ssroom and shut the door with the locks
His gaze was locked on me, unblinking
That’s when it hit me. He saw He knew
My stomach dropped
Max had warned me
I
He had told me, that day when we were on the assignment, that I couldn’t let them know. I still didn’t even know exactly what I was hiding, but I had some gift and Instructor Bastain had just seen everything.
He knew, because he insinuated that it wasn’t me who was doing it but my… wolf?
I scanned the room frantically, looking for something–anything to escape. Yet, even in this much emotional duress, my gift, my wolf whatever it was, didn’t do the same thing to him, and I had no idea why.
“Um, he’s going to kill me? I practically shouted at my wolf.
She simply chuffed. It is how it should be
What!? Did she really just say that.
This would hurt so many people.
Max Nate Ethan. Eva Someone to stop this
But Bastain was already moving and I pressed myself against the wall, chest heaving, pulse erratic.
“This is it” I whispered, voice shaking. “You’re going to kill me now.”
Bastan’s expression didn’t change.
Instead, he reached into his coat and, for a terrifying second, I thought he was pulling out a gun to end me <b>right </b>here. Instead, he held out a dagger.
beautiful, ck–ded relic, its surface shimmering with golden runes that pulsed faintly.
as if it would levitate and plunge itself into my neck any minute.
“What is that?” I rasped
Basta’s face remained impassive. “Take it.”
I didn’t move “You want me to kill myself?”
His eyes flickered, the first hint of emotion showing.
“if I wanted to kill you, Johal, you’d already be dead.”
I swallowed, hesitantly reaching for the dagger. The moment my fingers brushed the hilt, a strange coldness rushed up my arm, sinking into my bones.
A weight settled inside of me.
Like something had just been muted.
My pulse stumbled
“What did you do? I breathed, my grip tightening around the weapon.
Bastain exhaled, crossing his arms. “That dagger will keep your abilities dormant until the year ends.”
1 gaped at him. “Why?
For the first time, his gaze wavered
And then, he said something that made my entire body go cold.
“Because if you’re what I think you are killing you would be <b>a </b>waste of a millennium”
I felt like I had been punched in the gut
A waste of a what?
I shook my head. “You’re not making any sense. What am I? Why are <b>you </b>doing this?”
Bastar’s jaw ticked. He stepped closer, his voice lowering “If the other instructors find out, they won’t hesitate. They’ll kill you without a second thought ”
A chill raced down my spine
I gripped the dagger, my knuckles white.
“So don’t tell anyone” he murmured. “Got it
I nodded weakly
Bastain studied me for a moment longer, then turned, striding toward the door
The moment it clicked shut behind him, I finally let out a shaky breath. I stood there, staring <b>down </b><b>at </b>the dann