The thought lingered longer than it should have, settling in my chest as I stared down at my untouched food. Around me, the dining hall pulsed with life but none of it reached me. It was like watching the world through a thick glass, close enough to observe, too far to touch. I forced myself to take a bite, the taste barely registered.
Across the hall, the group I had noticed earlier remained distinct without trying to be, the space around them simply adjusted, like the room itself understood their importance. I couldn't hear their conversation but I saw the way others glanced towards them before looking away, instinctive and careful.
One of them laughed, the sound lingered. My shoulders tightened before I could stop myself. Don't stare. I looked back down at my tray, annoyed at the faint tremor in my hands. Ghjx was exactly what I promised myself not to do. I had not come here to be drawn into anyone's orbit. I had come to learn and get through my days without attracting unnecessary attention. And yet, something about the table felt wrong, it was the aura they carried yes, it had to be.
"You're not eating." Elowen's voice broke through my thoughts since, she had appeared across me at some point, her tray already half empty. I had not noticed her sit down. "I will," I said, even as I nudged my food around. She traced the direction of my gaze earlier, her posture shifting slightly. "Ah."
That was all she said, no explanation, no names. Which told me everything.
"Are they...?" I started. "Elites," she finished quietly. "Upper years, different packs, different bloodlines. Complicated." Her gaze sharpened on me. "Don't get involved."
I let out a soft breath. "I wasn't planning to." She hesitated, then added, "They don't usually notice first years." I didn't tell her one of them already had, if only for a second, if only in absence rather than recognition. It had not felt like interest, more like something haf brushed against a boundary and stopped. The bell rang before I untangle the feeling.
Students began to rise, conversations shifting towards schedules and classes. The energy changed again less social, more focused. Purposeful. I stood with the rest, grateful for the movement. As we filed out, the space narrowed, bodies pressing closer than I liked. Scents tangled in the air, pine, smoke, iron, things wild and unfamiliar. I kept my breathing steady and expression neutral. In the doorway, I felt it. That subtle shift. Like a current passing through me rather than around me this time.
I looked up.
One of the wolves from the elite table stood just beyond the threshold, speaking to someone beside him. He wasn't blocking the exit, wasn't even facing me and yet my steps slowed, my awareness sharpening uncomfortably. He turned mid sentence. Our eyes met. There was no jolt, no spark, no cinematic moment of recognition, just stillness. His gaze was assessing not predatory. Curious in a restrained way that made my skin prickle. I didn't feel seen so much as... considered. It was like I was a variable he hadn't expected in a familiar equation. I hel his gaze for a heartbeat longer than was wise. Then I stepped past him.
The air felt lighter once I was through the doors, though my pulse took longer to settle. Elowen glanced at me, brow furrowed, but said nothing.
The corridor outside the hall stretched long and dim, torch light flickering against stone walls etched with symbols I couldn't read. Groups peeled off in different directions, laughter fading as purpose took over.
"History of the packs first," Elowen said. "You?"
"Same."
We walked together, but the earlier case between us had thinned. I could feel her awareness flicking towards me again, sharper now, like she was re-evaluating something she hadn't known to question before.
The lecture hall was cold. Stone benches rose in tiers, already filling as students claimed familiar spots. I chose a seat near the back, close enough to hear, far enough to observe. Elowen joined friends farther down, offering me a small, apologetic smile before turning away. The professor entered without announcement.
He was old, older than the academy felt. His presence settles into the room into silence with ease born of long authority. "Power," he began, voice steady and unadorned, "is rarely what it appears to be at first glance." His eyes swept the hall. They paused on me briefly. Knowing.
I kept my face calm, my posture still.
"History," he continued, "is shaped not only by those who roar the loudest, but by those who survive long enough to nr remembered." Something in my chest tightened.
I took notes I didn't need, copying words I already understood instinctively. The lecture flowed around me, dense with bloodlines and betrayals, alliances forkes and broken. I listened more to what wasn't said than what was.
When the class ended, I waited until most of the room had cleared before standing. The hallway outside buzzed again, but I lingered, adjusting my bag, grounding myself.
"You don't flinch." The voice came from my left. I turned.
He stood a few feets away, no longer framed by distance or assumption. Up close, he looked less imposing and more deliberate. Like every movement was chosen. "Should I?" I asked. A faint smile touched his mouth. "Most humans do." "I'm not most humans."
His gaze sharpened, not amused, but interested. "I know," he said quietly. "That's why you stand out." "I didn't come here to." "No one ever does."
The word echoed the registrar's.
"I'm Rowan," he added after a moment. "Second year." "Liora." "I know." That should have unsettled me. Instead, it steadied something deep inside. "Be careful," he said, stepping back, already turning away. "This academy doesn't like unanswered questions."
He disappeared into the crowd before I could respond. I stood there longer than necessary, heart slow but alert, the echo of his presence lingering like. half finished thought.
As night settled over the academy and the forest pressed closer to the windows, one truth became unavoidable. I had wanted to disappear. But this place had begun to notice me. And it wasn't looking away.