CHAPTER 4 : THE INVITATION

The door opened.

I held my breath.

My father stepped in front of me, blocking the view from the hallway.

A man stood outside.

He wore the dark uniform of the Alpha Council.

I recognized him immediately.

Not because I had met him in this life.

Because I had seen his face before.

Four years ago.

On the night I died.

My stomach tightened.

He was one of the guards who had taken me from the Council chamber.

But he looked younger now.

And alive.

He gave my father a respectful nod.

“Alpha Adrian.”

My father didn't return the greeting.

“What do you want?”

“I was sent with a message.”

His gaze moved past my father.

For a fraction of a second, his eyes met mine.

Something flickered in them.

Recognition.

Then it disappeared.

My father noticed.

“She has nothing to do with Council business.”

The man lowered his head.

“Of course.”

He handed my father a sealed letter.

The silver crescent and three claw marks were stamped into the wax.

My father's fingers tightened around it.

“Who sent this?”

“I wasn't told.”

“Then leave.”

The man bowed and walked away.

My father shut the door.

I stared at the letter.

“What is it?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That symbol says otherwise.”

He looked at me sharply.

“You need to stop asking questions.”

“And you need to start answering them.”

For a moment, we simply stared at each other.

Then my father sighed.

“You're going to Silvercrest.”

My heart stopped.

“What?”

“The academy sent your invitation.”

He held up another envelope.

This one was white.

The crest of Silvercrest Academy was pressed into the front.

I slowly took it from him.

In my first life, receiving this invitation had been one of the happiest moments of my youth.

I was eighteen.

Excited.

Naive.

I had believed Silvercrest would be the beginning of my future.

Instead, it had been the beginning of my downfall.

I opened the envelope.

The invitation was written in elegant black letters.

Aurelia Vale,

By authority of the Silvercrest Academy Council, you are invited to attend the upcoming academic term.

My fingers tightened around the paper.

Six months.

Exactly as I remembered.

Six months before I entered the academy.

But this time, I knew what waited for me there.

Three Alpha heirs.

Seraphine.

The hidden library.

The sealed chambers.

The symbol.

The mystery surrounding my father's death.

I looked at my father.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I was going to.”

“When?”

“Before you left.”

I studied his face.

He was hiding something.

He had been hiding it for years.

“Do you want me to go?”

His silence answered me.

“No.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“But you're sending me.”

“Because refusing the invitation would attract attention.”

“From whom?”

He looked toward the window.

“I don't know.”

That wasn't the answer of a man who knew nothing.

That was the answer of a man who knew too much.

I folded the invitation.

“I'll go.”

My father looked surprised.

“You're agreeing?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Because I remembered what happened there.

Because my first life had ended with Silvercrest at the center of everything.

Because if the academy was connected to my father's death, I needed to find out how.

But I couldn't tell him any of that.

“I want to know why you were so afraid of this place.”

He looked away.

“You'll understand someday.”

“I don't want to someday.”

I stepped closer.

“I want the truth now.”

His expression softened.

“Some truths have consequences.”

“I already know.”

He looked at me carefully.

“You're different.”

My heart skipped.

“What do you mean?”

“You've always been stubborn. But this…”

He shook his head.

“There's something about you I can't explain.”

Neither could I.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

The invitation sat on my desk.

Silvercrest Academy.

The name seemed harmless.

But I knew better.

I closed my eyes.

Immediately, I saw the silver door.

It stood beneath a dark sky.

Three wolves surrounded it.

The black wolf.

The golden wolf.

The silver wolf.

I moved closer.

The silver wolf turned toward me.

Its eyes were the same color as mine.

Silver-gray.

I reached toward it.

The wolf suddenly transformed.

Not into a person.

Into a shadow.

The shadow pointed toward the door.

Then I heard a voice.

“Three will open it.”

The door began to shake.

“Only one will survive.”

I woke up with a gasp.

My room was dark.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I sat up.

The silver mark on my collarbone was glowing.

“No.”

I touched it.

The mark faded.

Then I heard something.

A low growl.

Not from outside.

Inside my mind.

“Don't open the door.”

I froze.

“Why?”

My wolf didn't answer.

Instead, another vision flashed through my mind.

A woman.

Long silver hair.

Standing in front of the same door.

Her face was hidden.

But I recognized the necklace around her throat.

A silver crescent.

My mother's necklace.

I opened my eyes.

My mother.

I had barely remembered her.

She had died when I was young, and my father rarely spoke about her.

But if she had been connected to Silvercrest, then her death might not have been an accident either.

The next morning, I searched for my father's study again.

He was gone.

I found an old photograph inside one of the drawers.

My mother stood beside a younger version of my father.

Behind them was a stone building.

Silvercrest Academy.

My fingers trembled.

They had been there before I was born.

Why?

I turned the photograph over.

There was writing on the back.

Three names.

Adrian Vale.

Elena Vale.

And one other name that had been scratched out.

I tried to make out the letters.

Only two remained.

R…an.

My wolf stirred.

“Rowan.”

I dropped the photograph.

I stared at it.

Rowan Black.

One of the three Alpha heirs.

Why would his name be written beside my parents?

Before I could investigate further, footsteps sounded outside.

I quickly returned the photograph to the drawer.

My father entered.

His eyes immediately went to the desk.

“You've been searching again.”

“I found a photograph.”

His expression tightened.

“Where?”

“In the drawer.”

He walked toward it.

“Don't touch my mother's things.”

He stopped.

“My mother was at Silvercrest.”

It wasn't a question.

He remained silent.

“Why?”

“She studied there.”

“And Rowan Black?”

His face changed.

Only slightly.

But enough.

“You know him.”

“Not personally.”

“But you know his family.”

“Aurelia…”

“Why was his name written beside yours and Mother's?”

He didn't answer.

That was becoming a habit.

I stepped closer.

“Did Mother know the three Alpha heirs?”

“Those boys weren't born when your mother attended the academy.”

“Then why is Rowan's name there?”

My father's expression became unreadable.

“I don't know.”

I knew he was lying.

Before I could press him, a howl sounded in the distance.

My wolf reacted instantly.

My entire body went rigid.

It wasn't an ordinary howl.

It felt familiar.

Ancient.

My father's head snapped toward the window.

“You heard that?”

“Yes.”

His face went pale.

“That's impossible.”

“What?”

He didn't answer.

Instead, he grabbed my arm.

“You're staying home.”

“No.”

“You're not going anywhere until I know what that was.”

I pulled my arm free.

“You can't protect me by hiding the truth.”

He stared at me.

Then, unexpectedly, his expression softened.

“You have no idea how much I want to.”

The words stayed with me long after he left.

That night, I placed the Silvercrest invitation beside my bed.

Six months.

I had six months to prepare.

Six months to uncover the truth.

And six months to prevent the future I remembered.

But as I closed my eyes, my wolf whispered something that made my blood run cold.

“He is coming.”

“Who?”

Silence.

Then a name.

“Rowan.”

I opened my eyes.

At the exact same moment, three sharp knocks sounded against my bedroom window.

I slowly turned toward the glass.

There was nobody outside.

Only darkness.

And on the window, written in something that looked like frost, were four words.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING.