Chapter 10: Panic!!!

Ivy stood at the threshold of the ancient stone archway, the sunlight filtering through the trees and casting long shadows on the path ahead. Moonridge Academy loomed in the distance—its towering spires and stone walls an ever-present reminder of the power that pulsed through its halls. But today, Ivy wasn't focused on the beauty of the place or the strange sensation that clung to the air. She was preoccupied with the storm that had been brewing inside her.

The Alphas. Their rivalry. The way they seemed to fight for her attention as if she were a prize to be claimed.

It felt wrong, all of it. There was something darker happening here—something Ivy couldn't quite put her finger on but could feel gnawing at her from the inside. The air seemed to crackle with a tension she couldn't escape. They were dangerous, all of them, each in their own way. But none more so than Lucas, Damien, Elias, and Caden. They were powerful, and they were starting to play a game that Ivy had never been prepared for.

Wesley's words from the night before echoed in her mind. *You're the key, Ivy. You've always been the key.*

The truth felt like it was just out of her reach, teasing her like a mirage on the horizon. But with every passing moment, the pieces were starting to come together. She wasn't just a human in a school full of werewolves. No, there was something deeper. Something far more complicated than she could have imagined.

She turned away from the archway, pushing open the door to the main hall of the academy. The corridors stretched out before her like a labyrinth, each one more mysterious than the last. Ivy wasn't sure if it was the building itself or the people who inhabited it that made everything feel so... off. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

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As Ivy walked through the halls, her thoughts continued to churn. She had to confront the Alphas. She had to ask them the questions she had been too afraid to voice until now.

Why her? What was it about her blood that had them so fixated? And why was there such a constant pull between them—almost like a magnetic force they couldn't control?

She stopped in front of a large set of double doors that led to the grand dining hall. It was time to face them. All of them. To demand answers, and perhaps, to finally understand the roles they had cast her into.

With a deep breath, she pushed open the doors, the familiar sounds of conversation and laughter flooding the room. The moment she entered, however, all noise seemed to stop. Every set of eyes in the room turned toward her, and for the briefest of moments, Ivy felt like a stranger in her own skin.

Damien was the first to speak, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "Well, well, if it isn't the queen herself," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Came to grace us with your presence, Ivy?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, but she refused to back down. "I came to speak with you. All of you."

Lucas, who was seated at the far end of the table, raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes locked on hers. "Oh?" he said, his voice smooth, dripping with mockery. "And what is it that you think you know, Ivy?"

She stepped forward, her chin lifted with determination. "I know that you're not just fighting over me. There's something more to this, something that none of you are telling me."

There was a moment of silence, and then Elias—who had been unusually quiet—finally spoke. "It's true. There's more at stake than just your... heart, Ivy. But the truth is not ours to tell. It's your legacy."

Her stomach churned at his words. Legacy? What did he mean by that?

Caden, who had been standing near the back of the room, said nothing. He simply watched, his eyes unreadable. His presence, though silent, felt like a weight in the room, one that Ivy couldn't escape.

"I don't care about legacies," she said, her voice shaking with anger and confusion. "I want to know the truth. Why are you all so obsessed with me? What is it that you're all hiding?"

Lucas leaned forward, his expression turning serious for the first time. "You're asking the wrong questions, Ivy," he said, his tone hard. "The truth you want isn't something you're ready to hear."

"What do you mean?" Ivy demanded, her patience wearing thin.

But before Lucas could answer, there was a sudden crash from the hallway. The doors to the dining hall burst open, and a figure stumbled inside, his face contorted in pain. It was Wesley.

"Ivy," he gasped, his voice strained. "You need to leave. Now. It's too late."

Ivy's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

But Wesley didn't answer. Instead, he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his side as blood soaked through his shirt. His eyes fluttered closed, and the room was immediately filled with chaos.

"Wesley!" Ivy cried, rushing to his side. "Someone help him!"

But the Alphas remained frozen, their eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and fear. Even Caden, the one who had been the most detached, looked unsettled.

"Damien, Elias, help her!" Lucas snapped, his voice sharp. But neither of the two moved.

Ivy's heart raced as she tried to hold Wesley's hand, but it was clear that he was slipping away. "Please," she whispered, her voice breaking. "What happened to him?"

Wesley's lips parted, and for a brief moment, Ivy thought he was going to speak. But then, his hand went limp, and his breathing slowed.

"No," Ivy choked, her chest tightening. "Wesley... No!"

And then, through the silence, she heard something that made her blood run cold.

"Isn't it obvious, Ivy?" A voice came from the door. "He wasn't supposed to make it this far."

The room turned to face the newcomer, and Ivy's heart froze in her chest.

Standing in the doorway, a dark smile playing on his lips, was a figure Ivy had never seen before.

The figure's eyes glinted with malice, and Ivy could feel the weight of the words before they left his lips.

"Welcome to your destiny, Ivy. The real game is only just began.