Chapter 2 The Alpha In Disguise

• SERAPHINA
• Lupine Academy was the most elite training ground for Alpha heirs. A brutal, male-dominated proving ground where the next generation of leaders was forged. The top student didn’t just graduate with honors, he built an empire and ruled every werewolf pack in the realm.
• I had dreamed of it since I was a small child, the tests, the strategy, the raw competition. Of course there was one problem.
• They only accepted males.
• That hadn’t mattered before. I was meant to stay with my pack, as its future. As its Alpha.
• But now?
• An arranged marriage.
• My jaw clenched. Now I would make them choke on their traditions.
• My mind moved fast, replaying every detail I knew about the Academy. New recruits join this time every year. My father had forbidden me from even watching the trials, but if I moved now under cover of night, I could still make it in time.
• I didn’t need permission.
• I needed a disguise and I was already on it.
• “You’re using my son's name to enter The Academy!” Aunt could not believe her ears.
• “Yes,” I replied in short, quickly packing my luggage.
• Her only son was the heir of their pack and he was supposed to go to the Lupine academy but the other day he had actually run away from the pack leaving this form and note behind explaining that he would return to the pack when my aunt and uncle promised not to pressure him. My uncle was yet to learn about it.
• She walked closer to me in a panic, “I admit that you and Seth's features are similar because you are mother and I were twin sisters. But you are a woman, Sera. There are countless things that will get you caught immediately!”
• “I know and I will handle them, Aunt,” I assured her as I took off my blouse and bound my chest with strips of cloth, wincing slightly as I secured it tightly, until my feminine curves disappeared beneath hard lines. Then put on Seth's old clothes from years ago that he had worn only once or twice and packed the rest. They were a little loose on me but they served their purpose.
• My aunt watched me in surprise and then asked, “What about your hair?” As she mentioned it, I stared at my reflection for a long moment. My long hair, raven-black, a mark of Nightbane blood hung in soft waves past my hips. I had grown to be my treasure over the years. “Don’t tell me you are planning to cut it. Your father would immediately feel it and you would be caught before ever having a chance to escape,” she pointed out. In our bloodline our hair was cut only once after we were born and after that females were never allowed to cut their hair. As such acts were seen as a sin and your parents could feel it right away. “And don't forget your scent,” she added.
• “For that….” I looked past her where my friend Lily stood at the door frame, “I have thought of something.”
• Next thing I knew Lily and I stood alone in my bedroom. The moonlight flashed on me through the window as I asked her, “Did you bring it?”
• “The witch said there is nothing that could help you to hide your identity if you shift into your wolf,” she explained.
• “Can’t hide?” A bit on my lip. That meant if I shifted the others would find out I was a she-wolf?!
• “But your scent can be masked,” Lily then handed me a bottle, “you have to wear this perfume on all the time and it will hide your scent forever. Also as long as you wear it you don’t have to cut your hair. The moment you spray this scent, it will create the illusion that your hair is short. As long as you wear this scent, no one will see your long hair. Not even you. It would look like short trimmed hair like men have.”
• I clenched the perfume to my chest with relief. It was a huge disadvantage that I could not hide if I shifted into my wolf but at least I had something to hide my scent and hair. “And if another person can not pick up your scent then you will not be able to pick up their scent.
• I nodded, understanding everything, “Thank you for bringing this to me, Lily.”
• “We are friends, Sera. no need to thank me. But I am so scared for you. You’re running away from an arranged marriage and the person you will be offending is the Alpha King himself. You should think twice about it,” she shook like a dry leaf.
• I sprayed the perfume on my neck while looking at myself in the mirror, Seraphina Nightbane was gone, “I have already thought it through.”
• Only Seth remained.
• Lily did not speak or argue anymore and helped me close my luggage while I grabbed a worn satchel, stuffing it with forged documents. My movements were swift, I wanted to leave before anyone came into my room.
• That’s when Lily slapped her forehead suddenly as if she remembered something. “I forgot to tell you that the witch said that this perfume fails when it comes to true lovers or soulmates. And no one knows when it will fail. It all depends on the strength of the bond and connection between the mates.”
• I paused for a moment then I chuckled, picked up my bag and turned to the window. “Then it means it will never fail because there is no way my mate will be there. I am going there for a throne not for a mate,” saying that, I turned to my bedroom window. It was three stories down. A short drop for a trained wolf.
• With one last glance at the bedchamber I’d once called mine, I pulled open the window, threw my luggage down, let the wind whip against my face, and leapt into the darkness below.
• I ran to the secret path exiting the pack borders. Fast. Silent. Heart pounding in time with my foot falls.
• Tomorrow, the Alpha King would arrive to claim a bride. But by then, I would be gone.
• Not a daughter.
• Not a Luna.
• Not a bargaining chip.
• I had made my choice. If my father refuses to acknowledge my strength, I will prove it elsewhere. And build my own throne to sit upon!