Chapter 1
THE UNIVERSITY
There were places in the world where humans lived ordinary lives without ever knowing what existed beyond them.
Blackthorn Village was one of those places.
The village was surrounded by thick forests, tall mountains, and an old river that ran through the edge of the land. It was quiet most of the time. Too quiet, according to some of the villagers. At night, the forest became completely dark, and people rarely walked outside after sunset.
The villagers had their reasons.
There were stories about creatures living beyond the forest. Stories about vampires who never grew old, wolves who could become men, and witches who could control things that ordinary humans could never understand.
Of course, nobody openly believed those stories.
At least, that was what they told themselves.
Long ago, humans and supernaturals had lived in the same world, but they lived very different lives. Vampires had their own territories. Werewolves had their packs and lands. Witches kept to themselves, hidden among humans.
There were rules between them.
Humans were not supposed to know too much.
Supernaturals were not supposed to interfere with human life.
And most importantly, they were never supposed to expose their true nature.
But rules had never stopped people from falling in love.
Many years ago, a powerful witch fell in love with a human man.
Nobody knew exactly how they met.
Some said it happened in the forest. Others said they met in the village when they were young.
Whatever the truth was, they fell deeply in love.
But someone hated their love.
The witch had an older sister.
And her sister wanted the human man for herself.
She had loved him first in her own mind. She believed that because she was the elder sister, because she was powerful, and because she belonged to an ancient magical bloodline, he should have chosen her.
But he chose her younger sister.
That choice changed everything.
Jealousy became hatred.
Hatred became an obsession.
And the obsession eventually became murder.
The younger witch knew her sister wanted her dead.
She knew she could not stop what was coming.
So before her death, she used the last of her magic to protect the one thing she loved more than anything else.
Her daughter.
She sealed the girl’s powers deep inside her.
The magic was hidden so completely that even other witches would not be able to sense it.
Her daughter would grow up believing she was human.
She would live.
She would be safe.
At least, that was the plan.
The witch died when her daughter was only two years old.
Her husband disappeared not long after.
Nobody knew where he went.
Some believed he had died.
Others believed he had left because he could not bear the pain of losing his wife.
But the truth was known only to a few people.
And one of those people was the man’s sister.
Mara Vale.
She took the little girl in and raised her as her own.
She never told her about witches.
She never told her about vampires or wolves.
She never told her what her mother had really been.
And she certainly never told her why her father had disappeared.
For eighteen years, the secret remained buried.
Until Elara Vale turned eighteen.
Elara stood in front of the old mirror in her bedroom, holding a letter in both hands.
She had read it so many times that she could almost remember every word.
Congratulations.
That was how the letter began.
She smiled again.
“You’re still staring at it.”
Elara turned around.
Amara was sitting on the edge of her bed, eating a packet of chips as if she had been invited to live there.
“I can’t believe it,” Elara said.
“You’ve said that about twenty times.”
“Because I still can’t believe it.”
Selene laughed from beside the window.
“You’re acting like they offered you the university for free.”
“They accepted me,” Elara said excitedly. “That’s enough.”
Amara raised an eyebrow.
“You applied to three other universities.”
“I know.”
“And they all rejected you.”
Elara frowned.
“Thank you for reminding me.”
“I’m just saying.”
Selene turned from the window.
“You didn’t even expect Ravenwood to accept you.”
“I know.”
That was the strange part.
Elara had never been able to explain why she had applied to Ravenwood University in the first place.
She had seen the university’s name online months ago.
There had been something about the place that immediately caught her attention.
She couldn’t explain it.
She had never visited Ravenwood.
She had never met anyone who studied there.
She didn’t even know much about the university.
But from the moment she saw the picture of its huge black gates surrounded by tall trees, something inside her had changed.
She had wanted to go there.
Not wanted.
Needed.
It was almost like the university had been calling her.
And the feeling made no sense.
Especially because everyone in Blackthorn Village seemed to have something strange to say about the place.
“People say Ravenwood is creepy,” Amara said.
“They say that about everything,” Elara replied.
“No, seriously.” Amara lowered her voice dramatically. “My cousin’s friend went there last year.”
Selene rolled her eyes.
“Your cousin has about fifteen different friends who supposedly went there.”
“This one is real.”
“Sure.”
Amara ignored her.
“She said the university is different at night.”
Elara laughed.
“Different how?”
“I don’t know. She said the whole place feels… strange.”
“That sounds dramatic.”
“She also said she heard howling in the forest behind the school.”
Selene looked at her.
“That’s because there are probably wolves in the forest.”
Amara stared at her.
“You’re not helping.”
Elara laughed.
“You two are ridiculous.”
But despite her laughter, something about the conversation made her uncomfortable.
Because she had heard the same stories.
Everyone in the village had.
Ravenwood University was not like other universities.
It was huge, old, and surrounded by forest. The university had existed for generations, long before most of the buildings in Blackthorn Village had even been built.
People said strange things happened there.
Students disappeared for days and returned without explaining where they had been.
Some students claimed they had seen people walking through the forest at night.
Others said they had seen students with strange eyes.
And there were stories about people who never seemed to age.
Elara didn’t believe any of it.
At least, she didn’t think she did.
She looked down at her acceptance letter again.
“I start next month.”
Amara smiled.
“Which means we’re all starting together.”
Selene nodded.
“Finally.”
Elara smiled.
She had spent most of her life in Blackthorn Village.
She had never traveled far.
She had never lived anywhere else.
And now, for the first time, she was going to leave.
She was excited.
But somewhere deep inside her, there was also a strange feeling she couldn’t explain.
Almost like she had been waiting for Ravenwood University long before she ever knew it existed.
Downstairs, Mara stood in the kitchen staring at the letter in Elara’s hands.
She had already seen it.
She had already begged Elara not to go.
She had tried everything.
She had told her Ravenwood was too far away.
She had told her the university had a terrible reputation.
She had even told her she could attend another school.
Elara had refused.
And Mara knew she could not force her.
She watched Elara laughing with her friends upstairs.
Her heart sank.
There were things Elara didn’t know.
Things Mara had spent eighteen years protecting her from.
She knew what Ravenwood really was.
She knew who lived there.
And she knew what could happen if Elara entered those gates.
Mara closed her eyes.
“Please don’t go,” she whispered.
But upstairs, Elara was already packing.
She had no idea that the moment she walked through the gates of Ravenwood University, the life she thought she knew would begin to fall apart.
She had no idea that vampires existed.
She had no idea that werewolves existed.
She had no idea that witches existed.
And most importantly…
She had no idea that she was one of them.
