Thanks to the house war, Principal Jameson had instantly announced a campus-wide curfew. No one was allowed outside their dorms after seven p.m., and each house was to stay strictly on its own turf. If students needed something, they had to inform their house prefect.
But what about the rogues? Who would they notify if they needed anything?
Luckily for Violet, Lila, and Ivy, they didn’t require much at that moment. The three of them were sprawled on the living-room floor of the shack, bellies full from dinner, and too lazy to make a move.
It was a good thing they’d hauled back enough food, so they wouldn’t need to journey to the Silver Court for breakfast tomorrow. Even better, none of it would spoil, all thanks to Lila who had cast a quick preservation spell of some sort over it.
"The lights are going to be an issue," Ivy mumbled, glancing at her power bank, whose battery was nearly dead.
"We’ll charge our gadgets tomorrow at school," Violet told her, "and in a day or two, we can figure out hooking up the electrical lines."
The idiots in charge had cut off any supply of light to the rogues’ house. Currently, the girls relied on a stash of old candles they’d discovered in the musty storage room, left behind by the shack’s previous owners.
Amid the clutter, they’d found the candle holder, a battered stove, some skateboards that might help them zip to school, plus a hopelessly broken bicycle. There was more in there, but it was too late—and too dark—to sift through it all.
Ivy rolled to face Lila. "You have magic, so can’t you, like, charge my phone to one hundred percent or something?"
Lila, who seemed miles away, turned her head just enough to scowl. "Don’t bother me." Then she went back to staring at the ceiling.
Ivy pouted. "You’re so weird." With a huff, she flopped back down. "If I ever get powers," she grumbled, "I want the ability to charge anything at will. Perhaps then, I’d charge your brain, too." She definitely meant that as an insult.
Violet snorted a laugh, pressing her palm to her mouth to stifle the noise. Her attention went to Lila, noting that although she was physically present, her mind was clearly somewhere else. Not just that, her eyes were distant, empty, as if she were drifting in a dream or something.
Curiosity rose in Violet. Was this some Fae thing? When was Lila finally going to teach her more about her Fae roots, and everything she was capable of? Violet was growing impatient.
Suddenly, Ivy burst back into the room, making Lila gasp sharply. In that same moment, the vacant look vanished from Lila’s eyes, as if she’d just been pulled out of wherever her mind had wandered.
All three girls sat up, just as Daisy appeared clutching Ivy’s tablet, the one she’d borrowed earlier. She looked breathless with excitement. "I think I just found something you’re going to want to see."
They exchanged glances, and Violet spoke for them all. "Go on."
Daisy settled herself on the floor, flipping the screen around so they could see. "So I spent hours digging through Lunaris’s old history archives, and look what I found..."
She turned the tablet toward them, revealing an ancient photograph of a couple. Confusion flickered across their faces as they clearly had no idea who these people were.
"What about them? Are we supposed to know them or what?" Ivy inquired.
"These are the true founders of Lunaris Academy... kind of," Daisy began, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"During the Great War between humans and werewolves, back when they were ruthlessly pursued, driven from their homes, and often met with hostility or worse. Right on this land, Roy Raymond, and his wife, Abigail Raymond, both ordinary humans with no children of their own, risked their lives to shelter and protect young werewolves. They believed since the gods refused to give them a child, it was their duty to safeguard the innocent ones that the society feared, misunderstood and cut down simply for existing. "
"They hid them," Daisy continued. "Took them in when no one else would. Fed them, protected them. For years, they offered sanctuary to young werewolves who had nowhere else to go, shielding them from human soldiers and bounty hunters who sought to exterminate them."
Daisy’s tone suddenly darkened.
"Of course, those were dangerous times.
Tragically, Roy and Abigail’s compassion did not go unnoticed by those hostile to werewolves. They were eventually discovered and executed, paying the ultimate price for helping the persecuted.
"But that wasn’t the end of their story. Among the children they saved was a boy who would later become the first Alpha King. He never forgot their sacrifice and took on their surname, ’Raymond’. When the war finally reached a stalemate, and the hunting of werewolves began to subside, he sought to create a safe haven
for the wolves. He built the first house of Lunaris Academy, not as a school, but as a refuge. A sanctuary where werewolves could grow strong, train, and learn to defend themselves in a world that had once sought to erase them."
It made sense now to Violet why the wolves had such power over Lunaris Academy. Humans didn’t belong here. This place was theirs — even if it was first owned by a human.
"As times changed," Daisy said, " Human views on werewolves shifted as well, the Academy evolved with it. What was once a secret refuge became a structured institution, where werewolves could not only train in combat but learn the skills they needed to survive in a world that would never fully be theirs."
And then came the part everyone already knew.
"But the human government was never comfortable with what they didn’t understand. After all, a school filled with trained werewolves sounded more like an army being bred in secret. They wanted oversight. Control. And the easiest way to get it was integration."
"The government demanded that humans be admitted. And it was not just any humans, but hand-selected ones, precisely those from influential families. Those who could be trusted to return to their world with ’understanding’ and a firm leash on them," Daisy explained. "And for years, that’s how it was. Werewolves and humans learn side by side, but never as equals."
"Eventually, the system began to expand and the public became upset with such exclusivity. The government finally proposed that the Academy shouldn’t just be a place for the privileged. The common public alike should have the same opportunity to attend, regardless of their status."
Her lips pressed together.
"But let’s be real. The Academy was never going to open its gates freely to just anyone. So the Conscription was born. Now, every eighteen-year-old in their last year of high school is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend Lunaris Academy to ensure equality of opportunity and foster a more peaceful coexistence. Or so they claim. "