Chapter 9 Close Call(Valeria's POV)

I couldn't stop shaking.

Back in the dorm, the door clicked shut behind me, and I slid down the frame, my knees hitting the floor hard.

My heart was still hammering from Combat Strategy. I touched my nose, still sore, still bruised. Still not healing.

Cassian hadn't said a word to me all the time we managed to catch sight of each other, which was somehow worse than if he had.

He knew something.

I saw it in the way he looked at me after I bled. The flash in his eyes, not of concern, but calculation like he was trying to catch onto something.

And I bet he was. I was like a puzzle now. Something he was trying to figure out.

I pulled open the drawer where I kept my wolfsbane vial and froze.

Empty.

Panic slammed into me like a punch to the gut.

"No, no, no-" I breathed.

Where was my stash?

I didn't want to go there, but I was convinced that Cassian had a hand in my things going missing.

The next full moon was in two nights. And tomorrow was inspection day.

Every room checked. Every student screened. And every hidden thing turned out.

I didn't know much about it but when I heard the juniors talking about it, my insides have been twisting.

I had hours, barely considered days anymore, before patrols started their sweeps.

I stared at the empty vial in my hand and felt my world crashing in on me.

I had to move. Now.

I tossed on a hoodie, shoved the empty vial into my pocket, and pulled up the hood. No time to overthink it.

I slipped out the door and into the hallway.

The academy was quiet. Most students were either asleep or pretending to be.

There were patrols, checkpoints, late-night duels behind the east wall. I kept to the darker corridors, staying out of sight, keeping my head down.

The only place I was sure to get wolfsbane was down near the abandoned greenhouse behind the east wing close to the woods.

A risky spot. It was out of bounds after dusk and crawling with patrol, but if I didn't get what I needed, they'd find out what I was.

And that couldn't happen. I wasn't ready to leave yet.

I broke into a sprint.

My feet pounded against the grass, cutting through the empty courtyard, past the fencing class building and down the hill behind the supply towers.

That's when I heard it.

Voices. Two, maybe three. Muffled. Too close.

I ducked behind a stone statue, heart racing, listening.

"...headmaster wants a full sweep this time," a male voice said. "No exceptions."

"We're starting in the eastern wing tonight," another said. "Word is there's a rat slipping through curfew checks."

I swallowed hard. That wasn't me but then if I was caught, I would be held responsible.

I waited until their footsteps faded before darting down the slope toward the greenhouse.

The building was half-collapsed, covered in ivy and shadows, the windows cracked and foggy with age. I slipped through the broken side door and crept down the row of old planters until I found the back storage crate.

One knock. Pause. Two knocks. Pause. One more.

The wood creaked open.

"You again?" a voice whispered. Old, raspy, familiar. "You're late, girl."

"Yeah, well," I said, breathless, "I'm out. I need more. Now."

The man-Silo-stepped into the dim moonlight. His white beard caught the glow, making him look like a ghost from some forgotten time. He used to be a healer. Now he was the academy's most discreet rule-breaker.

"You're not even supposed to be using this," he muttered, pulling out a cloth-wrapped bundle.

"You think I'm here for fun?"

He narrowed his eyes, handing it over. "Last time. You're running low too fast. You either double the dose or you're fighting something worse than bloodlust."

"I didn't ask for a lecture."

He snorted. "Didn't give you one. Just advice."

I unwrapped the bundle fast, checking the vial. Full. Glowing faint green. Relief hit me hard and fast, and I shoved it deep in my pocket.

"I owe you."

"You always do."

I turned to leave when he said, "Next moon's a full one. You know what that means."

I nodded once. "I do."

"You slip once, girl, and this place will eat you alive."

"I'm not planning on slipping."

He was the only one on school ground that knew my true identity because he wanted to know what a wolf wanted with wolf's bane apart from hurting another wolf.

I stepped out into the dark again, every nerve on edge. The patrols were circling, and if I got caught out of dorm this late-especially with wolfsbane on me-I was done.

I retraced my steps fast, taking a different path this time. Cutting between the weapons shed and the meditation hall, trying to avoid the checkpoints.

The closer I got to the dorms, the faster I moved. My hoodie was sticking to my back with sweat, and my legs burned from the sprint, but I couldn't stop.

Almost there.

I reached the side of the main building, heart thudding. One more hallway, one more turn, and I was-

"Hey!"

A voice behind me.

I froze.

Flashlight beam. Heavy footsteps. A patrol.

"Stop right there!"

My mind screamed run, but my body locked. Too late.

The guard strode forward, tall, broad, serious. Not a student. This one was staff. Worse.

"What are you doing out here?" he barked.

I stammered, "I-I was feeling sick. Went for air. I'm heading back now."

He eyed me. "At midnight? Without clearance?"

"I didn't think I needed-"

"ID."

My blood turned to ice. "What?"

"Show me your student ID."

I reached slowly for my back pocket, praying I still had it. My fingers fumbled, found it, handed it over.

He scanned it, eyes narrowing. "Val Rhen."

I stiffened.

He looked at me again. Longer this time. "You're the one from combat class today."

My stomach dropped.

"You're the guy who didn't heal."

Every part of me screamed to run. To shift. To do something.

Instead, I tried to smile. "Yeah. Got lucky, I guess."

"Or unlucky," he muttered, flipping my ID back. "You're on the list for inspection tomorrow."

I forced a nod. "Of course."

He stepped closer. Too close.

My hand tightened around the vial in my pocket.

"You smell nervous."

"Long day," I said.

He leaned in, sniffed once. His eyes flared-just a flicker.

He smelled it.

Wolfsbane.

I took a step back.

"Where'd you say you were coming from?"

"I didn't," I said.

His hand went to his belt-radio.

I didn't think.

I ran.

I was almost at the dorm entrance when a second patrol unit rounded the corner-two of them this time.

I skidded to a stop.

"Stop!" one shouted. "Hands up!"

I backed away, breath ragged, mind racing.

There was no way out.

They'd seen me.

And this time, there was no talking my way out.

A hand grabbed my shoulder from behind-strong, fast-and pulled me hard into the shadows.