Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
ARDEN
+5 Free Coins ree Coins
The library was quiet except for the occasional rustle from the front desk. Elara was busy as usual, and she couldn’t even fully acknowledge our presence when we arrived.
The first round of the Academy Eliminations was tomorrow, and Elias and I had been going over everything from strategy manuals to history textbooks, trying to prepare for whatever was coming.
My eyes ached from reading. My brain buzzed with so much information, I was sure I’d start dreaming in battle formations.
“I’m going to look for more books,” I mumbled, rising from my seat.
Elias nodded, still focused. “Try the far left wing. The archives have some older stuff. Could be useful.”
I wandered deeper into the library, my fingers skimming along leather–bound spines and gold–lettered titles. The smell of paper and time was thicker here, comforting and strange all at once. Most of the books hadn’t been touched in decades.
Something called to me.
I don’t know how else to explain it. A hum beneath the silence. A faint tug in my chest. Like a whisper without sound.
I turned down a narrow aisle I hadn’t noticed before. My hand paused on one of the books-
a small, unassuming thing. The leather was cracked and faded, and it didn’t have a title unlike the others.
Still, I pulled it off the shelf.
My heart beat just a little faster as I cradled it in my hands and walked back to our table. Elias looked up when I returned.
“Found something?”
I nodded slowly, taking my seat again.
It didn’t look like any ordinary book. I opened it to the first page and realized what it was.
1/7
5
OT M
N
15:47 Tue, Aug 5
85%
0
X
Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
A diary.
The handwriting was loopy and feminine, the ink faded to a soft brown.
+5 Free Coins
I’m so excited to be in Elite! I never thought I’d make it past the entrance exams, but here I am. The campus is even more beautiful than I imagined.‘
‘They say there’s a new headmaster. He’s kind, apparently. He reformed the dorms, opened new resource centers, and even allowed certain wolves from lesser packs to apply. Everyone’s saying he’s changing everything.‘
I blinked. The date was marked clearly at the top: August 13, 2006.
Nine years ago.
It was when Winters recently approved of the new point system.
I turned the page. The next entry was just as cheerful. The girl wrote about her classes, her friends, and how she was planning to join the Healers Guild. There were sketches in the margins–flowers, wolves, initials.
But as I kept reading… something changed.
The ink got darker. More rushed. The entries shorter.
“There’s something off. I can’t explain it. I just feel… watched.‘
‘He was there again. I turned around, and he was just standing there. Smiling. But it didn’t reach his eyes.‘
I swallowed. My fingers trembled slightly.
‘No one believes me. I told my dormmate, but she said I was imagining things. Still, he’s always there. I don’t like it.‘
The handwriting became messier, unsteady.
‘I can’t leave. I tried to ask for a pass to visit home, but they said I was needed for a special project. What does that even mean?‘
‘Aileen is gone. They said she dropped out, but her things were still in the room. All her clothes. Her photos. She would never leave without them.‘
5
IT M N |||
O
<
2/7
15:47 Tue, Aug 5
85%
X
Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
My breath caught in my throat.
I turned another page, and something fell out.
A photograph.
+5 Free Coins
Three girls, smiling with arms around each other, standing in front of the main Elite gates. The girl in the middle wore a small gold necklace, delicate and familiar.
No.
I dug into my bag and pulled out the necklace we’d found in the hidden cellar. I held them side by side.
They were identical.
I flipped to the final entry. My eyes darted across the words, nearly unreadable now. The handwriting shook.
‘He told me to stay quiet. He said it was for the good of the school. That I was special. I don’t feel special. I feel like I’m being watched every second. The others are gone.‘
‘Please… I don’t want to go.‘
‘I still want to meet my mate.‘
“Whoever finds this… please, don’t let him win.”
The last page was blank.
“Hey,” Elias said quietly, “are you alright?”
I hadn’t noticed how tightly I was gripping the pages until he reached across and gently pried one of my hands away.
“I…” My voice shook. “Yeah. I just… I need a second.”
He studied me, concern in his features. “We don’t have to keep going today. If you’re tired-”
“No,” I said quickly. “No, I’m okay.”
But I wasn’t.
9
5
QTMN
III O <
3/7
X
Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
+5 Free Coins
This was proof. It was not solid, undeniable proof, but it was enough to know that the rabbit hole went even deeper than we thought. These girls–these victims–had been trapped for nearly ten years. And no one even remembered their names.
I glanced at Elias.
If there was anyone who knew more about this country, it would be him.
And as much as it terrified me, I knew I had to ask.
I turned to him.
He was back to flipping through one of the preparation manuals, focused again.
I cleared my throat. “Elias?”
He hummed, still scanning a page.
“What do you think about Headmaster Winters?”
The question cut through the silence. Elias stilled. His fingers paused mid–turn, and he didn’t speak for a long moment.
Then, softly, he closed the book and leaned back in his chair. “That’s… a complicated question.”
“I know,” I said. “But I want to know your honest opinion.”
He looked up at me now, something unreadable in his eyes. “You really want to know what I think?”
I nodded.
A
He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “I think this school is too good to be true.”
My brows furrowed.
“I mean,” he continued, “look at it, Arden. Elite is the most prestigious academy in the country. Maybe even the continent. The facilities are state–of–the–art. The curriculum is intense, innovative, and powerful. It trains warriors, strategists, healers, scholars, and diplomats all under one roof. It produces the best of the best. We all came here because of that. Because everyone says this is the place where greatness is born.”
5
9
MN
|||
O
<
4/7
15:47 Tue, Aug 5 GDG
85%
D
X
Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
He shook his head.
+5 Free Coins
“I think the system isn’t fair, though,” he let out a soft laugh. “It’s designed not to be. The points, the competition, the social hierarchy… they don’t just reward strength or brilliance. They reward ruthlessness. Obsession. This place doesn’t bring out the best in people–it brings out the worst. And the school pretends that’s a good thing. That it’s some sort of preparation for the real world.”
My throat tightened.
“That’s what they think the United Factions is for,” he added matter–of–factly. “To breed that competition. To show that power means survival. That ambition beats morality.”
“But… wasn’t the United Factions created for peace?” I asked. “Bethany started the Breaking. That was supposed to mean harmony. Unity in diversity.”
Elias nodded solemnly. “Bethany’s whole vision was that different people–different kinds of wolves–could work together. That diversity made us stronger. And she proved it. That’s why she became Praetor in the first place. That’s why she’s been reelected all these years. Because she gave people hope.”
He exhaled hard. “I think Winters doesn’t believe in that. He believes in conquest. In domination through excellence. He believes in winning at any cost.”
I rubbed my fingers over the old diary. “You don’t agree with it.”
“No,” he said simply. “But I’m part of it. We all are. We chose to come here, didn’t we? We wanted what Elite offered. And it does offer something remarkable. I can’t lie about that. The education, the connections, the sheer prestige… It’s unmatched.”
“But it’s still too good to be true,” I murmured.
He met my eyes. “In situations like these, where everything looks perfect on the outside… ask yourself this. If it were a war strategy–perfectly executed, clean, without a single loss–would you believe it?”
I frowned.
“No blood. No mess. Just success.” He tilted his head. “Do you really think no one’s been hurt? Or do
you think the losses were swept under the rug?”
My mouth went dry.
O
O
5
OOT
OT MN
9
|||
О
517
Aug
O
85%
X
Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
+5 Free Coins
“I know students who came to Elite and never returned home,” he said quietly. “You probably do, too. But it’s always written off as psychosis. Mental instability. The pressure got to them. They cracked.”
He tapped the table softly. “You know what happens to wolves who break down in this school? They’re shunned. Treated like they never existed.”
My hand tightened around the photo.
“What about the point system?” I asked suddenly. “It started off with small stuff, but now students… they’re expected to have sex with others. To gain points. That’s not just toxic—it’s anti–mate. Anti–everything our kind believes in.”
Elias sighed, rubbing his temples. “I know. But at Elite, wolves are trained to see their mates as an afterthought. Something optional. What matters more is climbing the ranks. Power over fate.”
He leaned back again. “We’re conditioned to like it that way. It makes us strong and untouchable. That’s one part I agree with.”
I frowned. So, it seemed Elias still agreed with some of the values that Mr. Winters instilled.
“But… can you read into why Winters is running for Praetor?” I asked darkly.
“It’s simple,” Elias replied. “If he wins, Arden… he won’t just change this school. He’ll remake the United Factions in his own image. That same hierarchy. That same hunger. It’ll become a place where only the strongest survive–and the rest are forgotten.”
“But can’t the people see that this isn’t beneficial?” I asked, frustration bubbling in my chest. “Don’t they see what’s happening?”
“They see the surface,” Elias said. “Like most people do. They see the glory. The triumph. The results. Not the damage.”
He looked at me, and for the first time, his eyes were solemn. “I think you’ve dived too deep, Arden.”
I flinched. “What do you mean?”
“There are things in this school,” he said carefully, “things we aren’t meant to find to look into. People who’ve tried to pull back the curtain haven’t exactly made it out whole.”
I was silent for a moment, watching the light shift through the stained glass window, casting
5
9
TMN
|||
O
6/7
15:48 Tue, Aug 5
O
X
Chapter 73 A Hidden Diary
fractured colors across the floor.
“Let it go,” he muttered, going back to his book without a care.
I felt suffocated.
I stood.
I needed air. I needed space. I needed Cade.
+5 Free Coins
Without another word, I slipped the diary into my bag and walked briskly out of the library. The words from the girl’s journal echoed through my mind like a ghost.
Please, don’t let him win.
And I wouldn’t.
Not if I could help it.
5
