I stood in front of the imposing gates of Rosendale High, my heart beating wildly in my chest, my body slightly trembling. My chest was heaving with fear of the things that could be lurking in there.

But I have made it this far. It has been two months since my brother died, and I have spent every single moment of that time trying to find a way to gain entry into this school. After doing everything, leaving the pack for a month to make it seem like Skylar North had gone rogue so I could safely take this identity, masking my scent and cloning an alpha scent, and applying again and again every week when their admission opened up till I finally received the letter, I knew I had to go through.

I remember the first time I had come with Valerian. The way he had been so excited about this place. And then the last time I came with him. He had been dead, and he was discarded in that nameless grave.

That necklace. That man. That rose. I was none the wiser despite the time that had passed, but at least, I was here now, with an admission letter, and a greater chance at finding out the truth.

I took in a deep breath, my eyes closing for a long moment. I opened my eyes, then slowly pulled the small trunk I had brought with me. It contained only the male clothes I had bought with the very last of my savings, my brother's letters, a few food items, the light brown contacts pack I had gotten, a few tampons and necessities.

The gates opened, and I pulled the trunk in till I got to the main entrance. It was just as imposing, and a little part of me wanted me to back out of this. Valerian was dead. I could be, too.

But that was the whole point. I didn't know how to live without my brother. Even worse, without trying to find out how he died. Why so many things pointed to it not being suicide. Why they never gave me his suicide letter.

The door opened again, and I pulled the trunk with me and walked into the dark hallways. The hallway was filled with a strong alpha smell and dark fog. It looked very typical of a place that held so many secrets. So many skeletons.

It was eerily quiet, and I could hear the loud thump of my own heart and the tapping of my booted feet.

I closed my eyes. The official had told me to come here. I was already done with all of the clearance requirements and had nothing else to do. I thought that was the scariest part, trying to convince them that I was an alpha, but being here amongst potential killers and being so grossly inexperienced and disadvantaged, it was the worst.

A sudden sound stopped me in my tracks, and I froze, my heart going on overdrive. My knees felt weak, and the only thing that kept me from running out of there was the feel of Valerian's cold hand against mine.

"Who are you?"

I swallowed hard, my chest heaving as I turned. A man was standing behind me, his eyes cold. He had light blonde hair and dark blue eyes that just seemed to fit.

"I am... my name is Kian. I have been granted admission and..."

He looked down at my outstretched hand. "Kian?"

I nodded slowly, biting down on my lips. I hoped that completely ditching my brother's name and my true identity would make whoever killed him attempt a move on me since I was just as weak as him, even weaker. I know it is suicidal, but I needed the truth even if I had to die for it.

"Cute name," he said simply to my disappointment. "What is your room number?"

My eyes widened. "Room number?"

He raised a brow. "Were you admitted as an extra or a regular?"

"Extra," I said, completely oblivious of what that meant, exactly. I just knew that I would be within these walls, and that was all that had mattered then.

Seeing how he was looking at me now, like I was completely stupid, it made me think I had made a grave mistake by accepting this admission.

"Is something wrong?" I asked when he wouldn't say anything, my voice slightly shaky.

He gave a small laugh. "No. I am the head of this hostel. My name is Knox."

He still didn't give me his hand, and I pushed my hand into the pocket of my trousers.

"Nice to meet you."

He nodded. "Problem is, Extras do not have access to anything. This is the part where I show you to your room and roommate and tour you around, but you are an extra. You are neither allowed to have a room to yourself nor are you allowed to use the amenities with us."

My heart immediately dropped to my stomach. What? They had those sorts of admissions here? But... Valerian was admitted as an extra, too.

Does that mean... he never even had a room, couldn't use anything, and just...

My heart sank. I didn't expect to meet something like this on the very first day.

"What am I allowed to use?" I asked, my chest heaving.

He sized me up again, then sighed and leaned away from the door. That was when I noticed he was shirtless and had a full sleeve of tattoos on both hands.

"You look a bit innocent, so I will give you a small briefing, but lunch is in two hours, and you will understand exactly what I mean."

I immediately followed him, and he led me across the long hallways before we finally reached a large opening. My jaw fell open as I took in the place. It was like a mega city on its own, with almost everything I could think of.

A large fountain in the middle, and the building extended upstairs and just kept going till I couldn't see anything anymore.

I turned to him, and he was already looking at me.

"Welcome to Rosendale. We have only a few rules here. Most of them apply to everyone, but some of them are for only extras."

I nodded, my eyes fixed on him. I wondered if Valerian had felt this intimidated, this alone. I wondered if he wanted to give up, too.

"First and foremost, don't use the gym while we use it. You can use it after if you find it open."

I nodded. I had no intention of using the gym.

"As an extra, you are Rosendale pack's equivalent of an omega, so you can't eat with us either. You can eat after we are done eating if there are any scraps remaining."

Okay, what the fuck?

"Three. You can sleep anywhere, but you have no room assigned. You can beg anyone without a roommate, and if they let you, then fine. If they don't, the dining, library, or whatever, those are big enough. You are pretty scrawny anyway."

"Wait. Where do I take a bath and, you know... toilet?"

He shrugged. "There are public restrooms, but they are not cleaned, and you will have to do it yourself."

I swallowed. Hell. This place is hell.

"Four. You have an alpha scent, but you are technically an omega to us."

"Is there a way to climb up the ranks?"

"You don't know what you are talking about," he said with a laugh. "You will never be able to climb up ranks in here."

"Why? I have an alpha scent and..."

"Ask your wolf if it can scent mine."

I held my breath and focused. She could, but only faintly. I focused harder, and she immediately whimpered. Too strong. My eyes met his, and he gave a small smile.

"I will not investigate just how weak your alpha potential is as that is not my business. But if your wolf can not stand mine, you have no chance here. We fight shit out in here. For food, for survival. And I am not exactly the strongest. Take the scraps, or risk that pretty face. We don't know mercy, Kian. We know war. We know blood. You get me?"

I nodded slowly. Is that... perhaps, how Valerian died? Because he tried to climb up the ranks? Because he tried to defy the norms?

"As I was saying, unless an alpha singles you out for a fight, don't volunteer. They don't like the omega stench, and the cemetery happens to be big enough."

I clenched my fists as he gave a small smile, then turned away.

"Is that why you wouldn't shake me?"

He laughed, then shook his head. "The last time I shook someone..." He trailed off, then raised his left hand. It was limp and very obviously useless. My eyes widened, and he chuckled. "Exactly."

I felt my blood run cold. I had imagined a school of well trained men and order. This was a jungle, and I have walked right in the middle of it.

"Last," he said, then met my eyes. "Treat this as the most important rule, Kian."

I straightened a bit, something in his eyes telling me my life in here would depend on it.

"Do everything you can to avoid the Princes of Rosendale. Avoid them with your life."

Something about the way he had said it, the grim urgency in his voice, the seriousness in his eyes, it made something in my brain tick off. The part of my brain that was desperate to know what happened to my brother went off, and I couldn't help but ask.

"Who... who are these princes?"

He gave a small smile, but his eyes held pain, and I could see that he hated them. Maybe not hate, but...

"You do know their families. I think they were called the powerful four on the outside."

My eyes widened. Everyone knew the powerful four. The families that held the reigns of the packs and made the rules for everyone else. They also produced some of the strongest, most capable wolves, and it made it even harder to overthrow them or even attempt to rebel.

"A descendant from each of those families lives in these walls, and soon enough, you will see them. Just make sure to steer clear. One or two of them might be friendly, and they might not even mean any harm, but their wolves are powerful like that, and the weaker you are, the higher chance you have of being sniffed to death by one of them."

I swallowed hard, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. The Carpenter family, the Sanders' family, the Stone family, and the Dionte Family. They were the powerful four.

Eros. The man with the necklace. Could he be part of these people? Could that be why the official had been so keen on protecting him?

"How do I know them?" I asked, looking up to Knox.

"They are mostly together. They have private gyms, dinings, and libraries, but sometimes they get bored and attend the duelling classes. I am just saying this so you know, but don't ever accept a duel with any of them."

I bit down on my lips. He still wasn't answering my questions. I needed their names. I needed to know who these people are.

"The son of the Stone family, Alpha Kyran Stone," he started, and my ears immediately perked. "The Carpenter family's son, Alpha Karl Carpenter. The son of the Sanders' family, Alpha Eugene Sanders."

My brows furrowed. What of the Dionte family? I have so far not heard a name that had anything to do with that necklace. Maybe he just wasn't part of them? Maybe he was a regular student?

I swallowed. The Dionte family was much stronger than the other three, for reasons unknown to anyone. They wielded so much power that it was unfair, but it's not like a lowly omega like me who could barely prevent her only brother's untimely death would be able to do anything about a family like that.

"I am sure you are wondering about the last of them," Knox said, and I turned to him. He was looking down at his limp left hand, his brows drawn.

For the first time since he started talking to me, he looked extremely angry, like he could kill someone.

"The Dionte family son?"

He didn't reply, but I saw just how much darker his gaze got as he watched his hand.

"Did he do that to you?" I asked, my voice low and cautious.

He swallowed, then looked up to me. His eyes were filled with angry tears, and he broke into his customary smile.

"You are the observant one, huh?"

I gave a small shrug. "Well. I am just trying to make sure I survive."

He gave a small chuckle. "It is the best way to live in here. By surviving. You know, I actually like you. There is something..." He trailed off, his eyes sizing me up.

I swallowed hard and moved a little further away. It was way too early for me to be causing suspicions. I haven't even gotten a place to stay yet.

"You have some sort of comfortable energy around you. Why would you come in here?"

To find Eros. To find out what really happened to my brother. All of it was at the tip of my tongue, but I could never say it if I wanted to get there.

"I guess it looked fun."

He laughed. "I guess it looks like that from the outside. Well, I am off. I would have loved to have you as my roommate, but we don't have a slot. I will try to ask around for you, however. They are more likely to give it to me than to you."

"Why are you helping me?"

"You seem different," he said with a small shrug. "And you remind me of someone else with your rather feminine features."

My eyes widened. Could he be talking about...

"I think his name was Valerian?" Knox continued, ripping my heart out with one careless sentence. "He was just like you. I almost threw my roommate out for him but someone else took him in. It was the first of its kind, that act of kindness. I don't know why he did that, but since Valerian ended up dead... I wish I had kept him as my roommate instead."

I was trying my best not to cry, hearing someone else talk about my brother's death like it was nothing. My heart broke all over again, and I felt like dying.

"Are you okay?" Knox suddenly asked, and I quickly wiped away the stubborn tears, my hands shaky. I forced a small smile as I looked up to him, my chest heaving hard.

"I... who is this kind person who took him in? I might be able to convince him to take me in, too."

All humour left Knox's eyes, and I almost took a step away from him just from how dangerous he looked. "I doubt he would," he said, his voice thick with hatred as he pulled out his left hand again. "The same person who took Valerian in... is the same person who did this to my hand, simply because I refused a duel, knowing what he could do."

"What?"

"Eros," he said, his voice low. "Eros Dionte, the worst monster of them all."

I stood there frozen to the spot as Knox walked away, saying something about how I should come with him to lunch so I could at least be well fed while I look for a room.

My mind, however, was somewhere else, and my vision was blurred. I could barely even think clearly. Eros Dionte. Everything seems to point right to him. He was Valerian's roommate, and it is a no-brainer to assume that he was the only one in that room with Valerian. Not just that, the necklace. The rose. My... if he was the one with the rose, what... was the connection to my dreams? Why have I been seeing him in my dreams ever since I turned eighteen?

I slowly leaned to the floor, my hands covering my face, my eyes closed. This was getting a little more entangled. What if the person with the rose was just... someone else? Not Eros?

It would simply make Eros my brother's killer, but then I would have to find the person with the rose. The man in my dreams.

"Who are you?"

I looked up, then immediately straightened. A tall guy was staring me down. He didn't look like a student, however, considering the suit and how elderly he looked.

"I... I am a new student."

He sized me up, then pointed towards the long corridors. "Well, stop hanging in the hallways, then."

"Yes, sir."

He turned away, and I pulled the small bag Ichad with me. I had no idea where to go or what to do, and I made my way around until I finally got to the cafeteria. It was empty, but I could see a massive feast being prepared. Amongst all of the preparations that seemed to be for all of the students was a small crew of chefs that seemed to be working on something else.

I watched keenly as I put my bag down, my brows furrowed. They were using expensive dishes, and from the look of the meat they were using, it was an expensive premium. Plus, they were lacing e everything with gold.

I sat on one of the seats, hoping no one would push me out of it. With the descriptions that Knox had given me, I was seriously doubting it.

As if everything was against me, the bell suddenly started to ring.

I jumped in my seat and looked up. There was nothing. Well, at least for the first ten minutes after the bell went off.

It was like a chain reaction, as doors suddenly started to open. The sounds of feet filled the hallways, and it filled me with even more anxiety because I couldn't see anyone. I grabbed the edge of my seat and held my breath as the cafeteria doors started to open.

A few came in running, others were calmer about the prospect of lunch, but none of them even looked at where I was. I started to realize that the door I had come in through was still unopened, and everyone else was using the door I was facing instead.

Is this because of the path they took coming down here or...

I swallowed hard and looked around. I was in an enclosed area away from the rest of the cafeteria. The seat I was on was a beautiful cushion filled lounge seat, while the others had normal seats. My eyes widened as I watched the others get served food.

From where I was sitting, I saw Knox walk in with two others, his eyes thin with laughter, but his eyes were wandering like he was looking out for me.

In this hellish place, he seemed to be a beacon I could at least look out for. I started to grab my bag when the door I had come in through suddenly opened.

I froze, immediately breaking into cold sweat. I turned, and the chefs I had seen earlier started to push food trolleys down to where I was sitting. I could see the envious eyes that followed the trays of food, and soon enough, all eyes were on me.

A hush fell on the crowd, and I held my breath, my chest heaving hard, my heart beating wild. I could hear my wolf protesting hard, but my feet had frozen to the spot, and not even the extreme fear I felt could push me to walk.

The food was soon laid out on the large oak table in front of me, and the servers walked away without even looking up to me. I tightened my grip around the bag and turned, but stopped as I hit a hard chest.

My heart sank to my feet immediately. Hell, I can't get in trouble now. I can't. I just came here.

"Who is this?" Came an averagely deep but playful voice, followed by a small snicker. "Are you a mew student?"

I looked up, and a tall, blonde haired man was staring back at me. He was... beautiful. Dark blue eyes that resembled dark waters under full moon and plump red lips that made me miss having a mate. He looked genuinely friendly, too, his brows slightly arched up.

"Yes?" He asked when I wouldn't say anything, his eyes slightly widening.

I shook my head, then looked back up at him, hoping that I would at least be able to get a grip of myself.

"I... I am a new student."

He nodded slowly as he walked around me, then took a seat. I watched as he served himself a glass of wine and crossed his legs.

"I am sorry. I lost my way and..."

"It happens," he said with a laugh. "You look flustered enough, so you should probably use the door before the others come."

Hell, I could stare at his face all day, but I also knew that this had to be one of the prices of Rosendale. The last set of people I wanted to have any sort of altercation with.

"Thank you," I said, then grabbed my bag and turned, just as the door opened.

I stopped, sandwiched between the chair I was just leaving and the person who had just entered.

Something seemed to shift in the air with the presence of this person. I could hardly breathe, and my wolf that had been on a rampage throughout was suddenly calm. Almost submissive.

"Who are you?"

It was the deepest, darkest voice I have ever heard in my life. But it wasn't unfamiliar. It sounded the same as the voice in my dreams. It felt the same.

The clenching of my heart, my inability to breathe or to think.

I slowly looked up to the man in front of me, my heart sinking to my feet. He was tall, and I felt my breath cease as I met his eyes.

Dark red hair framed his face on both sides, but the rest of his hair was an extremely dark black. His eyes were the same colour as his eyes. Dark red surrounded by a hollow black that I seemed to just sink into.

I took a step back, my knees weakening. He was... the same man. The same man I have been seeing in my dreams for years. The same man who had dropped the rose.

I looked down to his neck. He had a gold necklace that said the name Eros. Just like the one I had recovered from Valerian's body.

His neck had a long line of tattoos, and he was easily the most well-built man I have ever seen.

"He is a new student, Eros."

My heart did a flip at the sound of that name, and I could barely keep myself together. I looked up to Alpha Eros' face once more, and his eyes had thinned, his brow slightly raised.

Without a word, he brushed past me, his shoulders lightly brushing mine, electricity passing through me like a wave.

His scent filled me up, and I just stood there, unable to move.

"Where are the rest?"

The other man asked but was met with cold silence from Eros. I immediately grabbed my bag and ran away.