Chapter 1: The Night I Was Called a "Stray"

I never imagined that my life would turn into h£ll on my first day at my new school.

When the bus loaded with my belongings passed through the gates of Silver Wolf Academy, I still didn't doubt that I was just an ordinary human being. My mother always said, "It's okay to be yourself." With those words in my heart, I came to this mountaintop school as a scholarship student. The uniform was a little too big, and the dorm room was small, but that was fine. All I wanted was to spend three years quietly, undiscovered by anyone.

But the students at this school weren't ordinary.

On the evening of my first day of school, the dorm manager handed me an envelope. She simply said, "You will be joining us for a bonfire under the full moon tonight," without offering any further explanation. Before I could even ask what the ceremony was about, I was led along with the other freshmen to a clearing in the woods behind the academy.

A large bonfire burned in the center of the square, and dozens of students were gathered around it. Everyone seemed strangely calm, gazing at the fire as if this were nothing out of the ordinary. I was the only one, my palms sweating with an inappropriate nervousness.

"Tonight, the blood within you will awaken."

I turned around at the sound of a low, resonant voice, and a man who appeared to be a teacher was standing on the stage. My blood boiled. I didn't understand. I tried to whisper to the girl next to me to ask, but she glanced at me and made a slightly troubled face. She started to say something, but stopped.

As the drums began to beat, the atmosphere around me changed. The eyes of several students began to glow with a golden or silver light. I could hear the sound of fingernails growing and bones creaking. I desperately held back a scream. This wasn't some ritual. This was something that was really happening right before my eyes.

Then it was my turn.

At first it was a fever. A burning heat spread from deep within my stomach, numbing my fingertips. Next I heard a groaning sound that wasn't my own heartbeat. By the time I realized it was coming from my throat, I had already collapsed to my knees.

When I opened my eyes, the world looked different. It was nighttime, yet the outline of the forest was clearly visible. The smell of leaves, the smell of earth, and—someone's gaze.

When I looked up, I saw a boy standing beyond the bonfire. He was tall, with his arms crossed, and he was looking at me from further away than anyone else, as if appraising me. I could see the other students making way for him. It was clear at a glance that he was a special student.

He walked slowly towards me. With each step, I could feel the other students holding their breath. He stopped in front of me and snorted softly, as if checking the scent.

After a few seconds of silence, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

"There is no evidence of a herd."

It was a low, emotionless voice. A murmur rippled through the surrounding crowd.

"This one's a stray."

That single word froze the air in the square. Someone chuckled softly. Someone recoiled. I still didn't understand the weight of those words. But there was clear contempt in his tone.

"What do you mean by 'getting separated'?"

The voice that finally came out was pathetically trembling. No one answered. He—the one the other students called "Ren-sama"—ignored my question and turned his back to me.

"Don't go near it. It doesn't belong to any group."

He said only that and walked through the assembled students, as if I wasn't worth any further involvement from them.

Laughter spread. People pointed at me. Someone said "It stinks" loud enough for me to hear. I just stood there, not even bothering to brush the dirt off my knees. I hadn't expected to make any friends on my first day at my new school. But I never thought I'd make enemies like this either.

As I watched Ren's retreating back in the light of the campfire, I noticed something strange. He turned back one last time. The look in his eyes wasn't contempt. It was something else, closer to bewilderment.

I didn't understand why I made that face at the time.

Even after returning to my dorm room, the trembling in my body wouldn't stop. When I looked in the mirror, I thought I saw a glimpse of golden light flickering in the depths of my eyes for just a split second. I stared at my palms again and again.

Did my mother know? That something like this was dormant within me?

There was no one here who could answer my question.