Chapter 770 Tear Through The Ward

Layla’s plan was not to bring down the entire ward. No, not at all. Wards like this usually had alarm systems woven into them to alert the caster of an intrusion, paired with the neighbor-unfriendly zapping meant to deter anyone foolish enough to cross it.

They only needed to create a narrow opening to slip through without triggering the full alarm. The mission had to be swift and subtle. It would be best if no one even noticed that anything had been removed from Roman’s room.

With that in mind, Layla drew out a strange dagger. Runes were etched along its blade, and a ruby was embedded in the hilt. The gem was a deep, liquid red, rippling as though something alive stirred inside it.

Gripping the dagger with both hands, Layla closed her eyes and began to murmur incantations under her breath. Her jaw moved steadily, the words barely audible. It didn’t take long before the runes flared to life, glowing softly and then dimmed, as if sinking back into the metal.

When Layla opened her eyes, she was met with her sister’s satisfied expression.

“Let’s do this,” Laura murmured.

Layla plunged the dagger into the ward and dragged it downward. The air split with a soft, unnatural sound as a tear appeared, peeling back the magic like fabric. Through it, the outer wall of the academy came into view.

Not stopping there, Layla muttered another spell and that corner of the wall dissolved as if it had never existed at all.

Layla stepped through first, Laura following close behind. The moment they crossed the threshold, the wall sealed itself again, leaving the ward intact save for the narrow tear they had carved.

Closing a torn ward they had enacted themselves would be far more difficult, and neither of them wanted to risk delaying their escape.

“We’re in,” Laura breathed. She lifted her hand and swept it over both of them. “And fully cloaked.”

Layla glanced down just in time to see a veil of darkness slide over their forms, subtle and complete. Even if someone looked straight at them, they wouldn’t be seen — unless the observer was a witch, or possessed exceptional power.

Some people, after all, had the rare gift of seeing through glamours.

Then they began to walk through the campus. While night was usually the best time to commit a crime like a break-in, this was Lunaris Academy — a school for werewolves — and night was their playtime. The time when their beasts stepped out to roam.

Even with the silencing spell Laura had placed over them so their footsteps couldn’t be heard, they still had to be careful.

“God, this school is so fucking large,” Layla complained after they’d been walking for a while without getting anywhere close to the dormitories — or the houses, as they called them.

“Who even needs all this space when they’re supposedly here to learn?” she added as they cut through the trees.

“They’re wolves,” Laura replied dryly. “I guess having a healthy amount of space and territory is part of their curriculum. Not to mention—” she leaned in conspiratorially, lowering her voice, “—it gives them enough privacy for the not-so-learning part.”

Both of them burst into quiet laughter, instinctively clapping a hand over their mouths even though the silencing shield was still in place.

“I can’t help but be curious though…” Laura said after a moment, her tone shifting as they walked.

Layla glanced at her. “Curious about what?”

“What our life would’ve looked like if we’d grown up like normal kids,” Laura continued. “If we attended a place like this, do you think it would’ve been better than what we’re living now?”

She kept talking, not realizing that Layla had stopped walking.

When Laura noticed the sudden absence of footsteps, she turned. “Layla?”

Layla stood still, a deep, thoughtful scowl etched onto her face.

Laura retraced her steps and stopped in front of her sister. “Hey,” she whispered gently. “What’s wrong?”

Layla spoke quietly, “I might not know what our life would have looked like, but I’m sure of one thing — we wouldn’t be together.”

Her eyes gleamed with emotion as she reached out and clasped Laura’s cheeks, her grip firm. “This world despises what we are,” she said with conviction. “And I would rather die than live in a world where you don’t exist in it. So no, I’m not curious at all. Back at the village, we can be what we are.”

She straightened, her expression hardening with resolve. “Besides, when our father takes his throne as Alpha King, Lunaris Academy will become our playground. We can attend this school as much as we want, and no one will dare say a word to us then.”

Laura’s eyes lit up, the promise of such a world blooming in her mind and the thought that it might come true soon made her chest ache.

She leaned forward and clasped Layla’s face in her hands as well. “I can’t wait for that world with you,” she whispered.

Their foreheads touched, breath mingling as they stayed like that for a moment, sharing a smile meant only for each other.

But the smile died instantly when a stick creaked nearby.

Layla and Laura froze.

They didn’t see it at first. A brown wolf prowled the ground ahead of them, nose low, sniffing the earth as it moved. Laura and Layla froze instantly, not daring to breathe.

Instead of passing by, the wolf slowed, its head lifting as it sampled the air. It circled once, then again, clearly searching for something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

When its gaze snapped directly toward them, Layla’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

No one could see them — not with the cloak in place — but wolves were supernatural creatures and their senses went far beyond sight. And somehow, it could feel the disturbance in the air, the wrongness of magic where there should be none.

Layla couldn’t read the wolf’s expression the way she would a human’s, but she felt its confusion and the growing certainty that something was off.

The wolf took a step closer.

Laura’s voice trembled as she whispered, “Do you think it can see us?”

Layla didn’t answer.

If the wolf kept coming, invisibility wouldn’t matter because, one accidental collision, and they’d be exposed.

Without hesitation, Layla flicked her wrist and murmured a spell under her breath.

The magic slid out silently, a deterrence spell designed to confuse, twist perception, and nudge the mind away from whatever path it had been following.

The wolf stopped, ears twitching. It shook its head, then turned abruptly, padding off in the opposite direction as if whatever had caught its attention no longer existed.

Just like that, it forgot them.

Laura sagged in relief, finally exhaling. “That was way too close.”

Layla didn’t allow herself the same release. Her jaw was tight, her eyes already scanning the darkness ahead.

“No more delays,” she commanded. “Let’s get this over with.