Rise of the Banished She-Wolf (Evelyn) novel Chapter 17

The quiet hum of the library’s air conditioning provided a steady backdrop as I flipped through old computer science journals. Seattle University’s library was practically deserted this early in the morning, which suited me perfectly. I needed to research the Computer Club’s entrance requirements without an audience.

After scrolling through several digital archives, I found what I was looking for–previous years‘ entrance exam materials. A smile crept across my face as I reviewed the content. Network security challenges, encryption protocols, and advanced programming tests. Exactly

what I could do in my sleep.

“Perfect,” I whispered, my fingers flying across the keyboard to download relevant practice materials.

Kate thought she could humiliate me by challenging my skills, but she had no idea what I was capable of. While she believed I’d spent the last three years wallowing in self–pity after being exiled, I’d been honing my skills as “Aurora,” one of the most sought–after hackers in the

digital underground.

Winning against Kate on her turf? That’d be a blast.

I glanced at the campus map, locating the computer lab where the assessments would take place this afternoon. The irony wasn’t lost on me–Kate was using the very field I excelled in to try to embarrass me.

“Three years running from your past, and you think I’ve been doing nothing, Kate?” I muttered, closing the digital archives. “You have no

idea who I’ve become.”

I checked my watch–still three hours before the assessment. Plenty of time to review a few algorithms and prepare mentally for whatever

trap Kate might have set.

The computer lab buzzed with activity when I arrived. About twenty students were already seated at terminals, nervously chatting or reviewing notes. In the front of the room, Kate stood with two other club officers, clipboard in hand, looking every bit the self–important club president.

“Evelyn!” Lily rushed to my side, her face flushed with excitement. “I didn’t know you were coming! Are you really going to take the test?”

I nodded, scanning the room. “I figured it might be interesting.”

Lily lowered her voice, leaning close. “Do you think you can pass? Kate’s been bragging that this year’s test is the hardest they’ve ever

created.”

I smiled, feeling oddly calm. “I think I’ll manage.”

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Chapter 17

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From across the room, I caught Kate watching us, her eyes narrowing when she noticed Lily’s enthusiasm. She whispered something to the girl beside her, and they both laughed, shooting glances in my direction.

The Gray failure is actually trying out?” A voice carried from a group of students nearby. “Didn’t she nearly flunk out of high school three

years ago?”

Another student snickered. ‘Probably thinks her connections will get her in.”

I ignored them, taking a seat at an empty terminal in the back row. The screen displayed a login prompt, waiting for the assessment to

begin.

Professor Parker entered the room, his lean frame almost comically at odds with his booming voice. “Welcome, everyone! Today’s assessment will test your programming skills, network security knowledge, and problem–solving abilities.”

He explained the three–part test: first, a multiple–choice section on computing fundamentals; second, a debugging challenge; and third, an open–ended programming task requiring participants to create a secure encryption algorithm.

“You have two hours. Begin now, Professor Parker announced, pressing a button that unlocked all terminals simultaneously.

I breezed through the first two sections in under thirty minutes. The multiple–choice questions were basic, and the debugging task involved finding errors in a poorly written authentication system–child’s play compared to what I did as Aurora.

For the encryption algorithm, I hesitated. The smart move would be to create something simple but functional. But a part of me–the part tired of hiding my abilities–wanted to show what I could really do.

“Screw it, I muttered, cracking my knuckles before setting to work.

Despite the dull ache radiating from the wound on my arm, I barely noticed it–my fingers kept dancing over the keys, I simplified the algorithm just enough to make it believable as a student project while maintaining its elegant core structure.

Forty–five minutes later, I hit submit and leaned back in my chair. Around me, students were still frantically typing, many looking increasingly panicked as the clock ticked down.

Lily peeked over from her terminal. “Are you done already?” she whispered, eyes wide.

I nodded, stretching my arms above my head.

“How? I’m still stuck on the second part!” she hissed.

I shrugged. “Lucky guesses,”

As students finished and left the lab, I remained seated, curious to see the immediate reactions. Professor Parker was reviewing submissions in real–time, his expression growing Increasingly interested as he reached mine.

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His eyebrows shot up, and he quickly opened another window, comparing something side by side with my submission. The sudden

intensity of his focus made my stomach drop.

“Ms. Gray,” he called out, his voice cutting through the quiet lab. “Please stay after everyone else has finished.”

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Kate’s head snapped up at that, her eyes gleaming with malicious curiosity. I kept my expression neutral, but internally, alarm bells were

ringing. Had I made a mistake? Had I revealed too much?

After the last student left, Professor Parker connected his laptop to the projector. On the screen appeared two pieces of code side by side

-my submission and another eerily similar algorithm.

“Ms. Gray, I’d like you to explain the remarkable similarity between your encryption algorithm and this one,” he said, gesturing to the

screen.

My blood ran cold as I recognized the other code. It was indeed mine–published anonymously in an encryption journal last year under

my Aurora identity. The probability of him making this connection was astronomically small, yet here we were.

“I-” I began, but Kate interrupted, having stayed behind with the other club officers.

“It’s obvious she cheated,” Kate said smugly. “There’s no way she could create something this sophisticated on her own.”

Professor Parker frowned. “This algorithm was published by a renowned hacker known only as ‘Aurora‘ in a cybersecurity journal last year. It’s not publicly available code that one could simply copy from the internet.”

The room fell silent. Several students who had lingered by the door began whispering among themselves.

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Rise of the Banished She–Wolf