The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 3

III Fractured Wings

When Iva returned home that night, the house felt unusually quiet, as if the walls themselves were waiting for her to speak, to challenge the invisible weight that had been pressing on her all day. She let out a long, shaky breath, trying to calm the storm inside her chest before approaching her father.

Gamma Rhys was in the study, sitting behind the massive oak desk that seemed to grow taller with each year, papers and training reports scattered across its surface. He looked up as she entered, eyes sharp and calculating, a look that could cut through even the most confident wolf.

“I… Father,” Iva began, her voice small but determined, “I need to ask you about college. I need to send in my applications, but I can’t do it without knowing whether you support me.”

She swallowed and continued, carefully reciting the speech she had practiced over and over in her head. “I’ve thought about this for months. I’ve worked hard, trained harder, and done everything I could to prove myself worthy. I just… I need your decision.”

Her father leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, his gaze fixed on her as though weighing every word.

Finally, he spoke, his voice calm, dangerous in its stillness.

“And… where exactly do you want to apply?”

For a heartbeat, Iva froze. His question felt like a trap, a weight pressing her words down into her chest. Then, in a whisper, she said, “Lycan Academy.”

For a long moment, her father said nothing. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed. A low, humorless sound that made her stomach clench. The laughter continued, sharp and mocking, until finally he stopped, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Now… leave the jokes aside,” he said, his voice colder, sharper.

Iva’s throat tightened, but she forced herself to continue, louder this time. “Lycan Academy, Father.”

His dark eyes bore into her, and his next words cut deeper than any strike she had taken during training.

“They accept only the Elites… and Lycans, of course.”

Her jaw dropped slightly, but she refused to look down. “There are… other exceptions as well,” she whispered. “For certain fields. My friend, Lori, she applied for their medical school, and she’s not—”

Her father snorted, cutting her off with a puff of ironic laughter. “Because her maternal grandparents are part of the Elites,” he said, his words laced with disdain. “And she will attend the medical school. That’s one of the few specialties where exceptions are allowed. Unless, of course, you intend to follow the medical field as well… which I highly doubt, given your … abilities.”

Iva’s head fell, the words choking her, the unfairness of it pressing against her chest. “No… Father…” she whispered, almost inaudible.

He scoffed and leaned back, dismissing her entirely, cutting the discussion short with the finality of a slammed iron gate.

“Even if, by some miracle, you get accepted,” he said, voice hard as stone, “I would never allow you to attend it. Not to embarrass the family.”

Her chest tightened, and a storm of anger and hurt flared inside her. Tears threatened to spill, but something deeper than sorrow snapped inside her, a spark that had been smoldering for years.

“I… I am not allowed… because I am a girl?” she asked, voice trembling but rising with every word.

Her father’s eyes blazed. “How dare you speak back to me—”

But she didn’t stop. For the first time, she refused to be small. “I did not choose to be born a girl, Father! And I have the right to fight for my future!”

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, the room was silent. Iva thought she had finally reached him.

Then, as if reality itself was crushing her, he leaned forward, his voice lowering with cold, calculated cruelty.

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