The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 32

Graduation Day-1

The day of the ceremony arrived wrapped in false brightness.

+25 Points

From the moment the sun crested the treeline, the pack buzzed with restless enthusiasm. Laughter echoed through the streets, banners were hung, and the air itself seemed charged with anticipation. Graduation day was more than a ceremony here. It marked transitions, alliances, futures being sealed. New warriors. New scholars. New mates-to-be. For the pack, it was a promise of continuity.

For Iva, it felt like an execution countdown.

By now, almost everyone had received their letter of acceptance somewhere. Some waved them proudly, others whispered in tight circles, tears of joy or disappointment staining their faces. The lucky ones already spoke of departures to academies, of honor and prestige.

Everyone except her.

The absence of that single letter had become a weapon.

The gossip was merciless. Whispers followed her like shadows, sharp and poisonous.

“She didn’t get in, did she?”

“Of course not. A runt with delusions.”

“After that stunt with Nick? She’s lucky she’s even allowed to graduate.”

“Claiming a fated mate who rejected her publicly… how embarrassing.”

The words clung to her skin, burrowed deep. Combined with her new status as the runt of the pack and the humiliation of telling Nick about the bond, only to be dismissed as desperate and unworthy, whatever fragile reputation she once had was obliterated.

Socially, she was untouchable.

A plague.

Everyone avoided her.

Everyone except Lori.

Iva stood in front of the mirror in her room, hands trembling slightly as she adjusted her clothes beneath the graduation robe. Her heart beat so loudly she was sure it echoed off the walls. The girl staring back at her looked older than she felt, eyes too knowing, shoulders carrying far too much weight.

She turned slowly, taking in the room.

The worn desk by the window. The faint scratch on the doorframe where she had marked her height as a child. The bed where she had hidden under blankets during storms.

Her vision blurred.

Not all the memories in this house were bad.

1/3

<Graduation Day-

+25 Points

Aside from her father’s coldness, she had lived a good childhood. There had been warmth once. Laughter. Her mother’s scent filling the kitchen. Nights when the world felt safe.

This was the last time she would stand here.

In a few hours, she would be officially gone.

A fugitive.

A lone wolf.

Originally, the plan had been to escape tonight, during the graduation party, when music and alcohol would dull senses and blur patrols. But after what happened with Mark and Ella, she knew better. They would not let her disappear quietly. They would corner her eventually, isolate her, punish her, ruining her escape plans.

She could not risk the night.

Daylight was safer.

Chaos was safer.

The graduation ceremony would draw everyone’s attention to the stage, to speeches, tò titles and applause. And while the nights tightened the border patrols, daylight lulled them into complacency. No one expected a wolf to run in plain sight.

She exhaled slowly.

Carefully, methodically, she hid what she could beneath her graduation robe. Stripped to her body beneath, she secured slim packets of dried food along her waist and thighs, binding them tight so they wouldn’t shift. A small blade, concealed flat against her back A folded map pressed between fabric layers, along with a part of her savings in cash.

The remaining provisions went into a small backpack, plain and forgettable. It would pass as nothing more than a student’s bag.

Unconspicuous.

Necessary.

Avalon’s presence stirred within her, steady and alert.

“This is it,” the wolf murmured. “No turning back.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify