1st Person POV

I'd been having a relatively peaceful sleep when I was woken up at 6 in the morning for room inspection. After that, I decided sleep was a lost cause. I got breakfast before meeting up with the boys to speak to Rafia Hamilton directly about going on patrol.

She hadn't been happy but she'd conceded.

Our patrol group consisted of the five of us, alongside a pair of siblings. The older girl's name was Talia, a shapeshifter with a slight ego problem that immediately put me off. The only one that went out their way to at least try and be kind to her was Azriel.

The younger girl's name was Maia, and she was far more timid and shy compared to her sister. She was about two years younger than me, spoke only when spoken too, but was a fairly good shapeshifter for her age. She stuck to my side like glue, clearly feeling intimidated around the boys.

We'd been assigned to patrol near Hunter's Bar. We'd split off into smaller groups, and I'd ended up with Maia. Cassius and Raphael were about a block away on one side, Desmond, Azriel and Talia on the other side. None of us had been particularly pleased to split up but we could never cover the large area if we didn't.

I kicked a pebble into a puddle, walking around aimlessly, bored out of my mind. We'd only been on patrol for three nights but I still felt restless, useless even as I kept a lookout. It was a good thing nobody had attacked us but somehow it didn't feel like it.

It felt like they were heightening the anticipation, the fear, without even trying.

"So Maia. What do you do in your spare time," I asked.

We hadn't spoke in almost an hour and she looked up from her phone, startled. She wasn't the most alert lookout by far. Still, she was brave for coming out here and I had to admire that.

"Oh nothing much. Listening to you music, reading books, the usual sort of thing," she chirped.

"Right," I said.

The conversation ceased but there was a lingering tension in the air. I looked at Maia with narrowed eyes. The petite blonde was biting her nails as her eyes flitted around.

She was clearly hiding something.

"You look more nervous than you usually do tonight. You okay," I pressed.

She nodded rapidly, too vigorously, to be believable. I raised an eyebrow, adopting a more intimidating posture as I leaned against the alley wall with my hands crossed over my chest. She swallowed nervously, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Maia do you know something," I asked gently.

The girl looked ready to run at any second.

"Maia there are many people's lives at stake," I added.

Still the girl remained tightlipped. I took a step forward and her eyes widened in fear. I hadn't realized I'd cut that imposing of a figure.

I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I'm not going to force the information out of you but I can tell you that you'll feel better if you get it off your chest. Talk to me," I pleaded.

Slowly, her gaze met mine.

"My friend dragged me to this party yesterday, after we finished patrol. It was off campus, so I didn't tell anyone, because I didn't want to get into trouble for not obeying the lockdown," she said slowly.

I nodded encouragingly, telling her to go on.

"I was a bit tipsy and so was the guy I was dancing with. He was blabbering something about people in the Academy primed to suck other people in towards the greater mission. I didn't really think much of it when he said it, but now I think it might be relevant to this whole mess," she finished uncertainly.

If the drunken guy was right, there were moles in the academy. People the operation had already put under the chemicals, probably threatening to cut off their supply if they didn't agree to try and get more people to join the operation. Laura had prepared a batch of the chemicals for me in advance that I'd managed to hide, but what about others?

"Who was the guy you talked to," I asked urgently.

"His name was Kalen, Kalen Matthews. He's a werewolf, about my age. Tall, blue eyes," she started.

"I know who he is," I said grimly.

Of course it had to be my ex-boyfriend of all people. There were far more pressing things to be bothered with though than the inevitable confrontation I'd have to have with the boy who'd broken my heart. If there were moles, then there could be no trust.

We needed to find a way, a chemical of some sort that could identify the people who'd been infected, even if it meant I'd go down with the lot pegged as moles.

I'd figured that before I blew Maia's confession out of proportion and told the boys, or Rafia about it, I'd confront Kalen first. With less than five hours of sleep and a mug of steaming hot coffee in hand, I showed up at his dorm room door. He looked shocked to see me, which was expected considering my haggard appearance and the way we'd left things between us, but he let me in anyway.

He shut the door softly behind him before gesturing for me to take a seat on the bed. His room hadn't changed much since the last time I'd been in it. I didn't let myself get distracted though, by the memories the room brought and the nervous tension Kalen emanated as he leaned against the wall.

He didn't say a word so I figured I'd talk first.

"I heard from this girl on my patrol unit, Maia that," I started.

"I'm sorry about what I did," he said at the same time.

I stared at him with shock, heart racing at the honesty in his tone. He stared at me with so much guilt and regret. I'd spent weeks waiting for those words after our breakup.

But it was too late now, even if the history between us still sent a dull pang through my heart on dark days.

"Kalen I'm here to talk about what a girl, Maia said to me. She said you'd heard rumors about moles in the Academy," I said firmly.

"Oh. Right. There were a couple guys at this party a few days back mixing things in people's drinks. I wasn't sober but I remembered asking one of them what it was, and he said it was a drug that made you feel stronger," Kalen explained.

I scrambled off the floor then, startling him as I took him by the shoulders.

"Did you take a drink," I pressed.

"No my, um, my girlfriend dragged me out of there for," he trailed off.

I pushed through the awkward tension around us. This was important and I needed to be thinking clearly. Kalen didn't say another word as his cheeks tinged red.

"Okay thanks. That's all I needed. If someone offers you a drink like that again don't take it, and for god sakes Kalen don't leave campus again to party. It's not safe, trust me," I said hurriedly.

I was about to leave when his hand encircled my wrist and pulled me back. I could have forced him to let go. The desperate look in his eyes stopped me from doing so.

"I shouldn't have cheated on you. Being drunk wasn't an excuse and I shouldn't have even gone to that party that night," he said in a rush.

He looked like he'd been dying to say those words for a long time and I realized how guilty he'd felt. Nineteen-year-old me would have found some petty glee in it. I was better than that now.

"It's okay. I've moved on and I'm happy you moved on too," I said.

He smiled hesitantly, releasing my wrist. I didn't turn back, keeping my hands clenched at my sides as I walked away. My heart hurt, not because I still loved him or even cared for him anymore, but because I had once.

And I missed that feeling.

3rd Person POV

Cassius was flipping through a book while Raphael talked to Laura on the phone. He'd been on the phone for the last two hours and he called her almost everyday. Cassius had commented on it once with a smirk and his brother had locked him out of his own room for the night.

So now he just smirked and waggled his eyebrows playfully whenever Raphael called her.

He was just about to get up and find someone else to entertain him when Catherine walked in. Desmond and Azriel were right behind her, and all three of them had their serious faces on. Cassius resisted the urge to groan out loud.

"What happened now," he asked tiredly.

Azriel just gestured for him to follow and they made their way to Rafia Hamilton's office for what was the third time this week. Azriel explained everything on the way and Cassius' relatively positive mood diminished. So now they had people both inside and outside the Academy to worry about.

"Come in," Rafia voice echoed.

Cassius snapped out of his depressing thoughts and followed the others into her office. She didn't seem particularly surprised or happy to see them. She put aside her paperwork and gestured for Catherine to talk.

"There are moles in the Academy, people on the inside trying to get others to take the chemicals," Catherine said.

Cassius noticed she was more tense than usual and made a mental note to check in with her afterwards.

"Where did you get this information from," Rafia asked.

"Maia, the girl on her patrol group. She led me to Kalen Matthews. Both of them said that they were at a party and a group of guys were mixing chemicals with the drinks that could make them feel stronger," Catherine explained.

"They were at a party off campus. They know they aren't allowed off campus except for patrol," Rafia said in annoyance.

"That's not the main issue here. We need to find a way to identify those infected with the chemicals. They've probably been threatened to draw in others or they won't receive another supply of the chemical, which leads to death," Catherine said firmly.

Cassius squirmed uncomfortably at the power struggle that took place between the two women. She intimidated Catherine but Catherine knew this was important enough to push. Rafia finally nodded gravely.

"Some of the professors have already developed a potion that may work to identify those that have been infected. We were holding it off because, well, we haven't tested it on anyone that has been infected yet," Rafia explained slowly.

Catherine looked away from her towards the boys for the first time. If Rafia found out that Catherine had been infected, she was probably not going to let her go on patrol. She might even think Catherine was a mole herself.

All three of them shook their heads. They could find someone else with the chemicals and turn them in instead. Catherine just stared at them for a few more seconds, deliberating, before an apologetic smile spread across her face.

Cassius knew what that meant but he couldn't stop her from talking.

"I was infected. You can test it on me," Catherine stated.

All four of them watched surprise morph Rafia's features, waited for the anger directed towards Catherine for keeping something important from her. Even Catherine looked nervous and Azriel reached out to link their hands together. If Rafia decided to throw Catherine into the cells, they'd follow her there too.

But Rafia just composed herself and reassumed her poker face.

"How much longer do you think you have," she asked.

Cassius had almost forgotten that he could lose Catherine in all of this, not to death but to something far worse. He still shuddered remembering the promise he'd made her. It would kill him to go through with it but he didn't think he would have promised that to anyone else that but her.

"Not long. I was injected close to a month ago," Catherine replied.

Azriel had turned pale and Desmond's grip on Cassius' hand was going to leave bruises on his bones.

"Very well. We'll test you first and from now on you'll be on constant surveillance by at least one of these boys. First sign of trouble, you're going to the cells," Rafia warned.

"Cells won't hold me then. I need you to keep me unconscious," Catherine replied.

The thought of what happened to Alex, happening now to Catherine had a stray tear escaping Cassius' eyes. He hadn't realized how quickly the time had passed. None of them had.

And now she was going to go insane and a cure was still in the works.

"Very well. Follow me for the test," Rafia said.

Catherine followed her out the door, back ramrod straight in an effort to be strong. All three of them saw it for what it was but Catherine had always been like this. They could only hope that her inner strength could help her hold out against the chemical long enough for the cure to be finished.  

Another chapter! Some new developments, including a first look at patrol and a way to identify those who have been infected. Also, Kalen Matthews won't be appearing again. I'm not going to throw some ex-boyfriend drama into the midst of everything that's already happening (:

If you liked this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment down below. Let me know what your favorite part of this chapter was. The next chapter will be up soon! Until then, 

LOVE, 

ASH