Home sweet home

"Let's talk about your friends and family", Headmistress Nacht tells me. "One of the strictest rules the Savet enforces is that humans do not know of our existence. If you are going to talk to your friends and family that are humans, you can tell them that you are a student attending an academy a few hours away from home. You can contact them to let them know how you are, but you cannot tell them about your new life or you will put them in danger. This rule is for just as much as their safety as it is for ours. Perhaps, after some time and if you demonstrate you have a handle on your rage and abilities, you will be able to visit. You need to work harder if that is what you want to do". She tells me seriously.

I nod to her to let her know I understand.

"I heard you lost your parents recently," she says as her eyes shutter with sadness.

I look down at the glass in my hand and watch the liquid move in the cup while I think about how to respond. "Yes, they were in an accident. So my list of loved ones I have left is shorter than you'd think" I mutter under my breath.

We sit in silence for a few moments and drink the tea.

"Layla...." the Headmistress begins hesitantly. "I know that how you got here was not...ideal. Javier's behavior was reprehensible and he and Sadie will be punished for their actions. Nevertheless, it doesn't change your situation. You are here now, and I will do my best to make sure you are comfortable and have the resources you need to get you back on your feet. Two years will pass quicker than you know." She reaches out and puts her hand on the back of my hand holding my glass. "In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything. Whether it is a favor or just to have someone listen to you, I will do it." She smiles at me, and again I feel that she is being honest and that I can trust her.

My throat is heavy with the overwhelming feelings in response to her genuine warmth, but I manage to croak out a "thank you" before finishing my drink.

We both stand, and Headmistress Nacht leads me back to the door where Ryker is waiting for me.

"Mr. Volksyr will show you to your chambers so you can get settled in. Classes start tomorrow, so if you need anything else, both of us are available to you".

I nod, and bid her a goodbye as Ryker and I take a left turn down the hallway.

He sniffs the air and turns his head to look at me.

"What?" I ask him.

"Why do I smell the Headmistress on you?" He asks with confusion drawn on his face.

"Well...I...just came from her office." I say slowly, assuming that should have been obvious to him.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "No, I'm strong enough to know the difference between when someone is around you or when someone touches you. You clearly have her scent on your skin, which means she touched you. I just find that strange, is all. She's not usually very welcoming. Headmistress Nacht is a strict, but fair leader".

I shrug. "She probably feels bad for what happened to me".

He looks unconvinced, but nods his head anyway.

"Well, in that case. You should use the pity to your advantage" he says and gives me a wink.

We turn left again, and he takes me up a few flights of stairs to a corridor lined with portraits of groups of people wearing black robes. I look at the captions of the images, and realize that these are graduation photos from previous classes. There is a photo for each year, spanning back to maybe 100 years ago.

Ryker opens a door on the right and walks into a common room of some kind.

It is empty, but the fireplace on the far wall is being used and gives off a homely aura.

We walk straight and go up another flight of stairs, which lead us to a smaller hallway lined with wooden doors.

At the end of the hallway, he opens the door numbered 33. I look inside as he tells me, "Home sweet home".

Sunlight is streaming through a window that takes up an entire wall of the room. The floor is still a dark stone, but it has a plush grey rug on it around a queen sized bed. The bed is decorated with light blue and white embellishments, which matches a small desk to the right side of it. Two walls are a slate gray color, and the third wall has some bookshelves that are filled, but it is primarily covered in light green plants.

"Wow," Ryker breathes. I frown and look over to him. "This is much nicer than most student rooms. I know my room is nice, I am the class president after all, but this room is different". His eyes gleam as he looks at me. "I propose a trade".

"Oh yeah?" He nods vigorously. I cross my arms and ask him with a smirk, "and what do you have to offer me?"

"Hmm," he ponders and taps his pointer finger in his lips. "Well, I did just give you a ride here. That has to be worth something".

"You should've made that deal before you drove me here. You're a terrible businessman".

He chuckles. "Wolf. Technically I'd be a business-wolfman".

I scrunch my nose up in dislike.

He laughs, "Okay that's not my best pun. So back to the trade. What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Spending time with me must be worth something".

I look at him in the eyes with a bored face for a moment, before giving him a fake yawn. "No." I tell him simply, but a grin tugs at my lips so he knows I'm joking.

"Okay okay, I need to sweeten the pot". He runs his hands together and looks me over. A wide grin takes over his face. "I've got it. My body. You can have my body."

I suddenly choke and cough in embarrassment. Ryker is laughing at my reaction, and I try to pull myself together but it takes a few more seconds.

If we were still at my house where Ryker stormed into my bedroom, I would have jumped him in a heartbeat. I felt an instant deep attraction to him, though that feeling is missing now.

I glare at him, and he raises his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, love". I remember when he called me that before and it was alluring. However, now it feels empty. That lust isn't here right now. Maybe we missed our moment, but I still want to be his friend.

"No deal." I tell him with a raised brow.

He walks up to me with his hands behind his back. When he is right in front of me, he moves his right arm slowly and brings it to my face to brush my hair back behind my ear.

"The offer is on the table, for another day". He tells me.

"I'll take that into consideration" I whisper to him.

He puts his hand behind his back again before smirking and stepping away from me.

"If you want to prepare for tomorrow, your books for your classes are on the shelves. Your class schedule and personal belongings are beside the desk". He turns his back to me and starts to walk to the door.

"Ryker?"

He turns his head to the side in response.

"Thank you for today, and for everything. With all that is going on, and with my life completely different than what it was a few days ago, you have been a comfort to me." I say sincerely.

A smile graces his lips and he turns away from me once more. "You're welcome, love. I'll be here in the morning to escort you to breakfast."

Ryker closes the door behind him, and I stare at it for a few more seconds before taking a deep and slow breath.

With him gone, I can feel the anger again, but it is muted this time because of the tea the Headmistress provided me. I should make some of it myself, it will probably come in handy.

I walk over to the desk and grab my bag. I see that a new messenger bag has been placed next to it, so I grab this as well.

in the messenger bag, I find my cell phone, my class schedule and a folder to place my documents in. I also found a leather bound notebook with initials on it. 'LG' for my name, Layla Gibbous.

I open the notebook and start to write what I know.

- I was bitten two days ago

- I was bitten against my will by Javier Knox, a newly turned Nestati werewolf

- At the time of the bite, I was furious and this emotion will impact me throughout my beginning as a werewolf.

- The bite acted like an infection, which burned through me and caused a fever for two days. The wound however, healed in a few hours.

- Sages are beings who can use magic.

- All newly turned wolves, commonly referred to as nippers, are required to attend Alpine Crescent Academy for two years.

- There are two factions of wolves: Nestati and Vosak

- Werewolves and other academies for werewolves are found throughout the world.

- Werewolves can live with humans as long as they keep their affliction a secret.

I close the notebook and run my fingers along the cover with a sigh.

Turning into a werewolf wasn't exactly in my future plans. Not that I had any plans to begin with, they were Javier's plans.

The only decision I had made was to be stuck by his side. He wanted to stay in town, work hard and make money. And I was fine with that, because I had him. Or so I thought.

A tear slowly falls down my cheek.

I didn't expect his betrayal. I had trusted him, and I really didn't see this coming, especially after losing my parents. We were always so honest with each other. He hadn't done anything else to betray my trust in the past, so maybe there's some truth to what he said about being able to control himself.

I'm not really sure what to think, but the wound is too fresh right now. We are broken up, and to move forward I will need to accept what has happened and make peace with it.

That doesn't stop me from missing him though.

As a new werewolf, I would assume Javier would be attending the academy as well. That thought makes me freeze in realization.

I have to face him, I'll have to be around him. And if my anger is already brimming at the surface, if I run into him I'm likely to explode.

Crap.

This is going to be harder than I thought.