chapter 22. the first fight.

Erza let out a curse as she heard that familiar deep rumble. It set her soul on fire every time. This situation was getting way out of hand, and she had to calm him down. She pulled him back away from the bullies as she cupped his cheek and made him look at her. She sucked in her breath as her fear was confirmed. His eyes were blood-red. There was unholy fury etched in his face as she glanced from Bradley to her, when his features softened as he glanced at her. 

"Do not lose control here. Not here and not now," she whispered to him, forcing his gaze to meet hers. She was afraid something like this would happen and end up with people getting hurt. She could kill those fools for forcing this side of him out. Her male could be a frightening beast when riled. Boy, did these fools rile him up. 

Bradley felt like he was in a stunned stupor when he looked into those red eyes. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. It was like he locked eyes with death itself. The effect ended when the woman pulled the boy back away and forced his gaze to leave. Bradley retracted his arm and looked down to see a light bruise had already formed on his skin from where the kid grabbed him. What kind of monster walked among them? He wondered to himself as the cronies laughed softly, thinking the girl was saving the kid from a beatdown from Bradley. 

"Yeah, talk some sense into the kid. Bradley's a third year student. You have no chance of beating him," one of his lackeys said stupidly. 

Bradley felt like strangling the man over his obvious cluelessness. He didn't feel the power that the kid had. He wasn't a normal first year student. Bradley gritted his teeth and sneered derisively at the couple. "Come on you guys, the trash isn't worth it right now," he said as he called out to his men. Gavin's head snapped back in anger as he took a step forward while Bradley and his group walked past them without another word. 

Erza let out a shaky breath as she punched Gavin's shoulder to get his attention. He snapped back and at least had the decency to look sheepish as he quickly cowered under her withering glare. "You can't just go around ripping people's spines out because they say something you don't like towards me," she chastised him. He really needed to get those urges and that rage under control. Ever since he first shifted, he's been prone to anger and lashing out when someone says anything towards me or threatens me. She realized suddenly as she thought back to the months since his first shift at the studio. 

Gavin sighed, he felt his heart thundering in his chest. He longed to lash out and beat those guys down until they begged for mercy. He wanted nothing more than to teach them a lesson about reaching for another male's female. But, Erza was right. He could not lash out just because someone started the fight, or talked rudely towards his mate. He had to focus and gain better control of those primal instincts. He closed his eyes again. He focused on the breathing techniques Erza taught him when she helped him learn to shift. He breathed in, focusing on his inner manaflow. He fought to bring the chaotic mana under control. Right now, it was pouring out of him in a display of wild aura. Anyone with a decent sense of mana sight could tell he was not doing a very good job at controlling his own mana. After a few deep breaths, he forced his heart rate to gradually slow and calm down. The instinct and desire he had to chase after them went away as she reached up to cup his cheek. "That's it, baby. Relax and focus on me." she said softly as she felt his tension ease up under her touch. 

How in the world would Gavin maintain control without her being there to be the voice of reason for him? She wondered to herself. From what she already saw, she fully expected him to last out within a week against some bully or fool dumb enough to attack him. They had to try and figure out a way to keep him calm when his emotions ran rampant. 

"Come on, let's get up to your room," she suggested and pointed towards the line at the elevator. There was a line at the elevator, and it took them a few trips up and down for it to be their turn to take it. The door dinged, opened, and they stepped inside with a handful of other students. They hit their floors and Gavin reached over to slap the number three. The doors dinged and closed, and his stomach felt funny as the elevator started rising. No one got off at the second floor, so the doors opened on the third, and they were the only ones that got off. 

As they pushed and excused their way out of the elevator, they stepped out into a busy and extremely chaotic hallway. People were shouting back and forth, moving bags and possessions in and out of dorms. It was pure chaos, and Gavin was grinning from the excitement of it. Erza just sighed as she followed Gavin while he searched for his room number. It was about six rooms down to the right after they got out of the elevator. Gavin opened the door and saw a young-looking blond man inside. He had dark olive-toned skin and bright blonde hair that was short, not quite like a buzz cut. He was lounging on a small couch in the center of the room. A hallway led down to a series of other doors way back towards the back of the apparent living room. 

"Holy cow. This was not what I was expecting for a college-level dorm room," Gavin said in complete stupefaction. This dorm room was literally the size of a full two-bedroom apartment. 

His roommate stood up and laughed as he walked over. "Yeah, I had the same reaction when I first walked in earlier. You must be Gavin. The name is Jackson, Jackson Smith," Jackson introduced himself as he held his hand out to Gavin. The boy appeared to be genuine and welcoming to Gavin. 

Gavin dropped one of his bags and shook his hand, making the introductions. "Hey, nice to meet you, Jackson. Yeah, my name is Gavin, and this vixen is my girlfriend, Erza O'Malley," he said and hooked his thumb over his shoulder to introduce her. He loved any chance to show her off and announce, at the same time, she was his female. 

She bristled at his comment and glared at him. She walked over and smacked him on the back of his head. "Behave yourself," she said sharply. Gavin let out a feigned yelp and rubbed the back of his head, acting like he was hurt. 

Jackson just smiled and laughed at their interaction with each other. "Nice to meet you both," he said with a smile on his face, his gray eyes sparkled with apparent mirth and joy. 

Gavin shook his head as he looked around their apartment. It had a small-sized kitchen. Nothing fancy, just a microwave and a refrigerator. A few cupboards and countertops, a sink, and a trash can in the corner. The living room had a loveseat couch and one chair. There was an entertainment system with a flat t.v. hooked up in the middle that was on some random show Jackson had been watching as they entered. 

"If you don't mind, I have already claimed the left room down the hall. The right one is all yours," Jackson informed Gavin as he led the way to show them the rooms. "They both appear to be about the same size, so I just picked one," he said as he opened both doors. 

Gavin agreed. Both rooms did appear to be about the same size. They had a queen-sized mattress along one wall. A dresser and desk lined the other one. There was even plenty of empty floor space to walk between everything and not bump into things left and right. Gavin was amazed that he had all this space for the next nine months of classes. It felt like he was in his room back home. That's how nice the dorm room was. Erza let out an appreciative sound as she walked around and set the bags she carried on the desk before she took a seat on the bed and looked at Gavin. "This is actually a really cozy room. Much bigger than I expected at college," she said with a grin at Gavin. 

He nodded as she sat his things down and looked around. He opened a few of the drawers and noticed they were large enough to put the few clothes and items from home he brought with him. He was going to even have some empty space left over when he finished unpacking. "Well, now that you're settled and what not, I'm going to go try meeting a few of the local coeds that are down the hall. See ya later," Jackson said with a laugh and a wink as he left the two of them on their own and walked out the door, shutting it behind him. 

"He's a skirt chaser," Erza said, laughing as she shook her head. What kind of shenanigans would Jackson get Gavin into? She wondered to herself as she watched him open his bags and begin to put some of his things away. Suddenly, she felt a pang of pain in her chest as she realized she would have to part ways with him for the next nine months. They had only just begun their relationship, and it was already about to be tested by a long-distance effort. She said nothing as she stood up and walked up behind Gavin as she wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her chest against his back. 

Gavin stopped moving as he felt Erza's warm embrace from behind, her body pressed intimately against his back. He closed his eyes and savored that feeling while he could as she reached up and held onto her arms. "I know baby, I'm going to miss you too," he whispered longingly as he turned in her embrace to look at her. Her eyes had a glint of tears that she refused to let fall as she looked at him. 

"You better not go chasing after any skank, or I promise, I will skin you alive boy," she threatened. Only there was no venom, no heat in her threat. They both knew that he would never go after any other girls. He never had. He had waited too long to take his shot with her, and now that he had Erza's heart, he would never do anything to betray it. 

"I won't, baby," he said with a tender smile as he reached up to cup her cheek in his palm. "I call you every night I can," he promised her as he smiled up at her. 

Her heart aching, she leaned down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. This would be the last time she got to see him for quite a while. She would make sure he remembered how good it felt. "You better," she said as she broke from the kiss, her lips swollen from the effort. She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes for a few moments. 

Gavin tightened his arms around her as they just stood there, holding each other and procrastinating the inevitable. "You should get going, Erza. It's a long way back to Tristane from here," he said regretfully. He didn't want her to leave. In truth, he'd rather she attended the academy with him. Or at least found housing somewhere in the city. He was honestly nervous about being here without her there to ground him. His emotions at times felt so volatile and raw that he had a hard time controlling his anger under certain circumstances. Even with Veronica at times, like earlier with the bullies, he couldn't completely suppress his rage. 

Erza felt his arms tighten around her as he said those words and smiled in spite of the emotions she felt. "I can't go anywhere with you holding onto me like this," she said softly as she smiled down at him. He stiffened in response and let out a soft chuckle as he removed his arms and stepped back. 

"You're right. I'll try and behave while you're gone, Erza," he said as he smiled up at her. It would be a hard nine months, but it would be that much more special when he saw her again. 

"You better. I don't want to hear anything about being arrested or expelled, you hear me?" she asked as she poked his nose playfully. She was really worried about him. She understood why he felt he had to get stronger. It was the animal instinct in him driving him on. He claims it's because of the nightmares he has. But she wasn't sure what to make of those honestly. He still woke up in a panic and full of fear from some unknown dream. She couldn't say much about what they were. Was it a dream? A nightmare? A vision of things to come? No one could say. The only thing she did know was that the dreams were driving him insane with fear and panic at times. 

He nodded as he kissed her softly and led her towards the door. She gave him one last hug before she walked out and shut the door behind her. Gavin let out a troubled sigh as he walked back towards his room and shut the bedroom door behind him. He walked over to his bags and opened them one by one. As soon as he opened the third bag, he was hit by Erza's familiar lavender scent. He rummaged through the bag until he found one of her hoodies buried at the bottom of it with a note taped to the front that read," I know you will be more relaxed with my scent to sleep with. So here is a hoodie for you. I know it won't last forever. But there'll be at least some comfort while we must part ways. Stay strong my love. We will see each other soon."

Gavin's smile widened as he finished reading the note. Of course, she would plan something like this. He lifted the hoodie up to his nose and inhaled, her scent filled his nostrils. He immediately felt a sense of calm and peace wash over him, soothing the anger that came with his wolf. Once again, she was right. Just having her scent nearby acted like a suppressant for him. He gently placed the hoodie in one of the dresser drawers by itself and went about putting the rest of his clothes away. Gavin pulled out the pamphlet he got from Stephanie at the parking lot and looked over the bits of information on it. It appeared to have a schedule of things planned for the first day. 

The first thing was a welcome ceremony and speech by the principal of the academy that was scheduled to start in about two hours. Then other members of staff would welcome and give introductions, and it would be late enough that nothing else was scheduled after that. So he had a couple of hours to just relax in his dorm until he had to go to the ceremony. It apparently took place in the giant building in the southern section of the campus. That piqued his interest. He noticed that building as they were driving into the parking area. He was curious what exactly such a huge single building could be used for at a school of all places. 

Within an hour, Jackson appeared back in the room grinning from ear to ear as he knocked on Gavin's bedroom door. Gavin got out of bed and put his phone back in his pocket as he opened the door. "Yeah, what's up?" he asked the blonde-haired roommate. 

Jackson grinned like a kid at Christmas as he held up a piece of paper with a number written on it. "Dude, first day and I already got a chics number," he said, laughing. If there was one thing about Jackson, he loved the ladies. He was always moving from one new love to the next. Never single for too long. "Her name is Helena, and man is she a cutie!" he said enthusiastically as he pulled his phone out and entered her information into it, saving the contact. 

Gavin shook his head at the man. "Dude, you're hopeless," he said with a laugh. He might appear dumb, but Jackson's happiness was infectious to be around. "Did you look at the schedule of events that was on the pamphlet they handed out?" he asked him. 

Jackson looked at Gavin and nodded. "Yeah. Bunch of boring speeches and ceremonies today, then we are free for the evening," he said dejectedly. "Cuz everyone loves sitting at a ceremony for a while listening to different speeches." He hated ceremonies with long-winded speeches. He had half a mind to skip it all together. But he was, on the other hand, curious about what would be said and explained tonight. 

Gavin felt a bit of a kindred spirit in Jackson. As crazy about the girls as he appeared, Gavin felt the two of them might be more similar than he originally thought. "Yeah, I know. But it might be interesting depending on what they talk about," he said as he walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him. Jackson stepped back to wait for Gavin to come with him. 

"We should probably walk over. As massive as this campus is, it'll take a little bit to get from one side to the other," Jackson said as he ran his hand through his short hair. 

"Yeah, sounds fine to me, man." Gavin said as he headed towards the front door of the apartment-sized dorm