CHAPTER 6

**Introducing Charlotte Cunnings** - “new character”

Tears stream down my face. There's no going back.

"Dad, please, try and reconsider with the council," I beg.

"I'm sorry Charl, we can't. It would be safer if you were to attend the academy rather than staying here. Suspicions may raise threats, we can't have that," he explains with his usual authoritative voice.

You'll be fine. Everything's going to be okay. You need to trust your parents.

Axel puts a hand on my shoulder, gently patting it, trying to calm down my uncontrolled overthinking. 

There's a moment of silence in dad's office until mom decides to break the ice, "Are you done packing?"

Biting my lip to stop the tears from flowing, I nod my head. You need to be strong.

I guess there's no way out of this. I tried my best to withstand my belief that things would get disastrous once the secret's out but their decision still remains.

"Your father and I have prepared your living

arrangements. We tried to keep Axel as close to you as possible just in case anything happens. If Axel's unavailable, you also have Jasmine." Mom shoots me a reassuring smile, "We're doing this to protect you, sweetheart. It's for the best."

Trust them.

Sighing in defeat, I don't press any further, it's too late anyways. This isn't the first time I've tried to talk it over with my parents.

"Charlotte," Dad calls. I shift my gaze at him and he hands me a tiny glass bottle of liquid, "Drink this when necessary. You only need to take one drop.

There will be a few side effects but I'm sure you're capable of handling it." Before releasing his grip on the bottle, he gives me a straight face, "Don't let anyone know of it."

My face slightly scrunches as he mentions the word necessary. I've dealt with many situations in my life-some even life threatening -so I'm quite clueless as to when I'm supposed to intake this.

He notices my confusion, "It's when you feel like you're about to convulse."

"Ohhh," the 'O' stretches as I try to conjure up the words to say.

Dad eyes me intensely. He's in deep thought, almost in the same situation as me, trying to fish out the proper words to say so that I don't destroy myself by overthinking. 

"Sweetheart," he starts off, "always keep in mind that we love you, okay?

Things have never been easy for you, but you're still our little fighter and you must always continue fighting. Never forget that the Goddess has given you life to seek your purpose."

Don't cry.

I say a silent "thank you" as I continue to digest what he had said.

"Both of you are dismissed. You're mother and I have gone through everything that you need to know and do. Strictly follow our instructions and Axel," Dad's tone goes deeper into a more authoritative tone, "always be there for your sister.

Trust no one."

"Yes, father," he replies with the same seriousness. I

Axel gently grabs my arm and walks us outside of my father's office.

Thought after thought still passes in my head. I'm a nervous wreck.

Axel notices my silence, "

"You have nothing to be

worried about. I promise I'll always be there for you."

I nod and force a smile on my face. I know he would.

"You better sleep early," he pauses for a moment before continuing,".

"…..wouldn't want to carry an unconscious person tomorrow at the academy," he softly jokes.

I huff and lightly punch his arm, "I'm not that of a heavy sleeper."

"Here we are," His arm stretches out, gesturing towards my closed door. He does the honors of encoding the key to my room, and it makes a robotic sound before it opens, "Safe and sound."

I walk in and the door shuts instantly.

I'm going to miss being safe and sound.

I instantly feel something stir inside my stomach once we arrive at the academy. The place is extravagant and the staff dress accordingly.

Although luxurious looking, I can't help but feel 

a negative vibe emitting off from it.

There's a lobby at the main entrance of the school office. I quietly sit at one of the lounge chairs while Axel talks to the lady over the counter.

"Charll," Tony whispers beside me.

I shift my gaze in his direction and tilt my head to the side, "What?"

"You're so pretty!" he whisper-yells.

I elbowed his stomach, "Why are you whispering?

Are you drunk?"

"Don't mind the idiot, he's just bored," Harris remarks while rolling his eyes at Tony.

"Fuck off, man. I haven't had a decent conversation with Charl in a while and I just wanted to catch up,' Tony growls.

"I'll back off man! Sheesh, you don't need to act so pissed," Harris grumbles.

Giggling at the two men beside me, it is a prominent trait of werewolves to get mad so easily.

Males of higher ranks most especially protrude this type of trait.

Axel walks back to us and hands our key cards,

"Lose it or you'll be facing the dean," he warns us.

He intensely gazes at Tony and Harris, "You idiots better keep low. The packs are ranked based on their behavior, intellectual, and training performance."

"We won't put our pack's name in disgrace. You can trust us, Axel," Harris reassures him.

He gives them a curt nod and we proceed outside to search for our dorms at the other building.

Apparently the academy is like a little town. There are food, clothing and entertainment establishments. Fields of all kinds are sprawled around the area. The feeling is quite surprising and unfamiliar.

"Our rooms are parallel to each other. There'll be a bridge in between buildings that have a security guard, but it's just a hall away," he places his arm above my shoulder and gives me a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay," he gently whispers.

"Can we talk? later?"

He caught onto my tone of voice and nodded.

We go inside the building and get on the lift to my floor.

"You guys can settle down first, I'll be by Charl’s place for a while."

Once they nod their heads, we approach the security guard and hand over our key cards.

"I'll be by my sister's dorm for a while," Axel explains to the guard.

He grunts in response and types something on his computer, "Key card," he opens his palm in my direction and I give it to him.

The computer beeps and he hands Axel and I's key cards.

"You have to come back before your curfew."

I wave at the guys as we drift to my room.

Placing the key card over the monitor, it makes a silent robotic sound and I churn the door open.

"Wow," Axel said in amazement.

The room is indeed splendid. It's more of a studio room rather than a dorm since it has all the amenities of one.

I sigh in relief upon realizing that I wouldn't have to bear with another person.

I'm not used to interacting with anyone. I was raised as a stay-at-home person due to medical conditions. They rarely let me stay during gatherings and meetings. At one point in my life, I became angry at my parents because I felt like they'd shunned me into becoming a normal werewolf...although I know I'm not a normal werewolf...because I have no wolf.

"When you're at the academy we can assure your safety rather than you staying here."

My father's words echo inside my head. Although I put my heart out into trusting my parents, I can't help but hesitate. I hate that there are so many 'What ifs' clouds over my father's judgment.

A few only knew of my.. inability. If word gets out, I'd be forced to live under the council's care where they'll treat me as a plaything for their experiment.

Being wolf-less is unknown to the werewolf world, and I am a lucky candidate chosen by our goddess.

"So," Axel trails, "what are we going to talk about?"

I sit on the bed and sigh, "What is this?" I open my palm, making sure the glass bottle is visible on my hand.

He quickly runs towards me, placing his hand over mine, concealing the dropper and abruptly stands me up, swaying the both of us together.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. What the hell is he doing?

"Keep it to yourself," He whispers in a tone that I can barely even comprehend. "There might be cameras around. Make sure no one sees it."

There's no use in questioning further what this was.

Sighing. I am an abomination.

A constant thought continues to race through my head, why am I like this?

"I can't always be with you so you need to be strong," he gently pats my cheeks, "We've trained you enough so that you can protect yourself." He pauses for a moment, probably trying to remember the set of reminders our parents handed down to him, "Ahhh, did you bring Richard?"

Smirking, the good 'ol Richard.

Richard is what we call my special handcrafted dagger.

I slightly push the waistline of my jeans downward to reveal the hidden belt holding Richard in place,

"Of course I do. He's like my pet." I silently joke.

He grins, "Silent but violent."

Winking at him, "I'm a bitch at heart."

He laughs at my comment. "Are you ready?"

It's my turn to laugh and immediately after, I put on a serious face, "Of course not. Nobody's really ready for anything