Lucas, my elder brother have not been at home for months because he was touring his favorite countries. The last time we talked was the day he left for his vacation. We never had any reasons to call each other because it would always end in bickering, fighting or some yelling.
We were never on the same page but the most shocking thing was that, this was not obvious to the other members of the pack. He would take care of me and pamper me like an egg whenever we were out of the palace.
“What a loving brother he is. I want to be have one like him,” I heard one of the boys remarked one day as we walked through the pack together with father but I only scoffed because they didn’t know that he was a viper underneath his façade.
When he left for his tour, I felt relieved. The fact that I didn’t have to pretend around others was refreshing. I would have been worked up now that he was back if I were at home but thankfully, I would be living in the school till further notice.
“So what are you doing here?” I lashed out as soon as I got to the car
“Come on! Be respectful. I am your older brother. I came to wish you well after hearing that you will be staying back at the dorm for the time being,” he chuckled
“Are you that jobless to come all the way here?” anger welling up in my voice
“Calm down smallie. You don’t have to be that defensive. We both know this is the best option for the both of us right now. Enjoy your dorm, I will take care of the house till you come back,” he mocked, and blew his gum loudly in my face before motioning for the driver to start the engine.
I just watched him go away in silence because I was not in for his dramatic ass. I was actually glad that I didn’t have to deal with him for the time being.
“This is actually for the better,” I mumbled and headed for the dormitory.
****
I went to fetch my suitcase from the security but I was told that an assigned potter had taken it to my room. The staff there gave me a spare key to the room for my own personal use and also gave me a card for the dormitory’s door passage.
On getting to my room, I found my roommate already settled in. His suitcase was opened on the floor with all his clothes littered everywhere. He already took the other side of the room so I just dragged my suitcase closer to the other side in order to arrange my clothes in the wardrobe, silently.
“Nice meeting you. I never knew we would be roommates,” he suddenly started
“Well, we are here now” I responded, not sparing him a glance.
“My name is Ali. I am the last son of the family of twelve sons and eight daughters. You can say we are pretty much a community with that number. I’m sure you must have figured out that I am an Indian, and yea what else?” he blabbered away, disturbing my thoughts
“Maybe you can take some break. I need to clear my head,” I almost shouted but managed to control my tone
“You need to clear your head? What could you possibly be thinking about? You are too young to think about complicated things,” he remarked, his mouth filled with the cream accompanying his bread
For goodness’ sake, what was my offense that I was got paired with a chatterbox? I couldn’t hold myself any longer. He should just shut up and stuff his face with his cream at this point.
“Do I need to explain things to you? Do I owe you any explanation? Uhn?” I growled, my wolf nature taking the best part of me already
He was slightly taken aback by the intensity of my voice but he shrugged it off quickly and smiled. His messy cheeks and mouth annoying me the more.
“Well, I just thought I could help you with it since we are now roommates but since you are getting worked up, I will just focus on my bread and cream,” he responded, raising his bread slightly with a painful smile before turning to his bed.
I felt bad for a second but I didn’t let myself get absorbed in the feeling. I didn’t have the tolerance to endure his chattering at that moment. I had a lot going on in my head and entertaining him was the last thing on my mind.
A loud silence filled the room afterwards, and by the time I was done, he was fast asleep. The cream on his face was still there on his huge cheeks as he snored away in his awkward position.
“He could have at least cleaned up after himself,” I mumbled and wiped his cheeks before correcting his posture
Even in his deep sleep, he muttered an inaudible “thank you” before turning to the side. I stared at him for a while, wondering what his world looked like for him to think so simply of life. He looked like he had no worries but I know that it was only a mask. People like them talk so much in order to hide their true self.
I was about turning back when a thought popped up in my head that I could actually get the information I wanted from him. Given his free spirit nature, he would probably have access to several information and secrets.
“I should move closer to him. Listening to him talk wouldn’t kill me at least,” I concluded before going to shower the day’s stress off.
I didn’t realize that I was that tired until I took the shower and slept off immediately without eating anything for the night.
The next day being a Saturday, we were allowed to sleep in till around ten in the morning before the announcement came in that we should assemble at the great hall in the next hour. Ali already woke up way earlier, freshened up, and was at the reading desk already. I didn’t take him to be someone academically serious since he came off as a chatterbox and foodie the very first time we met yesterday. He had always been in my class but we never had any personal encounters until we were paired as roommates.“Good morning, trust you had a great night?” he greeted me cheerfully and I wondered if he didn’t read meaning into how I shouted at him last night.That was remarkable so I had to apologize for yelling at him. Immediately, he turned it down and said that he was wrong for being pushy when we only met the first time.The response got me relieved and burdened at the same time. It gave me the realization of being a better person. “I should be more accommodating,” I scolded myself as I sl
|Annabel|Ever since the school declared the plan to stay at the dorm, I didn’t know what to think about it. It had always been like that for the senior students, though, but I just wasn’t prepared for it. I still couldn’t understand why they would never give a notification ahead, it was always a sudden announcement.My mother had gotten my suitcase packed before I even got home. She must have been waiting for the school mail.“You should use this period to bond with Bernard since you will be in the same proximity as him. He will show you what he is like and not just want you to see from afar,” she advised, throwing the rest of my clothes on the bed for the maids to pack.I was tired of her making everything about him. She just wouldn’t talk about me as a person. Bernard this, Bernard that, every single time.“So if I don’t get to like him after all this, will you break off the engagement?” I slammed her and she pausedShe probably wasn’t expecting what I just asked. I never voiced ou
The only person that could chuckle that way was Bernard. Instantly, my fears were replaced with anger. I felt irritation from the deepest part of my belly and pushed him off me with full force.“What the fuck do you think you are doing right now?” a loud yell ran out of my throat.My fists folded in anger as I walked forward, giving some distance to the wall.I couldn’t understand the reason why he created such a drama just to talk to me. Although we were engaged, we did not talk unless it was highly necessary because it was obvious that we hated each other. We were very much aware of the fact that we needed each other for business, so we didn’t stress it out. Nothing like romance or love was ever mentioned between us.“Are you sane? What is this scenario? What are you trying to pull here?” I shouted at him, my anger shooting through the roof.“I saw how interested you and the new boy are in the sick boy’s affair. Don’t bother to dig up anything, I will not stay still,” he threatened.
The next morning, everyone was woken up by a loud scream on the male side of the dormitory. We all rushed outside at dawn to check what was happening because the sound was too loud to ignore.“Who did this? How could anyone be this terrible?” we heard a boy shout on top of his lungs.Since everyone was in pajamas, we confidently marched towards the boys’ dorm to witness the scenario.Dan, one of the students, held his shredded uniform close to his chest as he tried to control his tears. He explained that he had washed the clothes in the washing machine and hung them to dry in the laundry room. Although he had wanted to pack it in last night, he just felt it would be nice to leave it there till morning where he would iron it and put it on for school immediately.“So who did this? How did it get to this state?” one of the boys asked, and he shook his head.“I don’t know. If I knew the person, would I be here standing and screaming like a fool?” he answered.Nobody knew what to say. Ever
|Oliver|I couldn’t bear the fact that everybody was silent about the boy. They all went on with their activities as if nobody was missing. I had discussed a lot with my wolf, Rye, over and over, but he just kept telling me to mind my business.“I think I should press her further so she can tell me what I want to hear. Bernard doesn’t seem like an option because he’s inaccessible for now. I can also threaten her with a little secret between us,” I told him in the shower as I prepared for school.“Just let go of your obsession with this case. You are not someone who gets involved in people’s affairs. Why are you suddenly nosy?” he warned, but I just wouldn’t listen.“Don’t you feel that something is off about this school? Everybody is afraid of the bully and that fairy girl is just pretending to be nice. I need to know what’s going on,” I countered, and poor Rye could only sigh.“Should we do some mind reading? I can get some info out of her through that method”, I proposed, and a subt
Judging from her looks and the murmurs that filled the entire classroom, it was obvious that none of them knew my family. She kept tilting her head to see if it would ring a bell but her brain couldn’t comprehend it. “Isn’t that some lowly family? The name doesn’t even ring a bell,” Courtney mocked but I just kept silent. “Let’s look up the family with such a lowly name that has the money or audacity to send their kids to this prestigious school,” Bernard remarked, his thumb gliding through the face of his phone as he made his research. Every one of them brought their phones out to follow suit while I fixed my gaze on Annabel herself. I wanted to see her reaction when she finds out about my family. “Oh my God!” one of them gasped, dropping her phone in shock. Rye chuckled and it took all the strength in me not to follow suit. “Fuck!” “He’s on another level” “His family is untouchable” “Incredible! Isn’t that even bigger than rank 1?” Several comments were flying arou
Something was strange about her. It was as if she was scanning through my mind with her fixed gaze. I have never had any encounter with her prior to that moment but I felt a strange chill down my spine.“Yes, I did. He looked like a human, just like you and I,” I responded and everyone burst into a laugh.I didn’t mean to hurt her, it was the truth. The president was a human just like us. There was nothing special about them. The ranks they had been segregated to clouded their thoughts and constantly fed him with the idea that the politicians and celebrities were demigod.“They are just like you are. Don’t feel bad for not meeting any. There’s no big deal. Every human is equal, isn’t it?” I added.Her lips curved slightly into a smile as the beam of happiness radiated on her face. My words must have done wonders, she felt relieved instead of being embarrassed by the laughs.The next word that flew out of her mouth was “Let’s be friends.”My heart skipped a bit. The words were too sudd
|Lisa|As soon as the tires of our plane touched down on the runway, a huge sigh left my mouth. I was welcomed with the strange but familiar atmosphere of Virginia blew on my skin. I didn’t know if I was happy to be home or sad.It was a mixed emotion.Checking out my luggage didn’t take long and I was out of the airport in no time. My father had specially come to the airport to pick me up alongside the driver. Considering how busy he was, it was one of the most considerable acts he had ever carried out.The change in weather was setting in faster than I had thought. It was summer in South Africa where I was coming from but Virginia was a bit chilly. I slipped on the huge wool jacket my father had brought for me without wasting any second.I hated being cold.“My Princess, how was the flight? Tired?” his soft hands rubbed my back as he pulled me into a hugI had missed his scent. His wooden musky scent filled my nostrils. I could smell home on him. My mother’s favorite mint scent was
Back at the general hall separating the dorms, Annabel insisted on helping me clean the scratches I hadn’t even realized I’d gotten. We sat there, the air thick with unspoken tension as she dabbed at a particularly nasty gash on my arm.“I don’t think it’s right to be here. What if someone comes in?” my low voice whispered to her but she only dusted her ears“No one is permitted in the hall at this time of the day.”“You heal fast,” she remarked, changing the topic immediately. Her fingers light against my skin. “But not fast enough to avoid this.”I shrugged. “Comes with the territory.”She leaned back, her expression thoughtful. “You’re so used to doing everything on your own, aren’t you? Even fighting rogue werewolves.”“I’ve had to,” I admitted. “It’s safer that way.”“For who? You or everyone else?” Her question caught me off guard, and I didn’t have an answer.After a moment, she set the first aid kit aside. “You’re not as scary as you think you are, you know. In fact, you’re ki
I was surprised that she knew about something like this for a second before I remembered that she was a fanatic. She read almost all the crazy books and stories about us, so she had an idea of what one looked like already.Before I could think of any answer, she was already by my side in a flash. Her expression softened, and to my surprise, there was no fear in her eyes. Only curiosity and something else I couldn’t place.“I can’t believe I finally met a werewolf in my lifetime! This is hugggeee” her voice was finding its volume with every word.“You know you can’t…”I couldn’t complete the sentence before she cut me off.“The wolf was so beautiful. Can I see it again? Can I touch it?”Happiness was glaring in her voice, but I couldn’t fathom if it was for my good or bad. She was getting overexcited so I needed to calm her down.“Can you just calm down a bit? You know this is complicated and you cannot tell…”Another cut!“Of course! I am already called crazy enough for enjoying those
The sun was too bright for my liking. It streamed through the dormitory curtains, slicing through my restless sleep. My body still ached, every muscle taut from last night’s shift. I rolled onto my side, staring at the ceiling, my mind racing with the memory of Bernard’s voice searching through the forest and Annabel’s suspicious gaze. They had both gotten too close. Too close to the truth.“I need to do something about it. I just have a few months to go.”My energy sapped out with each sigh that dropped off my chest. I wasn’t sure of where to start my agenda of hiding my identity from, and it looked like I had drawn unintentional attention to myself.The dining hall was chaotic as usual when I got there; the chattering and laughter of students got me drained. I kept my head down, my tray tightly clutched in my hand as I struggled to find an empty table. I was close to one when her piercing gaze shot through my skin; it was glaring that she was watching me.Immediately, my legs made a
|Oliver|The restlessness built within me as the evening crept closer. All my senses were heightened by the pull of the full moon. Every cell in my body was tugging towards the forest; it was becoming uncontrollable with each passing second. Even though it wasn’t long I came to the school, I knew enough to tell me that slipping away during the bonfire would definitely be hard work.With the way everyone was hyped for the bonfire, all alerts and attention would be high, but I also couldn’t risk shifting in front of my classmates, especially not with Bernard and Annabel around. They had been watching me like a hawk these days. My mother’s voice rang in my ears.“I will talk to the school principal and send a driver to pick you up.” But I had refused because I wanted to handle it myself even though I wasn’t sure if I could or how I would. From down the hall, voices of excited students echoed. Ali’s booming laugh shot out like a warning before he barged into the room.My stomach twitched,
|Oliver|The sessions were exhausting for me that very day because it was close to the full moon. That was the first full moon I would be experiencing in the school because I was lucky enough to be at home the last full moon but this time, I was stuck in the school.“If you are that worried, will you come home? I will talk to the school’s principal and send a driver to come pick you up,” my mother expressed her concerns.She could sense my anxiousness and discomfort over the phone. Even if she doesn’t get my feelings when it comes to the marriage talks, she surely understands every other thing going on with me.“I will take care of it. You don’t have to worry about me,” I objected strongly.I added, “If I need anything or your help, I will let you know.”She saw that there was nothing she could say to make me bulge, so she left me and believed that I would take care of myself. I know deep down that she was still anxious and concerned that I would get found out by my fellow mates.“We
The pungent smell of bleach greeted my nostrils as my eyes struggled to give way in the unfamiliar environment. I managed to drag my eyelids apart before the bright lights above travelled deep into my eyes and made me shut it immediately.My head was filled with a wheezing noise as if I had been near a washing machine all day. Whatever was going on, I couldn’t understand but I was also too tired to move any part of my body. It felt as if all my strength had been sapped and I had been beaten so much in the past few days.“Oh my God! She’s awake!” the tiny, disturbing voice blasted through the room as the footsteps heightened towards my direction I was greeted by Courtney’s huge eyeballs as she almost dipped them into my face in her quest to confirm if I was really awake or not.“Annabel! Can you hear me? Can you even see me?” Her voice matched her choreography. What a loud fellow I managed to open my mouth before her screams brought the attention of everyone to my bed.“What am I doing
|Annabel|Thanks to Bernard, I lost interest in reading, and my head was filled up with several thoughts. I couldn’t get the fact that he thought he owned me off my head because it kept pissing me off. The random claiming, the stupid assurances he had that I was meant for him just because he knew that he was the stepping stone to my position as the heiress was crazy.My father dotes on me truly, but he wouldn’t hesitate to will the company to someone else if I dared to break off the engagement; he was that brutal. Several times, I had tested the water before the engagement and whined that I didn’t want to be involved with him, and he always retaliated.There was a time we were meant to go on a group vacation, but I refused and pretended to be sick just because I didn’t want to be around Bernard. My father didn’t say much; he canceled the trip and let me be, but I couldn’t go out throughout the entire holiday.“I have a cinema outing with my friends this weekend; can I go?”“I believe
Throughout the trip, I didn’t say anything to her because I was making it obvious that I didn’t like the fact that she followed us. I didn’t want her to repeat the same thing that happened the very first day, and I knew that I had to up my guard around him so he wouldn’t be in danger.Although she claimed it was a misunderstanding, the incident was too vivid to be one. I definitely saw her hand around his neck, and it would make sense if she was trying to end him so he wouldn’t open up about Bernard’s involvement in the incident.Ali chatted with her happily till we got to the hospital and met with his doctor, who told us there had been no big changes ever since we visited the last time.“His parents?”He shook his head, “They still haven’t come to see him in person. His mother only checked him on video call last week.”An unexplainable anger arose from my inside, I was melting with anger as my fist clenched at his revelation. How could they be so cold and brutal? What could be more i
Everything went back to normal between Ali and me after he apologized. It was as if I had been secretly waiting for his apology. He also suggested that we should visit the hospital again since it had been a while since we went to check on the boy in coma.“We will be starting the final tests soon. I can’t believe he worked hard for nothing.” He sighed as he sat on the bench across the school field.“He’s busy fighting for his life. A school test is not the most important thing right now. He has to wake up first.” I chipped in, and he nodded his head aggressively in agreement before turning to face me.“Don’t you think his parents are being too cruel? What if we call them personally and see what they have to say about his condition? I can’t believe they abandoned him in the hospital and kept sending money over only. That is the highest level of cruelty.” His eyes were filled with tears as he expressed his hurt concerning the situation.He was right, coupled with the fact that none of t