KELANI POVYesterday, I had a close call – nearly knocked out by a 16-ounce handball and narrowly avoiding a mauling by Williams. Today, things seemed promising. After stowing the remaining books in my handbag, I slung it over my shoulder.Glancing at Riley's bed, I shook my head; she was nowhere in sight since I woke up.Not usually a deep sleeper, but yesterday's events and Dr. Kaden's examination left me drained. He discharged me, advising a return only if I felt dizzy or had a headache.After a final check to ensure I hadn't forgotten anything, I headed to the door, closing it behind me."Hey, Roomie."I spun around, eyes widening. "Oh my fucking goodness, Riley! You scared the fuck out of me!""You never struck me as a girl who curses. I like your potty mouth," she giggled, then frowned. "Where are you headed?""To class, obviously," I replied, wondering if it wasn't clear enough. I noticed she wasn't in uniform, not even dressed for class. Denim shorts, a pink sports bra, and run
VESPER POVHockey meant everything to me, and I'd go to any length to come out on top. At least, that was what I kept telling myself. However, it didn't seem like things were going well.Don't get me wrong; I was still the star player at Mystic Height Academy, something I was grateful for. However, failing classes could soon jeopardize that position.To stay at the pinnacle and maintain my spot on the ice rink, excelling academically was crucial.I couldn't fathom why grades mattered when I could just focus on playing Hockey, racking awards – something I excelled at – and forget about subjects like arithmetic and chemistry, which happened to be my weakest."You need to put in more effort. Or maybe I should talk to Coach Jensen about benching you more so you can take this as seriously as I do," remarked Headmaster Kendrick."What's the point?" I shrugged, glancing around the office, a large space with bland wallpaper and a floating bookshelf near the entrance. The headmaster sat behind
VESPER POVAfter practicing a bit with Nathan, I headed to my last class – a general one that all seniors and juniors had to attend.Otherwise, I wouldn't be stuck in the same class with these sore losers. The classroom was vast, easily accommodating a thousand students without anyone feeling crowded.It lacked furniture, and for some reason, I had a bad feeling about the supposed project we were going to engage in. Even though I didn't know what it might be, a sense of unease lingered.The project supervisors, Mr. Randall, and Mrs. Periwinkle, entered the room, each holding a placard under their arms with poker faces.Both were in their mid-sixties. Despite her age, Mrs. Periwinkle carried herself gracefully, appearing barely aged. She shared the greying hair characteristic with Mr. Randall and had very dark eyes. Wrinkles adorned her face, concealed by heavy makeup. In contrast, Mr. Randall didn't bother hiding his wrinkles, opting for a more natural look. After all, he couldn't use
KELANI POVThe Mystic Harmony Championship program seemed like a big deal, judging by the excitement on the students' faces and the teachers. Despite the apparent thrill for everyone, it was the opposite for me. My partner didn't want me, and I didn't particularly want to be with him either, but I had no choice.Headmaster Kendrick made it clear that I didn't have a say in the matter, and he had warned me earlier never to reject my partner. I had even laughed and assured him I wouldn't. I had assumed I would be paired with Riley until Mrs. Periwinkle made the unexpected announcement.Now, I would prefer Lia's partner over mine. Despite his habit of doing disgusting things like picking snorts out of his nose, I would still prefer him over Vesper. I could feel the anger radiating off him, even though I hadn't done anything to provoke it. It seemed like the mere sight of me made him furious.Perhaps he would erase me from existence if given the chance without hesitation.Clutching the pa
KELANI POVChecking my makeup to ensure it wasn't caking my face, just like Riley's. She had applied mine, too. I couldn't understand why she used so much, but it suited her perfectly. I couldn't imagine going out with that much makeup on without scaring anyone; it wasn't Halloween."How do I look?" Riley asked, twirling in front of me. She adjusted the floral print bodysuit's bodice and buttoned up her white shorts.Allowing a smile to grace her diamond-shaped face, she pushed back a strand of brown hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear."Hot enough to grab anyone's attention?" she inquired, fluttering her lashes."Yes," I nodded. Riley was beautiful, and everything seemed to look good on her. It was as if every outfit was designed with her in mind.Also, she could turn even a rag into something pretty – unlike me."Good, I don't want that bitch outshining me," she remarked, clicking her tongue."You mean Lia?" I asked, and she nodded.That was the only person she coul
KELANI POV"Are you hurt anywhere? I swear by the goddess, I'm gonna whoop his ass!" Riley declared, bristling. She repeated the question, and each time, I assured her that I was fine, mentioning Vesper coming to my rescue. Even though she seemed surprised about him helping me, considering his knack for being mean."Shane is part of the coven. He knows he shouldn't mess with you. I'm sure he's trying to get back at me," Riley muttered."Get back at you?" I asked with a frown."We messed around briefly, and I ended it soon after, but he wouldn't have it. Ever since, he's tried to make whoever was with me live a living hell. I never knew he would turn to you," she sighed."I'm sorry, Kelani. If I had known, I wouldn't have left you alone," she said."It's not your fault. You never asked for an ex like that. Besides, I was saved before he could hurt me," I said."I wouldn't have forgiven myself if something had happened," Riley muttered, then her face lit up. "Come on, let's go to the le
KELANI POVFuckI groaned, muttering a curse as I woke up and running a hand through my hair.My head pounded and was heavy as though there was an extra weight in it. The ringing in my ears I had attributed it to someone banging on a nearby table, but I guess it accompanied the headache.My mouth felt sour, like I had swallowed a lemon the night before, and my throat was dry, scratchy, and it ached as well.I had difficulty swallowing, but above all, I was thirsty.Although I was thirsty, I knew drinking water would only make things worse.The unpleasant sensations didn't stop there. Every muscle in my body ached and even moving just my arms felt like carrying extra weight.My queasy stomach reminded me that I had had more to drink than my body could handle. After struggling to open my eyes, I squinted around the room.Shielding my eyes from the sunlight streaming through a break in the blinds, I moaned. It was barely morning, and I wondered why it was already sunny."It's 9 am, darli
KELANI POVA few minutes later, I finished freshening up. The throbbing in my head had significantly lessened, too.Riley was right; the drug seemed to have a touch of magic because regular human drugs wouldn't have cured the hangover so quickly. But then, I had never experienced a hangover before, so I couldn't be sure if non-magical aspirin would work the same way.I put on my uniform since the infirmary was on school grounds, and it was a rule to wear uniforms during school days. I wondered if this rule might help identify students easily, although I hadn't really encountered students from other schools trying to pose as Mystic Academy students.Again, I pondered if the rule applied to students from the founding families or if they were exempt, maybe only required to wear uniforms in places like the cafeteria.I inserted my earpieces, even though knowing it was prohibited, but walking towards the school infirmary without any distracted wasn't something I fancied.I couldn't possibl
KELANI POVOh goodness, what does he want now? I mused, straightening as I saw Vesper coming towards me.I had woken early to come to the ice cream shop in search of my phone before leaving for school. At least, if it were going to be here, I'd be the first person to see it since not many students were here after the event of yesterday.I was here because Riley had put a call through to Zain, and he said he hadn't seen any phone. He even said he didn't notice any with me but promised to help me search.I didn't want to let him go through all that trouble for my phone. Hence, I had come here before he would.I turned away as soon as Vesper reached me. He stayed for a while without saying a word to me, but I could feel his eyes on me."Kelani," he eventually said.I ignored him and continued looking under the seat, which I had been doing since I arrived. The phone wasn't even microscopic and could be seen easily, even from afar.Also, it would really stand out if it was here since the b
KELANI POV"What happened, and who's she?" I asked as soon as Zain returned. Vesper had left with the girl immediately. The ambulance came, and the activity that was taking place continued as if nothing had happened.I tried not to think about who the girl was with Vesper, but I couldn't help it. As far as I was concerned, he had no relatives from here.Riley, who was a big mouth herself, hadn't mentioned that Vesper had any relatives. Riley would have said one or two things about the Vesper family. Now, it left me confused."Are you worried that he's seeing someone else?" Zain asked me.I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Why should I be?"Zain narrowed his eyes at me, "Do you love Vesper?""That's not the point. I am just worried about the girl. I haven't seen her from around here before. You know this is the start of the session; what if we are getting attacked again?" I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Mary.What if there was an enemy lurking around the school area, targ
KELANI POVI stared at Jake for a long time before shaking my head."You don't have to give me answers right away; I can wait," He said."I can't... You know what? I need to speak with Chase, and I'll give you a response soon," I said."Great," Jake grinned. "I should leave this with you." he handed me the book and began to walk away."Um..." I trailed off, grimacing as I stared at his retreating form. "I guess you're stuck with me." I stared at the book again before stuffing it inside my bag.I walked to the fountain near the huge gate, then back to the gym's entrance.Now that I thought of it, I didn't have anything else to do besides practice, but I had blown that by going to meet Vesper.I thought it was a reasonable thing to do. Now, I believe I was stupid to have thought that.I could return to practice and ignore the scorn looks and snide remarks from Lia, but I was too prideful to do so. I had told her off and admitted I wasn't interested in the practice, so it was best to st
KELANI POVLia blew the whistle around her neck, signaling the start of practice. We gathered in the newly renovated gymnasium. Gone were the peeling paints I remembered from the last session. Fresh coats of white paint and Mystic's signature navy blue accents now adorned the walls, revitalizing the space. The polished hardwood court shimmered, the school's logo emblazoned at center court. Once a pale blue, the bleachers now boasted a deeper hue, sectioned off with crisp white railings.Despite the renovations, the gym still felt cozy and familiar. It still felt like the first time I was here, where I was whacked in the head."Alright, Fawns! Let's get warmed up," Lia called, her voice echoing off the gym's walls."Thirty minutes," Lia announced.Although I didn't know what I would be doing the whole thirty minutes, I was sure it wasn't warm-up alone.My thoughts wandered back to what happened at the cafeteria. After the announcement was made, Vesper had excused himself. Headmaster Ke
KELANI POVIt was recess, which I was grateful for. The lecture was annoyingly long, and Chase didn't even make it easy. I didn't understand why he was hellbent on trying to make us bring out our wolves.If one had a wolf they could communicate with, it was fine, right? But he had tried to make me switch to Kelly, which I had been unable to.I had gotten my ass whooped three times today, and I was glad to be in the cafeteria to mull over my inability to bring out my wolf rather than do so in the classroom where he could watch me."All I see is back, sexy, well-accentuated backside in that leather pant, and oh, how perfect his legs look," Riley groaned.I thought all that she was saying was from the book she was reading as it was on the table, but from the hushed silence in the room, I didn't think it was.I turned to where students were lined in front of the food table to see Jake. He stood in the room's center, and all eyes were on him. When I said all eyes, I meant all the eyes in t
KELANI POV A MONTH AFTER "And it's called black magic, black magic, yeah!" I groaned, grasping the pillow and using it to cover my ears, but it was barely doing its work. Riley's voice could pierce through even the hardest stone; sometimes, I wonder how she did it. It wasn't because she was singing while I was trying my best to sleep, it was due to the fact that the song had been on repeat for about three hours now. I wondered if she had just come across Little Mix. Hence, she decided to stream all the musics they had, or maybe she was just doing it to annoy me. "You sound like a broken record, Riley. I am trying to sleep," my voice was muffled by the pillow. "Wake up, Lani! It's a new session, the start of a beautiful morning, and I can see the sun peaking out from the sky. Oh, do you know we are going to know who gets shortlisted today in the battle of the strongest? I can't wait to find out who the alpha of the academy will be!" Well, I wasn't looking forward to it. I had ha
KELANI POVRiley and I stayed in the position much longer before Zain cleared his throat, breaking us apart.He was standing by the door with his hands tucked inside his pocket."I'm genuinely surprised at your quick recovery," He said, nodding towards Riley. "Now, I presumed help isn't much needed, is it?"Riley shrugged, "I'm a witch, and just like you werewolves heal after an injury, we do too.""Never knew that," It was Zain's turn to shrug.He probably knew but didn't care for much details."Now you do," Riley said, then added, "When you said help, who is coming? The police or staff from the infirmary?" She asked.Now, thinking about it, I hadn't asked him who the 'Helps' exactly were.I doubted it was any of the staff from the infirmary. It was possibly the police he had called. And to be honest, there wasn't much any of them would have done in this situation."Mrs Periwinkle and Coach Jensen," Zain said, "They should be arriving anytime soon.""They responded?!" Riley question.
KELANI POVOh, My Goodness."Somebody, anybody, help me!" I cried again, for the second time, my eyes moving around the room to see no one had made a move."I did this, I did this," I chanted over again, my hands trembling as I held her closer. I hurt Riley. I had hurt the only person who cared about me.But then again, I was only trying to defend myself. I wondered if that counted.Biting my lower lip as it trembled, I sniffled and then blinked back, the tears brewing in my eyes away. But the more I blinked, the more tears that gathered."Kelani," I felt a pull on my shoulder, but I didn't let Riley go. I couldn't let her go.She was bleeding, and by the look of things, if no one came to save her soon, she was going to die."Kelani," I heard Vesper's voice again.I turned to stare at him and saw his brows were creased with worries. Shaking my head, I let out a throaty sob."I need help!" I snapped, swiping at the tears pouring down my cheeks. "Why are you people doing nothing? Riley
KELANI POV My wolf. Kelly. I had a wolf, just like everyone else. I had a freaking wolf. Excitement unfurled inside of me at the thought. I had thought I was wolfless. A werewolf wouldn't be one without its werewolf identity. I had assumed I was different because I could barely channel any real powers within me. Now, I felt it. With Kelly prowling inside of me, I felt her energy surging inside of me as well. "I'll help you defeat her," Kelly said. "No," I whispered, shaking my head as I approached Riley. She had slammed Lia into a box several times, almost making her go unconscious. But then Lia was as resilient as Riley. They both had strength and great stamina. They could endure a lot of things that many werewolves wouldn't be able to endure. Well, the weaker werewolves, though. Riley tossed her head back and cackled, the air cackling with energy as she did. The wind drifted into the room from nowhere. I couldn't see any windows in sight nor cracks in the wall to indicate