Chapter 5 First Battle Class

He nodded, and I heard Rebecca make a weird noise beside me. Before she could make a comment, Atlas spoke up again.

“What about you?” he asked with a quick glance in Rebecca’s direction.

“I’m Rebecca,” she answered from beside me, her voice much meeker now. “I apologize, Professor Atlas.”

He nodded but didn’t look at her. His attention was entirely on me. It was overwhelming. His icey blue gaze would have this effect on any girl, I told myself. He was one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen.

“I need you two to make peace. I won’t stand for any petty drama in my class,” he said. “And I need everyone else to find a partner.” He punctuated the sentence with a clap. There was a rumble of thunder in the air as he did. His eyes didn’t leave mine as he commanded the class. The electricity in the air was due to the storm, I’m sure.

There was a flurry of activity as the crowd dispersed. Everyone found a partner quickly, people seemingly going with the friends they brought. I wish any of my friends back home had the grades to get into the Academy. Professor Atlas finally broke eye contact and looked between Rebecca and me expectantly. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

“Let’s shake on it, okay?” Rebecca said.

She offered me her hand. I looked behind her at the professor and he nodded, urging me on. It took everything in me to grab her hand and shake it. She pulled me in closer with a surprising amount of strength and put her lips next to my ear.

“Next time I’m not letting you run, and you won’t have the professor around to keep you safe,” she whispered, then she turned to walk away, her red hair swinging behind her.

Her groupies followed her and they all started gossiping. I sighed and shook off the adrenaline pumping through me.

Could my first day be going any worse?

I went to find someone to partner with, but I was stopped by Atlas’s hand on my shoulder, which gave me a pleasant shiver.

I didn’t turn to face him, instead opting to look at the ground. It was only the first class, and already he was showing favoritism. The last thing I needed was a rumor that I was trading my body for good grades. I couldn’t help but feel the eyes of the other students on us.

It didn’t seem to bother Atlas a bit.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, and he squeezed my shoulder. The act was so comforting, and some of the nerves from the day were instantly alleviated.

“I am fine.” I said, refusing to look up - I didn’t want to meet his eyes. Those eyes seemed to be where the trouble was coming from.

He grunted, and it seemed like he was going to speak again, so I said something first.

“Thank you for your help but please… just let me find a partner,” I pleaded softly, and I finally looked back at him, his blue eyes meeting my brown ones.

There were so many questions in his eyes, and he frowned a bit at my words. He looked like he wanted to press on but instead, he dropped his hand from my shoulder.

As soon as he did, I missed his touch.

I walked away from him as I looked around to find someone to partner with. As I was looking around, I considered just slipping out, but when I looked over at Atlas, he was following my actions closely.

Ugh. The idea of explaining that I was wolf-less to Atlas was too much to bear.

The thought of fighting at least distracted me from the fact that I didn’t know how I was going to get through a battle class without shifting. It just couldn’t get out that I hadn’t found my wolf yet.

“We will not be shifting today, just going over the basics in human form,” Atlas announced to the class, looking at me all the while. There was something in his gaze that confused me. He was smirking at me charmingly, like he was doing this for me on purpose. The relief I felt overshadowed the confusion though.

The class responded in the affirmative, and the pairs of people went off to practice. I watched as the professor adjusted the form of a boy getting into stance incorrectly. For most people, those techniques weren’t super easy, but for those from good families like mine–and Rebecca’s and even Arthur’s–they were second nature. The extra lessons my mother had given me helped me even more.

My body slumped in relief. Thank the Moon Goddess–that way, I’d be able to transfer to another class before the next day, and nobody would be the wiser. For the rest of the class, I was determined to fly under the radar. I would pretend to be bad at fighting, and it would make sense that I’d transfer. The idea of pretending to be weaker than I was filled me with anger. This class would be a breeze if

The arena was filled with the sounds of people grunting in effort as they sparred with each other. The other students from powerful packs were easily defeating their partners.

The storm rumbled in the distance as the wind picked up. A lot of the people who were fighting obviously had not prior to this. I was thankful to my mother for teaching me so many of her techniques.

I watched as Arthur and Rebecca dominated their partners. Everyone already had a partner. I frowned at the sight and then noticed someone on the outskirts of the arena.

The only girl left without a partner was the blonde girl. She was by herself at a practice dummy, kicking into it with an impressive amount of fury. I walked over to her and waved my hand from behind the dummy to get her attention. She looked at me blankly. It was the girl who gave me directions in the hall earlier, I grinned at her.

“Would you like to partner up?” I asked.

She sighed before kicking the practice dummy again. She put her leg down and looked me up. The blonde girl frowned at my shoes in particular.

“That’s fine,” she said before looking back into my eyes. She smiled a bit. “It’s not like there’s anyone else available for you…”

I waited for her to introduce herself to me finally, but she didn’t say anything more.

I decided to ask. “What’s your name?”

I stepped back, getting into position as I waited for her to walk over. She looked at me, seemingly confused, before answering.

“I’m Judy,” she said, and then she looked between me and the practice dummy. “I can practice on my own, really.” She continued softly.

I waved her off and got into a stance. “I promise I’m a better partner than some practice dummy.” A small smile toyed at the blonde girl’s lips, her features softening. “Alright, let’s get started.”