“Yeah,” Loren turned to face me. She still was fidgeting with the lace on her bedspread. “But some for less than others. Because of what happened to Maximus’s brother, he activated his wolf very early. I’ve heard rumors that he was four when he first shifted.”
“Jesus,” I rubbed my eyes. “How old were you when you first shifted?”
“Seventeen,” Loren mumbled. She looked embarrassed and so I figured that was my cue to drop it. I sighed.
I threw myself back on my quilt. “I feel like I know nothing.”
“Well what blanks can I fill in?” Loren said from her bed. I heard her shift slightly and then turned to see she’d moved to face me. She was playing with the lace on her duvet still.
“All of them,” I sighed. “I know nothing about werewolves.”
Loren laughed. It was a deep bubbly noise.
“Firstly,” She held up her pointer finger. “We call ourself wolves not ‘werewolves’ that’s just -” She shuddered. “Archaic.” I nodded slowly for her to continue. She held up her middle finger with her pointer finger. “So obviously you’re wolfless. How did you even learn you’re a wolf?”
I fidgeted. “Some lady picked me up from the orphanage I was at when I turned eighteen,” I said. “Then she told me what I really was.”
Loren hummed. “Interesting,” she said. “Usually, we find the forgotten wolves when they shift and cause a ruckus on human land. Strange that they knew you were a wolf before you shifted.”
“I don’t know if it is or isn’t,” I said with a shrug. “I know literally nothing.”
Loren sat back on my bed and crossed her legs like I used to in preschool. She clapped her hands together. “Okay. Werewolf 101 in fifteen minutes,” she said. “Basics are this: alphas have gold eyes. Betas, those second in line for the position of alpha, have purple eyes. Just like me!”
I nodded. I was following. Loren continued.
“Both are at this school because if an Alpha falls, the Beta becomes the alpha. Though people unfortunately treat us as less than the Alphas. So, like if my sister dies in combat or is hurt or something, then I become the alpha,” She paused to rub at her neck. “Though I’m hoping sissy doesn’t fall because I’m not exactly cut out for this job.”
I gave her a soft smile. “I think you’d be a great Alpha,” I said.
“That’s nice,” Loren returned the smile. “But wait until you see me spar. I’m downright awful.”
Somehow, I doubted that, but I keep my mouth shut. She couldn’t possibly be worse than I was. Loren waved her hand.
“But yeah, wolves. Everyone can shift pretty easily by the time they get here so expect to see massive wolves running around,” Loren continued. She paused and yawned. “I’d tell you about the Alpha Princess but I don’t think she’s coming to school this year, so you don’t have to worry.”
A shiver rippled through my body that Loren missed through another yawn. I was the Alpha Princess. Loren stretched on her own bed then fell back into the sheets. “So what’s this hunt?” I said. “Oh!” Loren bounced back up then immediately cringed. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s usually exciting, but now that you’re the target, I’m not sure it is anymore.”
You could say that.
“But yeah, so,” she drew out the last word. “Basically, you’re hunted by everyone on campus until you submit. Everyone uses it as a time to prove their strength as a wolf.”
I gnawed on my lip. I knew the answer to my next question but I had to ask it anyways. “What happens if I don’t submit?” I said. Loren’s head snapped towards me, deep frown on her face. She shook her head. “That’s never happened,” she said softly. “But I’d assume they’d hunt you until you died.”
I swallowed thickly. Great.
“How long does the hunt last?” I said.
“Until they catch you,” Loren replied. “Last year’s hunt was long. Four days, I think?”
I rubbed my eyes and threw my body back in my bed. This was going to suck. I turned back to Loren and found she had done the same. She gave me a sad smile.
“It wouldn’t be so bad to just submit to them, would it?”
I turned away from her and stared at the ceiling. It would be when it came out that I was the Princess. Victoria would be embarrassed and I cannot imagine how humiliated Kairos and Maximus would be. The thought of their rage made me shudder. Additionally, I couldn’t let them win. Every bone in my body was telling me that submitting would be the worst way to start the year. Maybe it was my royal blood that detested being someone’s bitch so much. Maybe it was just the thought of giving Maximus and Kairos the satisfaction of knowing they were better than me.
I looked back at Loren. Her purple eyes were wide with hope. I couldn’t bring myself to let her down. I looked back at the ceiling. “Yeah, it wouldn’t,” I mumbled.
We didn’t speak the rest of the night. Loren slowly drifted to sleep around midnight. I stayed up later, my brain running over the seven hundred different ways I could try and not be hunted. I thought of just staying in my room for the duration of my time at Alpha Academy. That kind of defeated the point of being there, however.
Then I thought of just running until I left this place. Leaving it far behind and just returning to my old life. I figured that Victoria would find me again, somehow. She managed to find my final orphanage when I’d been tossed across the country multiple times.
My only hope was to try and become stronger in the comfort of my dorm room. I would wake up the next day and start on the workouts I’d done in high school for track. Push-ups, sit ups, bicep curls with whatever of Loren’s skincare products I could borrow. That way, no one could attack me but I could still become stronger.
If only I had a wolf, the voice in my head said.
If you had a wolf you wouldn’t be in this fucking mess, idiot. I threw back with an involuntary eyeroll. You’d probably have kicked Maximus’s ass and never run into Kairos. True, my inner voice mused. But this could be fun!
I ignored her. This was not fun. Sleep finally came for me at around two in the morning. It made my alarm at eight even worse. I ripped the sheets off my bed. Loren wasn’t in her bed. I frowned. She’d been here yesterday before Basics. Had she already ditched me?
Regardless, it was the perfect time for me to start enacting my plan. I turned on my music, loud enough to get me pumped up but low enough that no one would complain. I put on an old sports bra and some spandex. They were my old high school colors, brown and blue, and looked ridiculous with my bright red hair. Luckily, I wasn’t wearing it for fashion.
I started with some light stretching then tore into muscle building exercises. I pushed my body hard enough that I began to feel the slick of sweat build on my skin. It dripped from my forehead onto the pink carpet Loren had set up before my arrival. I hoped it was washable.
I was almost done with my final exercise, squat jumps, when there was a loud banging against my door. I flinched at the noise and quickly turned off my music. I wiped the sweat from my upper lip before tentatively pulling the door open. It was none other than Maximus. Of course.
“The fuck are you doing in there?” he snapped. “Running elephants through a circuit?”
“I’m training,” I threw back. I wasn’t even mad that he interrupted me. I wanted him to know I was getting stronger.
“Clearly,” his eyes scanned my entire body. Immediately, I was uncomfortable with how little clothing I was wearing. I crossed my arms over my midsection. Maximus rolled his eyes.
“You’re disturbing my rest,” he continued.
“The big bad wolf isn’t up early training?” I raised an eyebrow then fake pouted. “Coach would be so disappointed.”
“Coach would tell me that rest is the most important part of training,” Maximus gritted out. I could tell he was trying to not throttle me. “So stop stomping around and let me sleep.”
“It’s my room,” I snapped back. “I can do what I want in it. Or are you suddenly the dorm manager too?”
Maximus gave me a look that said he was exactly that. I threw my hands up and let out a noise of frustration. “Fine,” I bit out. “I’ll go on a run or something.”
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