Does it hurt?

RACHEL

No sooner had Mr. Wayne finished speaking than I was rammed into.

I gasped, slamming hard into the damp earth, my back cracking on impact. Grimacing, I rolled on the ground, holding my side as pain shot through me.

“Go on, teach her a lesson, Brooke. She almost broke your nose last session. Teach her what it means to be in house Ferales!”

“It’s a joke they want her to be a part of us!”

“House Ferales can't be beaten!”

The crowd erupted in a cheer.

Amidst my pain, I noticed no one was cheering for me. For Ivy Sawyer.

I couldn't understand why. It was either that they were afraid of Brooke because she gave off that mean girl vibe, or they hated Ivy Sawyer’s gut. And they were waiting for the right time for her to go down. And this was the right time.

“That's right. House Ferales can't be beaten.” Brooke boasted, striding towards me.

She picked me off the ground like I was weighing nothing, bringing me to her eye level. She was slightly taller than I was.

“You're in house Ferales now? Absolutely not!” She snickered, flung me, causing me to slam into the crowd.

A couple of the students went down.

“Shit,” I whispered as someone picked me up, shoving me towards Brooke who kicked my side. God, she was going to break all my bones!

I groaned, turning to Mr. Wayne. He was watching it happen. I thought he had said to pin or yield, not engage in some physical assault. He should stop her. I wanted to signal to him that I was done, but Brooke wasn’t.

“What happened, Sawyer? Is that all the fight you've got in you?” She taunted, knocking me to the ground.

She sat on top of me, grabbing both my arms behind my back. I didn't put up too much of a fight. I could barely stand her.

Brooke leaned into me and whispered, “Be grateful this is only a yield or pin match. Else, I'd be happy to break every piece of that tiny bone that makes up your wolf’s skeleton.”

“I think my job is done here,” Brooke announced, her hands still wound tightly around mine.

“And the winner is, Brooke!” Mr. Wayne declared.

The crowd erupted in another cheer once more, while I stayed on the ground, trying my best to sit up. But the pain in my ribs made it impossible to do so.

“Are you alright?!”

I turned my head as I heard Clara’s voice. She helped me to a sitting position, her eyes moving up and down as they stared at me.

I shook my head. I had a broken rib or maybe more, because I could have sworn I had broken some ribs when the monster attacked me earlier at home, and now Brooke had certainly done more damage.

Clara shook her head, a frown formed on her face, “I don't get it. Brooke should be the last person to beat you. I mean, you might not be the strongest here, but you're definitely stronger and smarter than she is. Hence, the reason you beat her last term. What happened?”

“Um…” I mumbled, racking my brain thinking of what to say.

Mr. Wayne's whistle saved me from having to answer the question. Clara looked like she wouldn't give up until I gave her an answer.

“Come prepared tomorrow, everyone. We move into sparring drills. Vamos.”

We would come to fight here again tomorrow? I didn't want to. I'd surely die before I get to find the reason I was here. Before that happened, I needed to escape.

Clara snickered as Mr Wayne swaggered away.

She extended her hand to me. “Let's go to the cafeteria. I'm famished.” Her stomach grumbled in response to her statement.

“You always chose the wrong time to disgrace me,” she groaned, rubbing at her stomach.

“Idiot,” Clara said, her eyes trained on something—rather, someone.

I turned to see a boy with auburn hair, standing beside Brooke. Brooke wrapped her arms around him, then she kissed him thoroughly on the lips.

“Witch,” Clara muttered.

“What was that?” I asked her.

“I thought we agreed on not talking about exes and witches.”

I didn't care about the boy. I wanted to know about Brooke, but why she hated Ivy, and Clara didn't seem interested in discussing her either.

We had a quick meal at the cafeteria, and I got to meet more of Ivy’s friends, each in different houses, except Ferales.

The only friends she had in the same house as her were Ruby and Clara. I believed those were her closest friends, too. There were five houses in the Academy representing the five known bloodlines, and House Ferales was the most notorious, as I heard.

“A staff meeting was called today,” Ruby began as we walked back to the dorm.

“Why?” Clara asked her. Then she said to me, “She never changed. Always getting the tea first before us.”

“It’s because of her,” Ruby whispered.

My step faltered, and I pointed to myself, “Me?!” I said out loud. I wasn't interested in the conversation until now.

Ruby slapped a hand over my mouth. “Shhh. No one knows. I can be in trouble if anyone hears this. Meant to be a top secret. The councils are involved and all.”

“But you heard it from your father, which made it no longer a top secret,” Clara answered dryly.

“Her father?” I questioned. Who was he, and why would they set up a meeting about me?

“You know my father, duh,” Ruby let out.

She clutched my hand, pointing to the tattoo there. “That is the reason why the meeting is going on.” She pressed her finger on it, causing me to wince.

“I'm sorry. Does it hurt?” She quizzed, her worried gaze on me.

“No, no,” I shook my head. Her finger had jabbed one of my bones. The beating I had taken from Brooke still made me hurt all over.

“Why would a meeting be set for it?” I asked again.

“Come on, Ivy,” Ruby groaned out loudly. “This isn't the time to play dumb right now. You should know that the council of elders is a serious matter.”

“I'm really confused about what's going on. The council of elders, a meeting about me…werewolf world…?”

Who was going to explain everything happening to me?

It felt like I had fallen into a deep shit right now and getting out seemed impossible. Could it be they all knew my real identity, hence the reason they had called for a meeting? It couldn't be about the hideous tattoo. That was stupid.

“Just know if a resorting is called for, and if that happens again, that could result in a huge problem. And my father said it isn't something you'd like.”

“What does that mean?” I wondered.

Ruby shrugged, waving as she turned the corner to her room. Clara did the same, leaving me to myself.

I was lost in thought as I continued my journey. I bumped into a hard, warm body, causing me to stumble backward. A hand reached out to pull me back, steadying me, and I looked up to stare into the most fascinating gray eyes I had ever seen.

“Professor Jaxon,” I breathed out.