Chapter 5

Zena's POV

I make it into my dorm room and lean against the wood while I breathe in the smell of old dust and the twins' sharp pine scent.

Feeling exhausted, I scramble toward my bed and pull the curtains shut so I can change into the pad with shaking fingers.

Phew!

I really do need to find a way of making money soon or I am going to get caught.

If I continue like this with no supplies or clothes then my secret will be revealed to the world and I would be thrown out as a rogue.

‘Maybe you can teach some of those fighting skills you learnt years back,’ Skye suggests in my mind, but I shake my head because I know it won't be possible to do that here.

All of them in this school are strong future Alphas with muscles like rocks and I am just a girl who has stopped practicing for months.

They would probably beat me in a one-on-one fight and laugh while they do it because I am tiny and my bones feel like glass compared to theirs.

But in academies for werewolves, fighting shouldn't be the only thing they teach, right? Even a wolf needs to know how the world works.

I was always good at physics and botany back home when my father would let me read his old books by the fireplace. I could offer to teach some of these students who care less about things like that and only want to use their claws.

In a werewolf world, of course you need physics to calculate distance and attack range for a pounce, and botany to assist in the wild when you are poisoned or hungry.

I start to feel a little spark of hope in my chest while I think about charging a few coins for tutoring the dumb Alphas who can't read a map.

I can't enjoy my little moment of excitement for long because the door bursts open with a loud bang, and I immediately kick the box under the bed further so it disappears into the dark.

Caleb stands there with his hand on the knob and he seems to be shocked to find me in the room when I am supposed to be at the hall. I guess he must have forgotten something like a book or his jacket, judging by the confused look on his face.

He isn't overly cheerful like Marcus, but he doesn't seem completely annoying like his brother Cade either.

He looks like someone who would go well with strangers who don't get in his way. I also make a mental note of that.

My two new mates are completely different people and it makes my head spin just thinking about how I am supposed to live with them.

One, on the other hand, is quiet and tries picking up conversations with me even if he is a bit distant. The other is rude and calls me a caveman every time I breathe.

“Hey man, what the hell! You look pale for a boy. Heck! I almost thought you were an intruder sitting in the dark,” Caleb says while he holds his chest and breathes out with difficulty.

I slowly glance down at my skin and see that he is right because I look like a ghost in the dim light of the dorm.

The mud had previously hidden my skin tone and made me look like a rugged boy from the woods.

“I have been indoors for quite some months now, and it's for a special training my father made me do,” I lie while I stand up and try to look strong.

Luckily, Caleb believes my cooked-up story about the training because Alphas love talking about hard work and discipline.

He nods and reaches out to drag my hand along while he tells me we are late for the assembly.

We head down the hallway quietly.

I have a lot on my mind about this academy, but I don't know how to ask or where to start without sounding like a total loser.

Caleb must have read my mind correctly because he doesn't stay silent while we walk.

He keeps on explaining and introducing me to different areas as we walk past the big library and the training pits where guys are growling. “Whoa Whoa, have you been here before, dude?” I ask in the way the non-existent Zane would have if he were real and trying to act cool.

Caleb gives a shrug and looks at the high ceilings with a bored expression on his face.

“Every year we spend our time in different academies, and plus my cousins have been here, so they told me all about this place.” He looks at me and his eyes are sharp like a hawk. “Every strong Alpha should know not to stay in a single academy for years.”

Even though his words don't mean harm, my heart seems to hurt a little because I never had those choices. I had only turned 18 after my parents were killed, and so I didn't get the chance to visit academies or learn about the world like a normal shifter.

I can see his face clearly now under the bright lights of the main hall and he is perfectly sculpted like a statue in a museum.

If I guess right, he looks to be about 21 years old, so this must be his and Cade’s third academy while it is my very first. “How about you, and where did you go before this?” he asks and he tilts his head.

I come up with an excuse about a small private tutor in the north, and he stops asking because I look like I am going to cry.

A middle-aged man with a scarred face calls us over to a big wooden desk and hands us two sets of heavy black uniforms.

He doesn’t bother to check the book to see if I am also a student or not, he just tosses the clothes at my chest.

I don't see Marcus in the crowd of boys pushing for their clothes and I feel sad for a moment because he is the only one who makes me feel safe.

Caleb has gone to meet his twin brother, who is leaning against a pillar looking mean, and I decline his offer to follow them along to the dining hall.

I feel scared for myself because being near both of them at once makes the bond scream in my ears.

I don’t want the brothers to find out our mate bond and then look at my skinny body and reject me in front of everyone.

Marcus feels like my only hope for a real friend and I will stay close to him in the future.

My stomach growls hungrily and the sound is so loud I am glad nobody is standing next to me. I head to the dining hall and the smell of fresh bread and soup makes my mouth water so much it hurts.

The food here is good and the plates are piled high with meat for the hungry wolves. I grab a tray and a cold juice, but on my way to a quiet corner, a big boy bumps into me hard.

"Watch where you're going, tiny!" a voice booms.

I look up, my heart stopping. A group of older boys stand there, laughing.

They are waiting for me to do something. My hands are shaking so hard the tray is rattling. I look down at the mess on my chest, then back at them.

One of them steps closer, He reaches out a hand and I flinch, waiting for the hit.