Silver Wolf

*Sage POV*

Last night I had the strangest dream. I don’t know if it was because I was in a strange place, or if I was just completely exhausted from the day's events.

 I was wandering the school grounds trying to get familiar with the place, and I came face to face with the most gorgeous silver wolf I had ever seen. 

No matter how close I came to him, he would back away. I could tell he wasn’t afraid of me, but it was like he was keeping his distance for a reason. 

I sat in the grass, and he sat with me. And I started to talk to him like he was someone I had known all my life. I poured my heart out to the silver wolf, and released emotions I had been holding in for so long. 

“I shouldn’t be burdening you with my sadness. A beautiful creature such as yourself should be with others who don’t have such anguish living inside them. Thank you for listening though, it’s been a long time since I felt I could release,” I half smiled. 

The silver wolf, who had kept his distance this whole time, suddenly approached me and nuzzled his head into my neck like he was trying to hug me.

Instinctually I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him back. It felt so comforting, like he cared about me. It was a foreign feeling to me, because since my parents died, the last time someone actually cared was my grandmother on my dad’s side.  

“Thank you. I really needed that. I have to be going,” I told him, and he released a low growl like he didn’t want me to go. However, I got up and started back to the school anyway, and the place I had just been sitting, faded away.

When I woke up that morning, I replayed the dream in my mind. It felt so real, and I wished that it was. 

I laid there for another ten minutes before getting up to prepare for my first day of classes. I had slept through breakfast, so I would just grab a protein bar out of my drawer. 

The uniforms at ShadowFen were worse than Hardwick’s. It was gray on gray on gray. Gray skirt, gray shirt and gray jackets. We were required to wear tights under our skirts, and you guessed it, they had to be gray. Then there were the painful black loafers to finish the dreary ensemble. 

As I stood staring at myself in the full length mirror, I was just thankful that it wasn’t that awful pink color that we were forced to wear at Hardwick. 

I grabbed my bag and protein bar, and left my room, locking it behind me. It was a requirement that our doors were locked when we weren’t in them. 

Rushing down the hallway so I wouldn’t be late for my first class, I tripped and fell. I quickly got up and hoped that no one saw what had happened, and when I came face to face with the ice queen, my face got warm from embarrassment. 

“Miss Thorne, do we run in the hallways?” she asked. I wanted to be a smart ass, but I chose not to get in trouble today.

“No, ma’am. I was just running behind and didn’t want to be late. My apologies,” I replied.

Without saying a word, she rolled her eyes and moved out of my way. As soon as I was out of her line of sight, I started to rush again. Thankfully making it to my first class. Advanced Chemistry.

“I don’t care where you sit, as long as you are seated when the bell rings. Please have your notebooks ready, and your books open to chapter 14. I won’t wait for you to prepare yourself once I start,” a small gray haired woman said as we filed into the classroom. 

I took a seat at a station near the door, and got my items ready to start. I still had five minutes before the bell, so I decided to finish my protein bar, and drink the rest of my orange juice. 

Suddenly the room filled with chatter as someone entered the room. I turned to see who it was, and there stood Headmaster Draven. 

Our eyes briefly met, and he announced to the instructor that he was going to be observing class this morning. 

“Mrs. Morrow, I will be observing class this morning. Please act as if I’m not even here,” he announced. 

She smiled and welcomed him to her class. After the bell rang, she immediately jumped into action. 

“First, I would like to welcome our new transfers from Hardwick. We are happy to have you, and if you have any questions about how I conduct my classes, please save them for the end of class, and we will discuss them,” she smiled, and started her lesson.

I thought Draven would find somewhere closer to the front of the class to watch us and Mrs. Morrow, but he didn’t. He sat in the empty seat next to me. 

I tried my hardest to concentrate, but between his alluring scent, and my mind wandering to the silver wolf, it was hard. Especially since his scent was intoxicating. So much so, I caught myself leaning in a few times to get a better smell. 

“Are you alright? Do I stink? You keep sniffing me,” he laughed. I was so embarrassed that he caught me that I wanted to just run away. However, that wasn’t a possibility. So, I just concentrated on what Mrs.Morrow was saying. 

When the bell rang, I gathered my things and tried to rush out of the classroom. However, he grabbed my arm before I could get away.

“Sage, I was wondering if you could possibly help me on your free periods for the next couple of weeks. I have some things I am behind on, and I think you would be perfect for the task,” he asked.

I wasn’t sure what tasks he had for me to do, but anything beat sitting in a quiet classroom when you had nothing else to do. 

“Sure. When do you want me to start? My free period is right before B lunch,” I replied.

He told me I could start today, and to be in his office before the bell. It would be treated as a class setting, not a luxury.