Chapter 4

~adrian~

He turned his face, averting his gaze from us. I quickly drove myself out of Cassandra and covered her with her clothes. “You should leave.”

Feeling ashamed,she picked up her clothes and left the room quickly. I sneered at her attitude.

“You really light up the room.”

My voice shot daggers at his scared and shuddering figure. “I was just coming here to sit,” I could see his fingers tremble slightly as he spoke, he was probably afraid that I'd kill him.

I liked it,the smell of his fear.“Just to sit? Your expression some minutes ago looked like you wanted to replace that little bitch I had.” I laughed at him.

“You wish,” I heard him mutter as he sat on a chair.I smirked.“Tread carefully,brother. You're new here. You should come to the party I'm hosting this evening.”

“I think I'll just do my homework.” His lips curved into a smile, but I could tell it was fake.

“And didn't dad strictly say no parties?”

I only laughed at him.

“Homework?”

“You should come to the party if you know you really want friends this semester. Right now,it seems like no one here likes you.”

A sudden hatred for him kicked in and my fangs threatened to elongate again. Needing some air,I quickly left the classroom.

As I stepped into the long hallway,I could hear some gasps and low growls. The females were drooling over me and it seemed the males were really angry. But they couldn't voice it out. They knew I'd crush them and it would only take seconds to do that.

One of the courageous ones walked up to me and smiled. I only raised a brow at her, making her step back a bit,but she didn't relent in her purchase.

I looked at the girl beneath me and finally smiled. Her eyes went wide, like she didn’t expect it. She had only asked how my holiday went.“It was fine,” I said.

The others around her gasped. Maybe they thought I would snap at her or worse. I didn’t blame them,my patience with questions was thin at best.

I straightened up and let my gaze sweep the hall. Every head turned toward me, waiting for what I had to say. “I’ll be hosting a welcome party,” I said, my voice echoing through the hall. “All of you are invited.”

It didn’t take long for the word to spread. As I walked out, I could hear the whispers through the school. My name was one every single mouth . I knew how to get people’s attention.

Halfway to the cafeteria, a junior ran up to me, almost tripping over himself. “The principal wants to see you,” he said, his voice shaking a little.I rolled my eyes.

Of course,the principal and I had never gotten along. He was an old friend of my father, which already put him on my bad side. If he was calling me in, it meant something had happened again. Something to do with my father.

The principal’s office smelled like tea as I entered. Disgusting tea. He was seated behind his desk, a newspaper in his hands. He didn’t look up until I had walked halfway across the room.“Adrian,” he said, folding the paper and placing it aside.

“Have a seat.”I sat down but didn’t relax.

“What do you want?”He gave me a look, the kind meant to make you feel small, but it didn’t work.

“How was your holiday?” he asked.

I leaned back. “Let’s skip the fake concern. Get to the point.”

His lips pressed tightly into a thin line. “Fine. Your father is going through a lot right now.”I didn’t even blink,I had a feeling I knew where all that talk was going to end.

“I don’t care what’s happening with him.”The principal’s sigh was long, like he’d been expecting that answer. “You should care. War is coming, Adrian. And it might be the biggest wolf war our packs have ever faced.”

I stared at him. He said it like the words alone should shake me. I didn't even care about anything.

“I’m telling you this because when the time comes, you’ll need to be ready to take your place as alpha,” he went on.

“This is not the time for games or distractions. You need to start thinking like a leader.”I tilted my head, pretending to be bored. “And if I don’t?”

“Then everything your father has built will fall,” he said without hesitation. “And so will the people you care about.”

That last part caught my attention, though I didn’t let it show. I let a smile creep across my face. “You think talking about ‘people I care about’ is going to scare me into playing nice?”

“This isn’t about playing nice,this is survival.”His words stuck in my mind, even as I tried to brush them off. “War, huh?” I said at last. “And who exactly is planning this?”

“That’s what we don’t know yet,” he admitted. “But there are signs. Attacks near our borders. Scouts going missing. And whispers from other packs.”I stayed quiet, my mind trying to process the information. He could be making it all up to scare me, but… something in his voice told me he wasn’t lying.

He leaned forward. “Think about it, Adrian. The party you’re planning… These are the people who might one day follow you into battle. Or die because of your choices.”I stood up without answering. I didn’t like being told what to do. But the truth was, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know who was bold enough to threaten us.

As I left his office, I could still feel his eyes on my back. Outside, the noise of the school hit me again. Laughter, voices, footsteps echoing down the hall.War, the word didn’t leave my mind. If it was coming, I’d be ready. And whoever started it… they’d regret it.

All I needed now was a party and drinks.