Isaac

Chapter 2.

Camryn.

I woke up to the loud sound of Heather's blow dryer.

I groaned as, I pulled a pillow over my head. "Can you turn that down?"

Heather didn’t even look at me. “We have class in thirty minutes,” she said, casually styling her already perfect hair in front of the mirror. She was fully dressed in the academy uniform flawlessly, of course. A red pleated skirt, a crisp white shirt and a red-and-grey striped vest that somehow looked like it was made just for her.

I sat up, still half-asleep

“Uniform’s in the closet" Heather said, applying a thick layer of lip gloss. “Try not to embarrass yourself.”

And with that, she grabbed her bag, tossed her sleek ponytail over her shoulder and walked out.

I sighed.

Dragging myself out of bed, I went to the closet and pulled out my own uniform. It looked exactly the same but on me… it didn’t feel right. The skirt was too short, the vest clung too tightly and the shirt itched in all the wrong places. I ran a hand through my brown hair and decided to leave it down, messy waves were kind of my thing.

No makeup. No gloss. No effort. Just enough to not look like a walking zombie.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the room and into the unfamiliar halls of Lupinemere Academy, trying to shake the nerves off.

It was my first day. A fresh start.

-----

I sat quietly in class, trying to blend in but it didn’t take long to realize this wasn’t your average school.

“I am Mr. Halden,” Mr Halden said. “I’ve taught at this academy for nearly three decades, which means I’ve seen it all, the runners, biters, screamers, and those who think they’re smarter than the moon. Let me assure you… you’re not.”

Someone in the front snickered. Mr. Halden didn’t even blink.

“Lycanthropy is not a curse,” he said, pacing. “It’s a biological shift. A genetic evolution. But it is dangerous. Not to you but to everyone around you, if you lose control.”

That part hit a little too hard. I swallowed and looked away.

He went on about pack structure, scent recognition and the mental toll of first transformations. Most of it I already knew from my parents, but hearing it in a classroom filled with other people like me? It hit differently. It felt real now.

I scribbled notes without looking at the paper.

“Control,” Mr. Halden said, stopping in front of the chalkboard. “That’s what we train here. Control is the difference between surviving your shift… and regretting it for the rest of your life.”

My chest tightened.

The memory of that night flashed in my head. The forest. The blood. The scream. I bit the inside of my cheek.

I glanced around.

Everyone here looked just as lost as I felt, shifting in their seats, scribbling half-hearted notes or pretending to pay attention.

The lesson went on for hours and my guilt kept on eating me up, this class was making me relive that night and I so desperately wanted it to end .

When the bell finally rang, I nearly jumped from my seat.

“Alright, that’s it for today,” the teacher called out. “Next time, we’ll start the practical aspect of control. You’ll want to take that seriously, especially if you like having friends who are still alive.”

Not creepy at all.

I grabbed my bag and immediately left the class.

As I walked through the hallways, suddenly someone approached me.

“Camryn.”

I looked up and blinked.

Isaac.

I wasn’t expecting to see him. He wore that warm, friendly smile like it was part of him and something about it made my heart relax a little.

“Hey,” I said, smiling back.

“How was your first class?” he asked.

“Torture,” I groaned. “The guy wouldn’t stop yapping about things that felt obvious. Like, yes, we’re werewolves. We get it.”

Isaac laughed. It was soft and genuine. “Yeah, it’s kind of a rite of passage. Everyone new goes through it. Once you pass the basics, it gets better.”

“I’m counting the minutes,” I said, making him laugh again.

“You’re pretty funny,” he said.

“And you smile too much,” I teased.

He raised an eyebrow, still grinning. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not at all,” I said. “It’s...nice.”

We started walking together, not really going anywhere, just talking. And for the first time since I arrived, it didn’t feel like I was completely alone.

Eventually, we ended up near the garden, sitting on a stone bench tucked beneath an old tree.

“So, Camryn,” Isaac said, turning slightly to face me, “what’s your story?”

I froze.

“My what?”

“Everyone here’s got a reason they’re at Lupinemere,” he said. “No one shows up by accident.”

I looked away. “What’s your story?” I asked, trying to dodge.

He smiled. “I asked first.”

I felt that tight pull in my chest, the kind I got when memories of that night tried to resurface. I hadn’t spoken about it. Not to anyone. I didn’t want to.

“I... have a class now,” I lied, quickly standing up.

Isaac blinked. “Wait, but...”

“It was nice talking to you,” I cut in before he could finish, forcing a smile and turning away.

I didn’t look back.

-----

Today didn’t go exactly as I’d planned.

First, there was Mr. Halden’s torture session of a class, “Lycanthropy for Beginners,” which felt more like “Here’s Everything That Can Go Wrong with You.” Then came Isaac asking about my story. I didn’t even know how to begin with that.

The more I tried to forget what happened, the more the past seemed to crawl its way back.

By the time I got back to my dorm. I shut the door behind me, kicked off my shoes and pulled off the stiff school vest. The red pleated skirt soon followed. I stood in front of the mirror, ready to change into something more comfortable.

But something caught my eye.

I frowned and leaned closer to the mirror. At first, I thought it was a shadow, maybe just bad lighting. But no, it was there.

Right below my ribs, on the left side of my stomach, was a scar.

Small but sharp.

Faint red. Shaped like an X.

I lifted my shirt slightly and stared at it. My fingers reached for it on instinct, brushing lightly over the skin. It wasn’t sore but the skin felt strange almost like it didn’t belong to me.

“What…?”

I would’ve noticed something like this.

It was new. And I didn’t remember getting it.