Chapter 7

5 YEARS LATER...

CASS'S POV

I walked into the lecture hall about thirty minutes before class would start. I wanted to get a feel for the room. This was my second semester as an Assistant Professor. I was so excited to get the job. I enjoyed it, plus it helped me pay for my masters degree. Thank god I was going to be done after I take my comps in a few months.  I never went to UCONN to play basketball. After my first shift, my dad and I decided it would be best to lay low. Mom was pretty disappointed, but my dad worked his magic and convinced her it was for the best.  So, I gave up my basketball scholarship and took an academic one at UCLA. I had completed several hours of college credit in high school, so I with some determination I was able to complete my undergraduate degree in English Literature ahead of schedule. I'm now persuing a masters degree in Folklore. I know it sounds like an odd thing specialty, but folklore has become an obsession for me. It's the only place i can find answers about myself. Even though most of the stories are pretty obscure and impossible to know how accurate they are. Still, it's better than nothing. My dad always hit dead ends as well. He never found anything helpful to explain what I am or where we came from. Our family had nothing written down to help our research. So, we were only able to find old folklore texts to help us out. Ultimately, I knew that I decended from a royal bloodline of Lycanthrope that had been chosen as the ultimate weapons of the moon goddess to fight against vampires. That just seemed unreal to me. I'd never seen, or sensed a vampire that I know of. That was fine with me. I did not want to be anyone's weapon. Plus, the last time I checked, this moon goddess had never shown herself to me and I didn't plan on doing the bidding of anyone other my own.

 Apparently I looked different than a normal werewolf. I'd seen the texts and seen old drawings of what werewolves looked like when they shifted but I'd never seen one in person. I stand on two legs. They stand on four...beneath me. That thought gives me a headache. I've met a few werewolves along the way. I tried to avoid them, but they can sense my power. They know I'm like them,  but they say that they can tell I'm not the same. They all assume I'm what they call an Alpha. I never befriended them because I was just trying to live my life. Lay low. I couldn't afford to be discovered. I didn't want to be challenged at every turn.

 I knew the basics of common werewolf life. I'd read about the social structure. What's crazy about that is I am not part of it really,  but I've never met one that didn't do exactly as I said. It's like they can't help it. That scares the shit out of me. I don't want to command anyone. I don't want to force someone to do something they don't want to do. I was running out of books to read about what I am. Eventually, I was going to have to seek out someone with some knowledge. The thought of trusting someone with my secret scared me though. Eventually it would have to happen. I just didn't know when.

I was pulled from my thoughts that plagued me more than I liked when my phone vibrated with the arrival of a text from my fiance. 

Alex Gates: Good luck today Babe! Let the first day of torture commence. 

I rolled my eyes. He wants me to be a scary hardass. I just can't do it. I'm not even an offical professor yet. That's why I'm teaching English Composition I under the advisment of Dr. Brody. He was one of my favorite professors during my undergraduate days. That's where I met Alex. He was an assistant in one of the classes I was taking. We flirted, but never took it past that until the last day of class. He asked for my number and for a date. I couldn't imagine a better match for me. We were best friends and in love. It couldn't get any better. I do wish I could have a family, but I couldn't risk passing on this genetic flaw of mine. So, I told Alex straight out of the gate that I wasn't able to have children. That wasn't true as far as I knew, but it might as well be. We were going to get married this summer after classes were done. He would be done getting his PhD by then and I would be done with my comps and hopefully have my masters. He had a full schedule of undergraduate basic english classes that he taught on top of working to get his doctorate. I was so proud of him. He was handsome and had brains. I smiled thinking of him.

Students started to trickle into the room one by one. Then my nostrils flared as I smelled the familiar scent of werewolf. I could also feel a buzz in the air. I could feel it in my bones. I knew this feeling meant that whoever this werewolf was, they possessed some power in their genetics. I looked up from my lecture notes and let my senses search the lecture hall. It didn't take long to find a blonde haired girl staring straight at me. She maintainted eye contact for only a few seconds before averting her gaze. Typical. No werewolf could hold my gaze for long. I guess it has something to do with royal lycanthrope genes. She took her seat somewere in the center of the hall. I hoped that by not acknowledging her anymore that maybe she would just ignore me as well. At 9:00am on the dot I began my lecture.

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I ended the lecture about twenty minutes short of my scheduled class time. It was the first day afterall. I didn't want them to hate class after just the first day. I was gathering my things when I sensed the young werewolf approaching me. I hadn't called roll that day because my class list is rarely finalized until the second week of semester. So I wasn't able to find out her name. I glanced up while putting my laptop into my bag and gave her a small smile. "Hello Miss...?" I greeted with more of a quesiton than anything.

She didn't take the time to answer my question. "What are you?" she quickly spit out instead. She wasn't being rude, just more of a speed talker most likely due to a combination of youth and her nerves. I continued to smile when I replied, "I am your lecturer for this semester. My name is Cassie Miller. Who might you be?" I started going by Cassie after I graduated high school. I don't know why, it just kind of happened.

"Uh, my name is Vivian Drasus." She said almost like she wasn't sure. I sighed. I shouldn't be surprised that she was acting this way, although with her initial question I could tell she usually had some moxie. "Ah. Drasus...Roman for 'strong'" I said in a kind and friendly tone. I learned from the get go it was best to show I wasn't out to get anyone.

Vivian blinked a few times. She seemed to be surprised that I knew what her last name meant. "Yeah. How did you know that?" she asked with a curious smile. She was petite for a werewolf. She was petite for an alpha female for sure. I suspect she was young and probably had a brother that would be the true alpha of her pack, but that didn't deminish her strength though.

"You'd be surprised what random information I've stored from my literary studies over the last few years." I chuckled. 

"Cool. Yeah. So, what are you? Are you an alpha too? I've never met a female alpha with your kind of power. Like, ever!" She exclaimed. 

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them she was still standing there waiting for me to answer her. "I'm just me. Nothing special." I said nonchelantly. 

"Bullshit!" She blurted out. I could tell she wasn't trying to aggitate me, but I was tired of this conversation and my irritation was getting to me. It was the first day for fucks sake. Why couldn't I have the first day? I'd gone this long without a werewolf in my class. Why now? My blood pressuer was increasing.

"Look. Just forget whatever you think you know about me and go. If you can't do that I'll be forced to removed you from my class." I said with my anger rising. 

"Your eyes!" she said clearly shocked. I was losing my grip and this girl was about to ruin my day. I could control when I shifted but i struggled with my eyes when I got angry. They kind of had a mind of their own. 

"GO! Now!" I yelled. My voice shook the podium I was standing near and Vivian bowed her head and showed  me her neck in submission. Shit! I didn't mean for that to happen. Vivian turned on her heel and ran out of the lecture hall. I couldn't be certain but I thought I heard a sniffle and possibly saw tears running down her face. I felt bad. I really did. I just didn't understand why should couldn't take a hint. 

I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing. Taking my phone out, I pulled the camera up to check and make sure my eyes were back to normal before i grabbed my things and exited the lecture hall. 

Damn. What a first day.