Enter
“Dear Harper Brine, congratulations on being selected to attend Wolfstone Academy. Your next four years will be full of academic growth and fulfilling extracurricular activities. Here at Wolfstone, we pride ourselves on school unity, rather than just pack unity. This means you are expected to interact with members of the school beyond your own pack. Enclosed in the package are further details on first-year registration, dorms, the campus grounds, and other academy rules. Please be sure to read through all the information. Term dates begin on September 1, but we expect all students to arrive on campus grounds one week before the start of the term. This is to ensure you settle in well, and we also have an orientation week. Looking forward to seeing you on campus! Signed, Principal Judy Sullivan.”
It’s too late to turn back.
I should have tried harder, but what could I have done? This was set in stone from the moment I was given a name. My father's orders are to be followed. If I had tried to run away, I'd probably get about ten minutes of a head start before I'd be found. No, there's no choice but to try to accept this. My guards wanted to come with me, but they didn't let anyone into the campus who wasn't supposed to be there.
The towering structure of Wolfstone Academy looms over my head. It’s even darker and more imposing than I thought it would be. There are turrets upon turrets, with blacked-out windows. The castle-like building looks ancient and historic, as it should. Thick, gnarly vines wrap around the outer edges of the academy building, and oak and willow trees surround the campus. The campus smells like fresh leaves and something distinctly smoky, like tea leaves burning. The only thing that seems out of place is the sheer number of people and activity all around the campus. You’d think the place was haunted just by looking at it, but for the liveliness.
There are lots of people milling around and chatting, some must be first-years like me with their trunks and suitcases. They’re fidgeting with their belongings while their family members fuss over them. Others look more relaxed; there’s a group playing with a football, another group reading on the lawn. Some meet my curious gaze and smile openly, while others look away with smirks or blank expressions.
There’ll be plenty of time for social interactions later. For now, I need to find my room to unpack and take a shower. It’s not hot outside, but after the walk up, I’m huffing and puffing like a little dragon.
Rolling my suitcase ahead, I take a deep breath and walk to the main entrance. I’m about to push through when the black doors swing open. It’s a plump lady with a brown dress and kitten heels, wearing a badge that says ‘orientation leader,’ waving me in. Several people enter the building behind me, waiting for further instructions.
Inside, it’s a couple of degrees warmer, making the whole place feel toasty. The entrance hall is wide and long, with pretty cream marble columns and diamond-patterned flooring. The orientation leader takes us to the registration office. There’s a large chandelier and a neat row of mahogany desks with several people manning the computers at the desks. It’s considerably hotter in here. The sweat gathers around my armpits, and I hike my sleeves up.
“Fun way up, hey?” The orientation leader says, glancing at me.
I don’t know about fun, long, and sweaty, sure. There’s a huge main gate and winding driveway that leads up to the academy building. Most people drove up, but I had to walk because the rude taxi driver said he had to go fill up his gas tank after dropping me off at the bottom of the driveway.
I nod absent-mindedly as she starts to address everyone in the room.
“Hello, my name is Ruby Lee, and I’m one of the orientation leaders. Thank you for arriving on time for the afternoon session. On behalf of the staff of Wolfstone Academy, I want to extend a warm welcome to you! Now, the first thing you’ll want to do is register your names so you can get your room numbers and orientation schedules. Everything you need to know should be in your registration pack, but as a reminder, dinner will be at six thirty sharp, and we usually have quiet hours from eleven thirty unless there are special events. If you get lost, you may call any of the relevant numbers listed on the contact pages, or you can simply ask a fellow Wolfstoner for directions. Looking forward to seeing you all around campus!”
After she finishes speaking, Ruby instructs us to line up to get our room keys.
“Name?” The lady at the front desk asks when it’s my turn.
“Harper Brine,” I say.
Someone aims a hiss at me, and the lady stiffens but nods, typing something in the computer. I cock my head to the side. The front desk lady hands me my room card, and I thank her. Then I turn around to assess the threat.
It’s an older woman who hissed at me; she looks like a parent. Her perfectly coiffed blond hair stands out against her plain black outfit. Her manicured nails dig into her purse as she sniffs and turns her nose up.
“Brine scum,” she mutters as I walk past.
“Excuse me?” I stop and prop a hand on my hip.
She’s shorter than me by about a foot.
She looks up to meet my eyes, and her eyes narrow as she says, “You heard me.”
“No, I don’t think I did. Would you care to repeat yourself?” I ask sweetly.
The woman is probably about to throw hands, but nice Ruby Lee walks by, smiling at us.
“Everything alright, Mrs White?”
Mrs White puts on a sugary smile and says, “Oh yes, everything is peachy. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find my daughter.”
She brushes against my shoulder intentionally hard, and I roll my eyes.
Ruby Lee stops and places a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Miss Brine. If you need any further support, please let me know. We do not condone inappropriate behavior towards our students.”
I nod again and say, “Thank you. I appreciate that. Everything is okay. I want to find my room. Walking up made me sweat a lot.”
I don’t want to make a scene on my first day here, after all. I’ve got to uphold my pack’s reputation, being the eldest daughter of Alpha Brine. So far, I haven't run into anyone from my pack, but I'm kind of glad. I don't want people bowing and falling to my feet. My sister is three years younger than me, so it'll be a while until she can attend as well. I know that the son of our pack's beta, Elias, is somewhere here in his third year, but that's the extent of my knowledge about exactly who from my pack is here. It's not as if my father hands me the list of people in our pack who go to Wolfstone.
“Oh dear, yes. Please take your time to freshen up. Here, let me check your room number. Ah, you’re on the third floor, take the elevator on the left at the end of the hall.”
She points me in the right direction, and I go there, dragging my suitcase.
It’s strange. There aren’t many other people waiting for the same lift. As the lift comes down from the third floor, I start to scent something.
My heart beats faster and faster, and everything feels too hot. I feel like I need to take off my clothes. It’s driving my wolf crazy. It’s like I’m crawling in my skin, like I want to shift right now, and my heart is starting to go into overdrive. The only thing keeping me sane is the smell, strangely enough. It makes me feel so alive, and yet it smells comforting, like lemons with a hint of cinnamon spice.
The lift reaches the ground floor and opens with a ding, and I stare into the eyes of the most handsome man I have ever seen. His dark hair frames his forehead with wavy curls; he’s tall, broad-shouldered, but lean otherwise. And his eyes are the deepest forest green that I’ve ever seen. There’s a hint of stubble on his chin, and his jaw is sharp and defined. He looks perfect. The only oddity I see is a thin, long scar on the left side of his neck. He wears a light grey shirt under a brown jacket and casual black jeans.
He freezes for a moment as we make eye contact, lips parted.
Then his eyes flutter shut, his lips turn into a grimace, and he makes a beeline for the exit.
Is my mate rejecting me?
I slide to the floor, losing my grip on my suitcase as my wolf howls in pain.
