And yet, when the familiar prickle started at the nape of my neck, I stiffened, and pain twisted in my heart.
Alarick.
I knew him, the boy I’d come to think of as my wolf, knew the sensation of him being near, of him watching me. I knew that if I stepped into the woods, I’d be daring him to chase me. And I knew that he would.
That was the worst part. I could make him talk to me, chase me out of the woods, off his father’s property. But now, that seemed like a stupid game—and a cruel one. I didn’t want to make him see me. I didn’t want to hurt him by forcing him to talk to me. I knew how much it hurt. I could feel it every day, the ache of him missing from my life even as I went through the motions of moving on.
I could still see his eyes, as familiar as if I were gazing into a mirror, their stormy indigo blue as he stared at me from the face of a somber, majestic wolf. I could still feel the heat of his gaze on my skin like sunshine, could close my eyes and see every sculpted, perfect muscle in his magnificent body.
“Come on,” Svana said, looping her arm through mine and leading me into the building. “I’ll show you to your new class.”
It took everything in me not to look back.
Inside, Svana headed for a small side hallway. I’d seen her go to her classes with Viktor and Amy down that hall, but I’d never had a class there. Now, we joined a handful of the most beautiful students at Ravenwood heading that way. They must be the vampires, I surmised.
When I felt the prickle sweep over my skin again, I couldn’t help myself. I glanced over my shoulder.
I caught sight of Alarick towering over the other students. They shrank back from him and his posse, his boys. I swallowed hard when our eyes met. Everything slowed for one moment, and in that moment, my heart tore in two. There was nothing in his gaze to signal he had loved me, or even that he remembered who I was. I wasn’t his mate, or even his girlfriend. And he wasn’t mine. He wasn’t my wolf any longer.
Last year, I’d been part of their posse. I hadn’t wanted the fear of the other students, and now, it seemed I’d gotten my wish. My wolf existence seemed forgotten now that I was one of the vampires. I’d never been big and scary like a wolf, anyway. I’d never been ‘right’ for the werewolf life. Brooklyn had changed when she became one of them. I hadn’t. Maybe Alarick was right. Maybe I never should have been a wolf at all.
I tore my eyes from his, unable to hold his gaze without going to pieces. My Alarick, my wolf, was looking at me like a stranger. I couldn’t breathe knowing he thought of me that way.
Svana pulled me through the door of the classroom, and I skidded to a stop. The room wasn’t set up like a regular classroom. Three rows of benches sat at one side of the room, and at the other, four wide, wooden desks sat facing the benches. Mr. Ravenwood sat at one of the desks, a folder in front of him. At the next desk sat a couple I knew all too well. I gasped aloud, images of my attack flying through my mind. This felt a little too much like my first day the year before.
Except instead of pervy Mr. Wolf, I was facing the vampires who had succeeded where Mr. Wolf had failed. They had killed me.
My blood ran cold, and the sour taste of bile choked the back of my throat.
“What the fuck,” I whispered.
“These are some of the council members,” Svana said, gripping my elbow. She led me to one of the benches, where I sank down next to Viktor with relief, my legs shaking. These people had fucking killed me. If not for Viktor, I’d be in a grave right now, six feet in the ground. His hand closed around mine, his fingers cool and steadying.
“We’re required to check in with them weekly,” Viktor said. “Usually, we do it at the clinic. But the first day, they come to the school to see the new students.”
A dozen other vampire students had gathered on the benches with us as if assembled in a courtroom. Obviously they had a much stronger presence at Ravenwood than the handful of wolves, though the Wolf boys had more power. Or maybe they only let the boys think they had the power. Maybe they didn’t have so much influence after all. I knew that Alarick and his brothers had killed someone during their first week at school, earning them the respect of the other students. But I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it was an illusion, one Mr. Ravenwood enjoyed maintaining.
I knew for certain that werewolves were stronger than vampires. In wolf form, they were bigger, but vampires were quicker. Still, it was a numbers game. Surely the vampires, who outnumbered the wolves three to one at the academy, could take down the werewolves if they wanted. Especially since I knew there were lots more vampires in the surrounding area who didn’t attend the academy.
I couldn’t help but wonder what Mr. Ravenwood had planned, why he
