“So, you’re basically spies?” I asked. “Are you in on his plan to take over the world?”
“No,” she said, sounding hurt. “Of course not. But we don’t have the freedoms you do, Timberlyn. If we wouldn’t cooperate, they’d pull us from the academy in a second.”
“Why do they want to know what’s going on with a bunch of teenagers?” I asked. “That’s pretty creepy, if you ask me.”
“Ravenwood Academy is mostly supernaturals,” she said. “They want to know what’s going on with all the other supernaturals. But of course I don’t want to kill humans. How could you think that after two years of being friends with us?”
“Sorry,” I muttered. It was true. If she was out to kill humans, she would have killed me freshman year, when I’d been a stupid little human. I’d been around her all year, been alone with her dozens of times. If she wanted me dead, I’d be dead already.
“You’ll see him soon enough,” Viktor said after a few minutes of silence. He stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel of his fancy car with both hands. “But it’s not safe yet.”
“Then… Just tell him I’m okay, and tell him where I am so he can come see me. That’s safe, right? I wouldn’t want to bite a werewolf?” I winced at my own words. I’d been a human up until recently, and I had no problem downing their blood like it was water on a hot summer day.
“Okay,” Svana said. “We’ll tell him. But… Just don’t get upset if he doesn’t come visit. You might not have hated us, but you just became a wolf. You know how Alarick feels about us.”
I couldn’t deny that. Alarick despised my friends, especially Viktor. I’d always assumed it had more to do with Alarick being a super possessive Alpha boyfriend than the fact that Viktor was a vampire. But the blood-drinking had been mentioned a time or two during our arguments over whether I should be friends with vampires.
We pulled up to Ravenwood Academy and parked around back.
“There’s an escape-proof room in the tower,” Svana explained. “It’s where all the newly evolved stay for a few months while they learn to control their instincts. You’ll still be volatile after that, but it won’t be as bad. You’ll be able to control yourself most of the time. Like Amy was last year.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding and staring up at the towering bell that hung over Ravenwood. I’d never been up there or had a reason to go. Now, I did.
We entered through a small door at the back of the building that I’d never been through. In the parking lot, I could smell humans in the vicinity, and my hunger pangs returned. The vampires hurried me through the door and pulled it closed behind us, plunging us into darkness. Here, only the smell of old stone and dust greeted me.
“Come on,” Svana said, hooking her hand through my arm. “You’ll be able to see in the dark as your senses grow stronger. For now, just follow our lead.”
Viktor’s cool hand hooked through my other arm, and together, we started up a set of stone steps. As we went, my eyes adjusted to the darkness a bit, and I knew I was seeing better than I could have as a human. Despite the lack of windows until the top of the tower, the scant light was enough for me to make out the steps and not trip and fall on my face.
When we reached the top at last, Viktor pulled out a key and opened an old wooden door.
“Wait, does wood really hold us?” I asked. “Does it take a wooden stake to kill me?” Everything had happened so fast that I hadn’t even had time to ask about what I was.
“Yes, and yes,” Svana said. “And don’t worry. We’ll be on campus all summer. We’ll bring you food every day and teach you about what you are. You’re not in jail, Timberlyn. If you really want to leave, you don’t have to jump out the window or anything. Just ask us. We’ll let you out if you really want to go out.”
Inside the small room, I took in the one window, wooden floors, and stone walls. There was a small twin bed made up neatly with my blankets. My rug lay beside it, my toiletries were in the bathroom, and my sketchbooks and pencils waited on the desk. I’d never decorated the room I’d shared with Brooklyn, so they hadn’t had to bring much.
“You knew I’d come?” I asked, turning to my friends. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. They’d gone through my things, brought me what I’d need. They’d no doubt filled the small chest of drawers with my clothes. I was glad I had my stuff, but there was something violating about it. I didn’t like the thought of Viktor touching my bras or seeing the granny-panties I wore during my period.
“Everyone has to find their own way, decide what they want to do with their new life,” Svana said. “Most people, like Amy and us, want to protect humans. Most of the newly turned agree to stay here to curb their cravings until they can control them. Not everyone wants that. But we were pretty sure you’d be the type who did.”
After a few minutes, they left me to get used to my new little room while they went back to school. They had a few weeks before summer. I stood at the window watching students cross the campus, oblivious to my watching eyes. When that felt too weird, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the nagging hunger that had settled in the back of my mind like a permanent resident.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe, since
