Page 24 of Lost and Bound

“Yes?” His abrupt question has me floundering, dealing with a sudden bout of self-doubt.

But it’s not my doing; it’s his. He’s aware of his presence, and he does nothing to make standing in front of him easy. I basically shrink in on myself, my head bows under the weight of his judgmental dressing down, and my knees quake.

“Tyler!” he booms, his voice like a bark in a deep valley, making it echo and somehow grow in volume.

A student appears next to me, the blue of his jacket matching mine.

“You got replaced. You’re not the shit under my feet anymore, she is. Take her and show her where her place is when she’s in my presence.”

His dismissal is as blunt and obvious as his words. One minute he’s looking at me, and the next it’s like he can’t see me. He stays on his feet and the class springs into action. They bow their heads low, each of them speaking at the same time, “Good morning, Alpha Roberts.”

It’s clear the show of dominance is how he starts his class. The other students stand and wait for him, but he makes them delay longer until Tyler and I have reached the back of the room, the farthest corner from him.

Tyler doesn’t look at me, and he doesn’t say anything. He simply keeps pointing at a spot as he walks past me and goes to stand in front of a broken seat right next to my position on the floor.

These fucking people, or rather not people, are horrible. Yet a flash of a doctor’s badge renders me quiet and, in a sense, grateful. All these shows of dominance pale to nothing as the anguish of losing my parents reminds me of what is important.

As soon as my feet settle onto the broken threads of the carpet, where all those before me have stood, Alpha Roberts speaks. “Sit.”

I follow the same movement as everyone else, as they move without making a noise, except I keep going down until I’m on the ground. There’s no way I’ll be able to see him as he holds the roost at the lectern with the whiteboard behind him.

Opening my notebook, my hand quickly begins cramping from how fast I write. Later I’ll work through and think over the concepts he talks about. The topic of pack structure sounds too regimented for it not to be steeped in history, which means there should be plenty of resources available somewhere at Thales. The more I learn about Alphas holding supreme position and power, the more I realize his teaching methodology is a mirror of that philosophy. His word is absolute, and he doesn’t allow any healthy discussion, even from the green coats, which signifies them as shifters.

I barely lift my head; I’m so busy writing during the whole lesson. When he barks out another assignment due at the end of the week, and I wonder if I’ll ever sleep again.

The class waits for him to leave before they rise from their seats. Because of an urgent hand signal thrown my way from Tyler, one that clearly means don’t get up yet, I wait until everyone has left before I ascend off the floor.

As soon as I get to the hallway, Alpha Roberts turns and walks off. It was a test. He waited to see if I came out before the others, and I only passed because Tyler helped.

I’ll have to track Tyler down later to thank him, but for now, I need to focus on making it through the last part of the day.

CHAPTER NINE

ENOUGH ALREADY

Between Pack Politics and Understanding Blood Lines (cue nausea), lunch is scheduled. It’s only thirty minutes, and while I’m hungry, I also know being alone would be better for me than food.

My thoughts aren’t swimming; they’re completely offline. Considering it’s not only food that gets served in the dining hall, dealing with a grumbling tummy is a heck of a lot easier than facing other students. Being back at school is not for the faint-hearted, and being surrounded by mythical beings who all believe they are better than you wasn’t on my list of shit I’d be dealing with when I scaled the fences. Honestly, I thought all that mean-girl ethos was behind me. Admittedly, I also thought I was more immune to how crappy some people act.

The building empties, and I’m one of the last to leave. As soon as I push through the door, sunlight hits my face, and I turn in the opposite direction of the dining hall toward the lawn area. It’s been manicured to within an inch of its life and is blissfully empty of students. I take full advantage of the space on offer, walking to the farthest patch of sun.

Then I divert away from it to the small spot of lawn against the building. Even after being here for barely a day, I already know I need to be constantly aware of my surroundings. Having my back against the wall isn’t about comfort; it’s about stopping anyone from sneaking up behind me. It’s basic survival. My dad would be proud of my instincts, while my mom would be sad people are awful to each other.

I swear, it’s less than a few minutes later when the first student reappears, and she’s wearing the same blue uniform as me. She looks my way, and I go to wave at her, but she turns away from me so fast she nearly breaks her neck.

I need the opportunity and some time to figure out what being a Nom is all about. Perhaps in Harnessing Your Inner Nom, I’ll get that chance. First, I must make it through Understanding Blood Lines, Power of Worship, and Pursuit of Sanctification.

Chatter from a group of students heading back from lunch has me jumping to my feet and racing inside. The quick glance I got of the gold uniforms walking this way is enough to give me a spurt of energy.

Checking my timetable, I see both of my next classes are on the lower levels, not ominous at all, considering who’s teaching the lessons. Elder Augustus is the head of the vampire department at Thales, and Duke Amon is a freaking demon.

But, go me, as not only do I survive them both humiliating me in front of the class, but I also physically survive by not getting drained or possessed.

I fall into the pattern of waiting for everyone to leave the classroom before I slink out like a nervous cat. It is why I’m still holding my Thales device in my hand when a notification beeps, advising that my angel class is canceled. The rush of relief when I read that is replaced by knowing it probably means all the gold-uniformed celestials are going to be waiting in the corridor.

As much as I want to hide forever, I can’t. I take a step into the crowded hallway and start planning my way based on the pockets of color, except before I take another step, every gold-uniformed student vanishes into thin air.

They literally disappear between one blink and the next.