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With that, he brushed by me, knocking my shoulder with his arm.
I clenched my teeth together so hard, I thought my temples might explode. How dare he? No, seriously, how dare he? What had I ever done to him to cause him to be this uncaring, this cruel? Was it because I was human? I knew most wolves and most humans didn’t get along. But I was also aware that so many strides had been taken to unite both clans in order to fight the Vry-whatever. The monsters. Some even married and had children. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if half-blooded children were here at this school.
If that was the case, certainly Master Grey would have them removed – especially as Alpha. Granted, I didn’t know the politics of the shifter world, but it was only fair. If there was an inherent bias against some of his own kind, he wasn’t fit to lead them.
“Whoa, you okay?”
Lucy’s voice startled me out of my thoughts.
“I was just coming to get you to make sure you got to breakfast okay,” she said. “It’s waffles today! So fluffy! But anyway, if you’re not down there soon, there might not be anymore. And I know it’s easy to get turned around here, so I just wanted to make sure you could find your room and the kitchen. Oh!” She handed me the piece of parchment she had in her hands. “I have your class schedule as well.” She cocked her head to the side, pursing her lips. “But, I don’t know, you just have this face, like you’ve eaten a whole mess of mixed nuts and are trying to figure out if you need to poop. But, like, you’re angry about it.”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. “What?” I asked, glancing down at the parchment.
“It’s the truth,” she said, playing with her braids that hung over her shoulders. “Anyway, enough about that. You ready to get some food?”
My stomach rumbled before I could answer and she grinned.
“I guess that answers it,” she said. She glanced back at me. “You look really pretty in the uniform, you know. The color brings out the green in your eyes. Anyway, to get to the kitchens, you just go down the staircase and make a right. It’s the next room over. Convenient, right? You still have your schedule, right? Keep that because you probably have time to brush your teeth if you hurry after eating, but other than that, your classes start at eight thirty exactly. And I wouldn’t be late. Each pack tries to outdo the others in some kind of competition. It’s a pride thing, and you know shifters.” She rolled her eyes. “Here, you can sit next to me today – if that’s okay. Technically, I’m not a student so other students don’t sit next to me because they think –”
“I would love to sit next to you,” I said quickly. I didn’t care what anyone else thought. Lucy seemed nice and she was the only person I knew. If I had to eat on my own, it would feel like I was throwing myself at the wolves – literally. At least Lucy could act like some sort of buffer. Plus, her incessant talking calmed me down and gave me something to focus on.
Lucy beamed. “Great.”
We bundled down the stairs and hastened our pace into the dining room. It was already crowded, each long table practically filled up with students, all dressed in their uniforms and ready to start their day. I slid the parchment containing my schedule inside of my shirt, tucking it between my breasts so I could keep it safe, and trying to ignore the stares my way as I passed each table in order to follow Lucy to get my food.
“I’m sure you know what a buffet is,” Lucy said as she grabbed a pale green tray and handed it to me. “There’s food in all of this stuff.” She gestured down the long tow of food, all contained within silver adornments. It probably wasn’t real silver, what with silver being a wolf’s only weakness. “Grab whatever you want. Fill your plate. And you can go back as many times as you want until the food is gone. But I’ve been here almost my whole life, and despite a wolf’s ravenous appetite, I’ve never seen the food completely gone.”
I nodded, following her down the small line. My stomach demanded everything, so I filled my plate. There were scrambled eggs, fruit, rolls, pastries, sausage, bacon, roasted potatoes with onions and peppers, and, like Lucy promised, fluffy pancakes. I grabbed as much as I could and, once we finished, Lucy made her way to the green table.
She chirped hellos at everyone she passed, and while a couple of students nodded in return, most ignored her.
I frowned.
I wasn’t sure if it was because of her status as a non-student and helper, or if they didn’t like her for other reasons. Not that it mattered. Lucy was helpful and kind. Whoever didn’t like her was obviously an asshole.
We sat at the edge of the table in seats closest to what I assumed were the captains of each pack. Headmaster Grey wasn’t present yet, but the other four captains were, including Captain Byron. I noticed he had eggs on his plate, along with steak and other various meats. He always cut his meat in precise bites and chewed it with his mouth closed. There was a dignity about him that was hard to ignore.
As though he could feel me watching him, his eyes snapped into mine and I immediately looked away. I didn’t need any more of his callus remarks, especially not in front of the entire Earth pack. And, judging by how he treated me this far, I would expect something like that from him.
Instead, I focused on eating my food. There was a glass of water at every place setting, but there were more drinks offered at the drink stationed positioned next to the buffet table. As much as I wanted to grab some orange juice since my mother never had fresh oranges to squeeze herself, I held back. I didn’t want to give Byron the opportunity to make some smartass comment as I walked by him to get my drink. Instead, I focused on drinking my water and finishing my food.
After another moment, students started returning their trays and clearing up.
I glanced back at the long table where the captains sat.
“Where’s Master Grey?” I asked Lucy. “Does he normally skip out on breakfast?”
“I think he’s in a meeting,” Lucy said as a way of explanation. “Come on. Let me see your schedule. I can probably show you to your first class.”
I pulled out my schedule and handed it to her before taking a bite of the fresh, chocolate croissant.
“Oh, nice, you have a bunch of fun classes and…oh. Hmm. That’s interesting.”
“What?” I hadn’t had a chance to look through the classes.
“Oh, well, it’s nothing. No big deal.” She lifted a shoulder, then handed me the schedule back. “It just says you have combat training with your captain.”
“Combat training?” I asked. I couldn’t have heard her right. “But…I’m human.”
