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“Can I help you?” a warm, low voice asked.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. A man that came to my ribcage in a white shirt tucked into black slacks looked up at me with pale green eyes. He was clearly older than what his height made him out to be, with golden brown hair falling into his face and a book in his hand.
“Are you, by chance, Freya Foster? Master Grey mentioned you earlier this morning.”
I nodded.
The man smiled. “I’m Professor King,” he said. “Let me see where to put you…” He walked around to his desk and glanced at something there. Maybe a seating chart, though I couldn’t tell from where I stood. “Ah. There’s a place in front of Nicholas. Nicholas –”
“It’s Nick,” came the voice of the tall wolf who bumped into me a few moments ago.
The professor didn’t seem bothered by his attitude. “You can sit in front of him,” he said. “If he gives you a hard time, you have my permission to do what you deem necessary.” He shot me a conspiratorial smile.
I wasn’t able to muster one in return. I liked him. I did. There was something warm about him, something that understood what it felt like sticking out when all he wanted was to fit in. But I was too nervous, to unaccustomed to this, that it was difficult for me to abide by the typical etiquette my mother still had time to drill in me, along with my fighting lessons.
I took a seat in front of Nicholas and tried not to draw too much attention to myself.
“You smell, Shortlived,” Nicholas muttered, leaning forward so he could mutter in my ear.
Something inside of me managed to ignore him even though I wanted nothing more than to rip into him. My mother taught me better than that, and the last thing I wanted was to make a fool of myself in my first class. Whether I liked it or not, there was some sort of hierarchy at this academy, and being human was at the bottom of it. I had to sit and bide my time – for now. Hopefully, by keeping my head down, he would ignore me and it would all go away. As such, I managed to muster enough strength inside of me to ignore him.
I just hoped I was able to maintain that strength for the rest of the day.
Kent
“Ah, Captain Byron, so good of you to come. I have a meeting with another student but I needed to speak with you urgently,” Master Grey said as Kent strode into his superior’s office after class had officially begun. Kent himself didn’t have any sessions until after lunch, so his free time was spent doing research in the library or sharpening and cleaning his weapons. “I take it Ms. Foster is settling in?”
Kent glanced away. In truth, he didn’t know. He hadn’t bothered to ask. Surely if there was an issue, she would have said something. Her, or Lucy. There was a reason he assigned Lucy out of all of Earth’s chambermaids to assist Foster.
The air was cool in the spacious office, the lights dimmed, the curtains drawn.
“Yes,” he forced himself to say as he finally stood in front of the smiling old man, still sitting behind his desk.
“Good.” Master Grey nodded, stroking his beard. “There is something I require you to do, and you must do it without asking me questions.” The smile slid from his face, replaced by a serious frown. He gave Kent a long look. “It is of great import, Kent. I need to know I can trust you and that I can expect your discretion on this extremely delicate situation.”
Kent nodded once. It would be foolhardy not to. Even though he didn’t exactly want to agree – not after Master Grey gave him Foster – he knew he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, and he was going to do whatever the Headmaster wanted because Kent was obedient. However, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of trepidation as he did so, wondering what more the old man could ask of him.
“I’m sure you’re aware Ms. Foster lost her mother,” Master Grey said. “Though I didn’t see the body itself, I’m almost certain it was Vrykolakas.”
Kent pressed his lips together, but he figured as much. What he didn’t understand was why Foster had been spared. If she witnessed her mother’s murder, certainly the beast would have noticed her as well. At the very least, it would have sensed her presence. And yet, she was still here. Still alive.
A thorn in his side.
“She is barely eighteen,” the headmaster continued. He pulled out a manila folder from his desk and placed it on the surface before opening it. “She has no one to guide her, to prepare her for this world. She doesn’t even know, truly, what the Vrykolakas are.”
A tingle sprung up at the base of Kent’s neck. Whatever the Headmaster was about to ask him wouldn’t be good. It wasn’t something Kent would like. He could feel that much in his bones.
“As a human, she’s even more vulnerable,” Grey continued, his arms resting on his desk, fingers laced together. “She has no protection. If this Marriage Law passes, and I’m sure it will, there will be no one to guide her.”
“I’m not so confident the Marriage Law will pass,” Kent said. “Humans and wolves, marrying?”
“It’s been done.” The headmaster’s eyes twinkled.
Kent rolled his eyes. “Not by force.”
“No, by protection,” he said. “The pure shifters are dying away because of their pride and their inability to branch out and seek a mate elsewhere. The pure families have resorted to in-breeding, which stunts procreation. If we are to win this war against the Vrykolakas, we must improve our numbers. We must think of the future.”
Something coiled deep within Kent’s stomach. “What is it you ask of me?”
