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“There’s this hormone that activates at darkness and doesn’t stop until dawn,” he began.
“So, I was right,” I said. “It does have to do with hormones.”
“We…turn.” He stared at the surface of the table. I was suddenly satiated. I pushed my plate to the side. He didn’t even notice. “Not just physically. There’s something that happens to us mentally. I can’t explain it.” He wrinkled his nose. “It’s like, I don’t have control over the hunger. I need to feed on something.”
“Like…food?” I didn’t know why I felt compelled to ask that question. It was stupid. I knew it the second his gaze snapped into mine and his blue eyes flashed midnight.
“Like food,” he agreed with a subtle nod. “In every sense of the word.”
My mouth went dry and my face burned up. I wished I hadn’t pushed away my food now, even though I could grab it and give myself something to do. But reacting would let him know that his words affected me, and I didn’t want to give him that much power.
“And you, like, shift?” I had no idea what he was trying to say and I felt like an idiot trying to guess.
“For a time,” he said. The corners of his lips curved up but I wouldn’t say he was smiling. If anything, he softened. “We run. We get to immerse ourselves in nature, experience it in a way we wouldn’t as a human. And when we stop, we can lie on the grass and just be at peace.”
“Sounds amazing,” I said. I crossed my arms over my chest, resting my elbows on the table.
“Yeah, it is.” He cleared his throat, serious once more. “But just because most will be gone doesn’t mean we’re leaving the academy without supervision. There are plans in place in case the Vrykolakas attack. There are plenty of human leaders, and while none are captains, they all have outstanding leadership qualities. Honestly, there’s nothing to concern yourself. You won’t even notice, save for the fact that we won’t be present at dinner. Other than that, we’ll be back in the morning for breakfast.”
“Is there class tomorrow?” I asked. “You know, since everyone is going to be out late?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“Why? You already have plans?”
I gave him a look. “I’m not as cool as you think I am,” I said. “In fact, the only friend I’ve made is Lucy.”
What was I doing? Why did I think it was okay for myself to start confessing what a loser I was?
“Hmm.” He didn’t look at me with pity, which I appreciated, but he also didn’t look at me like I was an idiot. I also considered that a win. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”
“Okay.”
And then he was gone, like he had never been here at all. I couldn’t help but wonder if I imagined it.
Except,of course I hadn’t. My last class of the day was combat training and Captain Byron was my mentor. We had to change out of our school uniforms and into more tactile outfits that were skin tight but also comfortable. Captain Byron himself wore a sleeveless shirt sculpted to his body and sweatpants that were dark gray and fitted him just right. His feet were bare, which I thought was odd since we all wore tennis shoes, and his hair was pulled back from his face in a loose ponytail. His dark blue eyes had a glimmer of something, and it took me a moment to realize it was delighted. This was a class he liked. I wasn’t sure if that should make me nervous or not.
I knew he would be my mentor, considering he was the Alpha of the pack I was assigned to, but it still unnerved me to know he would be watching my every move and criticizing everything I was doing wrong. On the other hand, I understood the necessity for it. There were threats everywhere and I wanted to be as prepared as I could. Especially if I was going to get revenge on the person who killed my mother.
If it was a person at all.
“All right, let’s split into partners again and work on what we did last week,” Captain Byron said, clapping his hands together.
I looked around for a partner, but everyone had already paired up. It took everything in me not to roll my eyes at my predicament. I should’ve predicted this but I didn’t. Finally, when I realized I was on my own for good, I turned and found Captain Byron staring at me.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll work with you until I can find a suitable replacement. Reedus would have been here but he’s training the First Year.”
Reedys was his lieutenant if I remembered correctly. I wished Reedys had been present. I’d rather be working with him than with Byron.
“Aren’t I technically a First Year?” I asked.
He ignored my question. “Do me a favor,” he said. “Strengthen your core. I’m going to push you with my finger, all right? Make it so I won’t be able to push you.”
“Why?” I asked. that didn’t seem conducive to training at all. In fact, if I was being honest, it felt like a waste of time, or some sort of game I didn’t understand.
He gave me another one of his patented smirks I was beginning to get used to. “Instead of slinging me all of these questions, why don’t you make due and listen for a change? You’re eighteen and you act as though you’re four years of age.”
