After breakfast, Rhys and I walked together to the Descendants' building for our first class.
"So, how many years have you and the others been teaching?" I asked.
"Actually, this is only our first year," he replied.
"Really?" His dark blue eyes slid over to meet mine. "You sound surprised by that."
"I mean, I am surprised. I figured you guys must have been teaching here for years. Why the sudden change?"
"Honestly?" He glanced at me. "You."
"Me?" My eyes widened.
"When we knew we had to protect you, we called the Headmaster to ask if there were any open positions. There was only one, but he replaced a few professors who had been hired this semester," he explained, running a hand through his auburn hair. "Your protection is our top priority, Raven. We will do anything, and I really do mean anything, to keep you safe."
"Wow. Thank you." I paused. "How did you guys even meet my parents?"
"They went to the Academy with us," he explained. "We became close friends. They were part of the Swann pack, one of the top werewolf packs."
"The Swann pack," I murmured, shaking my head. "I just don't understand. How could my parents have been werewolves in such a powerful pack without me knowing?"
"They were good at hiding it," Rhys admitted. "From the time you were a baby, they vowed you'd never know. They wanted you to grow up human."
"Why?" I asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to grow up a wolf? Why shelter me from this?"
"They didn't want you living in fear. There are scary things in our world. Your life has always been at risk. Milos isn't the only one who has wanted your hand in marriage, Raven. Many werewolves would do terrifying things to make you theirs."
I wanted to ask more, but we were just about to enter the classroom.
It looked like a typical high school classroom, except the stone building resembled a castle. I scanned for an empty seat and slid in next to a girl with chin-length strawberry blonde hair at the back.
"Hey, Raven."
"Hey." I paused. "How do you know my name?"
"I recognized you from the Sorting Ceremony. It's rare for a werewolf to be Sorted into two Houses. Oh, duh, you already know. Headmaster Black told you last night. Sorry, I talk too much. I even annoy myself."
I laughed. I liked her. She was different, honest, genuine, not trying to impress anyone. Her plain jeans and white shirt proved she didn't try too hard to fit in.
"My name is Iris," she said. "So, how do you like our world so far? It must be shocking, coming from the human world."
"How does everyone know that about me?" I raised an eyebrow.
"After your parents died, a lot of details got shared by gossips in our world. I'm sorry, by the way. Do you want to talk about it?"
I shrugged. "I think I'm good for now. Maybe later."
"If your mind changes, I'm here," she said. Something about Iris felt down-to-earth. I had a feeling we were going to be friends.
Once all the seats were full, Rhys moved to the center. "Welcome to the Art of Shifting. This is mandatory for all first-semester students. I can't promise it's the most fun course you'll take, but I'll make it as interesting as possible."
He began pacing. "In this course, we'll discuss factors that impact your ability, or inability,to shift. You'll learn how the phases of the moon affect werewolves. Our goal is simple: to help you shift when you want and control it when your body wants to.
"This class will get very… physical." His eyes briefly met mine, enough to make butterflies swirl in my stomach.
"We'll be going outside into the forest to practice as a class."
A girl at the front raised her hand. "Yes, what is your name?" Rhys asked.
"I'm Jenny. I'm wondering… if we shift outside together, won't it be dangerous?" She looked nervous.
"It could be, but we have guidelines," Rhys assured. "We'll put an invisible, magical barrier around each of you so you won't harm each other."
"So, invisible jail cells?" Jenny questioned.
"I suppose you could look at it that way," Rhys said, hesitating. "The bright side? We won't leave you in them long."
I chuckled. It was clear Rhys was a first-time professor. Sweet, though, all of them were only doing this for me.
As I headed to my next class, History of Werewolves with Aiden, I was relieved to see that Iris was in my class. It was nice to have someone I knew.
I wasn't sure why I felt a little nervous about Aiden. My mind kept drifting back to his comment about showing me his bedroom. That meant he was probably just as attracted to me as I was to him… I assumed, anyway. One thing I knew for sure: it wasn't easy being attracted to four wolves.
"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Iris asked as we sat, waiting for class to begin.
I shook my head. "No, I'm an only child."
That made losing my parents even harder. I couldn't help but think it would have been somewhat easier if I had a sibling to go through this with, someone who understood.
"How about you?" I asked. "Do you have siblings?"
Iris nodded. "Yeah, I have seven brothers, including my twin, Eric. He's a freshman here, too."
"Wow. That must be cool, being a twin."
"It's actually pretty common in our world," she explained.
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, dogs tend to have more than one puppy per litter, so werewolves often do too."
"That makes sense," I agreed, just as Aiden closed the classroom door.
"Welcome to the History of Werewolves," he said, his honey-brown eyes scanning the room before landing on me. "As an alumnus, I won't lie, this is the most boring class you'll take at Werewolf Academy. But I hope to keep you awake because it's the most important history class of your life."
He glanced away and took the desk at the center. "We're starting with the feud that's been going on for hundreds of years between werewolves and vampires."
Vampires actually existed? The idea of fanged creatures drinking blood was unsettling, especially if it was werewolf blood.
"Like most werewolves, you probably hate vampires," Aiden continued. "This hatred is likely inherited, passed down through generations. But where did it begin? No one knows for sure, though there are two major theories.
"One says that werewolves are gatekeepers for humans. Many good wolves have always tried to protect humans. Hundreds of years ago, they went out of their way to keep humans safe from vampires, which angered the vampires.
"The second theory involves Nocturne Island, not far from here. Ancient werewolves called it home, including the King and Queen in their castle. Other werewolves lived nearby but outside the castle.
"Legend says vampires invaded the island, seeking werewolf blood. They knew human blood was available, but they wanted something more powerful. They broke into the castle and drank the blood of the King and Queen's only child, Princess Fallyn. They took too much, killing her, and allegedly starting the war between vampires and werewolves that continues to this day."
As he spoke, I was utterly captivated. If this truly was the "most boring" class at Werewolf Academy, I was going to love all my other classes. For the first time, I was relieved to have skipped my senior year of high school, because the vampire-werewolf war was way more interesting than the Civil War.