Robb
I’m not about to head back to the room. It’s not safe there, but then again, is there anywhere on this Earth that is safe for me? I’m dying. My wolf is dying.
I’m cursed. It’s only a matter of time.
But I do need what’s in that trunk, so, despite the pain, I drag myself back to my room. Teleporting sure would be handy right about now, and that makes me think about Bellanore, which makes me think about that cave I found her near that time she smelled of smoke.
It’s not easy, and I’m bleeding heavily by the time I drag the trunk down the stairs, and that’s only the beginning. I pause to put a hand to my wound. Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. I’m doing to scar. Great. Soon, I’ll have enough scars that my entire body will be marred and imperfect.
Just like me.
With a grunt, I get the trunk out the door. There are several werewolves who live in the castle with me, but funnily enough, none of them are around. Who wants to bet that Roald saw to that to ensure no one would interfere? I really hate that werewolf.
But I hate myself more.
I drag the trunk all the way to the cave, and I slump down. It’s awkward, but I use the trunk as a pillow, basically hunching over it, and I pass out.
When I wake, the amount of blood I’ve lost makes me woozy. The wound’s not as superficial as I initially thought. I remove my shirt, rip it into strips, and bandage myself.
One thing about werewolves, they’re like vultures or sharks. They hate weakness, and they can smell blood. They can sense weakness. I guess that might be why I allowed myself to get caught up in Roald and his rough crowd in the first place.
There’s no doubt about it. Others will come around circling, smelling my blood. I won’t have just Roald and Nia Forge to worry about.
At least the semester’s almost over. I almost didn’t think I would live this long, but I’ve managed so far. Maybe I’m tougher than I thought.
Or I could just be too stubborn to die.
But that stubbornness? I’m not sure how much longer that’s going to last. It won’t be enough forever.
The curse will win one day, and if I keep getting into physical altercations, that victorious day will come that much faster.
But because the semester is almost over, maybe I can talk to the professors. I don’t want to sit in classes anymore. There has to be a way that I can get around being near the other students.
And yes, that does include Bellanore.
It’s early, very early. The sun’s just barely beginning to rise. The awkward position I slept in did my body no favors, and I risk heading back to the castle to grab a few pairs of clothes. I get dressed and head to the castle that holds the professors’ offices. It’s not hard to track down the three professors I have.
Professor Narcissa teaches predator instinct. I have that class last, and it’s with Bellanore.
The professor eyes my approach. Her nostrils flare slightly, and I’m guessing she can smell the blood from my wound even through the bandages.
“Good morning, Professor,” I say.
“You look like you should be in bed,” she says.
“I’m good. So good that I was wondering if you could just give me my grade for predator instinct now and be done with it.”
She lifts her eyebrows and eyes me, her expression more amused than annoyed. “And what makes you think that you should be allowed to leave the course early?”
“Because I’m the best student in the class.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Who’s better?” I lift my chin, doing my best to be full of bravado when I feel like my legs are about to collapse out from under me.
“Bellanore Shade for one.”
“For one? I’ll grant you her, but there’s no one else.”
“Maybe not,” she muses. Her nostrils flare again. “If you would prefer to do assignments and projects, you can do that in lieu of attending classes.”
“Wonderful. Thank you.”
“This will be much harder than if you just come to class,” she says dryly, “so you might not wish to thank me just yet.”
“Thank you,” I say again, and I dash off.
Next, I come across Professor Gremma of compass sense. She’s sitting behind her desk in her office, and I stroll right on in like I own the place without bothering to knock.
“Good morning, Professor Gremma. You look especially lovely today.”
She looks up and rolls her eyes. “What do you want, Robb?”
“I—”
“And I must say you don’t look especially lovely today.”
I clasp a hand to my heart. Just one. I would’ve done two, but a wave of dizziness washed over me at that moment, and I had to grab the chair across from her desk to steady myself. “I’m wounded.”
Her eyebrows arch.
I flinch at my word choice and start to ramble. “I was wondering if it might be possible for there to be another way for me to finish the course without my attending classes.”
“Why the lack of desire to attend my class?” she asks dryly.
“I’m… I enjoy the class. I do. You’re a wonderful teacher—”
“Your nose is looking browner by the second,” she deadpans.
I grin. “I’m sufficient enough. My compass sense is impeccable.”
“It’s not bad, I’ll grant you that,” she says with a sniff. “Very well. I’ll have you endure the same test that Bellanore Shade underwent—”
“Bellanore?”
“Yes. One night, I met Bellanore north of the Pendes Wood. I blindfolded her, exposed her to wolfsbane, and transported her to another location. From that location, she had to return to campus within one hour. Are you up for this task?”
“She doesn’t take the course anymore, does she?”
“She was given an A for her marks. It took her only thirty-three minutes to accomplish the task.”
Wolfsbane. I suppress a shudder. I’m keen to get out of the course, yes, but to subject myself to torture…
“I don’t necessarily want to finish the course tonight,” I hedge. “Can I do other tasks, a different set of tasks to finish the course? I don’t want to be done right away and risk missing out on anything such a great teacher like yourself—”
“You can stop trying to flatter me. Fine. I will come up with a list of… activities… for you to do that demonstrate your knowledge of compass sense. If you do well enough, it’s possible you can finish a few days early, maybe a week or two early. Now, is there anything else?”
“No. Thank you.”
I duck my head and head out of there.
The third professor, the last one I approach, is none other than Professor Rockhound.
The thing about Professor Rockhound? He hates me. He has since my first class with him. If anyone’s going to give me a hard time about this, it’ll be him.
It also doesn’t help that my class with him is to start in fifteen minutes.
Thankfully, he’s in his office, heading toward the open door as I knock on it.
“Robb.” He scowls.
Great. He’s not in a good mood.
“Look, I’ll cut to the chase. You want me out of your hair. You hate me, and I understand. I’m not my favorite person either. How about we come up with a way that I don’t have to be in your class anymore?”
“Fine.”
“Fine?” I gape at him. I hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.
He nods shortly. “I wouldn’t say I hate you. Do I dislike you? Yes, without a doubt. You’re cocky and arrogant, but what gets under my claw the most is why you’re cocky and arrogant.”
“And that is…”
“You know you’re good. You knew just about everything with wallcrawling before you set foot in my classroom. There isn’t anything more I can teach you, aside from endurance, which is what I strove to drive into you since you first came here.”
I blink a few times. Is he actually giving me praise?
“You can continue with your studies to earn an A, or you can accept a B, and we’ll be done.”
I consider. “What would you want me to do to earn that A?”
Professor Rockhound gives me a wide grin. “I am so glad you asked…”
Ask me if I’m glad.
Nope.
Professor Rockhound has me film myself doing all kinds of crazy wallcrawling stunts all over the state. There are more places than one would think to climb in Virginia, and most of the time, he has me do the stunts as a human and not as a wolf.
It’s all right. Leaving campus allows me to steal food. Yes, I know meals are given away on campus, but when I say I want to be away from the other students, I mean away.
Professor Narcissa is a beast too. What she has me do is to square off against her. I’m to use my predator instinct to survive, and honestly, I do my best. She’s stronger and faster, and my curse isn’t doing me any favors. I’m lucky I can coax my wolf out for the bouts, or else I would have a lot of explaining to do. If I were in peak form… The fight I had with the drow had been epic. I had lived through predator instinct and saw it all the way straight through to lunar mind. My wolf took over and slaughtered the drow, and it had been ruthless. It had been carnage.
He killed my entire pack. He would’ve killed me.
The drow tried to.
He failed.
But I failed too. I failed my pack because I’m going to die. Professor Narcissa makes that very clear. She doesn’t hold back when we fight like this, and I don’t’ want her to, but if I can’t best her, there’s no way I can best a demon.
As for Professor Gremma, I’m grateful I didn’t opt for the wolfsbane. An early end to the class would’ve been nice, welcome even, but I’m still struggling to survive. I’m weak and growing weaker, and something has to change and soon.
It’s a lonely end for the rest of my first year at Moonstone Academy, and I hate it. I hate every second of it. My life isn’t my own. If I could, I would just be an ordinary student here. I would date Bellanore, and my future would hold promise and hope.
Instead, I’m wasting away. There’s nothing I can do.
Until I start to think about another werewolf student, one who needs to be stopped because she’s psycho and will initiate a war between werewolves and vampires if she can.
Nia Forge.
I might be cursed, and I might die, but maybe I can do something good with my last remaining weeks on the Earth.