An original and empowering shapeshifter/werewolf mystery.
Lily's abusive life with her childhood pack is about to change forever when she's assigned to attend Rochester Academy; A boarding school rumored to be for unmated shifters.
What does this...
"I still don't know who Miss Art is, or why she would give me that note," said Lily as she and Anne walked through some sort of garden maze which was complete with hidden sitting spaces with cushioned benches.
"Maybe she just wants you to read the book," said Anne.
"But we did read it."
"Not all of it, maybe there's other information you need to know," said Anne.
"Yeah, I doubt that," said Lily, taking a turn that seemed to lead deeper into the garden area. "For all we know it was just a prank."
"The book gave us useful information though. Weren't we just wondering the other day how Lycans are created? And the book gave that information. Who's to say what other information it might hold," said Anne, skipping a step to catch up with where Lily was smelling a soft white daffodil.
"Maybe," said Lily looking up again. "But if there was something she wanted me to read specifically, maybe she would have put a bookmark in the book or something. Do you think she was sitting behind us in Life Principles and read our notes? How else would she know we were wondering about those things?"
When Anne didn't answer Lily continued, "Fine, I'll finish reading it. It's just that, even if it has other information to gather... Well, it's interesting and everything, but also, it's not relevant. It's not what I need to be focusing on right now. I have enough on my plate with trying to shift and catch up with my classes. We're not even a week in and I feel like I'm years behind. Then again.. I guess that's not so far from the truth."
"It could be relevant," said Anne. "For all we know you could be mated to a Lycan or something," said Anne.
"Yeah right," said Lily with a laugh. "If that's true I'll name my first daughter after you."
"You never know!" said Anne, walking towards a fenced path. "Aren't you interested in figuring out the Lycan stuff?"
Lily paused to think about what to say. She knew Anne was fascinated by the topic. Not just the Lycans, but also the prophesy. And it wasn't that Lily wasn't interested just that... just that... "I have a lot on my plate right now is all," she said to Anne.
"Fair enough," said Anne. But Lily could see she was puzzling about something. She wondered if maybe they were right on top of the answer but somehow weren't seeing it.
"There's something I don't understand though," said Lily. "If this Miss Art is a friend, why she wouldn't just give the information to me directly and tell me why it mattered?"
"It could be lots of reasons," said Anne. "Maybe it was just easier to have the message delivered."
"Maybe.." said Lily.
'Maybe not,' said the voice in the back of her mind.
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As the weeks passed the schedule started to become the norm for Lily. Waking up at 6 am to gather information, study, and try to shift had become habitual. Her motivation was so focused that despite remaining at the bottom of her classes, and despite not having success with her shifting, she was able to maintain her hope and momentum.
She felt like everything would be a lot easier if her cold and cough would go away.
As the weeks turned into months, and the snow on the grounds below the castle began melting she decided it was time to ask about the illness in the infirmary.
Her visit consisted of the general tests, as the healers had done on her first visit. But they didn't seem concerned about her symptoms. Certainly not concerned enough to excuse her from classes.
Lily decided their lack of concern meant they knew she couldn't shift.. otherwise, their lack of concern didn't make sense to her. Heading to her next class, she took solace in the fact that, since the other students were shifters, they were unlikely to catch what she was suffering from.
As she walked, she thought about the orphan family she'd left behind. She thought about how she promised to do whatever she could to get them a better life. It was rare for a day to go by that she didn't think about them in some measure.
She knew that her best chance at helping those she loved was at this school. As such, she was grateful that, despite her current poor marks in her classes, she wasn't kicked out. She was grateful too that, for now at least, no one seemed bothered about her inability to shift.
It's good to be grateful, she decided, as she turned to enter the classroom. And yet, she couldn't help feeling like she was somehow missing something.
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