Demonic Regime

Chapter 21: First Week

Bruce arched a brow. "Meaning?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "My—my mother's family is from there. Northern Ridge werewolves are a bit more—" I shrugged. "Intense?"

Levi hit his roommate's arm. "You're scaring them. Smile or something."

Shaking his head, Bruce distracted himself by taking out his phone. Case and I hurried to fill the empty space in front of us. We both took turns looking back at them. Levi was talking about their classes. Bruce only gave one-word answers.

Another older version of Case arrived and joined us with his roommate.

"That's Connor, right?" I whispered.

Case nodded. "He's annoying, too. They both gang up on me all the time."

Connor's roommate wasn't as intimidating. He seemed to be similar in rank with Case's brothers while Bruce was on the top tier. We could all sense that.

We arrived at the front of the line and grabbed a tray. I started down the array of food choices. Case had been right, it all looked amazing. Some werewolves skipped the mainline and went to the booth at the end that had raw meat. Bruce was one of them.

"It must be a Northern Ridge thing," whispered Case.

I nodded. "Yeah, my mom's family hates when my dad overcooks the meat."

"You mean cooks it at all," he laughed.

"True," I said with a smile.

After filling our trays, we found a table in the back corner.

"What is Northern Ridge like?" asked Case.

I shrugged. "Like here, but more traditional. It's nice. My grandparents live near the capital. It's up in the mountains. Their backyard is a huge lake."

"That sounds fun, but I don't know if I'd want to live like a true traditional. Like in a cave."

"Very few do. Most built houses up in the mountains now, but some do prefer the cave life."

"Hmm..." His eyes watched his brothers, who thankfully sat somewhere else.

I took a bit of my breakfast sandwich. "This is good."

"It's how they keep us here." Case grinned. "Or we'd all go home every night."

Taking another large bite, I hummed. "Well, it's working."

***

I threw open my bedroom door and tossed my bookbag toward my desk. Case did so as well before collapsing onto his bed.

"First week done," he groaned. "It was never this bad. I want to go back to elementary school. All we did was play get-to-know-you games during the first week."

I sunk onto my bed and took off my jacket. "We have the weekend to relax at least."

"I don't," Case muttered. "I have soccer tryouts to prepare for. I have to wake up early tomorrow. I talked to some guys and they said if you want to make the team, you have to go to the workouts. The head coach is over them, so he pretty much knows his team before tryouts even happen."

"Well, I'll be here doing homework."

Case rolled over. "When I get back, we should play my new game."

"Sure." I perked up a little.

Sitting up, Case stretched his arms overhead. "I'm going to change. Dinner doesn't start for a bit, so I'm going to take a nap."

"Sounds good."

He went into his closet and threw his uniform to the side before putting on regular clothes. Trudging back to bed, Case fell on top of it and put a pillow over his head. I tried not to laugh. The first week had been tiring, but I felt good about it. No one had asked me about my condition. But I was also the alpha's nephew, so that might be a part of it.

I took out my phone and slipped into the bathroom. Shutting the door, I went to my mom's name and pressed on it. It rang a couple of times before she answered.

"Hello, Rue."

I smiled at her voice. "Hi, Mom. I'm done with school."

"How did the first week go?"

"Good, great, actually. No one even mentioned or asked about my condition."

"That's so good to hear. Are you getting along with everyone?"

"Yeah, my classes have a lot of Northern Ridge werewolves and boys from packs far away from Central. Case has been introducing me to people, so tell Dad I am talking to other people. I'm not hiding in my room."

She laughed. "I wasn't worried about that. You're a tough pup, Rue."

"Mom," I groaned. "I'm thirteen. I'm past the pup stage."

"I don't think it's based on age. Your father still has his pup moments."

I smiled to myself and chewed on my nail. "I feel like it's been too good. It's like I'm waiting for someone to say something."

"If someone asks, just tell them you have a medical condition and the rest is none of their business."

"I guess."

"Oh, next Saturday is your appointment. I'll be at the school at ten to pick you up. Be waiting downstairs for me, alright?"

"Okay. I'm going to do some homework. I'll call later tonight when Dad is home."

"If you forget, he will probably call you," she chuckled.

"I'm sure he will. Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Rue. Let me know if you need anything."

I ended the call and let out a deep breath. It had been a good week, and I think I needed it to be. Hopefully, it stayed like this, but I was sure one day someone would say something, and I had to prepare for that to happen.

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