Chapter 5:
"Wakey, wakey! Your cousin made eggs and bakey!" A light, slightly familiar voice rang in my ears. I opened my eyes to see the back of a girl with dark wavy brown hair that fell down to her mid-back, with a petite, tan frame. It was Kellan Wilson. She was across the room, her hands quickly going through everything in my walk-in closet, which was practically bare.
"Ug," She screamed loudly, throwing a pair of dark skinny jeans at me as she muttered under her breath. Once she angrily opened my door, she yelled to Alice, "Ali! How the hell could you let her closet be so bare?!"
As she ran out of the room and down the hall, I sat up and stretched out last night's terrible sleep. All night I could only think about Casey, because that is all the mate link would let me think about. I felt the painful tug to go to him, but I couldn't. I wouldn't until I knew him better. And when that sensation finally gave up, I'm assuming Casey must have fell asleep and my wolf wasn't worrying about him as much, there was nothing to distract me from the pain of Casey's bite marks.
When I finally got up, I walked over to my counter and turned on my straightener. I always did my hair first. Straightening it and then curling the ends until I was happy with it, I put on some mascara and lip gloss and then went to my clothes. Kellan, who I had barely even know for twenty four hours, must've been good friends with Alice, or she wouldn't have stepped foot into our house. Not to mention she had picked out my underwear and a leather jacket to go with my boots.
Slipping the clothes on, I didn't even want to look at myself in the mirror. I didn't want to be tempted to take it off and switch it for leggings and a comfy shirt. Especially with the pain from the teeth marks Casey had given me last night. Walking down the stairs, I looked outside as I came to the last stair, looking through the door that stood wide open.
Shutting the door, I turned to walk through the living room, where Kellan sat awkwardly. I didn'y pay her any attention, heading into the kitchen. "Hey, Alice, why was the door..." I trailed off, blushing when Alice looked over at me with wide eyes.
I didn't know how I didn't smell it before. I was dumb not to. I bowed slightly, seeing Alpha Damien in the middle of a conversation with Alice. I felt embarrassed having interrupted our Alpha like that. He just smiled at me, and I looked at Alice, who seemed to have fed him some eggs and bacon.
"Good morning, Beth." I bowed and nodded my recognition, not wanting to interrupt again. He turned back to Alice, giving her a serious look. Alice looked back at him with a calm exterior, even though I knew she was anxious on the inside. I should've left and sat in the living room with Kellan, but I didn't want to move, as the tension in the room couldn't be cut with a knife.
"It was nice talking to you, Miss Alice," Alpha Damien said to Alice, standing up from the table and taking his dishes. Alice polietly took them from him, and shoved them in the dish washer. "Please, think about what I said."
"Of course, Alpha," Alice bowed, and watched him leave the kitchen.
As he passed me where I was leaning against the doorframe, my embarrassment had passed, and he smiled at me. "I'll be seeing you soon?"
I nodded at him, smiling. "See ya, Alpha Damien," I told him in a calm voice. Alpha Damien was my mate's father, so I wanted to make a good impression. I wanted to feel calm around him. Not like Alice or Kellan, who were scared crapless from their leader. I knew he was practically Royalty, and there were still rules to follow, but if I chose to officially be mated with Casey, so was I. And unless he was doing Alpha business, he was seemed alright.
When he left the house, Alice breathed out a sigh of relief, and I sat at the table as she set down all the stuff she made for breakfast. Picking up a piece of bacon, I looked at her as she rushed around to distract herself with one thing or another. "What did he tell you?"
"Nothing," Alice squeaked out too quickly, taking the half piece of bacon from my hand and taking a huge bite, before sighing and plopping down in the chair next to me. I frowned at her as she kept her mouth too busy with chewing to answer me properly.
Kellan came into the room, whispering, "Is it just me, or was that insanely awkward?"
I just shrugged, "What's the big deal? He is an Alpha, sure, but you just have to look passed that."
Kellan looked at me with huge eyes, and her hand twitched, like she was going to slap me in the head for such stupidity. Alice finished my piece of bacon, and then said to me, "Everyone in the Council is Royalty, so of course you'd say that."
"We weren't." I grumbled back to her. She just shrugged, like that was a minor detail.
Kellan looked at me with envy. "Not fair! Young Alphas are so sexy! I mean, look at Noah and Casey!" She fanned her face, laughing.
That made me growl. I don't know why, but I was jealous. I mean, I didn't really know the 'new' Casey, that's if he even changed from the old boy that I used to hate and wanted to beat up every day. But I knew I was way weaker than him, which wasn't fair and so stereotypical. So I never had a chance of standing up to him as a kid.
I bit back a second growl that started to make its way up my throat. I wasn't going to say anything... Okay, maybe I wanted to tell Kellan to shut up, but then she'd get suspicious and tease me. I didn't need that.
"We should probably get going." I said quickly, standing up and grabbing my bag that Alice had set on the counter for me. "Don't want to be late for my first day."
I slung it over my shoulder and walked out of the house quickly before they could say anything else. Kellan rushed up behind me, yelling goodbyes to Alice as she unlocked her black ford, allowing me to hop into the truck.
"You are gonna love Ravens High, Beth!" Kellan gushed to me, turning on her stereo. I rolled my eyes- even the school was named after the Ravenswood family. "There are such cool classes- like Hunting and Ravenswood History and Hand-to-Hand combat! Oh, and hot guys! Such hot guys!"
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she was drooling. "You might want to close your mouth, Kellan." I teased, laughing.
She stuck her tongue out at me, which I returned. "Got your eye on anyone yet?"
Without thinking, I smiled. Kellan squealed, and covered her mouth with her hands, causing the truck to jerk over into the left lane. With a giggle, she grabbed the wheel again, and looked at me with curious eyes.
"Just because you almost ran us off the road doesn't mean I'll tell you!" I told her, and her eyes turned to big, wide puppy dog eyes. "I don't even know anyone yet." Sticking her bottom lip out, Kellan pouted, quivering slightly.
I sighed. "Casey is pretty cute," I finally admitted, and Kellan gave another excited squeal, speeding passed the grocery store and taking a sharp left, vrooming up the hill to the school.
"Calm down!" I yelled at her, and she just squealed again.
"You know that he totally ditched Madelyn last night, right?" Kellan asked, and when I didn't say anything, she just laughed as she parked the car in a spot close to the front doors.
Casey had ditched Madelyn? Was it only because I forced him to, or was it because he didn't want her anymore? I felt a smile break out on my face. "Good. She deserved it."
"Uh oh, that sounds like a challenge. One Madelyn would gladly accept." Kellan told me, giving me the first serious look I had seen on her face yet.
"Then maybe don't tell her I said that," I said, biting my lip. Looking outside the window, I saw students- werewolf students- rushing into the school. The bell must've rang. "Let's go."
Kellan nodded, confirming my thoughts. "The warning bell rung already. It's 8:30. We have ten minutes."
Walking into the school was... strange, to say the least. Everybody knew Kellan, so they were saying hi, or giving her hugs or high-fives. To me they were smiling and introducing themselves. I didn't catch many names as we reached the end of the hallway, where the office was.
"I'll see you later; I have to go change for PE." Kellan made a face, before giving me a hug. "Good luck!"
I opened the door to the office, being greeted by the smell of Ravenswood. I brushed it off; the office was one small room and there was only a single lady in here. I went up to her desk. "Hi there."
The lady looked up, and a smile broke out onto her face. "Ah, Miss O'Conner! It's so nice to see you! Last I saw you, you were only a little baby!" I just smiled, trying not to show how weirded out I was by this... Ms. Hawthorne is what her desk plate said. "You look just like your mother!" She paused for a second, before seeming to remember something. "I assume you are here for your locker assignment and schedule?"
"That's right," I replied, giving her an awkward smile.
Ms. Hawthorne took two sheets of paper from her desk and handed them to me. "Any classes that have three numbers are in the Training Building-which is outside across the parking lot; any with two numbers are in the main building. If the room number starts with 2, it's on the second floor. If it starts with 1, it's on the first floor. Outside there is two fields- Field A is the one inside the track, and the Football field is the one beyond that. Your locker, number 465, is in the main hallway on your right. Got it?"
"No." I said immediately, and then laughed at my confusion.
Ms. Hawthorne must have thought it was a joke when I laughed, because she laughed too. "I will send the Student Body President to help you to your first class and give you the tour of the school. She'll meet you at your locker. Have a good day, honey."
With a sigh, I turned and exited the office. My locker was easy to find; it was in the smack middle of the main hallway- which was lined with only lockers on both sides. The only problem was that there were a bunch of girls crowding the locker in front of mine, who turned to glare at me as I concentrated on the lock. Ignore them.
I swung the door open, just managing to shove my bag in before the girls started giggling and squealing. Then guys started to cheer. Looking up, I saw a group of guys in football jackets and jeans walking into the school and down the hallway. One of the two guys in the front had a football in his hand that he held up high, causing everyone to cheer, "Champions, champions!"
But it was the guy leading the team that caught my eye. Casey was smiling, sending winks to other girls and high-fiving guys. I couldn't help but sigh, leaning against the locker the girls had abandoned to run closer to the team. Looking at him, I felt myself being pulled into a daze. The way his eyes sparkled when he smiled showed how compassionate he looked on the outside. I don't know if he still was the same guy yet, I really needed to figure that out soon though. My eyes caught onto the shirt that hugged his muscles, hiding underneath his jacket. I could hear the screaming of the girls, but only saw him, like he was in slow motion.
I barely even notice when he had spotted me. Still smiling, he walked my way. I quickly standed up straight, I wiped the drool that had escaped my mouth with the back of my hand, and leaning against the locker again.I still couldn't help but get dazed by looking at him.
"Hey Beth, how's the side?" Casey asked me, smiling with that twinkle in his eyes.
"Hey," my voice squeaked, and I cleared my throat. When Casey laughed, I blushed. "Um, my side is good. I can barely feel it." Total lie.
"Thank god. Look, I am really sorry about that!" Casey told me, looking with his electric blue eyes into mine. I just nodded, not daring to open my mouth again yet and embarress myself. "Last night, I was just confused and when I am confused, I can't think straight. I'm sorry, I should have calmed down or controlled it or-"
"It's fine. I understand," I nodded, smiling. He just smiled too, and quickly, as if he would lose the nerve, wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in for a hug. I hugged him back, smelling his woodsy sent. I could hear him sniff me, too, over the growls from other girls. 'Hey, he's my mate!' I thought, before sinking back into Casey's arms.
"Oh, Beth... you're in front of my locker." Casey told me. With a smile, I moved back to my locker, which was right next to his.
"Sorry." I bit my lip to hide the giddy laugh threatening to escape, and grabbed my schedule from the top of my locker.
Casey looked over my shoulder, and read aloud "Hand-to-Hand Combat, Potions, History and Health. I have Combat, if you want me to take you there...?"
I looked back at him, about to say yes, when someone on my other side spoke up. "Actually, Sir, I was assigned to give her a quick tour. Sorry." The girl with dark hair bowed, and when she looked back up, I recognized her.
"Hey, you're the girl from the store!" I told her with a smile.
"Take good care of her, Katarina." He told the dark haired girl. Then flicking his eyes to me, he smiled, "See ya soon." With a wink, he locked his door shut and walked down the hallway once more.
"Hi, I am Katarina Velour. I don't think we have had a proper meeting," Katarina blushed, and held onto the strap of her bag as she looked down. "Oh, and by the way, My Lady, I didn't tell anyone about what I saw at the store."
"Please, call me Beth. Beth O'Conner." Katarina was too cute, even though she was probably older than me. "Thanks. We are trying to keep it on the down-low for now."
Katarina nodded as the bell rang. "I thought so. Anyways, let's get started." She slowly made her way down back towards the office, and I locked my locker and followed her. "Welcome to Ravens High. Our purpose is to train werewolves in the basic training and necessities needed to get a job in the Were community; no matter the pack you end up in. As student body president, it's my job to make sure everyone takes the courses they need, and that there are the classes needed for training and the proper equipment, as well as to try and satisfy and wants or needs the students want. So, if you need any help with what classes you should be taking, you can ask me. Or if you have a request for the school."
When we reached the office, the hallway stretched to the left and right. To the right was another hallway with lockers, but a few classrooms here and there before it branched off again. In front of us was a set of doors leading outside. To the left, where Katarina was heading, was a staircase.
"If you go down the right, you'll see the history room, the different languages rooms, the health room, the science room, and the werewolf sciences room- which holds classes like potions. The next left hallway is the mechanics and wood shop rooms, and the right is all the rest of your classes for when you decide what you want to be. They have specialized classes for each of those careers. As a Royal, the only career class you might want to consider taking is the languages class, which healers and teachers need. It would help you communicate with other packs around the world."
"What kind of languages do they teach?" I asked her.
"Since most Royals grow up learning most languages known to wolf, they wouldn't teach you everything you need to know. Just the basics in French, Spanish, Latin, German, Japanese and Chinese."
"Not my thing," I replied. "Plus, Casey probably knows it already."
Katarina nodded, opening the door for me at the top of the stairs. "For sure; he has been fluent since he was fourteen." I raised my eyebrows. I couldn't picture Casey sitting in a room by himself learning Chinese from a private Royal tutor. But it probably happened at one point. "This hallway offers the social studies classes, math classes, and a few other classes you don't have to worry about. They are mostly for freshman, who still require to learn the basic subjects before focusing more on training and their career choice."
At the end of the hallway, Katarina stopped. There was a big window overlooking the parking lot. Across from us, there was a building I never noticed before. It was a big, tall dome. "That's where we are headed; the Training Building. There they give you most of your combat lessons, including Hand-To-Hand combat and Were Combat- where you fight in your wolf form. Sometimes they hold classes in the fields, but usually those are used for shifting classes for freshman and PE."
I looked over at Katarina, who has light skin illuminated by the sun that streaked through the window. "Katarina, if you don't mind me asking... do you have a mate?"
Sighing, she rolled up her left sleeve. Her forearm was cover in a tattoo similar to mine- the wolf was howling at the moon, but with a light crème colored coat, meaning she has found her mate before. The yellow surrounding it was familiar... the same color as Alice's.
"You found your mate? Why aren't you with him? There are no yellow-eyed wolves in Ravenswood." I told her, curious.
Katarina sighed again, "You're Royalty, I guess you would learn soon enough. Yellow eyed wolves are very temperamental wolves. They are unpredictable, and not always the safest of mates. They live in the South." I gasped. The Southern Packs were the packs that took in Rogues and criminals- anyone who was kicked from their packs. "When wolves are kicked from their packs-not traded for their mate's pack, but actually kicked out, their links to their families are cut. It's a painful process, but it turns their eyes back to their default color; yellow. And you know that the South accepts only Rogues into their packs."
"What happened to your mate?" I whispered, suddenly scared for Alice. Scared for Katarina and what she had been through. What she will go through if she can't ever be with her mate again...
Katarina shook her head, "I don't know. His name was Travis. He is a few years older than us, and I met him when we were on a school trip to a Pack in New York. We barely got to meet each other; we hung out for the last day of the trip. When I went to say goodbye the next morning, people in his pack told me he had went to see their Alpha the night before and never returned. My tattoo had turned from brown to yellow."
"Katarina, I'm so sorry." Being away from your mate is a horrible feeling. I only knew small distances, like at night when I felt alone and cold, vulnerable to anything. But long periods of time and greater distances were said to be like slowly tearing a limb from your body. You can feel the pain build up slowly and constantly, and you just want to get it over with, but you can't.
"It's fine," she sniffled, turning away from me, facing a door on the left wall. "This way."
The door led to another staircase that went down and outside. We walked across the parking lot in an upsetting silence, but once Katarina opened the door to the Training Center, loud noises erupted everywhere.
In the center of the dome, the class I guessed was mine were throwing punches at each other, trying to kick each other's feet out from under them, and dodging their partner's blows. Around the walls of the dome were bathrooms and change rooms, and there was a small set of stairs that led up to a running track which circled the dome.
We walked passed treadmills, ellipticals, mats, punching bags and other equipment that was pushed out of the way, Katarina brought me to the teacher, whose name on my sheet was Mr. Forbes. Madelyn's dad... yay.
"I have our new student." Katarina told him, and he didn't even look at us, just at whatever he was doing on his board.
"Take her into the change room and get her some clothes."
After I got a locker and some gym clothes to change into, I walked out with Katarina, who was also in this class. Mr. Forbes paired us up to do some fighting. I didn't even learn anything! Looking around, I saw Casey looking at me. I suddenly felt very self-conscious in these shorts. His partner looked at me also, and Casey noticed, tackling him to the ground with a loud thud.
I gulped, looking to Katarina. "You won't hurt me right?"
Shrugging, Katarina got into a defensive pose. "Not intentionally." That was when I figured out Katarina enjoyed combat. I figured it out a second too late, as the moment I realized what she was doing, I wasn't protected.
With an unintentional squeal, I ran girlishly to the left as Katarina went to tackle me. I turned the same time she did, and her left fist snapped out. My hand somehow caught it, as if my body was acting for me. Using my other hand to grab left shoulder, I twisted her arm to her back and swung her legs out from under her, and she fell to her knees.
"Good work, Beth! Solid formation." Mr. Forbes said to me, obviously impressed. My eyes went to Casey again, and he winked at me. I smiled back.
"Yeah... good formation." I told myself and agreeing with Mr. Forbes, trying to make it look like I knew what I was talking about.
After Combat, I had Potions before lunch. My potions teacher, Jenkins – as she made the class call her- matched the wacky classroom to a T. Her clothes were tattered and colorful, with her hair long and stringy. The classroom was old, colorful and filled with tattered cloths hanging from the ceiling. There were cupboards and cupboards of glass vials and ingredients for healing and other potions that were creating a musky smell to match the old essence.
Jenkins partnered me with Shanie Ravenswood. Slowly walking to the back of the class, where the pretty girl sat alone at her table, I pulled the chair out and sat down, trying not to make an awkward silence.
"Today, class, we are going to make a potion called Greenbreath. It's a potion that creates foam in the mouth to get rid of bacteria." Jenkins spoke in a spooky voice, as if bacteria was a horror story. "Chip chip away!"
"Does that mean start?" I asked Shanie, who smiled.
"I think it means 'I'm a crazy lunatic who hasn't upgraded my classroom since the sixties.'" Shanie scrunched up her nose as she stood up, pushing her chair out of the way. I did the same and followed Shanie to the ingredients cupboard. When she opened it, a bat flew out, taking a horrid stench with it.
"More like the 1860's with that smell." I added, and Shanie laughed. The bat circled the room before flying in-between us and disappearing behind the stuff back in the cupboard. "That's disgusting."
"Do you have any idea what to do?" Shanie asked me, grabbing random ingredients that surely weren't on our list.
"Make foam?"
Shanie read the labels on the vials she grabbed. "I think Snake Venom, Wolfsbane and Poison Ivy will make some bubbles. What about you?"
I looked back on the top shelf for a green ingredient. I found green gunk and showed it to her. "For the 'Green' affect."
"I like it." Shanie smiled at me.
Our potion turned out to be some green, acidic, bubbling liquid that melted our metal cauldron and disintegrated into the burner below it.
"Well... we failed that." I told Shanie, throwing out the burning pieces of our cauldron. Suddenly, Shanie burst out laughing. "What?" I asked.
Shanie looked at me, thinking. "I'm glad you are Casey's mate, and not some bitchy blonde bimbo."
I let out a small fake cough, "Madelyn," I muttered under my breath.
"Girls, girls, girls!" Jenkins yelled at us, running to the back of the room. "Don't forget to take pictures for the log! They will be posted on the wall!" She chirped.
"Right," Shanie said, jumping off her seat. She looked around hopelessly. "There's nothing to take a picture of."
I grabbed our little camera and walked over to the garbage can, taking a picture of the broken cauldron. Then I took pictures of our ingredients and the mess of our burner and table. "Our Greenbreath potion..."
"Very successful." Shanie said sarcastically.
Then the bell rang for lunch. I walked out of the room with Shanie, before we stopped at my locker, next to Casey.
"Hey, girls. What's up?" Casey asked us, smiling.
I couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Shanie joined me.
"You guys are the weirdest people I have ever met." Casey told us, but smiled at me with that sexy half smile of his. I smiled back, taking some lunch money and shoving it into my back pocket.
"Well, I should go. See you guys!" Shanie said, turning to leave. But she stopped and gave her brother a pat on the back, saying, "She's a keeper" before heading down the hallway.
Casey smiled at me. "You really are." I just shook my head, even though a smile broke out on my face. I felt someone touching my back pocket, and I saw Casey take the ten dollar bill from my jeans. My heart skipped a beat, and he put the money back into my shoulder bag. "I'll buy my mate lunch."
"You don't have to." I told him, but he shook his head.
"Yes I do. Come on."
The cafeteria wasn't on the tour, but it was below the staircase in the left hallway. When we walked through the door, it was chaos. But what else was expected? There were tables covering every inch of the tile floor from the windows to the railing that separated the food from the tables.
We didn't even make it to the line when Madelyn started walking towards me, a tray of stew in her hand. Flanking her left side was Mackenzie, looking as perfect as her best friend.
I thought Madelyn was just going to stop and talk to Casey; the worst she would do is ignoring me or insult me. But instead she just walked right by, banging her shoulder with mine. And then her tray slipped from her hands.
The cafeteria went silent.
I felt the warm tomato sauce and meat chunks soak my jeans and my shirt, but didn't feel a burn. I was shocked, standing there with my mouth wide open and hands out. I couldn't even look away from her, but she didn't care. She just laughed and walked out of the doors.
I looked up at Casey, and he looked just as frozen with shock as me.
Everyone was staring at me in shock. Then the laughter started. I didn't know what else to do. I ran out of there.
"Beth, wait!" Casey yelled behind me, but I just ran.
If he hadn't led Madelyn on, then she wouldn't be a jealous bitch. If he hadn't tried to just bring me into his life after Madelyn, then I wouldn't be her target. Casey didn't know what he was doing or what he wanted.