72
Lucy
His eyes widened. “I… Holy shit, really? Where did you end up?”
I sat back in my seat and fiddled with the hem of my sleeve. “Well. I… got adopted, but it wasn’t… I mean, it wasn’t the best.”
His lips twitched, and he nodded. “I figured as much… you know, since you’re here.”
He nodded to the rest of the group. “I don’t know if you remember any of them, but they were at the orphanage too.”
I shook hands with them. Tina brought me a plate, and for a few hours, it was like I was a normal teenager. Most of them seemed to know more about the world than I did, but we had all been brought into the supernatural world through an auction.
I frowned and looked around at the group.
“Are… you all werewolves?”
Each of them nodded. “Though, no one can say for certain which pack we’re supposed to be from?”
“I’d rather stay with the witches,” one of them said. “I mean, they haven’t done me any harm.”
I looked at him and frowned. Then, I noticed the bandages peeking from beneath his clothes and shuddered.
“Was it… really bad?”
His lips twitched. “I’ll live. Besides, I don’t have to worry about any of that for now. I’ve got bigger things to worry about… like how the hell I’m going to get through algebra.”
I laughed. “I think we all have to worry about that… We could help each other? Since we’re… all sort of in the same boat?”
Duke smiled, and the others looked relieved. “Us trafficked orphans have to stick together.”
I smiled back and nodded. “Definitely.”
The first week of classes went by quickly. There was so much to learn and do, but all the kids who were from the orphanage kept our promise. We had study sessions to go over the week’s materials and chatted otherwise. A few of the other kids were also going into magical training soon, so we promised to help each other with that as well.
On the day that I was allowed to get around without a wheelchair, I went to class like normal, but I felt so much happier. I had a mountain of homework and stuff to review, but it didn’t matter to me. I left my last class for the day and headed to the bus stop that would take me back to Stacy’s building.
My communication mirror chimed with a message from Yvonne.
How are you?
I smiled. I’m okay. Algebra is hard, but biology is even harder.
As I walked down the cobbled path and chatted with Yvonne, I felt something prickling at the back of my mind. At the last moment, I darted into an alleyway.
A body went flying past, crashing into a trashcan with a loud clang. Someone growled. Eyes flashed as fur began to rise from the man’s skin. The one that went flying leaped onto his feet. Fur sprouted from his face, and his hands grew into sharp claws.
“You’re asking for it, you Black Moon bastard!”
My heart leaped. Black Moon? Wasn’t that the pack of that man who had been staring at me at the ceremony?
I swallowed, searching for a way out. Then, I froze. The man that had been thrown was familiar. He was a member of the Blue Moon Pack. Everything in me went cold. I turned to run, hoping that they would be too busy to notice, but one of them jumped in front of me, growling.
“And where do you—” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t I know you?”
“Luna?” The man behind me asked. My stomach lurched.
I turned again and ran. I felt one of their hands swiping at me, but I darted aside. My heart was hammering in my chest so hard I could barely breathe. I had to get away. I had to get somewhere safe.
“Luna!” The Blue Moon wolf called after me.
The bright light of a store flashed. Someone exited, and I darted inside, hurrying towards the dressing room. I grabbed something off the rack and hurried into one of the rooms, locking it behind me. I sat on the bench and pulled my knees to my chest, trying to breathe.
I heard them both coming. I heard their footsteps.
Then, a woman spoke.
“You’re about five seconds away from being charged with trespassing,” the woman said sternly.
“We’re not trespassing—”
“Four…. Three… Two—”
“You don’t get to—”
I felt the air heat and fizz on my skin. Then, I heard two loud thumps on the floor, like bodies had dropped. I pressed my hands to my mouth as the woman let out a sigh.
“Honestly, wolves get dumber every day.” A knock sounded on the door of the dressing room. “You okay in there? They’re not getting up.”
I shuddered and went to the door. I unlocked it, and the tall woman with stern green eyes and dark skin looked down at me. She cocked an eyebrow at me, and her gaze fell to my neck.
“What did you say to them to make them chase you in here?” She shook her head. “You’re not even wearing any armor.”
“I-I… I didn’t,” I shook my head. “T-They were fighting. I was just trying to g-go home and….”
My eyes burned with tears, and her gaze softened. She sighed and pulled a long cloak out of her pocket before wrapping me in it.
“Calm down, little one,” she said and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Come on. Deep breaths. Sit down.”
“Araya?” A man’s voice called.
“I’m good,” she called back at the male voice. “Cart those two idiots into custody. Charge them with whatever amuses you most, but especially trespassing and an attempted assault.”
“Is she okay?” the man asked.
“Shaken up,” Araya said. “I’ll get her statement.”
I blinked at her. “You’re… a police officer?”
She chuckled. “As close as it gets in the Hecate territory. I’m an officer of the Witch’s Council. What are you doing out and about like this? Where’s your safety portal?”
I blinked at her and shook my head. “I… I don’t have one yet.”
“Ah, really new, then. Bad luck, hm?” She nodded. “Do you know those two?”
“I… not really.”
“They just chased you?”
“T-They… know me.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she glanced at the necklace again. “Where’d you get your anchor?”
“Anchor?”
She pointed at my neck. “The necklace.”
“It was given to me… to help with a restraint on me?”
She tutted. “Not a student, then. Sorry.”
“I’m supposed to be,” I said, looking up at her. “I haven’t been registered yet. I don’t think….”
She nodded. “I’ll take you there. At the least, you’ll get a safety portal and some armor… It’s rare that we deal with werewolves here, but you can’t be too careful.”
She helped me up and led me to the back of the store before drawing a large glowing circle in the air. She pulled me through, and the scent of stone filled my nose. Flowers seemed to grow everywhere, and the main building looked like a giant tree.
“Welcome to the Hecate Coven’s campus.”
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