Andria's POV
The night was cold and quiet, too quiet. Just me and some bird whistling in the distance as I made my way through the woods.
I had to get as far away from the academy as possible in case I changed. The last thing I needed was someone finding out I was a vampire. But something felt off. The feeling wasn't like the other times.
And then it hit me, I had forgotten today was my birthday.
I always thought I'd spend my 18th the same way I spent the others, curled up in my room, feeling sorry for myself. But here I was, at midnight, alone in the woods with this gnawing feeling in my gut. Still, I'd take this weird night over a celebration with the Falcons any day.
Suddenly, my bones started cracking, loud and sharp. I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air as hair pushed through my skin.
"What the hell…what's happening to me?" I managed to choke out. Pain ripped through every inch of me. Then came a rush, like my whole body lit up, and her voice.
"Hello, Andria. I know this is a shock. I'm your wolf. Athena."
I froze.
Wait, wolf? No, no, no, no. Am I a werewolf too? What even am I?
The surge of power knocked me sideways, my head spinning, and immediately everything went dark.
"Aria! Wake up!"
Voices cut through the haze as I opened my eyes slowly.
The sun was already up. Mel and Larissa stood over me, their faces half-worried, half-incredulous.
"How…how did you know I was here?" My voice came out hoarse, my head still spinning.
"We sneak out here before school to shift and go wild," Mel said, pausing like that explained everything, and then she looked towards Larissa.
"This place is our little escape," Larissa added with a slight nod.
"This morning, we were running like usual when we saw someone passed out in the middle of the woods," Mel continued. "Didn't even know it was you at first. But as we came closer, we could tell it was you. We noticed you were still breathing and, well… tada! Here we are."
Larissa gave me a confused look. "But seriously, what were you doing out here in the middle of the woods?, You are new here, and anything could have happened to you."
"Yeah, exactly, there are other monsters that could kill you, like the vampire", Mel echoed.
My mind raced, trying to piece together everything from last night. But there was no way I was telling them the truth.
"I just needed to clear my head. Yesterday sucked," I muttered, forcing a laugh. If only they knew I was part of the monster they feared or perhaps hated.
They giggled with me, not pressing further. Thank God.
"Come on," Larissa said, grabbing my arm. "If we don't move now, we'll miss class."
We ran back to the dorm, laughing like the world wasn't completely upside down.
**************
I stopped in front of the vanity mirror in my room, ready for today's classes. Definitely better than the busted one back home, still cracked, even after we replaced everything else.
I stared at myself for a minute. My face didn't look cursed today. That was something. I smiled at my reflection, threw my backpack on, and quietly shut the door behind me.
Larissa and Mel were still at the dining table, laughing and scarfing down food like they hadn't heard the school bell.
"You know it's time for morning duels, right?" I said, checking the schedule Scott, the admission guy, gave me.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about us," Mel said, waving a hand. "We know how to get around it."
Of course they did. Rebels. I kind of loved that about them.
Still, I needed to get the lay of the land. And that meant showing up.
"Okay, bye, guys," I said, heading out.
"You sure you don't wanna stay? You'll miss all the fun," Larissa said, throwing her arms open dramatically.
Mel just nodded, like, "Yup, your loss."
I raised an eyebrow, smirked, and slipped out before they could rope me in.
*****************
The Duel Hall was massive. I walked in with my back to the wall, just taking it all in. Across the room, Tracy and her little butterfly cheer squad were already shooting daggers at me with their eyes.
I didn't flinch. If they wanted to try something again, they'd think twice this time.
"Girls were to duel first, followed by the boys. Whoever won from each group would face off for the big title." The duel master 'Kristan' said while looking at the white paper he held in his hands.
Things were about to get interesting. I'd always loved dueling. I had beaten my sister more times than I could count. Pretty much the only thing I ever looked forward to back with the Falcons.
I got paired with Tricia. Great. Another butterfly cheerleader. This was going to be fun.
She strutted over like she was on some runway, smiling all smug. "Shall we?" she said sweetly, then leaned in. "I owe you for that little stunt the other day."
Before I could react, she lunged for my hair. I dodged just enough to throw her off.
"Hair pulling? Seriously?" I scoffed. "That's your big move?"
Before she could blink, I swept her legs. She hit the ground hard, the slap of her fall echoing in the hall. People jeered and cheered, but I tuned them out.
I leaned down, just enough for her to hear, and whispered, "How's that for payback?"
Grinning, I walked back to my seat and sat down to watch the rest.
And then, bam. This weird energy surged through the room. My heartbeat kicked up like crazy. Something was calling me?
And then I heard Athena speak again.
Mates.
Wait, mates? As in plural?
My eyes locked on them as they strode across the hall towards me, Tristan, Damon, and Aven. Was the pull coming from them?
Dear Moon Goddess or whoever handles this werewolf mess, please, I never asked for this.