symbolized hope, growth, and change. It was a fresh start. Usually, I looked forward to seeing what it had in store for me.
But this year? Well, I was dreading the new school year too much to see any sort of hopefulness in it. I was definitely feeling like the glass was half empty. There had to be a light at the end of the tunnel, but right now, it just felt like the tunnel was going to be never-ending.
As I entered my homeroom classroom, I found an empty desk towards the back of the class.
Setting my backpack down on the floor, I pulled my schedule out and went over it again.
8 a.m. – Werewolf Mating and Marriage Rituals with Professor Theo Rossi (Descendants Room 201)
9 a.m. – Advanced Weaponry with Professor Rhys Anderson (Descendants Room 212)
10 a.m. – Werewolf Medicine with Kesha Washington (Descendants Room 202)
11 a.m. – Lunch
12 p.m. – Deadly Lunar Magic with Caroline Wickburn (Crescents Room 203)
1 p.m. – Lunar Magic 301 with Professor Mindi Lee (Descendants Room 201)
2 p.m. – Advanced Paranormal History with Professor Aiden Flores (Descendants Room 204)
3 p.m. – The Laws of Dark Magic with Professor Colton James (Descendants Room 203)
What really sucked was that all of these classes seemed so interesting. If things were different, I probably would have been all sorts of excited about everything I would learn this year.
But I wasn’t. It was hard to be excited about anything school-related after everything that had gone on this summer. And it was going to be nearly impossible to get my head in the game when it came to school when I already knew what the future would bring.
I had a list of things I needed to do, like prepare for war and take down my enemies. The absolute last thing I needed was to be at Werewolf Academy, but here I was.
I knew my pack members felt my education was important, but honestly? I didn’t think Werewolf Marriage and Mating Rituals or Advanced Paranormal History would help me kill Milos Santorini.
“Raven! Hey, girl, hey!” I heard the familiar sound of Vince’s voice say, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Hi.” I forced a weak smile.
“You didn’t come to the Full Moon Party last night.”
“Yeah, sorry. I just wasn’t in the mood.”
“You weren’t in the mood to see me?” A look of sadness filled his eyes. “I haven’t heard from you all summer, Raven. That’s a really long time to not contact your bestie. And I know it’s not just me. Maddie said she hasn’t heard from you, either. We’ve both been worried sick about you. Is everything okay?” There was a genuine tone of concern in his voice.
I thought about telling him everything was okay so he wouldn’t worry as much, but honestly? The truth was that everything wasn’t okay, and I wasn’t about to lie to him.
“I’m sorry. A lot has happened since the last time we spoke.”
That was an understatement, of course. My life would never be the same again.
“What’s going on?” His eyes met mine with a look of worry.
“Can we talk about it later?” I knew I needed to tell Vince everything, but right now wasn’t the time or place. We were surrounded by other students, and Theo was about to enter the classroom at any minute now. “It’s something I need to talk to you about in private.”
“Of course,” Vince replied as he slid into the desk in front of me. He turned to look at me. “But are you okay?”
Before I could even think about how to answer him, I heard the familiar sound of shoes clacking against the floor as someone entered the room.
A knot in my stomach tightened as her light blue eyes fell on mine. I felt like I was going to puke as she cast a wicked grin in my direction.
Iris.
And that was all it took. Just like that, my mind transported me back to Milos’s dungeon.
I let out a loud growl as I gnawed at the bars of the dungeon cell that I was being held captive in. I bit down so hard on the cold metal that I hurt my jaw.
I wanted nothing more than to get the fuck out of here, but even my beastly strength wasn’t enough to break down these bars.
I realized that the bars must have been charmed so that they wouldn’t break. At least Milos Santorini was good at charming something, because it sure as hell wasn’t me.
My wolf had completely taken over because I