Chapter 3 Μεγάλος κακός λύκος
A/N: Chapter title: Big Bad Wolf
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf – B5
"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
the big bad wolf
the big wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
I ain't afraid."
"Κανόνες?" (Rules?) Razor asked in Greek.
I had woken up about an hour ago with a mild headache and swollen tongue; at some point I had bitten it and it had grown to the size of a golf ball.
"Κανόνας νούμερο ένα.Μην βλάψει ένα άλλο χωρίς νόμιμη αιτία." (Rule number one. Do not hurt another without just cause.) I recite with a slight lisp. These rules were the first mandatory rules any Wolvyn learned when they came to a House of Light.
"Κανόνας νούμερο δύο. Προστατέψτε τον εαυτό ανά πάσα στιγμή." (Rule number two. Protect yourself at all times.)
" Κανόνας νούμερο τρία. Να είστε προετοιμασμένοι. " (Rule number three. Be prepared.)
"Κανόνας νούμερο τέσσερα. Επιδιώξτε. Σκότωσε. Επιβιώσει." Razor and I say at the same time. (Rule number four. Hunt. Kill. Survive.) Rule number four was more of a motto than a rule. All Wolvyn followed that one code. It was something that was bred into us more than taught. I had been raised on a similar rule by my father.
"Do not let your wolf get out of control, little one." Razor said softly in English.
"I won't." I said as I hugged him tightly. He was not my biological father but I definitely considered him to be the next best thing.
High Priestess Lenobia had agreed to let me stay after a lecture (and a long drawn out introduction of herself) about not harming other students and a bunch of other horse shit that I already knew not to do. She was a good High Priestess if you ignored the fact that she didn't wait to listen when someone was trying to explain the unexplainable.
Razor had changed for her so she knew what to expect if I ever decided I wanted to walk around in my Wolvyn form (which was off limits to me, but she didn't know that). I wished I could have seen the look on her face because I am sure that it had been beyond priceless. Afterwards he had asked for her not to tell the other students or professors. (Cowgirl and Muscle Man had been asked to leave the room while Razor demonstrated) She didn't agree at first because she was worried about the "safety of the other occupants of the school" but Razor gave a convincing speech and she eventually gave in and agreed.
My stuff had been taken to my room (as well as Empyrean who was still tucked in the small bag) and my roommate had been informed of my arrival. I had been surprised when I found out that the rooms were not co-ed. I had figured if you could live for as long as they did it wouldn't matter who you slept with.
A girl with black hair and her mark filled in, with marks that were on her face as well as arms and chest, walked in. She wore a T-shirt and a sweater with an emblem on it. Her jeans were the average pair of dark blue jeans and tennis shoes.
Her face was kind as she walked with her hands twisted together. "Lenobia?" She said. Lenobia turned towards her and smiled in recognition. She gestured to me and said "Zoey this Sam Silentwalk." (I had updated her on my non birth given last name.)
Zoey looked at me with raised eyebrows as Lenobia turned to me. "Sam this is Zoey Redbird. She is our high priestess in training and the leader of our schools' elite group the Dark Sons and Daughters. She will be your roommate during your stay here. If you have any questions about anything she, as well as the other Sons and Daughters, will be there to assist you."
I looked at Zoey and waited for her to speak. Shuffling filled the silence as Razor began to leave.
"Bye kiddo. See you on Skype for the quiz you missed yesterday." He winked and smiled as he left. When he was gone Zoey stared at me until I couldn't handle it anymore. "What?" I snapped. She jumped and blushed.
"Oh. Um... You still plan on taking your old classes on top of our classes?" She asked.
"Yes. It's nothing too hard though. Just how to take apart a gun and put it back together." I shrugged.
Her eyes nearly fell out of her head. "Seriously?" She asked.
I looked at her puzzled. "Yes. Don't you guys have a weapons class?"
"No. We have fencing though." Dear God, no! These people didn't have weapon's class?
"What about a martial arts class?"
"No."
"Hunting?"
"No."
"Survival?" I asked desperately. Zoey just looked at me with an expression that clearly stated "no".
My mood afterward made me irritable and sleepy. These people expected me to get by with fencing. My normal routine consisted of free solo rock climbing (no ropes), five mile sprinting, tracking, and most importantly, an hour at the shooting range. I hadn't been here a day and I already felt deprived.
After taking me to our room Zoey avoided me like the plague saying she had to go to class. She did, however, say that she wanted to introduce me to the rest of the Dark Son's and Daughter's.
When I finished unpacking (and hiding Empyrean under my mattress) I fell asleep. In my dream there was a beautiful meadow with a pond full of small fish. A woman sat watching the fish swim in small circles. Wanting to see the woman's face I quietly inched forward so as not to startle her.
She did not look up and so I looked into the water to see what had her so intrigued. The fish swam in circles and small bubbles arose from their swift turns and glides.
As the water stilled I saw her face in the reflection. If you were to ask me when I woke up what color her eyes or her skin had been I would not have been able to tell you. But seeing as how I am still in the dream I can say that her eyes are a light shade of gray and her skin as smooth and brown as cocoa.
"Merry meet, little one." She said, her voice soft and melodic.
"Merry meet." I said.
"You are very special. Did you know that?" She asked.
"How?" I asked.
"Both the Goddess Nyx and the God Aether have chosen you. Not ever has this happened before. Never has one been blessed by both Goddess and God."
"Is there anything special that I am supposed to do?"
"You will see in do time. Just remember this. What hides in the dark is not always evil and what shines in the light is not always good." With those words the face in the water disappeared. I look up and see the woman still sitting there.
The head was tilted and I could not see her face. I wanted another look because, already, her image was fading from my mind. When I lifted her head up a scream clawed its way out of my throat. The face on the body was blank. There were no indentations where the eyes, nose or mouth would be. I drop the body and scramble back only to fall into the pond that had grown into a large lake. The water was black and I was unable to see through the darkness around me. I was dragged to the bottom and something caught onto my foot. I went against every training that I had ever had and panicked. I struggled and fought, trying to yank my foot away but to no avail. My arms flailed around me but I couldn't escape as the water invaded my lungs.
x–X–x
I awoke sweating, on the floor, tangled in sheets. I touched my over heated face as my heart slowed. A look out the window told me it was still dark and a look at the clock told me I had only been asleep for thirty minutes.
Maneuvering out from under the sheets, I headed to the bathroom to wash my face. One look in the mirror was all I needed and I walked back into my room and grabbed my make up bag. I was going to need all the time I could get between now and when Zoey came to get me.
After giving up on fixing my face and two more failed attempts at sleep, Zoey appeared. My eyes were closed and I was laying on my back so she didn't see the damage of my restless naps.
"Ready?" She asked.
"One sec." I say. Turning my back to her I reach for my sunglasses. "Ready." I announce when they are in place.
"Bad dreams?" She guessed. I shrug my shoulders. "It happens a lot. It's the stress of being in new-"
"What the hell could be so important, that you had to interrupt my me time?" A girl with blonde hair stormed in. Wrapped around her hand was muscle man with small smile on his face.
I stared at him. He was totally different from when I had last seen him. The air around him seemed less thick somehow. The girl who was practically dragging him around had an air of her own and it screamed get-the-fuck-out-of-my-way. I smile slightly.
"What are you grinning at new girl?" the blonde girl asked.
I looked at her. Her eyes were daggers as she assessed me. "Your boyfriend." I stated.
Her jaw clenched and she opened her mouth with what was probably a threat before I interrupted her.
"He escorted me to your High Priestess. I was just noticing how... different he is from you."
"Well stop staring. It's creepy, especially with you trying to sneak and do it behind your sunglasses." She grumbles.
"Aphrodite." Zoey said.
"No don't worry about it. I've handled meaner bitches than her before. All you have to do is declaw them and then their words don't mean shit on a stick." I took my sunglasses off (I was always one for dramatic flare) and stare straight at the blonde chick – Aphrodite.
Her eyes widened as she took in my glowing green eyes. They had been lit up since the first nightmare and hadn't gone back to normal. I'd had plans on asking Razor about it when I spoke to him on Skype after the test if I remembered.
Then, I noticed that she did not have a mark on her head probably about the same time she noticed I had two.
"Looks like someone already declawed you." I said.
"At least my mark was actually given to me by a Tracker. Yours looks like you drew it on yourself."
"Enough Aphrodite." Zoey cut in. "You were supposed to wait for us downstairs with everyone else."
I smirked. Moving my hand in a clawing motion I extend my claws and mouth "meow". Aphrodite didn't get a chance to respond because Zoey rounded on me and yelled "Stop!"
I had to admit it. Her voice held some sort of power in it and it was strong. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Aphrodite and muscle man both flinch. The strange thing was her power was the wrong kind of power. The power that would be used to force a Wolvyn pup into submission was not one that she possessed. So when Aphrodite and muscle man flinched I stood there as if nothing had happened.
I smile as shock registered across their faces before I realized that in all the excitement my wolf had shown up.
I grabbed my talisman, closed my eyes and breathed, focusing on the human instead of the wolf. Aphrodite's voice interrupted my concentration. "What are you?" She demanded.
"Shut up." I ground out.
"Excuse me? I-" I didn't wait for her to finish because I felt my wolf clawing at the surface and I had to get away from her before I couldn't hold on.
I ran down the stairs, through a group of kids, and outside into the chilly air. I grabbed my talisman and began to concentrate when a voice called from the building. I look behind me and see that a group of kids, including Zoey and Aphrodite as well as cowgirl all stood watching me.
Letting go of my talisman I took off running, survival 101 class kicking into high gear. If you can't focus enough on your talisman, run. Wear your body down until your wolf won't have the energy to take over.
Jumping over benches and small statues I raced across the yards until I saw a tall brick wall, then I ran following its path. I began to feel my wolf less and less the farther I went and I began to grin at my success when I ran into a body and we both went flying. The air left my lungs as my limbs tangled with the limbs of the other body's limbs.
When I caught my breath I coughed and sucked in air like a landlocked fish. The body I ran into was already up and had a hand extended to me. I looked up and saw that the hand belonged to a boy with a red filled in crescent moon with arrows outlining his face.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm good." I said, still catching my breath. "Just sprinting and practicing my body slam."
He chuckled as he pulled me up. "I'm Stark. I don't think I've seen you here before. Are you new?"
I opened my mouth to reply when a wave of pain sent me into the arms of Stark. "Fucking shit." I muttered. I hadn't noticed (again) that my wolf was back. Disoriented as I was, I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop her this time.
I pushed away from Stark as my wolf took over. I only had enough time to say a weak "don't freak out" before my muscle and bones changed and I am left unable to speak. Everything happened faster and faster as the change consumed me.
And then I was on four legs instead of two, with claws and fangs and a tail to boot. My talisman swung uselessly from my neck. I looked around for Stark but did not see him. My wolf didn't care but I did. If he had indeed freaked out, then I would definitely have a problem on my hands that consisted of forty plus scared kids with powers, as well as their teachers.
I had to find him, or I would be in so much trouble.
Sniffing the ground I tried to catch his scent. After what felt like an eternity I found it. It was soft and barely there but the smell of wood and string filled my nose. Locking onto it I followed the trail until I reach a large tree.
I looked up and saw Stark standing on the high branches. He was looking down at me as if he was sure he'd gone crazy. I whined and pawed at the ground. When he didn't move, I backed up and did the most demeaning thing I had ever done in my entire life.
I wagged my tail, barked, and rolled over showing him my belly. I saw his eyes light up as I try to tell him that I am not a threat. A cautious grin slowly slid across his face as he slowly climbed down the tree.
"I take it that you don't plan on eating me." He said now on the ground. I huffed as I rolled over and stood.
"You're huge." He breathed. I walked closer to him and he took a quick step back. I whined. He looked at me with apprehension as I took another step forward. I leaned my nose close and licked his fingers.
They twitched at the contact. He tasted of the wood and string scent that I had used to track him. Slowly his palm turned over and accepted me, like a new dog owner would to their pet. My nose took in his scent and my wolf and I locked into memory.
My wolf had been upset that we had looked for him instead of going to look for small game, but now that he was up close she had begun to have second thoughts. She liked his scent but I knew that it would pass. It had to because, even though we hadn't actually mated, I belonged to Seth.
"Don't be so sure." A sadistic voice in the back of my mind said. A shiver slid through me.
"Are you still, you know, you?" He asked, breaking me from my mental battle. I stared at him due to my inability to answer him with words.
"Right." He said catching on quickly. "Um, bark once for yes and twice for no?" He said the last part as a question.
I growled. Barking earlier had been degrading and, even if it was for the sake of answers, I refused to do it again.
"Okay, okay. No barking." Smart boy.
"Stand up for yes and sit for no?" Again, a question.
When I didn't move he said, "No growl, so I guess that means yes." My wolf sensed his nerves and felt disquieted. She wanted to comfort him.
"Stop it." I mentally chastised her.
"Can you understand me?" Stark asked. I continued to stand.
"Are you going to harm me?" He asked. When I sat he exhaled in relief. "I figured I should ask even though you hadn't made any moves to do it."
He opened his mouth to ask another question when I heard voices in the distance. My ears perked and my nose lifted to the air, trying to catch their scents. They sounded about one to two klicks away. Stark noticed my attention and turned.
His eyebrows drew together and he looked back to me. He swore under his breath and reached for me, but quickly pulled back when he realized what he was doing.
"Come on," He said turning. "I know a place where you can hide." I followed him away from the voices that were now the laughs and giggles of girls.
We were a sight to see. From a distance it probably looked like a boy running with his overly large dog, but with a closer look a random stranger would have thought that someone was running from a tiger sized beast.
We rounded a corner and a barn appeared. I stopped and took stock of the air. The scent of hay and horse flesh filled my nose and my prey drive kicked in. My wolf howled at me for the chance to hunt.
Stark turned after he noticed my hesitation. "You okay?" he asked and I sat. A guttural whine pulled itself from my throat.
"What is it?" He asked.
Understanding crossed his features as a horse in the stables brayed. "It's okay." He said hurriedly. "The horses are in their stalls. There are no classes today so no one should be down here."
I stood and walked towards the barn. I turned my head and looked behind me to see if he was following. He jogged and caught up to me.
He checked the front just in case and, when it was clear, he led me past the stables and into a well used arena. My paw prints dwarfed the hoofed ones as he led me upstairs to a storage area. The dusty floorboards were covered in a thin layer of hay and stacks of boxes took up a majority of space.
"Over here." He whispered. He pointed to a small area that I would most likely not fit in. I was surprised when I got closer and saw some of the boxes were hollowed and linked together with what looked like rope.
I crawled under a cluster and looked as Stark sat down against the wall opposite me. As he watched me, my eyes slowly closed and my wolf basked in his observance. Sleep rolled over me and the world dissolved into dark swirls mixed with hints of gold.
x–X–x
I don't know how long I slept but when I awoke three things became glaringly obvious. a)The sun had risen. b) I was no longer a wolf. And c) I was bare ass naked.
Well, almost; A black t-shirt with a red vampire smiley face on it, covered me to mid-thigh. Stark's scent surrounded me as I turned over to face him (at some point I must have rolled over in my sleep) and saw that he was deeply asleep. His face was soft and gentle and an unnameable feeling tapped me on the shoulder. Shaking it off, I slowly crawled out from under the boxes so as not to wake him.
Embarrassment colored my face when I realized that I was not covered by the shirt but was wearing it. That meant he saw me naked. My wolf enjoyed the thought.
How much did he see? The voice in the back of my mind asked. I forced myself to ignore it before I felt guilty. It felt as if I had unintentionally cheated on Seth.
Still on my hands and knees I crawled past him and down the stairs. Our footprints marked the way, and as I followed them I erased them. It wouldn't do any good to try to keep what I was a secret if I was going to leave footprints all over the place.
Jumpy and on edge (because, you know, I was half naked) I followed my scent from yesterday back to my dorm and then room. Blessedly, no one had been around and once I got to the door my main concern had been Zoey.
She had seen me storm off but hadn't come after me. Hopefully she'd had her hands full with the bitchy girl, whose name I could no longer recall. I silently opened the door and tiptoed into the room. Zoey was in bed with her back to me and I had thought that I was about to get off scott free until she spoke.
"Your schedule is on your pillow." She said, clear as day. "First class is at 8:00 pm."
Silence filled the room as I shuffled unsure, from foot to foot. "Okay." I said quietly. She did not reply.
Despite my rest earlier, I felt tired. I moved to my bed, took the schedule and flung it to the floor. I would look at it in the morning when my eyes could focus. For right now I would sleep and handle everything in the morning.
My eyes closed and I fell into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: Hey guys! Is this chapter long enough? I am still practicing at writing longer chapters so I am unsure if this length is acceptable. I hope everyone's year is going well so far. Please remember to R&R! At this point any comments are wanted and accepted! See ya next week! ^-^