Wolf Blood: Lunar Academy, Year One

by Snyder, Jennifer

  The room exploded in chaos as everyone found their way to an advisor. My wolf bristled when somebody bumped into me, and my vampire became more irritated by the second. I popped my knuckles as I inched forward, not because I was looking for a fight, but because I needed to do something with my hands.

  “There’s an advisor with a red flag,” Nora said as she steered her two gigantic suitcases toward a pissed off-looking dude. “I don’t know if these dorm rooms are coed or what, but he should be able to help us get steered in the right direction if not.”

  “I imagine we’re supposed to have a female advisor,” Faith said. She followed behind Nora toward the guy, anyway.

  The wheel to one of Nora’s suitcases snapped off and rolled away. She either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Until it made a screeching noise as it scraped against the floor behind her.

  I tried not to laugh.

  “Here, let me help.” I hoisted the suitcase up with one hand. The sucker was heavier than I thought it would be. Faith had been right in thinking Nora had packed her whole damn house.

  “Oh.” Nora blinked. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  I could feel eyes on me—Faith’s eyes. When I glanced at her, there was a shit-eating grin twisting the corners of her lips.

  “I’ve got you pegged, Axel,” she insisted. Her eyes narrowed, but her grin never wavered.

  No one ever had me pegged. I’d been told my whole life I wasn’t an easy person to read. It was often something I prided myself on. There was no way she’d done so in the handful of words we’d said to one another. “Is that so?”

  “Absolutely. You’re a bad boy with a soft center. All of this—” She gestured to the length of me, focusing on my tattoos and muscles. “—is a front.” Confidence oozed from her.

  It irked me she thought she knew me so well.

  “You know nothing about me,” I snarled.

  “Maybe not, but I think I’m picking up on who you are.” The green in her eyes flashed brighter.

  A crooked grin pulled at my mouth. “Why? Because I offered to help someone carry a suitcase with a broken wheel? That tells you so much about me, doesn’t it?” I was being defensive as hell and a complete asshole, but I didn’t care.

  This was how I kept people at arm’s length.

  I tore my eyes away from Faith and stepped around Nora to the guy we’d all been walking toward with the red flag. My jaw was tight. My shoulders were tense. And both my demons were wondering what the fuck had just happened. How had this girl I’d met two seconds ago gotten under my skin so bad?

  “All right, my name is Pete, and these are the guys on my list,” the guy with the red flag said, his gaze dipped to a stack of papers in his hand. He lowered his other arm and crammed the red flag in his back pocket. I listened as he read through his list of names. Lucky mine was at the end. “If I said your name, then you’re where you need to be. If I didn’t, then you’re not. Move on to the next advisor.”

  He cut right to the point and didn’t waste any time. I liked that. It was something I could respect.

  “Oh! We’re over there!” Nora shouted. “I heard her say both of our names.” She nodded to the blonde standing a few feet away. She took her suitcase from me and stacked it onto the one with all its wheels, muttered thank you, and then headed in that direction.

  Faith should have followed her, but instead, she stared at me. Was she waiting for me to speak? To apologize maybe?

  She shouldn’t hold her breath.

  I cut my gaze from her to Pete, my advisor, and gripped the handle of my duffle bag tight. Eventually, she got the memo I had nothing else to say to her and started after Nora. Something inside me relaxed at the distance between us, and I could focus on what Pete was staying.

  “All right, let’s make this short and sweet. Obviously, you’re in Wolf Blood. I’ll take you to our dorm house, and then pair you with your roommate once we’re there. Sound good?” He didn’t wait for anyone to answer. Instead, he started toward the double doors. “Okay, good. Grab your shit and let’s get walking. Like the headmaster said, there are no elevators. You’ll get used to it. You have no choice.”

  I followed behind him, ready to get out of this oven they called the great hall and into some fresh air.

  Dark clouds had rolled in while I’d been inside, signaling rain would come at some point. There was a cool breeze as I walked with the others toward the Wolf Blood dormitory, but it felt good against my clammy skin. I lit the cigarette I’d been craving, not caring if it was allowed. No one said anything to me as I walked. Not even Pete. My gaze drifted to my roommate prospects while my boots thudded against the walkway between the buildings. Out of them all, there wasn’t one I cared to be tied to for the year. My wolf tried to feel them each out, but there was no point. He was too ramped up from everything today to focus.

  Pete paused in front of a building that looked like all the others—stone, intimidating, and large. He placed his back to it as he spun to face us and grinned. “And here it is, boys. Home, sweet home. There are only a few rules—keep your space clean, keep your noise level down, no girls are allowed in the rooms past midnight, and always remember that Wolf Bloods rule.” He stepped to the door and swung it open before heading inside.

  Everyone followed behind him, but I hung back. I didn’t want to be crammed into another crowd as I made my way up however many flights of stairs to the fourth floor. Also, I needed one more drag off my cigarette. I snuffed it out on the bottom of my boot, and tucked the butt in my front pocket before heading inside.

  “Here’s the main lounge,” Pete said as he gestured to the area we’d walked into.

  Red couches were spread throughout the area. There was a large TV on one of the walls and some wall art hung around the area. In the back section, there was a pool table, a couple of dartboards, and a few tables I imagined were often used for playing cards. Overall, it was more sophisticated than I had anticipated. I could imagine myself relaxing here on a Friday night.

  “You’ll notice a lot of things are red because, as you all know, red is our color.” Pete nodded to another room on the opposite side of the staircase he was leading us to. “In there are a couple vending machines where you can grab a late-night snack, a bag of blood for a pick me up, or a rushed morning breakfast if you’re late for class.”

  My stomach grumbled at the mention of blood. My vampire was famished.

  “Fourth years are on the first floor, third years on the second floor, second years on the third floor, and first years are on the fourth floor. I have no idea why it’s done that way, but it is. Like the headmaster said, there are no elevators. Like I said previously, you’ll get used to it, so don’t start bitching.” Pete started up at the wide staircase and motioned for us to follow. “On each floor are dorms for us and the ladies, communal bathrooms, and a small shared lounge.” His pace on the stairs picked up. As did everyone else’s.

  When we finally reached the fourth floor, Pete paired people up. I waited for my name to be called.

  “Stone and Twain.” He held out two papers, which I assumed were schedules. A nerdy guy stepped forward. My roommate. He glanced at both papers before taking the one meant for him. I took mine next. “Last are Wilson and Yates. Rooms are marked by your last names. Make sure you check-in with Professor Sinclaire in the main lounge and get your ID made. Your rooms are unlocked as of now, but locks will engage at six tonight. If you don’t have your ID, you can’t get in. IDs are also used in the dining hall and all vending machines. Don’t lose them. Have fun getting settled in, boys.” He was gone before anyone could ask questions.

  If I ever became an advisor, that was exactly how I’d be.

  My skin prickled as a set of eyes scanned me. Twain’s eyes.

  “What?” I snapped, glancing at him.

  “Nothing. I just can’t believe you’re who they paired me with.”

  I arched a brow. “Got a problem with it?”

  “Nope
. Not at all.” His face blanched. “It’s an odd combination is all. You’d think they’d put us with people we might have things in common with to keep levels of hostility down.”

  Even though he had a point, I didn’t say so.

  The guy was nerdy as hell. My demons didn’t see a need to be hostile toward him. Maybe they had paired us right after all.

  Faith

  My room wasn’t anything impressive, but then again, I hadn’t expected it to be. I would have been fine with anything, honestly. There were two beds—both twins—positioned on opposite sides of the room, a window above each, a desk along the far wall sat between them with storage space above it, two tiny dressers on opposite sides of the room, and one closet.

  “Wow, this place is huge!” Nora insisted.

  She pulled the two oversized suitcases she’d been lugging around into the room behind her. I’d swapped her out for the one with the missing wheel on the stairs. I leaned it against the wall and then spun to face her.

  “It’s decent,” I said.

  “I’m used to sharing a room much smaller than this with my sister.” Her eyes widened as she tossed her backpack on the bed to the right of the door. “Look at that bookshelf above the desk!”

  It was odd to see someone get so excited over storage space, but who was I to judge? We all had our thing.

  I closed the dorm door and locked it. Nora gave me a look.

  “What? Safety is important.” I slung my backpack on the bed to the left of the door.

  “I guess.” She placed her hands on her hips and walked around to survey the room. “Are you set on that bed?”

  “Yeah, I am.” I unzipped my backpack and pulled out its contents. “I sleep on my left side and would rather not sleep on a bed where my face has to be squished against a cold wall while doing so.”

  It was a lie. I didn’t give a crap if my face touched the wall. I just preferred having a wall to my back then a door anyone could barge into. I didn’t like people sneaking up behind me. Especially not while I was sleeping.

  “Okay. Just checking.” She unzipped the suitcase on her bed. “We should probably split everything down the middle. We can share the top of the desk but maybe alternate drawers and halve the shelves above it. It looks like we get our own dressers, which is good, but we have to share a closet.”

  I stuffed the clothes I’d brought into the dresser. When I was done, I set my toiletries bag on the dresser and put my backpack on the floor beside it. Then, I grabbed the bag of blood I’d brought with me. I was famished. After I popped a straw in it, I kicked off my boots and lay across my new bed. It was surprisingly comfortable. Part of me had thought it would be lumpy.

  When I glanced at Nora, I noticed she was busy pulling a million things out of her suitcase. None of which were clothes or toiletries. The chick had an entire suitcase of paperbacks.

  Apparently, I was rooming with a bookworm.

  “You know, they make these things called e-books now. They also have special devices called e-readers and certain companies have apps you can download on your phone, so you don’t have to lug around a suitcase of books like that,” I teased.

  At first, I didn’t think she heard me. She seemed too busy inspecting the edges of her books as she pulled them from the suitcase, but then, she glanced over her shoulder at me.

  “I have an e-reader and an app on my phone. These are just my favorites.” She smiled. “Some of them are signed editions. They’re priceless.”

  When she didn’t laugh, I knew she was serious.

  I blinked as I took an extra-long pull off my straw. Satisfying blood coated the inside of my mouth, and I swallowed hard as I continued to stare at Nora. I’d never met someone so serious about books before. While I enjoyed reading here and there, I wouldn’t describe myself as a reader.

  Nora was different.

  She handled her books with care. I heard her sigh when she pulled them from the suitcase and watched as she caressed their covers.

  Books were clearly her life, and I loved that.

  “If you had to pick one book or series out of all of those as your favorite, which would you choose?” I asked, finding myself more curious than I cared to admit.

  “Don’t ask me to pick because I can’t.” She cast me a sideways glance. “Which is why I brought an entire suitcase of books with me. I couldn’t leave them behind. My sister would’ve destroyed them somehow. She isn’t much of a reader. And when she is, she bends the book in ways you shouldn’t and dog ears the corners. It drives me insane!”

  “Have you always loved to read?”

  “Oh, yeah. As soon as I learned how, I became addicted. They’re an escape from reality. You can go anywhere and be anything between their pages.” She flashed me a nervous smile. “I know that sounds stupid.”

  I shook my head. “Not at all.” It didn’t sound stupid; it sounded amazing. I didn’t know what it felt like to be so passionate about something. Well, maybe Stella. My bike was my freedom. My escape. Exactly like Nora’s books were for her. “You can have all the shelves above the desk for them if you want.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. I don’t have anything to put there, and all my textbooks will probably stay in my backpack.”

  “Awesome, thanks! And, you can borrow any of them you want. Just be careful not to screw up the cover or bend the pages. Use a bookmark.” She grabbed a stack of five books and set them on the top shelf above the desk with so much care it was almost comical.

  “If one grabs my attention, I will. But I’m not really a reader,” I admitted.

  She flashed me a look that let me know right away those could be fighting words if this conversation continued. I flashed her a coy smile.

  “I just don’t get that. How can you say you’re not a reader? I don’t understand when people aren’t into books.” She stared at me, waiting for me to explain.

  I sipped my bag of blood, not knowing what to say. I didn’t have a particular reason. I just wasn’t into reading. “I’ve never allowed myself to get lost in much of anything.” I shrugged, but it was the truth, and I was surprised it had come to me so easily.

  A touch of sadness dimmed her eyes. She turned to grab another stack of books and moved to set them on the shelf beside the others. “Why?”

  I’d known the question was coming, because I’d set myself up for it. “I don’t know.”

  It was an honest answer. It was also the only one she would get from me on the subject.

  “There has to be something you allow yourself to get lost in,” Nora said. Her words were soft. She wasn’t prying for the sake of prying; she was genuinely attempting to get to know me.

  “Guys. Work. Riding my bike.” My answers seemed typical. Boring. Well, all except for the mention of my bike.

  “Oh, well. I guess that works too. Escaping into guys isn’t a terrible thing.” Her lips curled upward at the corners, and I questioned whether her whole librarian act was a front. Did Nora have a wild side? “Speaking of guys, it seemed like you and Axel—wasn’t that his name?—have chemistry.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  I finished the rest of my bag of blood before tossing it in the tiny trash can underneath the desk. “Even if we did, I wouldn’t try to pursue it.”

  “Why not? He’s gorgeous. Don’t tell me he’s not your type.”

  I slipped off my bed and crossed the room to browse the titles she still had to shelve. “Oh, he’s definitely my type.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “I’m not here to date.” My tone was far more serious than was necessary, but my words had been more of a reminder to myself than an answer to her question.

  Axel was just as broken as I was—if not more—and two broken people didn’t make someone whole.

  “What? This place is the equivalent of human college. That’s all people do is date.” Nora grabbed the stack of books in front of me and moved to put them on the shelf with the others.


  “Yeah, well, I’ve always done things against the grain. My experience at the academy won’t be any different. I’m here to focus on more important things than guys and partying.” I clamped my lips together. If I said anything else, I might open myself up to more questions.

  “Partying is against the rules, remember?” She smirked.

  Oh, this girl was going to be fun, and I knew we would be the best of friends.

  The issue I saw us running into was that Nora was easy to talk to, which meant it would be difficult to keep my secret from her.

  “What kind of things are you hoping to focus on?” Her question was tentative. It was clear she wasn’t sure she should ask, but had pressed forward anyway.

  “Things I’d rather not talk about.” I grabbed a stack of books with blue spines. They seemed to be in the same series, but I could be wrong. “Want me to help you put these up? Or I can unpack another suitcase for you?”

  I wanted the topic of conversation to change, but didn’t want to seem rude.

  “Yeah, sure. You can put the rest of these up there, thanks.” She stepped to another suitcase. I noticed then the one with all the books was the one missing the wheel. No wonder. That sucker was heavy. “Oh, and I have an extra blanket and set of sheets if you want to borrow them until you head into town for something else. The stuff here doesn’t seem comfortable. I’m glad I brought my own.”

  My fingers smoothed along the blanket on Nora’s bed. The fabric was scratchy, but the sheets were the worst. “Great, thanks. I’ll have to make a trip to town soon and grab something else. These academy-issued ones do suck.”

  She passed me the sheets and extra blanket. “No problem.”

  I tossed them on my bed and then directed my attention back to the books in front of me.

  Once all of Nora’s stuff was unpacked, she pulled out a box of Cheez-It crackers from her snack supplies and held them out to me.

  “Want some? I have a Netflix subscription. We can find a movie and watch it on my laptop while snacking.” Her eyes brightened. Clearly, this was something she did often.