Eternal Academy

CATALINA

I stood in the middle of the empty parking lot. Sweat dampened my neck and back from the humid air. I reached up with one hand, wiping it across my forehead.

This was a stupid idea. Why the hell was I out here? Oh, right, my big mouth and I had something to prove.

“Hey, new girl! Over here!” My head swiveled around, spotting one of the jocks in a nearby forest. What was his name? Brad? Blake? Oh, well, it doesn’t matter. They were all airheads.

The forest covered the entirety of the school and was off-limits to students. So why was he there? Pushing aside my unease, I jogged over to him.

“Where’s everybody?” I asked.

His answering smirk put me even more on edge.

He turned around, strutting into the forest like he did this every day. Clenching my jaw, I followed after him. My black baby-doll shoes sank into the mud.

Due to the severe storm we’d had last night, everything was muddy. I cursed myself for not wearing boots.

Then again, I hadn’t planned to ditch fourth hour and hang out in the woods. Like I said, I blamed my big mouth.

He was quiet as we walked, pushing branches out of his way that hit me in the face when he let them go.

After the third time, I knew he was doing it on purpose. I growled my irritation. “Do that again, and my foot is going up your ass.”

He chuckled, unfazed. As they always are until you kick them where the sun doesn’t shine. Then it’s all pain and cupping.

I giggled to myself, stumbling over a branch. Hissing when a thorn poked me, drawing blood. I’d had it with this damn forest!

My head snapped up from looking at my arm, sighing when I realized the jock was gone. Of course he was. He’d probably been waiting until I was distracted so he could slip away.

Steeling my shoulders, I carried on. Up ahead was a clearing. My guess was that was where everyone else was.

With a slow jog, I reached it in under five minutes, frowning when I found it empty. Ok, what the hell were they doing?

After third period today, the popular girls had cornered me. Although I’d been at this school for only a week, I was quick to find who the top dogs were.

And I was even quicker to get on their bad side. They made it a point to search me out, inviting to settle our differences before lunch.

A one-on-one fight with each of them, and they’d leave me alone for the rest of the year. I took the challenge, confident in my fighting skills. I had a mean right hook.

Now I was starting to second-guess their intentions as I stood in the empty clearing, hair blowing in the humid air.

Was this a prank? Was I dumb enough to fall into a trap? Their main goal was probably to lure me out in the forest and ditch me, forcing me to find my way back. Cowards.

Huffing, I spun on my heels, prepared to march back.

“Going somewhere?” Claire stood there, a vicious grin on her face. I opened my mouth, and something slammed into the back of my head.

The air left my lungs as I fell to the ground, only for another hit to come, this one to my stomach. My eyes darted to the side, spotting Selena and Bridget, the other two popular girls.

They grinned in unison, bats raised, ready to take another swing. Claire cackled. “I’ll take that as a no.” Selena tossed her a pink bat, then as one they rained down blows on me.

***

When I came to, everything was different. I didn’t feel any of the pain I was expecting, although I should have. I flexed my fingers to make sure I wasn’t simply blocking out the pain.

But I felt fine. In fact, I felt energized. I sat up, looking into the forest. It was much creepier at night. I could hear things moving around in there. Most likely spiders. I shuddered.

Pulling myself to my feet, I cringed at the dried blood on my clothes. Those bitches were going to pay. Jumping me in the woods? What a bunch of cowards!

“Don’t move!”

I froze, chancing a look over my shoulder. Two large men stood there with very large guns. Aimed at me.

I threw my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t do it! I’m the victim here. The suspects are probably home now, painting their claws,” I smirked. They looked at each other, then took a step forward.

“Put your hands behind your head. Not another word.” I raised an eyebrow, but did as I was told. The moment my hands were behind me, they rushed over, securing them with a zip tie.

“What the hell is this?” I jerked my hands, confirming I couldn’t move. Duh, Catalina, they just tied your hands together. “You can’t do this! I have rights.” Why was I the one being detained when I was the victim?

“You’re coming with us,” the bigger of the two announced, grabbing my arm and jerking me to my feet. I struggled for a minute until he gave me a furious look.

They dragged me through the forest between them. All the while, I was trying to figure out what lie Claire had cooked up to have me arrested. Was I being arrested?

They didn’t wear the normal cop uniforms, nor did they use handcuffs. I eyed their all-black army suits, with semi-automatics attached to their backs.

A lot of gunpower for a high school girl. “Who did you say you work for again?”

“We didn’t.”

Alarm bells went off. “Are you taking me down to the station?” Again, they looked at one another but didn’t answer.

Holy hell, had Claire hired some hitmen to finish the job? The bitch was rich enough to arrange it.

We came out of the trees and were back in the parking lot, where a lone black SUV was parked. Not even a cop car. This couldn’t be good.

“Listen, whatever it is her family is paying you I’ll double it. I mean, do you really want to kill an innocent teenager?” I batted my lashes at the one on my left.

A jolt of shock in my side had my head whipping to the right. The other guy was holding a small black device, grinning in satisfaction.

“What did you do to me?” My eyes were starting to get heavy. A tiredness invaded all my senses. I never did hear his response…if he responded. I slumped over on the cop to my left, passing out.

***

For the second time that day, I woke up in an office this time. One of my wrists was zip-tied to the arm of the chair.

I yanked it with all my might, but it only tightened. A throat cleared in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed the large male sitting behind a brown desk.

“What the hell is this? Some kind of foreplay? Where am I?” I mentioned foreplay because the man was hot. Maybe throwing it out there would give him some ideas.

I mentally shook myself. Damn, I need therapy. “I’m Victor Monroe, the Dean of Eternal Academy.” His voice held an air of authority, strong and controlled.

I eyed the dark-haired man, searching for any ill intent. I was usually able to get a good read on people.

Then I quickly scanned the room, noting the desk supplies and awards along the wall before shifting my gaze back on him. “Why am I here?”

He cleared his throat again. “Several hours ago, we got an alert of a werewolf shifting. We tracked it down to you, only to find you back in your human form.”

I stared...and stared some more. “I’m sorry, what? Did you just say werewolf? Like Jacob from ~Twilight~?”

The confusion on his face would’ve been funny if he weren’t crazy. Werewolves...really? “Yes, a werewolf. An unregistered one at that.”

I laughed softly. “You think I’m a werewolf? Are you insane?”

“I don’t think you are, Ms. Cortez, I ~know~ you are. As a lycan, I can feel another person’s werewolf. I can feel yours as we speak, even though it’s weak and underdeveloped.”

I wanted to stand up and storm away from this nutcase, but I was still tied down. “How about you free me, and we both go to the local crazy house to get you some help?” I asked slowly.

He snarled, rising from his chair, a savage, feral look in his eyes. I watched them shift from a cool brown to a bright yellow.

Fear gripped me when bursts of fur sprouted around his face and along his arms. In less than ten seconds, I was looking at something out of my nightmares.

“Believe me now?” he asked in a guttural voice, more growl than human.

Then I did what any normal girl would do in my situation. I fainted.

***

A sharp sting on my cheek snapped me awake. Victor was hovering over me, a normal human male again. Thank God. “This is insane.” I mumbled, ignoring the fact that he’d just smacked me.

He sighed, sitting back down at his desk.

“I promise Eternal Academy is the best place for you. With no parents or family to guide you, we can teach you everything you need to know about being a werewolf.”

I slumped in my seat, knowing that he was right. If I was really what he said I am, I’d need to control that side of me.

What if Claire and her friends were there when I changed? No doubt I would’ve killed them.

“Ok,” I said. He smiled. The man seemed a little bipolar. I would give this school a chance. Four years of my life. It wasn’t like I was doing anything else with it.

“Unfortunately, since it’s Friday, classes will not resume until Monday. So for now you’ll have to sleep in the faculty dorms.

“I’ll have your schedule ready and printed out by Sunday with your assigned room. Monday after classes you’ll join the other werewolves.

“There’s only a few on campus and they’ve formed a sort of pack. If I’m lucky, the Alpha will accept you with open arms.”

I didn’t like the way that sounded. “And what if they don’t?”

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then we’re going to have a big problem.”