Chapter 3

Thirst

For several minutes I tried to not stare at Nero. But of course, I ended up doing that a couple of times and felt annoyed that I was doing so.

But every time his voice echoed into my ears, I felt a strong sensation, almost like I was drawn to him.

No! It was like a part of me was drawn to professor Fang, and I couldn't put it in words, but something about him just kept me nervous and yet aroused.

It was the weirdest feeling and yet, I was drowning in it each time our gaze met or I heard his voice.

My eyes kept dragging back towards his lips each time I pulled them away from him, and when Nero locked eyes with me, I swallowed hard even though it wasn't quenching the thirst that I felt.

A couple of minutes into the lecture, I began to notice that my classmates were staring at me, and not in the usual provoking way.

Their stares were pissing me off. But I sighed only, knowing one word for me and I would have dug myself a six feet hole for them to bury me in it.

So I did what I always do to take my mind off things. I took out my copybook and started sketching terrible drawings of my classmates, striving to maintain my calm expression although my anger was growing like a rising storm that I couldn't control.

Even after distracting myself by doing more sketches, I could still feel their eyes on me, and I felt like I was on my last straw.

Fueled by my rage which always makes me act like a daredevil, I stood up, sluggishly stuffed my things back into my bag, and then gazed at Nero.

"Can I be excused from class!" I boldly uttered, gazing at him.

"No!" Nero stated without hesitating as he arched his eyebrow.

"But"

"Look, I don't need a disruption in my class, and I don't care what excuse you have! You can not treat my class like the street by leaving and coming into this room at any time you please! So sit back down!"

Hearing the faint giggles echoing in the room, I felt the weight of embarrassment smashed against my shoulder, and I gazed down at the tiles, breathing in deep to suppress the storm that fought against my control to be let loose.

Why is he acting like such an ass! I get that he has a reputation to uphold or whatever. But all I was asking was to leave his class, and he was acting so difficult about it.

"You heard the lecturer! Sit back down, you weirdo!" Someone shouted from the back.

"What a freak!" Another jerk shouted.

Laughters echoed in the classroom, and I stood there taking it all in like always even though I wanted to shut them up.

"You think you are so funny with your stupid ass jokes! Well, newsflash, you are not, so shut up!"  Nero harshly said, and my face went blank.

Now, I didn't know if it was okay to call him a scalawag or not because it seemed like he was actually standing up for me, and no one had ever done that for me in my life.

It took a few seconds, and then the class grew silent. But Nero was still staring at me, and I couldn't take my eyes off him, almost like a force was keeping me from looking away.

"Sit down! I won't tell you again!"  Nero said, frowning at me before staring the other way.

Annoyed by his tone, I threw my bag over my shoulder and harshly uttered, "And if I don't?!"

"You can leave and drop my class because if you think about staying here and upholding such an ill-bred attitude, expect an F at the end of the semester." He uttered without even looking my way.

The sudden silence in the room left me feeling more embarrassed to sit down, even though I knew I had to because my father would kill me if I failed a course again.

"Please take your seat," Nero suddenly said, meeting my eyes again.

Then he focused on the tablet in his hand and calmly uttered, "Okay, everyone, turn to chapter five of your textbook."

After a few seconds of hesitation, I carelessly dropped my backpack on the desk and rested my head on my bag, shutting my eyes.

At that moment, I heard a student behind me mumble, "So are we supposed to pretend that Mr. Fang's pants and Blake's blazer are not a matching set?"

A loud groan escaped my lips, realizing that things just got a bit complicated, and I hated it.

When I finally raised my eyelids, I saw that the chair by me was empty. Immediately, I raised my head and darted my eyes around the room.

Then reality finally slapped me in my face. I had slept through Mr. Fang's entire lecture. Well, this was one way to get on his bad side and have him hate me even more.

But I screwed that thought for a moment because as I turned my head to the front of the classroom, I saw a bitch that I hate so much and her loyal followers.

Her father is a powerful wolf that even my father respected, and I knew not to cross her.

Since the class was over, the fact that she was still in the room meant trouble was coming my way.

But I kept a calm expression even after learning that, and grabbed my bag, throwing it on my shoulder.

When I got to the front of the class, she blocked my way, yet I kept a calm expression and mumbled, "Good afternoon, Karen."

"Is something going on between Mr. Fang and you?" Karen harshly asked, scowling at me.

"Of course not! He's a new instructor, and according to his introduction speech, he just arrived in the state, so how can there be something between us."

"Then how did you get his blazer!"

Keeping silent, I tried to figure out what to say. But one thing I was sure about was that I couldn't tell them the whole truth because I knew that it would only make matters worse.

"I was bleeding, and he lent me his blazer because he knew that my sweater got ruined from the bloodstain on it!" I calmly uttered.

Then I gave a stiff smile and said, "Can I leave now? I need to catch the bus."

Without waiting for a response from them, I walked away. But Karen suddenly grabbed me by my hair and yanked me in front of her.

The pain in my scalp burned badly. But I wasn't willing to show it on my face and make myself look more pathetic than I felt.

Frowning, Karen then stabbed her finger on my chest and said, "You lying bitch! I will give you one more chance, to tell the truth!"

"I don't know what you are talking about," I mumbled, striving to walk past Karen.

But she kept moving in the direction I was going in while smiling mockingly at me.

"You little hoe! Someone saw you going into the men's bathroom, and later on, Mr. Fang came out without his blazer. Guess who had it on, coming out of the bathroom just a few minutes after he did?" Karen said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Whatever you think happened, it didn't happen," I said, struggling against my anger.

Scowling, Karen hit her fingertip on my chest and said, "Another lie! Do you think we don't know what you are doing by throwing yourself at our instructor! Your father might be our pack leader, but you don't have a shot with anyone here because you are weak and worthless, so you are going for the new guy!"

That's the stupidest assumption I have ever heard! You can't be that dumb!" I blurted out without thinking for a second.

Suddenly, Karen rushed to me and lifted me by my neck, slamming me to the ground before I could get the chance to process what was happening.

Her eyes were blue when I looked into them, and that only happens to werewolves who have taken an "innocent life,"

The blow from Karen's attack left me in a confused state for a second as I lay on the cold tile while the pain tore through my back and my waist.

'I guess I will be spending a month in 'the night' after all.' That was my only thought as I coughed slightly.

Then I raised my gaze and saw Karen and the other girl coldly staring down at me, and I just knew what was coming next.

"I'm going to enjoy this as much as it is going to hurt you!" Karen coldly uttered with a smirk on her lips.

Losing the smug smile, she reached down, entangled her fingers with my hair, and dragged me against the tiles before swinging me towards the desks.

When my stomach slammed into the pointed edge of a chair, I immediately threw out blood before dropping down to the floor.

"Since you can heal quickly, I will make sure to give you enough bruises, so as they take their time to heal, you will remember where your place is, and stay away from professor Fang!" Karen said.

'Why did I have to get the healing part of a wolf and not the strength! Ahah, this sucks so bad!' Was my only thought when I felt Karen's fingers tighten in my hair.

Then I closed my eyelids and allowed myself to drown in the agony as I felt my head slam against the tiles.

"Karen, I think you went too far! She looks hurt pretty badly!" I heard a honeyed voice say, and after listening to the fear in her tone, I forced my eyes open despite the pain circulating in my head.

Although my left eye was a bit blurry, I could still see the anxious look on Karen's face when she said, "Let's get out of here!"

At first, I could hear the sound of footsteps hurrying out of the classroom.

Then it suddenly grew silent, and the only thought on my mind was, "Dad is going to be so mad if I miss the bus and go home late."

For a moment, I felt numb, lying in my blood, and even though a part of me wanted to lay there for a while until I healed, I knew that I couldn't miss the bus. So I struggled to stand on my feet, and I finally succeeded after the fourth attempt.

But, within a split second, my legs collapsed underneath me, and I dropped to the floor, hitting my head hard against the tiles.

"Are you okay?!" were the last words I heard before I lost consciousness.