"This is very impressive, I did not expect such a write-up from the two of you to be honest." The teacher nodded solemnly as he read through Snow and Nolan's project and once he put it down, he put his hands together in appreciation of the masterpiece he just read, "since this is actually your test and you brought a wonderful piece, consider this your passing grade for the midterms."
Both their eyes widened in happiness, he couldn't believe it, it was his test?! Nolan smiled widely in appreciation.
"We passed!" Snow, who was so elated, jumped slightly, embracing Nolan in a fit of giggles, "we did it!" the 6'1 man grew hot at the ears, he had not expected such a response from her. It was only then did she realize and let him go almost immediately, the heat transferring to her.
The teacher only let a small smirk on his lips, "you are free to go. Do well on the rest of the tests you two." he dismissed them and Nolan was the first one out, she didn't stop him but she did leave at a slower pace.
The day was not too busy for her and soon, she was done with all her lectures and was about to go home. There were still some classes and the hallway was relatively empty until someone called her name.
"Snow." she turned around to see who it was and it was Nolan, her project partner, walking up to her calmly. Once they were face to face, she had to look elsewhere but his face, her heart rate picking up speed and a soft whisper in her mind, she didn't know who the voice belonged to, "that is your name right?"
"Yes…" she answered softly. Silence. He didn't say anything again. Until her eyes met his. His face seemed reddened. He was clearly embarrassed.
"I just want to thank you… I thought I could do it by myself but you saved me from failing." he appreciated her and it made her heart grow wings. Snow felt very warm inside of her and she nodded her head.
"You don't need to."
"I want to." he reached out for her hand, upon touching her, he noticed how soft she was. She was so soft but the bruises on her hand were not oblivious to him. It made him wonder.
Meanwhile, Snow's pale face had gotten a lot of colour, memories from her time with Xerxes flashing in her mind in rapid succession, she wondered if it would happen again but with him. Her eyes darted everywhere, they were alone, she swallowed a lump in her throat.
Nolan could sense her nervousness and quickly let go of her hand, watching as she rubbed it timidly. Though he hadn't introduced himself, he had seen her a lot and he was a closeted fan of her blue eyes. Some strands of white hair had gotten in her face and he took the liberty to push it behind her ears.
"I—" she wanted to say something.
"My name is Nolan." he took a step back, "get home safely." Now that she had been set free, she took small and slow steps away from him, never breaking eye contact until she turned to face the direction she was going.
As she got farther away, she often looked back, he stood there. Until she was too far away. Until she crossed the door.
Nolan made his way back to his dorm, thoughts had overcome him. She wasn't so bad, she had a nice name.
"Snow…" he figured it was because of her hair that she was named that. He heard a lot about her, people gossiped about her, said she was a slave from another pack and that her alpha had sent her here to learn. That was all he knew.
When he crossed the door to his dorm, it was empty, his brothers were still in classes and the more he had the space to himself to relax, the more he thought about her.
"I wonder where she lives. I will talk to father about her, I should find out…" words flew from him without thought before his mind wandered to her softness. She was like a pillow, if her hands were so soft, he could only imagine what other parts of her were just as soft.
Nolan slapped himself for such an imagination and blamed it on his wolf. What his younger brother had said now washed up on him, that he should not push her out because he has a lover. But Nolan didn't want to end up like his dad, he knew the detriments of it more than anyone.
"You are in?" Xerxes's voice rang out as he opened the door for his elder brother to come in. Zev was tired from all the classes and immediately fell to the couch, letting out a loud groan, "how was the project?"
"I passed of course, were you expecting me to fail?" The small smirk on Nolan's face was instantly wiped off when his younger brother spoke.
"So you didn't go to see Cass but that girl instead." Zev wiggled his brows at him and it was at that very moment that Nolan said within himself that he would kill him. He marched to strangle him, but Xerxes put himself in between them, "I'm just asking!"
"I have a feeling you get a boner from being in danger." Xerxes scoffed, making sure to sit Nolan down. But Zev was unrelenting with the grin on his face.
He was not wrong, he did meet Snow but he did not want to admit it. However, without her, he would have failed.
"I am going to see Cass." Nolan made up his mind, he didn't want to be in the same enclosure as Zev and this made him cackle at his expense. The youngest of the three was not too pleased but he knew there was nothing he could do.
"Do be back for dinner. It is lamb, your favourite." A small smile was thrown his way and it was enough to calm him down a bit. Meanwhile, Zev blew him raspberries. But Nolan knew he would have his way and when he did, he would break his face.
The sun had dipped, and the sky was now a mix of purple and pink and orange with stars spangled all around. The evening breeze was cool and strong against his features. He knew by now, Cassira would be in the academy's garden reading and enjoying her solitude and when he got there, he was right.
She was on one of the benches with a book in her hand, deep in another world. But as his scent wafted into the air, her attention was immediately stolen.
"Nolan…" he hadn't even gotten close enough before she said his name. That alone warmed his heart, her eyes now on him as he closed the distance between them, "I thought you would not come."
"And why wouldn't I?" taking the space beside her, he watched her snuggle into him, "a new book?" he noticed.
"It is only proper for a future Luna to be well-informed." Chiding smartly, she raised her head in pride.
"In fictional stories, right." and he popped her bubble. It was corny enough to make her laugh, her hazel eyes diluting with concern.
"I heard you passed. I wish I could have helped you with your project but I had to return home urgently…" she trailed off, "your partner help you?"
"She did. If she didn't, I was sure to fail. Apparently she knew the legend by heart, she said her old Luna was a descendant and she would always tell her the story. She is more than she looks…" the memory of her hugging him out of happiness flashed in his mind.
"Indeed, she is rather impressive. I even heard that she was the one who found the flower before Naelle snatched it away from her." a snicker escaped her, Nolan catching it quickly, typical Naelle.
"To be honest, I cannot wait for the break. There has been a lot happening and balancing it with school has been tough." the rogue attacks, they needed to do more to ensure the Redclaw pack was safe. He was mostly in charge of that, security.
"Father wishes to see you during the break, to discuss borders." Her announcement made him light up, he would go to her home. "You care about the pack so much, you are fit to be alpha." she commended him, her hand gently cupping his cheek. He melted in her hands before he placed a soft kiss in her palm, turning his head to do so.
Their union was arranged but he had learned to love her. It was only normal that he would be afraid of Snow and what her appearance could do to them. But he was with her and that was all that mattered now.
However, his mind went to Snow every now and then.