Since my next class was in the Crescents building, Iris and I parted ways, agreeing to find each other during lunch since we had it at the same hour. It was a huge relief knowing I wouldn't have to worry about finding someone to sit with.
I was more excited about Taming Your Dark Wolf with Theo than any other class so far, mainly because I couldn't wait to see him again.
It was a strange feeling. I almost felt like I was going through withdrawal from being away from him for so long. It was as though I craved him.
Snap out of it, Raven, I told myself. You've only just met him. This can't be healthy.
But the feeling, the need to see him again, to be closer to him, refused to fade.
As I opened the door to the Crescents building, an odd sensation crept over me. The moment I stepped into the hallway, that oddness deepened into a nagging, overwhelming weight in the pit of my stomach.
Maybe it was the dim lighting. Maybe it was the dark, almost haunting artwork lining the walls. Whatever it was, everything about this building felt… heavy. Dark. It put me on edge.
I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong here, not in this building, not in this House.
What if the witch's potion had somehow messed up? What if I wasn't actually supposed to be one of the Crescents?
Could I contest it? Was that even a thing?
But if I did… I wouldn't have Theo as my professor.
Did I really want that?
No.
I needed this. As crazy as it sounded, I truly believed I needed to see him every day, or I might actually lose my mind.
I wanted to see and have class with all of the guys, but especially Theo. It was like I couldn't get enough of him.
When I walked into the classroom, I was surprised to find I was the first one there.
I chose a seat toward the center. Normally, I preferred the back, but today I wanted to be closer to Theo.
The next student who walked in was a guy with bright blue hair and an eyebrow piercing. I remembered him from the Sorting Ceremony. He wasn't exactly easy to forget.
"Hey," he said, sliding into the chair beside me. "I'm Vince."
"I'm Raven."
"I know." He paused, then added, "Everyone knows who you are."
"I'm getting used to that," I replied with a small chuckle. It was getting to the point where it didn't even bother me anymore. I kind of just expected it.
"So, you're half-Crescent. That's pretty cool, if you ask me."
"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow. "That's one word for it, I guess."
"You don't think it's cool?"
I shrugged. "It just makes things more complicated. Splitting my classes between the Crescents and the Descendants and all that."
"Yeah, I'm sure that would," he agreed. "Have you decided what club or team you're going to join?"
"Club or team?" I turned to him, eyes widening.
"We're required to join at least one extracurricular every year. I'm surprised no one told you."
"Oh, crap. I had no idea."
"It was on your application. You were supposed to choose at least two you were interested in."
"I didn't apply to go here," I admitted.
"Oh. You were invited?"
"Actually, I was pretty much dragged here."
"So you were hand-selected," Vince said with a nod. "I'm not surprised."
"Why?"
"Well… you are Raven Gallagher."
I suppressed an eye roll. I was getting a little tired of my name being tossed around like it carried some legendary weight.
"What kind of clubs and sports do they even have?" I asked, wondering if there was something specifically designed for werewolves.
"Pretty much everything you'd expect back home," Vince said. "They don't strip away the fun stuff, or people would probably revolt and run back to the human world. What did you do after school?"
"Nothing, really. I'd go home or hang out with friends." My guidance counselor had always nagged me about extracurriculars and college applications. Funny how none of that mattered now. I didn't regret it, though. I was glad I'd chosen time with my friends.
"Well, there's football, cheerleading, band. Track is huge, werewolves are way faster than humans, so it gets competitive. We're also good at javelin since we can throw insanely far. There's soccer, baseball…" He paused. "Non-athletic stuff too. Art club. Yearbook. Drama. I'm joining Yearbook." He looked at me. "What about you?"
"I don't know. I need to think about it."
"Are you athletic? Artsy?"
"I don't really think I'm talented at anything," I said with a shrug.
"Don't say that, Raven. I'm sure you're good at something, even if you haven't figured it out yet."
"Thanks," I said, smiling.
A moment later, Theo walked in, and I stared.
Sometime between breakfast and now, he had changed into a dark gray suit with a light blue undershirt and matching tie. He looked hot as hell. I tried not to swoon. I honestly wished making out with him could count as an extracurricular.
He glanced at me with a smirk, and I instantly knew he'd heard that thought.
And just like that… I felt better.
The craving, the strange withdrawal I'd felt earlier, it vanished the second he stepped into the room. We hadn't spoken. We hadn't touched. But everything eased. Even the faint headache I'd had for the past half hour disappeared.
What. The. Hell.
How was that even possible?
Theo's light blue eyes met mine. It looked like he wanted to say something, but obviously couldn't with the room filling up.
"Welcome to Taming Your Dark Wolf," he began, standing at the front of the class. "As you've probably guessed, there's a reason you're here. This course is only available to Crescents. The purpose of this class is to help you tame the darkness inside of you."
He paused, scanning the room.
"The interesting thing about being a Crescent is that each of you has both darkness and light within you. Good and bad. We call them your two wolves: the dark wolf and the light wolf. This class is about embracing your inner light wolf and bringing it to the surface, while burying the dark wolf inside you."
I frowned.
That sounded great and all, but…
What if you weren't even sure you had a dark wolf at all?