Hekate’s Bride

After the assembly, the men drag me across the hallways, stopping in front of an iron door that is at least ten foot tall.

The door suddenly swings open, even if there is no one behind it.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I am thrown in by the men, and the door shuts the moment I’m inside the office.

I whirl around in the space that looks to be an office. I am immediately struck by the sheer size of the room. The high ceilings seem to stretch up into infinity, while the walls are lined with tall bookcases filled with ancient-looking tomes. The scent of old leather and paper fills my nose, and it reminds me of the library in the castle.

In the center of the room, a large oak desk dominates the space, with a high-backed chair behind it. The desk is cluttered with papers and stacks of books, but everything seems to be in perfect order, as if each item has been placed with utmost care.

Behind the desk, a tall window offers a view of the sprawling grounds outside. The sunlight streams through the glass, casting a warm glow over the room.

My attention, however, is drawn back to the desk, and the stern figure seated behind it.

“Sit,” Chancellor Vesper says without looking up from what he is scribbling down. I remain standing.

He still doesn’t pause his scribbling to look up at me as he says again,”Once is considered a mistake. Twice is an offense. The third will be a sin and will be punished accordingly, Astrid Blackwood. When I give orders, you follow them. Within these walls, your inheritance or blood line is of no value. So when I tell you to sit, you SIT!”

I suddenly can’t breathe, or control my body. It feels just like an Alpha’s command. My body is submitting, even if my brain is refusing to process and obey his words.

My legs begin to move, regardless of how much fight I am putting up. I am sweating profusely and it feels like I am a stranger in my own body.

I can’t believe this is happening to me. This has to be the worst day of my life.

The moment my ass hits the chair, the hold on me vanishes. I sag against the chair, panting. “My father will–”

He finally glances up, and his gaze is so intense, the rest of my sentence is cut off. “Do nothing. If the portal has sent you here, this is where the Goddess wants you to be.”

“I am a werewolf! This is Lycan School!”

He merely shrugs. “Welcome. You can pick up your P. E and combats uniform–”

“I refuse to stay here!” I yell, slamming my hands on the free space of the table in front of me.

“The portal only opens twice in a session. The start of a session, and the end of that session. You’re stuck here, Astrid Blackwood. Nothing can be done in your case.”

Baring my teeth, I rise from the chair. “What do you mean nothing can be done about it?! You are the head here. Surely you can communicate with the Grand Mistress and get me out of here.”

He lets out an exasperated sigh that doesn’t quite match his intense expression. “Nothing can be done about this until the session has ended.” He waves his hand in dismissal. “Out. Join the rest of the new students at the board to find your guide tutor, and pick your uniforms on your way out.”

“Expel me then,” I rasp. He looks at me from under his glasses. “An expulsion would strip you of admission into any of the schools. An expulsion would name you as unfit to be in the schools. An expulsion would tag you a worm to be avoided and discarded. I doubt that’s a good thing for the future queen of Wolvendom. So, I’d advice you think before making rash demands, and while you’re at it, have a good day.”

“But–”

“Get out, Blackwood.”

Head hung, I leave his office, picking up two different uniform packs on my way out.

******* “The schedule for every set is the same. Realm History is always the first period. Warfare is the second period. P. E happens in the third and fourth period. Combat training in the fifth and sixth,” Guide Tutor Skye says drily as she leads me and a few others who won’t stop pointing at me down a long corridor.

Everyone is looking at me. Everyone is talking about me. The werewolf princess in Lycan School. I am used to being the center of attention but not this kind of attention.

They are laughing at me and looking down on me. Never in my life has this happened to me. Never has anyone looked upon me like I am a flea. Or a bug. One word from me and my father would have them thrown in the dungeons for their disrespect.

It isn’t that my father is a tyrant. He just happens to love me so much. Even my mother gets envious of the attention sometimes.

I hate this stupid school, and I just want to go back home. I miss Trinity. She would have punched the faces of those that dared to laugh at me, and Aria would probably be doing something at the Academy now, like stalking a hot wolf senior. Thorne… Thorne would be holding me in his arms and patting my hair down while whispering sweet words to calm me down. I miss my friends.

I sigh. One session goes on for a year. I don’t think I can stay here for a year. How do I even survive here? This is so unfair. Why me of all people? I’m the princess. I belong with my people, my kind.

“And this is your room,” Skye says, pointing at a door on the top floor. “Your name will be attached to the door tomorrow. Sleepovers are prohibited. No visitors past curfew. Bells will be rung for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You get to the hall late, no food for you, princess.”

I don’t reply. I’m too angry and wound up tight to do so.

My temper only rises when I open the door to my room.

My face scrunches up in disgust. Even my toilet in the castle is way bigger than this. “This is unfit for me to stay. I demand a bigger room,” I say to my guide.

She doesn’t even bother to hide her disgust and hate as she says, “Sleep on the roof then, moron.”

Aghast, I stare at her retreating form as she guides the other new , noting her hair, her clothes and her face. I won’t forget that insult. Ever.

I squeeze myself through the tiny door frame and slam the door hard enough to rattle its hinges.

I stare at the room I have been assigned that isn’t even fit for a servant in my castle. I stare at the unprepared bed without covers and only one pillow. I stare at the ugly looking bathroom that has just one towel hanging from the door. I stare at the empty cloth closet. I stare at the useless uniforms in my grasp.

Then I scream at the top of my lungs. What the hell is going on?!