Chapter 8

“Gather round everyone.” Mr Talia, the fighting instructor called.

If this class wasn't a requirement, I would not offer it. Plus, we never fought any real enemies. All we had were coordinated duels and sparring on school grounds.

“Okay,” he continued. “For this class, you'll need to pick your partners and note that they will remain your partners for the rest of the semester.”

The scrambling soon began and everyone picked partners from their friend groups. I stared clueless and ‘partner-less’. In a thought, I felt like it was not an entirely bad thing, maybe if I didn't get a partner I'd be kicked out or something.

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a tap on my shoulder. “Like to team up, Sophia?”

Like hell! It was Jackson.

Why was he obsessed with me? He must have thought I rooted for him like the other girls.

“No, thank you.” I replied quickly, trying hard not to be rude.

“Well, I don't think going solo is an option,” he continued, “and it looks to me like you don't have anyone yet.”

“I do have a partner.” I tipped out the first thing that came to mind, untrue as it was.

“Who then? 'Cause I don't see anyone.” He said, folding his arms.

“Um, well-” I started to freestyle another lie but was stopped as the door opened loudly and a frantic Thea walked in.

I was saved. “Thea!”, I called and waved my hand, before approaching her.

“Hey Soph. What are you—”

I grabbed her by the arm before she could sound surprised enough for Jackson to hear us. “I'll explain later but you're my partner for this class, okay?”

“I am?” She quizzed, confused at my little drama.

“Yes Thea,” I stopped her, “The alternative is Jackson.” I said as I shone her puppy dog eyes hoping she'd agree.

“Hm, I see what's going on here, Sophia.” Thea held me back with a look of realization. “You like Jackson too, don't you?”

Me? Like Jackson?

“Ew!” I retorted, almost by reflex. Thea laughed as she saw her words caught me off guard.

“Wait up, what do you mean 'too'?" I asked, my eyes narrowing slightly.

Thea chuckled. "You know, like you have feelings for him too."

I rolled my eyes. "Ew, no. I couldn't have feelings for… Jackson Bennett."

Thea raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because it looks like you're going out of your way to avoid him, Soph."

I shook my head. “He's weird, Thea. His…energy is weird.”

Thea shot me an inquisitive look. “What do you mean?”

I looked around before reducing my voice to a whisper. “Well, the day your arrivals were announced, the library walls were vibrating and there was a weird growl just before he walked in.”

“On top of that, he thinks he's all that.” I continued.

Thea’s eyes strayed onto Jackson and she tilted her head as if to inspect him from the distance. “Isn't he?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, he's not that bad.” She turned back to look at me, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"Okay, whatever you say, Thea." I mocked as I pulled her away from staring him to shreds.

Mr. Talia clapped his hands, interrupting our conversation.

"Alright, class. Let's get started. We'll be doing individual sparring today. You'll each take turns fighting a different opponent."

The class began, and Thea and I took turns fighting different opponents. Jackson was unsurprisingly one of the stronger fighters in the class, and he seemed to have more fighting experience than anyone in the class.

I was surprised to see that Thea held her own, though.

As the rounds went on, it was clear that me, Thea, Jackson and some other student named Liam, were the standout fighters in the class.

The sparring continued, and I began to feel a strange energy building inside me with every victory I had in the duels. It was my silver wolf instinct, and it was getting harder to control.

I tried to push it down, but it was no use. My next opponent was Liam. He was taller and looked stronger than me, having breezed past some of his previous opponents.

I lunged at him with swift, deadly movements and pounced heavily on him, beating him to a pulp. My nails had grown into claws and as I was about to strike, Jackson intervened, grabbing me from behind and pulling me away from poor Liam.

I struggled against him but soon scratched his arm with a growing claw.

“Ah” He wheezed, “Easy," he said, his voice low and calm.

“Sorry,” I tried to calm myself, my instincts were still raging. I looked into his eyes, and saw concern floating in them and it made me pause.

I took a deep breath, and my instincts slowly began to die down while the rest of the class murmured and shot me looks of disdain.

“You can cool off until our next class, Sophia.” Mr Talia recommended. I nodded and turned around to sit.

“Will you be okay to continue? If not, we could—” He turned to Jackson.

“I am. It's just a scratch.” Jackson answered.

It was time for the final sparring match. Thea and Jackson finally faced off against each other, both of them twisting and turning in movements that almost seemed choreographed.

In the end, it was Thea who emerged victorious, her skills surpassing even Jackson's.

As they finished fighting, Jackson grinned at Thea. "You're pretty good," he said.

Thea smiled, and I could swear I saw a flush float on her cheeks. "Thanks."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're both amazing."

Jackson chuckled. "Hey, someone's got to keep an eye on you.”

I faked a smile but was actually embarrassed. He was talking about my little ‘episode.’

He glanced at his watch and his expression suddenly turned serious. "I've got to go. I'm running late now. See you around?” He greeted, his hands extending a handshake.

Thea beamed a smile that I thought was suspicious before she even shook his hand.

“Of course.” She replied softly.

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Thea and me staring as he left.

"What was that?" I asked, turning to Thea. She shrugged.

Whatever Jackson's plan was, I'd be ahead of it. That was my conclusion as I watched him walk out of the class. I refused to believe he was just being ‘friendly’, let alone with Thea.