Chapter 14

“Welcome to Tulane University,” the writing on the wall said, and behind it was the gigantic and beautiful view of the university. My eyes twitched repeatedly in awe, and I felt goosebumps beholding the sight of it alone. This wasn’t my first time visiting the place this week, but it gave me that same euphoria every time. But that joy didn’t last long. It’d been over a week now that I’d been in New Orleans, and yet there was no move from both my pack and David. Of course, I was grateful for the fact that I had finally broken free from their clutches, but that didn’t mean I felt safe. Knowing my pack, they would certainly not rest till they captured me, let alone David. And that’s probably why I felt these few days of no action from both sides were awfully suspicious.

“Forget about them, Mia,” I suddenly told myself, shaking my head to rid these thoughts. I took deep breaths, and then I donned the brightest smile I could before walking into the prestigious Tulane University. This place, this city, was where I was going to begin my life over again. As I walked, I couldn’t help but admire the entire scenery like a child seeing fireworks for the first time. The trees, the buildings, and its people most especially were beautiful. It was way more intriguing than my pack was. Their laughter, their smiles, the way they chattered and acted easily charmed my heart. Now I understood part of the reasons my mother wanted me to leave the pack. My wolf and I were more than eager to start living life! But my morale soon began to dampen as some of them I walked past gossiped about me. My smile was gradually fading. My heart was beginning to pick up the pace, and at the same time, I tried to figure out what was wrong. Soon, I realized it was my clothes.

I was donning a faded pair of blue jeans and a green sweatshirt with brown boots, and my hair was packed in a messy bun. At least my face would have saved me some embarrassment, but I didn’t wear any makeup. To be honest, I was beginning to feel like a country bumpkin. There was barely enough money to begin with in the first place, and these clothes were the best I could salvage ever since I left my pack. My anxieties began to grow at such a dangerous pace that it felt like I was going to have a panic attack soon. Today, I was going to meet with the Dean of the school of liberal arts looking like a clown. I needed no one to tell me I had already failed before the meeting even began. Yet, my legs still led me to the Dean’s office.

As I reached the Dean’s office door, my heart pounded so loud that I could barely hear anything. A part of me wanted to turn back, yet the devil in me didn’t even knock but turned the doorknob, revealing a middle-aged blonde woman with glasses seated behind her desk, working on her laptop. Her red suit easily caught my eyes, blending with her small office decorated with fine mahogany shelves containing books and few artifacts. There was only one thing I didn’t like—her office just was too cold.

Her stern gaze darted to me immediately, and I lost the little ounce of courage I had gathered. But I couldn’t just stay by the door side like a fool. I needed to say something.

“Uh—I’m—erm, good morning,” I stuttered, and I saw her eyes squint behind those glasses. Now that I was looking closely, her skin was somewhat pale, and her lips were rosy red as if they had been coated with blood, perfectly complementing her clear grey eyes.

“I’m Mia. I apologize for barging in like that…”

Her eyes suddenly lit up in excitement as she arose.

“Oh you must be Mia Henderson, right?” she chirped, and I shot her a nervous smile as I nodded. There was something strange about her, my wolf told me. All the humans I’ve come across had unique scents, but she didn’t.

“Come on. Have a seat.” She gestured towards one of the black chairs opposite her desk. I gulped down my saliva, forgetting how to even walk properly to a damn chair.

“You’re the scholarship student, huh? It’s so nice to meet you formally, Mia. I’m Doctor Scarlett Johnson, the dean of Liberal arts.” She extended her hand for a shake, to which I shyly accepted. My eyes exclaimed as my wolf became unsettled; this woman’s skin was way too cold for a normal human. That is, if she was in the first place. The way my wolf acted reminded me of my time with David.

How she managed to switch from that stern mannerism to this bright one was quite praiseworthy, but it still failed to calm my nerves.

“You look nervous,” she noted as we both sat. Her smile was still there, but I wasn’t even sure what my expression looked like. “Take deep breaths and relax, okay?” she said nicely, and in a way, it helped a bit.

“Would you like anything? Coffee or tea, maybe?” she asked.

“N-no…” I stuttered. To be fair, I expected a cold attitude, but she was the exact opposite, and it bothered me a bit. Maybe it was just me, but her extremely nice attitude was quite weird for me. We continued our conversation, and all through it, my anxiety made me stutter and sound more or less like a fool. She wasn’t bothered in the slightest but instead looked so interested. I almost eased up until she dropped the next question.

“So, tell me about your family. I’m quite curious about what kind of background a brilliant young lady like you has.” She held my gaze, so I found it impossible to waver. My breath hung in my throat for a split second. There was no way I was going to tell her I was a rogue werewolf with my pack and a werewolf hunter possibly hunting for me. The only option was to spill the basic details.

“Er… my father died when I was young, and I basically have no memory of him. My mother,” I paused, feeling a slight pain surge in my chest. “She died recently,” my voice trailed off.

“I’m so sorry.” Her countenance expressed nothing but concern, and I nodded, trying not to let the tears out. “But that wasn’t the kind of background I meant.”

I frowned, and her countenance changed into a stern one. “You don’t have to lie to me about your true background. I know what you are, Mia Henderson, and I believe you know what I am too. You’re a werewolf, and I’m a vampire. We shouldn’t lie to each other, don’t you think?” she chirped with a bright smile that rather scared me to the core.

My eyes widened as I froze. That gaze of hers, that statement, now I finally understood why my wolf was restless. The Dean was a vampire. For the first time, I was meeting one. And if there was one thing about the books I read back in my pack’s library, vampires and werewolves were not friends!