Chapter 50 Chapter 50
Amber
I limped my way to the classes, dragging my feet. Damian was predictably absent from the classes again.
I had barely begun to wonder how he spent his day if he wouldn’t show up for classes only to get poked by Maya in the ribs.
“Pay attention” she hissed in a low voice.
“There was another attack on one of the packs in the early hours of morning two days ago” Professor Thompson said that made me look up at him.
The attacks were rising.
“Same like the one at the Clearwater pack?” Someone asked.
“Yes, I believe as per the first reports. It happened in the dead of the night as well. Another small, unknown pack.”
“Any casualties?” Another student asked.
“A few including the attackers.”
My head started to spin again. It felt eerily similar to the attack on my pack. Again the question of who was attacking smaller packs and why began to make me restless.
I had to find out how things were at home. I kept half my attention on the classes and hastily scribbled a few lines to send to my sister.
I obviously avoided telling her that her last letter was torn to shreds and simply informed her that it got lost because that was easier to convey.
“What are you doing?” Jess glanced at my notebook.
“Writing a letter to my family.”
She rolled her eyes. “We will go to the city to buy a phone on the weekend. You got the money already.”
Oh, right I had totally forgotten about that.
“But the network coverage here is a bit unreliable. So there’s that.”
I shrugged while doing the math. I was quite rich as a student with the thousand dollars from Alice and the five thousand from Chen. None of my friends knew about Chen and the money and I wanted to keep it that way because I wasn't sure I had answers to the questions that would follow that revelation.
“Alright”
I whispered back to her, tucking the letter away because I didn’t have the heart to tear it out and focussed back on the lecture.
Based on the reports, there were increasing attacks on random, smaller packs and nothing valuable was stolen nor had they suffered very heavy losses either.
Hence, the quesiton remained, why attack at all?
My gaze flicked to Damian’s seat as I wondered what his thoughts would be on this topic.
I decided to ask him about it during our training as my friends began whispering excitedly amongst each other about shopping.
After the class was over, I decided to leave for the extra class I was being asked to take because of me being human but on the way I saw an unusual group waiting outside the secluded hallway.
Even from a distance, I could tell who they were.
All four alpha heirs were waiting for me in the flesh.
They rarely joined classes with the regulars but I had heard from others that they received special classes and training, different from humans or regular werewolves.
So much for Silvercrest Academy being an equal learning ground for all…
As I approached my class, I noticed it to be empty.
I looked around, wondering where everybody was.
The four heirs stood across the hallway and straightened up when they saw me.
I gave them all an awkward wave. “Hi”
“Good to know that you are still wearing your collar” Kade was the first to speak.
“I rarely take it off”
Ryker took a step forward and motioned for me to get inside the class.
I wasn’t an idiot to say no but it felt a little intimidating to be the only one in a classroom with four powerful heirs.
“Is something wrong?” I asked tentatively.
“Obviously you are…” Kade began but Soren interrupted him.
“Let the poor thing breathe. She is already shivering like a leaf caught in a storm.”
Of all of them, Soren and Caspian had been the nicest to me while Ryker and Kade gave me ‘don’t disturb me’ vibes.
“I am okay. Please tell me what's going on.” I urged, looking at all four of them.
“It’s about the upcoming hunt. We wanted to talk to you and decide which one of us gets to hunt you.”
“What?” I exclaimed in shock.
Soren shook his head.
“Let me explain, Ryker” He took a step forward with too bright a smile and began.
“So I believe you know the basic rules of the hunt.”
I nodded. “Principal Davison explained them to us in the auditorium.”
“Right. Usually, we would go after other students in the academy, The hunt is not just a way for us to weed out the weak students, it also lets us check the strongest and keep an eye on them.”
“For what?” I asked.
“To create our own pack, what else for?” Kade gave me a disgruntled look.
“The alpha heirs might inherit their father’s pack but most soldiers and pack members are still loyal to their fathers. They don’t necessarily accept our authority even if we take the crown.”
Caspian explained.
“Which is why we need our own team of dependable warriors and useful men who will help us get settled quickly.” Soren added.
“Yes, you see, we aren’t just handed over everything in a silver plate to rule. Being an alpha heir is harder than being a regular werewolf. Especially when you are the next in line for the powerful four thrones of our kingdom.”
I nodded listening to them intently. In smaller packs, like mine, if my father hand a son, he would inherit everything easily and everybody would accept him as the new alpha without hesitation.
I wasn’t aware things were a bit different in the four alpha ruling packs of the kingdom.
“Okay, but what does it have to do with me?” I asked.
Caspian looked at me hopefully.
“We don't want to fight over you when we could just decide who gets you right here before the hunt.”
I wasn’t some object to argue about.
I squared my chest and looked at them. “I appreciate the thought, but I am sorry, I am here to be a warrior, not to become either of your quest.”
The four exchanged glances and I heard KAde grumble. “I told you we should just hunt her along with the others.”
Soren sighed and came to stand beside me.
“We don’t want to end up killing/hurting a valuable resource like you in the hunt. It will be such a shame. If you willingly tell us which of the four of us would you love to be associated with, that will solve a lot of issues.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that mean one gets an unfair advantage over the other three? And how does it guarantee the other three won't come at me or the alpha heir I chose?”
Ryker snapped “That is not your concern. Soren was just being too nice to you. Choose one of us right away, or get hunted by all four of us.”
But I pictured Damian giving me a cocky look saying 'Told you'.