Chapter Eight

My eyes fluttered open to the light pooling in my ‘room’ from the window that was situated high above my bed, so there wasn’t a point even thinking about climbing out. I had apparently fallen asleep quickly after the nameless guard had visited me last night, however the tray that he had brought in with him was no longer there and instead lay a pile of clothes with a neat note stuck to them.

My legs flung over the side of the bed and I stood up, rubbing my eyes and was thankful that I had braided my hair prior to sleeping since today it would be nice and wavy, which was always good.

‘Get changed and head to the breakfast hall for 10am’

The note was typed out and laminated, looking slightly worse for wear which told me that I was not the first person to receive this, or even sleep in this room apparently. I didn’t even know where the breakfast hall was, but I assumed I would get there eventually. Something told me this place was bigger than it looked.

After getting ready in the clothes that they had supplied, which was more beige jumpsuits and comfy shoes, I peered my head around the door in hope to see someone like me I could tag along with.

Bingo. Red hair whooshed past me as a girl around the same age as me tore down the hallway. “Hello!” I called to her and she turned around, shooting me a smile.

“Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Ruth” She waited for me to catch up to her and stretched her hand out, letting me shake it.

“Isabella.” My lips pulled together and we walked down the long hallway. I assumed that she knew where she was going, because I definitively didn’t. “How are you getting on here?”

Her eyebrows raised in confusion before realizing what I had meant. “Oh! With this?” She pointed to our surroundings and nodded her head. “It’s going okay, I know that I won’t get picked but I’m glad to be here and be given such an important opportunity”

Great. She was brainwashed too. “How come you don’t think you’ll be picked? I mean, you’re beautiful” My eyes scanned her facial features, she was physically flawless.

“Oh, you’re just saying that” Her hand swatted at me as we entered the breakfast hall. “There’s so many girls here that all want it way more than I do, some of them would literally kill to be a Luna. They’ve studied for this all their lives and are so prepared it’s insane” She shook her head at me as we took a seat at an empty table that was littered with delicious looking food.

I picked up a piece of bread and shrugged my shoulders. “I still have absolutely no clue what you even do here, I’ve just had some tests done by doctors and some really weird experiences” It had crossed my mind that the nameless guard had told me that he basically owned the place, so what was stopping him from placing this gorgeous redhead here to interrogate me about him? I wasn’t falling for it.

“Really? Wow, you’re new then” Her hand was filled with grapes as she popped them in her mouth and spoke. “I’ve been here a week now, I think. It’s better than being at home doing nothing I guess”

“I suppose so” I lied. “Do we just go quizzes and shit?”

“Kind of” She giggled to herself. “You really have no clue, right? I guess that’s why you spoke to me, you don’t know about any of this”

“Yeah, I have no clue at all” I turned to her, waiting for her to explain what she found so funny. “You wanna let me in on the joke?”

“Well…” she trailed off and I urged her to keep going with my hands. “It’s a competition. We’re all competing to be the pack's Luna, and more importantly, to be mates with Alpha Theo. It’s a game, really.”

I was done with playing games. My eyes rolled at her and I let out a small scoff. “So you guys...what? Play games? Quizzes?” I tried to think back to what the blonde girl in the bathroom had told me but since she was planted there as a trap, I didn’t quite value her opinion as much as I did at the time.

“Yes, we learn how to be a good Luna. People are evicted every day, lots of them, and others take their place—until eventually, the perfect Luna is found. But that could take years. Or days. It’s all luck really.” She leaned towards me, pointing to a larger table with a bunch of pretty girls who were combing their hair and doing their makeup together. “If you ask me, it’ll be one of them. They were practically made to be Luna’s”

My head shook. “I don’t even want to be here, I couldn’t care less about being a Luna at all. It’s totally not my thing”

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope, I’m trying to find ways to go home. Any ideas?”

She looked at the table and then back up to me. “The only way that you could possibly get to leave is to be sent home”

“And how do people get sent home?” I grabbed her hands hopefully, she seemed to know things.

Her head shook. “I guess, misbehaving, or doing things that a Luna would never do. It’s supposedly Alpha Theo himself that decides who gets sent home and who stays, so do something to piss him off I guess?”

I nodded at her, taking in what she had sent. “Okay, I can do that. Just misbehave, act unladylike—be bad. That’s easy.”

Her breathing quickened anxiously. “You’re terrifying, you know that? Please don’t screw this up for me. I don’t know you, okay?”

I let out a laugh and nodded. “Don’t worry Ruth, I’ll go out with style”

A bell rang through the hall and I straightened up, Ruth leaned over to me. “That means a challenge or a class is about to start. Just listen to what the instructor has to say and don’t fuck this up yet, okay?”

“You have my word” I smiled at her and turned to the front, where everyone’s attention was now turned and thought of ways that I could possibly get this instructor mad and want to kick me out, surely it was easy. Aggravating people was my speciality.

“All right, girls. Today you will learn how to fight!” A familiar voice echoed around us and I squinted my eyes, staring at them. “It’s an important skill for a Luna to know, so make sure you are all alert and ready to learn”

Chocolaty brown eyes stared back at me and my heart sank into my stomach, my mouth going dry as I tried to swallow hard. Even from far away I could recognize the tattoo’s and tanned skin anywhere. His eyes caught my own and he cocked his head to the side like a maniac. “This lesson will be a fun one”

“Oh fuck…” The two words slipped from my mouth, making Ruth look at me strangely and I knew that I was going to have to push him over the edge in front of everyone in order to be sent home—even if it wasn’t the smartest idea in the world.