Page 20 of Savage Hope

It has to be the largest lawn I've ever seen in my life.

Maybe. Possibly.

I don't really know.

I just remember the four corners of Florentine’s barren playground and a fleeting memory of the meadows from my past, but that could just be a figment of my imagination at this stage.

This space is…it’s something. My mind swells with a sense of abundance I’ve never felt before. As if the possibilities are endless;mypossibilities are endless. Like I could be free. As if I’m not alone.We’renot alone.

There are people everywhere and I’m overwhelmed by the sound of laughter coming from every direction. Excited murmurs stir within my group, and a tingle flickers through my fingertips as I close my eyes and focus on the sound of the gentle breeze rustling through the trees to the left. I’m sure S is basking in the positive vibes that echo around us.

Forcing my eyes back open, I focus on the lawn again. To my left, in front of the tree line, are multiple benches filled with girls and boys mingling amongst each other. Some are eating, some are huddled in close, whispering among themselves, while others are laughing and joking around. It’s all so foreign, and probably perfectly normal.

Straight ahead, people are lying on the grass, staring up at the clouds, while to the right is a group of guys playing around, running with a football. Not like they did at Florentine’s, though. There are actual white posts set up and people calling out orders, and is that…

A wolf. There’s a freaking wolf. More than one. Multiple. Holy crap.

A dozen wolves prowl along the football field, some listening to the people shouting out instructions while others seem to trail around the perimeter.

The taste of excitement ripples on my tongue as my stomach churns with something more than just fear for the first time I can remember. Mrs. Stephens wasn’t lying. Professor Whitmore wasn’t lying. I can see them with my own eyes.

So does that mean there are vampires and witches mixed among them as well?

Holy fuck.

I think I might pass out.

Taking a deep breath, I note the smell in the air is rich with flowers, and a sense of hope combined with a desire for wisdom that I've yet to learn. It’s impossible not to feel out of my depth given the fact that I have zero knowledge of what is going on here, but there is a part of me, a teeny, tiny part of me, that is intrigued.

I hear Professor Whitmore's voice grow quieter, and when I turn to follow the sound, I find him trailing to the right with everyone else a step behind him. S is sandwiched between B and T, but I'm frozen, my shoes nestled on the grass as wonder dances along my skin, threatening to send my emotions into overdrive.

How can Professor Whitmore expect us to carry on looking at everything this place has to offer when it’s already so much to digest. Tilting my head to the sky, I force my eyes to remain open as I take a deep breath. I count the seconds I inhale, and I count the seconds I exhale, repeating the motion again and again, slowly parting my lips as I let the warmth wash over my body.

I’ve barely been here five minutes and I’ve already experienced more emotions and feelings than my entire time at Florentine’s. It leaves me torn between excitement and panic. As if the fight or flight has morphed into sink or swim and I can’tdecide which is the right option. One is definitely easier than the other, but that doesn’t always make it the correct answer.

Explaining it is impossible.

“Watch out!” Someone hollers, their voice growing closer. It’s the only warning I get before a force like a pickup truck collides with my right side. I grunt, my body stiffening as I brace for further impact, but when I find myself flat on my back, the grass tickling my fingertips, it’s not as painful as I expect.

Blinking, my breath lodges in my throat when I find what had plowed into me hovering a few inches from my face.

Not a man, not a woman. Not a human at all.

A wolf.

I’m surprised and speechless, but if I think the wolf is a shock, watching them shift in front of my very eyes is something else entirely. Their fur turns to flesh, animal to man, and I peer up at a face so ridiculously handsome, it must be another part of a dream. Regardless, the rest of the academy blurs into the background. All I can see is him, all I can hear is the ringing of my pulse in my ears, all I can smell is a woodsy scent that is definitely coming from him, and it takes all I have not to reach out and run my fingertips over his cheek.

Tousled brown hair sweeps across his forehead, his eyes a piercing blue as they burn into mine. Caught up in him, my gaze trails down, noting his shoulders are tense as he braces himself over me, fists coiled on either side of my face. Taut muscles travel down into what looks like a six-pack, when realization washes over me and heat rises to my cheeks.

I'm pinned to the floor by a guy, but not just any guy. I'm pinned to a manicured lawn by the most attractive guy I've ever seen.

His abs disappear where his body meets mine, and I become acutely aware of the fact that the limb pressed against my rightthigh is not, in fact, his leg, but his third appendage. It leaves me dizzy.

Quickly returning my eyes to his face, I find a light-hearted grin plastered from ear to ear.

Busted.

He knows I was checking him out. The fact is written all over his face. There's no use denying it, not when I can tell he's enjoying it.

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