Page 24 of Moon Kissed

I snapped my jaw shut, internally screaming. Nia did say they were harder on people in the alpha track than they were anyone else. If I complained about my treatment, Dagem would no doubt use that strict treatment as an excuse until she finally booted me out.

Silently, I shook my head to titters and laughs from the class.

“Good,” he growled. “Sit.”

I looked around, taking in the modest classroom. It was small and windowless with shining hardwood floors, loaded-down bookshelves lining the side walls, and the instructor’s desk, podium, and chalkboard. The one thing that set this room apart from other classrooms was that each student had a proper mahogany desk with drawers, pull-out writing tables, pencil holders, backpack hook, and plush swivel chairs made to cradle the spine to sleep.

Seeing everyone with these fancy, expensive desks made it easy for me to tell which was mine.

The class laughed outright when I made for the busted-up mound of splintered wood and broken plastic that used to be my chair and desk. I glanced at the instructor but he was pointedly not looking in my direction.

I was on my own.

Plastering a smile on my face, I hung my bag strap on half a broken desk leg that was sticking out, crossed my legs, and dropped on the floor. “Ready to begin, sir.”

The laughs dried up, and I got disgusted glares in return. Obviously they were expecting more of a scene, but what the hell did I care about a desk and chair? Wasn’t like I bought the damnthings. If my classmates wanted to destroy academy property, that was their own business.

Badr, Orion, Nyx, and Edric glared at me hardest of all—proving that this little stunt was their idea. They’d even gone through the trouble of getting front-row seats to watch my meltdown.

Or at least I assumed that was their plan since Badr’s and Orion’s desks were right in front of me, Nyx and Edric were on either side of me, and Paxton was right at my back—boxing me in.

“As I was saying,” the instructor continued. “I am Mr. Hall. You may call me Mr. Hall or sir. Now, you all should’ve received your class schedules. If you’ve got questions, ask them now.”

Hands went up all over.

I hyper-focused on the Q&A to get my mind off my wolf. She was going crazy. All of my fates were within touching distance, and oh my wow, did she want me to touch.

It’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen. Let it go and let the bonds die already, it’s not going to happen!

“Sir, what is Athletics?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Hall replied. “We’ve added mandatory physical education to your rosters.”

“But we’re all twenty to twenty-four years old,” someone remarked. “Since when do adults go to PE?”

Murmurs of agreement broke out. Hall called for silence.

“That is a fair question. A lot of these classes may seem basic, and that is by design. It was the decision of the headmistress and the staff to bring everyone back to basics, and begin with a clean slate.

“Recent events have called our ways into question. For years—centuries—we’ve allowed power to be something one is born in to. It is now we’ve come to realize that it should be earned.”

“What does that mean?” Edric asked, breaking his staring contest with my forehead.

“It means that you all entered this academy with letters of recommendations from your clan alphas and betas, and from those recommendations, we assigned you different rankings. Those at the top were eligible to become clan alphas or members of the alpha council. Those ranked toward the bottom would have their pick of jobs with law enforcement, diplomacy, etc.”

Edric’s eyes narrowed. “You saidwere.”

Hall smirked. “That’s right. Starting today, we’ve thrown out the ranking system. You’re all starting at zero.”

“But, sir!” They all argued, yelled, barked, and shouted over each other.

I rolled my eyes amidst it all. If this small, petty change was the worst thing to happen to them today, they clearly hadn’t had a quarter of their skin burned off before breakfast.

“Enough,” Hall barked. “If you can prove to your clan alphas and betas that you’re worthy to be here, you can damn sure prove it to us too. Clean slate! All of you,” he gruffed. “Equal footing. Level playing field. Excel in all of your classes, then it’s only the headmistress’s letter of recommendation you need to worry about, because she’ll back you for clan alpha on her word and your merit. A recommendation you’ll know you earned, because you beat out everyone here to get it.”

Dark, glittering eyes swept over us. “Now what say you, alphas, or have I accidentally wandered into an omega classroom?”

The class laughed—except for the lone omega sitting behind me.

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