Page 39 of Dead Wolf Walking (Bad Moon Academy 1)
Fine, but if they are a threat to us, I cannot promise to behave.
I laugh.I understand. Can we try to get some sleep now?
She settles into the recesses of my mind, and I take it as a yes and close my eyes, trying my damnedest not to run my fingers over my cheek.
* * *
I don’t have a backpack,so after I finish getting ready and eating breakfast in the cafeteria on Monday, I head to class, hoping the professor will have materials for me. The first class of the day is History of Shifters, and something tells me I’ll need to take a lot of notes.
There’s an entire society to learn about, and while the public school I attended did teach us about shifters, it probably wasn’t anything like what this class is going to expose me to. Morg stopped by to say hi while I was eating, but she had to get to work. From her very brief description, I’ve pieced together that she’s part of a shifter guard.
All of the classrooms are grouped together, aside from those in the gym, and I find the room without a problem. There’s a man and woman sitting in the front row of desks. I go out of my way to put space between myself and them, taking a seat in the very back. Some might call it rude, but I prefer to ease my way into friendships. Besides, there’s no telling if these shifters are nice.
The woman glances over her shoulder and smiles. I return the gesture then quickly avert my gaze. Right, so that was probably rude, but I’m still processing my new life, and having to answer theso how’d you become a wolfquestion isn’t something I want to do today.
A familiar mop of blond hair catches my attention, and the tension between my shoulders eases as Carter enters the room. He’s carrying a satchel and focusing on the papers he’s carrying. I almost call out to him, ready to invite him to sit next to me, then I notice the other two students sit up straighter.
Oh no.
He did say he was a professor.
Pressing my lips together and fighting off a wave of disappointment, I watch him set his bag and stack of papers on the desk.
“Good morning. Morris and Layla, did you meet Raven?”
I swear, if I have to stand and say a few things about myself, I’m walking out.
Layla glances at me. “Not officially. Hi,” she says to me after answering his question.
“Hey.” I nod at her then Morris.
Carter’s eyeing me curiously, and I lift an eyebrow to askwhat?
“Raven is a new wolf like both of you. Since we’re only a week into your lessons, would either of you care to give her the basics we covered last week?”
Morris shifts in his seat so he can face me. “Well, you know about the natural mutation?”
I nod.
“Right, so some of the human genes mutated and created supes. You have witches, vampires, and wolves—or shifters if you don’t want to piss someone off.”
Layla grins. “I guess some people thinkwolfis derogatory.”
“It’s what we are though…” I trail off, glancing at Carter. “Why would it matter?”
“Well, technically we have the ability to shift into a wolf. We’re not wholly wolves and we’re not wholly human. We’re shifters.”
“Right,” Morris says. “So the genes mutated and supes were born. Well, obviously, you know supes can be created too. That’s where it starts to get fuzzy for me.”
“Oh, and shifters do tend to mimic wolves in that we like to be in packs and have the same general hierarchy.” Layla taps her finger on the back of her chair.
“Like alpha and beta?” I ask.
Carter sits on one of the desks between us and clasps his hands in front of him. “Right, so it gets more complicated than that, but for now, the most important thing to remember is an alpha is a wolf who can lead a pack. Not all alphas become leaders, but most do.”
“Okay.”
Morris wrinkles his nose. “Vampires and witches aren’t our allies, though one would think since we’re all freaks we’d learn to get along.”
