At exactly 5 o'clock, the doors unlocked by themselves. Never have I ever looked more forward to sunrise. I opened the door and poked my head out as if I was searching for something.
Leaning against the wall next to my door was Aiden, he heard the noise and turned his head. Our eyes met and for a moment, we just stood there without uttering a single word to one another. It was as if time had stopped.
He had kept his promise. He didn't leave me behind. He had stayed throughout the night and protected me in case Kendra and her clan came back. I sniffed my nose, feeling a lump in my throat.
"It's ok." He said gently. "I have to go now."
I nodded, holding back the tears. I don't know why I've suddenly become such a cry baby. I hardly ever used to cry and now I was practically crying every single day. At this rate, I was going to run out of tears soon.
I watched him disappear out of sight. The morning sun captured his handsome features perfectly, it highlighted a few streaks of his dark hair, turning them golden.
When Molly saw how messed up my face was, she immediately started to cry.
I had to try and calm her down by reassuring her that I was ok.
"Who did this to you?" She sobbed.
"Kendra," I said.
"We have to tell the teachers." She came up to me and looked at me with her big round eyes. They were red from all the crying, making her look even more like a rabbit.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, beginning to take my bloodied clothes off.
"We have to! Aria, we can't let her get away with it." She said firmly.
"It's fine," I said. That was what seemed to have landed me in trouble in the first place. I had to learn the hard way. In order to survive in this world, you have to be strong and be able to save yourself.
Molly didn't look too pleased. But irrespective of our differences in opinion, she was some miracle worker. I definitely didn't feel half as bad as before. I could easily walk on my own, although maybe not quite ready to run a marathon just yet.
We took our turns in the shower and changed into fresh uniforms before making our way downstairs for breakfast.
In the cafeteria, people were chatting excitingly, gossiping about the events of last night as if they had just attended some amazing Full Moon party. One boy even had his first-ever transformation last night and was going to get upgraded to the green tie today.
Everyone was buzzing. The talk of the town was how for the first time throughout the history of Werewolf High, the Hunters had lost and the Chasers had won.
I stood next to Molly absent-mindedly in the breakfast queue.
Everyone seemed to have had a growth spurt overnight. They looked taller, stronger and full of energy. They looked like they were glowing.
The Moon Goddess Selene really does look after us werewolves. I thought. I, on the other hand, looked like crap.
Last night was more like a baptism by fire than a party. It left nothing to be desired and what's more, we'll have to go through it all over again next month. And the next, and the one after that until we leave this place. If there was a Hell on earth then this place would probably be it?
Molly insisted that I didn't carry anything in my condition, she got two of each thing and placed them all on her tray. I offered to help her but she pushed my hand away as she tried to balance the tray on her knee whilst trying to open the drinks cabinet.
"Do you need a hand?" A boy's voice called out behind us.
We turned around and saw a boy with dark hair smiling tentatively at us. He wasn't much taller than us and had baby blue eyes that made him look younger than his actual age.
"Hi Charlie, yes that would be great, thanks," Molly said, passing her tray towards him. "Aria, this is Charlie."
"Hello," I said. It was the boy with the ball.
Charlie blushed, taking the tray from her. "Hello, Aria."
Once Molly was relieved of her duties, she began her search for all things strawberries again. Charlie carried the tray behind her dutifully whilst I sneaked a few quick glances at the Prefects' table. There was only that boy Clifford from yesterday eating breakfast on his own. No sight of Aiden.
Maybe he was still asleep? I wondered.
"Have you ate already Charlie?" Molly asked, trying to decide if she wanted the smooth version of strawberry yoghurt or if she wanted the one with fruit bits in it.
"Not yet, I'll go get it in a second." He said shyly.
"Ok then. Do you know how did the Hunters lose last night? They've never lost before." She asked.
Charlie nodded eagerly, "Yeah, apparently one person from the Hunters' team had transformed to human form during the night, therefore, forfeited the game."
"What did you say?" I barked, glaring at him. I must've looked scary with my nostrils flaring and that scar on my face because he put his head down and looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up.
"Someone transformed when they weren't supposed to and they lost the game because of it." He stammered, too scared to look at me. "It's all over the school forum if you don't believe me, I'll show you."
He took out his phone and showed me.
Topline: "Hunters suffer their first-ever defeat in history."
Second line: "Who done it? Let's find the Traitor!"
Third line: "Congratulations to David Saunders."
I held my breath, "Have they found out who it was yet?"
Charlie shook his head, "no one knows. Maybe the teachers know, but at the moment nobody knows."
"What would happen to the person?" I was worried.
"There will be serious consequences because changing allegiance during the full moon event is a big 'no, no'."
I felt my mouth go dry.