In the clinic, both girls walked towards an office on the first floor of the building. The school clinic was made up of about eight doctors. In fact the people referred to as 'doctors' were actually more like 'healers' they were gifted in botany and creating medicines and antidotes for infirmities and poisons through plants. They were nothing like surgeons or any of the regular doctors in the human world. They were born with the gift of healing. In the past people likened them to witches but that perspective faded away as soon as it became obvious that one could become a healer without any sort of magic. Professor Esmerelda was one of those people. She was a werewolf married to a beta but since she was a child she felt a strong connection to plants and had unusual abilities. She had worked at the college for more than a decade now.
"Hello, dearest mother." Charlotte stepped into the office like she own the place.
"Mo. Mother?"
"Oh yes. My bad. I forgot to mention. Nat meet Professor Esmerelda, the school doctor I told you about and well... my mom. Mom this is my roomie Natalia, Nat for short."
Natalia was surprised by what she just discovered. She almost didn't believe it but she couldn't deny the fact that the resemblance between Charlotte and the woman whose office she had just walked into was uncanny.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Natalia." Her mom gave Natalia a warm smile which she returned. "I hope that unlike my daughter who comes here for no reason at all, you are here for a reason. I mean not that I want you to be ill but I..."
Both girls laughed. "I am here for a reason." Natalia spoke for the first time since they walked into the building.
"Seat" Esmerelda instructed her gesturing towards the chair at the opposite end of where she sat. Charlotte sat on the sofa at the wall of the office. Her attention sternly on her mom and Natalia.
"Well?"
"I've been having the same nightmare for a while now. Each time. It feels more real than the last time."
"What do you see in this dreams?"
"I... I don't know. There is a woman and there is dead wolves and blood. I... I can't really make out the scenes."
"Are you in this dream?"
"Yes. Yes. I was on the run and I have no idea why. The dream doesn't show who or what is chasing me or maybe it does and it's just not clear. Look I don't necessarily need you to interpret the dreams or anything like that. I just want to sleep."
"How long has this been happening?"
"About a week now."
"The same dream every night for almost a week. Could be some kind of premonition. I don't mean to scare you darling but maybe you shouldn't take this so lightly?"
A confused Natalia sat back in the chair and ran her hair through her hair.
"Way to go mom. I told her you'd help her not scare her."
"Premonition or not. I don't know what the dream means. I just to want to sleep for a few days."
Esmerelda gave her a soft worrying smile "The sleeping is no problem. I can help with that but one thing I've come to gather in all my years of living and reading is that dreams like this are not just dreams. I will book you an appointment with Mrs. Willow. She is a professor of divination in the witch campus and she might be able to decipher your dreams. And for you to sleep better..." She stood up and walked gradually towards a cupboard to the right of where they both sat "I'd prescribe a 50ml bottle of valerian tea and elderflower. Works like a charm" she grabbed two small ceramic bottles and handed them over to Natalia. "Prescriptions are on the bottles" she added.
"Okay. Thank you mom. Bye. Love you." Charlotte walked towards her mom and placed a firm kiss on her cheek.
She looked at Natalia "we're almost late for our first class. Professor Benji? You do not want to get on his bad side."
Natalia thanked Charlotte's mom deeply and both girls left for their class.
On their way to class, Charlotte got a text. It was from her mother. The text read "Make sure she sees Willow. Her appointment is set for 12pm tomorrow." She contemplated showing Nat the text. She wanted her to get all the help she could get but she also didn't want to scare her and Professor Willow. Oh Professor Willow was no angel.
Just as she was about to show her the text, a call came in. Natalia could tell from the way her face lit up that it was Henry and she began to tease her about it. Charlotte was on the phone with Henry till they got to their first class; Wolf biology and anatomy. As the name implies it was a wolf course and so took place in the wolf campus. The wolf campus was relatively sized. It had several buildings; the classrooms, the indoor combat centre, the indoor sports and recreations centre, the werewolf student union building and a staff building for the professors.
As both girls walked into the class, Natalia was surprised to see Charlotte head straight for the back seat. She had assumed that she would be a front seat type considering how much she loved to read and all the school spirit she had. The girls were about three minutes late to the class but the lecturer wasn't there yet. Immediately they located their seats and sat down, a tall slender middle aged man walked into the classroom clearing his throat as if he was merely trying to draw attention to himself.
"Settle down. Settle down." Professor Benji ordered the class. He had a stern voice and a stern face to match it. It was no wonder Charlotte did not want to get on his bad side.
The professor stood in front of the class for what felt like forever to the girls. Going on and on about the delicate yet firm nature of a wolf's body. His voice was monotonous and almost put Natalia to sleep. There were about 200 students in the classroom and it was as silent as a graveyard except for the occasional yawns from sleepy students. It was a boring course no doubt but Professor Benji was definitely making it worse. Natalia turned to glance at Charlotte who sat at her left hand side on several occasions as if to say "is this it? When will this be over?" She had always imagined that learning as a werewolf in a school with a curriculum designed for werewolves would be fun and exciting and not the same old boring stuff that the humans did.
As Natalia struggled to stay awake, her mind drifted off to what had happened earlier with the man outside the school clinic. She still couldn't shake off his scent and she felt uneasy thinking about him and all the possibilities that may come with this strange attraction she felt. Suddenly a loud noise came from behind. A student had fallen off his chair and laughter erupted in the whole class but Benji was not having it.
He stood still, his face as straight as a pencil, no expression whatsoever.
"Get up." He ordered as soon as the classroom was quiet again and everyone turned to look at the student his gaze was fixed on. It was Natalia. She was shocked. Why did he ask her to get up? Surely she was not the only one that laughed. She knew for certain that at least 90 percent of the class laughed.
"Me?" She inquired with her palm on her chest?
"Get up. Now."
Normally Natalia was strong headed but it was her first day and she didn't want to get on Professor Benji's bad side because of Charlotte's warning earlier. She stood up immediately.
"I make it my duty to know my students at least by their faces and I haven't seen you in this class before. Who are you and what is your purpose?"
"Natalia. I'm Natalia and my purpose is to.... learn? To be a better wolf."
"A better wolf? Or a strong and powerful wolf? Surely you can be a better wolf than you are now and still not be strong or powerful. So which one is it?"
"A powerful wolf. A strong and powerful wolf."
She said answered swiftly, her voice as strong and certain as it had ever been. She wanted to be strong. The strongest wolf in all of London if possible and she craved for power.
She wondered if Professor Benji sensed something in her or if he was simply asking her the same questions he had asked everybody else.
"I believe this class is over." Benji uttered after a few seconds of awkward silence and everyone started to pack up their bags and leave for their next class.
As freshmen, they all did the same courses and right now their next course was everyone's favorite and one Natalia was definitely going to enjoy. It was nothing like boring old wolf biology. It was much more practical and fun. It was an avenue for enemies to brawl and almost kill themselves. It was combat training. Ordinarily, the school had a friendly and organized policy for how combat training classes were to be conducted but the professors in charge of the courses; Professor Thomas and Professor Jeremiah, were not the kind to play by rules. They allowed and even often encouraged the students to settle their scores during combat training. Professor Tom often said "You have no friends here except your teammates when it is a team exercise. When you go one on one, you fight here as you would fight an enemy outside these walls. Go easy on no one." They were allowed to fight and even hurt themselves using skills they were thought but never to kill anyone or hurt anyone so much that he or she died as a result.
Having combat training was the equivalent of having P.E class in the human world so the students were required to change into their various combat outfits. They wore army green combat shorts and tight black vests. After changing, the students gathered in the combat training center waiting for their professors to arrive. Natalia and Charlotte stood at a corner chatting and laughing when all of a sudden Natalia got hold of a familiar scent and this time it was much stronger than the last. It was as though the owner of the scent was moving slowly towards her. Frightened but some what curious she turned around only to spot Henry and the man from earlier walking towards her. The man with whom she had had a strange connection or attraction or whatever one might even call it.
She immediately turned to Charlotte. "The guy. With Henry. Who? Who?..." she stuttered.
"Oh. That's John."
Charlotte who had just spotted them replied.
"Henry's brother" she added with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Hey babe." Henry stretched out his hand and gave Charlotte a hug and a peck on her cheek.
Natalia stood frozen, the man from earlier stood just behind her. If she turned, she was almost certain their eyes would meet and she might explode. She didn't understand this feeling and it frightened her because she didn't know how to manage it or if it could even be managed.
"Nat? You good?" Henry inquired from behind her.
She nodded.
She could feel John's gaze at the back of her head. She wanted to turn and look him in his eyes. She wanted to see what could possibly happen but at the same time she was scared of what could possibly happen.
"Natty. I don't believe you've met John. Henry's brother." Charlotte said as she pulled John to Natty and just as Natty was about to turn in the opposite direction , her gaze met his and from the side of her eye she saw a mischievous smirk on Charlotte's face. It was in that moment that Natalia figured that Charlotte definitely knew something was up. She must have noticed right from the entrance to the clinic.
John's eyes were a deep blue and his gaze very piercing. Natalia wondered if he felt the same way she felt. If he felt like he was about to blow up. They stood there staring at each other for at least a minute before John decided to break the silence.
"Beautiful name. Delicate too" he smiled at her.
His voice. It was strong and assertive yet it had a certain softness to it. It was divine and it sent chills down her spine.
She was still as confused as she was earlier but she managed to muster up a smile.
"Thank you." She coughed. Why? Why was she coughing? She wondered. She didn't even have a cold. She was nervous. She had never felt this sort of attraction before. Everything about him made her insides tingle.
"It's okay." John reassured her as he took her hands in his. "I can feel it too."
As he took her hands in his, it was as if time stood still and nothing else mattered but them. A wave of elation came over him. The warmth of her skin made him feel at peace and he couldn't help but smile harder. His heart was beating rapidly and he was filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation. Immediately their gaze became deeper and electricity surged through their bodies. She loved that he could read her so soon and so easily. She believed that it showed that he was observant and paid attention to people. At least to her.
Finally it clicked. She had never lived with wolves except her father of course, and her father barely told her much because her mother would object to it. Most of what she knew she read in books. On few occasions, she had read of how werewolves found their mates and she was beginning to see the similarities now. She stared even deeper at him now that the realization had hit her. Was that what this was? Was that he who was? Her mate?
Just as she was about to speak, the doors to the training room swung open and two tall broody black men strutted in.
"I have to go now. I don't have training till last period." John told Natty. "My brother made me come here." He added. They smiled at each other and Natalia watched him as he walked away.
"You two conniving bastards" she was now facing Charlotte and Henry. The couple let out a loud laugh.
"What are you even doing here? You don't have training either." She spoke to Henry. She was right, he didn't have wolf training till fourth period. Right now he had wolf biology and anatomy II.
"Wolf biology? Yeah. No way I will stay in that class. I like to come here and watch the chicks fight." He laughed."
"Gather around." Professor Jeremiah's voice was loud and resounding. The students formed a big circle leaving a large space in the middle where the two professors stood.
"Today you will watch. Observe. Pay very close attention to our feet and our hands. In the next class you will imitate our actions. No more of that careless fighting. Now you must fight learn to fight like wolves with skills."
The two professors circled each other cautiously as the assessed one another. They sized each other up as they snarled and growled. Finally, Professor Thomas lunged forward, snapping at Professor Jeremiah's heels but Jeremiah dodged the attack and the two began to circle again. More aggressively than before. The air was filled with sounds of their snarling and growling. Soon their movement became faster and the aggression in their breathes intensified. Their eyes were locked on each other filled with fierce determination. They darted in to snip and snap at each other. Their movements were lightning fast. Their muscles straining with effort as they snapped and snarled trying to outmaneuver each other. It when on for hours until Professor Thomas saw an opening and pounced on Jeremiah. The two men laughed at the breathed heavily. Thomas stood tall and gave Jeremiah a hand to stand up as well.
"The greatest rule of combat. Do not give your opponent any opening whatsoever. No matter how exhausted you are or how heavy your balls are."
The room erupted with laughter. The professors dismissed the class and everyone headed for their next class. Henry kissed Charlotte goodbye and once again it was just them. Just the girls. As they walked down the hallway to their next class, Charlotte told Natalia about her appointment with Professor Willow and Natalia's face immediately became gloomy. She had forgotten all about her nightmares and hated being reminded but she understood that Charlotte was only looking out for her.
The rest of the day was short and uneventful. Their other classes had not been as boring as wolf biology but not as fun as combat training either. By about. 2:30pm they were done with school and while Henry and Charlotte ran off somewhere to make out or whatever, Natalia returned to her dorm room where she took the medication Natalia's mom had given her and fell into a deep sleep.