“Who’s in here?” I hear a feminine voice from outside as it wakes me – my eyes instinctively open to realize it’s evening already. I scan this room just to see some eyes glaring at me from outside.
“I am inside.” I slowly mutter and get up to open the door. As they all get in, they suspiciously look at me and then their property. Each moves to their bed to know if I used any. I sigh at that, guessing what I might start to experience here. I had slept on the slim girl’s bed indeed – I can see her particularly staring at me. She hisses and spreads a blanket on it. I believe my sweat made the bed wet, not that I drooled – last time I checked, I’m not an imbecile. They start to giggle and bicker about a thing, but all I notice is the murmur of indistinct chatter.
After a few more minutes, after deriving satisfaction from their gist, the slim girl nudges another girl, “Jess, what do you intend for dinner?”
Jessica sighs, looking back at her, “I don’t…know.” Then she unexpectedly directs a deadly glare at me. I avert my gaze instantly, yet my peripheral vision keeps tabs on her – she singles me out as the response to the question posed by the slender girl. Does bully start so early like this? Do they want to feed on my provision instead of theirs? Or…they want to feed on me?
The murmur of indistinct chatter and disapproving glares make me uneasy, prompting me to rise and retreat to my designated corner – my allotted space in the room. Jessica laughs at my moves in derision but I don’t care about it. I rather walk up to my piece of luggage to avoid theft. I face the wall and sigh, planning to get out of the room for some time but as I get up, someone cuddles me from behind which makes me shell-shocked.
“Coward, we are not the bully type.” She whispers to my ears and pulls out of the cuddle.
“Good.” I clip.
“We are cool girls. We pranked you and expected your reaction.” Jessica chuckles as she says.
I shyly respond, “thank you.”
Then there’s this black American girl, she beckons to me, “Would you come over here and let’s get acquainted?”
Jessica clutches my arms to hers as she forces me back to their allotted space of the room. I perch at the edge of her bed.
“What’s the name?” Jess curiously asks.
“Sophia Dylan.” I whisper.
They silently chuckle, seeming more of a bully to me – just that they haven’t pulled my hair and kicked my ass.
Jessica broadens her smile, “You must have heard this badass call my name. Jessica here.”
The quiet one clears her throat and speaks, “I’m Annabel. You can call me Anna.”
Another one rises to her feet, flaunting her body shape and tousling her adorable hairstyle. “I’m Martha.”
Then the slim girl who didn’t chastise me for using her bed says, “I’m Rose.”
“Jessica. Rose. Anna and Martha.” I slowly recall as they applaud me.
“We would like to know if you belong to us or not.” Martha mentions but I shrug, claiming I do not understand the question.
Her eyes glow suddenly and she growls, making me gasp. I nod my head to that and smile.
“You get it now?”
“Yes but I’m human.”
“Only a few students in Evergreen are human. If you’d like to deceive us, we’ll accept you as our meat.” Anna cunningly whispers. I shudder but hold myself, being reminded of dad’s words.
“I’m underage. I’m sincere about this – I do not know anything about this.” I finally say, trying to leave but Jess holds me back. Her feet morph slightly into a monster’s, her eyes aglow, and her skin emitting raspy sounds. I close my eyes and exhale shakily, reopening them to find her restored to normal.
“All of us here are werewolves except for Rose who’s an hybrid.” Martha analyses. “A combination of a Werewolf and a Vampire.”
I carefully look at Rose to understand those things I’ll avoid when in contact with Ben and Maxwell – vampires. I don’t trust anyone – sometimes, I don’t even trust my instinct.
Rose gulps, smiling, “Do you want to see the other part of me?”
“Hold on.” I boldly say. “Werewolves and vampires, according to my study, are foes. How come you possess both powers?”
“You’re human – how did you know all these?” Jessica inquires.
“I studied, and I mentioned that.”
Rose rises to her feet, crawling towards me, “tell us – are you a wolf or a vampire or both like me?”
“I-I seriously don’t know.” I twist the truth.
“Are you a wolf or Vampire?” She raises her voice this time around and it irks me. Must they know? Fine, I know who they are but how sure I am that it isn’t a lie and after all, I didn’t coerce anyone to say it.
As Rose and others persist with their questioning, my eyes radiate a blue luminescence while I growl, grappling to maintain composure. They avert their gaze until I revert to my human form.
“A Werewolf.” Martha gladly comments.
“Rose, please demonstrate what a vampire looks like, so she won’t face bullying when she encounters them,” Jessica urges, nudging Rose.
“That’s considerate, but…” I hesitate, reluctant to witness the scene.
“But what?” Jess shrugs.
“You can only shift when it’s full moon, I think.” I mention
“No. That’s only applicable to underage or unmated wolves.” She clarifies.
“So you all are mated?” I boldly ask.
“Not all.”
Rose suddenly screams as she undergoes a transformation into her wolf form, appearing menacing and untouchable. She growls persistently until fully embracing her wolf state. I applaud her bravery, and we all cautiously distance ourselves.
“Combination.” Anna tells the wolf in front of us now.
“Turn off the switch.” Martha commands me and I carry it out. She lays to the ground as she swiftly turns back into her human form, shifting to a vampire immediately. A part of her looks like a werewolf – feet, knees and chest while her hands and fangs qualify her as a vampire. She snarls and hisses, wanting to suck the nape of human’s blood.
“You can now shift to your human. She recognizes you already. Don’t destroy things in the room. Don’t attract the damn security officers.” Annabel encourages her and walks carefully towards her. As soon as she rubs her fluffy skin, Rose snarls and quickly pins her to the wall – it reminds me of how fast mum moves. Martha and Jessica run to save her but Rose scares them away. I start to feel like a murderer for wanting to see a wolf and a vampire in one body.
I reach out for the door, planning to inform some students about it so my other friend won’t go for this but Martha pulls me back, “don’t try it. She can sniff her scent – she won’t hurt Anna. Rose is an hybrid which makes her unable to shift just anywhere like normal wolves that we are.”
I gulp and she keeps saying, while nudging Jess to keep an eye on Rose and Anna.
“Don’t ever tell anyone, not even your parents, that she is an hybrid. They are easier to destroy if you know what destroys them. That’s unlike normal wolves – injections don’t destroy us because we have a better thing injected into us which cannot be injected into an hybrid’s blood.”
“Should I write this down?” I ask her.
“Your wolf retains details in your memory. Don’t fret,” she advises. As we turn around, Rose and Anna are already in discussion with Jessica.
“Come on, we can go hunting tomorrow.”