Millwood Academy - First Term

by Dawson, Tanya

  I nod and feel protected by her presence. We stop at the door, and she straightens my school tie. “There. Picture of perfection.”

  “Will you sit with me?” I practically beg. I’m out of my league here. Let me hunt alone in the woods all day.

  “Yes. After class, I’ll show you our room. I’ll give you all the dirt on everyone.” Una nudges my arm as we approach the classroom door.

  I look down the hallway one last time, and Alexandra is watching me as she leans against a locker. If looks could kill...

  Chapter 4

  Una didn’t let on that she had noticed Alexandra in the hall, but the hard push of her hand against my back let me know otherwise. As we enter the classroom, all eyes focus on the new girl. It wasn’t hard to tell that they were trying to figure out my bloodline. Noses sniff the air to catch my scent, then confusion settles in on their faces.

  Suddenly, the chatter amongst the students stop and they move away from the middle of the room. I see why, when the two most gorgeous specimens of boys from the back jump off their desks and walk toward us. I glance between them, trying to decide which one was more handsome. They remind me of someone, but I couldn’t place who. They both had long sleek black hair and look like models from the 1940s. Their school jackets were tailored to fit their bodies perfectly.

  “More Stanton brothers.” Una slivers her arm around mine as if to claim me from them. “Not who you want to be seen with.” She whispers as she leans in.

  The boys' smirk, as they hear her warning to me. They clearly take it as a challenge. Una and I stood at the front of the class, with all eyes on us. I wait on her instruction for where we should sit, as the boys get closer. I’m about ready to find my own seat at any minute if Una doesn’t move it along.

  I make a sharp move to my left and drag her along with me, avoiding the approaching boys by mere seconds. The last thing I needed was more interaction with their sister, Alexandra. I’d like to live long enough to get my life back.

  I’m so focused on the two closest empty seats that I don’t notice another boy as he sticks his leg out. I stumble forward, taking Una with me. I close my eyes and brace to hit the hard floor. Instead, arms wrap around me, and my face smooches into a hard chest. One that smells like saltwater.

  Una falls to the ground hard. Her books scatter all over the floor and her perfectly brushed hair is a mess.

  “That’s for the comment.” My rescuer nods in her direction.

  I look up to see one of the boys holding me. He’s got my legs under one muscular arm and my torso in the other. His once, perfectly styled hair, falls to the side of his face. His brother tosses the trickster boy out of the classroom with one hand.

  “We’ve been waiting for you.” He said, not putting me down. His sweet breath is easily inhaled.

  “I hope I don’t disappoint you.” I glance over to Una who is fuming. She’s on her feet now straightening her uniform.

  “Finley Stanton, your father, is going to hear about this.” Una threatens, as she yanks on his arms to let me down.

  “You should shower off that wolf stench.” The other Stanton boy says as he breezes past us, not giving me another glance. He takes his seat as he laughs with some other boys.

  I could have stayed in his arms a few more seconds, but Una was my first friend here, and Clark trusts her with me. If she didn’t want me near the Stanton’s there must be a reason for it.

  I follow Una to the back of the class, my eyes trained on the two empty seats. The room grows quiet again, and I don’t have to look around to know that everyone is watching us. I quickly take one of the seats, then turn to Una – expecting her to sit next to me. Instead, Finley squeezes in the seat, seconds before Una could sit down.

  “Finley Stanton, you get out of my seat this instant,” Una said, her hands planted firmly on her curvey hips and a pout on her face.

  “Everyone to your seat.” A man walks into the room, dressed in a suit with a briefcase. “Welcome back to Millwood Academy. Let’s start this term off on a good note.” He takes a seat at the desk facing the classroom.

  Finley smiles at Una, who waves her hand at another student to give up his seat to her. The student obliges quickly, and I wonder if people are scared of Una – except the Stantons’.

  “That’s my brother, Arthur.” Finley leans in and nods over to him. Arthur glances over to us, with a roll of his eyes.

  It’s clear that Arthur wasn’t waiting for me to arrive. “He doesn’t seem too impressed with me,” I whisper and wink at him. I’d not let anyone here push me around. Stanton or other.

  “He’s just like that. Don’t take offense. He’ll come around.” Finley reaches in his bag and passes me a pen to use, somehow knowing I didn’t have one.

  There was something in his tone as if we were all going to be friends, and I’d get used to him, eventually. “What’s with your sister?” I blurt out.

  “She’s...well...” Finley fidgets with his pen, flipping it back and forth. His attention shifts from me to the plain white desk top, where someone had scratched in an extremely large pair of boobs.

  “She won’t come around,” I say and concentrate my attention on the teacher in front of the class.

  “You’re new here. There’s a lot of politics.” Finley leans in, and I catch the slight movement of his nose.

  “You want to know what I am,” I tilt my head in his direction, so he can get a better sniff. Maybe all this attention was just a lure to see what I was all about.

  There is a slight change in his cheeks as I catch him. “Let’s start over. I’m Finley.” He extends his hand to me, “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  I don’t reach for his hand. Instead, I study his face. I haven’t been around many pure bloodlines – mostly mutts. I knew their powers were much stronger, but because they weren’t mixed, they were limited.

  Finley was super-hot, you could spot him easily amongst a crowd. He was charming, you knew that as soon as he smiled. Not an uncommon trait for a vampire. They lure their prey in with a trance. But there was something sincere about him. I’d have an easy time telling when he was lying. He’d be the weakest of the siblings that I had met so far.

  I avert my attention to the front of the class and watch his hand fall to his side from the corner of my eye. I catch Una who is still fuming and glaring at us.

  “I know the first day is never easy. We’ll break this in slow. Group assignments.” The teacher begins writing on the chalkboard.

  The door swings open and a boy runs in, he is out of breath, and his arms are full of books, which fall as he barely passes the door. “Sorry, Mr. Beth.”

  Mr. Beth doesn’t look toward the student, instead keeps writing on the board, which tells me this isn’t a rare occurrence. “Take a seat, Hunter.”

  Hunter runs to the seat in front of us, which is occupied. The girl who is sitting there moves as he approaches without a word to him. Hunter and Finley nod to each other as Hunter sits down.

  “Get into groups of three. I want some brainstorming on the practical uses of willow plants for healing. Group presentations tomorrow. Use your textbooks.” Mr. Beth sits down at his desk and pulls out a newspaper from the drawer.

  Hunter turns around as Una approaches us. “We have our three.” He holds up his hand in Una’s face and doesn’t bother to look at her.

  “Wait.” Una barely gets the word out of her mouth as Hunter and Finley block her when they move their chairs around my desk.

  “Keep the noise down.” Mr. Beth said, from behind his newspaper, watching Una.

  Una looks around for a group, but she’s too slow. She makes her way to the front of the room with the only twosome left.

  My attention turns to the boys, who are watching me like some prey.

  “This is my brother Hunter,” Finley said, he opens his book to the right chapter – like we are actually going to work.

  Another Stanton brother. Great. I try to keep my disappointment to mysel
f, but I know my face has betrayed me. Another reason for Alexandra to want to kill me.

  “I’m betting you met, Alexandra,” Hunter said with a smirk on his face. He didn’t seem turned off by my reaction.

  “It’s the wolf’s fault,” Finley said under his breath.

  “What’s up with the hate on for Clark? And Una?” I shift in my seat unsure of how much I should push these guys. I should be keeping my mouth shut and observing, but that wasn’t me.

  The boys look to each other as if they are having a private conversation in their heads. Hunter nods to the left, and I can’t wait any longer.

  “Not fair. Spill it.” I put my elbows on the desk and look from one to the other. They had been forward with me, now it was my chance. Maybe I could crack this thing and be out of here by next week.

  “Like I said, there’s a lot of politics here,” Finley said, then shifts his attention to Hunter. Was Hunter the leader of their den? Didn’t make any sense to me if he was. Sure he was confident enough, but he didn’t seem to be organized.

  “It’s not all that it seems.” Hunter wraps his massive arms around the back of his chair. He’s another magnificent specimen. Wavy thick black hair. Bodybuilder physique. He was the largest of the brothers. I’m close enough to see the green specks in his eyes that the others didn’t have. “It’s not something we can talk about here.” He said, his eyes scan around the room to make sure no one was listening.

  I sit back. This must be what I’m here for. I couldn’t let them know that, but I’d speak to Clark later. It did seem like they trusted me for some reason. Hard to believe since we just met. I can’t deny the instant attraction I feel and familiarity. I’d not felt that with anyone before. I read about it in books, but romance wasn’t real. Desire was. And I desired them all - foolishly.

  “Okay.” I’d use another tactic. One way or another, I’d find out what was going on here. I was good at that. In no time I’d have them talking, well at least one of them.

  “How do you like it here?” Finley asked, changing the subject.

  “It’s fine.” I watch their reaction. I could tell they were fishing for information from me as well. “For a first day.”

  “Where are you staying?” Hunter asked. He pushes his books aside and leans in on the desk. I catch his scent. Not what I had thought a full blood vampire would smell like. The scent is clean and intoxicating.

  “What did you just do?” Hunter’s eyebrows shift down, and his lips part slightly showing his pearly white fangs. He’s on defense mode.

  I shift back in my seat, afraid for the first time. I wasn’t amongst friends here, and they knew more than I did. Maybe even why I was here. “I smelled you.”

  “Oh.” Hunter sat back in his seat, unsure of how to respond to my honesty.

  “Have you been around full-bloods before?” Finley asked.

  “Yes.” The lie came quickly to my lips and I hope they couldn’t tell. They exchange a look, and I’m not sure if they bought it or not. Clearly me being a mutt wouldn’t be a secret here.

  “What about your folks?” Finley fumbles with his paper as he glances to the front of the class to Mr. Beth. Hunter leans back in his chair with his large arms crossed over his chest and observes me.

  “I don’t have parents,” I said, figuring everyone had already known that tidbit. “I mean, I don’t know them.” No one had ever asked me about my past before. Everyone in Nelly’s house came there under the same circumstances, so there was no need to hash out our feeling to each other. It was just an unsaid thing. It’s how we coped with our new forced life.

  “I’m sorry. That must be hard.” Finley pushes his chair closer to me, and his knee rubs against mine. I can hear his voice in my head, “She’s better off not knowing them.”

  “What?” I sat up straight in my chair, angry with his comment.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it.” Finley looks to Hunter confused, and Hunter’s body becomes rigid as if he’s ready to fight. He had heard what Finley said in his head as well.

  My face flushes as I realize I heard his thoughts. My eyes flash to the door and wonder if I should make an escape. That would be ridiculous with a school full of supernaturals.

  “Nothing,” I mutter, trying to play it cool. I hope it’s a fluke but want to try again to see if I can hear what he is thinking. “I don’t like talking about it.”

  Finley slides his chair back so there’s no way I could touch him again. Why couldn’t I hear his thoughts when he held me?

  “Let’s get something down.” I grab Finley’s paper and begin to write. Nelly had taught us how to use plants to heal, and in no time, I fill the page with idea’s much to the boy’s amazement.

  “How do you know all this?” Hunter grabs the paper and reads.

  “Real life teaches you more than this school ever could.” I fold my arms over my chest and scan the room. I’d get sick of these full-blood know-it-alls quickly.

  The bell rings, and the boys shove their books into their book bags as if they have somewhere else to be right away. As they walk away, Finley runs back to me.

  “Come to our den tonight, if you can ditch that wolf.” Finley winks. He passes Una with a quick jaunt as he runs to catch up with his brothers.

  “What did he say?” Una grabs my arm in a tight grip and narrows her eyes.

  “Nothing much.” I watch the door they all just left, unsure of what I should do. Am I stupid enough to visit a full-blooded vampire den alone?

  Chapter 5

  I lost Una in the crowd as everyone ran to leave class. I have a free period, so I make my way to my dorm using the campus map. The main school is surrounded by playing fields, then woods, then dorms. Supernaturals are mixed, to prevent den fighting.

  Its early afternoon, yet the sky is a dark grey, as if it might rain at any second. Time is different here. When I reach the forest, I regret my decision to go alone. The hair on my arms dance with each step I take. Not that anyone would run to save the mutt if I screamed, but seeing people somehow made it seem safer.

  I push my fear aside and walk as fast as my legs can carry me. “You're stupid,” I say out loud. I come to a full stop as I catch a scent in the woods. I’m not alone anymore. I turn around slowly and scan the woods. I see nothing, but they can’t hide their scent from my hunter’s nose.

  I look from one side of the forest to the other to try to isolate the scent. They weren’t alone. I was confident in my skills, but I wasn’t dumb. These were full-bloods. I couldn’t fight them with a group of hunters, let alone being just me. A branch in the woods behind me breaks, and I drop my books and run. Branches break on both sides of me, as they follow. I’m not able to see who they are or guess what they could be. The plants and trees in the forest mask their smell. I need to get out into the open again, where other students are.

  I’m a fast runner, but they keep up. One clue. That helps me narrow down species. And it’s not good. They’re all killers. Speed over their predators. I should be close to coming out to where the dormitories are. I just need to make it past the forest. I can hear my heart as it pounds in my chest. My predator is getting closer.

  I turn back, and there’s nothing there. The forest is quiet again. I stop to catch my breath. I must be close to the dorms, and they decided to back off. I wipe the beads of sweat off my forehead with my jacket sleeve. I was used to hunting, not being hunted.

  I continue and see the opening where the dorms are. There’s someone waiting at the entrance. I approach cautiously, unsure if it’s one of the supernaturals who was chasing me. As I get closer, I see its Ivor. He’s holding my backpack that I had dropped.

  “Not funny,” I call out to him as I approach, practically stomping my feet all the way. I should have known it would be a damn Stanton.

  “Just making sure you were alone.” He smiles, as he holds up my backpack. I try to grab it, but he pulls it closer to him.

  I stand there and don’t make any attempt to play his gam
e. I hear some branches break off to the side of me but don’t turn to look. Ivor looks past me, and his smile broadens.

  I catch three different scents in the air and know two of them - Hunter and Finley. There is another with them, but my gaze remains on Ivor.

  “I told them not to scare you,” Finley calls from behind me.

  I finally turn around and see that Arthur is with them. All the Stanton boys surround me, and I have no chance of getting away from them in one piece.

  “I thought you were a hunter? Never knew you were a runner.” Arthur said, as he walks past me toward Ivor.

  “I never said what I was.”

  “You didn’t have to.” Arthur steps in front of me once he reaches Ivor.

  I didn’t have a smart comeback and I didn’t want to admit that I felt uncomfortable amongst them all. A feeling I wasn’t used too.

  “He didn’t mean to be rude.” Finley approaches my left side. It was clear he was the peacemaker in the family. “We just want to talk to you.” He places his hand on my arm in a gentle way.

  I couldn’t hear his thoughts this time. I start to question if I ever did in the first place. Mind reading wasn’t something I had ever done. Maybe he wanted me to know what he was thinking.

  “How did you do that? In the classroom?” Hunter asks, as he approaches my other side.

  “Do what?” I play dumb. But now I’ll need an explanation. I couldn’t tell if he was mad or interested. His eyes were intense and his pupils large.

  “You read his thoughts.” Hunter’s face was stone cold.

  I guess they had pegged me wrong. But I wasn’t going to be any good to them, because I didn’t know what I was. “I didn’t do it. He did.” I point to Finley.

  “I can only read my own den members, and only when they want me too,” Finley says. He holds up his hands, like I had just pointed a gun at him. “Try it again. Concentrate this time.” He reaches for my arm.

  I look around to all the boys, who were waiting for me to take Finley’s hand. “Alright, but it won’t work.” I grab his hand and look into his eyes. It’s silent, except for the critters in the woods. I wiggle my shoulders, uncomfortable with all the attention being put on me.