SERAPHINA'S POV
Almost everyone I walk pass in the school hallway throws me a smile and waves enthusiastically at me, so much so that it feels way too unreal and every time, I don't know how to react - so I smile awkwardly.
It feels as if it was just yesterday that I was scorned and made a target for the whole school to vent on. Today, I'm an accepted member of the society.
Not fully accepted though.
Even if the omega population in school exceeded other rankings, they only made up roughly 35% of the school population.
I can work with that.
Another person stops mid-walk to wave at me again and ends up being rudely brushed by someone else walking by, causing them to trip.
I wince, knowing that definitely must have hurt, but he suddenly sits up with a wide smile again.
"I'm okay!" He says without me asking.
I chuckle at his bustling energy as I continue to make my way to class before the bell rings. I will admit that so much has changed in only a few days.
My little win ended up giving the small minority of people here hope that even they themselves could be anything they wanted to.
The pride that comes with that is exhilarating, and I find myself humming happily to a song in my head while I walk to class.
The class is noisy due to the absence of a teacher, and I walk right in, finding my usual seat with ease, setting my stationaries on the table.
Just then, a curious looking female student pops her head into class.
Curious because she's clearly a class lower with her bright red dyed-hair cut very eccentrically.
Her head moves around class, looking for someone until they fall on me and her dark eyes widen with glee before she comes running.
"You must be the human; Seraphina Hawthrone. I knew it from your size. Wow, humans really are small." She addresses me with excitement and without a filter, although I'm not mad.
"Um, okay... can I help you?"
"Oh, yes."
She begins rummaging through her pockets, looking for something, until she pulls out a velvet black card with a blood-red wolf sigil in the middle.
"You have been summoned by the Black wolf council and are required to answer your summoning with immediate effect." She says such formal words with a smile that doesn't match the seriousness of the message.
I take a second to stare at the black card that feels so ominous.
"Sorry, I just have a hard time understanding. Who are they?" I ask as politely as I can.
Her eyes widen as if I've said a taboo word before she shakes it off, remembering that it's only been a few weeks that I've been here.
"The Black wolf council is an assembly of honorary wolves that represent every class of wolf that attends Raven Wood Academy. They make the major decisions that affects everyone in school."
"They sound like a big deal." I comment, looking down at the card in my hands again.
What do they want with me now? What could I have done to enter their radar, and why now of all possible times?
"Your questions will be answered if you follow me." She says, reading my mind.
I don't give it much of a second thought before I nod my head and follow her out of class. Might as well get this over with now than later on.
Following the peculiar girl, we walk down the hallway, taking tuns till we come into a path I've rarely ever used, just past the library.
Our little walk stops in front of a set of dark double-doors.
She steps aside, signalling me to move forward and indirectly letting me know that she won't be following me inside.
Every single bit of this moment just makes this whole summoning thing suspicious and a bit too far. We're not in a Harry Potter movie after all.
I step closer, pushing the door open and stepping into this very wide and vast meeting room with polished-brown wooden walls and a large round table in the middle.
The only source of light is directed solely at the wide table to cast an ominous shadow on everything else.
The second I walk in, the doors slam shut behind, startling me in the process and making me second guess if I should have come here in the first place.
Immediately the doors are shut, the chairs I initially thought were empty all swerves around simultaneously, revealing six students of different heights and genders that all stare at me suddenly.
I jump again at the scare, calming my frantically beating heart soon after.
From the corner of my eyes, I instantly recognize Lucian, sitting closest to the seventh chair that didn't spin around like the others, and his silver eyes avoid mine.
I look away from him as well, not putting much thought into it. We aren't friends, so why concern myself with his presence here?
"You are welcome to the Black Wolf council boardroom, Seraphina Hawthrone." One of them speaks with a deep baritone, adding more to the cryptic vibe going on.
What is it with this people?
"I'm getting the sense that someone here watches too many dark themed fantasy movies." I respond casually, realizing that they also closed the blinds to amplify the dark brooding effect perfectly.
"Do you know why you have been summoned?" A female asks now, ignoring my initial statement completely.
Guess they don't accept my humour.
"No, I don't."
A bit of mumbling and whispering goes on between them talking about me while I'm still standing in front of them before it finally stops.
"You have been sanctioned for breaking school rules and required to face due punishment if you do not comply."
"Sanctioned?" I stare back at them with wide eyes, not believing what they're saying.
I memorized all school rules in my first week here and have tried so hard to maintain an above average school record to the best of my abilities.
"You must be mistaken. I haven't broken any school rules since I came here. The worse thing I've done is miss a few classes, and even with that, I've ensured that my scores give me enough points to move forward."
"That's not what our records say though."
Just what the hell is this?
Another ploy to get rid of the only human in school by holding false accusations?
"Can I know what exact rule I've broken, or at least who sanctioned me in the first place?"
They share a look between themselves again, suddenly not having much to say.
Strangely, all their eyes turn toward the seventh chair in the middle.
I don't think much of it until the chair finally moves, turning around like the others had and revealing the last person, the seventh member.
My jaw almost detaches itself from my face and clatters to the ground once his face reveals itself to be Artemis.
Artemis - fucking - Sinclair.
"Hello, darling." He greets with his signature wicked grin that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and what's with the dramatic entrance, huh?
I sigh, rubbing my temples, already feeling a headache coming on.
"Why am I not surprised that it's you?" I say dryly. I swear, this man is obsessed with me.
"You missed me that much, I see." He says sweetly, winking at me the next second, and I gag instantly, turning my face away before it can get even worse.
"The Alpha Prince and leader of the council issued this sanction himself."
"Of course, he did." I glare at Artemis now, but he only waves at me like a playful child, annoying me even further.
He leans back against his chair, resting both legs on the table without any manner while everyone else ignores his behaviour.
"You're eager to know what you did wrong, right?"
He pulls out a document, tossing it from his end of the table.
It slides all the way down to the other end, close enough for me to retrieve it.
I take two steps closer and read the highlighted section left for me.
"It states that the winner of the Full Moon Tournament gets to make a single demand on any student. It must be fulfilled if not a penalty will be awarded to said student, just like I had told you."
I look over it, realizing that I've seen this somewhere before.
I thought it was a joke before, that he had just edited the rule books to mess with me, but this...this is real!
"There's no way in hell that this is an actual rule."
"I'm afraid it is, Seraphina. This demand must be fulfilled, as it symbolizes respect for the victor's achievement and strength. By granting such a privilege, the school aims to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and admiration among the werewolves. The demand is expected to be fair and mostly logical. But as the defaulter in the situation, we have no choice but to award you with a penalty if you do not comply with this. And said penalty will be expulsion." One of the council members explains further.
"Wait! You can't possibly have the power to expel me over a silly game. That's not possible."
"I'm afraid it is, darling. Maybe you should have tried harder to win." He passes a wicked grin while trying so hard not to laugh at my predicament.
"Who am I kidding? Even if you were born again with a wolf, I'd still beat you with my eyes closed." He breaks into a dark chuckle, and I grind my teeth.
Answer to Artemis, or be expelled.
I'd rather eat live rats than do the former, but the latter is the same as accepting defeat.
As a last resort, I look to Lucian now, hoping that even if he's an asshole, he would stand up to Artemis like he had before - but his eyes remain focused on anything else besides me, like a coward.
Even now, he isn't on my side.
I laugh bitterly, looking back to the group.
"Fine, I'll do it. I'll answer to his demand."
"Perfect." Artemis answers enthusiastically, clapping his hands as though I've laid out the perfect performance for him, knowing fully well I've played right into his hands.
I clench my fist at my sides, hating that grin on his lips that's too smug and annoying, heartless without a shred of humanity.
Hating the fact that yet again he's won something over me.
My teeth grinds and the immeasurable anger bubbling up inside me grows with every second he remains in my field of vision.
"Now, leave us." He waves his hand with a demanding tone that is immediately obeyed by the group.
Like mindless robots, they rise from their seats in unison - Lucian as well.
Each of them marching out of the room and closing the door behind, leaving just me and the bastard.
He steps out of his seat, slowly making his way to me.
"So, how does it feel, finally giving yourself to me after all that fighting, huh?" He asks in a taunting tone, drawing closer to me slowly until he's just in front of me, leaning against the round table with his arms folded and his lips in a smirk.
I'm this close to drawing blood from my lips because of how badly I'm trying to hold my rage.
"It feels more disappointing than I'd anticipated. You can trust that I won't make it easy for you."
He chuckles at my threat instead, taking it as a challenge from the way his eyes dance deviously.
"I'm looking forward to that actually. It makes it all the more fun for both of us." He sneers like the devil himself, drawing closer to me. "Now, kiss my feet."