SERAPHINA'S POV
"On a second thought, it's not free." I say, pointing to the chair he's on.
The last thing I need is another over-entitled asshole taking up the only few hours I get away from the other asshole that keeps taking me wherever he is.
"Really? I didn't see anyone on it, and you said it was free a second ago."
He smiles softly, tilting his head to the side. His eyes simply say I know what you're playing at and I'm not buying it.
I scoff, turning away from him
If he's going to insist on sitting right beside me, then fine. I'll just completely ignore him for the rest of the class.
That is what I think until class finally begins.
A student model from another class volunteers to be drawn by everyone, and he wastes no time taking off his shirt and flexing his muscles. A few girls swoon instantly at his exposed abs, rating his looks while immediately get into it.
I select my base color first, dipping my brush in a mixture of red and off-white paint before pressing it against my canvas.
I'm suddenly taken over by something, and all my thoughts and concentration go into my art work, into every gentle stroke that comes into the background before roughly outlining the shape of my model.
"So... how long have you known how to paint?" Lucian whispers over to me, breaking the chain of my concentration.
I pause, biting on my lower lip and taking deep breaths before turning to him.
"Do you mind?"
"Not really. What am I minding though?"
Relax, Sera; don't let him get on your nerves.
"Can you not do this right now? Try to engage in small talk as if we're friends?"
"I would like to be though. Maybe start afresh?"
I roll my eyes at his words.
Where have I heard that before? Oh right, from Artemis, right after he forces me into a slave contract with the dumbest of deals. He really thinks I'm dumb enough to go on with all of this, obediently answer to his whims solely because I need protection from him.
I always knew he wouldn't be able to fully shield me from things happening around - it was all just talk to get me to agree to his demand. It's only a small amount of time before he gets payback for everything he's put me through.
I ignore Lucian again, focusing on my work, and I can visibly see his shoulders slump from disappointment.
Sadly enough for him, I'm done falling for baseless declarations of friendship like his kind. What could he possibly gain from being friends with the girl almost everyone hates that now answers to his Alpha?
There's definitely some kind of catch.
I know there is somewhere, and I won't let my guard down just because he seems sorry, or how attractive he looks with the crestfallen frown on his face.
The rest of the class goes on silently without him bothering me again, and I'm able to lose myself in the art and have a bit of relaxation just before the bell rings.
I sigh sadly, knowing what it means; my free time is over.
I pack up my things, getting up from my stool as everyone else leaves and start walking out of class.
"Sera." Lucian calls out to me, and I stop to look at him.
"Maybe we could hang out after class; work on our assignments. I could help, seeing as you're new and all."
I stare back at him blandly with the coldest poker face I can muster.
"No, thanks. I'm sure if I need help, I can find someone else to help me."
He frowns again, looking genuinely disappointed. I'm almost moved by it until I force myself to remember the horror I went through because of him locking me in.
The fact that he thought I was wasting my time trying to fight for my own freedom and masking it as an attempt to help.
I look away from him before it can work on me, walking faster to the door before the public address system dings on suddenly.
There's a bit of feedback heard from the speaker before the Administrator's voice comes through more clearly.
'Attention students, the nomination for this year's ranking representatives for the Black Wolf Student Counsel has been closed down and the nominees have been posted on various notice boards around school. The listed-out participants are expected to report to the secretary's office at the end of the school today. Thank you'
The announcement concludes and the receiver clicks before going off.
On cue, everyone around me begins to murmur erratically with looks of excitement written all over their faces. I immediately recall the little information I was given from the girl sent to summon me a day ago.
She described them as a group of honorary students representing each class of wolves, coming together to affect the decisions of school.
I didn't realize the members were nominated and it involved an election.
Suddenly, the crowd around me becomes eager, rushing to the notice board that's just beside art class in a larger group, and somehow, me being the puny human, I get washed in with the crowd, unable to move against their tide.
"Sera!" Lucian calls out to me, noticing what's happening.
He stretches his hand out to grab me and pull me out, but it happens so fast that I'm already so deep in and his hands can't reach me.
Now, I'm forced to stand in front of the notice board, along with the crowd struggling to check who the new class representatives will be.
Maybe, just maybe, if there was a human representative, I would have been a little bit interested in it. But what the heck? I'm already here - might as well find out, right?
Looking up at the names listed out, the first is, of course, Artemis Sinclair; he remains the president of the council, no nomination or election needed. And right beside his name is Lucian's.
Their roles are fixed simply for being the future leaders of the pack already.
There's a long list of names that follow after wards, names I don't know or recognize, representing the ranks - Beta, Zeta, Delta, Gamma...
My eyes fall onto the last and final rank - Omega.
The name Morgan Riessmoon pops up first, though I've never heard of whoever that is, and right under it as the second nominated candidate, Seraphina Hawthrone.
Wait... isn't that...my name?
It takes a whole second for it to sink in and even when it does, my eyes go through the listing over and over again just to be sure I'm not seeing things.
"Holy Fuck!" I exclaim out and loud enough for the crowd around me to pause in whatever they're doing to look at me.
A sudden dawn of silence falls on everyone while a hundred eyes fix right on little me in the center of the crowd
Shit.
I smile nervously, slowly backing away as their eyes follow, slipping through the many bodies around me until I'm out of their midst and their eyes naturally fall back on the board and their loud chatting resumes.
I take deep breaths, patting at my chest over and over again, still stuck in a state of shock.
No way what I just saw is real.
"Sera!" Lucian suddenly runs up to me, gently grabbing my hand and holding me up. "Are you okay? You don't look so good." He asks cautiously, worry written all over his face.
If only he knew, if only he knew that being roughly swept away by a wave of werewolf teenagers is the least of my problems right now. I don't say anything back, staring at him in a daze.
"Sera?"
"I-I- I w-was nominated." I manage to spit under my breath
"You were what?" His eyes widen with the same amount of shock as mine while I pinch myself over and over again just to be sure that I'm not dreaming. "Are you sure?"
"Unless you're insinuating that I'm partially blind, I'm sure."
"No, it's just that-" He pauses midsentence, looking at me with a strange look in his eyes that I don't understand.
I mean, I wasn't expecting this. I don't even understand what's going on yet. but he looks at me as though it's the worst possible thing that can happen to me.
Again, even before I can prove myself, he's doubting my capabilities.
A pool of bitterness stirs in the pit of my gut, and I look at the hand of his still holding onto my arm, wanting nothing to do with him so fiercely all of a sudden.
"Let g-"
Just when I'm about to tell him to piss off, another hand pries his off me.
His arm is then roughly twisted to his back in an unnatural position by Artemis who's emerged from literally nowhere, with a deadly scowl on his face and murderous eyes.
Lucian groans from the momentary pain before Artemis pushes him forward, and he staggers before stopping himself from falling.
"Get your filthy fingers off her." He sneers, growling at his own Beta with so much animosity that his eyes briefly flash golden.
Lucian holds onto his own arm, groaning in pain briefly before turning back to Artemis with an equally dangerous and violent look.
"What the fuck?"
"I never pegged you for a guy that assaults women, but I guess even someone like you has a disgusting side hidden from the world." He shoots at him, standing between him and I now.
Lucian smirks at him bitterly, flexing his twisted arm.
"At least it's better than someone that's rotten from every angle you look at him." He taunts Artemis who doesn't take it lightly.
I have no idea what's going on, but before I can begin to comprehend it, Artemis raises a fist at Lucian, getting ready to strike him with as much force, as much unbridled rage as he could carry.