The assembly was usually held early in the morning, so when the speakers burst during the evening and every student was ordered to be present at the Grand Hall in ten minutes, it was definitely an emergency.
In those minutes, the Grand Hall was filled with uneasy wolves wondering what was wrong this time.
Theodora had left Eric to stand with her classmates. She was right behind Liam, and the Commandant and other Professors had arrived, leaving the hall with pin-drop silence.
Theo's eyes swayed again. Seraphina was still asleep, which had her relying on her human instinct and strength, but carrying a weakened body from today's events and a broken wrist wasn't exactly favourable for her condition. She could barely keep herself standing straight.
The tension in the air was thick as the Commandant climbed the podium and began, "Two of our students were found dead this morning." His tone was gravelly and cold, booming across the hall.
Gasps rippled through the students.
"Their bodies were discovered along the Ravenspine Path, leading to the Harrow Forest. A forbidden zone, as everyone of you is well aware!"
Theodora's gaze darted toward the towering windows behind the podium.
The Harrow Forest loomed beyond the high metal fence, behind the school. She didn't know much about it or what kind of dark creatures lived there, but she did know that it was strictly forbidden and every student or Professor who ever set foot in there never came out alive.
"We will not tolerate insubordination," Draegor continued strongly, "The culprits responsible for breaching the boundary, if there are any, will be found. Until then, all nighttime movements are prohibited from 9 p.m. Patrols will double and anyone caught near the forest will face expulsion or worse," His eyes narrowed at everyone.
People held their breaths.
"Return to your Dormitories immediately!"
Draegor stepped down and turned to leave. Theo was surprised to see that Sylas wasn't next to him today. He wasn't even present at the assembly.
Once Draegor was out of the hall, students began to disperse, murmurs about the incident following them.
Theodora exhaled. The throb in her wrist had gotten worse from the tension and she didn't notice the malicious presence behind her till it was too late.
Someone slammed hard into her back - to be precise, an elbow slammed into her back, and the impact sent her stumbling forward.
Her knees hit the marble floor, along with both palms, and pain flared up in her wrist, worsening her condition. Once again she bit back the pain.
Gasps rose again, most of them mocking before blending in with the general noise. Theo didn't care, but glanced by just in time to catch the figures of three familiar boys in her class, snickering as they went.
She frowned. They won't get away with this!
Gathering herself, she pushed back to her feet with her good arm.
"Hey...hey, Thad, you good?" Liam's voice cut through the noise.
He was right next to her in seconds and assisted her when he saw her trying to stand, "What happened?"
She was still frowning, "Remember the trio glaring at me earlier in class?"
"Roman's an ass,"
"And I'm gonna beat up that ass," She stated.
He gave a low chuckle, then asked, "You look much worse than when we left class. You should visit the clinic," He suggested.
"Not really," She replied, "All I need is to crash. I'm guessing the new professor really hit me hard today,"
"Yeah," Liam agreed, "I had a hard time resisting the urge to cower from Blake's aura, and then there's you, going up against one of the Strongest Professors himself!"
"My worst luck," She murmured
"Which dorm are you headed right now?" He asked.
"Eastern,"
"Then we are going the same way," He stared at her, "Can you walk?"
"Yeah, I'm good," She gave him a brief smile, and they headed to their destination.
They got to her dorm door first, and Liam froze as he stared at the room number, "Wait...," He murmured, staring with surprise, "Isn't this Hezekiah Pendragon's room?!"
"Yeah, I'm his roommate," She answered as she inserted her key.
Liam's eyes widened, "And he lets you stay?"
"Kind of, why?"
"I'm surprised,"
That much was obvious.
"I was assigned as his roommate when I arrived here first week of resumption but he punched me in the face and threw me out,"
Theo turned to him, "Ouch, what did you do after that?"
"Pulled some strings. Had my room changed," He shrugged.
"You can pull strings here?" She inquired curiously.
"Of course. When you're from one of the strongest Werewolf lineage,"
Ah! She recalled Eric telling her how Cain had basically forced the school to give him the first week off. But then again, it wasn't a privilege, Cain Pendragon does and takes whatever he wants. He's the kind of person she was repelled from.
"What family are you from?" She asked.
He shrugged again, "Sinclair,"
Theodora was puzzled for a second. The Sinclair family ruled the Dark horse Pack, and they were not just her father's rivals, but had been longtime enemies, which made Liam her rival, too.
"Wow," That was all she could say. Liam seemed nice, but she would still have to keep her guard up around him, "Thanks for walking me here. See you in class tomorrow,"
"You better get better with that sleep, okay?"
She nodded, and watched as he turned around and left for his room. He stayed on the same floor, and was just five rooms away from hers.
Then, she turned her key and stepped in.
She almost groaned when she saw Zeke lying on his bed. He was shirtless again, and she forced her eyes not to wander and walked over to her side of the room.
She walked into the bathroom and changed into something more comfortable, ready to crash for the day. Hopefully, Seraphina would have begun the healing process before she woke up tomorrow morning.
Zeke watched her do everything, noticing that she was only using one hand. She was putting on long sleeves which covered her wrists, but it didn't hide the pain and struggle from his gaze.
Her wrist.
Before she could slide into the covers, he called, "Hellcat,"
She paused, "What do you want this time?"
"Still got the pendant with you?"
Her eyes twitched, "Leave me alone,"
"Still got the pendant with you?" His tone was deeper, laced with warning.
She groaned, the frustration of the day now getting to her, "I still got it, and I'm never taking it off because of your delusions so you better stop dreaming!"
"Hellcat,"
Her body vibrated with anger, and she turned around to finally look at him properly. He was seated up, and tonight he was wearing his piercings, "Stop it! Stop calling me! Stop talking!"
"I'm not gonna stop, till you take that necklace off,"
"For goodness' sake!" She snapped angrily, her eyes blazing, "What on earth is wrong with you? Why do you have to make my life difficult? It's not my fault I was assigned to this goddamned room in the first place! And I already told you, I'm not your mate, I will never be your mate and the pendant will always remain with me and the next time you say anything, I will smash your face so hard that your father's gonna feel it!"
His eyes flashed dangerously and he was instantly on his feet, "What did you just say?!"
"You heard me!" She blasted, "So don't you even...,"
Whatever happened next was too fast for her to register. She saw herself pressed against the wall, and a very furious, Dark-eyed bad boy was looming over her with his forearm choking her tightly.
Theodora struggled to breathe. She tried to push him away, but her current strength was no match for his. She wasn't even sure she would be able to push him away if Seraphina were here, but it would have still made one hell of a difference.
"I dare you," The orange in his eyes expanded, and his chokehold worsened too. Her eyes widened, wondering what kind of darkness and anger this was, because it was nothing like she's ever experienced before, and it terrified her, "I dare you to say that again, Hellcat. And I promise you by the end of today, there'll be one more dead body for the school to handle,"