Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

I wake up and stare at the cobweb-speckled white ceiling before turning over in my cream sheets until I'm tangled up, staring at the other side of the room. Annie is fast asleep, face down, and her hand is still gripping her phone. She was talking with her mate long into the night after FaceTiming him to show him the tiny room we have. I don't have a phone, and I have no idea what time it is. The sun's not risen, so it must be early.

I climb out of bed, glancing at the white double dresser and opening the drawers to find them all empty. My side of the bedroom is pitiful, plain, and without my bag, I don't have anything to put in here. Annie already has a poster of the Bear God, not quite sure yet why she does, and a colourful knitted blanket spread across her quilt. She has a black dog teddy snuggled up with her, even when she tried to hide it from me to begin with. I quickly stretch my arms up, washing away another nightmare I can't quite remember.

Something was weird about last night, though. My wolf is content, and usually after a nightmare, it's a mess like me. I know it came out slightly in my sleep last night, crawling out of my chest and trying to play games. It does that sometimes, but still, I don't like it.

Yesterday ended up being exhausting, but I still don't regret making this choice. After the ten-minute drive of silence and the driver speeding like a mad man, we were dumped outside a castle on the cliff edge. Everyone was given a backpack by older rangers, and then we were given a brief tour and another lecture about the importance of the castle's hallowed grounds.

I go over to the window and look out across the sea. In the darkness, the water almost reflects the starlit sky. This far north, the stars are so bright, and they are no doubt the reason the city is named Starlight. I have to admit to myself, I like the beautiful castle I can now call home for three years even if it's not what I truly want. I want to escape, but I'm not stupid and I doubt I'll get far with these runes on my wrists. As long as I can keep my Nexus under control, the years should pass quickly and then I'll be free. Three years to control the wolf in my chest and make sure no one knows exactly how much of a monster I really am? Fuck, maybe I can convince my mates that I don't want to run so they'll take the runes off.

The castle is right on the edge of the city, nestled on the tall cliffs that almost look like they are going to fall and take us all with it. I noted straight away the thick walls that line the castle's ground edges and how they are covered in runes. I won't be able to escape that way. Jumping into the sea isn't an option either because I hate the water. I'm pretty sure that the sea would not let me die that easily and we'd be thrown around in the waves for years until some poor sailor found us.

I rub my face and go into the shared bathroom, humming the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack I overheard playing in Annie's mate's apartment. The bathroom has a door on either side, and we share it with two other people in the room next to us who I haven't met. Thankfully, there's no one in here, and I lock both the doors before staring at myself in the mirror.

"I look like shit." I look pale and weak. My mates were right about that. My mother always said I was too weak for the monster inside me. My father claimed the opposite. I knew my mother was right. The only thing they agreed on was they hated Nexus and the rules we all must follow to survive.

My dark hair is a mess of tangled knots and frizzy from the rain yesterday. There is a red bag on the floor with my name on it, and I tug it open, finding a hairbrush, toiletries, towels, and every basic thing I could possibly need. There are three other bags in here with Annie's and two other girls' names. I quickly clean up, have a shower, and dry off, hanging my towel over a towel rack on the back of the door, before getting dressed in the clothes that were in the rucksack. They're tight fitting, almost a thick material, and all black. They cover me from my wrists to my upper neck, not an inch of skin left, and I find thick gloves in the bag too. I don't put those on, choosing to leave them. The clothes stick to every inch of my curves, and there are five sets in the bag, making it clear I can only wear these in the academy for lessons.

Finally, I pull my hair up into a high ponytail and make a single braid. My mum used to tell me to always have a braid in your hair for good luck. I'm definitely going to need luck today. I walk out, only to bump into Annie, who is yawning. She looks far less chipper than she usually is. "Morning?"

She frowns. "Coffee." A long groan echoes from her.

I try not to chuckle. "I'm gathering you're not a morning person?" When she rubs her eyes and still looks miserable, I step aside. "I'll get out of your way."

She passes me by, grumbling under her breath. "We need a coffee machine in here and asap."

Waiting by the window, I keep mapping out all of the exits I can see and storing every bit of information. The frosty lawn is quickly filling up with people as the sun peeks out in the distance, throwing orange and yellow bursts of light across the tops of the grey stone castle and its many, many towers. There's a haunting mist coming in off the salty sea, and as I pop the window open to let some air in here, I let myself breathe it in. The view is peaceful, even if my fear of the water dampens it a little.

My Nexus doesn't feel the same fear. She can see the beauty, just for a second, through the haze of destruction, and she likes it.

Even when I hear doors opening and shutting, I find myself waiting for Annie because she has been nothing but nice to me so far. I spend my time looking over the timetable of lessons after making my bed and hers next. First lesson, training with Hollis. Brilliant. Second lesson is marked as history, but it doesn't say with who, and the third is Alek. Sounds like a fun-filled day with people who hate me.

My stomach rumbles loudly, and I clamp my hand on it. I'm definitely going to need food. Nothing on the sheet says anything about food, but the first lesson isn't until eight, so we must be able to find somewhere for breakfast before then.

The door is knocked twice. Not knocked but banged like the place is on fire. Immediately I sense one of my mates outside. I pull the door open. I wasn't expecting anyone—especially not him. Finnegan. My eyes widen as they climb up his impressive frame, over his thick chest and shoulders, and to his hateful eyes. My wolf practically purrs in my chest. It has a favourite, but I wish it didn't. Why is the scary mate your favourite? Finnegan easily fills the doorframe like a damn tree, and a sexy one at that. He looks tired and angry though. I arch an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

He frowns at me, looking me up and down. His jaw tightens and his eyes turn an impossibly dark shade of blue. Like the blue of a deep ocean, something we were never meant to see. "Your clothes are too tight. You will be a fucking distraction to every male here." I blink, not expecting that. I don't think he planned to say that…compliment. Was it a compliment? Maybe. He growls and shakes his head. "Fucking Nexus." He glares at me, angrier than before. "Stay the fuck out of my head."

I cross my arms. "What? I've not been in your head." I try to shut the door, but he wedges one huge foot in the gap and steps closer to me, nudging the door open with his shoulder. He crosses those gigantic thick arms of his like he is copying me for a joke, and it's only then I notice a tattoo on his forearm, a rune that I've not seen before. There's a dragon wrapped around it. It kind of looks like the letter B .

He leans down, his voice low and menacing. "I hear you all fucking night, whispering to me, and then you pull me into your nightmares. I don't care if you have bad dreams. Figure out how to deal with them yourself, but stay out of my head. It's a shit power to dreamwalk, and I am not your saviour. Do it again, and I'll make your life hell in here."

Dreamwalking…was that what I was doing? Fuck. I didn't even know I could do that. I dread to know where I got?—

No, I won't let myself remember or think of that.

I can't break in front of him.

Steeling my gaze, I lift the corner of my lips up in a smirk. "I don't know what to tell you, Finn. Dreaming of me now? Cute, but I'm not interested."

He growls, his eyes darkening again. The darkness is his Nexus, I think, and we are both playing with fire. Even though my body screams to move closer when he reaches for me, I don't. I step back away before he can touch me, and a throat is cleared behind him. "This is the female wards. Men are not allowed in here. That includes you, Tutor Finnegan."

He doesn't even look back at the woman, only leaning down with his eyes locked on mine. He takes my breath away with that look. "This isn't over, Sun. Stay the fuck out of my head."

The corridor is crammed full of gawking faces when he turns, and my cheeks brighten as Finnegan storms through them all and out of sight. An older woman is standing close in an orange pinstripe suit, and her perfectly curled locks of grey hair are pinned back. She is one of the tutors, I'm guessing.

"Nexus mates are not allowed in the wards unless they are of the same sex, and even then, they are not allowed in your room. I will excuse this just once even if Tutor Finnegan does not teach first-year trainees." She looks past me to where a guy is trying to sneak out of a room a few doors down. "Ranger Luke, good to see you up bright and early. Perhaps you came to volunteer for toilet cleaning duty for the next month? What was that? ‘Yes, Tutor?' Brilliant." Her voice changes in an instant from sarcastic to downright scary. "Now get out of this ward before I change my mind."

Poor Luke runs away without one of his boots. The tutor clears her throat. "It is brilliant to see most of you are out of your rooms nice and early. I'm not sure what Tutor Finnegan was doing here, but do not follow his bad example of breaking the rules." She pointedly looks at me. "We have a welcome speech in the entrance hall, and then you have your breakfast before your first lesson begins. Let's get a move on." She claps her hands and turns around on her high heels, going straight after Finnegan, who I just know doesn't give a shit about breaking the rules and embarrassing me.

Annie rushes out of the bathroom, braiding the last bit of her hair, and she's fully dressed in the same clothes as me, but she makes it look cute. In fact, everyone in the corridor looks like they're wearing the same. "What did I miss?"

"Moody Nexus mates. The usual," I mutter as we both pull on our boots before rushing out the door, staying close to each other's side. Annie seems to have decided that sticking together is a good idea. I've never really had a friend outside of Harry, and look what happened there. I just got him in loads of trouble and at risk of being murdered by my mates. He has a death threat hanging over him, and I know anyone I get close to is at risk. No, having friends is not a good idea.

Annie doesn't give me any chance to escape her though, staying right at my side through the walk down the empty grey stone corridor and into the middle part of the castle. We head down the weathered staircase that's made completely of stone. The thick stone banister wraps around in a circle, and we meet the other trainees from yesterday halfway down from their floor. I don't know where the rest of the older rangers are, but I can hear people talking and moving about the castle in the distance.

Hundreds of us flood the entrance hall, and we all wait, no one speaking a word, but I assume we are all just as nervous. It's very obvious how few women there are in this year, and I stand a little closer to Annie. It's a vast room, making all the hundreds of us look tiny in it. There are so many wide corridors heading off in different directions, all of the walls the same grey stone, and yet it is modernised with electric lights throughout. Framed paintings of people I don't know line the walls, but I would guess they are old presidents of the academy. There isn't a single woman's portrait among them. All old men.

The tutor from this morning claps her hands, and we all turn to see her on the steps. "Welcome. I'm Tutor Jettie, and I want to take a moment to formally welcome you into the Ranger Academy Castle. Some of you may be aware of the castle's long and dark history, but for those who aren't, a quick reminder. This was the last stand for our kind against the Vian in the great war. In the early nineteen hundreds, this castle housed some of our most powerful Nexus, and they died in this very room to pave the way for Nexus kind. When you learn to fight here, when you pick up your Nex weapon of choice and fight the Vian, know that the souls who battled here are with you. They are our family, our ancestors, and in their honour, we work here for our future."

I swear a cold air claws right down my spine. Haunted castle? Fuck no.

"Being a ranger is no effortless task. It is the hardest job in our city, and it comes with the risk of death at every turn. The clothes you wear are rangers' uniforms. No Vian will be able to take your power and life through the clothes. They are woven with runes to protect us, but we will teach you how to make sure your clothes are your last defence." She points to the right. "The dining quarter is to your right. Down there, you'll find food at all times, and beyond them are healers waiting for anyone. That's where you'll go for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The healers are there if you cannot walk, are screaming, or near death. I do not expect to hear that you've seen them for period pains or a splinter."

Annie and I glance at each other for a second to smile, but she carries on. "The food options you are given are to sustain you for the various lessons, and we expect you to eat protein to make sure you gain muscle and do not pass out. You'll begin with Tutor Hollis's class today, and I would advise you don't eat too much, because he has a record of making beginners throw up on day one." My stomach drops. "His lessons are a detailed training class where he will learn your strengths and weaknesses for this first week. Tutor Hollis is one of our finest rangers, and if he tells you to do something, I advise you listen. You'll be punished hard in this academy for disobedience, and no one's allowed to give up. You'll be pushed harder if you do. That's just a warning. Your second class will be with me, and it will be on the history of the Nexus Beings and on our enemies, too. Knowledge is as strong a power as your Nexus."

She makes sure to look many trainees in the eye as she advises us. "Your third class is to work on your powers, but for now, while you're so new, we will extend that to more training with Tutor Hollis or Tutor Rhodes, who teach on alternative days. Tutor Aleksander has you on Tuesdays and Thursdays all day, and this is a great honour. Tutor Aleksander has only ever come in to teach occasionally, and he has never taught a class from scratch. I am excited to see what will become of this year with his instruction."

He came to torture me, great.

"I will let him explain his particular lessons himself. You're back to the normal three lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Weekends are yours, but we will be assigning work for you to achieve in your spare time."

I swear she looks right at me for a second. "If you have any actual problems, my office is underneath the staircase there, along with the offices of all the other tutors. You knock once, and you do not enter without being accepted. Anyone found in tutors' offices without being invited in there will be subject to severe punishments by the president of the Ranger Academy. Are we understood?"

Yes rings out from us all, and she claps her hands, pointing at the corridor to breakfast. None of us needs to be asked twice. Annie and I get pushed to the back of the queue as everyone rushes down the corridor in front of us.

She leans in. "Any chance Tutor Hollis will be nice to you because you're his?—"

"No chance. If anything, he is going to make it worse than it needs to be," I quickly explain. "They all hate me."

Her eyebrows push together. "They can't really hate you; they are your?—"

"I rejected them, remember? Yeah, they can hate me, and truthfully, I'm not interested in getting to know them either. From what I've seen so far, they are possessive assholes," I mutter.

She frowns. "But then you were trapped, and you couldn't get back to them. It's not like you…" She drifts off, seeing the look on my face I don't hide well enough. "I remember that day and how your parents were waiting. I know your parents were difficult, and they didn't mix well with the other families. I remember it all, and I never once thought you left willingly."

I can't say a word, and she watches me. She clears her throat. "Honestly, I always wanted to be your friend when we were kids. It's the luck of the Wolf Gods that we both came here at the same time, don't you think?"

We step forward in the line that has built up. "I kept to myself back then, so don't worry about it."

She plays with the end of her braid. "I should have been your friend. There were so few Nexus in the town, and I was just stuck between you and Rochelle."

I tilt my head, my Nexus awakening at Rochelle's name. "Are you still friends with her?"

"Um, no." She shakes her head. "She made other friends after what happened with her mate."

"What happened?" Annie doesn't get a chance to tell me as we get into the room. It's kind of like a high school cafeteria, rows and rows of benches and tables. At the back of the room are rows of countertops with trays, some serving hot foods, like sausages, bacon, baked beans, and fried eggs. Others are for cereals, toast, and pastries. At the end is a tea station, and I smell coffee right away. I head straight to the one for the hot food, and Annie joins me.

After loading my plate and grabbing a coffee, we sit down together. Annie has two coffees, and she downs one in a second before even taking a bite of her food. Despite our table being in the middle of the room, no one sits with us. "Are you sure you want to be friends with me? I mean, I think I'm the social pariah here, and no one's going to sit by you if you stay here."

She snorts. "Yeah, no, it's me who is the social pariah, Gwen." She dabs at her mouth with a napkin. "They don't sit by me because of who my dad is." I raise an eyebrow and wait for her to tell me. I remember her dad a little, a tall man with a posh suit and a permanent frown. Annie's mum is just like her, all blonde hair and big warm smiles. "My dad's the Supreme Alpha of Starlight City. We moved here after I mated, and he got voted in pretty early on. He was always an alpha, but he wanted to be a father first, so he waited until I was older to apply for the job. He doesn't always make the best choices, and a lot of people here are not a huge fan of him. So, therefore, they don't want to be anywhere near me. Both in hate and fear, I guess. Which I understand if you don't want to, either."

My shoulders drop. She might not be the safest person to be around, because if she sees my wolf, the monster, she is going to tell her dad. My hands tighten on my drink and a fork. If I walk away, it's another person who is going to hate me, and I don't know if I can handle that, especially since we're roommates. Selfishly, I smile back. I know this is a bad idea, but I can't stop myself just wanting someone in my life. I hate being alone. "Sounds like we're kind of perfect pariah friends."

She grins widely. "Thank you for not running in the other direction. I promise, my dad won't notice you. He doesn't really bother with me as long as I do what he wants. Which is stay here and be a ranger. All the honour and all that crap." I get the feeling she doesn't want to be here. It's an escape from her dad. I guess we are both hiding and escaping things. "No one's not going to want to be friends with you, by the way. If anything, I think that they'd be sucking up to you, considering who your Nexus mates are. When you guys are mated, you could be one of the strongest Nexus bondings in history. There's no one else here that's had more than three mates and survived it…" She drifts off. "Is that why? You got scared?"

I swallow the egg and toast in my mouth. "No, and if we're going to be friends, please don't ask me again. Alright?"

"Alright. We all have our secrets. For the record, if you want to share some of yours at any point, I'm here." She lowers her voice. "And I'm sorry about your parents' death. My dad told me you lost them both, and that's awful."

The colour drains from my cheeks as a flashing memory of their dead bodies flickers into my mind. I gulp, pushing it away to the back of my mind like I do everything else. "Thank you. I miss them."

We smile at each other, and it feels like there's some sort of agreement of friendship. I really should have been friends with Annie sooner. I've barely finished scoffing down my breakfast before an alarm rings out so loud that it shakes the table. I slam my hands over my ears and look up just as Hollis walks in, holding some sort of blaring alarm speaker in his hands. I wince, nearly falling on the table, and Annie cries out.

So does everyone here. I remember the noise and I can barely control my wolf from making me shift into my Nexus form so it can attack the speaker. It suddenly stops after a few minutes. Hollis jumps on my table, right in front of me, his muddy boot leaving a mark. "First lesson, these are what the Vian use to subdue you out in the real world. Humans cannot hear it, but our Nexus are highly sensitive to the noise. We're going to play it every morning until it doesn't bother you at all. Now stand up and get outside! You're all late for my lesson!"