Chapter 165

165 Chapter One Hundred Sixty Five

“Katie Sirius, might you tell us what the answer to the question is?” the faint voice of the teacher tugged at the girl’s consciousness, “Katie Sirius... I repeat, Katie...”

“I heard you the first thousand times, Miss Downey. I don’t know the answer to the question,” Katie replied.

“You could have said that the first time,” the teacher scowled before moving on to the next student. In truth, the girl had no idea what the question had been. The class was one that she’d taken before with her parents even though they were nearing her coverage. She didn’t dwell on it as her thoughts once again drifted to what she’d heard that morning from her mate.

She’d thought he was only a little injured, but it showed in his walking even when he tried to hide it. Cole was not okay and she wished she could do something for him. After watching him take a beating from a man who was using the strength Prometheus gift, Katie was sure there was nothing she could do. Cole could take one hell of a beating and still look normal and yet he could be injured by the very power he was blessed with. It was a cruel predicament and she didn’t like it.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she sighed.

“Well, you might want to act like it. Stop worrying about me,” he replied.

“Can you please stay out of my head?” she groaned, “I’m allowed to worry about you. Unless you want to order me against it.”

“First of all, ouch... Second, your thoughts are all over the place. The whole pack could probably hear them considering you aren’t shielding them in any way. And third, worrying about me will only make you miss out on what you’re supposed to be doing. Are you even paying attention to what the teacher is saying...” he was cut off by the teacher’s voice.

.....

“No murmuring in my class. I have had enough of you delinquents making noise in my classroom. If you have something to say, then say it,” the teacher said as she wrote a definition on the board.

“Well, I know now...” Katie replied, with a cough to cover up her moment of speech.

Cole remained quiet after that. The teacher was obviously not human and could still hear them even if they whispered more. The humans in the class looked about the class, but to them, it was quieter than normal. There would have been no doubt if the teacher herself had been hearing the conversatons of the wolves through the mind link.

Ding Ding Ding... the annoying sound of the bill came shortly after and the students barely waited for the teacher to wrap everything up before they were filing out of the classroom. Unless the class was still in session, there was nothing that could stop the students once the bell had been sounded. The teacher rushed to her desk and pulled out sheets of paper that she meant to hand out. Fortunately for her, a group of men started to walk into the class along with the principal.

The men were all muscular and carrying werewolf scents of the forest. Amongst them was none other Sean Sirius, the one royal that remained a mystery to everyone that saw him. The principal stood beside the man, “If we could ask for a short moment of time to make a small announcement,” he began, “Class 8b will be taking a trip with another class, specifically 6c to the Sirius wildlife reserve. This offer comes from the royals. Due to the lack of enough security personnel, only a few classes shall be going for this trip per weekend. You will spend a night at the hotel there on Saturday night and we shall return on Sunday. Is there anything you would like to add, Prince Sean?”

“Yes, I would like to add that everyone is to take this trip as both an educational and leisure experience. No one is to conduct themselves badly. A chance like this only comes once in a life time and I was feeling generous when I received the idea. The king approved of it and handpicked the classes that were to start the trips. As you might have noticed, both of his daughters are in those classes, so consider yourselves lucky for that reason,” he finished, “That will be all. The rest will be communicated later and letters for you to give to your parents will be handed out soon enough. Make sure they are ready for that time and have given you their signatures of approval.”

With that said, he left with the wolves he’d come with. Three of them and all of them green eyed. They carried the auras of betas, a breed that was stronger than the deltas. It was debatable and no one really cared to get into it.

Stories of Crysta beating up Liam were already starting to move amongst the werewolves. Without Crysta’s approval and Liam’s consent, they were all but rumours. Crysta refused to take responsibility of her actions and continued through her day like nothing had happened and Katie couldn’t help, but take notice. However, to her, fighting amongst wolves was just stupid. She didn’t like it and it angered her.

..................

The wolves in the den didn’t stare at Lina so much anymore when she walked in and the wolf was thankful for that. After what she’d been through on the first day back to the Den, she hadn’t thought it would get any easier after that, but she was able to enter the den, with Honour escorting her of course. She found her sister already seated there and for the first time, furrowing her brows at her phone.

“Hey, Katie...” Lina greeted her, taking next to no notice to the alphas that were seated at the table with the rest of the them. Cole was relieved she was getting comfortable even though he wouldn’t have minded if she took her time in getting used to this.

“Hey, Lina,” the girl replied, keeping her attention on the phone.

“What is it? You seem to be holding...” the girl froze, “a new phone. Good for you. What happened to the old one?”

“Well, the old one fell into a pool of water. Long story,” Katie replied.

“Were you able to get all your contacts back?” Lina asked her.

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to do right now, or in other words, that’s what I’ve done, but now...” the girl groaned in frustration.

“What is it?” Lina asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

“Well, look at this,” Katie turned the phone so she could see the message telling her sister she couldn’t make a call to someone in Brigadia. The money was just not enough to make such a call.

Lina giggled, “Just ask mum and dad to get you hooked up. You won’t be able to make that phone call without paying a certain amount that I’m afraid you might not have.”

“I have that amount, but I also can’t seem to access my account,” the hunter groaned.

“Oh, I’d forgotten you were a...”

“I still am, Lina. I still am,” the girl argued.

“You haven’t done anything that a hunter is responsible for doing ever since you got here. Some of us were simply under the impression that you weren’t a hunter anymore,” Sandra pitched in with a smirk.

“Oh shut it, Alastair. I will always be a hunter. That’s until the Rogue King is brought down. I’ll step down from that job when that happens,” Katie replied, sticking her tongue out at her friend. After finally giving up on the phone, she placed it back into her pocket and moved on to something she thought was worth discussing. The hunter’s mind was always working in weird ways, but more than once, she’d be happy it was that way, “Cole, what happens when a royal bites someone?”

Honour took their orders before Cole got to answering the question. Unfortunately for him, there was someone else thinking of answering the question, “You don’t even know something as basic as that and you call yourself a hunter,” Wyatt spoke up.

Katie turned to look him in the eye, “I do remember specifically asking Cole this question. Were you taught that when you knew something someone else didn’t, then speaking trash like that was the way to go?”

Wyatt was at a loss for words, “I was taught that all wolves were supposed to know this before they even got into their first class and that all hunters were taught this before they were ever granted their gifts. Are you sure you are fit to pose as a hunter when you don’t know something as simple as that?”

“That’s enough, Wyatt,” Cole spoke, up calming Katie just as well, “I’ll explain everything Katie. You already know that the bite of a royal turns a human into a werewolf, but not just any werewolf. They turn into alphas. I know you wouldn’t have asked this question unless you had another reason for asking. There are other situations in which the bite of a royal does something other than turn a human into a werewolf.

A bite is used to mark... a bite is used to kill and a bite is used to give power,” he summarised.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Katie asked him. He’d just twisted this logic upside down.

“Well, it only means, I can bite your neck and leave a mark, claiming you as mine. I can bite a wolf and kill them. To be more elaborate, the bite of a royal, based on the intention behind it, will kill a wolf like a deadly poison. The last one is the one that’s done when allowing a wolf to change packs. It also makes that person, by default, an alpha,” he explained.

Katie’s heart went into overdrive when she heard what Cole had to say about all of this. She had the faint memory from a time when she’d been in the forest in Brigadia. When she was trying to hold on to Kyle. She hadn’t wanted to kill him just yet and as she was losing grasp of him, she’d bit down into his hand. There was no other reason she could find for the colour of the boy’s eyes or the connection they shared.

“Well, what is the third one like? The one where a royal is choosing beta alphas,” she asked.

“Well, under normal circumstances, a royal will only have to make a choice and the beta alphas would gain that power, but as part of a ceremony, that alpha is required to bite each of them to initiate them as the first two and only wolves that royal will ever bite. By doing this, the royal won’t be able to will the power of the beta alpha into another werewolf unless they bite another wolf, which is strictly forbidden,” he replied.

Katie couldn’t believe what she was hearing, or at least, she’d known all this and merely didn’t want to think about it. The silence in her mind was almost unbearable. Ashley had retreated to the back of her mind that her presence was so faint. Just then, Cole’s eyes widened in shock, “What’s with your eyes?”

“Oh, my wolf is sleeping. That has been happening for a while now. Every time she goes to sleep, my eyes lose that glow,” Katie quickly explained. Their food finally arrived and they were served accordingly.

“You’re so weird sister,” Lina confirmed as she dug into the food her friend had brought. She sent her gratitude through the mind link and made sure to invite the overworking female to enjoy the meal with them and only let the matter go when Honour accepted.

“Yeah, you can say that again,” Katie replied absentmindedly... ‘This is so messed up.’ Ashley didn’t want to face her other half. After all, she had been the one in control when she bit into the boy’s arm that day.