Chapter 4

• The night was covered by thick clouds. The sun had not yet risen when I got out of bed and went out to run with my wolf, knowing that most of the other members would still be asleep at that hour. It was very dark, which forced me to sharpen all my senses, great training before another boring day of classes with repetitive subjects.
• I ran quickly, releasing all my adrenaline, while trying to memorize the places where there were no recent smells from other wolves. It was the first time I had gone out in wolf form since arriving here , and I needed to map the forest area near my grandmother's house to know where to go, since I would have to resume my solo training sessions to stay in shape.
• "Okay, Lisa! Time to head back."
• She was happy, and so was I. Starting tomorrow, we would be training together every day again, as we used to do before we got here. We had a very deep intimacy between us, but above all, I earned Lisa's deep respect by showing her that I would not be a burden, but the dominant force.
• I crossed the orchard behind the yard and jumped through my bedroom window to resume my human form. I headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower before going to school. Not having to worry about getting dressed saved me effort, so I could devote more time to training.
• "Good morning, Grandma. Good morning, Auntie!"
• They were both already at the table eating and talking about a meeting the alpha had with the leader of the neighboring clan about the recent invasions on the borders with the dark world.
• "You better hurry or you'll be late!" my aunt warned.
• "You're right!" I grabbed one of those delicious rolls that only my grandmother could make and rushed to the door. "I'm leaving now. See you later!"
• "Wait!" my grandmother called out. She calmly got up, went to the kitchen, and came back with a lunch box and an umbrella. "I made you a snack. Take the umbrella because it looks like rain."
• I couldn't say no to my grandmother when she treated me so sweetly. After accepting her gifts, I kissed her on the cheek and thanked her warmly. Until I moved here, I had only visited her once a year with my mother. I only stayed for a week, but they were enough to realize how affectionate she was towards me. Unlike my mother's cold personality, my grandmother was warm and loving, and I think that contributed to my decision to come here.
• "Good morning, Eliza!" Annie's voice rang out as soon as I entered the school gates. I looked back and saw her coming hand in hand with Liam.
• "Good morning!" I replied, waiting for them to catch up.
• I walked in silence while listening to Annie comment on how beautiful the band rehearsal was and how accurate the sheet music I had delivered was. Liam didn't thank me directly, but I could see the look of approval he gave her in relation to everything she said.
• The cute moment gave way to a sweet kiss as they parted ways, each going to their own classroom. Liam was in his third year, while Annie was in her second year with me.
• "Do you already feel the bond?" I asked curiously, noticing the passion in her eyes.
• "Not yet, but it won't be long. Honestly, I don't think it will change much. I already love him so much!" she replied with flushed cheeks.
• "Then how do you know it's him?"
• "After he turned eighteen, he threw a big birthday party. During the party, he announced in front of everyone, including the future alpha, that I am his mate. I almost exploded from happiness because I already liked him."
• "I see." "For some, what could be a gift, for others could be a curse. Not everyone was lucky enough to find a worthy and good mate."
• "What do you expect from your mate?" she asked, stopping in her tracks and staring at me.
• We were standing on the second floor. I walked toward the nearest window, looked at the countless faces entering the school, and answered honestly:
• "What I hope for is not to have that..." The companion's curse. Yes, ever since I learned that my mother's lineage carried it, I hoped I had inherited my father's genes. "I want to be able to choose for myself."
• Annie looked like she wanted to say something, but she stayed silent. As if the supposed goddess wanted to play with me, I felt the hairs on my arms stand on end and a woody scent reach my nostrils, forcing me to search for the source of the smell. I turned my face toward the parking lot in the courtyard and noticed a tall, strong man with straight black hair, brown skin, and intimidating eyes staring in my direction. As soon as our eyes met, I felt an overwhelming force of attraction pulling me toward that man, while my wolf howled, "Mate!"
• She repeated this several times inside me as my heart raced. I forced myself to look away and took a deep breath to try to calm my wolf, who had foolishly fallen victim to this cursed bond.
• "Well... at least you don't need to worry about that right now," Annie said, after thinking about my answer. "You still have some time before the wolf awakens, and even after that, there's no guarantee you'll find your mate, so maybe you really can choose."
• "Sure..." I turned to her, smiling nervously. I wanted what had just happened to be just a big lie.
• I'd say he was in his twenties and wasn't wearing a uniform, so it was just a coincidence that I saw him here at school. Maybe he hadn't noticed me yet. That's what I wanted to believe. I breathed slowly, closed my eyes for a moment, and focused on calming down before opening them and heading to class as if nothing had happened.
• If it were up to my wolf, I would be running quickly to the courtyard to find him. Even now, she kept begging me to go to him, but there was no way I would do that! Going after my mate would mean revealing my wolf, and I had no intention of doing that before I turned eighteen. Anyway, he saw me too, so if he was truly interested, then he would come after me himself.
• There were four clans responsible for guarding the borders of the dark world: New Moon, Crescent Moon, Full Moon, and Waning Moon. Each of them had distinct characteristics that set them apart, from the predominant color of their fur to the "blessings received."
• Siram was a Full Moon wolf clan, the lineage to which my mother belonged. The predominant color of their fur was different shades of brown. The wolves only awakened at the peak of the first Full Moon closest to their eighteenth birthday. When awakened, the greatest blessing for the clan was granted to them: the ability to find their predestined mate, a bond that no one questioned, but simply accepted as a gift from the moon goddess.
• However, my father belonged to the Arches clan, the wolves of the New Moon, whose fur color was different shades of gray. In this clan, the wolves could awaken early after the age of twelve, and there was no set period for this. The good thing about the clan was the so-called "sense of love." They could smell potential future partners and choose for themselves who to bond with, without all the pressure that the bond imposed.
• My wolf, as if the world didn't want her to belong to either clan, came out with white fur. She was big, agile, and had the same green eyes as me.
• Lisa awakened when I was twelve, forcing me through one of the most humiliating moments of my life. Unlike in Siram, I had no time to prepare for myself, and I definitely wasn't ready.
• My first transformation happened at my old school. Feeling violent tremors take hold of me, I ran to the bathroom and locked myself in the stall. Before I could even remove my clothes, Lisa burst free. I had to endure all the pain in silence as my bone and muscle structures molded to the transformation. They said the first shift was the most painful; now, imagine doing that in a cramped bathroom stall and having to contain all the agony of the transformation while trying not to break anything. It was impossible!
• That day, I genuinely thought I was going to die, but little by little, I regained control and finally managed to return to my human form. When I finally pulled myself together, I saw the shattered toilet and the stall door marked by my claws. My crumpled backpack, the floor around me, and I were soaked with water from the toilet, while my clothes had been reduced to mere rags scattered across the floor.
• Summoning the last of my strength, I reached for my backpack and grabbed my cell phone. The screen was completely cracked, but thankfully, it still worked. I called my mother while crying and begging for help. I had never experienced such humiliation and despair in my entire life!
• Now this companion thing had come up, causing my wolf to bother me for the rest of the day, insisting that we should look for him, so that I couldn't concentrate on anything. Apparently, I had inherited the worst traits from both clans.