Chapter 11 Jack
Chapter eleven
Jack
I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I was never letting Xinyi convince me to go out on a school night again.
We didn’t get in until well after noon. Barely enough time to collapse into bed before I had to be up again for class. I would have slept in and just skipped class today had I not gotten a text from Tristen wanting an update on the mission.
So now, I was sitting in Supernatural Biology and Healing, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Learning about the biology of supernatural creatures should have been an interesting class. For any other human servant who had only been around humans or vampires who had just changed, it would have been good information to know.
For someone who had lived with six vampire dads and spent the last ten years or so learning about and hunting the supernaturals, it was about as helpful as Supernatural Law and Enforcement. All information I already knew.
So, once more, I was doodling on my notebook while pretending to listen to what the professor said. This class counted as a lab so, instead of an auditorium-type setting, we were paired up at tall tables with the world’s most uncomfortable stools to sit on.
“Did you hear?” a female tried to whisper a table over.
“What?” her partner, also female, exclaimed not bothering to whisper.
“Seely and Camdon didn’t come back to campus last night.”
I scratched the back of my neck. The feeling of several sets of eyes bored into my back.
They didn’t seriously think I had something to do with those two idiots not coming back, did they?
They continued to chatter about things that happened at the bar last night. None of them were brave enough to ask me directly if I had something to do with the two missing guys.
A loud scraping against the floor dragged my attention away from their comments to the person who appeared at my table.
My lab partner rarely came to class. Out of the last month, they had not shown up once, so rarely was more like never. Except today.
He was a string bean of a boy who hardly could be called a man, and there was no way that he was older than eighteen.
He had pale skin covered in freckles, ruddy orange hair, and large glasses he kept shoving up his nose.
He wore a button-up plaid shirt, he tucked into his pants, and shoes that looked far too big for his body.
“Hey.” I held my hand out to him when he sat down. “I’m Jack.”
The boy-man sat his stuff down with a loud plop, blatantly ignoring my outstretched hand. He sniffed and shoved his glasses up his face while he dug into his bag.
After a moment, I dropped my hand, feeling a bit silly. I didn’t take his dismissal personally. It was more than likely he was on the ‘I hate the Durands’ side rather than the ‘kiss the ground you walk on’ side.
A quick sniff of the air told me told me he was human… no, wait… I sniffed again, really focusing on his scent. Werewolf?
My gaze slid over my lab partner again with new eyes. With such a scrawny build, it was hard to believe this boy was a werewolf. Most werewolves, even the females, were muscular with large imposing auras and personalities to match. This boy… wasn’t.
The professor began the lecture, instructing us to open our textbooks before they began to drone on about the anatomy of a werewolf.
Instead of taking notes, my pencil began drawing absent mindedly.
“Is that Tate?”
My eyes jerked up from the page, blinking as I realized it was my lab partner talking. Glancing down at my page, I realized I had indeed drawn Tate. His large frame, dark eyes, thick braids, a lopsided grin.
“Uh, yeah.” Flushing in embarrassment, I closed my notebook and stared off to the side.
“I’m Flynn.”
I lifted my eyes, briefly meeting his. “Jack.”
“I know.”
He was quiet for a long moment before he started again. “Look, no offense,” Flynn said, his eyes on his notebook, “but I already get picked on enough for my size. If they know I’m being friendly with the Durand bitch, I’d never hear the end of it.”
I arched a brow at the name.
“Sorry,” he winced, shifting on his stool. “That’s what they call you.”
“Been called worse.”
I sat there for a moment, contemplating his situation.
I understood not wanting to get in the middle of the Durand lovers versus Durand haters, especially if he was already being bullied by his pack mates.
I could almost forgive him for his blatant dismissal of me earlier, except we had a class to pass and, as lab partners, there was a level of civility required.
“If it helps,” I leaned toward him, lowering my voice, “I can be mean to you in front of the other weres?”
Flynn snorted. “They’d probably just make fun of me for getting pushed around by a human.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not all human. You know that, right?”
Flynn finally turned to me, his nose twitching, clearly sniffing the surrounding air.
“You smell human enough. Aren’t you a human servant?
They’re just souped up humans. If not for their vampire bonds, they’d be like any other human.
And if their vampire dies…” Flynn shrugged.
“The werewolves don’t count human servants as much more than more durable humans. ”
I hummed.
The werewolves’ thoughts on human servants weren’t surprising. My own interactions with them on campus hadn’t endeared them to me. I’d been called vamp bait, a walking blood bag, and plenty others.
None of them knew what it meant to truly be a human servant or what it meant to be a child of two human servants. Hell, I didn’t even know what it truly meant. I wasn’t human, and I wasn’t a human servant. I had no vampire master or blood bond. I was a free agent, so to speak.
However, I wasn’t sure telling everyone exactly the extent of my abilities was wise. Whatever magic that let vampires live so long without aging was passed onto the humans bound to them. This also extended to their heightened senses and a quicker healing ability.
My mom and dad, Darren, were blood blond to Antoine.
If Antoine died, they would die. If they died, Antoine would suffer but probably not die.
Kind of a shitty trade off in my opinion, but I wasn’t the one bound to my significant other forever.
Safe to say it was hard to break up and stay broken up.
For me, it was… different.
You couldn’t kill me by killing my master. You couldn’t hurt my master by killing me. Only my family attachments gave me a weakness, and I’d spent most of my life training to keep myself from being someone that could be used against them.
I wouldn’t start now.
“Well,” I eventually said, “we have to work together to pass this class. I don’t think they can pick on you for that.”
Flynn scoffed. “You’d be surprised.”
A voice cleared loudly.
I looked toward the sound, seeing the annoyed expression of the professor, and ducked my head, pressing my lips together.
For the rest of the class, I doodled while Flynn diligently took notes beside me. When class was over, he jerked his head toward my notebook.
“Not much of a note taker?”
I grinned sheepishly. “Not much point in taking notes on information I learned before I was ten. What about you?” I pointed at his filled notebook. “Did they not teach you all about the other supernaturals before coming here?”
“Not really.” Gathering his stuff, Flynn stood from his seat. “If you hadn’t noticed, werewolves are pretty pack centered.”
I rolled my eyes, sarcasm filling my voice. “Can’t say that I have.”
Shoving my things back into my bag, I followed him out of the classroom and into the hallway. Flynn lingered for a moment and then caught sight of a few beefy males glowering in our direction.
I arched a brow, curious to see how Flynn would handle this.
Suddenly, he turned to me. “Back off,” he said louder than needed, “I don’t care who your parents are. Don’t talk to me.” He kept his back to them, he winced and mouthed sorry before turning on his heel and marching in their direction.
I pretend to be interested in my phone, watching them out of the corner of my eye.
The group of werewolves said a few things to Flynn, muffled by the noise of the students in the hallway.
Four pairs of eyes looked in my direction before several of them laughed loudly, more of a bark really, and one smacked Flynn on the shoulder, almost knocking the smaller man over.
Hmmm. Poor guy.
I couldn’t imagine being the runt in what was basically a frat house.
He couldn’t even move to a different dorm if he wanted.
Even though my parents were promoting unity by having all the supernaturals going to the academy together, by separating us into different dorms it was pushing the separation even if they didn’t mean to.
Sighing, I contemplated what I should do next.
It was too early for lunch. Xinyi had class still and…
that’s it that was all my friends. Geez, how pathetic.
In the month or so I’d been here, I had spent all my time with either Xinyi and Iris or Tate and Kyren.
Besides, Tabby I didn’t have any other friends or even sort of friends.
Maybe I should just take a nap. Before I could head to my room, my phone buzzed in my hand. Peering down at it, I frowned.
Julian: For me, it was… different.
I started to ask why when another message came through.
Julian: Gym. Five minutes.
For a moment, I thought about ignoring him.
I was still pissed at what he said to me yesterday.
It would serve him right. He still acted like my superior even though we were equals in this mission.
If either of us were in charge, it was me.
Julian was only here to help me out when or if I needed it.
My phone buzzed again.
Julian: Please.
Damn it.
Julian never texted more than twice, let alone said please.
Which meant, if I didn’t come, he would hunt me down.
Then I would spend the next hour getting a lecture from him and end up doing what he wanted anyway just to shut him up.
Honestly, if we were sleeping together, it would have been easier to deal with all the trouble I was always getting into.
Blowing out a long breath, I hung my head. I only got a few feet down the hallway before I realized I didn’t even know where the gym was or that we even had a gym here. What was it used for? A class? Recreation?
“Hey.” I stopped a student, their eyes widening in fear. A strange reaction I hadn’t come across yet.
Their eyes darted around, their voices shaking as they spoke. “Uhhh… yes?”
“Do you know where the gym is?” I tried my best not to sound annoyed. I hadn’t even done anything to cause such fear from the students. Surely my parents’ name couldn’t be causing this much of a reaction.
“Oh, uh, the gym.” They paused for a moment and then pointed down the hall. “It’s on the first floor, toward the exit to the Wolf’s Den.” They offered me a small smile. “You know those meatheads can’t help but spend every waking minute working out.”
“Riiight, well thanks.” I offered what I hoped was a pleasant smile before heading in the direction they pointed.
A few minutes later, I was pushing the gym doors open.
It wasn’t like the school gyms I’d seen on T.V.
with a large basketball court and then maybe a weight room somewhere else.
It was closer to the training room at the Hunter’s Guild with an area for sparring and different weights on one side of the room.
The whole area had a track painted on the ground encompassing the entire area.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. My mom spent more than her fair share of time at the guild, she probably took notes from them and implemented it here.
When I stepped into the room, the sound of weights clinking slowed and then stopped.
A handful of students walked or ran around the track.
While no one was using the training mats, the weight machines and benches were mostly occupied by what looked like werewolves.
Guess that student wasn’t wrong about them spending all their time in here.
“Miss Durand.”
I turned toward Julian’s voice. He stood on the opposite side of the gym near the mats, a bundle of black clothes his hand. He quirked his fingers at me instructing me to come over there.
Gritting my teeth, I stalked across the gym, crossing through the track and passing by the weights. I received several jeering comments and low growls but more of them just glowered. No love lost with the werewolves.
Stopping in front of Julian, I glanced over my shoulder at curious looks we were getting. “This is being discrete?”
“I’m a hunter and a professor. There isn’t an instructor here for the type of sparring you’re used to and…” he lowered his voice, giving me a pointed look, “This will keep you from having another incident.”
I huffed. “Still… it’s going to look weird.”
“It’s fine. I talked to President Fleming. and he agreed—”
“You talked to Tristen about me?” My tone went up an octave.
Julian blew out a breath, rubbing his brows with his fingers. “I have class at eleven, so if you’re going to argue with me about every single thing we aren’t going to get much training in.”
I glared, crossing my arms over my chest. “Maybe I don’t want to train with you.”
“Maybe you’d like to train with one of them?” Julian jerked his head toward the gym. “I’m sure any one of them would like to get their claws into you.” He gave me a pointed look, an obvious jab at my recent injury.
A few of the wolves had abandoned their weights and were watching us intently. No doubt straining to hear every single word.
Suddenly, Flynn’s words from class came to mind. I didn’t know if it was pride or if I was simply tired of everyone thinking I was just some human with powerful parents, but I dropped my bag on the floor and turned back to Julian.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Lips twitching, Julian tossed me the black clothing. “Good. Get dressed. Let’s show these wolves what you can do.”