Page 13 of The Howl
No matterhow hard I tried, I couldn’t focus on human biology. My mind kept going back to werewolf biology and how good Fenris had smelled. Spice cake wasn’t right. His scent was so much more. A combination of every human food I’d ever loved times ten. And, that heady aroma had only grown more potent as I’d stood there frozen in his arms. Even now, I could catch hints of his scent in my hair, which was pressed to my nose in an effort to inhale every last bit of him.
I dropped my hair and struggled to read the words on my tablet. With only a handful of lessons left in my independent studies, I should have been racing to finish so I could use the second session as a free period. Yet, there I was sniffing my hair like a new succubus. Idiot.
Shifting in my seat, I looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed my momentary slip. It was unlikely, given that there were only a handful of students present. Most of our kind didn’t go far into human education since they had no desire to go to college. Some of us, usually those who’d grown up in the real world, still clung to the idea that college was a good thing. I wasn’t so sure anymore because I feared what I might turn into in a college setting.
Ashlyn, a human who’d been in Uttira her whole life, glanced up from her book and caught me looking around. Her role as tutor was still fairly new, but I’d hung out with her a few times before she’d decided to come to school. While I considered her a friend, we definitely weren’t as close as Megan and I were. It was hard to let myself get too close to someone my biology wanted me to use as a food source.
“Having trouble?” Ashlyn asked.
“Not with the material,” I said.
Someone in the room snickered, but I couldn’t be sure who.
Sympathy filled Ashlyn’s gaze.
“You should hang out with us at lunch,” she said. “We can talk more then.”
Having lost my usual lunch companions, Oanen and Megan, yesterday, I was grateful for the offer until someone said, “Hell, yeah. Succubus snacktime.”
Dropping my gaze before my hunger could react, I focused on my tablet for the rest of the session. When I would have escaped at the bell, Ashlyn caught my arm.
“Seriously, Eliana. Don’t eat alone. I know what that kind of seclusion can do. Join us. You don’t have to talk or even eat. Just don’t be alone.”
Ashlyn, more than anyone else, understood true loneliness. The concern in her eyes had me nodding even as I questioned the wisdom of hanging out with the humans on a day when I was so hungry.
She smiled at my agreement and dropped her hand.
“Meet us by the pool after the bell.”
“The pool? Are you sure that’s smart?”
“Yeah. It’s good practice for the new humans. We’ll be there to keep an eye on them.”
I knew she was only trying to help the other humans who’d arrived at Uttira a short time ago, but I hated the idea of placing them so close to something so dangerous.
Ashlyn caught my hesitancy.
“It’ll be fine, Eliana. I’ve invited a few other people I think we can trust to help keep an eye on them. And remember, no one can die in school.”
I kept my mouth shut and nodded. Why did everyone think the worst thing to happen to them would be death?
With a heavy heart, I left the self-study room and went to my next session. Self-discovery was as woo-woo as it seemed. Instead of providing us with real information about what we were and why we had the instincts we had and how to curb them, we were taught how to “look inside” and to “embrace our differences” and a bunch of other nonsense that made me want to run screaming from the room.
The next class was marginally better, but only because I had to endure it every other day instead of every day. At best, General Living Studies was a mind-numbing experience since I’d grown up in the human world. However, it was required curriculum. So, for the next hour, I listened to a troll complain about the limitations on food diversity—he wanted human bone dust on his pizza—and a mermaid ask if eating human toes would be okay if the human lived.
My stomach was squeamish by the time the bell rang, and my doubts about having lunch near the pool had grown. Still, I grabbed my lunch and made my way toward the indoor pool.
The sirens’ songs teased my ears as I drew closer. The melody wasn’t bad. It just didn’t do anything for me, not like it would for the humans. While I knew I was immune, I also knew that not all creatures were. Though I wasn’t positive, I was pretty sure their songs had gotten to Oanen and Megan once. I hoped Ashlyn had selected her help wisely.
Through the windows to the pool room, I watched the mermaids and sirens swim and dive in the myriad of connecting pools. There were freshwater swimming areas, waterfall features, pretend boats, and rocky outcroppings for preening. Several of the females were topless.
If Eugene thought my jeans and heels looked good, he wouldn’t stand a chance in there.
I opened the door and breathed in the scent of the minerals in the water. It was the only redeeming quality for the enormous space. With the irony scent clogging my nose, I didn’t smell much else.
“Over here,” Ashlyn called. She had moved a table near the edge of one of the pools. Eugene, Kelsey, and Zoe were already sitting and unpacking their food.
Eugene gave me a quick smile and made room for me while Ashlyn explained the risks of the pool.
