The Domus Paranormal Academy

The games

I frowned and looked at her as if she had just told me she had three boobs.

“Is there anyone who would accept that? “

I asked, looking at her carefully. I expected her to say, "Of course not, Marise, just kidding. It's a joke.

The time when you had to be so silly with men is behind us.

But I didn't get that answer.

“You'd be surprised... “Valery snorted, again with a shrug of his shoulders, implying that he was there, implying that it was the normal thing to do there. You can hear the girls saying they wouldn't go out with them, but as soon as they're approached, none of them refuse, because dating them is an opportunity that goes beyond the romantic. It gives you status and visibility. I guess you understand that, don't you?

Understand? Really? Of course not, but I just nodded, cautious about my answers. Then, slowly and with the same expression, I looked at the brothers again. Valery now looked at Lucian, who was talking nonstop with the girls and showing them a sheet of paper.

They were delighted with his, apparently, effusive and passionate explanation.

I felt like picking up a stone and throwing it at Lucian as a small sign of protest about his ways, but that would have consequences.

Bad ones. And I couldn't ruin my admission to Domus. I wouldn't get that chance twice.

“Well, I don't find them so surprising," I said. They're attractive, but there are good-looking guys everywhere.

Valery's smile took on a slightly bitter air.

“Handsome boys, yes, but not with the famous Lycan surname.

“She gave me a curious glance, squinting at me. And yes, they are surprising.

Ankor is at the top of influencers, Viktor represents a lot of humanitarian and animal aid organizations, and Lucian follows in his father's political footsteps.

There is no one at those levels.

“He's just stupid," I opined, somewhere between mocking and trying to understand him.

“. You have to be a fool to put your dignity below your future.

Valery said nothing for a moment. Then she seemed to want to ignore Lucian and looked at me in a new mood.

“Yes, well, everyone knows what they're doing, don't they? “He played it down.

What you need to do is not have an opinion on this. It's a Lycan thing, and a lot of people defend them.

I mean, I had to shut up because the fleas had their fan club.

I was going to retort, but suddenly she flashed an excited smile.

It was impressive how the whole air of the moment changed.

“Let's move on to a better topic: tonight the events start," she informed me enthusiastically.

The first one is the games, which are a must before school starts. You're going, aren't you?

“What do they do in those games? Do they put the girls in mud fights and bet on them? “I snorted sarcastically.

Valery let out a loud laugh.

“No, they hang out with games of chance, drinks, meeting new people....... Maybe you'll catch a club... “She looked at me eagerly. Although I'll be able to introduce you to some friends who don't consider girls as cattle, and that's why they are not so popular. You can hang out with us.

I didn't know what the Domus boys' and girls' events were like, but I needed to know more about the world I had just entered and the only way I could do that was to mingle. After all, I hadn't come to Domus to be asocial, who sat in the dining hall with her face against her tray, trying to be as invisible as possible. No. I had other plans.

I took a glance again in Viktor's direction. He was no longer there. At some instant, he had slipped away. The cigarette, consumed, now littered the grass next to the stall. Clearly a rebellious gesture, eh? Lucian was still there, talking to the girls, and they were still delighted. Their eyes were fixed on him as if they had something fascinating and inspiring in front of them.

So that was the leader of Domus. Through him, the world of the elite moved. He was the unholy-looking figurine in front of whom everyone knelt. That was the individual who could destroy lives or change them in a second. The specimen is categorized as an alpha with power.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lucian Lycan.

I'm Marise, the stone capable of 'accidentally' stepping into your shoe."

*******

Games were a sacred tradition for Domus students.

They were held on some vacant grounds, just behind the line that was no longer university grounds, you know, so as not to break any rules of conduct, and that was like an open-air casino. The whole thing was full of tables. The trees had been decorated with Christmas lights and music was coming from a DJ booth. There were a lot of people. Some were walking around holding glasses, bottles, and cigarettes. Others were sitting, playing games of chance.

Everywhere I looked, there were smiles enough, sly eyes, and self-assured postures, confident postures. There was no one poorly dressed or suffering from anything at all.

Just unnatural boys and girls, with no pimples, no miseries, no worries, no physical defects, as if they had been sired by gods and horny angels, the groups were headed by the wolf royalty, and in the darker area were the vampires, spectral and shapeshifters, near the pool the nymphs, and tritons, the hybrids were mixed in all groups and below the list the humans...

I didn't know about it yet, but as angels, they had nothing.

Valery and I went straight to a table where a boy and a girl were chatting and having a drink.

. I told myself that I had to put on my best face to socialize.

“These are the people I hang out with," Valery introduced them, already in front of them.

The girl was the first one to shake my hand, it was a dagger, a snake girl with vertical pupils and an intense honey color.

“Otsana," she introduced herself with a firm but friendly handshake, and added, "I love what's on your shirt:

The print on my T” shirt said: what comes out of your mouth is who you are,

Besides, I loved T” shirts that made other people feel uncomfortable.

But Otsana's style was no slouch. She wore Viking braids, her skin was a perfect caramel color, and she looked like the ideal combination of an artistic person and girl with money: worn but fabulous jeans, a knitted sweater that fell to below her hips, and lace-up boots.

The next hand was offered to me by the boy. He had a light tan and, even so, there were many freckles scattered across his nose, but his appearance was not simple or plain, simple and unassuming. If I needed two words to describe him, I would have said

"Fabulously overdone." He was wearing a blue jacket and a sequined gold bow tie. His jeans were casual, but the way everything came together on him was striking, as were his green eyes.

He had light highlights in his honey-colored hair, and the finishing touch was the cleft in his chin, subtle but interesting.

“Dashton," he introduced himself in a very charismatic voice. But my family calls me Dash because it sounds less gay.

“What should I call you then? “I asked him.

“Dashton," he replied with a wink.

I couldn't help but smile at him, he was wearing a lycanthrope badge.

Nice people, he wasn't doing so badly.

Otsana started filling a glass from the keg next to the table.

“Well, Valery, you've been lucky this year with your partner," she remarked as she waited for the liquid to arrive.

I have got a very strange girl who seems to be afraid that her tongue will swell if she speaks.

her tongue if she talks. I invited her over, and she just looked at me, went into the bathroom, and started flushing the toilet repeatedly. Creepy.

She turned again and offered me the glass she had just filled. I shook my head, but with some politeness.

“It's German beer," Dash clarified, clearly offended, upon seeing my gesture.

“I don't do well with beer," I declined again.

It wasn't quite true. I loved beer. Not accepting one was like a sin, but it was the first day. I didn't know them well, and something very important: the worst enemy of a person with secrets is alcohol.