Return to Wisteria (Book Three of the Wisteria Chronicles)

CHAPTER 6~Orientation~

Summer

    “You found me!” she squealed. I opened my arms, welcoming her into a warm hug. “I’ll always find you.” I murmured, pulling her close. She snuggled her tiny head closer, “I love you so much.” she said with a hearty sigh. I chuckled, “I love you too. Come on, let’s go find the others.” She squealed again then took off. I heard heavy footsteps behind me. 

     “She always hides here.” his voice was low and deep. I turned to share my bright smile. His tall frame blocked out the sun, casting a shadow over his face.

     I groaned at the heavy weight on my chest. I peeled an eye back, taking in the vast array of wild coils. I pushed Autumn’s head and arms to the side and tried to sit up. What the hell? My body was bogged down by another set of limbs. I frowned, staring down at Penelope’s small frame that was wrapped around me. I broke out in a sweat, letting out quiet but frustrated grunts in an attempt to untangle myself. 

    I climbed over Autumn and sighed with relief. I guess the two of them had a sleepless night. The sun trying to peek through my window told me that it was roughly six, perfect. I had some time to shower and roam around before everyone started getting up. I grinned at the thought of hot water. I quickly turned, the floor suddenly rushing up to meet my face. 

    I tucked in my legs to try and catch myself but scraped my knee in the process. I cradled my leg, stifling the scream of agony that threatened to escape. I scanned the floor trying to locate the thing I tripped over. Ziva’s long curly hair warped around her body as she switched positions. She grumbled at me, annoyed that my fall inconvenienced her. 

         I groaned as I got up and hobbled to the door. I looked back at the girls in confusion. Autumn being here wasn’t a surprise, she rarely sleeps in her own room. But I couldn’t find an explanation for the others. All I did was joke around with Penelope and compliment Ziva. You must’ve made one hell of an impression, Royal chuckled. Yeah, I guess so, I frowned. When did they come in?  And why did everyone always have to congregate in my room?

    I grumbled quietly as I moved about the room. Once I had my small travel bag and a change of clothes I tiptoed into the hallway. I wandered into the bathroom, the lack of presence coming from the four closed off showers made my heart happy. I walked into the biggest stall and locked the door. After placing my clothes down on the small corner bench, I jumped under the hot water.

    The warm water cascaded down my forehead and seeped into my hair. My thoughts wandered back to my dream. When I dream about the girl, the vision usually stops when I find her. The appearance of the man left me dazed and confused. Even with his face covered in the shadows, I could tell that he was handsome. His voice was deep and comforting. Remembering his warmth made my skin tingle, creating a sudden ache in my core.

    What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I getting so hot and bothered by a figment of my imagination? I shook my head to clear my thoughts and got busy washing myself. Once I was squeaky clean, I hopped out and got dressed. So far this shower was the best thing about being at the Council Headquarters. I was already dreading orientation.

     I grabbed the rest of my things then headed out, another groan heavy on my lips. “Can I help you?” an annoyed voice asked. I raised my eyebrow as I studied the woman who was blocking the way to the hall. She was tall, had straight dark red hair and glared at me with her arms crossed. 

    “No, thank you. I already took a shower.” I murmured, trying to get past her. She stepped in front of me, letting out a huff. “You must be one of those mutts that have been causing problems.” she scoffed. “Guess that’s me.” I bit my lip to keep a novel’s worth of curse words from coming forward. “Goddess, why can’t the Council see that letting in strays is giving us royals a bad name.” she sneered. 

       I rolled my eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Can you get out of my way?” I asked politely. Red-head scrunched her face in disgust, “Is that how you speak to your senior?”  I clenched my fist, thinking about the promises I had made with mom and August. “Helloooo?” Red-head’s voice was starting to get on my nerves. “I’m talking to you!” she fumed. I shook my head and tried to step to the side, her feet following mine. 

   “Answer me!” she screeched. I was trying my hardest to keep my temper in check. “Look, I promised that I’d behave. I really don’t want any problems with you. Please, move aside.” Red-head looked at me with further disgust, “Or what?” I don’t know what came over me. One moment we were making eye contact then the next my head was slamming into her face. Red-head screamed in pain, cupping her bleeding nose. 

    I used her despair as an opportunity to step past her. The echoes of her muffled cries followed me as I made my speedy escape. The halls were becoming crowded with sleepy occupants. I kept my head down to avoid curious stares as I made my way back to my room. “Good morning!” Autumn’s sweet voice called. She was sitting up in the bed, braiding Penelope’s blonde hair. 

   Ziva came in behind me with a towel in her hand. “Ugh! If you’re planning on taking a shower, forget about it. There’s some crazy chick screaming and having a mental breakdown near the bathrooms.” she said, plopping down on the bed. “Hmm, I wonder what happened.” I said sheepishly. Autumn narrowed her eyes at my tone but didn’t comment. 

    I changed the subject, “So, are y’all gonna tell me why you decided to have a sleepover in my room?” Autumn shrugged her shoulders, not caring to answer. Penelope cleared her throat, her cheeks tinted pink. “Well, I felt kind of nervous sleeping alone. You told me that if I needed anything to let you know. When I came to talk to you, Autumn was already in front of your door. She told me you wouldn’t mind.” she sounded embarrassed. 

   I grunted, “And you?” Ziva readjusted her glasses and grinned. “I saw the girls creep in and I felt left out.” I rolled eyes, I clearly wasn’t going to be left alone for the next six months. It was almost time for us to head down so I bullied everyone into getting ready. The next ten minutes was filled with annoyed grumbles and exaggerated eye rolls as they got dressed.

    I marched everyone out of the dorms and into the main building. The girls chatted as we waited in the line to get our food. I couldn’t help but notice the curious stares that were pointed in our direction. I thanked the kitchen staff as they piled on heaps of food onto my tray. “Let’s sit over there.” Autumn said, pointing towards a table.

   August and the Solomon brothers were already seated. August nodded as we sat down, a small smile on his lips. Well at least he was in a better mood. The loud whispers were hard to ignore, souring the taste of the food. “It seems like we are quite popular.” Samuel said. “I wish we weren’t. I hate being stared at.” Penelope complained, pulling her hood up to cover her face.

     Samuel gave her a sultry smile, “Some people can’t help but to admire a beautiful woman.” Penelope turned beet red and tried to hide her face further. Ziva giggled, “Oh, I think she likes that.” Samuel continued to smile, his gaze lingering on Penelope. A group of girls walked by, whispering about our presence. Ziva pulled down her glasses to reveal her slit yellow eyes and hissed. The girls let out startled screams, one of them dropping their food. Ziva leaned back with a satisfied smirk, earning an approving nod from Hudson.

     “Can you blame them? We’re a class of royal misfits, of course they’d stare.” I stated. Ziva shrugged, “That we are. But I want to know what brought you all here.” “Goddess, are we about to tell our prison stories?” Autumn asked, her bubbly laughter gave me strength. She was my precious little sister and I wanted to protect her. Maybe being here will help me keep her safe. 

      August was staring at her, his face soft and admiring. I guess we were thinking the same thing. Hmm, maybe what he was saying made a little sense after all. You should tell him that, Royal purred. I scrunched up my face, I’d rather paint this entire campus with a q-tip than admit that he was right. “Summer, you start.” Ziva continued. I looked at my siblings before telling the table why we were here. When I finished, everyone else revealed their past.

    The Solomon brothers explained that vampire clans tend to fight amongst themselves over territories. Their clan recently ended a decade old war however, their people were left in bad shape. They’ve been trying to recover but don’t have enough funds. They became desperate; resorting to a lesser means to survive. The brothers were caught stealing from a council member. Samuel said that they didn’t mind since it was a chance to make alliances and to secure funding. August had listened intently, promising to talk to them later.

         Penelope was stuttered when she explained why she was here. Apparently she came by choice. Her family was known to be a part of the supernatural black market, their name tainted. Penelope said her goal was to learn and to make reputable connections. She wanted her family to be clean when she took over the business. I thought she was going to pass out when Samuel praised her. Her face was molten red as she let out small smoke clouds of distress.

     Ziva was enthusiastic and told her story with pride. She was the only daughter of the Hesoteus family, so naturally her parents had arranged her marriage. When they would bring potential partners, Ziva was forced to go on dates. Her parents started to worry when none of the families made offers of marriage. It turns out that Ziva petrified thirteen men and hid them in the family cemetery. She offended some very important people but she didn’t care. She refused to marry someone she didn’t love. Hudson chuckled nervously at her declaration.

      The rest of breakfast was filled with stories of our recklessness. “I see you made friends with Kayla.” Samuel said with a smirk. We looked in the direction he was pointing to. The red-head from this morning was glaring at me from her table. Her nose was bandaged, the bruising around it an angry dark purple. “Hey! It’s the psycho from the bathroom!” Ziva exclaimed.

   Penelope shifted uncomfortably in her seat, “Summer, why is that woman giving you a death glare?” I shrugged, ignoring the frown August threw my way. “Do you know her?” I asked nonchalantly. “Yeah, she’s the daughter of the Vladu clan. Naturally she thinks she’s all that because her family helps fund the Council.” Hudson replied. That explains her rude behavior. I smiled and waved at her, making her eyes grow wide with anger.

    Red-head leaned over and whispered in the ear of a ridiculously muscled male that was seated next to her. His angry gaze shot up to me, his lips pressed in a tight line. “Who’s the guy next to her?” I wondered. Samuel answered, “Her boy toy, Colton. He’s a vampire-lycan hybrid that works for the Vladu family. He’s also one of the combat trainers for the Council.” hmm.

      “Come on, let’s get going. Vincent and Thaddeus are waiting for us.” Autumn chirped. Our group mumbled as we cleaned the table and made our way over to the office from last night. The Council immediately started orientation. Vincent advised that we were required to go to lessons about our species and our history. We were expected to train every morning with a instructor that was assigned to us. Lastly, we would have to learn how to work as a team and do various exercises to make us a unit.   

       When they were done explaining everything, they led us to the gym. Everyone was paired off with their instructor and left to begin their training. “Ms. Frost, your instructor has specifically requested to train you.” Vincent said with a proud smile. Colton stood in front of me with a grim look. f*****g perfect. “Have a good lesson.” Vincent murmured before sauntering away. “Get on the mat. We’re starting with a sparring session.” Colton growled.  

     I stretched my arms as I walked onto the mat. Colton started to circle me with a predatory stance. Be careful, I don’t think he will be taking it easy on us. Royal warned. Colton lunged forward, his fists fast. I was able to block two out of the three hits, but the one that landed on my ribs f*****g hurt! I bit my lip from crying out, he was too fast. How the hell was I supposed to keep up with a vampire-lycan hybrid?!

     I wasn’t going to bother trying to hit his face or his torso; he was too tall and his reach was too vast. I needed to take out his legs to make this a fair fight. I steeled my nerves and attacked. I feinted two quick jabs to his stomach, then kicked out my leg. Colton blocked my punches and caught my leg. I barely had enough time to realize what was happening before he smashed his elbow into my face, still holding onto my leg.

     My head exploded with pain, my vision blurry. Before I could recover Colton lifted me over his shoulder. One moment I was looking down at his ass, the next I was being slammed into the ground. My body landed with a disgraceful thud. “I have no time to train weaklings. Get up.” Colton growled. I moaned, rolling onto my side. Colton kicked me in the ribs, sending me a few feet back.

    I was dizzy, my ears ringing. “Get up!” Colton ordered. I heard August and Autumn growl in warning, but they so sounded far away. I stumbled to my feet and tried to concentrate. I could see Kayla smirking in the corner. I licked my bloodied lip and smiled. I pointed my finger at Colton, motioning for him to come here. He raised his eyebrow and began to circle me again. Damn, August was right again, maybe there was something I could learn here.