Pureblood: The Badboy's Mate

Chapter V

On a deserted road, I saw a woman running. I couldn't see her face, but her clothes were dirty and torn, stained with blood. A huge gaping wound in her belly didn't seem to stop her from running. As she saw nothing but miles of asphalt ahead of her, she hesitantly ran into the woods, knowing she had no other option. The noise she was running from got louder and her body started to waver, despite all her attempts to keep running. A misstep made her fall to the floor. Before she could muster the strength to get up, a pack of wolves brutally attacked her.

I woke up shaken and sweaty from a disconcerting dream. It took a while for my heart to calm down and my mind to assimilate that it was just a nightmare. It was almost dawn and it would be useless to try to sleep again as I would have to be up in a few hours. Defeated by the clock, I turned on my nightstand lamp and grabbed a book to distract myself until I actually needed to get out of bed.

“We've got popcorn, some snacks and Delphine's sister will send us a box of profiteroles…” Olympia chattered in front of the bathroom as I brushed my teeth. I opened the door and she stopped. "Where's your uniform?"

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you." I said. "My legal guardian called me yesterday, I'm going to... Well, I'll be out today."

“But we will have a full moon today. And it's a pink moon! We light the fireplace, do skincare, eat lots of candy and cry watching a trashy horror movie because our hormones are messed up, it's a tradition!”

“I think I can get back to the movie in time.” I said, laughing. "It's just... Mrs. Blanchard is taking me to see my mother today."

“Oh, I see… Wait, our history teacher?”

“No, her wife. My legal guardian.”

“Now that makes more sense. Well, take care, Hae… I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you. Message me when you're on your way back, I'll hold the film for you."

Clear skies, bright sun, cool breeze - a beautiful spring day, but terrible for being a werewolf. That was the day before a full moon and the last place any person or creature wanted to be was in a castle full of stressed, sensitive, and cranky teenagers, but part of me really wanted to be with Olympia and the girls. At seven in the morning I was standing in front of the main entrance wearing my normal clothes after weeks of basically wearing just my school uniform (and pajamas on weekends). I was visibly anxious and I didn't know to what extent it was possible to blame the approaching full moon. My parents' situation was very complicated and there was nothing I could do. They lied to me my whole life, I was angry. But they were still my parents and I loved them, seeing them suffer in prison caused me nothing but pain and some senseless guilt because they were only there because of me. When Mrs. Blanchard parked the car, I smelled some delicious meat.

"So how's Nordholt doing?" asked Mrs Blanchard as we hit the road. “Adapting well?”

“As well as possible, I think.” I replied, looking out the window, a little distracted. “I like school, but… The only reason I'm here is because my parents were arrested for illegally adopting me. Mixed feelings, you know?”

“I know, honey, it's not easy. I did everything I could to get you here because the other options would be shelter or a temporary family... I've been working in this business long enough to know that a teenager going through everything you are right now needs more than that. I hope I made the right choice.”

"I appreciate that." I said. We both sat in awkward silence for a while. “I really like History classes.”

"I bet you like it." She smiled. “Everyone loves Rosalind. She told me that you are doing well in all subjects. Even in physical training.”

“Is she reporting my performance to you?” I laughed.

“I've been a social worker for sixteen years, it's like I'm a mother of more than two hundred and fifty children. I worry."

"This is very sweet." I smiled. “But I need to ask… Why does this car smell like a steakhouse?”

In the back seat was a huge aluminum container filled with barbecue ribs, wings and potatoes. “The full moon will drain your energy. I mean literally.” Said Mrs Blanchard. According to her, our body starts preparing for the transformation the night before and it does so by speeding up our metabolism. We end up feeling weak and tired in our human form and consequently unable to control our wolves, who want to go hunting in order to keep us alive. So caloric bombs were the solution - and just like that I had full-sized ribs for breakfast.

"Hello my love." Said my mother when she saw me. We were in the visiting area of ​​the Dawnwater Detention Center. She was very pale, haggard, thinner than usual. My eyes watered seeing her like that and I couldn't even hug her. I sat across from her.

"Hi Mom." I said, smiling. She took my hands in hers and kissed them both at the same time. "How are you?"

"You look so beautiful... A month and a half and you've changed so much." She smiled, but trying not to cry. “I'm fine, my dear. I think about you every day.”

"I want to get you out of here." I said, letting the tears fall down my face. "You shouldn't be here, Mom... Dad shouldn't..."

“Hey, listen to me… Me and your dad, we'll be fine. What we did was wrong in so many ways, but we would do it all over again so we could be your parents. The lawyer said we're leaving in six months. Everything will be fine, honey.”

“I wish I could see you more, but it's too difficult for wolves to be allowed into human prisons. Ms. Blanchard wasn’t able to get a permit for me to see Dad so far.”

"I know. And you shouldn't worry about that, this is not a place for you to be anyway. You should worry about school, your friends, boyfriends… And, you know… Werewolf stuff.”

“Werewolf stuff.” I laughed. “Yeah, I have a lot of werewolf things to worry about. There will be a full moon tonight and I'm having a kind of heavy metal PMS all day long."

"You've had heavy metal PMS since you were thirteen." My mother said, laughing. "How is school? Is everything going well over there?”

“Yes, the school is great. Very chic and exaggerated most of the time. I have some really nice friends now. It's weird to admit how well I've adapted.”

“It's your world, honey. Your father and I had no right to deprive you of that.”

"You didn't know..."

"And that's the problem, we should know! We should know… But anyway, tell me more about the school, I want to know about everything."

"Well I... I found out I can lift 170kg."

Saying goodbye to my mother wasn't easy, I cried even more than when I saw her. Ms. Blanchard seemed to have noticed that I was sad and thoughtful and didn't initiate many conversations with me on the way back. The ride turned out to be faster than I thought and I texted Olympia to let her know I'd be arriving before 9PM. Nordholt's gates opened and Ms. Blanchard parked in front of the main entrance. As we were saying goodbye in the car, she took a folder full of papers and handed it to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

“These are the documents you need to go after your birth parents in the future.” She answered. “By graduating from Nordholt I'm sure you won't find it difficult to get into a great university and have a successful career. You can go to a private detective and… Unravel that chapter of your life. If you wish so.”

“Mrs. Blanchard… Thank you.” I said, almost speechless. “I know what you do for me is so much more than you need to do and I'm really grateful. Thanks."

“You're welcome, Haera. The pleasure is all mine."

I walked into my dorm and found the girls listening to music, painting their nails and stuffing their faces with pretty profiteroles. But the whole room was smelling of tobacco. Olympia came up to me excitedly and handed me a bottle of champagne.

"Where did you get that!?" I asked.

"Oh, when Delphine's sister brings us profiteroles, she also brings us some bottles of Veuve Clicquot." Olympia replied, visibly drunk.

“Aren't we going to get in trouble for this? And Mrs. Barton?”

"Mrs. Barton is home and they're doing coke in the dorm next door, Haera!" Said Olympia. “Now, drink this!”

I had never had alcohol before and I definitely didn't expect my first drink to be overpriced champagne. I was a little nervous, thinking about Pembroke walking into our dorm and watching us get drunk and smoke, but it felt like a very normal Nordholt tradition. It's not exactly surprising that those bunch of rules had their moments to be broken. "The effect of alcohol doesn't last long because of the full moon, so we need to keep drinking." Said Olympia. When she said that Delphine's sister had brought a few bottles of champagne she meant sixteen. I asked how she got through security and she said just pay the guards well and they'll let through anything that doesn't get stuck in the metal detector. We played truth or dare, Olympia and Zara kissed, Delphine had to steal something from the dorm next door and I… Well, I had to reveal that I was not only a virgin but I never had my first kiss.

"How is this possible!?"

“Look on the bright side, chérie, at least you didn't waste it before your wolf woke up. you

You can find a mate and have that special moment.” Delphine said.

“Not everything in life is about finding a mate, girls!” Said Olympia. Oh, she gets pretty feminist when she's drunk. “We are more than puppy making machines!”

“When I say mate I mean a real mate!” Delphine said. “A much deeper connection, emotional than s****l… Being able to be with a female. Even with a human…”

“Oh, Delphine is so romantic! Who would say!?" Olympia said, hugging her. “Girls, let's see our movie. What romantic comedy are we going to see tonight?”

“The Texas Chain Saw m******e”

We were halfway through the movie and I never imagined that something like this would make me hungry. Not that I wanted to eat raw human flesh, but I kept remembering my first shift and my first hunt. I share a consciousness with a wild animal that is also me in every way. There was a part of my brain that didn't quite accept my wild and carnivorous instincts yet and was horrified when I remembered that raw bloody meat was too good - and, according to Ms. Blanchard, it was something I should never consume on my human form, I would probably get a stomach infection. Maybe it was the full moon, but I felt the line separating me from my wolf seem to blur. And my body started to feel weird.

"Olympia, I don't think I'm feeling well." I whispered to my friend beside me.

"What is it? What happened?" She asked. Before I could respond, I felt an agonizing pain in my left leg that made me scream. “Girls, pause the movie! Hae, look at me, what's going on? What are you feeling?"

"I think... I think I just broke my leg." I said. A loud c***k came out of me and I screamed again. I clearly felt my hip being dislocated.

“Are you shifting!? Why!?” Olympia asked. I just shook my head as tears of pain streamed down my face. "Come here, I'll take you to the infirmary."

Olympia put my arm around her neck and basically dragged me through the halls because I couldn't walk with a loose hip and a broken leg. We arrived at the on-duty nurse's room and she promptly placed me on a gurney with Olympia's help. "You can go back to your dorm, I'll take care of her now." Said Nurse Taylor. She looked into my eyes quickly and pushed the gurney through some of the doors at the back of her room. It was a huge ward, with about a dozen beds, half of which were occupied. She took me to a bed and helped me to lie down. “Breathe, try to stay calm. I'll be right back." Said Nurse Taylor. I was doing my best, but the aches I felt had already spread through all my muscles and I was sure it was only a matter of time before all my other bones started to break and dislodge. The nurse came back and stuck a huge needle into my right thigh. It hurt like hell, but the effect was almost immediate; I felt my muscles relaxing, it was as if that had stopped the transformation. "Now let's see that leg." Said the nurse. I thought she was just going to check it out, but she simply fitted my fracture and put my hip back in its place with two quick movements—it hurt a lot more than the injection. I was feeling dizzy from so much pain. She left quickly and came back with an IV bag with a yellowish liquid. “This is a sedative, it will put you to sleep. You're fine now… I'll be in my office, press the button next to your bed if you need me.” She said after putting me in the dripper. I was feeling a little better, but I was exhausted and still a little sore. My racing heart was slowly coming back to a normal pace. Once again, a familiar scent invaded my senses - blackberries and rum.

"Hello neighbor." Said the boy in the bed beside me.