Pureblood: The Badboy's Mate

Chapter IV

For the past three weeks I really believed that Nordholt looked like a regular school. Well, that's because P.E. classes hadn't started yet due the snow. It was still freezing cold — even for wolves — but we needed to wear shorts and tank tops as if they forgot that in our human form we don't have fur. Instead of running around the court or climbing a rope, we were subjected to the most insane workouts, so intense they would make an Olympic athlete cry. Well, at least I cried.

I fell to the floor, was thrown against walls and found that I was able to lift 70kg weights in each hand - which was, embarrassingly, the lightest weight. I was sore, panting, and completely soaked in sweat, but thank God it wasn't just me. After all that, as if I wasn't defeated enough, there would be combat training, where they would select students for advanced classes. Apparently, those who were children of alphas and betas didn't have much of a choice, as they were naturally the strongest in most cases. Some students seemed extremely focused on keeping up with their stronger peers, perhaps to become warriors for their pack someday or even fight for positions of leadership. Boys and girls were separated into four randomly arranged rows. The first test would be endurance.

“Okay kids, position yourself facing your partner and form a firm footing.” Said the coach. If this were a normal school, we'd obviously have mattresses behind us, but since this was Nordholt, there was only the gray and cold concrete to break our fall. “On my signal, you try to take down your opponents without moving your base.”

I was facing a girl I only knew by sight, since we had Physics and Math together. Lorraine was her name, if I remember correctly. She was taller than me and appeared to be much stronger. When the coach beeped, she gave me a mean look and we started pushing. She was really very strong; Her initial push was almost enough to move me off my base, but as I closed my eyes and focused, I began to resist her force. I really had no idea that I could be so strong as to move her feet slightly. She glared at me, and suddenly her knee hit my stomach with tremendous force. I fell backwards, curling my body and practically out of breath.

"She fell." Lorraine said cynically, as if she'd just taken me down fairly.

“Carter, to the bank.” Said the coach.

"I didn't fall!" I said, getting up. “She hit me in the stomach with her knee!”

"No, I didn't." She laughed. "She's lying!"

"No, you're lying!"

“Look, the girl who was human until last week is a bad loser!” Lorraine said mockingly. I felt my blood boil.

"No fighting, you two." Said the coach, looking a little bored. “Let's clear this up. Bishop, did you kick her?”

"No sir." Lorraine said. “I just dropped her like I was supposed to, justifiably. I think she was embarrassed to be knocked down so quickly.”

“Carter, is this true?”

"No! She kicked me! Has anyone seen this?” I defended myself, very angry.

"No Carter, no one saw that because you're a liar who's trying to accuse me of cheating when you're just plain weak." Lorraine said. I noticed that several students around us stopped facing each other to look at us. This can't end well...

"Why are you doing this!? I don’t even know you!" I screamed. I was actually a lot more nervous than I wanted to be.

“Calm down, you two!” Said the coach. “Has anyone here seen Bishop hit Carter with her knee?” he asked, loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone remained silent, shaking their heads. Lorraine gave me a discreet smirk. “Carter, is that what really happened?”

“Yes it was! I'm not lying!"

"You're embarrassing yourself, little girl." Lorraine said. I heard some students laugh and others whisper. I clenched my fist, felt the muscles in my face tighten in anger, and wished with all my might to punch that b***h in the face. But I remembered that kid, Randall Price, being electrocuted until he passed out like a rabid dog. Lorraine turned.

"Right!" I said, catching her attention. "If I'm lying, why don't you try to take me down again... Just like you said." Lorraine looked back at me. She disguised it very well, but I saw the concern in her eyes.

“I won't… I don't have to prove anything to you!” She said.

"No, but you have to prove to the coach and everyone here that you didn't kick me in the stomach and you can beat me as easily as you say."

“I won't… Coach Jefferson?”

“Well, girls, either we work this out right here or at Pembroke’s office.”

“Are you backing out, little girl?” I asked, satisfying my desire to break her nose.

We were in the center of the courtyard, this time with the entire class paying close attention to us; I've heard laughter, quick bets and some pretty mean comments about me. It was hard to ignore, but I needed to focus on taking that b***h down or I was in serious trouble. I was never the athletic type, I was always the last one picked for groups in P.E. classes. I've never been the competitive type either, but I just couldn't let that i***t hit me, humiliate me and still make me look like a liar. She was trying hard to bring me down, so I needed to try harder. I was starting to lose my footing and I began to think that at least if she took me down now people would realize that it was impossible for her to have taken me down so quickly before.

No. I couldn't give her the sweet taste of victory.

I wasn't able to lift 70kg before my transformation, so my strength wasn't natural; it was coming from somewhere - my wolf, more specifically. I focused, kept the focus on the black of my eyes, and let my mind take me to the source of that strength. I felt every muscle in my body twitch and I opened my eyes before giving one last shove that sent Lorraine Bishop crashing to the concrete. Everyone around was perplexed.

"I think you were too ashamed to lose to the girl who was human until last week." I said, smiling in satisfaction, holding out my hand for her to get up.

I'd be lying if I said this surge of confidence didn't sit well with me. I used to be the shy girl, walking down the halls wishing I was invisible and breaking in half when confronted - and it wasn't just Nordholt, it's been that way my whole life. I got on my feet for the first time and it was great. Even the way people looked at me after that was a little different. We finished the tests and the class was dismissed.

“You are completely crazy!” Olympia said, very excited, basically jumping on top of me as we went to the locker room to shower and change for our next classes. "I can't believe you took down Lorraine Bishop!"

“She did what!?” Asked one of the girls who was in the locker room - she wasn't in our class.

“She beat Lorraine Bishop in an endurance test!” Olympia said, pointing at me like she bragged about being my friend. “Lorraine cheated the first time so she challenged her again and won!”

"No way!" exclaimed the girl. Other girls in the locker room gathered around us. “Finally someone put that b***h in her place.”

“Does she always do that?” I asked. "It seems like everyone hates her."

"Bloodmoon girls are famous for screwing everyone over and then getting covered up by the board." Said one of the girls. “Many members of the Nordholt family themselves belong to the Bloodmoon Pack, they are basically the most powerful pack in the school.”

"Great, so I basically pissed off the werewolf Kardashian Clan." I said, rolling my eyes. The girls laughed.

"Don't worry, we got you covered." Said Olympia.

We took a quick shower and got dressed. As much as I didn't want to do that, I needed to wash my hair because it was gross and frizzy from the sweat and dirt on the floor - like I said, werewolf P.E. is another level. I made friends with other girls in the locker room, and despite my sore muscles, I was feeling great in a way I hadn't felt in a long time.

“Want to know the funniest part?” Olympia said as we left the dressing room. "Lorraine is Enzo's ex."

"Serious!?" I laughed.

“Yes, you are my hero!” She said, laughing too. "I know it’s not very feminist of me, but seriously, I hate her."

"I'm sure there's a clause in feminist legislation that provides for putting a b***h in her place." I said. "We still have twenty minutes before class, I need to go back to the dorm to dry my hair."

"Go on, I'll let mine dry naturally." Said Olympia. "I'm going to the cafeteria, I'm hungry."

"Get me something, I'll be right back!"

I hurried across the castle to the dormitories. Maybe it wasn't a very good idea, I would definitely be late for class. I went to my room to get my hair dryer, but I was startled when I walked in. There was a guy there.

“Olympia?” He said as he turned around. It was Enzo Casiraghi.

“I don't think so…” I said.

"Oh I'm sorry. I… I was looking for Olympia.”

“Yes, I assumed so… I thought boys were forbidden on the upper floors.”

“Well, what can I say? Mrs. Barton is very fond of me.”

"Right." I laughed. “Olympia is at the cafeteria in the main courtyard.”

"Thanks.” He said, walking over to me to get to the door. “You are Haera Carter, aren't you?”

"Yes."

"You're getting famous around here." he said, smiling. He had a beautiful smile. There was a slightly yellowish stain on his jaw, probably a gift from his fight with Randall Price. "I saw you in P.E. class today... You're really strong."

“Yeah, I think so.”

“I don't mean to be unkind, but… Is it true? You didn’t know you were a werewolf until a few weeks ago?”

“Yes, I never knew. The doctor who examined me said it was probably from lack of stimulation, you know? Since I was raised by humans.”

“And you don't know who your biological parents are? Don't you have a pack?”

"No... It's me and me." I smiled.

"Well, any pack would be lucky to have you." He said sympathetically. He was really very charming. "I'm going to meet Olympia, see you around."

"Sure."

“I'm Enzo, by the way. Enzo Casiraghi, Bloodmoon.”

"Yeah, I know." I smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Enzo."

Enzo left the dorm and I took a deep breath, as if I'd been holding it the entire time he'd been in the room. My senses were invaded by a slightly peppery fruity scent, very sweet and warm too. It reminded me of a vanilla custard slice with pink pepper that my dad bought me at a French bakery for my fifteenth birthday… I remembered how much I had loved that dessert, but that was the first and last time I had tasted it. That smell was so good, I could smell it forever. But somehow the figure of Enzo was attached to it, which seemed to me as strange as it was wrong; I didn't know him, why did he have this effect on me?