The orange sky was coloured with hues of orange and pink as Xerxes reached for the door to his shared dorm. When snow had woken up, he did not say anything, did not ask for her name, he just left as he was tired too. She watched him leave, as expected.
Opening the door, he met his brothers in nicer clothing, not smelling like sweaty dogs. Zev was trying to arrange his hair while Nolan seemed to be putting something inside a small bag. They noticed their brother.
"You are just coming in?" Nolan raised his brows at Xerxes who had now closed the door behind him.
"Didnt your class finish like over three hours ago?" Zev was done fiddling with his hair when he shot his brother the question.
"I fell asleep." His tone held no emotion. Silence reigned between the three brothers. He confused them. They didn't know whether to believe him because for as long as they had known him, he never slept, or they had never seen him sleep. But the blandness of his tone made it hard not to believe.
Xerxes looked at them expectantly, as if asking where they were going with his eyes. They caught on fast.
"Cassira."
"Naelle."
They chorused the names of their beloved and all Xerxes did was nod in approval. Out of the three of them, he was the only one not in a romantic relationship. He was too mysterious for any girl to pin him down. He preferred it like that. His brothers often made fun of him for it.
"We will be out for long, we have eaten. Don't wait for us." Nolan was reaching the door first.
"Get a girl bro, or should I call one of the boys from history for you to hang with?" The taunt was from Zev, who cackled wildly. The dumb joke was enough to make Nolan smile, but Xerxes was not having it.
"I hope Nae kicks you in the nuts." Xerxes cursed him with a grim tone and it forced a laugh out of Nolan, free and unrestricted. Zev was taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered.
"She would never, I don't go empty-handed." out of nowhere, he whipped out a small box and when he opened it, the light reflected off the diamond necklace that sat elegantly in the box. The boys caught a glimpse of it and nodded in approval, it was impressive, and all Zev had was a smug grin, "you are going to need another spell because she will be all over me tonight."
"You are right, she will mistakenly bite your nuts." he changed the curse with an even smugger grin and Nolan's laughter became hysterical, forcing himself out of the door before a fight went down.
Zev could not recover from that, his mouth hung in the air and at loss of words, he gave his brother his middle finger and closed the door out on his way.
Xerxes chuckled lightly, getting undressed and crashing to his bed, he had fabrics that reminded him of his mother back at home and he enjoyed the scent. But she was on his mind. He turned to lie on his stomach, bringing the pillow to his head, scattering his hair even more.
"She is beautiful." The words escaped his lips before he slipped into slumber. Hoping he would see her in his dreams.
Days had passed, and each day was busier than the last. Snow was slowly catching up to the rest of the academy but today was the day she would attend a sparring class and in this class, wolves would fight each other to prove the dominant one.
The academy believed that a wolf was their body and their mind. While they nourished the mind aspect, they also had to nourish the body aspect.
Snow watched in horror as wolves fought each other, biting and throwing and scratching. Her mouth was agape but she used her hand to cover it. She swallowed the saliva that had built in her throat by force, she was scared.
The boys had their own matches and so did the girls. The way everyone fought, it seemed they had beef for years.
"Snow, your turn." Her instructor called her, a middle-aged wolf with her hair weaved into a single braid. The fear on her face had become more noticeable and all the girls were murmuring now, with some snickering, "Naelle! Over here!"
Naelle, who was sitting with the others, stood up like a force and walked over to the instructor. She was a tall girl, with luscious black hair that had been put into a messy bun. Her aesthetic was black and she was menacing, she looked older than she was and was giving Snow the death glare. The giggles got louder as Naelle got so close to Snow, she was way taller too. Snow stood at 5'6ft and Naelle was at a steady 5'9ft. She was one of the tallest girls in the entire academy and rumours said she was a nasty biter.
It would only make sense that Xerxes would wish such harm to his brother. She had bitten a rogue's arm off once. And the body was found later when she refused to let it go. In pieces.
Snow shrank, taking steps back.
"Madam, I cannot fight her. It is unfair." Snow tried not to stammer, who wouldn't be scared of her, she looked like she would roll her into a ball and kick her into the forest. Her fear made a few girls erupt in hysterical laughter. Her face flushed in embarrassment, but her weakness was irritating to Naelle.
"You cannot tell who your enemy is. They might be bigger than you. Consider this an opportunity." Her instructor moved back, about to begin the match.
"Wait madam! I cannot shift yet!" she screamed her little secret, some of the girls eyes widened in astonishment while others laughed, thinking it was a weak attempt to get her to not start the fight. Which wolf in the academy couldn't shift? Impossible.
The instructor didn't hear her and Naelle had shifted, her wolf was a majestic black northwestern wolf with piercing grey eyes. And that wolf was charging at Snow after the instructor had called for the fight to begin.
But of course, Snow did what any defenceless person would do. She ran.
The laughter from the other she-wolves were the comedic effect as Snow ran for her life. It was irritating to Naelle that her prey was running away until she picked speed and pounced on her. Snow screamed and pleaded for her to stop Naelle. The instructor did not notice that she had not shifted until Naelle had taken a massive bite into her arm, threatening to tear it out, digging her nails into her torso while Snow bled out.
"Enough! Stop!" The instructor stepped in and pulled Naelle off Snow before it got out of hand, she was losing blood fast and the black wolf wondered why there was no actual fight. Naelle shifted back, and her face was drenched with blood that was not her own.
"You paired me with a weakling! Bring another one!" she barked, the blood fuelling her fighting spirit and it was enough to get the laughing wolves to keep quiet. No one wanted to fight her.
Snow was in the ground and crying, trying not to close her eyes because she feared she would die. Her blood was dripping fast.
"Hey you! Take her to the healer! Fast!" The instructor told some girls who wanted nothing to do with her but they knew it would be better than being potentially picked to fight against Naelle. Snow was picked up and rushed to the healer and the healer was scared and even thought she had been attacked by the rogue but once they mentioned Naelle's name, she rolled her eyes.
"You can leave. Thank you girls." The healer dismissed the girls and Snow was whimpering. She didn't understand why she didn't shift, "are you okay? Poor thing. You're new and they paired you against the menace of this academy." She mixed some herbs and got a cloth, and began to clean her wounds.
Snow hissed at the sting of the medication, her breathing was rapid as her body was trying to keep her alive.
"You didn't shift. Why?" the healer asked her and was met with silence. She continued to clean her wounds.
"I cannot shift." Snow winced as the medicine entered her body. The healer was surprised at what she heard.
"Did you tell your instructor?"
"I did, she did not listen." She held the tears back, she was scared and people were laughing at her.
"A wolf that cannot shift? Were you cursed?" curiosity plagued the healer's mind, "what is your name?"
"Snow…" her eyes finally met the concerned ones of the healer's, she swallowed a lump in her throat and spoke again, "I am a slave that received mercy. In my old pack, they said my wolf was dormant. I cannot shift." she explained.
"Have you found your mate?" another question thrown at her and what flashed in her mind were the images of the brothers. She didn't know how to answer. The healer took it as a no and did not press further, "I will check what is wrong with you. If you would allow me."
Snow nodded gently and spent hours at the healer's. After the healer was done with her medicine, she was more confused than when she started, "your wolf is there, she is fine, but you have never shifted. It is so strange." As she pondered, there was a knock on her door, "come in."
Xerxes' image popped, the healer turned to meet his eyes and a bright smile took over her expression, "ah Xerxes, come come, it arrived this morning." she signalled for him to come in as she went to the back to retrieve something that was sent to him.
"Thank you. I took the last one this morning—" he was cut off when he noticed Snow, his smile fading immediately. Their eyes locked and neither of them wanted to pull away. Instantly, realizing she was not properly covered, in pain, she pulled her hands above her breasts, but she did not look away. She was trying to read him but he could not be read at that moment.
The healer arrived once again and her presence broke his concentration as she put the box in his hands, "it will last you till you return home." She roughened his hair and sent him on his way, "such a sweet boy." she sighed to herself and noticed Snow was still staring at where he used to be.
"Do you like him?"