Chapter 32: ³²: wolfless

Athena’s POV

"Oi, Ath! Here!" Rose screamed across the long walkway as soon as I reached the campus gate.

I quickly closed the distance between us and grabbed the arm she had been holding out for me, waiting for me to link mine with hers.

"How was the party, Rosé?" I asked, throwing her a teasing glance as we both walked toward the academy building.

"Ah... it was so, so..." she replied, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks as she turned her face away, clearly trying to hide it from me.

I frowned in confusion. What on earth had happened last night to leave Rose this flustered? Then my eyes drifted toward the side of her neck. And behold... This girl had a hickey so big that I could probably spot it from across the hallway.

"Rose! What is that on your neck?!" I exclaimed and her eyes widened in horror as she immediately realized what I had seen.

"Oh no! There’s still a hickey?" she groaned dramatically. "That fucker! I already concealed so many of them! I must have missed this one because it’s on the back of my neck!"

She hurriedly let her hair fall over it, trying to hide the mark. "Come on, let’s go to the washroom first so I can cover it properly. Then I’ll tell you everything," she said, flashing me a grin after noticing my curious expression.

"Now you’ve made me even more curious," I laughed as we hurried toward the girls’ washroom.

A few minutes later, I was carefully dabbing concealer onto the back of her neck while she examined herself in the mirror.

"So..." I began, raising an eyebrow. "Who is this lucky guy? Was it just a one-night thing... or is there something more?"

Rose smiled to herself before answering.

"I honestly don’t know if it is just a one time thing or more than that. Last night I was dancing alone at the party, and thats when he came over. We started talking to eachother..."

She paused, smiling at her own reflection like she was engrossed into the thoughts of last night. "And somehow... we didn’t even realize when our conversation turned into..." She pointed toward the concealed hickey before chuckling softly.

I couldn’t help smiling back. "So who is he?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows in curiosity. "Is he from our class?"

Rose rolled her eyes dramatically. "No, he’s our senior Marvin Roberto. The guy literally looks like he walked straight out of one of my daydreams."

She sighed dreamily. "He’s tall, ridiculously muscular, and those sinful tattoos on his chest..." She placed a hand over her heart dramatically. "I swear they’ve been driving me crazy ever since I first saw him."

I looked at her with a teasing grin while she immediately grabbed my wrist and started dragging me out of the washroom.

"Come on, Athena! Don’t look at me like that!" she complained. "It’s not even anything serious."

I laughed before looping my arm around hers again. "Alright, alright, don’t worry. I won’t tease you anymore."

I paused just long enough to make her suspicious. "But next time..." I leaned closer and whispered, "Make sure he’s the one walking around covered in hickeys."

Rose’s eyes widened. "You shameless woman!" She lightly punched my arm, making both of us burst into laughter.

Still laughing, we finally reached our classroom and thankfully, we did because barely ten seconds later, our professor entered the room.The entire class immediately settled down.

He placed his books neatly on the desk before looking around at everyone. "Good morning, students." he said as we all aslo greeted him back before he continued.

"It has already been a while since your classes began. I hope that by now all of you have settled into academy life and made a few friends and companions."

Several students exchanged smiles with one another. "Now that we’re past that stage..." he continued, "...I am pleased to introduce the three phases into which your first year at Dreven Academy will be divided."

The classroom instantly fell silent. Even the students who had been whispering moments ago turned their full attention toward him. Everyone knew this was the reason Dreven Academy was famous throughout the Starlight Empire.

"The curriculum has been designed according to the three stages that our empire might have to go through if we ever have to fight a war."

He slowly raised three fingers.

"Dialogue."

"Strategy."

"And brute force."

"Our first phase is the one you are currently undergoing—Academics. This stage prepares you for diplomacy, negotiation, intelligence gathering, political maneuvering, and every visible or hidden tactic that falls under dialogue."

"It is also where you build the knowledge required for your respective fields."

He lowered one finger.

"The second phase is Strategy. Here, you will learn how to use the knowledge you’ve gained to build military, political, financial, and administrative strategies capable of strengthening our Empire."

Another finger lowered. "And finally..."

He paused long enough for anticipation to spread through the room. "...comes Brute Force, that being a warewolf is compulsory for all of you."

The atmosphere instantly became heavier.

"This is the stage where every one of you will be pushed to your absolute limits. You will undergo battlefield survival training, combat drills, wolf coordination exercises, endurance trials, and leadership examinations."

"And at the very end... You will face the academy’s final examination. The examination every student in the Starlight Empire has heard about."

He smiled. "The one known as..."

Almost the entire class answered in perfect unison. "The Crimson Hunt!"

A chill ran down my spine. I slowly lowered my eyes toward my desk. The last stage...

That was the stage where everyone would fight alongside their wolves.

And I... I would have to do the same.

My fingers slowly curled into fists beneath the desk. What would happen when everyone discovered that I couldn’t shift?

That I couldn’t even communicate with my wolf?

The Crimson Hunt was said to be the most brutal examination we will ever have in Dreven Academy. It would be the trial that would decide every student’s rank.

The trial that determined which Power Batch we would belong to for the rest of our lives. A title that followed graduates throughout their entire careers.

Entering that trial without a wolf...was nothing short of suicide. I slowly closed my eyes. Will I be able to bring Ana back before then... Or will the entire academy discover that I have become... a wolfless werewolf?