Chapter 109: Books for Beast-kin

Blair sat quietly on the edge of the bed in her new room.

It was a small, cozy space, obviously a converted storage area, but it had everything she needed. There was a simple bed, a nightstand with a small lamp, a narrow closet with a full-length mirror, a modest chest of drawers, and a wooden study desk with a matching chair.

Resting neatly on the desk were two stacks of textbooks and a series of organized paper folders.

Blair ignored the duffle bag resting on the floor near the closet, which she assumed was filled with clothes Clarice had packed for her. Instead, she walked over to the desk. She ran her fingertips gently across the covers of the textbooks. The spines were uncreased, and the glossy pages carried the distinct scent of brand-new paper and fresh ink.

She eagerly pulled the top folder from the stack and began skimming through the papers inside. There were detailed syllabi for each subject, daily lesson plans, and extensive assignment lists.

As she moved the final folder aside, she uncovered something resting at the very bottom of the stack.

It was a small, silver laptop. Resting right on top of it was a small, black USB thumb drive.

Blair’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. Her hands trembled slightly as she picked the laptop up. The smooth metal felt cold and heavy in her hands. This was the very first time she had ever touched a computer in her entire life. Growing up in the church, such expensive technology was completely out of the question.

Did the professor leave it here by mistake? she wondered, nervously biting her bottom lip.

Curiosity winning over her hesitation, Blair carefully lifted the lid. The screen immediately flared to life, casting a bright, white glow across her face.

There was no password prompt. The laptop opened straight to a generic desktop background, and the Wi-Fi icon in the corner indicated it was already connected to the internet. Blair tentatively used the trackpad to open the file explorer.

It was empty. There were no downloaded applications, no saved images, and no documents. The machine had been wiped clean.

Blair snapped the laptop shut, her heart giving a nervous flutter. She chewed anxiously on her thumbnail, taking a step back from the desk.

She walked back over to the bed and sat down, staring hard at the laptop resting on the desk. The small black thumb drive sat innocently beside it. Should I put it in? her mind raced. What if it’s a test? What if it’s a virus that breaks the computer, and Jack makes me pay for it?!

Deciding it was better to be safe than in debt to the terrifying Crow, Blair firmly decided to forget about the thumb drive entirely.

To distract herself from the temptation, she walked over to the duffle bag and busied herself with unpacking. She neatly folded the sweaters and sweatpants Clarice had packed, placing them into the small chest of drawers.

Once the bag was empty, Blair returned to the study desk. She carefully pushed the silver laptop far to the corner of the desk, keeping it out of her way.

Opening the desk drawers, she found them fully stocked with fresh spiral notebooks, a box of sharpened pencils, and a pack of black ink pens. Blair pulled out a notebook and a pen, cracked open the first textbook, and began reading through the top syllabus.

A profound sense of happiness and peace washed over her.

This was where she thrived. Just her, the quiet room, a stack of books, and a plethora of brand-new information to absorb and understand. The anxiety of the past few days melted away as she lost herself in the text.

But as Blair read through the introductory Chapters of the first textbook, her brow furrowed in deep confusion.

These subjects were completely different from the courses she had originally enrolled in at the academy. The history text focused heavily on pack dynamics and territorial wars, while the biology text detailed the anatomical shifts of lycanthropy and feline agility.

Did he give me the wrong books? Blair wondered, flipping back to the cover.

She pulled the syllabus closer, scanning the bold text at the top of the page. It clearly stated the materials were for first-year students. But as her eyes moved to the subheader, she froze.

First Year Beast Kin.

Blair stared at the paper, her mind spinning. Why? she wondered wildly. Why on earth was the professor assigning her the curriculum meant for beastmen?

A knock rapped against the bedroom door, startling her from her thoughts.

The door swung open. Daemus stepped into the room, carrying a silver tray and wearing a bright, easygoing smile.

Blair couldn’t help the small smile that instantly touched her lips when she saw him.

"I guessed you’d already be studying," Daemus teased, walking over to the bed. "You’re such a nerd."

Blair closed the textbook, turning in her chair to face him. "You should start studying too," she reminded him seriously. "We only have five days."

"Yeah, yeah," Daemus dismissed casually, setting the tray down on the bed.

Resting on the silver tray was a steaming mug of ginger tea and two slices of plain toast.

"Your brain needs food," Daemus told her, gesturing to the tray. He let out a frustrated sigh, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "I couldn’t find anything else. Jack literally only has bread in his cabinets."

"Thank you," Blair smiled warmly.

She stood up from the desk and walked over, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She picked up a slice of toast and took a small bite. Daemus walked around and sat down on the opposite side of the bed, his silver eyes watching her closely.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, his voice softening with concern.

Blair nodded, taking a sip of the warm ginger tea. "I feel fine. My body doesn’t ache as much anymore."

A shy blush dusted her pale cheeks. She looked down at the mug in her hands. "Thank you for taking care of me."