Chapter 8: Your home
I exit the car and step towards the woman who is waiting for us. The woman's glances at my wrist, towards the scar from Javier's bite. I subconsciously put my hand over the scar, and my face tightens. The woman's smile doesn't slip, but her eyes harden for a moment before she speaks.
"Dobrodošli! Welcome, Layla. I am the Headmistress of Alpine Crescent Academy, Morwenna Nacht. I hope your journey was pleasant." She continues to smile at me, but I can feel like it is genuine and friendly.
"This place it's..." I trail off and look up at the tall length of the academy walls hewn from stone of the surrounding mountain.
The Headmistress nods as though she can hear my thoughts. "You will hear about the academy on our tour, but you will come to learn more about what it offers during your time here. I hope, soon, that you will call this your home." With that said, the Headmistress turns around, and motions for us to follow her through the front doors.
Once past the doors, I stop short. It's a dark, damp and cold tunnel. A feeling begins with a prick of unease in her neck and quickly spreads through her limbs and soaks into her bones. This place doesn't feel right...something feels off.
A hand lands on her shoulder in a light, but solid grip. Her spine straightens and her body goes tense.
"Relax, Layla" Ryker tells me. His hand does not reassure her in the slightest.
The Headmistress turns around and with a soft smile. "It's just a ward. To protect our students we have taken many measures to ensure their safety. Including soliciting the help of Sages to place wards around the property that will deter strangers from entering the academy. I wanted you to experience it this once, but I will provide you with a charm that will alleviate its effects on you in the future. After the tour, we will head to my office to generate the charm that will serve as your key, if you will, to pass through the wards and into the academy grounds."
Headmistress Nacht turns around and begins walking down the tunnel again, and we follow after her.
Some ways down the tunnel, the Headmistress suddenly turns to her left and places her palm on the rock tunnel. She murmurs some words under her breath that I can't distinguish, and suddenly a light glows from under her palm. The light spreads away from her hand across the rock, and forms the shape of an arched doorway.
The Headmistress then removes her hand and grazes her thumb across her canine. Blood wells from her finger, and she swipes it across the rock.
A resounding boom echoes down the long tunnel as the rock is under the glowing arch suddenly explodes to create an exit. Headmistress Nacht steps through the new doorway, and I follow her with her with wide eyes.
My mind is overwhelmed with the displays of magic I have seen so far. It looks so simple, like the magic is an extension of their will that takes little effort to do. I can't yet imagine the possibilities.
When I pass through the opening in the rock and my eyes adjust to what's on the other side, I gasp in surprise.
Rather than a rough tunnelway, we are now in a hallway that was carved with precision through the stone. The walls are lined with vines and moss, giving off an earthy smell. The air has a brisk cold to it, not enough to feel uncomfortable, but cold enough to keep you awake and give you a sense of clarity. I can see that the rock walls are mottled with minerals that gleam silver in the overhead lighting.
The light is coming from tiny globes that are floating and giving off a white glow. It almost looks like fireflies, but they aren't blinking or moving. I wonder if this is another form of magic.
I spin around in awe of it all. It's almost like I am in a new world, one that will be full of new experiences and wonder. A world I hadn't known existed, but I am excited to venture. One I feel connected to, deeply.
"I'm glad to see that you like it here, Layla". Headmistress Nacht says with a soft smile.
"It's stunning," I say in awe while nodding my head. "Which I wasn't expecting," I add.
With not much information to go on, and forcibly thrown into this situation, I didn't know what to anticipate.
"I see. When you were told that you are leaving your home and being taken to attend a university for two years, you were expecting something more like a jail cell?" The Headmistress smirks at her.
I shrug and give a smirk. "Something like that".
We continue on the tour, and I learn that the academy has been around for hundreds of years when the first werewolves came to this part of British Columbia. I am led by Ryker and the Headmistress up a dozen level of stairs. Usually I would feel winded by now, but with the energy I feel coming from the darkness of the hallways and the plants thriving on its walls, I am energized. I also feel stronger and I ponder if this could be due to my new abilities as a werewolf.
The staircase leads to a lone door, which we group swiftly cross through. On the other side of the door I find a balcony near the roof of the academy.
From this incredible height, I can see that the academy grounds are surrounded by different topographical features. In front of her lies a cliffside overlooking a vast ocean. To her right is the mountainside that she drove up with Ryker earlier. On her left is something she couldn't see before. It's a long, and vast rugged valley.
As I take in the sights around us, my mouth parts in bewilderment.
"It can be a bit imposing at first, I know" the Headmistress began. "The Academy is more than just a place where you will learn about your new life as a werewolf." She motions to the academy around us. "Here, we will teach you about the history, and with practice, you will learn about yourself too".
She then points onto the valley, "Over there you will learn how to listen to your instincts, interact with other wolves, find your place within the pack structure and how to meet your needs while in your wolf form".
Her hand falls back to her side and she continues. "In addition to that, you will have the chance to partner with a Sage and be mentored on how to work together to wield it in offensive, defensive and even everyday situations. Your lessons will be tough, and the professors will have high expectations, but that is to better prepare you for when you are able to assimilate back into human society. Your life hasn't ended, and we won't take your choices from you in the future. But for now, while you are a new wolf, it is best to learn the ropes in a controlled environment over the next two years".
I turn to the Headmistress and look her in the eyes. "I suppose that makes sense. What doesn't make sense, however, is how I am a human undergoing the transition to a werewolf unwillingly. How I am now bound to this world, without a choice in the matter".
A strong emotion flashes in the Headmistress' eyes, almost like regret, but that couldn't be it because we don't know each other. She looks to the side and calms herself before she looks back at me.
"What happened to you...shouldn't have happened. The nippers at Alpine Crescent Academy are either kin to other werewolves, and their abilities are passed down through their genes, or they are initiated into this lifestyle, slowly over time. We haven't had a case where someone was bit without consent, and without knowing what the bite means, worldwide in hundreds of years."
"Worldwide?"
Headmistress Nacht nods. "Yes, this is not the only academy for new werewolves and there are wolf packs found in other countries. Our territories have shrunk with the sprawl of human populations, but the largest packs are found in Mexico, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, and our headquarters in Serbia''.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone