A pale-skinned girl stood in front of her dresser, staring into a mirror. She wore a frown on her face as her hands stroked her auburn hair. Her blood amber eyes vanished behind her eyelids as an ear-piercing shriek rang through her mind. Images of vibrant red hair on a girl strapped to a chair flooded her mind. An older man in a white lab coat faced the girl, covering her face. He lifted his arm and in his hand was a large syringe filled with obsidian-colored liquid. The girl’s muffled screams ripped through the air around her. Pain shot through her head and her hands covered her ears as she dropped to her knees.

“Kas! You ready? We’re gonna be late!” a familiar female voice called from outside the room, snapping her back to sanity.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Kas answered, getting back to her feet. She opened the door to find a tall raven-haired beauty standing in front of her.

“What’s eatin’ you? It’s our first day. You should be excited, mate!” She asked.

“Izzy… I can’t go. I look like shit.” Kas replied as her eyes darted down to the floor. “I mean, me hair is all wrong, me skin is pale as fuck. I don’t even know if I can handle other people right now…”

“We went over this already. You are still a bombshell, even better than before. You don’t gotta be worried.” Izzy explained. A smile found its way on to Kas’ face as she stared back into Izzy’s incredible cobalt eyes.

“You’re right, as usual. Alright, let’s go.” She said as Izzy walked down the hall and she followed quickly behind.

Kas picked up her keys from the coffee table as they stepped into the living room and walked out the front door. Izzy followed her down the concrete steps of the porch, leading onto the sidewalk. Kas reached into the pocket of her black hoodie and clicked the garage button on the remote attached to her keychain. As the white metal door rose up, it revealed a shiny black Suzuki GSXR resting all by itself. The garage was spotless and there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere on or around the bike’s incredible paint job.

“Ah fuck me. I forgot to cover Rosie last night.” Kas complained as she stepped into the small room. She ran her fingers along the skull painted on the front of the motorcycle. Her hands caressed the roses surrounding the eggshell-white of the bone.

“Not a speck of dust though, fuckin’ right!” She cheered as she sat on the seat.

“You obsess over this crotch rocket too damn much but I will admit, she is gorgeous.” Izzy replied as she sat on the back, behind her friend.

“Damn right she is. Now listen to her hum as she vibrates between our legs.” She answered as a wide grin curled onto her face.

Kas shoved the key into the ignition and turned. The motor purred to life and Izzy placed her feet on the back pegs. She reached forward and hugged Kas around the waist. Kas kicked her foot back, hitting the kickstand. She pulled back on the throttle and sped out of the garage. Her tires skidded to a stop just before they hit the pavement and Kas clicked her remote, closing the door before she left.

The tires screeched as they sped onto the road. Kas darted down the street as Izzy held on tight. After about a mile of following the road, she saw it come to an end. The large white barrier at end of the road shimmered with bright yellow reflectors. She stopped her bike at the side of the road and pulled out her phone. Izzy sat back, releasing her waist.

“You get us lost or something?” Izzy demanded. Kas ignored her as she tapped her phone screen repeatedly.

“This where they told us to go. Something seems off.” She replied. A moment later a matte black Dodge Neon cruised by. It was going fairly slow and Kas noticed a small black symbol on the rear license plate.

“They are a Hunter. See the plate?” Kas asked. Izzy stared with her as the car rolled forward and disappeared into thin air as the air rippled like water.

“Well that’s not something ya see every day, now is it?” She asked as her eyes darted to Kas.

“I think we need to follow them. I have the new plates they sent me. Maybe there’s a trick we’re missing or something.” Kas answered as she turned the throttle downward, accelerating the bike.

She rolled forward and quickly did the same as the car before her. They rippled through a cloaking device and stopped on the other side. Where the dead-end cross-guard once rested, a large round opening leading underground showed itself. Kas drove inside and followed the light indicators. They led her into a massive underground parking garage. She found an open spot near the black car from earlier. With her head held forward, a young man stepped out of the car and eyed her as she drove by.

“Damn, nice bike!” He said but Kas didn’t even look up. She quickly raised her hand and flipped him the bird, as she pulled in a few parking spots down.

“What the hell? Are you daft, mate?” Izzy demanded as she hopped off the back.

“What are you on about? All I did was flip off some asshole for hitting on me. Why are you up in a fuss?” Kas answered as she placed her hand on her hip.

“Did you really not see who that is? Take a better look.” She insisted. Kas shrugged and peeked around the car next to them. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of his golden hair and his calm face. He turned his head and stared back at her, a smile appearing on his face.

“Jack… Jacko…. Is that you?” She said as she quickly stepped around the car and wrapped her arms around him.

“Oh wow… Kassie? I didn’t exactly expect to see you here today. How long has it been, 2 years?” He asked as he pulled her in tighter. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief. He even smelled the same, Old Spice and river breeze. She squeezed harder for a moment before releasing him and pulling back. The grin on her face grew wider and wider, the longer she stared at him.

“What did you catch this morning? I can smell the river on ya.” Kas asked.

“Did a little noodling. You know how it goes. Stick your hand in a hole, wait for it to get bit, then pull really hard. It’s pretty exhilarating.” He explained as his grin began to grow as well.

“Did you forget about lit’le ole me?” Izzy asked as she stepped around Kas and reached out her hand.

“Who are you again?” He asked as he scratched his head.

“Jackson Fisher, you better not be playing me right now!” She shouted as both hands ended up on her hips.

“I’ve missed you too, Bella. Been a while.” Jackson answered as he grasped her hand and pulled her in for a real hug. “I’m glad to see you two are doing well.” Izzy pulled away from him and placed her hands back on her hips.

“You know I hate that name… Except when you say it.” She replied, flashing a seductive wink at him.

“Hey now, hop off the man’s lap, Jizzabella.” Kas teased as she elbowed her friend in the ribs.

“Listen here fellas. You can put your rulers away. No need to have a measuring contest right now.” Jackson said as he chuckled at the two girls.

“We’d both beat you in that respect.” Izzy retorted.

“I think you both know that’s not true.” He replied as he winked at both of them.

“Alright, alright. Enough of that, mate. We’re running late as is. We should get goin’.” Kas said, turning around as she walked for the elevator door at the end of the parking lot. When the doors slide open, all three of them stepped inside. Jackson reached forward and pushed the B15 button. A moment later the small room descended down the elevator shaft.

“Floor fifteen, eh?” Kas asked. Her eyes shifted over to him, scanning over his rough, fuzzy jawline.

“Yeah, that’s where most of the morning classes are. What are you two taking?”

“We’re takin’ Werewolf 101.” Izzy answered.

“That should be werewolf biology, if I remember right.”

“Yeah, the teacher is Rennyn Thorne… fuckin’ asshole.” Kas replied, muttering to herself.

“Well you aren’t wrong about that. The dude is definitely an asshole, but how do you know him?” Jackson asked as he glanced at Kas.

“He is the reason I’m in the hunter program.”

“Oh, I guess none of us become hunters by choice, but it is our choice whether or not we stay.”

“It’s too late for me. I’ll just be huntin’ mutts from now on.” Kas replied. The elevator doors slid opened and all three of them stepped out.

“Well, we better get going. We’re all probably late at this point. Later, Jackson.” Izzy said as she pulled Kas’ arm.

“Yeah, you’re right but one last thing.” He answered and Kas stopped in place as she turned to face him. “Meet me at lunch in the quad outside the gym. I’ll introduce you to some people. My lunch break ends at 1:30.”

“Sure thing. I’ll meet you there. I think my lunch starts at 1:00 anyways.” Kas replied as she turned and followed Izzy down the hall.

Kas and Izzy walked down the corridor until they found the room for their class. Kas stepped inside first and saw the tall blonde teacher as he stopped his lecture. His head cocked to the side in irritation as he glared at the two of them.

“Take a seat you two. I won’t repeat what I’ve already covered. You need to read over the first ten pages from one of the text book on the table. But listen well because I’m going to continue from where I left off now.” He explained as he faced forward and began to speak once again. They picked up a text book from the table mentioned and both found a seat near the back of the room. Kas flipped open the book and took a moment to catch up. She skimmed through the first few pages as Izzy quickly took down notes. After a few minutes Kas had read over the ten pages and then some as she found the spot Rennyn currently lectured about. Most of it was nonsense because of the fact that she had been educated about most of this previously. For her, this just a bunch of formalities. Regardless of all this, she absorbed ever word, retaining as much information as possible.

Her attention dulled as the two-hour class dragged on ever so slowly toward its finale. Rennyn’s lesson seemed to go on for ages. He spat out words that seemed to blur together as time went on. Finally, the end of the class approached as the clock’s hands read 10:26 AM. Rennyn sat down at his desk as he finished his lecture. He scanned the room of students but stopped when his eyes made contact with Kas and a wicked smirk appeared on his face.

“You may all go when the bell rings. Those that were late will have to figure out what they missed on their own. Good luck.” He announced and his eyes never lost contact with Kas. A shiver went down her spine as he continued his dark glare. Most of the other students never looked up from their desks as they studied. Kas looked away from him but felt his aura of nasty all the way across the room. Her eyes closed for a moment as she tried to collect herself and disappeared into her own mind as she tried to forget about his horrible eyes. Her attention snapped to her left as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Kas. He can’t do anything here. We just gotta get through the next couple minutes and we are outa here, Mate.” Izzy whispered. She did her best to comfort her friend, but she knew it was never simple.

“I’m good, Iz. No need.” Kas replied as she turned her head slightly in Izzy’s direction.

The moment the bell rang Kas stood up and shoved her book into the black leather satchel she had placed next to the table. She tossed the strap over her shoulder and zoomed out of the classroom. Izzy barely kept up with her as she stormed through the halls. Kas powered through a set of double doors that led into her next class. Izzy peeked into the room and Kas nodded at her. She closed the door and left down the hall, heading to the next class. Kas stared at the class of student in front of her. The intimidation she felt was real, even with all of them chatting in their groups before class started. Same as the previous class, she found a spot at the back of the room and waited.

It didn’t take long before a very skinny, petite woman walked into the room. She wore a tight, form fitting, hooded sweatshirt and skin tight black pants. Something similar to Kas’ own hunter attire. She lowered her hood and revealed her flawless, jet-black hair. Kas’ attention shifted to the women’s eyes. Her left eye was a normal brown-hazel shade, but the right was a little more surprising. There was a large scar over it, as if she had taken a serious wound in battle. Both her iris and pupil were consumed with a radioactive, blue glow. Kas became mesmerized by the intense stare of the teacher.

“I am Matriarch Serenity Van Helsing. I will be your teacher for this class. Just know this class won’t be easy but if you survive to the end... I promise you will have learned something. So, be prepared.” Serenity explained as her serious, grim expression stuck to her pretty face.

“Did she just say Matriarch?” Kas whispered to herself. “What the fuck is going on here? I thought this was going to be one of the normal classes.”

Serenity quickly pulled a stack of index cards from her pocket and scanned the room of students. She pointed at five different people and directed them to come up to the front of the class. An index card was given to each of them as the teacher stepped in front of them.

“The first exercise will be an Improv scene. I’ve given each of them the bare minimum info required for the scene and they will make up the rest. This will help me to see where each of your skill levels are and that will help me to determine the best course of action for the class.” She explained as each of the students behind her looked at their cards and prepared.

Kas chuckled as the first wave of students failed miserably at the exercise. Three groups later the class bell rang, and her excitement began to build. She left the room and marched straight over to the cafeteria. Instead of a normal lunch room setting, the cafeteria was filled with vending machines. Lines of people stood in front of various machines as they paid for and received their food all in a matter of moments. She approached one of the burger machines and quickly ordered some food. Kas swiped her card and a few seconds later a brown paper bag dropped down. She quickly snatched the bag and left the room. Just outside of the cafeteria was the hall leading to the quad. As she approached the glass double doors, Kas saw Jackson standing at the opposite end. Her lips curled and a smile appeared on her face.

“That’s not something ya see every day.” Izzy said. Kas snapped her head to the left as she saw her friend approaching.

“Oi, what are you taking about?” Kas snapped as her smile quickly shifted into a scowl.

“That smile. I’m not sure I’ve seen you smile like that before.” She teased.

“Yeah well… I better get going.”

“You do that. Have fun, Kas.” Izzy replied with a smile.

Kas pushed open the doors in front of her and Jackson turned his head, making eye contact with her. He waved his arm and she waved back, stepping out into the quad.

“Miss Bellrose, can you please come with me?” Rennyn called out from behind her. His voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

“No, I have plans for lunch today.” She answered, refusing to turn around and face him.

“You plan to spend time with that boy over there, don’t you? Well those plans are canceled. We have something to discuss, now let’s go.” He ordered as his voice became more stern. Shivers ran down her spine at the thought of what he asked from her. She sighed a deep breath and turned around, displaying a wide fake grin across her face.

“Alright, lets go.” She answered, stepping back through the double doors.