The Mating School

Chapter 28

"Christy's a Lycan?!" said Lily. "No way!"

"I think Christy is one too," said Sophie, it was Sunday and they were gathered around a huge carved wooden table. Anne was organizing a stack of books at one end.

"Yeah but.. Wasn't it only males that can be Lycan?" said Lily.

"You really should finish reading this book," said Anne, sliding a copy of The Return of the Lycans towards them.

"Could be interesting I guess," said Lily flipping it open. "That reminds me, did you ever figure out who Miss Art was?"

"Hm," said Anne sounding a bit nonplused. "It's hard to say just yet."

Lily looked up from the book. Hard to say? What was hard about it, she wondered. "What about the stuff Irene said? You told her that it wasn't my fault and that I didn't know. What don't I know."

Sophie looked up from the book she'd be reading, curious about what Anne might say.

"Well isn't it obvious?"

Lily considered this and decided that clearly, it wasn't obvious. She felt frustrated with Anne. What was she hiding from her?

"Maybe you could just tell me," said Lily at last.

Anne was quiet for a long minute. She looked uncomfortable. "I- I wish I could Lily. But... I'm not allowed."

"Not allowed by who?" said Sophie.

"I'm not at liberty to disclose such information," said Anne.

Lily felt herself becoming more removed from Anne. She wasn't sure why. Except that, she felt like she was removed from her in some way. Despite the time they'd spent together, she felt like she couldn't be sure how well she knew Anne. 

They'd met on the car ride to the train station that would take them to school. Part of her pack. And yet, she started to wonder if that was the case. She'd never seen Anne before that day. It seemed, given her work as a maid, that she would have seen her before that journey. Then again, it was a big pack... maybe it was possible?

Lily thought about the day she first shifted when Anne found her in the woods. She had howled and someone had howled back in answer... who? Had Anne been sent to find her? Was it possible that Anne had been sent to accompany her on the trip to the school to befriend her?

No.. she didn't want to think it. She had so many other things to think about anyway. Such as Christy being a Lycan.

Despite her best efforts to avoid believing it, there was too much evidence to ignore the idea. Lily couldn't see why cobalt would be used to control the power of any normal shifter. The information about Christy's arrival was unusual also. She'd never seen anyone else get enrolled so late in the year... And why would six students leave to bring her back unless she was a Lycan? Maybe for once, the rumors had been true. 

But despite the evidence... Lily was reluctant to believe it. She couldn't be sure why, but she kept thinking that if Christy was a Lycan.... then... then...?

"You going to lunch?" said Sophie, heading towards the door of their dorm room. Lily had been spending more time here. She didn't like to think it was because she was trying to avoid Anne. Their makeshift study sessions had ended though.

"Not today," said Lily. "I'm not feeling very hungry."

"Fair enough," said Sophie. "I'll bring you back a sandwich in case you get hungry later."

"Thanks, Sophie," said Lily. And as the door clicked closed, she rolled onto her belly on her bed and opened the leather-bound book. She needed answers, and this seemed the only place left to get them.

"It didn't say a whole lot really," said Lily. She and Sophie were sitting in an upstairs study room, but they weren't studying. There was a sense of novelty about using a study space just for sitting and chatting.

Lily had brought a plate of fruit, cheese, and apples from the dining area. She wasn't sure if that was against the rules.. but, today, she wouldn't have cared if it was. She was feeling more and more as if ..everything in her life had been a bit too much. And now... maybe she just needed to do what she wanted for a while... rules be damned. 

She couldn't explain this new defiance even to herself. 

"Did it say anything about the prophecy?" said Sophie.

"No, but it had information about Lycan skills..." said Lily. "But then again, most of them can be seen in shifters also. The only new information was about female Lycans."

"So Christy might be a Lycan then?!" said Sophie, sounding excited.

"Maybe," said Lily. She didn't know why she was feeling a bit queasy. "It talked about how female Lycans are different to the males. Particularly in development. It said that the power of either gender is about the same."

"What do you mean development?"

"Well, it only mentioned a few things really... about how their animal form, or forms as the case may be are generally a lighter color compared to general shifters. And the males tend to be darker than shifters in their animal forms. It also said that the females can be ...late to shift."

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