In a school full of tall wolves, Lena was only 5’5.
The height difference and her position at the absolute back made it difficult to see anything clearly. She could only hear the heavy crunch of several footsteps on the gravel, and she immediately knew it was the Quad because the entire field grew even more silent, the atmosphere turning suffocatingly heavy.
"Because House Four’s leader is currently unavailable, I will be acting as the temporary guide for House Four members. Follow me to the eastern sector."
The instructor marched away, leading a massive section of the Ascendants toward the far side of the barriers.
Lena’s heart did an internal whine as she watched the head of the last scrap of school authority walk completely off the field. They were officially trapped with the monsters.
The remaining students of House One immediately shifted, forced into rigid rows. Everyone stood like silent, terrified soldiers, awaiting the command of Alpha Christopher.
"Julian, what’s happening over there?" Khloe inquired, trying to peer over the shoulders of the seniors in front of them.
Being the only tall person among their trio, Julian scanned the field, searching for the Alpha in charge of their House.
"I can’t find Alpha Christopher–Ah, there he is," he tilted his head, squiring. "He doesn’t look too good."
"What does that mean?" Lena asked, half expecting it meant he had come down with something that would prevent him from noticing her face today.
"He’s sitting on the bench, looking completely uninterested in our lineup."
Khloe narrowed her eyes. "How weird."
Lena smiled despite herself. Here she was, worrying over absolutely nothing. She silently thanked whatever universe had saved her this time. Even though she didn’t know the exact gravity of what she was being saved from, she was safely out of his crosshairs.
"Does that mean there’s no training today?" Lena asked, just to be sure.
Just before Julian could answer, a lone figure stepped out to the front of their section.
"Who’s that?" Khloe asked Julian, looking up only to meet his suddenly frozen expression.
"Oh, fuck me," Julian whispered.
Before Lena could even ask what was going on, a long, loud yawn echoed right in front of the front row. It sounded like the speaker would rather be anywhere else on earth than a mandatory training field.
"God, this is so incredibly boring," Draven called out, his voice loud but completely lazy. "I don’t even know why Christopher makes you all stand like this. It’s exhausting just looking at you."
He started walking slowly down the rows, completely ignoring any military posture, his boots dragging slightly against the stones.
Draven waved a dismissive hand as he strolled. "Look, I really don’t care about combat training today. Ranks, metrics, breaking spines... it’s all so tedious. Let’s just merge House One and Three. Freshers, pair up with seniors. Do whatever you want. Just make it look like you’re working so the administration leaves me alone."
He kept walking, his hands lazily shoved into his pockets, his boots dragging slightly against the stones as he headed straight for the back of the formation.
Everyone tensed up as he walked by. Noticing the shift, Draven chuckled. "Come on, guys. Free yourselves. Smile. I won’t bite."
He offered a wide grin as everyone around them immediately started putting on fake, strained smiles.
"You all look ridiculous," Draven chuckled, the easy sound sending an icy shiver straight down everyone’s spine. "Don’t mind me, I am actually just looking... for someone."
Julian’s posture went completely rigid first, his chin lifting as he tracked the movement over the heads of the shorter Primes. "He’s coming back here," Julian whispered, his throat moving as he swallowed hard. "Khloe, he’s walking the rows."
Khloe’s eyes darted sideways, her fingers tightening around the edge of her jacket. She didn’t even look up at Julian before her hands snapped out, grabbing Lena’s arm.
"You’ll be safer here," Khloe forcefully pushed Lena toward the inner side of the row, physically forcing her behind her own shoulder.
Shifting her weight, Khloe stepped outward into the exposed spot, trying to act as a complete shield to block Lena from view.
Lena thought this was ridiculous. How dangerous could that Alpha be? She thought.
"Once I find this person–" He stopped dead in his tracks right in front of their line at the back.
Looking down, Draven’s wild, hypnotic eyes locked first onto Khloe’s pale face.
He didn’t say a single word to her, but the weight of his silent presence made Khloe’s knees wobble. Still, she kept her gaze entirely on the head of the senior in front of her.
Then, his eyes shifted seamlessly past her shoulder, locking directly onto Lena.
Lena felt a sudden, cool breeze rush against her skin–a vivid sensation that made her feel instantly exposed.
Following her suspicion, she looked down and realized his eyes weren’t looking at her face at all. He was staring directly at her chest through the gap in her unbuttoned uniform shirt.
Lena felt her cheeks burn red with anger. She did not appreciate being treated like an open display case. Frowning deeply at his lack of respect, Lena aggressively crossed her arms over her front, covering herself completely from his gaze.
When she looked back up to glare at him, the easygoing charm had disappeared from Draven’s features.
His expression completely hardened, carving into something she couldn’t quite explain.
But if she interpreted the dark flash in his eyes correctly, it explicitly screamed: How dare you cover yourself from me?
Lena’s brow furrowed. Was this guy serious? It was the most natural thing to cover up when an absolute creep was staring at you, yet his expression made it seem like her action was wrong.
Just as quickly as his face hardened, his usual charming grin returned.
Lena seriously wondered what could actually be going on in that head of his.
"Actually, scratch that," Draven announced loudly as he turned on his heel to address the crowd, though his eyes lingered on Lena for one last second. "I just realized standard uniforms are incredibly boring to look at. And trust me, I highly prefer my view with a lot less fabric."
He offered a lazy wave toward the exit doors.
"Clear the field. Go to your respective House lockers and change into your field wear. You have five minutes."