Kane's Fate Chapter 3

Whispers rustled among the tables, and a few people even started crying. It was only the first real day of classes, and we already had three people go missing.

I sent Auden another text and hoped for some kind of response.

Dude, Canmore is in the cafeteria freaking out. Where tf are you?!

The tiny letters under my message indicated it had been delivered but remained unread. I glanced over at the older pushers’ tables and was surprised to see not one of them looked upset. They seemed almost indifferent to their missing juniors, and I couldn’t help but think about the hazing I’d seen back in college.

Hopefully, no one was tied naked to a flagpole somewhere.

I started to wonder if any of my tiger instincts could help track the pushers down when one of the naturalists stood up and pointed at the ceiling.

“Look!” he yelled.

About one hundred heads looked up, and part of me expected to see dead bodies or something, thanks to the cop shows I used to watch all the time. Instead, one of the cafeteria tables hung in mid-air almost even with the third floor.

“Wait, the pushers are the telekinetic ones, right?” Madison asked in a hushed voice.

“Yeah,” I confirmed with a nod. “But why--”

Suddenly, three chairs floated over the edge of the third-floor railing and hovered next to the table. Then all four pieces of furniture began a slow descent toward the ground, and even Ms. Canmore seemed put off as she watched the chairs and table get closer.

“Oh, shit,” Demi said and covered her mouth. “Look at the chairs.”

I narrowed my gaze on the chairs and was surprised to see they weren’t empty. As they got closer to the ground, everyone started clapping and cheering, and the missing pushers grinned from their levitating seats. Then the table and chairs hit the floor with a thud, and the entire pusher class stood up and bowed as the rest of the students continued to applaud.

“What the hell?” I muttered.

“It seems the third-years have enlisted the first-years in the first prank of the year,” Ms. Canmore said with a frown. “I’ll be seeing each of you in my office before lunch.”

“Come on, Ms. Canmore, the prank was harmless,” Hudson insisted as he breezed into the cafeteria with a wide grin. “We made sure no one was hurt… this time.”

“Yes, you learned at least one lesson, Mr. Schultz.” The dean crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “We’ll continue our discussion in my office.”

Hudson pursed his lips but followed Ms. Canmore to the elevators just outside the cafeteria. The students returned to normal conversation for the last ten minutes we had before class, and I jogged over to Auden as he moved from the previously airborne table to the one with the lone first-year pusher.

“Bro, what was that?” I asked. “You had everyone freaking out!”

“Class prank,” he snickered. “I bet your upperclassmen will want to do one at some point, too. We just beat them to the punch.”

“Is it normal?” I ran my fingers through my hair as I thought about what pranks shifters could pull without getting someone hurt.

“Yeah, dude, every year,” Auden said with a grin. “Your parents didn’t tell you? Or your brother?”

“No, but my brother isn’t the type to share with me if he doesn’t have to,” I muttered. “What do you think the other classes will do?”

“I’m not sure,” he replied and tossed a piece of pancake in his mouth. “I mean, the charmers could do just about anything with a spell or whatever, right?”

“Makes sense to me,” I agreed as I looked around the room at all the other students. “Naturalists can use any element, so that’s pretty wide open, too.”

“Yeah, but they can usually only use one at first,” a pusher girl said as she dropped into the seat beside me.

She pushed her auburn hair behind her ears as she looked down at her hands, and I realized she was the one who’d stayed behind during the prank. Then she glanced up at me with a shy smile, and I was startled by how beautiful she was. She had pale green eyes that reminded me of a cat’s eye, and a smattering of freckles ran across the bridge of her nose. Her shirt was less revealing than Demi’s, but I could see she had just as much to offer under the creamy pink V-neck.

“How do you know that?” I wondered after a brief pause.

“One of my friends back in San Diego is a naturalist,” she answered. “I’m Charlotte, by the way.”

“Kane,” I said with a smile.

“I know.” A blush creeped up Charlotte’s pale cheeks, and she turned away to fidget with her backpack. “Um, anyway, we have magical history starting in a few minutes, Auden. Everyone else is already leaving.”

“Oh, okay, I can catch up,” Auden replied and shoveled about half a pancake into his mouth.

“Nice to officially meet you, Kane,” Charlotte said. “I’m glad I finally got to, you know, introduce myself.”

“Have you been waiting?” I arched a curious eyebrow, and the pusher blushed again.

“I felt like I should, but…” she trailed off and bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure why. You make me super nervous.”

“Me?” I couldn’t believe a beautiful girl like Charlotte was nervous about talking to me. “What do you mean?”

“It’s strange,” Charlotte said as she wrapped a lock of hair around her finger. “I can usually talk to anyone, but you’re just… different.”

I started to press for a longer explanation when a whistle pierced the air.

“Time to go, people!” Ms. Canmore yelled and motioned for the door. “Class starts in three minutes, so I hope you know where you’re going!”

“Shit,” Auden muttered as he grabbed the last chunk of pancake from his plate. “Go ahead, Charlotte. I gotta dump this, and I’ll catch up.”

Charlotte nodded her agreement and scurried toward the door.

I thought about walking with her, but I wasn’t sure what to think. I couldn’t recall a time in my life someone had said I made them nervous, let alone a gorgeous person like Charlotte. She looked like she could be a model if she wanted to, and for some reason, she wanted to talk to me but had to work up the nerve to do it.

I waited for Auden to dump his tray, and then we walked out onto the quad.

“Dude, how do you handle being such a chick magnet?” Auden laughed. “I swear, if you’re the reason I don’t get laid this semester, I’m going to be pissed.”

“It’s been two or three girls,” I insisted and rolled my eyes. “You have about fifty others to choose from.”

“Okay, so your observational skills need some work,” he said and shook his head. “Just about every babe in the cafeteria watched you walk from your table to mine, and not a single one of them talked shit about you sitting with the pushers. I think they all want to have your babies.”

A mental reel flashed through my head of several beautiful women at my side and dozens of our children running through the halls of some big, old mansion. It was so weird, but it didn’t feel wrong.

“Maybe they do,” I retorted. “It’s my new baby blues.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he snickered as we hurried down the hallway. “Catch you at lunch!”

I waved and rushed into room ‘104’ for my first class of the day.

Meditation.

The woman at the head of the room looked to be in her fifties, and she stood behind a long table with a collection of multi-colored crystals. She watched me with a cautious stare before she gestured to the room in front of her, and I scrunched up my face in confusion.

There were about ten huge pillows in various places around the classroom floor, and four of them were already taken by my fellow first-year shifters. Seth and Vic sat toward the back of the room and glanced up at me with scowls before they returned to their whispered conversation, while Demi and Madison pointed to the pillow closest to them.

I weaved round the other pillows and sat next to the girls. Then I set my backpack down in front of me and looked up at the professor just as the clock behind her hit ‘8:01.’

“My name is Professor Francis Orr,” she announced with a sweeping bow. “You may call me Francis, and I will be your meditation teacher. Who is familiar with meditation techniques?”

Madison slowly raised her hand, and Francis acknowledged her with a nod.

“I do yoga,” Madison said before she glanced over at me. “It keeps me flexible.”

“Yoga is a splendid option for meditation,” Francis said as the second half of Madison’s statement went right over her head. “Today, we’re going to start with using meditation to find your secondary.”

“Our what?” I asked and furrowed my brow in confusion. “Secondary what?”

“Power, numb nuts,” Seth laughed. “Shifting is only part of your power. Well, it will be one day when you figure out how to use it.”

“As I was saying, we’ll be focusing on balancing your inner self, so you may access your secondary,” Francis interjected. “Shifting is indeed your primary ability, but each of you has a secondary ability in your arsenal. We just need to find out what it is. Keep in mind, you may not find it the first try, and that’s okay. I intend to teach you how to relax your body, so your mind can work its best.”

Well, that explained how we would pass the magical stage in the Bellator. I had no idea what my secondary ability was yet, but I was determined to find it today.

I didn’t want to give Seth any more ammo to talk shit.

Francis walked over to a large stereo against the wall and punched a few buttons. A few seconds later, the soft sounds of violins and pianos filled the air, and the professor dragged her own large pillow out in front of the table to sit right in front of us.

“Follow my lead,” she instructed.

Over the next thirty minutes, she walked us through how to relax each of our muscles until we were in a deep meditative state. I started to fall asleep a few times, but I shook away the drowsiness and focused on finding my secondary power.

Then I seemed to break through a mental wall, and I waded through a thick fog of thoughts. The reasons for my struggle with my shifting ability drifted by like sailboats on clouds, and I grasped at them with slow-moving hands that couldn’t quite close around them.

Something about fear…

The negative thoughts seemed to skim past me without pause, and I grunted in frustration until I saw a light at the end of the cloudy tunnel.

Literally, I could see light.

I temporarily forgot about the passing thoughts and shifting as I focused on the light. It started as small as a penny, but as I sloshed through the clouds around my legs, it grew until it felt like I was staring into the sun. Yet somehow, it didn’t hurt my eyes or make me squint. Instead, it seemed to be drawing me in closer, and the closer I got, the easier it was to push through the muck.

Then I reached for the light with my fingers outstretched, and the heat warmed my skin--

“Okay, great job!” Francis’s voice snapped me back to the present.

I clenched my hands into fists as she rose from her spot. I was so close to touching the light, and it was all gone in the blink of an eye.

“Dammit,” Seth grumbled and shook his head.

“I take it you didn’t quite reach it,” Francis said. “Did anyone find their secondary?”

“I saw a light,” I grumbled. “At the end of a tunnel.”

“Did you walk toward it?” Seth asked with a smirk.

“Ah, that is a good sign, Kane,” Francis said before I could respond. “Were you able to reach it?”

“Almost,” I replied. “It felt powerful but didn’t hurt me.”

“I believe you’ll be able to access your secondary by our next class,” the professor declared as she looked around the classroom. “Did anyone else find anything interesting?”

There were a few mumbled responses from Vic and Madison, but Seth pressed his mouth into a thin, angry line.

“I was so close!” Demi groaned and smacked her leg with her small fist. “I know it!”

“Then it will be soon,” Francis assured her. “We’ll try again tomorrow. We won’t move on until everyone has found it.”

“I’m sure I’ll get mine before Turner,” Seth said under his breath before he and Vic cackled and glared at me. “He can’t even use his primary.”

“Seth, I’m sure you could find something more constructive to say to your classmates,” Francis said with a frown. “You’re supposed to be working together, to grow and learn as a group.”

Seth rolled his eyes just as a loud buzz filled the air, and it seemed to signal the end of our class. Everyone climbed to their feet, and we grabbed our backpacks and made our way into the hallway that was now teeming with students. I started to look at my schedule when Demi grabbed my bicep with both her hands and began to pull me down the hall.

“We all have shifting class next,” she said with a grin. “It’s over here.”

“So, we’ll finally get to meet Renzo Pearson?” Madison asked as she fell into step on my other side and looped her arm through my elbow. “He hasn’t shown up to any of the other professor meetings.”

“Maybe he’s busy.” I shrugged and caught a glimpse of two naturalist girls, who giggled to each other as soon as I walked past. “He, uh, might do… other stuff. Um, besides teaching, you know.”

Demi and Madison either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the desire-filled looks that came my way, and they steered me into a room with a sign that read ‘121.’ I was relieved to see actual tables and chairs in the center of the classroom, and a large wooden desk sat in the front of an enormous chalkboard that spanned the entire back wall.

The desk was littered with papers, books, pens, chalk, and a collection of small figurines, and I recognized a lion, bear, and a few smaller animals among the ceramic collection before I sat down between the shifter girls. Seth and Vic shuffled in behind us, and the two dicks took their seats near the back while we waited for our mysterious professor to arrive.

I half-listened to Demi and Madison as they talked about plans for this weekend to decompress after the first week of class, but I mostly focused on what I’d seen during my meditation.

I had to figure out what the light meant and how to get to it. Francis had already said it was a sign of my power, but I wanted to know more about it before class tomorrow.

Even though he was a total dick, Seth made a good point. I didn’t even know how to use my primary power yet, so I probably needed even more work to access my secondary. And if I didn’t have that down, I’d be behind everyone when it was time for the Bellator.

My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, and I turned expecting to see Professor Pearson, but instead, I saw a familiar flash of chestnut hair and curvy hips.

The third-year shifter girl hurried into the classroom and searched the desk for a place to put a stack of folders, and she sighed and slid a few things around before she let the folders drop on the desk with a plop. Then she looked up and caught my gaze, and she gave me a charming half-smile before she turned away.

Before I could ask what her name was, the door opened again, and a giant man strode into the classroom. He stood well over six feet tall, a few inches taller than me, and he had a mane of long, golden-blond hair that grazed the top of his jeans. He tossed a soft leather satchel on the desk before he pulled his hair back into a ponytail and looked at each of us with dark, intelligent eyes.

“This is all I have for shifters this year?” he asked with a glance at the older shifter. “Just five?”

“Yes, Mr. Pearson,” she replied and patted the stack of folders. “I brought their records for you.”

“Thanks,” he said as he nodded to the door. “We’ll talk more during your class.”

She dipped her head and gnawed on her lower lip as she glanced at me one more time, and then she rushed out the door just as the buzzer signaled the beginning of class.

Seth watched her leave with open admiration, and a warm rush of hatred bubbled up in my chest when I saw him lick his lips and whisper to Vic. I wanted to pluck his eyes from their sockets and shove them down his throat so he didn’t watch her or talk to her ever again.

Was I jealous?

I didn’t even know her name, and here I was on the verge of serial killer behavior over her.

What the actual fuck?

I shook my head and focused on our professor, who had already begun to write on the chalkboard, so I whipped a notebook and a pen from my backpack and started to take notes.

Fera.

“Who can tell me what fera means?” Pearson asked as he gestured to the word he’d written, turned around to face us, and dusted the chalk from his hands. “Anyone?”

The word sounded foreign to me, and not just because it was Latin, but something about it felt right. I wasn’t sure what it meant yet, even though it seemed like the answer was on the tip of my tongue.

“I see none of you have researched your magical abilities at all,” he sighed. “Your fera is your animal form. It is the most natural, instinctual, predatory side of your personality. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking about how to kill someone, it was likely from your fera. If it wasn’t from your fera, you may need to see the school counselor.”

I chuckled at his dark humor, though no one else seemed to appreciate the joke.

Pearson arched an amused eyebrow at me and then turned back to the chalkboard, and the other shifters sat in stunned silence before they finally got their own notebooks out and started to scribble things down.

Apparently, fera had been known to turn a few shifters mad, so it wasn’t an aspect of our personality we could take lightly. Our animal form was part of us, but we were also part of it. Our fera’s emotions, desires, injuries, and needs were also our own, and they couldn’t be endlessly ignored or feared.

A memory from my meditation session popped into my head, and I thought about how fear had been an incessant thought when I’d tried to focus on shifting.

But I had to think of my fera as part of me because it was. I was just as much the white tiger as it was me. I couldn’t be afraid of myself.

“So, if you thought your fera was your own personal pet, you are sorely mistaken,” Pearson said and set his chalk down before he looked out at the five of us. “Now, who’s ready to show me their fera?”

I turned to Seth with the expectation he would volunteer first since he’d bragged about how easy shifting was for him, but no one moved a muscle. I narrowed my eyes on our class bully, but he avoided my stare and shuffled through his notebook.

“Alright, we’ll just start with whoever is on top of my stack,” the professor muttered as he picked up the first folder. “Demetria?”

“Okay,” Demi nearly whispered as she got up from her chair and looked around the room. “Where do you want me to do it?”

“That depends,” Pearson chuckled. “Do you know how to keep your clothes intact?”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’ve only shifted twice.”

“Alright, your fera doesn’t want clothes, so it’s more a mind over matter thing,” he explained. “If you picture your clothes staying with your human form, then they will. Otherwise, your fera will rip through them.”

“I-I think I can do that,” Demi replied in a shaky voice.

“If not, I have extra robes in the closet,” he assured her. “It happens all the time.”

Demi nodded and walked over to the space beside his desk at the front of the class. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and clenched her fists at her sides, but it took several minutes before she began to change. Despite her short stature, her legs and arms began to get even shorter, and her torso widened as she dropped down to her hands and knees. Grayish-brown scales rippled down her arms and legs, and a tail sprouted from her lower back and draped the ground.

Within seconds, we were all staring with wide eyes at a Komodo dragon.

“No wonder she’s so short,” Seth scoffed as he looked down at her reptilian fera.

Demi’s mouth widened to reveal serrated teeth, and she snapped her jaw shut as she took a menacing step toward Seth.

“Even as a fera, your mind still works the same as in your human form,” Pearson said as he knelt next to Demi. “Your human mind can rationalize your actions and ensure you aren’t an animalistic barbarian, which is lucky for you, kid. A Komodo dragon has sharp teeth and a venomous bite you may or may not have survived. Great job, Demetria.”

After a few seconds, Demi was back in her human form and had managed to keep her clothes intact, and a wide grin stretched across her face as she skipped back to her seat.

Next was Madison, who was a little more comfortable with her shifting, and she slithered into her snake fera in just two minutes. Her neon yellow scales were bright, and her forked tongue slipped past her lips with a hiss.

“A python!” Pearson clapped and then wrote something in her folder. “Fantastic! Next up is Victor.”

“Alright,” he muttered as Madison left the front of the room.

Vic struggled even more than Demi had, and I grimaced at the thought of my own turn. It turned out Vic had also only shifted one other time, though his had been a full-blown transition. I’d only shifted into a mix of my fera and human forms, so I crossed my fingers the bell would ring before it was my turn.

Then Vic finally shifted, and I was surprised to see his fera was a coyote. He pranced around the front of the room for a few seconds while Demi and Madison rolled their eyes, and it seemed they weren’t very impressed with the wild dog.

“It looks like Seth is next,” Pearson announced once Vic started to resume his human form. “Oh, my.”

Vic stood up and revealed his inability to keep his clothes during the transition, and Demi and Madison erupted into giggles as Seth’s ginger-headed sidekick covered what he could as his cheeks flared crimson.

“Here, son.” Pearson marched over to the closet behind his desk, pulled out a black robe, and tossed it to Vic, who awkwardly caught it with one hand.

Then the ginger yanked the garment on and tied the belt with vigor before he rushed to his seat and lowered his head.

Seth strode forward and looked smug and happy to take the attention off his friend.

I was interested in seeing the competition, and it didn’t take more than a minute for him to transform. I’d secretly hoped his hesitation meant he didn’t actually know how to shift on command, but that hope was dashed as his body widened and grew taller while black fur erupted on every inch of his skin.

Then I realized what his fera was.

A fucking gorilla.

Seth beat on his hairy chest like King Kong and opened his mouth to reveal large canines that looked ready to tear into flesh.

“Impressive,” the professor observed as he made another note. “Thank you. It looks like we have just enough time for our last student. Kane, come on up.”

“I don’t know if we have time,” Seth snickered as he returned to his human form, fully clothed, and pursed his lips.

“The point of Meloria is to learn, Seth,” Pearson said and narrowed his eyes. “If you know everything, feel free to leave.”

That shut Seth up pretty quickly, and he pouted at his desk as I made my way to the front.

No fear, no fear.

The mental mantra didn’t do much for the quiver in my hands, and I gritted my teeth as I turned to face the class.

“Have you shifted before?” Pearson asked in a quiet voice.

“Um, once, kinda.” I looked down at my loafers with a grimace. “It was just to fight someone, so I was really amped up.”

“And you weren’t afraid,” he said rather than asked.

“No, I had to protect someone,” I answered. “I wasn’t scared of anything but her getting hurt.”

“So, you let your instincts take over.” The professor nodded. “Do that. Your fera is natural.”

“Natural,” I repeated and took a deep breath. “Right.”

I could feel all six pairs of eyes on me as I resisted the urge to sprint out of the room and focused on my natural instincts. I had to let my fera take its form. I couldn’t force it, and I couldn’t be afraid of it.

I was the tiger, and the tiger was me.

My chest warmed as my heart thudded against my ribcage, and I sensed my body begin the change. This time, adrenaline wasn’t pumping through my veins, but rather the predatory instinct to become my fera.

And then I was.

I dropped to my hands and knees, but they weren’t hands or knees. I was crouched on my large white paws as my claws scratched the tile floor beneath me. My long white and black tail swished around in the air behind me, and I felt my ears prick up when my classmates gasped and leaned back in their chairs. The overwhelming urge to roar was more than I could resist, and the sound rippled from my open mouth like a wave crashing onto the beach.

My chest vibrated with the sound, and I glanced over at Pearson, whose eyes were open so wide, I thought they’d pop out of his head.

“Holy shit,” he breathed. “A white tiger.”

It was like his words reactivated my human mind, and I closed my mouth and nodded my large head. After a few seconds, I slipped back into my human form with mixed feelings of relief and disappointment.

I was relieved to have been successful, and not naked now, but my inner tiger demanded to run and hunt, not switch back to my boring human form.

No one said anything as I strode back to my chair and sat down just as the buzzer sounded for the end of class. Even Seth was speechless, and I smirked to myself as I loaded my notebook and pen back into my backpack.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us what you are,” Demi said in a hushed yet awed voice. “Your fera is beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I murmured and yanked my backpack on. “Yours is badass.”

“You think so?” she squeaked. “You can tell me all about it on the way to--”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Demetria,” Pearson cut in with a cool smile. “I’d like to have Kane stay after class for a moment.”

“I’ll catch up with you,” I said to the girls, who nodded and scurried out of the classroom. Then I turned to the older man beside me. “What’s going on?”

“I need to show you something.” The professor turned on his heel and marched toward the closet door.

He yanked it open and began to toss notebooks, robes, and a hockey mask onto the floor before he finally grabbed a small wooden box, and he blew the dust off the lid as he turned around and set it on his desk. The wood was obviously old, and a large sapphire was embedded in the surface of the lid. Characters I didn’t recognize had been carved into the wood, and Pearson traced them with his finger as he released a heavy sigh.

“What does it say?” I asked as I tried to get a closer look.

“I’ve only been able to find translations for this symbol, which means time.” The professor pointed to one of the markings and frowned. “There doesn’t seem to be any other record of the rest. Anyway, the box isn’t as important right now. I need you to look at what’s inside.”

He lifted the lid, and a cloud of gray dust floated into the air and made me sneeze. He glanced over his shoulder at me with narrowed eyes before he pulled out a trio of old books. The bound leather covers were blank, but the yellowed pages were filled with writing.

“Someone hand wrote all this?” I asked with wide eyes. “How old is this stuff?”

“Ancient,” he replied. “There’s a lot here, but this section is in Latin, so it’s not too hard to translate that.”

“Uh, right, not too hard,” I mumbled. “So, what does it say?”

“Basically, it says a white tiger fera will be the one who saves us all,” Pearson declared with a twinge of restrained excitement as he looked up at me. “You’re the first white tiger fera I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been teaching here for a long time. Plus, I talk to other shifters around the world. None of us thought we’d ever see you.”

“Wait, save us all from what?” I asked as a shiver raced down my spine. “I don’t know how to save people. I’m just a regular guy.”

“You’re a shifter,” he corrected me and took me by the shoulders. “Not only are you one of the most important types of magical beings, but you have a prophecy dedicated to your existence. No one else on this campus can say that, Kane.”

Something in the professor’s tone made me freeze in his grip while fire seemed to rush through my veins.

There were no other white tiger shifters, and there was a fucking prophecy about one.

It was a lot to take in, and I inhaled a slow, deep breath as I met Pearson’s stare. Then he finally let go of me and took a step back, so I shook my head and looked back at the book.

“So, you’re telling me this book from, like, a thousand years ago knew I’d be here eventually?” I asked.

“Yes.” Pearson nodded and pointed to the Latin words. “I thought it was nonsense because none of us had seen a white tiger fera, but when you shifted today, I knew it was you.”

“But what am I saving everyone from?” I furrowed my brow as I stared at the foreign language in confusion. “No one is under attack, right?”

“Not right now,” he admitted. “I don’t know all the details yet, but it’ll be clear to you eventually. That’s the way a prophecy works.”

“It doesn’t seem very helpful,” I muttered.

“Listen, we don’t have time to read through all this right now,” he said as he shut the book. “But you should read as much as you can. You need to know what you’ll be up against.”

“Against?” I echoed. “I don’t know how to fight, Professor. I, uh--”

“Call me Renzo,” he cut me off and waved a hand in front of me. “And calm down. You aren’t marching into battle tomorrow, but you have a big future, so you should be ready for anything. Just read. You’re going to be late for class.”

As if on cue, the buzzing sound reverberated throughout the building, and I shook my head as he spun me around and began to pile books into my backpack. I had no idea what was going on, and it didn’t seem like Renzo was going to lay it all out for me.

I had my first homework assignment.

Renzo offered a solemn wave as I headed out of his classroom and rushed down the hall to my next one. I had no idea what Defense of the Mind would entail, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to concentrate my mind on this class right now.

I was too wrapped up in figuring out this whole prophesied existence thing.

I snuck into the classroom as a young, frail-looking woman peered over her reading glasses at me with a frown. She was no older than thirty with her pale blonde hair swept back into a bun, and she wore a dark pink pantsuit that hung from her thin frame.

“You must be Mr. Turner,” she said in a disapproving tone. “Late on the first day?”

“I stayed to talk to Professor Pearson,” I explained as I sat at the table behind Demi and Madison.

“Teacher’s pet,” Seth snickered under his breath and rolled his eyes.

“Then if you’re ready, we’ll begin,” the professor replied as though Seth had never spoken. “I’m Ms. Smith, and I’m going to teach you how to protect your mind from the evil effects and temptations of dark magic.”

Even though I knew Ms. Smith’s class was important, I couldn’t focus on her history lesson about people who had succumbed to the power of dark magic. I was too busy resisting the temptation to pull the books out of my bag and start reading about my prophecy.

When the bell finally rang out, Ms. Smith frowned and checked her watch before she sighed and motioned for us to leave. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who was bored with her history lesson, and Seth kicked Vic to wake him up. We had a thirty-minute break to grab lunch, but I didn’t see any of the other first-years in the cafeteria.

So much for telling Auden what I’d found out. I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.

No lunch for you?

I took a bite of my sandwich and nodded randomly to Demi and Madison’s complaints about the classes so far, though I had no idea what they could be upset about. They got to shift, too, and that was the best part of my whole day.

My phone buzzed on the table with a new text, and I pulled up Auden’s reply.

Ours was done twenty minutes ago. Not sure why they split it up. Probably have to meet up at dinner. Also, I have the HOTTEST fucking history teacher ever.

I smirked and typed back my response.

Lmao see you then. If you don’t take her out for dinner.

Auden sent a combination of middle finger and crying laughing emojis, and I chuckled to myself as I wrapped up my lunch and tossed it in the trash.

The afternoon whizzed by with history of magic, magical concepts, and a whole class to teach us about the other categories of magical people. It was a whirlwind of magic, people, and the secret world that lay beneath the surface and out of the eyes of humans.

By the time I made it back to the Medius, it was almost five, and I was starving. I could smell roast beef sandwiches and some form of fried potato before I even walked into the cafeteria, and I piled my plate high before I sat down next to Auden.

“You really just don’t give a shit about people looking at you, huh?” Auden laughed.

“Not really.” I shrugged and picked up my sandwich. “They keep staring at me anyway. I just don’t let it bother me.”

“Hi, Kane,” a female voice said sweetly.

I glanced over my shoulder to see a pair of second-year naturalists. Both of them were incredibly gorgeous, and they winked before they scurried off to their own table.

“See?” I muttered. “They keep doing that.”

“Girls checking you out?” Auden’s eyes were wide as he popped a fry into his mouth. “Yeah, must be terrible.”

“Whatever,” I snickered. “They’re just getting a look at the freak show. You haven’t heard yet?”

“About what?” he asked in a more serious tone.

“I guess my fera-- my animal form, I mean-- is some kind of prophecy,” I said before I took a sip of my soft drink. “I turn into a white tiger, and I guess that’s rare or something.”

“I knew they were rare, but I didn’t know about a prophecy,” Auden said as he gaped at me.

“And white tigers are fucking beautiful,” Charlotte cut in as she dropped her tray on the table next to me. “You didn’t know what your animal was when you shifted?”

“Not the first time,” I replied. “Renzo told me I need to read about this prophecy stuff to get prepared for whatever I’m up against. I guess I’ll be saving everyone at some point.”

“That’s intense,” Auden murmured. “Can I see the prophecy?”

“It’s in this book,” I said as I picked up my backpack and pulled out the leather text. “Can you read Latin?”

“You can’t?” Auden arched a mischievous eyebrow and laughed.

“I don’t know a damn thing about this stuff,” I groaned while I skimmed over the first few pages of foreign words. “I can’t even remember--”

Suddenly, a white light shot out of the book, and I dropped it onto the table as the beam rocketed toward the ceiling.

Then a woman’s face appeared in the light, and she looked right at me.