CHAPTER 13

KATHERINE. [Tiffany: Wait, so let me get this straight… In your school, there's a shit ton of hot boys and a ‘werewolf’ alcohol that would make me get wasted??] [Helena: Don’t forget the buffet.] [Tiffany: And a buffet??] [Me: Yeah?] [Tiffany: Get the fuck out! No, seriously get the fuck out. I don’t want to talk to you again. Why didn’t you take us with you?] The message was followed by a series of crying emojis and I snorted at her reaction before replying. [Me: I wish I could.] I really did. It would be nice to have them here with me because although I’d made friends here already, the three of them – Lenore, Priyanka, and Josie – have known each other for years so I kinda felt like I wasn’t in their friendship circle. They had done nothing to make me feel that way of course – they had been more than nice to me – but right now, the three of them weren’t in the dorm because each of them had made plans with other people, so I was alone in my room and couldn’t help but feel lonely because I hadn’t made other friends here. There was Chelsea who I’d met this morning – well technically, I’d met her while I was drunk at the bonfire – but I didn’t know her room number or have her phone number. [Tiffany: It’s not too late. Let us enroll and bankrupt the pack.] I’d told them about the aided learning program I was on and how the school was obviously ‘expensive’, and they’d come to the same conclusion I had – in order to send me here, our pack’s council had dipped into the pack’s funds. Dean Bryman said the school had aided me by ‘reducing the fees’ and I’d texted Aunt Vivian and Uncle Lander to find out how much the fees were and how much they’d been reduced to but they’d told me not to worry about it and just focus on finding my mate. That had pissed me the fuck off because they didn’t seem to understand that River Ash was ‘my’ pack and I had every right to know the state of the pack’s funds now. They didn’t budge though but Helena had told me she’d try to find out since her father was a member of the council. [Helena: @Vivian Then we wouldn’t even be able to afford to go to Irving.] Irving was the name of the university which they’d be attending and it was where I’d have also attended if I hadn’t been sent to Blackwood because it wasn’t far from the pack. Vivian replied to Helena’s message with another series of crying emojis and a small smile crept onto my face. I really missed them. [Helena: @Katherine This place sucks ass without you.] [Me: This place sucks ass without you guys too.] [Vivian: Blackwood is awesome. Don’t feed me that lie!] That drew another laugh from me and the three of us kept texting for several minutes more before we said our goodbyes because it was past midnight and they wanted to go to bed. With no one else to talk to now, I began to prepare for tomorrow by checking my class schedule for it and doing my Mechanics assignment. By ‘doing’, I meant copying Lenore’s because she understood whatever was going on in that class and I did not. Also, I already received an email from Professor Helton in the afternoon, letting me know he accepted my application to be his TA so apart from attending my classes and the scavenger hunt club orientation, I had to go to his office and the library tomorrow. I already knew what I’d be doing at the library – restocking shelves and checking materials in and out for at least two hours – but I didn’t know what I’d be doing for Professor Helton and I hoped it wouldn’t eat into my free time because I had a mate to find. I dropped my phone on the nightstand when I was done preparing for tomorrow and as I glanced at Lenore’s bed, wondering when she would be back, I heard voices in the hallway. It sounded like the people talking were standing right next to the door so I got to my feet and walked over to it to see if it was Lenore. Looking through the peephole showed me that it was Lenore and Theo that were on the other side of the door and I couldn’t help but frown as I remembered his response to my apology earlier today. He was such an ass. I returned to my bed and a minute later, Lenore finally walked into the room with a small smile on her face. As she shut the door behind her, she glanced at my side of the room and paused when she saw me. “You’re still up,” she said. “How could I sleep when you weren’t back yet?” I replied and her smile widened for a moment as she shook her head sideways. She then walked over to her wardrobe and began to change out of her clothes. “Besides, this room is huge and eerily quiet. How did you sleep here alone for so long?” “Meh, it’s not that bad. But when I watched a horror movie, it was terrifying. I had to stay with Priyanka.” I grinned at that while she pulled off her shirt and something on her shoulder immediately caught my eye. It was a claiming mark and since she’d told me she hadn’t found her mate yet, I drew my brows together. “Is that–” I immediately cut myself off as I remembered Theo and with the way she and him interacted, he ‘had’ to have been the one to claim her. Some werewolves chose to stay with the partner they’d chosen instead of their destined mate, so I didn’t want to seem nosy by asking. Lenore raised her brows, waiting for me to continue talking and I cleared my throat. “Josie said never be out alone past midnight,” I said instead. “It’s actually 'never be in Clearberry past midnight.' The lady of the lake doesn’t wander all over campus…” She tipped her head to the side and drew her brows together like she was thinking about something. “I think.” “Is she actually real?” Lenore shrugged. “Never seen her before but there are a lot of weird things in Blackwood. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was real.” “Weird things like what?” I asked and she raised a brow at me. “You want to hear ghost stories at this time.” I bobbed my head, grinning. “It’s practically the best time to. If I have a nightmare, I’ll just crawl into your bed.” She shook her head at that, smiling. “Okay then.” She finished changing out of her clothes and grabbed her laptop before walking over to my bed and getting into it. “There’s a site for all the mysterious things on campus,” she stated as she opened the laptop and after turning it on, she pulled up a website titled CMES. “Let’s do some late-night reading,” she added and I quickly went over to my refrigerator which I’d stocked with snacks earlier tonight before pulling out a bag of cookies and two cans of soda. “With snacks?” I replied, holding them up, and her face lit with a smile. “Definitely.”