Eric and I got simultaneous texts from our father, asking where we were. I let Eric take point, as per usual, and his fingers flew across the screen as he texted dad back. "He wants us to come back to the main hall," Eric told me a moment later when his phone whistled again. I stood and checked for my key before letting Eric out of the room.

"You're not supposed to have boys in your room!" the preppy blonde girl yelled. I rolled my eyes. She was the most annoying girl I'd ever met. I hadn't done anything to her and she still seemed to hate me.

"He's my brother," I replied simply. She didn't need an explanation. The receptionist had allowed him to come up here. It was none of her business.

"You just want to sneak boys into your room. Slut!" she shrieked. I guessed she didn't like her punishment. She shouldn't have destroyed my things if she wasn't ready to accept the punishment for her actions. However, I heard a snarl from Eric. His eyes had turned amber and his teeth had elongated. He was losing control of his wolf. The stupid preppy blonde girl was getting herself in serious danger and was being too dense to realize it.

"Don't you dare speak to, or about my sister that way," Eric snarled, crouching as his nails elongated and his ears started to turn fuzzy and longer, like his wolf's. The girl finally realized what was going on and took a step back, her scent racked with fear, inciting my own wolf. My wolf wanted to chase her, give her more fear to spice her blood. I shook that thought away. I had more pressing problems right now. Namely Eric. I stepped between him and the dumb blonde girl.

"I haven't done anything to you. I don't know why you're treating me like this. I don't even know your name, but I suggest you leave my family alone," I turned to Eric, turning my back on the girl. She wouldn't hurt me. She wasn't that dumb, not with a barely controlled wolf in the room. I needed to take care of the wolf. I pulled myself to my full height and looked him in the eyes. I pulled all of my strength into this task. I would need it. "Eric, it's ok. I'm fine. I'm not hurt. She is a human," I reminded him calmly. It was essential that I remain calm or he would completely lose control. "It's ok. I promise she can't hurt me," I spoke to him in soothing tones, ignoring the girl behind me and focusing only on helping Eric regain his control.

Luckily, I wasn't alone in this as my father burst down the hallway. "Eric!" he called in his commanding Alpha voice. Eric turned, still snarling. "Come!" my father ordered. He led Eric by sure force of his alpha will out of the dorm. Mom came over and hugged me.

"Are you ok?" she asked me. I nodded. "Your father felt Eric lose control. What happened?" I explained about the preppy blonde girl, who had taken the opportunity to disappear into her dorm room. Mom glared toward the door. "I hope she's learned her lesson this time. If not, she will once she has to do community service for the shifters. I'll make sure to mention this to the headmistress," she told me as we walked out of the dorm to find Eric and daddy. Eric had calmed down and was apologizing when we reached them.

"I feel even less sure about leaving you here," daddy told me as he pulled me in to a hug. "There's no one here to protect you, kitten," he kissed the top of my head.

"I know daddy, but I have to learn how to protect myself sometime," I told him. "I need to learn how to take care of myself. I'm doing the best I can so far," I had to convince him that I would be ok. I didn't know what drastic measures he would take if I didn't convince him, but I knew it would be bad. "I'm sure the other students aren't like her. It'll be easier once I make some friends," I insisted.

"She'll be fine," Eric spoke up, meeting daddy's eyes. "She was using Alpha strength to control my wolf when I lost control," he admitted. No male wolf would ever admit that a female had used any Alpha qualities. He had just done that. It was unheard of that a female could even demonstrate those abilities. Alphas were able to control the shifters under them. I had only ever heard of males having that ability. "I know it's unheard of, but she was doing it. She'll be fine here. If she can handle an out of control wolf, she can handle vampires in training," he insisted. He was sticking up for me. He was protecting me in his own way. He knew the humans, even if they were training to be vampires, couldn't hurt me. My father's plans could. So could the knowledge that I was displaying Alpha qualities.

"Are you sure?" daddy asked. Eric nodded solemnly.

"I swear it," I could hear the truth in those words. Shifters were extremely hard to lie to. We could smell the difference. It was a skill I was only beginning to learn. Daddy was an expert. He nodded, accepting Eric's truth. He sighed.

"Then it may be better that you are here away from the other shifters for awhile," he told me. "We'll have to figure out what to do," he voiced that to mom. "Try to make friends and stay out of trouble," he hugged me tighter. I let him, knowing that he was worried. It had been an exhausting day, and it wasn't even half-over yet. All I wanted to do was hide in my dorm room. Thankfully that was an option, even if it broke daddy's wishes of me finding friends.

"I'll try," I promised him. He smiled and maintained his eternal calm.

Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to stay. I was supposed to be mingling with the other Apprentices and full vampires, not hanging out with my family anymore. I waved to them sadly as they left, knowing the rest of my day would be just as difficult as the beginning.