I woke up the next morning feeling like I hadn't slept at all. I could swear I'd only closed my mind for a second before my phone's morning alarm started blaring a cheerful song by Mealie, my favourite band. For a moment, I lay in bed and waiting for the song to stop. What had I been thinking picking a happy song for the morning?

No amount of glaring made the alarm turn off by itself so I had to get up and do it myself. I then promptly got back into bed. Unfortunately, no amount of getting comfortable let me fall back asleep, so I gave up, yawned, and fell out of bed with a loud 'oof!'

Yeah, I'm not a morning person.

A knock on my door was followed by Maddie's voice. "You good in there?"

"Go away," I moaned. "It's too early for this shit."

I glared at the door as I heard Maddie giggle. "Well," she said, "you might wanna get moving. I've made breakfast and Troy is already awake so I can't guarantee anything will be left in a few minutes. It's waffles. Also got some maple syrup, yogurt, fruit, honey—"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." I got to my feet and muttered, "They better still be warm."

"I've charmed them," she said as I pulled out my outfit for the day and changed. "They'll stay warm for ages. You're all good." A pause. "So long as Troy doesn't get to them first."

Yeah, that was the kick in the butt I needed. I tossed on my outfit for the day—a pale tank top, pants, and my light brown knee-high boots—and ran a hand through my hair, using my magic to tie it into a long braid trailing down to the middle of my back. I quickly applied a light level of concealer before grabbing a jacket and hurrying out of my room to the main living area.

It was a good thing I made it out when I did.

Troy was scoffing down everything in sight—cereal, fruit, Maddie's freshly made waffles. Classic Wolf Shifter. I shook my head, partially in fondness and partially in disgust because, well, he has no table manners and its horrifying. Maddie, in a harsh contrast to Troy, picked at her waffles with a knife and fork, trying her hardest to not look disgusted at Troy's eating habits. We all learnt years ago to never get between that boy and food.

I glanced at the remaining waffles resting on a plate on the still-lukewarm stove. They were covered with a see-through dome—Maddie's warmth and protection spell. I quickly grabbed two and took my plate to the table, making a point to sit away from Troy's feeding frenzy. Seriously, that boy could eat a wai'u. It. Is. Disturbing.

Troy asked around a mouthful of food, "So, you guys ready for class?"

"No," Maddie and I answered. We looked at each other and started laughing.

"Be glad you two have Combat first," Maddie said, jamming a blueberry onto the cream on her remaining waffles. "I'm stuck in Education."

I pointed at her with my fork. "I'm sorry, which one of us wanted to be a teacher?"

"Gotta have all that general knowledge shit to teach the kiddies," Troy agreed.

Maddie feigned confusion. "Wait, teachers have to actually know stuff?"

We all laughed at that.

"But seriously," Maddie said, catching her breath, "as much as I love this stuff, it does get a little tedious."

"Most classes get tedious." Troy said flatly.

I smiled at him. "You would say that, wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

My smiled widened. "Afraid to be my sparring buddy again?"

Troy very quickly returned to his food.

*

A little over an hour later, I found myself in a sparring ring with Troy. We circled each other slowly, seizing each other up. I twisted my wooden training nunchucks in one hand. Troy's hands tightened on his wooden training sword as he took up an obviously defensive position. The poor boy is terrified of me. He knows better than to underestimate me because I look like some weak little girl. Oh, the joys of having spent the last almost-two-hundred-years being trained by the Naiu'Idis herself. There are not many students in the Academy who can beat me and that's not bragging. It's a fact.

It's also a fact that I hate waiting for the other person to make their move first (thanks for nothing, mum!)

I surged forward with a battle cry, but Troy was ready for me. I leapt into the sky and came down from above. He blocked my attack with his sword, holding the fake blade flat above him. I jumped away and hurried forward once again, letting loose with so many strikes in mere seconds. My eyes could barely keep up with my own body! Despite my speed, Troy met me attack for attack, blocking each and every one with practiced ease. Damned sparring buddy.

He ducked under my next swing, moving behind me with incredible speed and struck hard on the back of my head. My vision wobble. I fell to the ground with a pained grunt. Though I shook it off quickly, Troy was holding the point of his practice sword at my throat by the time I rolled over. I gave him a sideways smile. The poor pup thought he had me. I rolled on my back, raising my legs to kick him in the stomach. Troy stumbled away. I reclaimed my nunchucks and flipped to my feet.

This time, Troy was the one to strike first. Like I'd ever let that happen. I ran to meet him in the middle. Our practice weapons clashed loudly with a WHACK-WHACK-WHACK every time they hit. Troy was still keeping up with me. It was starting to piss me off.

I swung with all my strength. Troy's sword was knocked from his hand, flying to the other side of the room. That might not sound like far, but it was a big room. Also the sword—despite being made of wood—actually sunk into the wall. Oops.

For a moment, Troy and I stared at the sword, equally dumbfounded at what I'd just done.

Then his green eyes slid to me.

Before I knew what was happening, a white wolf was coming straight at me. Troy had shifted! I did the only sane thing I could do when a white wolf half my size ran at me. I pegged my nunchucks right at his adorable fluffy face.

Troy slid straight underneath them and crash tackled me to the ground. It was then that he did the most horrible thing one could possibly do to another living or otherwise being. He started tickling me. Now, I wish I could say this didn't bother me and I managed to get him off me and win our practice battle.

Unfortunately, I'm ticklish.

I burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, tears in my eyes as I begged him to stop. Troy shifted back to his Human form and didn't, grinning madly as I squirmed beneath him.

They don't say tickling is the most effective form of torture for no reason.

Our teacher—a tanned, freckled Fae woman with short, curly light brown hair and gorgeous hazel eyes—clapped her hands. "That's enough, you two," Viviane said with a chuckle.

Troy, pouting, pulled away. Free from his onslaught, I gasped for breath, still laughing.

Troy rolled his eyes fondly and helped me to my feet. "Got you," he whispered in my ear. I stuck my tongue out at him as we left the ring. Another pair—two of our classmates—stepped in after us and begun their own sparring match.

Viviane gestured for me to go to her. I gave Troy a worried look and did so. My teacher took me to the side of the classroom. It wasn't exactly private but it also wasn't not private.

"You normally do better than that," Viviane said, voice soft as always. "Have you been practicing over break?"

I laughed nervously and tugged at my braid. "Well, I was kidnapped by my grandmother, taken on a mission, had my powers force-activated, then had to escape some Atlantean Ruins. After that, things just seemed kinda . . . weird."

Again with the weird? Why do I use that word so often?

Viviane placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Hathor, you have always been one of my best students."

Oh no, I thought. Here comes the guilt.

"I have known you long enough to known when something else is going on." She smiled kindly at me. "If you need someone to talk to, I would be more than happy to do so."

What was it with everyone thinking I need someone to talk to? First Kayla, now my favourite teacher. Whoever next? Unbelievable. I didn't say any of that to Viviane, of course. Instead, I pushed my braid away and said, "I know. I think I just need to get back into the groove. That's all."

"The offer stands."

I forced a smile. "Thank you, Teacher."

Free from a would-be interrogation, I walked over to the bench where Troy was waiting. He tossed me a bottle of water. I caught it mid-air and chugged half the bottle in one mouthful. Yeah, thirst is a thing. I wiped away the few trickles that escaped my mouth with the back of my hand before collapsing onto the bench.

What was wrong with me? Normally I could beat Troy in less than a minute. Why was my game so off today? Was this another one of those 'you need to use your power' things Kayla was telling me about? I snorted. Nah, that was stupid. I hadn't used it since Atlantis and aside from that weird feeling I'd had for the last few days, I felt fine. Honestly, I was more worried about that sparring match hurting my standing as the best student in class.

"Well, well, well. The Princess finally lost her edge."

I bit back the urge to groan, instead forcing myself to smile tightly. "I'm so not in the mood, Kori."

Meet my arch nemesis and bane of my existence since starting at the Academy, Kori Bragër. She stood over me with a triumphant smirk, looking like she'd won a Galaxy Diamond. Flanking her from behind were her two loyal followers, the siblings Cyrus and Tyler Edevane. All three were Wolf Shifters from the Northern Wolf Pack of the Wolflands of Malaie. Wow, how many times can I use the word 'wolf' in a sentence?

Fun fact about Kori, Cyrus and Tyler: they love to make my life hell. Well, Kori likes to make my life hell. Cyrus and Tyler do it in part because they're her loyal dogs and in part because they also hate me. Screwing with me is their favourite pastime. I'd never asked why but figured it was something to do with my friendship with Troy. Not only is he part of the same pack as them, but his father is the Alpha. Troy was first in line to become the new Alpha. And he had also been promised to Kori the moment she was born. The girl has an unhealthy obsession with him. And that's being nice about it.

Long story short: If you looked up the definition of the origin of the word 'bitch', you'd find a picture of Kori there. Because she's the Original Bitch.

Kori tossed her straight brown hair dramatically over her shoulders and crossed her tan arms. Her smirk grew wider to her resting bitch face. "I knew you weren't really unbeatable. You're not strong of us to beat one of us."

I'm pretty sure my head almost fell of with how hard I rolled my eyes.

Troy's own eye roll was practically audible. "Okay, first: she's having an off day. Everyone has 'em. Second: I'm not one of you. I never will be, so move on with your fucking life."

"You dare deny our shared blood?" Kori growled.

Troy growled back, "Would you rather I put you in your place again, Beta?"

Cyrus and Tyler gasped at his tone. A few onlookers let out a collective 'ooooo'. I covered my mouth with a hand to muffle my sniggering.

It only got worse as Kori failed at spluttering a response. She stomped her foot like a child and stormed off, Cyrus and Tyler close on her heels.

Yep. Troy didn't even have to stand up to get her to back off. Wish I could do that.

Troy leaned back with a chuckled, resting his hands behind his head. "Just as easy as when we were kids."

I leaned my head against the wall, twisting to face him. "Cannot believe you have to marry that bitch."

He sighed. "Yeah, well, that's not the plan."

"You really think going rouge is the answer?" I asked, trying to keep my tone soft. This was a sensitive topic for him but I couldn't help saying, "You'd lose almost everyone you know and who care about you. Surely there are some in your pack who—"

"Not all of us have perfect family lives!" he snapped.

I jumped at his tone. My wings tore from my back on instinct. You know how animals' ears go back when they freak? My wings pop out. It's very annoying. Also, they hit the wall and that hurt.

Troy sat forward with a deep sigh. "Sorry, Hath. Getting out of there is the best option for the whole pack." He forced a laugh. "I'd be a shit Alpha anyway so it's not like I care."

I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You'd be a great Alpha. To the right pack."

He put his hand over mine. "Like ours."

"Yeah. Like ours."

You ever have that moment with someone where the world fades around you, everything starts sparkling, and you can't stop staring at the person you're with? You know, like that thing in rom-coms? You know how the two people staring always kiss at that moment?

I pulled my hand away and shook myself out of the awkwardness that came from that moment. "Gods, that was corny."

"Just a little," Troy agreed, though I could swear he looked a little disappointed.

Obviously a trick of the light.

Okay, yes, we have kissed before, but I thought he'd died and he'd thought I'd died. It was kind of a moment. A moment we hadn't talked about since, nor repeated. Because, and I want to make this abundantly clear, WE DO NOT LIVE IN A ROMANCE NOVEL.

Trou must have come to the same conclusion. He stood and stretched his arms high above his head. "Feel like another round?"

"Sure." I grinned. "Not gonna go easy on you this time."

Troy laughed to the ceiling. "Ha! You think you were going easy on me?"

"You bet." I jumped to my feet. "Think you can take me?"

*

So, it turned out he could take me. A short trip to the nurse's office later, Troy and I found ourselves walking to our next class. Well, I say walking. Both of us were limping. Cut, bruised, bleeding and limping. Sky was talking outside with our friend Esmerelda Amos. Esmé is a cool chick. She's a Lyriumian woman with black skin, short black curls, dark purple eyes, and always has flawless makeup. Seriously, she's so good at it. Always has the perfect shade of lipstick and eyeshadow to bring out her eyes. I've been asking her for tips since we met in first year, but I just can't do it as well as she can! Esmé and Sky spent a lot of time with one of the Academy clubs. It's a support group thing for people like them who have transitioned to the gender they should've been born in. Actually, she was the one who got Sky into it before he went through the transition. She's his bestie.

"What . . . The fuck . . ." Sky was staring at me and Troy with wide eyes.

Troy and I exchanged glances. Partway through our second sparring match, we'd tossed aside our weapons and fought with our bar hands. And paws. It was my magic enhanced strength versus Troy's wolf form. We'd scratched, burnt, bitted and shot at each other until Viviane and a few of our classmates pulled us apart quite literally kicking and screaming. And it was possible that we'd been dragged to the nurse's office.

"We got a bit carried away," I said.

"A bit?!" Esmé exclaimed. "You look like you were thrown in the Pits!"

"Close enough," Troy muttered, rubbing a nasty-looking bruise on his cheek. "For an off day, Hathy's got a fucking good swing.

"Thanks, mate." I punched his shoulder playfully. We both flinched.

Sky sighed his 'I can't believe I have to deal with these idiots' sigh and opened the door. "Let's just get to class, okay?"

The Towers, while mostly filled with classrooms and training arenas, also have a whole bunch of lecture halls. This was one of them. It was long and sloped downward. Two ramps led down to the front and all the seats were lined in slightly curved rows, all of them facing the desk down the front.

Sky, Troy, Esmé and I found four seats together near the front. Some of our other friends were sitting there, too. We chatted as we pulled out our tablets-slash-computers to take notes. As this was only going to be an admin class, I pulled a container of dried fruits from my bag to keep me awake. I think it worked, but there's this chunk of class I just don't remember, so who knows.

Next thing I knew, class was over and Troy was shaking my shoulder. I quickly packed up my things and left with him, Sky and Esmé after saying goodbye to our other friends.

"Enjoy your nap?" Sky asked once it was just the four of us.

I cringed. "How obvious was it?"

"Only obvious when the teacher rolled his eyes at you," Troy answered cheerfully.

"Did I miss anything?"

Esmé tipped her head back to get some sunlight on her face. "Only the usual nonsense: get all assignments in on time, no unauthorized attacks, no entering the catacombs, and only people will passes can enter the Library's restricted area. Oh, and we have a few new teachers."

"New teachers." I nodded. "Should be interesting,"

"I hope they're good ones," Esmé continued cheerfully. "Really don't need bad teachers for our final year." She looked at her watch and gasped. "Gotta run, guys! I'll be late for my next class!"

We said our goodbyes and Esmé hurried off.

"What should we do now?" Sky asked.

Troy let out a loud sigh. "Hathy and I still have classes today. The others do, too."

"Study session later?" I offered. "You can fill me in on everything I missed while I was . . . Uh . . ."

"Catching sleep?" Sky sniggered.

If my hands weren't still aching, I would have hit him.