Cody's POV

I wave goodbye to James as he and Alex walk off towards their first class, leaving me at the office with my absence note. Today, I'm also supposed to talk to the secretary about changing my classes so that I'm on the leadership course, securing my spot in next years Higher Education.

But as I stand in the doorway of the front office, the lights blinding and offensive as they reveal every blemish and flaw in 4k, the trilling of the phone and
obnoxious chewing coming from a Witch sitting in one of the waiting chairs, I feel myself wanting to run away, dread and anxiety creeping up my throat.

'I know it's uncomfortable, but this is important. You said you're ready to accept your role and step up to the plate? Here's your chance to prove it.' Jessie encourages me lightly as a flash of heat engulfs my body, my heads and forehead breaking out into a sweat as I enter the room. Using Jessie's words as a crutch, I walk towards the front desk, flinching slightly as the bored, almost dead looking Hybrid sitting behind the desk.

I clear my throat, aiming to grab her attention, my eyes meeting the ground when she glances up with an annoyed glare.

"Uh. good morning. I'm here to get my classes changed and sign up for Higher Education next year." I explain to the Faerie-Vampire hybrid, her albino features a dead give away to the second half of her DNA.

"Sit down. I'll be with you shortly." She answers, and I sigh and I turn around and sit three seats down from the Witch. I anxiously check the clock on the wall and hold in a frustrated sigh, tears pricking my eyes in annoyance and overwhelm.

This is supposed to be an easy and quick process that allows me to go to class on time and not miss a days worth of assignments and lessons. Holding back tears from being forced to wait and while the Hybrid Secretary does nothing, I pull up the hood from my jacket in attempts to block out the soul searing light from my eyes. After the bell rings and another fifteen minutes of waiting, I finally get to see a guidance counselor, the Hybrid barely sparing me a glance as she calls my name.

I head down a small hallway off towards the right as instructed, and find the third door down, slightly open as soft music plays from inside. I knock on the door, stomach in my ass, and heart in my throat, waiting until I hear the gruff voice of an older man call me in. When I open the door, I find myself staring at an older Hybrid, a Faerie-Angel at least six hundred hundred years old from the rare smattering of wrinkles I see that adorn his otherwise flawless face. Even at such an old age, his face is beautiful and alluring, as all Faeries and Angels are. His Faerie ears are pointed and adorned in jewelry, it's light purple eyes striking against his pale halo. I sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk and awkwardly wait for him to say something.

He stops what he's doing on his computer and I watch as he studies me from top to bottom, his expression never changing, almost worst than the usual look of disgust and contempt I'm used to getting from Hybirds.

"I was told you wanted to sign up for Higher Education. I checked your files just now, and there's no blood relation that qualifies for the course, and your birthday isn't for another two weeks, so help me understand." He tells me, his voice deep and smooth but unyielding, his gaze still staring me as if searching for something.

"Uh... yes that is true, but, uh, recently the Alpha of my pack and I started spending time together and while my birthday hasn't come yet, we're pretty certain that I am his Soulmate and therefore will one day be Luna." I tell him, still finding a hard time believing it myself. His expression doesn't changed. just watches me before turning and going back to the screen on his computer.

"I'm sorry to say I can't help you. School rules decided by the High Court & Council state that no one is allowed to take Higher Education unless it's absolutely necessary and can be proved. If it was your birthday, this would be no problem. You would be sporting a mark, and it would be a piece of cake. But it's not, and you're not, so I can't." He explains flatly and while it only adds to my frustration, the fact that I came here for no reason at all, I can't argue the law or facts.

"Fine." I breathe, my brain now tired and cranky, hoping to dear Celeste that the rest of the day won't be that obnoxious. As I go to get up, I realize something. With his age and his species, he's more than likely an old solider from the war.

'Maybe something he says can help us or give us some clue. But it won't only help if we were old enough to have lived through at least the peace Treaty.' Jessie admits, but I can sense some hesitation, undoubtedly founded by the fact that the man is a Hybrid. But as I try my hand at tapping into my power, happy when I succeed, and use my eyes, his aura a deep red, active mana absent from his office.

Feeling a bit secure and maybe even a little reckless, I give it a try.

"Hey, Mr....."

"Alban." He fills in with a nod.

"Mr.Alban. If it's not rude to do so, may I ask how old you are? It's obvious you're a Faerie Angel Hybrid, but I know that effects everyone's age range differently." I inquire, my curiosity bleeding through my tone as excitement. Alban pauses in whatever he's doing on the computer to turn to me, his eyes studying me once more, his head tilted slightly.

"You are correct, I am a Hybrid. Most people see the Halo and assume I'm a pure Angel. Most miss the ears and the eyes." He tells next acknowledging my attention to detail. "You're also correct about how age effects all Hybrids differently even if they're the same species. I am eight hundred and eighty two years old. I am told I might be able to even reach a thousand one day, but one could only hope." He shares, his attention suddenly gone, his gazing at something only he can see, a memory of pain crossing his almost lavender eyes.

"So then you were alive when the Treaty was signed and they locked Satan away? And before that. And you were here three hundred years ago when the Daemon attacks stopped, right?" I ask, in awe of meeting someone so old, an entire world of history and stories forgotten resting in his soul and on his shoulders.

His gaze sharpens as well as his back, pure solider like instincts springing to action at my words. 'Looks like you hit a nerve.' Jessie murmurs, and I can tell he's ready to take over if things go south, but I want to continue, hoping that I can be useful in trying to solve this puzzle and figure out what's going on.

"I was a young man that soon learned that I knew nothing about the world. I was a fool, but I was alive." He answers, his lip raising in hate, purple eyes blazing as he stares me down. looking right through me. "Why do you ask of such things, child?" He asks me, focusing on me once more. I think about telling him the truth, figuring this is what a guidance counselor is supposed to do after all, guide. But Jessie disagrees.

'Remember, Cody. James doesn't want this getting to to not just his father, but all of Vilin. If you tell Alban what's going on, more than likely he'll have to report it. Then not only will they take over, but we'll be punished for hiding it from them." He reminds me, stopping me from being more reckless than I already was.

"Like I said, I'm pretty sure I'm the next Luna of my pack. I want to make sure that I know the history and any past or further treaties that may arise." I answer cooly, trying my best to keep taking deep level breaths, needing my heart to stay calm. "For example, even though it's been three hundred years since Daemons have attacked, how are we sure it won't happen again?" I ask, hoping I come off as a paranoid fan boy of little importance, not wanting this to follow me somehow.

There's a few beats of silence and I'm worried that I fucked up some how and he saw right through me, but after a moment, he looks around, as if someone could be watching us, and leans in to answer.

"Ever since I was alive, there's been a narrative that Satan is the bad guy. She's evil, she's the Devil, she wants to kill all Divine Children and all that jazz. But I got captured once, as a prisoner of war, before the Treaty was signed. The Nightlies seemed to believe in what they were doing. They believed in Satan. Why, I don't know. A hundred years later, they've all forsaken her and made peace with the Divine Children. They fought by her side for a thousand years after the Divine Children all came together under Celeste. Her children have forsaken her, she's been banished to Hell, and the Daemon Lord stays in his region. A nice tidy package of a story we've been told ever since the invasions stopped. If we were to believe that story, then I would assure you that you're safe and sound and that, no, the bogey man has given up and won't bother you anymore." He tells me, his eyes fierce and alive with a passion that has me holding my breath in awe, scared to break the moment and spell.

But then my brain catches up with his words, and even Jessie seems intrigued and confused when I call out his weird wording. "What do you mean, if we are to believe?" I ask, my mind racing as I take in the information about the fact that before they signed the Treaty, Nightlies were willingly allied with Satan and supported her until... what? What happened that made Nightlies sign the Interspecies Peace Treaty and turn on Satan?

Before I can even voice the next question that my mind conjures up, Alban answers the first. "Have you ever heard the phrase, Cody, that you shouldn't always be so willing to trust the official story? Ever."

blindfolds, missing pieces and keys
the official story isn't the one to seize
after three hundred moons, darknesss persists
uncovering of history will cause hearts to shift

Is this what it meant? Is there really something more to our history than what we've been told. Is it possible that we might even have been... lied to?

My mind is immediately reeling, outright rejecting the thoughts that form in my mind, unable to stop the theories from forming. Starting to get uncomfortable, though not sure how to get out of there without offending him, I'm suddenly saved when there's a knock on the door.

Suddenly, Mr. Alban's entire demeanor shifts, falling back into the alert, calm and collected Hybrid that I saw when I entered.

Taking the opportunity to escape, I stand up and quickly thank Mr. Alban before opening the door and squeezing past the two people that are there. In my hurry I almost don't notice the pearl grey mana infused uniforms with a balance scale emblem encrusted on the backs. But I do, noting the infamous uniforms as I leave the counselor's wing and the front office, my palms sweating as I try to make sense out of what the hell happened.

As I make my way to class in a preoccupied hurry, one thing is certain, shit is going to get really complicated, really fast.

✨✨✨

"....and that's when there was a knock on the door. When I opened it to leave, there were two officers from Vilin waiting for him. I went to class after that." I finish, grateful to finally have the chance to tell James & Alex what happened this morning, lunch too packed with too many super hearing beings to ever discuss something like this.

Once I finish talking, James takes a minute to think, his gears working as I pick at my cuticles, the stinging pain almost soothing in a way. "You're right, Cody, there's definitely something more going on with Alban and Vilin. The only way we're going to find out though, is if you ask him yourself. He seemed pretty forthcoming. Now if we believe him is up to us, and right now, I don't see a reason we should. Though, as much as it pains me to admit it, what he said reminded me, too of the prophecy. And if our history is really the official story he was referring to, then this is a lot bigger than us. And we might find ourselves in a situation we can't get ourselves out of." He worries and Alex nods.

"I agree. They're either after the man because he knows too much or because he's spreading lies about Goddess Celeste, each serious crimes in the eyes of Vilin. We need to figure out what's going on so we can stay ahead of the curve. The last thing we need is to be targeted by Vilin." He confirms and they agree to bring it up to the rest of their hand picked team as we cross over the border into Vollmond, the familiar smell of Wolf Woods inviting and welcoming after a long day.

James and I say our goodbyes to Alex, James gifting him with the task of carrying our bags to my room, before making our way towards our usual training grounds.

The race is this weekend, and as much as I was unconvinced at first, I find myself growing more and more excited about the event as the days go on.

We finally arrive at the clearing and decide to start with a few warm up races.

As we joke around and laugh, stretching our bodies out, I allow the warm embrace of James' company and smile to calm my anxiety, the noise in my mind almost gone as he pouts every time he looses.

As the day comes to a close, and James gets ready to head towards a meeting to update his team, I find myself praying. I pray to Celeste that James is mine. I pray that we'll be safe and live to be old and grey. I pray that the official story is the truth, and that we as wolf can continue being proud for our role in history.

I pray that soon things will return to normal, and these worries that eat at us now, will be nothing but a memory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ooooh another suspenseful chapter for you guys. I can't wait to write the next one, you'll love it. Let's see if I can get to 30 by the end of the week.

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