"The dorms are amazing and the classes are challenging. Oh, plus I hear that the students there are a friendly bunch. You'll make a lot of friends in no time. Trust me Luna, you're going to love it there." My aunt, Marissa, continued to drone on about the new prep school she had managed to get me into. It wasn't Yale or Oxford and it wasn't like I didn't like the school but moving away from everything I'd known just for education seemed to put a damper on things.
I sighed and looked out the window, the woods coming into view as we sped by. What I wouldn't have given to be back at the house, nestled with a book and some hot chocolate. Instead, I was being shipped off to a high end prep school that only the elite could go to because I was on a premium scholarship. Hell, I didn't even know how I got it. Aunt Marissa told me that she heard about it and submitted my name and luckily I was accepted. I couldn't even disagree because she was my sole guardian.
I kept quiet the rest of the drive, my anxiety gnawing at me until we finally arrived at our destination. Moon Valley University. A quirky name all round but what could I say. It was free for me. The car came to a halt, allowing me to look up at the massive building, the initials MVU scrawled at the top as if someone had written it up there. A fountain with a large wolf stood tall in the middle of the courtyard, gleaming in the sunlight while some words were scribbled beneath it. Words, I couldn't quite make out yet.
"Stop gaping and come on. You have to settle in so that you can't be late." Aunt Marissa said to me as she tapped my leg, stopping me from daydreaming about the place before she got down from the car. I followed her lead and soon enough, we had gotten all my things out of the back of the car. I looked down at my stuff wondering how I was supposed to carry all of this, navigate through the school and find my assigned room.
"Come on, it can't be that hard." Aunt Marissa said to me, her brows furrowed, thinking the same thing. She was just as clueless.
Just then, a voice called out and footsteps got closer, calling both our attention. A tall Asian guy with an undercut and a dangerous smile stood before us, his brown eyes focused on me.
"Good afternoon. It seems you're new to MVU. Welcome on behalf of all the students. I can show you around if you want. Plus, it looks like you need help."
I opened my mouth to turn down his offer when my aunt beat me to it.
"Oh, she would love that. Aren't you a nice boy."
"Aunt Marissa." I drew out her name, trying to get her to stop but she tapped me on the shoulder and smiled.
"Oh, don't be rude. He's only trying to help."
I glared at her but like always, she ignored my hatred and jingled her keys in her hands.
"Now, I've got to go but call me once you've settled in. I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about." She said with a wink before turning around to get into her car.
"But wait..." Was all I could get out before the door slammed shut, the car roared to life and tore out of the compound. I watched the car disappear with a frown on my face and a tick in my jaw. This woman wanted me to make any friend as soon as possible. Damn her.
"What should I start with first?" The Asian guy asked me, making me turn my attention back to him.
"I've got it, thanks," I told him, picking up some boxes to take with me on my search. A total of four in all but I could balance them. Trying to see and walk at the same time might be the issue.
"You sure about that?" He nodded at my precariously balanced stack of boxes. "Because that top one is about to..."
The box tipped and before I could react, he caught it with impossible reflexes, steadying both it and me with one hand.
"...fall," he finished, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "I'm Kai, by the way. Student advisor for Wellington Hall."
"Luna," I muttered, trying to reclaim my box, a bit glad that he was there to help. His grip didn't budge.
"Luna?" His eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously. My mom had a thing for astronomy." And apparently a twisted sense of humor, given recent events. But I wasn't sharing that particular detail with Mr. Perfect Hair.
"Well, Luna," he said my name like he was tasting it, "If you won't allow me help then at least let me show you to your room. Wellington can be a maze."
I wanted to refuse again, but my arms were starting to shake from the weight.
"Fine. Room 314."
His smile widened as he carried the rest of my luggage and the lone box in both his hands. How did he do that?
"Perfect. Right this way." He said before leading me into the massive building.
Wellington Hall loomed ahead of us, all gothic spires and weathered stone. A contrast from how it was just outside.
"Yeah, what Wellington Hall lacks for in decoration, it makes up for in grades and other proclivities." Kai assured me with his signature smile as we walked through the hallways and through the sea of eyes that looked my way. Never had I wanted to disappear more in my entire life.
"Incoming!" A voice shouted from behind us. I turned to see a guy on a skateboard swerving through the small crowd, his blond hair catching the sunlight. He pulled off an impressive jump over someone's suitcase, but his landing brought him straight toward us.
I tightened my grip on my boxes and braced for impact, but suddenly there was another body between us. Tall, broad-shouldered, radiating authority like a physical force. The skateboarder stopped dead, his board somehow halting mid-roll.
"Felix," the newcomer's voice was low, dangerous. Terrifying even.
"What did I say about skateboarding during move-in?"
"Sorry, Ash!" The blonde and blue eyed one – Felix – grinned sheepishly. "Got carried away. But hey, I found her first!"
"Found who?" I stepped around my human shield, irritation flaring. "What is wrong with everyone today?" I mumbled to myself.
Three pairs of eyes locked onto me with an intensity that made my skin buzz. The newcomer – Ash – stared longest, his dark gray eyes unreadable.
"Nothing's wrong," he said finally. "Felix, help Kai with her boxes. I need to speak with her."
"I don't need..." I started, but Kai was already handing off my boxes to an eager Felix.
"Trust me," Kai winked, "you want to hear what he has to say."
Before I could protest further, Ash gently but firmly steered me away from the crowd. Up close, he was even more imposing. All sharp angles, controlled power and a musk that screamed 'try me'. What I assumed to be a tribal tattoo, peeked out from under his shirt collar, curling up his neck like flames and I stared at it until he led me into one of the empty rooms in the hallway. He left the door half way open so as to not scare me. Good choice.
"Luna Foster," he said, not a question. "Welcome to Moon Valley University. We've been expecting you."
"How do you know my name?" I questioned him while I took a step back towards the door, alarm bells ringing. "Who the hell is 'we'?"
He reached for me, then stopped as I pulled my hand back. Something like pain flashed across his face.
"You really don't know, do you?" he murmured.
"I'll skip to the point. Do you remember what happened on your eighteenth birthday?"
The memory hit like a physical blow. Moonlight, searing pain, my mother's tears, all that blood. The strange changes I'd written off as stress or imagination. I clenched my fists and spoke through gritted teeth.
"That's none of your business," I snapped, turning to leave but his hand caught my wrist, gentle but immovable.
"It is my business," he said quietly. "Because you're like us. And you're in danger."
I turned to him, ready to curse him out or scream bloody murder until I could get away but just then a howl echoed from the distant woods, too wild and close to be a normal wolf. Ash's grip tightened as other students hurried past, none of them seeming to notice the sound. I glanced out the window and then back to him, my resolve not wavering when he spoke before me.
"What I'm about to tell you will change everything," he said. "But first, you need to know that nothing about your enrollment here was an accident. We brought you here to protect you."
I stared at him, at the absolute certainty in his eyes while my mind raced with the question, 'What the hell is going on?'. Behind us, I could feel Kai and Felix watching, standing guard. The sun dipped behind a cloud, and in that moment of shadow, I could have sworn Ash's eyes flashed gold.
"Protect me from who?" I whispered the question, my nerves getting the best of me.
His answer chilled me to the bone.
"From the ones who killed your mother."
