Chapter 1 A Cruel Dare

Audrey Tonight was the night of the New Year’s Eve dance—and it was also the night that I was supposed to finally sleep with my boyfriend, Max. But as I looked around the crowded ballroom, I couldn’t seem to find him. I grabbed my skirt and looked everywhere for him, all the while praying that Linda wouldn’t find me tonight. Linda O’Malley: one of the most popular girls on campus… and my biggest bully. She targeted me just because I was the only human amongst an entire academy full of werewolves. She had tried to shave my head several times because I was born with a streak of silver hair, which is considered ominous to werewolves. I had begun dying it black ever since. Strangely, she wasn’t anywhere to be found tonight, either; which was odd considering that she always loved to be the center of attention. I was relieved, to say the least. Linda’s bullying had come to a head three months ago, when she was bullying me in the storeroom. Max had rushed in and interrupted her; that was how we met. He said it was love at first sight. He was my hero. “Your dress is so cute, Audrey.” I looked up at the sound of a familiar voice to see my best friend, Tina, swaying slightly in front of me with a glass in her hand. Her compliment made me blush. I had made my dress myself—as I often did with all my clothes. But this dress was special. To make my first time together with Max memorable, I had even made my own lingerie, which I was wearing beneath my dress. “Thanks, Tina,” I replied with a smile. “Have you seen Max, by the way?” Tina furrowed her brow, then shook her head. “No. I figured he was with you.” I frowned. The dance had started, and everyone was dancing with their partners. Meanwhile, I had just spent the past ten minutes hiding in the corner, texting Max to ask where he was. But he never replied. Tina, noticing my frustration, reached out to touch my arm. “Maybe he’s just in the bathroom,” she suggested. “Maybe he drank too much.” I opened my mouth to respond, but then shut it again with a sigh. I hoped that Tina was right, and that was all it was; Max had been growing a bit distant lately, but I had chalked it up to school getting to him. “Well, I need to use the bathroom,” Tina said, finishing the last of her drink. “We’ll see if we can find Max along the way.” “You’re the best, Tina.” “I know I am.” With a grin and a shake of my head, I took Tina’s arm and followed her out of the crowded ballroom. The air was less stifling out here in the quiet, dimly lit hallway, and I felt like I could breathe. But that all changed when we heard the sound of two familiar voices floating out of a nearby utility closet. Max and… Linda. “...only dating her because of that stupid dare.” “It’s gone on for so long now. How could you put up with her all this time?” “It was hard. But it’s almost over…” Tina’s hand tightened around mine. “Audrey—” she began, but I cut her off with a shake of my head and gestured for her to go to the bathroom without me. She pursed her lips for a moment, watching me worriedly, before she left. As I watched her go, my curled up into a tight fist around my skirt—so hard that I thought my nails might rip straight through the lace. Everyone at this academy hated me, everyone except for Tina. I had accepted it at this point. But not from Max. Not from the sweet boy who supposedly fell head over heels for me three months ago. I had thought that he was… different from the others. That someone had finally seen me for me and didn’t care that I was a human, or that I was a bookworm, or that I was a fashion addict. Apparently, I had been dead wrong. “I’d never truly be interested in someone like her,” Max’s voice rang out. “Honestly, I thought she was super smart, too; so I’m surprised she actually fell for it.” “Ah, well. I guess all those books she constantly has her nose in don’t teach her what men actually want.” My heart clenched in my chest, and at that moment, all I wanted to do was get away. Somewhere safe, somewhere secluded, anywhere but here. But I was too slow. Before I had a chance to run, the door suddenly creaked open the rest of the way. I whirled around, my heart pounding, to see Max standing in the doorway just as I suspected. His brown eyes widened into saucers the moment he saw my tear-streaked face. “Audrey!” he gasped. “What are you—” I didn’t give him a chance to finish. Pulling back my shoulders, I tilted my chin up at him in the most defiant pose I could muster. “We’re through,” I said. And before he could even come up with an answer, I spun on my heel, picked up my skirt, and ran away. Thank the Goddess it never came to that, I thought to myself wryly as I slipped into the Academy’s private bar. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if I slept with him; likely he would tell everyone, use it against me in some way. Hastily wiping my tears away, I slid onto one of the barstools and ordered a drink—rum and coke. I didn’t like alcohol that much, but I needed it tonight. I sighed softly as I leaned on the bar, sniffling. A moment later, the bartender shoved my glass over to me. I took it with a muttered “Thanks”, and took a sip. My phone buzzed in my purse, and I slipped it out with a sigh. Multiple texts: some from Tina asking where I was, which I quickly replied to. The others, however, were from Max. “Audrey, it’s not what you think,” he pleaded. “Please, let’s just talk.” I shut off my phone with a huff and stuffed it back into my purse. Talk. Yeah, right. I had no interest in hearing more of his lies. All I wanted to do was take a deep gulp of the liquid in my cup, and I did exactly that. But I wasn’t sitting there for long, however, when I suddenly felt someone bump into me. Before I could steady myself, I lurched forward—and spilled my drink on the sleeve of a man sitting beside me. “Oh! I’m so sorry,” I breathed, momentarily forgetting my heartbreak. I quickly grabbed a nearby napkin and began dabbing at his jacket without even thinking twice about it. “Here, let me get that for you—” “Stop.” The man’s gruff voice, combined with the sudden sensation of his cool fingers around my wrist, left me too breathless to even speak. It seemed as though I didn’t need to. Because not even a moment after the man’s striking gray eyes met mine from beneath his shock of black hair, a voice rang out across the bar. “Audrey! There you are. What are you—” Max’s eyes narrowed as he stormed up to us, a look of jealousy and anger flashing through his features. Before I could even tell him to buzz off, Max was reaching for my wrist to yank me away from the stranger who he clearly thought was his replacement. But when Max met those gray eyes, he froze, his mouth hanging open. “S-Sir,” he stammered, taking a step back as he bowed his head in respect. “I didn’t know that was you.”