Paws of Fire - A Wolfs Aura

Chapter Four - Daily Life

Sighing, she threw her bag over her shoulder. Not over the right, as usual, but the left. Because her right shoulder still hurt from one of the last exercises she had to do in the forest. Although she was stronger and had better healing powers than the people around her, it would take a while for her to be completely fit again.

The girl hurriedly went outside, crossed the corridor and put her first foot on the cobbled path in front of the building when suddenly someone bumped into her from the side. She took the headphones out of her ears and was ready to snap at this rude person when she saw Mona's mischievous laugh. She sighed.

"A simple hello would have done the trick." Her voice sounded serious.

"Oh come on, don't be so grim." Mona shook her shoulder as if to loosen it up, but that only made the black-haired girl more annoyed.

Mona had a round face, light hair and dark brown eyes. Now that she was standing there, sucking air into her cheeks, she almost looked like a beautiful balloon that could burst at any moment.

"If you wear headphones, you're deaf," Mona muttered. Chandrya knew that was true. As soon as she put the headphones on, the world around her was forgotten. It was almost impossible to speak to her unless you were Draco Sterling.

"I'm sorry," Chany said carefully. Even if she wasn't sorry, Mona was her friend and she didn't want to be mean to her. The two had known each other for many years and Mona didn't care how cranky and strange Chandrya could be sometimes. She was loyal and had always stuck by her.

"Mhhhh..." Mona wiggled back and forth on her tiptoes thoughtfully, as if she had to briefly think about accepting Chany's apology.

"It's okay," she finally said, "but as compensation, let's get some ice cream from Giuseppe after class!" On any other day, Chany would have agreed immediately. Just thinking about the creamy cherry ice cream that Giuseppe made himself, made her mouth water. But today, she had other plans. She would go home, study for the exams, and then go into the forest where she could continue practicing her powers.If she was lucky, Draco would also be stopping by today, who could teach her how to be a wolf far better than she ever could have done herself. But that wasn't surprising. Draco had to live like this for how many years? Definitely the 50th. Chany thought.

So lost in thought, she didn't even notice how she and Mona were already walking again. Chany hesitated, she didn't know what to say to Mona. Even though her friends were important to her, they had never found out about the other side of her. Nobody should ever know! She was told this explicitly often enough, even if her parents themselves never spoke about this part of Chandrya.

Before, she wasn't even sure whether they knew about it. For years it had been a secret to them that Chany sneaked into the forest to shift. Her actions were always dismissed as adventurous, as if she simply wanted to explore the world like a child. Draco was the first to find out. She didn't know if he ever told them. She herself hadn't said a word about it.

"Hey, you two!" she greeted Tate casually and he followed the two of them at a steady pace. "And Tate can come too!" Mona announced. Tate was Chany and Mona's best friend. Like Mona, he was hardly surprised at Chany's sometimes strange manner. For this reason, he was not surprised that she said nothing and Mona continued the conversation alone.

“Where are we going?” he wanted to know and had to laugh a little.

"To Giuseppe!" Mona gesticulated wildly with her hands and, happier than ever, listed all the goodies that were there, so that she could make Chany smile too. How could Chandrya say no now? But what if Draco really came today? She didn't want to keep him waiting either.

Tate put a hand on Chany's right shoulder and was just about to state what a great idea it was to finally do something together again when Chandrya recoiled in pain.

Holy crap! She cursed internally, her face scrunched up tensely. Until now she had thought that her injury hadn't been that bad.

“Are you okay?” Tate and Mona asked almost at the same time. Chandrya nodded cautiously.

"It's okay. I just hurt myself a little while playing sports. It's not too bad," she lied. Tate and Mona had always thought Chandrya's family was a little wealthier. Not that she lived in a big castle or anything, but her father had to have something extraordinary as a job. Something where Chany needed escorts every now and then and had all these great extracurricular activities. Sport was just one of the important things, which is why she often had little time for the two of them.

Chandrya had been fully aware of what her friends were imagining, and she had certainly subconsciously contributed to them thinking such things. All of this just made it easier to make up excuses for this and that every now and then.

Mona and Tate exchanged worried glances before Tate looked at Chandrya with his pitying blue eyes. Despite his cool image as one of the popular kids at school, Tate was always sensitive and always responded to people with a lot of empathy. Maybe that was what the girls liked about Tate. Chandrya had often thought about this. Tate wasn't just good-looking with his tousled light brown hair and his mischievous smile.

“You always exaggerate with your duties too much!” Mona chided Chany, putting her hands on her hips.

"Mona..." Tate sighed, but he was immediately hit by her too.

"What? That's true! She probably wanted to train again today! Otherwise she would have responded to our suggestion long ago." Mona's words hit Chandrya like lightning. She was right, Chany had avoided answering and she definitely wanted to train again. There was no point in arguing with Mona, she and Tate just knew her too well.

Whether it was Mona's serious expression or the still slight pain in her shoulder, this was the moment Chandrya made a decision for herself. Today she was going to give herself a day off from everything.

"I'm sure Chany would have told us if she didn't have time. As much as you talk, I'm sure she just hasn't gotten the word out to agree," Tate teased Mona, giving Chany a loving look, which thanked him with a slight nod of her head.

Mona gently pushed Tate with a loud, "Hey!" and laughed. A funny sight, as Tate was almost two heads taller than little Mona. He had easily held her at bay with just one arm and was giggling as he said something like, "It's just the truth, little one."

Chany didn't want to interrupt Tate and Mona's game, even though Mona was clearly waiting for her to say yes. For this reason, she gave them both a moment to sort out their matters.

When Mona suddenly stood at Chandrya's side again and tried to giggle, completely out of breath, Chany finally said: "Ice cream at Guiseppe sounds great!" Mona's grin grew wider because she definitely wasn't expecting that.

"My last lecture is at 2," Mona let the other two know.

"Mine as well," Chany replied, and Tate explained that he would just wait for the two of them. After lunch, the three parted ways as each of them had to go to a different room.

A few minutes later, when Chandrya sat down on one of the chairs in the large room, she knew for sure that she now had a problem. Although she had successfully averted another drama with Mona, there was another one to come. Today Tobi would pick her up and if she was lucky, Francis wouldn't be there, and if Francis wasn't there, then it was very likely that Draco wouldn't be there today as well.

This thought made her a little sad, even though it would be better that way. Francis was a lot harder to get rid of than Tobi, John or Shona. There was a reason he was Draco's beta after all. His abilities were impressive, although not as impressive as Draco's, of course.

So it would be possible to escape Tobi alone. Or maybe she could just tell him the truth without Francis there. Surely he would have no problem watching Chany from a distance until she went home. Of all three, he was the best person to talk to and negotiate with. Certainly because he had long since given up trying to fight her. Chany always managed to sneak away and he would rather know where she was and be able to watch over her from a distance than have Draco tear his head off for losing her again.