Between Two Worlds

Chapter 6 Back to School

Neve

The first few weeks of our last term at the Academy were not what I had expected. This was meant to be the best term yet… the six of us inseparable, surfing and partying before the responsibility kicked in. Instead, Jake, Duke and Samuel refused to be anywhere near one another. But whilst that was difficult and confusing in itself to navigate, the more confusing part was the anger all three of the boys directed at me. I had no idea what happened in those sand dunes, and I had even lesser of an idea how whatever happened was my fault.

Jake dragged Anita around everywhere with him, so I rarely got to speak to her except in the one class us girls shared without the boys, Music. Fleur thankfully escaped the direct wrath of the trio, but this put her in an awkward predicament. No matter who she chose to hang out with of the three boys, the remaining two became annoyed with her decision. When this became too much to handle, Fleur and I decided to avoid the boys altogether and hide in the library.

The Academy library was huge. It was rumoured to be one of the largest libraries in the entire Summer Realm. I absentmindedly ran my fingers along one of the bookshelves, reading the different titles. I stopped when I reached a book titled Wolf pack lineage of the Autumn Realm. My eyes widened as I pulled the book from the shelf. Maybe I could find details about my father here? I walked over and flopped onto the couch Fleur was curled up reading some droll fashion magazine.

“I think hiding out in the library may be a great idea,” I said excitedly.

Fleur c****d one eyebrow when she read the title of the book I held in my hands.

I continued my idea, “I can use this time to start searching for possible answers about my family.”

“Would you like me to help?” asked Fleur. She was a history nerd, so this research stuff was right up her alley.

“Really? That would be fantastic!”

“Not a problem,” she replied, discarding her magazine and starting to scan the shelves for more books. “You said your dad was from the Autumn Realm, right?”

I nodded my head as she removed half a dozen books from the shelf.

***

I threw another book on the pile in frustration. After a week of reading, I had even more questions than when I started.

“This is impossible!” I snapped.

“Don’t give up,” Fleur encouraged me, standing from her seat stretching. “We have hardly made a dent in the library’s collection.”

“Nope! I’m done. I need a break.” I sigh. “Let's go to the beach for a swim. Then we can hang out at home and watch some Netflix or something?”

“Sure,” Fleur nodded in agreement, grabbing her backpack.

***

I ducked under another wave, watching the whitewash swirl around me. The water felt amazing. This was a fantastic idea. All my frustrations were gone- I wasn’t worried about the rift between the boys and my fruitless research was a distant memory- I felt at one with the ocean.

I surfaced at the same time as Fleur, and we grinned at each other. I suddenly felt eyes on me from the shore. Treading water, I turned around to see Samuel watching us. I instinctively raised a hand to wave at him, but he did not respond. Maybe he was finally ready to talk about everything that had been happening the last few weeks?

I quickly catch the next wave to shore, and eagerly start walking up the beach. Samuel never took his eyes off me. Finally, I was standing in front of him. I smiled warmly at him, anticipating things between us returning to normal. He did not return my smile. His wolf came forward, his eyes darkened as they roamed my bikini-clad body, his eyes coming to rest on my bikini bottoms sitting dangerously low on my hips. I cleared my throat nervously as I studied his expression. He stepped back, his eyes returning to their beautiful dark brown, and he fixed an icy glare on me. “You need to cover up!” was all he said before turning and running away.

I winced. What was that about? Samuel was always the nice one. I honestly thought he had a thing for me. But I guess I was wrong.

Fleur came to stand beside me, watching Samuel run up the sand dunes. “What did he want?”

“Nothing,” I muttered, hot angry tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. “Just the same s**t I have been getting from all three of those stupid boys.” I just didn’t get it. When Jake, Duke and Samuel had run off into the sand dunes during their first shift, they were these carefree amazing guys that I was proud to call my friends. But when they returned there was so much hostility and tension, and it was all directed at me… it felt like I’d farewelled three of my best friends, and welcomed back three new versions of my over-protective brother, Duke.

“Oh, Neve,” whispered Fleur as she watched me wipe away a rogue tear that had escaped my eye.

“Let's go,” I sniffed as I gathered up my school bag and clothes. As we walked up the beach towards home, I looked up at the sand dunes to see Samuel had stopped to watch us leave. I flash him a fake over-the-top smile before scowling and flipping him the bird. His body visibly stiffened before he turned and disappeared over the dune.

Asshole!