Black Ribbon Academy

Once I finished getting dressed, I felt a bit out of place in the clothes. It was really odd being in so much black, especially since these clothes were a few sizes too big and smelt exactly like the vamp Brian.

“I don’t really know about this. . .” I mumbled a bit, tugging at the collar of the giant black button-up I had on, walking out from behind the tree I changed behind. I didn't really know why I changed behind a tree. He'd seen me naked, already, after all, but I was feeling shy.

I watched as Brian turned around to me, then he seemed to just freeze. He was like a statue just standing there. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable as he stared.

My brows rose slightly in confusion. “Are you alright?”

He blinked a few times and nodded his head quickly. “Y-yeah. I’m fine.” His lips lifted in a smile and he tilted his head, assessing me . “Anyways. You look fine. Come on. I’ll take you back now. We’re not too far away.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded, following him. “If you say so.”

His nod was short and curt as he started to walk away. “You know," he started, "you’re the only girl wolf at this school.”

My ears pricked a little at his words as I followed behind him. “The only.- But Malic is a-“

“No," he interrupted, sounding a little irritated that I wasn't getting it. He softened his voice "No. Malic is a guy. I said that you were the only girl wolf.”

My brows furrowed in confusion as that sunk in. “Why?”

He glanced back at me then shrugged. “Malic talked about it the other day.“

“Huh?" I didn’t quite understand what he meant when he spoke. - Why would Malic talk about me being the only female here? Was I really the only female here? - I ducked down, dodging a tree branch before it hit my face.

Brian sighed. “I mean, Malic said that normally wolf families don’t send out the girls to schools or anything like that.” He easily moving around a tree. “Your like the first girl wolf to ever set foot on the island.”

I tilted my head slightly, surprised. “Really?”

He nodded his head again then turned around abruptly, forcing me stop. “Yeah. I’ve never seen a girl wolf up close before.”

I was a bit surprised at how close he came to me. One minute, he was a couple feet in front of me, the next, he was right in my face. He was so close that our noses brushed.

“To be honest you’r so much different than what I had pictured for a wolf-girl,” he commented. He didn't sound disappointed.

I didn't back down, tilting my head instead, curious. “Why do you say that?”

“Well. . .” He pulled away and shrugged, bringing his arms up. “To be honest, I pictured a wolf-girl to have like-” He brought his hands up to his chest as if cupping breasts “-small boobs and like-” He put his hands up to his face and smiled sheepishly “-to have a sort of guy-like face.”

Obviously, I felt extremely offended by his “Idea” of how a female wolf was supposed to look. I had never met an ugly female wolf. “Wolves are nothing like that!” My throat rumbled from the growl that left it.

He quickly put his hands up in defense, laughing softly. “No, no. Don’t take it the wrong way. Malic and the other wolf guys at this school always talk a bit bad about the girl wolves they know.”

I gave him a confused look, my temper turning down to a simmer. “That doesn’t make sense, though. No female wolf is bad looking. . .”

Brian scratched the back of his head. “Seriously? But Malic and the other guys always talk about how they hate the girl wolves they know. Never, uh . .” He glanced at me and used air quotes. “'Got the right stuff'”

Then realization dawned upon me. Malic wasn’t trying to make fun of wolf females. It was a trick to get guys who aren’t wolf to keep from being intersted. It was something males did to protect the females in the pack. It was stupid, but it worked. And that’s why this guy seemed surprised by me.

I shook my head, dumbfounded. “Well, their descriptions are wrong.”

He nodded his head towards me, a wicked smile on his face. “I can see that.”



It took us a while to get back to the dorms, and it was definitely a bit odd walking back to the dorms with the male. Not because I was in his clothes and not because he was a vampire, but because, once we got to the dorms, there were all kinds of people staring at us. I didn’t really think that they were staring at me, most eyes were on Brian.

By the time we made it to my room, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why is everyone staring?”

Brain seemed a bit surprised by my question, but laughed anyways. “It’s hard to explain. Maybe another time, okay?”

I squinted at him in suspicion. “Yeah. . .Sure.”

“Brian!!” a very familiar voice called out.

The voice in itself made my wolf reflexes come out. I moved away from the hall and started to lower myself down to one knee, my instincts taking over before I could even blink.

“Don’t,” the voice said to me, stopping me from completely humiliating myself in front of everyone in the crowded halls.

Gratefully, I pulled my self straight and raised my eyes towards the alpha to see Malic standing in the exact place the I had been standing in a minute ago. He looked angry, but still seemed rather lazy. He put his hands in the pockets of what I was guessing was the school uniform. It was a black button up long sleeved shirt that looked a bit too big on him, hanging out from under his vest and over his hands. The vest was tight fitting and dark purple and had chains all around it like they were falling down his shoulders as well as a little symbol that was obviously the school's logo, spelling out "B. R. Academy". His pants were simple black slacks that sagged a bit more than they should have. On his pants were the same chains I had seen yesterday.

“Hello, Malic,” I said automatically.

He glanced towards me then gave me a slight smile. “Hey.” His gaze turned back to Brian and turned cold. “What’s the meaning of this?” His growl was low and menacing.

I could already tell that Malic was upset that Brian was with me. It was a normal wolf instinct to keep females away from other species. And Brian was "other species".

“Malic. . .” I started softly, hoping to draw his attention back to me and spare Brian.

It didn’t work.

“It’s fine, Mal," Brian said easily. "Really. I found her in the middle of the forest. I got her some clothes and like-“

“What?!” he shouted, furious, even more enraged at his admission. I was surprised Brian's hair wasn't blown back. His laziness had vanished into thin air, his alpha tendency seemingly awakened by Brian’s words. His male features seemed to grow even more. . . well, male. He slowly unfolded his body from it’s slouched position and grew to be much larger than I would have expected from his normal posture. He seemed to take up the entire hallway as he stood there, making me want to shrink away. Sadly, though, his hardened gaze snapped to me. He ground out his next words through clenched teeth. “What does he mean by getting you clothes?!”

My eyes raised to his, as wolf custom demanded, and I told him, “I ended up. . um, getting an itch. You know. To run.”

He growled again and I flinched. “What about it?! You're old enough to not need someone to get you clothes after shifting. Why now!” He seemed to notice my fear of him - that, and my humiliation - because his eyes widened in understanding and his voice softened. “No way. . You're still maturing.”

It wasn't a question, but I felt compelled to answer anyways. “I am. It’s a curse of being a half breed. The human side of me makes me mature slower than a purebred.”

His hardened expression softened even further and turn lazy again. It was as if a switch inside of him was flipped. He seemed to understand my situation a lot better than most other wolves would have and more than I thought he would. He shook his head, his expression bewildered, and returning to his original posture - which in my eyes looked like it would hurt anyone’s back if you stayed like that for too long. “Just. . .Go change, would you?” He spoke calmly but the command still lingered, forcing me to obey.

So I did as I was told, leaving the two males behind, and left the hall.