Chapter 3-Dorm Room Full of Exes

"Clementine Stark, I hope you’ve made up your mind to cooperate," the headmaster of Ravecrest, the principal of the academy, said, his fingers tapping on the table. He wore a black mask, his gray eyes shining from behind it. He was known as the Masked Principal. He was strong and powerful, but also arrogant and strict. That’s what I’d heard about him. He was tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. The black suit he wore fit him like a character from a movie. "You will be sent to a guest room for now. We’ve paired you up with some of the best candidates for the time being. Later, there will be a trial in the ruins which will decide your permanent squad for the rest of the year, before you are also sent to your dorm room." He had such a robotic voice, or maybe it was because of the mask covering his lips. But his presence made me nod, even though I didn’t want to agree with him. The last week had been so hard for me that I kept wondering whether I should keep resisting or switch to survival mode. After I messed up by being impatient, the warriors took the guy away, and I never saw him again. But I heard they were beating him nonstop to teach him a lesson. I was thrown back in the cage with the others, where they made us do hard labor during the day and left us locked up in the mountains at night, listening to the growls of monsters and ogres. Sleeping was nearly impossible. "Lurker! Take her to her guest room," he said, without moving a muscle, except for his fingers that kept tapping, creating a strange rhythm. The Lurkers were basically the guards, the ones who had brought me here. Or should I say, the ones who had kidnapped me. I stood up when the Lurker grabbed my arm and started pulling me away. Fighting was pointless. The ones who disobeyed were tortured in the worst ways. "Do you have a name?" I asked the Lurker, who didn’t respond. Their mouths were covered, a black mask hiding the lower half of their faces. They never spoke, never reacted, they only followed orders and observed us. Soon we were walking down a dark, long hallway with old-fashioned decorations on the tables and pictures hanging on the walls. He stopped in front of one of the many rooms and handed me a big, vintage key. "Ah! Still asleep, of course," I muttered to my wolf, still under the effects of wolfsbane. They had been drugging us to keep us under control. The Lurker walked away while I stood outside the room, sighing and staring at the key. "I’ll be fine. Girls usually like me," I reassured myself. And it wasn’t a lie. Since I wasn’t your typical popular or girly girl, most girls didn’t feel threatened by me. I was like a bro to them. With that thought in my mind and a lot of confidence, I swirled the key in the keyhole and opened the door to the room. As soon as I stepped in, I frowned. It was empty. There were three beds lined up against one wall, and the other three were on the wall with the door to the outside. The bathroom was on the side with no beds. I walked in and caught a whiff of cologne. That was the first shocker I’d had. It was men’s cologne. My heart skipped a beat as I looked around at the bags next to the beds. There was one pink bag, which gave me a bit of hope, but then the rest just seemed like trouble. "One, two, three—three sketchy bags," I muttered under my breath, counting the three bags that looked like something a guy would carry. One of the beds next to mine was empty. I had just put my bag down when I heard some noises coming from the bathroom. It was a girl gagging. My instincts kicked in, and despite calling myself an anti-hero, I rushed to help her. However, before I could storm in, the door opened and the girl in question walked out. "Ah! That was wonderful," she said with a satisfied look on her face, clearly not in any kind of trouble. Her long blonde hair was soaking wet, her pink skirt all rumpled. She was hurriedly fixing the tiny white top she wore when her eyes landed on me. "Ew!! What kind of guy are you?" she said, giving me a once-over. "I won’t let you touch me," she added quickly, making me frown. "I’m not a guy," I defended myself hastily before she thought I was some homeless dude trespassing. She looked me up and down before bursting out laughing. I looked down at my baggy shirt and sweater and then at my shoes. What was she laughing about? "You don’t look like a girl either. Those Billie Eilish clothes only work on her," she said, flicking me before walking off. "Really?" I grunted. Ugh! Why did she have to test my patience? I was known for having a bad temper, and she had just woken up the beast inside me. "At least I’m not the one hooking up with some weirdos on the first day of meeting them," I snapped. As soon as I said that, I saw her eyes shift to something, or someone behind me. "She’s calling you a weirdo," she snickered, making me gulp. I slowly turned around to face my new roommates, and just like that, I’d already made a terrible first impression. But it wasn’t just bad, it was much worse. The three guys walking out of the bathroom narrowed their eyes at me, then started exchanging glances with each other. Shit! What were the chances of that happening? In front of me stood a tall, handsome guy, all platinum blond hair, thick black eyebrows, blue eyes, a sharp jawline, and high cheekbones. In other words, Alpha Troy Dusk. My best friend, well, once best friend, a good childhood friend who thought I betrayed him by leaking his secrets in high school. Beside him stood a tall, muscular guy with broad shoulders and a neck so strong you couldn’t help but stare at it. He had gray eyes you could look into for hours, if you didn’t know how awful he could be. His face had a tougher look, like he could be an MMA fighter or something. But he wasn’t. I knew his past from when we were in school. The scar on his face was a reminder, I left that mark on him, and it never healed. In other words, Alpha Haiden Raze. Or better said, my crazy bully, who made my high school life a living hell until school ended. And then there was the other tall, handsome guy staring at me with his fists clenched. His hair was slightly messy, though he usually kept it neat. His green eyes with thick lashes weren’t his only striking feature. He had a mysterious look on his face, with a sharp jawline and fuller lips. The veins on the backs of his hands always stood out, and his muscular body showed even under his clothes. That was the redhead Alpha Yorick Bane—my toxic ex, who I dated for just a month before he broke up with me after accusing me of cheating. "Oh fuck, I’m screwed," I muttered before turning around and sprinting toward the door. Escaping was all I could think of, but I wasn’t as fast as their tall, 6-foot-6 plus, built-like-a-tank bodies. They ran after me, Troy slammed the door in my face, Yorick grabbed me from behind, and Haiden snatched the shoulder bag from me. "Look who’s here—it’s Clementine fucking bitch," they said in unison, their smirks growing as they finally got their hands on me.