Heart of a rogue

* Chapter 9 - is that happiness?

The next few days became a bit more irritating as they went on. We had classes on our subject every single day and then thrice a week with your class about your progress. Our only days off were the weekend, which honestly felt like a breath of fresh air when it finally came. But even on those days off, I couldn't fully escape the tension of being here. It was everywhere.

Sports was a subject that just randomly gave you assignments. Though some of us weren't allowed to partake in the team games yet. Like I wasn't allowed to participate when they played football. The teacher thought it could spark my aggression and I'd kill someone. So the fucker made me sit at the side. But Belle was there as well, so we made it fun. She wasn't allowed to participate either, which at least made it less annoying. She was always good at turning anything into something bearable. We joked and laughed as we watched everyone else play, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being... isolated.

Then I had the subject painting. This subject was also chosen by Belle, and we thought the focus was on using it to get your emotions on the canvas. Unconsciously, I was using a lot of dark colors—almost all dark colors, actually—which the teacher noted when she inspected my work.

Until then, I hadn't realized it yet. But now, it was impossible to ignore. The swirls of black and deep blue had a certain heaviness to them. My emotions were spilling out in a way I hadn't expected. It wasn't something I could really talk about with anyone, especially not my teacher, who just seemed concerned. I couldn't deal with the pity. I didn't need it.

My last subject was baking. I wasn't allowed near any sharp object in the kitchen, and Twinkle was watching my every move. I had to stay at my appointed spot, or I would get the zap. I didn't need to be reminded, but he made sure to keep a hawk's eye on me.

But it was fun to bake something. My first three attempts weren't so successful, honestly. I made simple cupcakes, but the first ones were burned. The second batch was underbaked. The smell alone almost made me gag, and I knew I needed to figure out what I was doing wrong. So I learned this neat trick of stabbing them with a toothpick to check if they were done.

Though Twinkle was eyeing me very carefully when I was handed a toothpick. I didn't even think about stabbing someone with it. I just wanted my cupcakes to be okay.

Finally, on my third try, I had semi-decent muffins. I didn't know if they tasted alright, but I knew exactly who to give them to. So I put two in a box and said to Twinkle, "I would like to see Declan."

"The Alpha is having a visitor," he said. But he seemed to avoid my eyes as he did.

I shrugged. "I don't care. He needs to taste my cupcakes."

"I can taste it?" He asked, trying to get me to drop my idea of taking it to Declan. His voice was tentative, and I could tell he was trying to talk me out of it.

"No, I'm going." I said, but he still followed me. He was like a puppy trailing behind me, head lowered, reluctant but dutiful. As we walked toward Declan's office, Twinkle kept asking me to wait, try again later. "Who's with him then?" I stopped and asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

Twinkle averted his eyes again. I wanted to step on his foot. "Look at me." I hissed at him in a whisper, so we didn't gain too much attention.

He did as I asked, his eyes darting to mine briefly. "You don't want to know..." he said, his voice quieter.

My eyebrows raised. Who could it possibly be that I didn't want to see? There are a few people who could fit that description, I guess. "Is it... my family?" I ventured.

He shook his head. "No, they aren't allowed on the property until you show progress." He informed me, and I think I'd heard that already.

"Okay, good." I didn't want to see them yet. Or maybe I would show good behavior, and then when they get here, I'll poison them with my cupcakes. Not literally, of course.