A New Alpha

Chapter Seventeen

"I still don't know who Mr Dark is, or why he would give me that note," said Lynx as he and Landon walked through some sort of garden maze which was complete with hidden sitting spaces with cushioned benches.

"Maybe he just wants you to read the book," said Landon.

"But we did read it."

"Not all of it, maybe there's other information you need to know," said Landon.

"Yeah, I doubt that," said Lynx, taking a turn that seemed to lead deeper into the garden area. "For all we know it was just a prank."

"The book gave us useful information though. Weren't we just wondering the other day how hybrids are created? And the book gave that information. Who's to say what other information it might hold," said Landon, skipping a step to catch up with where Lynx was smelling a soft white daffodil.

"Maybe," said Lynx looking up again. "But if there was something he wanted me to read specifically, maybe he would have put a bookmark in the book or something. Do you think he was sitting behind us in Life Principles and read our notes? How else would he know we were wondering about those things?"

When Landon didn't answer Lynx continued, "Fine, I'll finish reading it. It's just that, even if it has other information to gather... Well, it's interesting and everything, but also, it's not relevant. It's not what I need to be focusing on right now. I have enough on my plate with trying to learn if I have magic or not and to catch up with my classes. We're not even a week in and I feel like I'm years behind. Then again.. I guess that's not so far from the truth."

"It could be relevant," said Landon. "For all we know you could be a hybrid." said Anne.

"Yeah right," said Lynx with a laugh. "If that's true I'll name my first son after you."

"You never know!" said Landon, walking towards a fenced path. "Aren't you interested in figuring out the Hybrid stuff?"

Lynx paused to think about what to say. He knew Landon was fascinated by the topic. Not just the Hybrids, but also the prophecy. And it wasn't that Lynx wasn't interested just that... just that... "I have a lot on my plate right now is all," he said to Landon.

"Fair enough," said Landon. But Lynx could see he was puzzling about something. He wondered if maybe they were right on top of the answer but somehow weren't seeing it.

"There's something I don't understand though," said Lynx. "If this Mr Dark is a friend, why wouldn't he just give the information to me directly and tell me why it mattered?"

"There could be lots of reasons," said Landon. "Maybe it was just easier to have the message delivered."

"Maybe.." said Lynx.

'Maybe not,' said the voice in the back of his mind.

As the weeks passed the schedule started to become normal for Lynx. Waking up at 6 am to gather information, study, and try to access my magic had become habitual. His motivation was so. focused that despite remaining at the bottom of his classes, and despite not having success with his magic, he was able to maintain his hope and momentum.

He felt like everything would be a lot easier if her cold and cough would go away.

As the weeks turned into months, and the snow on the grounds below the castle began melting he decided it was time to ask about the illness in the infirmary.

His visit consisted of the general tests, as the healers had done on his first visit. But they didn't seem concerned about his symptoms. Certainly not concerned enough to excuse him from classes.

Lynx decided their lack of concern meant they knew he couldn't use magic.. otherwise, their lack of concern didn't make sense to him. Heading to his next class, he took solace in the fact that, since the other students were shifters and witches, they were unlikely to catch what he was suffering from.

As he walked, he thought about the orphan family he'd left behind. He thought about how he promised to do whatever he could to get them a better life. It was rare for a day to go by that he didn't think about them in some measure.

He knew that his best chance at helping those he loved was at this school. As such, he was grateful that, despite his current poor marks in her classes, he wasn't kicked out. He was grateful too that, for now at least, no one seemed bothered about his inability to use magic.

It's good to be grateful, he decided, as he turned to enter the classroom. And yet, he couldn't help feeling like he was somehow missing something.