The Bad Girl in Boots

Different - edited

I tense and let out a huff. All my life I've been told I'm different, that I don't fit in. I thought maybe here it'd be different, but apparently not. Hunter places a gentle hand on my waist. My rigid muscles relax immediately, my wolf and I appeased by his touch, and I see Kaylee give us a curious glance.
"Hey hey, it's not a bad thing." he coos at me.

"It always is." I growl, and see him flinch and his eyes start to darken. "Sorry." I whisper, thinking my tone had set him off.

"It's not you I'm mad at, sweetie. It's the people who told you that you being different is bad." He grasps my hips and pulls me closer, onto his lap, my head naturally falling and nestling in the crook of his neck. I relax, turning to Mr Hadfield for explanation. He continues.

"You see, you were born special. Your wolf is pure white, an event that only occurs every 1,000 years. You can read minds, something normal werewolves can't do, you can control all the elements, you have super speed, and probably many others we don't know about. You're like, a... a super wolf." He finished, and I just sat there, stunned into silence.
Hunter still had a hand on my waist and he squeezed me lightly to get my attention. I tried to hide my shiver as sparks flew from where his hand was placed, but knew I had failed when he smiled softly before speaking. "You okay?" I nodded.

"Just a bit shocked."

"I'm not surprised. I thought my gift was rare before they told me I was sharing a room with a white wolf!" Kaylee grinned. I smiled back. Her friendly demeanour had put me at ease so quickly.

"Kaylee, Elisia will meet you in your room in a few minutes, I'd like to speak to her and Hunter alone now." Kaylee gave me a wave before leaving the room, murmuring goodbye as the door shut behind her. I turned to Mr Hadfield, who gave a pointed glance at Hunter's hand on my waist, and Hunter reluctantly dropped it with a quiet growl, shifting me gently off his lap. What was it with him and growling?

"Elisia, this first term is going to be very tough for you as you discover more things about werewolves and yourself. Everyone in your classes will know quite a lot more than you about all things supernatural, but I have no doubt that you will catch up." I surreptitiously glanced at Hunter. I wondered if he was in any of my classes. "Hunter is in the year above you, Elisia, and he isn't in any of your classes." Mr Hadfield announced, seeing my glance.
I felt the urge to pout and my wolf snarled angrily. I put a hand to my head as she started to fight me for control. We were both starting to panic, which didn't help at all. My breathing started to speed up. Hunter put a comforting hand on the back of my neck, burying his fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck.

"Control it." he murmured.
I slowly wrestled back control and glanced at both of them. "Sorry, I don't know what happened." I whispered, genuinely confused. Hunter and Mr Hadfield exchanged a look.

"You will soon." Mr Hadfield told me, which just made me even more confused. I was still on edge and I hated feeling helpless. I scowled, and Hunter began to rub his thumb on the side of my neck. "You're okay. Everything's going to be fine." He murmured, still stroking my neck. I closed my eyes to his touch. I didn't understand how, but he always knew exactly what I needed. Once I was calm again, I sighed, and Mr Hadfield said "I'm sure you're very tired, Elisia, I'll have Hunter bring you to your room. Your cases are already there." I thanked him and turned to leave. "Oh, and Elisia?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Welcome to Beaumont Academy." I smiled and walked out the door.

Hunter silently brushed past me, dragging me by the hand behind him. "Come on." I followed him, not that I had much choice, and we went up two flights of stairs to the top floor, went to the end of the corridor, and stopped outside a door. He sighed and leaned against the wall, opening his arms. Without thinking about it, I stepped into them. He rested his forehead on mine. Being with him just seemed so natural. His warm, minty breath fanned my face as he breathed out. I thought I heard him mutter "This is torture." Finally he sighed, and tipped his nose to touch mine. He slid the tip of his nose up to my forehead and rested his chin on my head. "I'm just two doors down." he told me, pointing at a door to my left. "Okay." I whispered.

"If you have any trouble with anything, you just call me, okay? You have a phone in there. Press CH, for the dorm house, 3, for the floor, and then 148 for the room number, okay?" I nodded, and he held me tighter for a few seconds, burying his nose into the crook of my neck and inhaling my scent. I did the same and his citrus-pine wrapped around me like a blanket, making me feel safe. Then, finally, he sighed and released me, saying "Goodnight malyutka (little one)." softly, and then watched me as I turned and stepped into my room, murmuring "Goodnight." as the door closed.

Kaylee was already in bed, but on her phone, when I turned around. She glanced behind me at the door curiously before grinning and saying "Hey Elisia, I'm all ready to sleep but I'll wait for you before turning the lights off."

"Thanks Kaylee. Um, by the way, I.." I trailed off

"Spit it out!" she giggled. I smiled, comforted, and took the leap.

" I get nightmares a lot. So, if you want to swap roomates, then you can, seriously, I won't be offended."

"Oh don't worry, I sleep like a rock. There's no way you could wake me up with a bit of screaming." she paused, before adding, "Something happened to you, didn't it? Something bad. I can feel it. It almost feels like more than one thing? I can't see what it is yet, I'm not that practised, but I know that something bad happened to you."

I smiled sadly. "Something like that." I whispered. I grabbed some sleep stuff from my cases and my toothbrush and toothpaste, and retreated to the bathroom to change and brush my teeth. When I was done, I slid under the covers, murmuring, "Night Kaylee." and heard her reply "G'night Elisia." before I passed out, asleep.