ALINA’S POV "Alina! You shouldn't sleep in my class!" Mrs. Benn gave me a sharp look. "But at some point I have to sleep and I'm not allowed to do that with the other teachers either." I used to get 15 minutes into Mrs. Benn's class. But these 3 minutes were far from enough for me. "School is for learning. You should sleep and rest at home." "But my neighbors always make such noise. It's impossible to sleep with that noise." "Then maybe your aunt should tell them that it's quiet after 10 p.m." "I believe sex is excluded from this rule." My teacher gasped in horror. She cleared her throat and tried to hide her red cheeks through angry eyes. "Really, Alina!" "What? That's normal. Especially with werewolves." "If you'd been paying attention to my class, you'd know that most werewolves remain celibate until they find their soulmate." "Which is why there are very few offspring of your kind. Believe me, Mrs. Benn, I know a lot more than you think. Only I had no idea you hadn't discovered your amazing companion. " "Now I've had enough! Alina, go to the principal. Then you can explain to him why you were kicked out of class." I must have hit a nerve there. But it wasn't my problem if the wolves didn't understand that they had to do something to find their soul mate. No one ever said it would ever come in a greeting card package. Smiling, I picked up my school bag and made my way to the principal's office. Every teacher had kicked me out of class at least once. Your bad luck that the director and I got along very well. Part of the reason was probably that we were both human. Well, me at least on the outside. But that wasn't so important now. I knocked on the door and then entered the room. Mr Tally smiled at me. He didn't have a secretary because he thought he could do his job on his own. And he did. "What's this time, Alina?" "Maybe I fell asleep." He looked at me thoughtfully. "You really should talk to your aunt about this." "I will." ... probably don't. As a 16-year-old you weren't allowed to live alone, at least not without your parents' consent. And well, I didn't have any parents who could sign something like that. So there was my non-existent aunt who was always sick on office days and whose signature always looked different. Then I was always happy to go to this school. Here the teachers attached more importance to the completeness of the papers from the werewolves. It wasn't even noticeable then. Mr. Tally handed me a pillow and pointed to the next room, which I already knew. "Maybe you should bring your own sheets." He giggled, which sounded really funny. But that's why I liked the little man so much. "Thanks!" Smiling, I opened the door to the next room, but stopped when I saw Mr. Tally go to the intercom. "Any news or just someone breaking the rules again?" I looked at the director, slightly irritated. He shrugged. "Werewolves, huh? But actually, this time it's something important." "Dear students and teachers, I am pleased to announce that we will be receiving a visit from the Shadow Pack in the coming days. Please treat them kindly and with respect. Thank you for your attention." I looked at him blankly. "Seriously? Please treat her kindly? I'm happy to report?" Mr. Tally sighed heavily. " What should I do? I like my job and if I have to I cheat a bit for it. Anyway, you're very welcome to go there now-" He was interrupted by the school bell. Smiling, I put the pillow back down and opened the door when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Tally turn towards the window with a serious expression on his face. An uneasy expression on his face Feeling in my stomach I asked him: "Is everything alright, Mr. Tally?" He looked out the window focused and sighed once. "Why did it have to be the Shadow Pack?" He turned to me. "Alina, please Promise me something." I wanted to dismiss his earnest request as a joke at first. But then I saw something pleading enter his worried eyes. "Whatever you want." "Take care, Alina. **** When I got to my apartment, I threw my school bag on the floor and went out to the balcony. I squatted on the floor and then put my head against the wall. Completely still, I looked at the huge, dense forest in front of me, which always calmed me down. I breathed in and out deeply. Tonight was waxing moon. So I could prepare myself again for a sleepless night. I was able to do my job best when the moon was full. And not just because the werewolves then liked to transform and fight fights to see which of them was the strongest. I rolled my eyes. No, my powers were at their strongest when the moon was full, which is why I was able to do my job better. Although most of the time I was annoyed with them because they were just too incompetent to understand even the simplest things that were in their nature, I had to make sure that they were happy and able to produce offspring. Because a happy werewolf usually meant one less accident in which a normal mortal died. Unpredictable Animals. I tilted my head back and watched the sun slowly retreat and make way for the night sky. In the distance I could already hear howling wolves. Then I saw him. The moon. He shone brightly in my face. I smiled at him and then looked at my now silver shining hair in the moonlight. It could start.