Wunderhein Academy: Book 1- Awakening

“No, no,” Aleksei muttered, marking notes off the paper in his hand. “Yes, no.”

He stuck the pencil in his mouth, chewing on the tip as he read the rest of the document. A second later he looked up at the dorm window that seemed to vibrate from the thunder that had just filled the air, making him wince slightly.

He loved storms but hated the way it hurt his ears sometimes.

“Is it over?” A timid voice asked from the other side of the room.

He looked towards Boris, who was on his knees trying to coax Kitten out from under his bed.

“Lucky Rat.” Dmitri muttered next to Aleksei.

Aleksei rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment, wishing for the hundredth time during the last hour for some sunshine so the youngsters could go out and get some exercise and he could work. When he opened his eyes again, Kitten was back on the bed, sitting opposite Boris and they had resumed their hand-game.

Ivan was on the ground busy meditating.

Dmitri sat on the bed with a bored expression, smoking a cigarette and doing a cross-word from a newspaper he had managed to barter from someone.

For a moment Aleksei wondered if it would be so bad to make everyone do a few runs in the hall-way. Or even a Dorm clean-up. The wall on Dmitri’s side of the dorm was covered with Pin-up girls from magazines he had laid his hands on somehow. Aleksei was continuously ordering him to take the stuff down since Boris was too young to be exposed to girls in such manner and Ivan didn’t like photos. Now with Kitten on the team, it made it even worse having them up. It was an ongoing fight since everything would be done for about a week before new ones would make their way up. The current ones at least were decent and if Aleksei had to admit to himself, he wasn’t in that much of a hurry to have this lot taken down since he found them interesting too. Especially the one on the right in her strapless swim-suit. Not that he could admit it to Dmitri though.

Ivan’s side at least was neat most of the time. On his wall hung a home-made cross made from two sticks and some string that Aleksei sometimes found comforting to look at. He found it even more comforting watching Ivan when he prayed. At least someone was teaching that to Boris.

Boris’s side was one of those that always had something wrong with it no matter how he tried his best to keep to the standard expected of him. His shoes wouldn’t be shiny enough or his bed not made up right. He loved picking up random things whenever he went out so that under his bed a collection of oddly shaped stones, twigs and even amber were slowly forming a garden that Aleksei was forever making him throw out. Aleksei wasn’t even sure how Kitten had found space to even hide under there.

“Is he Brawn or is he Med?” The youngsters on Boris’s bed continued chanting, clapping their hands in time to the song's rhythm. “I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.”

Aleksei shook his head and looked back at the papers piles of paper that lay on his bed, destroying the military neatness that he normally kept, as Ivan did. The book he had currently reading lay on his bunker next to his bed, the only other hint to any dis-orderness.

“What ya working on.”

Aleksei looked up from the paper in his hand in time to see Dmitri had moved from his bed towards Aleksei’s own and was grabbing one of the papers.

“Hey,” Aleksei yelled, killing the youngsters chant from the other side of the room. “I’m busy with that.”

“Two people work twice as fast.” Dmitri responded, shifting away so Aleksei couldn’t grab the page back. “And I’m bored.”

“Then go bother the nurses.”

“Nah.” Dmitri read a few lines of the document he was holding, then at the one Aleksei had in his hand before grinning. “Hey Kitten, rating one to ten, how flexible are ya?”

“Bite me Dimi.” She replied sweetly before turning back to Boris so they could continue their game.

“Ouch,” He pretended to be wounded before killing his cigarette in the makeshift ashtray Boris had given him as a birthday present about a year ago. “Seriously, get over here.”

Kitten spun back to glare at Dmitri with narrowed eyes. It was almost comical.

“It’s alright.” Aleksei summoned her, motioning for her to join them. “I need feedback on our team's report. Everyone has to do this.”

“Oooh, I like doing this.” Boris leaned towards her, placing his hand on her arm with a huge grin. “It’s like a test with no wrong answers.”

Kitten seemed to consider this before jumping off the bed and walking towards him and Dmitri.

“Mmmm, she still looks the same.” Aleksei bent over the report and made his notes. “Walks a bit better.”

“Hey.” Kitten burst out. “What’s that meant to mean? I walk fine.”

“You sure do.” Dmitri grinned, holding out his hand above her head. Aleksei’s eyes narrowed as a heat of anger hit him.

Kill. A voice inside his head beckoned. Kill.

“Dmitri.” He warned, the sound coming out like a gruff snarl that made everyone look his way.

After a moment Dmitri just grinned and removed his hand. “She’s taller.”

Aleksei forced himself to breathe before attempting to write the information down.

“Lexie? You ok?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Aleksei looked up briefly at Kittens worried face before dropping his eyes back to his papers. Instantly he regretted it. “How’s your sensitivity?”

“Oooh, nice one.” Aleksei glanced up at Dmitri’s eager voice and found Dmitri running his fingers over her arm. Aleksei felt like getting up and ripping his friend's hand off her. “How’s that feel?”

Kitten shrugged. “Like your fingers on my arm?”

“And this?” Dmitri began, moving his hand towards her back.

Aleksei began to stand up. “That’s enough.”

“We’re just checking right?” Dmitri replied almost too innocently. “Maybe if we try stroking down the back of her neck here.”

“I said enough.” Aleksei yelled out at the same time as Kitten’s eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth. She looked horrified.

“Well now.” Dmitri smirked, tilting his head.

Aleksei was dumb-founded. She had purred. That Nick-name they had given her had been right all along.

“That sounded like a cat!” Boris grinned, getting up from his bed where he had been waiting patiently for once and was now practically dancing towards Kitten. “Did someone bring a cat here?”

“That ain’t no cat.” Dmitri laughed. “Except for our own little kitty here.”

“A purr?” Aleksei blinked and tried to regain his thoughts. He looked back to the paper in his hand and tried hunting for the pencil he had dropped a few minutes earlier. “That wasn’t a fluke, was it? Do that again.”

She was shaking her head but the sound was forced from her throat as Dmitri repeated his earlier actions, this time moving all the way down her spine.

“PUUUURRRRR!” The sound was forced from her lips, as everyone watched in surprise.

She looked far from surprised now. In fact, she looked like she was on the brink of tears.

Aleksei’s eyes began to narrow, tired of pretending to be interested in attempting to work. The corner of his mouth lifting into a snarl at Dmitri’s crossing the line to touch her so low in such an intimate manner without permission.

Suddenly Ivan’s hand came down, wrapping around Dmitri’s wrist. Dmitri looked up, finding the giant shaking his head in disapproval.

“Fine Big Guy, ya can let me go now. I ain’t ya date for the movies.” Dmitri replied, twisting his hand from Ivans’ grip and away from Kitten before looking at Aleksei as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. “So what ya think? Should we mark that in the report?”

Aleksei felt confused. Then he looked down and remembered the report he was meant to be doing. He looked up again at Kitten who was shaking and trying hard to keep it together.

“Relax kitten.” He sat back and stared at her sheet, trying to remember how to write, never mind fill in the report. “This place changes us all.”

“But....But I was purring!” She exclaimed.

“So? I growl. Mostly in my sleep.” He took a deep breath and placed the pencil to the paper and began to make shaky notes on the page. “Ivan is the strongest one here. Dmitri was never the words greatest swimmer until we arrived.”

“True story.” Dmitri grinned, holding up his hand like a child. “Only learned to swim after arriving. Was an instant natural. Lexie nearly drowned though.”

“At least I was an instant natural at bathing from time to time before the island.” Aleksei muttered before making another note on the page in his hand.

“I never managed to do all the stuff I could do until I got here.” He heard Boris added happily. “You’re getting your gift.”

Aleksei looked up in time to see the confused look on Kitten’s face.

“Gift?” She asked. “What gift?”

“When strange stuff like that happens it just means your special abilities from being here are coming out.” Aleksei explained, dropping the report on his bed and standing up to walk towards her. “That’s much faster than expected since it often takes a few months but that purring makes sense with that balancing trick you’ve been doing lately. Seems you really are a kitty.”

“Hold on, I’m a person, not a cat!” She protested.

“Relax. It just means you can do the same stuff as cats sometimes.” Aleksei placed his hand on her forehead, tilting it slightly and checking her eyes. “Sight, sense, smell, speed and balance. We’ll have to start to focus on training for that now so we can find out what your other gifts are. The purring is just a side-effect.”

“Are you crazy?”

“You never wonder why Ivan takes so much sugar without getting putting on weight?”

“Because you make us work out so much.” She replied pulling away from him.

Aleksei sighed before rubbing his nose, freezing mid-rub. He could smell it now, the cat smell. For a moment he was tempted to find out where the new smell was coming from. It was probably her hair. It looked softer. Then again…

“I’m not a cat.” She stamped her foot stubbornly, throwing his thoughts off.

“Look what you are isn’t important.” Aleksei replied irritably, more annoyed with himself where his thoughts had been going. “Are you still feeling all right? You haven’t been feeling queasy or thrown up or anything like that?”

“No.”

“Good.” He went back to the bed and furiously scribbled on the report. “Then you’re pretty much fine. “How’s your sleep? Any problems? Nightmares?”

The guys all looked at Aleksei, surprised at the question.

Ivan was frowning. Dmitri seemed slightly uncomfortable for a moment.

“That’s a new question Captain.” Boris slipped over the bottom of Aleksei’s bed. “Why are they asking that?”

“To see if you’re having wet dreams.” Dmitri growled, moving over to flick Boris’s nose. “Why ya think?”

“Owie.” Boris instantly covered his nose. “That hurt.”

“You don’t wet your bed anymore so you are fine on that Boris.” Aleksei instantly glared at Dmitri. “Come on. We’ll fill yours in next. Then you two can go back to playing.”

It was an obvious dismissal for her. Kitten stepped aside as Boris rushed over to take her place, eager to begin.

Aleksei forced himself to focus on the questions but kept being distracted by the smell of cat.

“Take over for me.” He caved, handing Dmitri his notes to fill in. “I’m going for some coffee.”

He closed his eyes once he was out the door. He had been an idiot. The storm was still bad outside. Now he was going to end up cold, wet and have that weird dog smell again that seemed to follow him whenever he got wet.

Still, it was better than being in there, he mused, tugging his jersey, a relic from his pre-captain days that managed to fit him by some miracle, down.

“Lexie, wait up.”

“Oh no.” He whispered as he turned around, finding Kitten running after him.

“Hey, can I walk with?” She asked. “I think I should get some coffee too.”

Yeah. Sure.” He grumbled and began walking. “Just keep up.”

“Did you mean it? About the cat thing?”

He didn’t miss the waver in her voice.

“Why does it bother you so much?” He asked, turning around once more. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re all like that. Why do you think we have the names we have?”

“I just…I mean.” She bit her lip. “Does it still mean I can be with Alpha?”

“We were never going to kick you out.” He frowned. “I don’t understand. It just means you’re extra special. It’s my job to train you to use your gifts.”

Lightning flashed overhead, decorating the sky. The bright light startled her and she took a step back, about to slip in a puddle of water that was on the floor of the corridors.

He moved quickly, reaching out in time to grab her by her arm to stop her from falling.

The cat smell hit him worse now. Aleksei tried crinkling his nose to stop the smell from burning him but it didn’t help. The noise buzzing at the back of his head was almost painful. He blinked, trying to get his focus back, but instead lost colour in his vision.

He yanked her back onto her feet.

“Thanks.” She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked behind her. “I hate water.”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t let go of her hand either which made her turn back to him and look at him strangely. “Lexie?”

He barely identified her words.

“I tell you it was horrible. A door covered in blood.”

“You saw it too?”

“I heard the screaming.”

“Our Captains not even letting us sleep anymore. We’re supposed to live of Coffee now.”

Aleksei closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the whispers of the corridor mixing with the sounds of the storm. He opened them again as a new sound joined in. He pulled Kitten closer to him, growling in warning to a random student walking aimlessly past lighting matches and letting them die before he lit the next one. Weirdly, the smell was irritating Aleksei even though he was immune to it from Dmitri’s smoking.

Everything was irritating him.

His skin itched and his body felt like it was burning.

“Lexie, are you ok?” A cool hand touched his forehead.

“Don’t touch me.” He flicked his head to one side to avoid Kitten’s touch before flipping her around and pressing her to the school wall.

“Lexie,” He swore when one of her blind attempts to stamp on his foot succeeded to find its target. For her efforts, he pressed her harder against the wall. “Let me go.”

“You need to learn to respect your betters.” He leaned down and smelt her neck. It smelt familiar. Like dreams mixed with cat. For a moment, he rested his face there as he tried to get his mind working again.

Why did she still feel like a skinny alley cat? They made sure she ate. She shouldn’t still be so skinny.

“I’ll listen but let me go.” He heard the whisper from next to him and felt Kitten stiffen next to him. “Please just let me go Lexie. You’re scaring me.”

“Scare?” He repeated the words thickly, struggling to think as new smells hit the air.

“Told ya to cool ya-self off.” Dmitri’s voice sounded a million miles off, barely registering in Aleksei’s mind. “This ain’t the place to be breaking rules over team-mates.”

“Go away.” Aleksei ordered, hiding his face back in Kitten's neck, wishing it was just the two of them. Wishing the smell would break so he could think again.

Why couldn’t he think?

“No.” He heard Kitten gasp, followed by Dmitri yelling something inaudible. Aleksei opened his eyes as he was pulled away from Kitten and found himself facing a murderous Ivan.

The Bear didn’t even give warning, before drawing back his arm and hitting Aleksei with his fist.