Wunderhein Academy: Book 1- Awakening

“I don’t understand it. It’s been four days.” Aleksei muttered, staring out the dorm window into the night. “How can she just be gone?”

“Same way that everyone else goes missing in this place.” Dmitri replied behind him. “Ya joining this round?”

“Sure. Deal me in.” Aleksei turned around to join Dmitri and Ivan at their make-shift card table in the middle of the room. Aleksei wasn’t in the mood for cards, however, if he didn’t keep busy he was going to go crazy. Sometimes it felt like he already was.

From the look on Ivan’s face, he was also struggling with the new set up. The giant glanced over his shoulder to the neatly made bed, where their youngest comrade should’ve already been sleeping in.

“Is Boris still staying at the ‘Nest’?” Aleksei checked, mostly attempting to have something to talk about that would keep them all sane. Thanks to a few contacts, he already knew Boris was still safe even if he was doing his best to avoid them. It was maddening to know Boris was skipping all his classes now. He had even stopped joining them for meals and had snuck in to get a few of his belongings. It had been a difficult call to let it all slide. It was even more difficult coming to the dorms now. Without the rat, the dorms felt emptier then it should.

“Dumb kid.” Dmitri snorted. “Ya don’t go running when things go south.”

There was a scrap of metal on the ground as Ivan began standing up. Aleksei waved the giant back into his seat.

“Boris has a good reason.” Aleksei corrected Dmitri as he picked up his hand, not noticing the cards. “He feels betrayed and confused. Kitten is gone and he saw me take her out. What is he meant to think?”

“Ya still don’t skip out on the pack.” Dmitri snorted.

“No.” Aleksei’s voice hardened. “You just take out your leader if you hate him enough.”

“Don’t even think it.” Dmitri warned Aleksei, halting briefly in dealing out the last few cards in his hand.

“It’s what we did.”

“The Kid wouldn’t.” Dmitri went back to handing out the cards. “The Kid ain’t like that.”

“Tell me you haven’t seen the flowers shoved under her door?” Aleksei growled. “Boris is sneaking them there.”

“Ain’t like he can get in.” Dmitri began picking through his cards, almost making a show of studying them carefully. “Door’s locked.”

“How do you know?” Aleksei threw out a card the card he had just picked up. Seconds later as Ivan took his turn; it hit Aleksei that he could have used the card. Usually, he paid more attention. He would have to try harder.

Ivan finished his round in stony silence.

Dmitri’s hand halted in slipping his new card in a place in his hand. Aleksei could tell Dmitri was deciding if he should come clean or brush the question off.

“Dmitri.” Aleksei’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”

“Last night I tried the door.” Dmitri finally answered, throwing out a card. “Place smelt funny so went to check why. Had to wait for the night Grunts to pass before trying to pick the lock.”

“You broke into her room!” Aleksei’s jaw dropped.

A growl broke from Ivan’s side. Ivan was giving Dmitri a murderous glare which the ‘Shark’ was ignoring.

“Ain’t hers no more.” Dmitri halted fiddling with his cards. “Everything’s gone. Just brooms and stuff there now.”

“It’s a janitor’s room again.” The words whispered from Aleksei before he even registered them.

Dmitri nodded.

Aleksei shook his head in disbelief. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t be gone.

“The Island?” A rumble came from Ivan.

“She was changing. I mean we all knew she was faster and walking lighter.” Aleksei replied numbly to himself before anger hit him. “This still doesn’t make sense. She never transformed. The Island should have come for Ivan and me, not her.”

A low rumble of agreement came from Ivan. Dmitri put his cards down, ignoring the fact that they lay face up. Aleksei glanced at them without much interest, noting that Dmitri had just revealed a winning hand.

“Things are bad now Lexie.” Dmitri leaned closer towards the other two. “People saying stuff like the Island is mad, that’s why we had so many changes a few days ago.”

“Are you listening to those Island worshipers?” Aleksei frowned. “That’s insane talk.”

“Ain’t just them saying them. There’s others too.” Dmitri’s eyes narrowed. “Guys want to form against the Adults now. They say the Adults took Kitten and it upset the Island. There’s whisper the Island sent that ghost as a warning that we have to get Kitten back.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Aleksei snapped. “The ghost is just some dream. Some stupid fairytale. It’s not real.”

“Yeah, then why we all have the same dream.” Dmitri snarled. “Why’re all those skirts and that fizz haired kid there?”

Aleksei groaned and rubbed his face. He didn’t need reminding about those stupid dreams. He had never seen so many girls in one place before, especially ones his own age. He had figured it was just another one of those types of dreams and grabbed a cold shower in the morning. The second night when he made the mistake of looking down and finding himself in one of those uniformed skirts. He had never felt so exposed.

Last night had been the worse. The fizzy haired girl that seemed to be haunting his dreams now had been walking with him, pulling his arm. She seemed excited about something but he had no idea what.

Then he looked in the mirror and saw Kitten’s face.

He had woken up this morning stuck in that wolf creatures shape. He had found changing back easier than before but it had left a mark. His body seemed to have exploded with body hair and he could swear he smelt worse then he used to.

“It’s a dumb dream, Dmitri.” Aleksei looked up with narrowed eyes. “Anyone that thinks otherwise needs a trip to the nurses.”

“Ain’t no nurse that can fix this.” Dmitri laughed. “Not for long.”

“Then shower.” Aleksei stood up and tossed his hand on the table. “I’m going to sleep.”

“And then what? Be led around by the fizzy hair ghost again?” Dmitri sneered.

“The Island didn’t send her.”

“Then it’s funny how she only came after Kitten vanished.”

That hit a spot. Aleksei clenched his hand, itching to hit Dmitri.

“The Adults did this. You know they did.” Dmitri rose from his seat, his gaze matching Aleksei’s. “None of them are getting this. And ya heard them question us about it. They took her Lexie. They were waiting for this to happen.”

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Aleksei hissed. “If we attack the Adults that means we have to gather everyone, Meds included, and start a full-blown war.”

“We got the training right?” Dmitri nodded, indicating silently to Aleksei. “We just need a leader. Someone to help get our Kitten back.

It was crazy.

Aleksei remained silent, turning away instead from the others and taking a few steps towards his bed. He shoved his hands in his pocket, where he felt the ribbon buried there. His fingers played with it for a moment, recalling the way it had looked tired up in Kitten’s hair.

He could almost see her face again. Her birthmark sticking out like a bruise from a battle she had survived.

“Catai.” He mouthed the words without making a sound and felt a flood of misery.

He had never called her by her name. None of them had. Did she even know they knew it? He had been dreaming of the day she would get her ‘Cuts’. His nightmare had been that she wouldn’t survive the challenge and end up dead. It had been a re-occurring nightmare with Boris too, before the youngster finally gained his name back and gave Aleksei a decent night’s sleep again.

If the adult had really done this, then they had messed with the system.

Anyone that messed with the system had to be punished. Those were the rules.

“Fine.” He reluctantly agreed, turning back to his friends. “Spread the word. I’ll talk to the other Captains. As of tomorrow, we’re hunting the Adults.”

Dmitri let out a cheer, fist-pumping the air. Ivan nodded in agreement, a smile on his face.

Aleksei felt the muscles of his body shifting. The colour began fading from his vision. Pain ripped through his head but he ignored it, clinging onto the ribbon in his hand.

Kitten, they would get her back. Alpha’s don’t abandon their team-mates.

He lifted his head and felt the howl bursting from his lungs. Responses came in bits and pieces in the form of roars and barks.

Heavy boots, the Grunts most likely, were running over the stone floor outside. Someone was yelling out orders. A banging made the trio look at the door.

“Whatever’s in there, come out now.”

“Then again.” Dmitri mused. “Why wait.”

Why indeed. Aleksei could smell the metal of Grunts weapons. Their fear was so thick it was almost pathetic. Aleksei began walking towards the door.

“It’s open season.” He announced with a dark smile.