Initiation (Wolf Blood Academy Book 1) by RaShelle Workman (best book club books for discussion txt) 📕

We don’t need the likes of you in our school.” He spat on the floor in front of him. “Mutant Valene,” he said with a harsh laugh. “Has a nice ring to it.”

I barked, wishing he would tell me how to shift back. That’s all I needed. Pointers. But he walked to the exit, flipped a switch, and walls like those accordion doors at storage facilities began to close over the throughways. When the hall was sealed shut, he turned off the lights. “Night, mutant. Careful of the monsters living inside your head.” Then he was gone, the metal door slamming behind him.

Silence permeated, the only sound coming from my panting breath.

I waited for him to return, thinking he must be joking. Surely, he wouldn’t leave me in here all alone. He would tell someone, and they would come back and help me.

I waited and waited, my eyes adjusting to the darkness as I panted in fear. Then I paced. Finally, after what felt like hours, I lay down and closed my eyes, hoping to pass the time with a nap.

When I opened my eyes, my first glance was at my skin. I was naked, one side of my head resting on my arm. It was still pitch black, but I could see enough to get dressed, which I did in a hurry. Once my boots were on, I went to the cage door, reached through and unlocked it, then hurried over to the exit.

Outside, the sky was hovering between early evening and night. There was still a little light in the sky. But no one had waited. The horse-drawn sleighs were gone, and the coliseum was like a ghost town. That meant I would have to run back to the Academy, and it wasn’t close.

“Great!”

Chapter Eight

I was hungry and thirsty and madder than hell at the guy who left me, at my father who abandoned me, and even at my mother, who was too afraid to tell me the truth about our family. We were descended from an ancient legacy of wolves for goodness sake. I should know so much more than I did. The initiation tests should’ve been easy.

As I stomped across the field, furious about my lot in life, I became aware of something following me. My thoughts forgotten, I turned, searching the shadowy landscape. About three feet away was what looked like an oversized rock. The problem was, there hadn’t been a rock there when I walked by only moments before.

Worry caused my heart to beat faster, and I started to run. Faster and faster. The problem was that the thing behind me, which wasn’t really a rock, was keeping up.

My fear became anger, and I whipped around, my wolf pressing against the inside of my skin, causing it to prickle. With the small shift came a growl, the likes of which I’d never heard come out of my throat.

The thing that was chasing me stopped at the same time I did. Its oversized ice blue eyes, the same color as mine, peered at me eagerly. I would even say, hopefully. Then it whined softly and opened its mouth, letting its forked tongue dangle.

The… creature was small, about the size of a newborn kitten, but it looked nothing like one. Well, except the four legs. It also had patches of burnt orange fur on its pointed ears, parts of its body, and bushy tail. The way it sat with its tail wagging reminded me more of a puppy. Or a wolf, but the tiniest wolf I’d ever seen. The areas not covered in fur were smooth and reminded me of snakeskin. Its face wasn’t shaped like a wolf but a snake, and it had two tiny fangs poking out on either side of its mouth.

As I wrapped my brain around what I was seeing, I should’ve been repulsed. But the damn thing was cute in a wholly unfamiliar way.

It whined again and took a tentative step forward.

Whatever it was, it was just a baby. “Are you lost?” I asked, searching the dark landscape for its mama. Even as I thought about seeing the parent, my pulse racketed up a notch. The Shade Rasa stood dark and shadowy in the distance, and I guessed the creature must have come from there. But I didn’t have time to return it. Plus, if it was so far from the forest, the mama thing probably abandoned it.

While I debated what to do, the creature had snuck even closer, keeping its body low to the ground, not quite slithering. Every once in a while, it would flick its snake tongue out as though smelling the air.

I glanced around, wondering if this thing were just a joke. Maybe part of the second test? Initiation could equal humiliation. But there wasn’t a soul in sight. If it were a test, the cameras and people were very well hidden. I squatted down, and the little thing quickly closed the gap between us, putting its body under my hand and rolling onto its back.

“Aren’t you adorable?” I said and softly scratched its belly. It felt like fur and snakeskin too. Weird. “Did you want to come home with me?” I paused, remembering where I was. Without a home at the moment. Hell, I didn’t even know the location of my room.

The creature snuggled against my hand and made a noise that sounded a little like purring. “You’re lost and lonely, aren’t you?” I was projecting my own feelings, but it could very well be. And I didn’t want to leave it out here alone. There were wolves in the area, and I couldn’t let the little guy become a midnight snack. “Alright, I’ll take you inside, but you need to keep quiet.

I picked it up. The thing fit into the palm of my hand. It rested there a moment, before making its way up my arm until it found purchase on my shoulder. Its little claws dug through my sweater and shirt and into