Excellent. Seems we’re already off to a great start.
Without a word, my driver exited the car and came around to my side, holding open my door for me as I climbed out. While he took my belongings out of the boot of the car, I approached the walkway to my left, where the fair-haired woman stared at me. The pressure from her gaze nearly pinned me to the pavement. What kind of creature was she? I reached out with my senses to get a feel for exactly what she was. Not a human, not a vampire. The tinge of darkness surrounding her sent a chill through me as the worddeityflashed in my mind. What the hell was a deity doing here?
“Mademoiselle Fallon, I’m glad you had the good sense to use the private entrance rather than make a spectacle of yourself.” Her velvety voice, with its French accent, mesmerized me. “I’m Antoinette le Blanc, the Headmistress of Students.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but she simply turned on her heels and headed for the doors, which opened on their own. “My things—” I protested.
“Are already in your chamber.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the pile of suitcases and bags I’d brought with me were gone, along with the sleek black car. “Eat your heart out, Dumbledore.”
“We are not some made-up school from children’s books, Mademoiselle Fallon. Ravenscroft University is a prestigious institution where the future leaders of our world learn to work together. You’ll find no trolls in our dungeon. You should count yourself among the lucky to even have a place here. Especially”—she looked me over—“considering you have yet to manifest.” She leaned in and took a long moment to assess me. “Not a whiff of wolf on you. There’s something... dark about you, but I can’t place it.”
I bristled. How had she known? Does this meaneveryoneknew? “I have a wolf. She’s just not ready to come out to play.”
Antoinette smirked. “We shall see. Now, come along. Moira will be waiting for you.”
“Moira?”
“Your flatmate.”
“I’m sharing a room with someone?”
She snorted. “Would you rather sleep outside? That can be arranged.”
“No. It’s fine. I just... I’ve never had a roommate.”
“This is your first year at Ravenscroft. I assure you, having someone to show you the ropes, as it were, is going to be to your benefit.”
She escorted me through winding hallways, the click of her heels on the stone floor echoing in the cavernous space. It was like being trapped in a labyrinth of never-ending halls until she stopped at a tall door and opened it, revealing another building across a courtyard. People milled around the open air space, some reading, others laughing together, and one staring straight at me.
My blood ran cold as my gaze connected with the one man I never wanted to see again in my life. Kingston Farrell. Son of the Farrell pack Alpha and future leader of their Family. And, according to my grandfather, my destined mate.