Chapter 108: Exam Fever
By the time Nyra writes the final answer, her fingers are practically numb. She stares at the last sentence for a second, making sure she hasn’t missed anything before dropping her pencil.
"Time." Mr. Philip says from the front. "Pens down. I’ll collect the papers."
"Thank you so much." Nyra whispers to her wolf, and they collect the sheet from her.
She doesn’t even know how, but somehow, her wolf had helped her remember all the answers and she filled every single page.
After that, she goes out the door to wait for her friends who are seated at the back.
"Hey!" Naya and Lena rush up to hug her. "How was it?"
"It was good." She smiles and hugs them back. "How was yours?"
"Honestly? Not terrible," Lena says, rubbing her temple.
Nyra smiles faintly. "Same. I thought I was going to fail halfway through, though."
Then Leah walks out. But unlike the others, she looks sad, like she would burst into tears any moment.
"Leah?" Nyra calls her name, but she just ignores her. So Nyra reaches out to touch her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? You don’t look too good."
Leah pushes her hand away with force. "Don’t touch me!"
The three girls blink in shock. "Umm, Leah, your exam didn’t go well?" Lena asks.
"Obviously." She snaps at them. "I can’t fail. I don’t want to be left here while the rest of you become seniors."
Nyra softens immediately. She understands that fear. She had been thinking about it nonstop herself too.
If her friends all left her and graduated into seniors, how exactly would she cope?
"Don’t worry, it’s okay." Nyra says calmly. "Don’t worry, you can still retake it in a few days. We’ll all pass together."
Instead of calmness, Leah just lashes out more, pushing her hand away the second time. "Don’t even try to act like you understand me!" she says angrily.
What’s going on with her...
"What are you talking about?"
"Your mate is the future Alpha!" Leah spits bitterly. "Of course you’ll pass! You probably have all the questions and answers handed to you!"
Nyra’s mouth falls open, as she remembers how hard she had struggled to even answer the questions.
"That’s not true-" That thought never even crossed her mind.
"Leah! What are you saying!?" Naya scolds, but Leah just rolls her eyes.
"All of you just leave me alone!" Then she turns and storms away.
Nyra wants to run after her, but Naya grabs her arm and pulls her back. "Just let it go. Don’t follow her now, let her cool off."
Nyra sighs sadly, still staring at Leah’s back until she disappears around the corner.
She can’t understand what happened. Did she do something to offend her without knowing?
Besides, she didn’t seem upset with the other girls like that...
Her phone starts vibrating in her pocket. She pulls it out to find some messages from Adrian.
~How was the exam?
~Can you stop ignoring me?
She hates that her heart still beats faster anytime she sees a message from him. She should be angry and fuming for leaving her hanging like this...
~I’m still writing, don’t text me anymore.
She texts back before turning her phone off. She isn’t going to give in to him yet.
"Come on," Lena says, pulling her toward the cafeteria. "We have practicals after lunch. We need food to shift."
Right. Shift.
She is already dreading the practical exams because now everyone in the pack is going to know that she still can’t shift.
The girls drag her towards the dining hall together, but Nyra can’t stop checking around to see if Leah would come back.
"Maybe she’s just cooling off,"
"Yeah. She’ll calm down eventually," Lena adds. "Besides, she can always rewrite. As long as it’s not the practicals."
Nyra nods, though she still feels uneasy. Everything about today feels off, but she doesn’t know what exactly is making her feel like this.
Today, the lunch menu is specialized for the exam students. The most popular is a purple drink. The students call it Wolf Call because when you drink it, you can hear your wolf much louder.
Lena chuckles when she sees about three cups on Nyra’s tray. "What do you need so many cups for?"
Nyra chuckles nervously, downing one of the cups. It has a minty aftertaste that makes her throat burn.
"Let her be, we’re all nervous about the practicals later." Naya says. "By the way, do you guys want to practice shifting after lunch?"
Lena immediately raises her hand. "I’m in."
They all look at Nyra, but she can’t meet their eyes. If they practice together, they might find out her secret. And knowing her friends, they’ll only get stressed out before the exams later.
It doesn’t help that since she left the exam hall, she hasn’t heard her wolf’s voice again.
"I think I’ll pass." She says quietly. "I have a headache, so I’ll just wait for the exams."
The girls exchange knowing looks because Nyra always agrees to go with them no matter what. But luckily, they don’t push, and everybody just finishes their food in silence.
But despite everywhere being calm, she just can’t shake off the sinking feeling that something is wrong about to happen.
After the other girls go to practice, Nyra is left alone in the cafeteria. She plans to just take a short nap, but something inside her is pushing that something is wrong.
Two seconds later, she walks out of the cafeteria to the back of the building where students sometimes hide to smoke.
She was right to follow her, but she finds Leah standing there surrounded by Thomas, the other guy that was sent out of the exam hall, and three other guys.
One of them is holding a phone up, while Thomas grabs her hair and starts pressing her against the wall.
Nyra sees red.
One moment she’s on the other side, the next she is in-between the boys.
"Just what the fuck do you all think you’re doing!?" She snaps angrily.
All the boys turn to her, and Thomas laughs. "If it isn’t the wolfless Luna herself. This isn’t about you...back off."
Nyra doesn’t move one inch. "I asked what the fuck you’re all doing. Are you not ashamed of yourselves, always bullying a girl like this?"
Thomas lets Leah’s brown hair go and turns to Nyra instead. "And what are you going to do about it? Cry to your mate?!"
"No." Nyra rolls her shoulder threateningly. "I’m going to beat you up myself. Remember the last time I beat you in the ring?"
His face changes the moment she says that. "You stupid bitch!" He tries to jump on her, but she moves faster and punches him in the stomach.
At that, the other guys all rush to attack her at once. One of them grabs her hair, the other punches her stomach.
"Nyra! No, leave her alone!" Leah screams loudly, but no one even looks at her as they all start beating Nyra up.
Nyra doesn’t even panic. She just smiles, then calls for her wolf again.
"Remember how angry we got and how we beat those men in the warehouse?" She mumbles to her wolf. "Now’s the time."
After all those Wolf Call drinks, she can only pray to the Goddess that her wolf will answer. If not, she’s fucked.
At first, nothing happens.
But when Thomas wraps a hand around her neck, and she feels that same tingling power from the warehouse, she knows the call worked.
She grabs his hand and pushes him back with enough force that he hits the wall and falls to the ground, holding his ribs.
The guys look shocked, and one of them even takes a step back.
"Good job, wolf." Nyra smiles to herself.
The wolf purrs at the praise as she turns back to the boys, cracking her knuckles. "Now who’s next?"
Within a few minutes, all the guys are groaning on the floor, completely beaten and bloodied.
"Next time, pick on someone your own size." She spits at them, dusting her hand before she grabs Leah’s hand and drags her into the girls’ restroom.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asks Leah, checking her neck and body.
"I should be the one asking you!" Leah walks closer, checking her hand. "You didn’t have to, but you fought all those boys for me."
"You’re my friend, of course I’d do that." Nyra mumbles, pulling her into a hug. This time Leah lets her, melting into her embrace.
"I’m so sorry for acting like a bitch earlier. I was just scared. I’m sorry for what I said. And thank you for fighting for me." She’s crying now, so Nyra pats her back.
"It’s okay. I’m okay, see? Stop crying."
"Yeah....but how did you-"
"Adrian’s been teaching me how to fight." She says quickly. Her wolf’s warning had been clear, no one can know what she is yet.
"He’s so good then." She sniffles, pulling back.
"Yes, he is. Now, quick, let’s get cleaned up. It’s almost time for practicals."
"Thank you-"
The shrill sound of the fire alarm suddenly rings out loudly, cutting off their conversation.
Outside, the screaming of students can be heard from every inch of the building. They can’t make out anything, until one girl screams from outside the door.
"The junior building is burning down!"