The the only thing worse than having to go to school, period. Is having to go to school when the sun isn't even up.
The minute I got to the gates of Silvercrest Prep, I had to show my student ID to the guard.
We never did that during the day.
Security measures, I guess.
The guard told me everyone was already in the gym so that's where I headed.
When I got there, I opened the double doors and just because, they decided to let out a huge screeching sound as they effortlessly swung open.
Everyone immediately turned to stare at me.
Oh great.
I lowered my head and quickly walked in.
They were all gathered in the centre of the gymnasium. The candidates and two people I immediately recognised, May and Peter Silvester, he had been the first winner of the apprenticeship under Alpha Tristan.
I went to stand beside Allison, hers was the most friendly face in the room at the moment.
Peter gave me a stern look. "You're late, candidate."
"Uh, I am?" I asked hesitantly.
The large clock on the wall read 5.01.am.
Well 5.02 now.
"You are." He responded sternly. "That's three points from you and your partner."
My eyes widened, I looked at Joshua who was standing off to the side with Bea and he shot me a deadly glare.
I stared at the ground and muttered a, "Sorry."
"Sorry, Instructor."
"Sorry, Instructor." I repeated.
I wanted to look to May for help but her eyes were set in front of her in determination.
What had I been expecting though? Just because she had said she was looking forward seeing me here, it didn't mean I was automatically her favourite candidate.
Peter took a step forward, his long and lean arms tucked behind his back. He wore all black with the silver alpha's crest stuck to his chest. He didn't exactly appear as intimidating as you would expect him to be.
If anything, all I could say was that he was kind of movie star cute. The kind of hot guy you would expect to play the nice boy next door in movies.
The only thing that made him even the slightest bit intimidating was the slight stubble around his face but other than that, he had smooth gingerbread brown skin and this clear green eyes and DIMPLES! Dimples that formed with the slightest movement of his lips.
"Take Candidate -" he looked at me.
"Uh... Crystal." I muttered.
"Take candidate Crystal as an example. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Neither will disrespect." He strode towards me, stopping right in front of me.
"Didn't you read your handbook, candidate? You are expected to address your Instructors by their proper titles."
"Oh right." I blurted out. "I'm s-"
"And do not speak unless spoken to." He ordered.
I heard a snicker come from my left and I knew it was Courtney immediately.
'Instructor Peter' slowly turned off to the side. "Something funny, candidate?" He asked.
That wiped the smile off Courtney's face.
I fought the urge to smile in satisfaction.
"No, Instructor Peter." Courtney immediately responded, lifting her chin.
Instructor Peter turned away from her. "Three points taken away from you and your partner too, Candidate Courtney."
Courtney gaped but she knew better than to protest.
Ha! Finally a place with equal treatment.
"I'm not running a daycare. This is one of the most advanced training programs you'll ever encounter so if you know you're not up for it, leave."
I looked up hopefully.
"But that also means admitting you don't want to serve your pack." He added.
Way to guilt trip a sister.
I frowned and lowered my head again.
"You're all here because you're believed to be outstanding in one way or the other." May finally spoke. "But as talented as you are, we expect you all to work your hardest. You won't only be tested in terms of your strength and speed but also your intellect, your compassion, your loyalty. We're training you to be in the alpha's innermost circle. You will be trusted with the pack's deepest secrets and most daunting tasks. The question is, can you handle it?"
I knew the answer to that question but no one seemed to want to listen to me.
"You'll find your training attires in the locker rooms, get changed and meet us outside in fifteen minutes. Training has officially begun." May spoke.
Fifteen minutes later, we were outside on the soccer pitch in our 'training outfits' which were actually quite comfortable fitted black jumpsuits. I wonder how they knew our sizes.
The suits were similar to the ones May and Peter wore, they were ever so slightly padded and I knew there must have been a special material that they were made out of. I would research later on.
it didn't take long for me to identify the partners in this situation.
Mr grumpy wolf, Joshua was mine, but so far he hadn't said a word to me. He only looked my way to glare. He was probably mad about me losing us points already.
There was Bea and Courtney, they were probably ecstatic about that. That left Allison and Andre. They barely spoke to each other but they at least showed a united front by standing beside each other. That left me standing away from everyone else, looking isolated.
"Every morning to warm you up a bit, we're going to start off with a little cross country." Peter spoke. "Here's the route, out the school gates, through the town and round back through the Belvedere woods."
My eyes widened. Wait. He expected us to do that all without dying?
I looked at the other candidates but they seemed unfazed.
Oh right, they all took the more advanced physical classes prior to this. This would be child's play for them.
I am going to die today, aren't I?
"You have twenty minutes max, go!" Peter yelled.
Everyone sped off.
"Candidate Swan! Go! Go! Go!" I didn't realise I had frozen in my position as everyone else went on their way.
I quickly moved my feet as fast as I could.
At first, it wasn't so bad, I'm not an athlete in the least but I have to say, I was carrying my own.
I mean, sure I was dead last but at least I had Allison in my sites, running a few miles ahead of me.
But then... whatever little adrenaline I had going for me immediately wore out and things change.
I won't say I got slower, let's just say Allison got faster because in no time, I had lost her from my sight.
I was suddenly grateful for this whole 3.am training, no one else was here to see my humiliation.
And most importantly, no one was here to see me stop by a water fountain and hunch over in an extremely unattractive way to try and catch my breath.
I felt like my chest was on fire as I struggled to breathe.
What was I thinking? I actually had hope in this program?
I lowered myself to the ground. A small breather would do right about now.
I couldn't help but feel humiliated, this was just the first task.
The distance was long but for a full werewolf who had been constantly training, it was nothing.
I don't despise my human side or anything but it really does have its downsides.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I heard a voice yell.
I looked up and saw Mr Grumpy Wolf himself.
I wanted to reply with 'dying' but judging by the look on his face, he probably wasn't going to appreciate that response.
"Everyone is already back at the school, get up."
You heard the man, Crystal.
With all the strength I could master up, I pushed myself back up.
At least my breathing had somewhat stabilised but there was a sharp pain in my side now.
If I was expecting a medal for this small act, I was very disappointed. Joshua just looked irritated before turning around and breaking out into a jog.
"Come on."
I tried to move my feet again but I just couldn't do this running thing again.
"Um... I can't." I called out in a small voice.
Joshua turned around. "What?" He growled.
"I-I mean I'll meet you back at the school. You don't have to wait for me."
I thought I saw a vein twitch in his forehead. "I was at the school. Everyone got tired of waiting for you and as your partner, I was sent to see if you were still alive and bring you back."
Really? Everyone was already back at the school? Wait, how long had it been?
I sighed.
How humiliating.
I broke out into a jog before finally continuing with a steady pace as I ran.
I could hear Joshua behind me. He could have easily overtaken me but he didn't and I knew that probably infuriated him all the more.
When we got back to school, everyone was gathered on the football pitch. The candidates sat by the bleachers and the instructors stood beside them.
Peter was checking his clock just as we ran in.
Joshua finally overtook me and headed straight to Bea.
I, on the other hand was fighting to keep myself from collapsing as I lugged myself to sit next to Andre and try not to look like a sweaty, out of breath mess.
May looked sympathetic.
Peter had no expression on his face as he said, "Forty five minutes, thirty seconds. Let's work on our speed next time, shall we?"
He didn't say my name but it was kind of obvious.
I saw Bea whisper something in Courtney's ear and they both smiled coyly.
"Okay, now that we've tested your speed, it's time to test your strength. Everyone up and get over to the gym, it's time for phase two." Peter yelled.
What the actual - there was more?
Everyone begun to get up.
Andre, turned to me. "Dude, you need to get in shape."
No kidding.
I just forced a smile.
He got up and held his hand out for me, I took it and let him pull me up.
He jogged off to catch up with Allison.
I thought everyone was gone until I heard a voice speak.
"You know it gets worse if you give up."
I jumped slightly at the sound. I turned to my right and saw May.
She gave me a soft smile. "I wasn't kidding when I told you that everyone here is the same. The amount of hard work is what determines whether you make it or not. Remember that." With those words, she walked away.
I sighed.
'Keep going.'
'Just keep going.'
Everyone kept saying it but they just didn't realise how hard it was for me.
Keep going, Crystal, just freaking keep going.