After the warm welcome given to the new students, they were brought to the hall. Cassandra couldn’t help but be amazed at the sight in front of her. Academia was a sight to behold. From its fully furnished rooms with various styles and designs down to its marvelous technology equipped with the Archmages’ power. It is simply astounding. While walking, Cassandra saw different races trudging around. Faeries, dwarves, elves, witches and warlocks, and of course vampires.

"The paper that every one of you holds consists of your dorm room number, locker combination, schedule of your classes, and lastly a map of Academia," McCane announced. Cassandra and Kimberly whom she saw earlier, looked into each other eyes. They were confused because there was no said paper.

“Whoa!” Cassandra heard some of the students gasped. 

“What is happ—oh, shit!” she suddenly cursed when a paper appeared on her hand. “Archmage,” she whispered and smiled. Being in the pack most of her life, Casandra wasn’t able to witness what was happening right now. 

"Follow Meynard. He'll show all of you where the dormitory is located," McCane said after taking in the initial reaction of students about magic. The man named Meynard appeared beside Logan McCane. Meynard is a member of sentinels whose job is to keep watch the students’ safety. Logan McCane nodded his head to Meynard. 

“Come and follow me,” Meynard said. Cassandra and the rest of the students followed Meynard. While they were walking to the dorm, Meynard explained the rules. The dorm room will be shared by three people of a different race. 

After explaining, the students went to find a room of their own. Kimberly bid her goodbye to Cassandra and walked away. Cassandra waved her hands and heaved a sigh. She flips her card and saw her dorm number. 

“110,” she softly said. She began walking and inspecting the room one by one until she found what she was searching for. Cassandra breathed deeply before knocking in front of her dorm room. It was opened by a girl, shorter than her with wavy hair. 

“You are the new student, right?” she asked. Cassandra nodded her head and was shocked when she was hugged by the girl.

“Oh my god! Abby, she’s here!” she squealed and dragged Cassandra inside. Another girl was sitting on the bed, holding a book in her hand. She stood up and extended her hand for a handshake.

“I’m Abegail, and this crazy girl is Lisanna,” she said, introducing herself and the girl who hugged Cassandra. 

“I’m Cassandra, do you mind if I ask?” she said. Cassandra wanted to confirm something. After all, she will be with these three for four years. 

“Are you perhaps…a vampire?” she blurted out. She wasn’t prejudiced of her race, but werewolves and vampires had histories of countless wars and deaths. Soon after, the leaders came into agreement, but there are still some vampires and wolves that are hostile to each other. Abegail laughed and answered ‘yes’.

“Lisanna is a witch and I'm a vampire, but don't worry, I won't bite you, wolf,” Abegail said while showing her fangs. Cassandra playfully bared her teeth at her. It was what Meynard said about sharing a room with a different race. 

“Damn, this year will be interesting,” Cassandra muttered to herself. 

“Abby! What the hell was that!?” Lisanna angrily said. “Don’t be mean towards Cassy! Now, come and help her with her things,” she added with her hands on her waist. Abegail rolled her eyes at her and the three started helping Cassandra. 

“Damn, I’m hungry! Did you brought the whole house with you, Cassy?” Abegail asked. Lisanna sat on the chair, exhausted while Cassandra laughed and put the last remaining clothes on her cabinet. 

“Let’s go eat in the cafeteria,” Lisanna suggested. “Treat us, Cassy, okay?” she added and giggled. Cassandra rolled her eyes at them. She picked her wallet up and followed the two that went ahead of her. Cassandra locked the door behind her and joined Lisanna and Abegail. The three went to the Academia’s cafeteria. 

It wasn’t just a simple cafeteria. It was like a five-star restaurant. The meals include different delicacies cooked by famous chefs. 

“Let’s sit there,” Lisanna said and pointed to a table in the corner of the room. Cassandra wondered why Lisanna chose the farthest table, but it was okay to her. She wasn’t planning on gaining unwanted attention to herself. 

Lisanna ordered her food, it was chicken tortilla soup and fried calamari same with Cassandra. While Abegail ordered roasted beef with mashed potato and a pack of O negative blood. The buzzing sound around the cafeteria stopped when a group of students entered. 

They walked gracefully as if the cafeteria was a runway and they were the models. There were three girls walking in front and three boys following behind them. When they passed the tables, the students either bowed their heads or avoided the groups’ gaze. Cassandra narrowed her eyes at them. 

“Lower your gaze, Cassy,” Lisanna whispered. Cassandra looked at her as if she had grown two heads. “Please,” Lisanna begged and whimpered. Abegail clenched her hand into a fist. 

“Tell me everything,” Cassandra seriously said and lowered her gaze. The power swirling in the air around brought tension as the group continued to walk. They were dominating the students with their intense gazes. After ordering their food, the group left. Lisanna breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Now, tell me who are they,” Cassandra said and crossed her arms and legs. The cheerful vibe on the cafeteria earlier had returned to the way it was. Lisanna gulped and glanced at Abegail beside her. 

“I’m out of here. You can tell her,” Abegail said and stood up, bringing the pack of blood with her. Lisanna and Cassandra watched Abegail retreating. 

“What happened to her? Her mood changed drastically when she saw them,” Cassandra said. She picked her bottled water and drink. 

“She had a past with one of the guys that belong to that group,” Lisanna said. “Anyway, those six had the highest rank here in Academia,” Lisanna started telling Cassandra everything she knew. 

“Those boys following them are Jet Crane, he is a warlock, Liam Wright, a werewolf from the West, and Oliver Hunt, a vampire. Jet currently ranked number 4 while Liam was 5, and Oliver was the second,” Lisanna said. Cassandra listened intently. 

“And those mean girls are Judith Lockhart, a witch, Krystal Knight, a vampire, and Joana Redwood. Joana was also a vampire and she was obsessed with First,” Lisanna mumbled. She ate the remaining piece for her food while looking fat Cassandra's reaction in front of her. 

“That’s it?” Cassandra curiously asked. She needs to know the people to avoid as she wanted to live in peace while studying in her dream school.

“No,” Lisanna said. “There were twelve of them, but Agatha, Storm, Logan, Darius, and Jessa hates their group,” she added. 

“What about Abegail? And why do I have to lower my gaze when they’re around?” Cassandra asked Lisanna once again. Lisanna fixed her clothes and clasped her hands together. 

“Oliver used to be her boyfriend, but that piece of shit suddenly broke up with her and went with that bitch, Krystal,” Lisanna angrily said, slamming her hands on the glass table. “And about your second question, we need to avoid them at all costs. Joana likes to give punishment if they’re not going to follow her. That’s how she plays,” she added. Cassandra placed her hand on her jaw. She needs to be on the rank. Cassandra despises people that think they’re that powerful to trample those who are inferior to them. 

“How can I join the rankings?” Cassandra asked. Lisanna was taken aback. She didn’t think that Cassandra was this brave to even dream of joining the ranks. 

“Every month, Academia conducts a test. Students were given a week to train themselves,” Lisanna said. Like Cassandra, she thought of joining the ranks too when she first entered this school. “All of the participants will enter the arena. The strongest that survived the fight shall be the winner,” she added. She remembered how brutal it was and that was the sole reason why she withdrew from the fight.

“After the winner was declared, another two weeks was given to train and a chance to fight the rankers. The winner needs to defeat the ranked twelfth, and that was Jessa,” Lisanna said. Cassandra smiled knowingly. Her wolf was jumping on joy after hearing Lisanna talked about the rankers. Cassandra grew up fighting her twin and other werewolves in their pack and now, she aims to fight the rankers. 

“Tell me you’re not joining!” Lisanna said and held her Cassandra’s hand, but she just smiled at the poor witch. 

“This is my last question. Who was First?” Cassandra muttered. Instantly, Lisanna paled.

“It was forbidden to mention his name,” Lisanna said. Cassandra couldn’t help but frown at her friend.

“Oh, come on! That's ridiculous. Tell me his name, already,” Cassandra insisted. Lisanna nervously looked around her and leaned closer. She looked at Cassandra with her blue eyes and spoke. 

“Sebastian Alistair Blood. He is the vampire prince, or simply known as First.”

“Wake up!” Lisanna shouted in Cassandra’s ear. Cassandra awoke with a jolt, causing her head to hit the wall. 

“Shit,” Cassandra cursed while rubbing her head. She glared at Lisanna who was laughing on the corner while clutching her stomach. 

“You should have seen your face! It was priceless,” Lisanna said and giggled. Cassandra rolled her eyes at her and grabbed the towel hanging on the chair. “You should prepare, Cassy. Abby was already in the cafeteria,” Lisanna added. Cassandra nodded her head and went to the bathroom.

“Crazy dorm mates,” she muttered while turning the shower dial. Cassandra removed all of her clothes and let the lukewarm water ran through her body. After what happened yesterday at the cafeteria, Lisanna and Cassandra decided to go back to their room. They stayed inside waiting for further announcements. 

Cassandra opened her eyes and turned the shower off after washing her body. She took her towel and dried herself. Cassandra went out of the bathroom and saw Lisanna lying on her bed. 

“You won’t come?” Cassandra asked while picking clothes. She chose a pair of jeans and a jersey baseball shirt given by her twin brother.

“No, I’m going back to sleep. My class was scheduled in the afternoon,” Lisanna answered back and covered her face with a pillow. As far as Cassandra knew, Lisanna and Abegail were in the same grade as her, but they’re the first batch to arrive in Academia, making them ahead of her in classes. 

“Okay then, I’m off,” she said. Lisanna waved her hands. Cassandra closed the door behind her and went to the cafeteria. She quickly saw Abegail sitting on the table where they sat yesterday with her food. Cassandra ordered some for herself and went to Abegail.

“You are early today,” Cassandra said and started eating. 

“You too,” Abegail said and smiled. Cassandra shrugged her shoulders. The two ate their breakfast in silence while watching every student inside. Abegail fixed her clothes and finished the remaining blood on the bag.

“Do you want me to accompany you to your room?” Abegail offered but Candice shook her head.

“Thank you but no. I can handle this. You can go now, you might be late because of me,” Cassandra said and chuckled. She didn’t take Abegail’s offer as she wanted to explore the campus by herself while searching for her classroom.

“Are you sure?” Abegail asked and eyed her carefully. Cassandra thumbs up and smiled at her. Abegail heaved a sighed and swing her bag. “Okay, then. See you later, Cassy,” she said and left. Cassandra waved her hand and when Abegail disappeared from her sight, she continued to walk on her own. 

“First class is history, great,” Cassandra muttered sarcastically while looking at the schedule she has in her hand. The history class was in room P67.

“Finally!” Casandra happily said upon finding the room. She looked at her wristwatch and groaned. She was late for seven minutes because she was lost on her way. Cassandra knocked on the door and slowly push it open. A man approached him.

“You are the new student, right? I'm Thorin Stone, your history professor. Please introduce yourself," Thorin kindly said and smiled. Cassandra nervously smiled back at him and went to the center. As she looked around the classroom, she noticed that there were only a few students in the class. Cassandra cleared her throat and proudly held her head high.

“Cassandra Louise Reese of the Blue Moon pack,” she said. Thorin looked at her, waiting for her to add information about herself, but Cassandra just sheepishly smiled. Thorin sighed and nodded his head. 

“That seat is taken,” a boy said. He was deliberately preventing Cassandra on the chair she chose after she finished introducing herself.

“There’s no one here,” Cassandra said. The boy glared at her. Cassandra pursed her lips thinking what she has done to anger the boy.

“That’s First’s seat,” he said. Cassandra shrugged her shoulder and went to sit on another chair. As much as possible, Cassandra wanted to avoid the unnecessary issue. Thorin looked at his students and resumed the class.

“So we already discussed King Sephlius lineage, today we are going to discuss the war of the supernatural happened hundreds of years ago,” Thorin said, holding his book. “How did it happen and who's the mastermind behind the war,” he added. The topic caught Cassandra's attention. She knew about the war and read some of the books about it, but it doesn’t contain enough information. 

"Lamia demigod; a last of her kind vowed to protect a powerful stone that holds magic. She protects the balance of the supernatural world. She lives in the cave in the Southern part of the Amorthon Kingdom of Wolves,” Thorin paused and when he saw his student’s reaction, he smiled. They eagerly listened to Thorin speak about it. History may be a boring subject, but the war of the supernatural was an interesting topic.

“Ikrur a powerful and deceiving demon found out about the stone and plans to steal it. Ikrur devises a plan, an evil one. He kidnapped the Hildegarde, she's Urien's wife of the vampire clan. Ikrur told Urien about stealing a magical stone in exchange for his lovely wife. Urien was worried about Hildegarde's safety so he stole the stone from Lamia.”

"Lamia instantly seeks help from the Amorthon Kingdom of Wolves. The first King of the wolves, King Quillard, and his queen, Vivianne promised to help Lamia,” Thorin said. Cassandra was truly amazed at how the professor delivered the facts of the war that others couldn’t manage. This is what Academia does.

“King Quillard then sought his friends, Cirrus Redfrost, a faerie king, Evras and Xovia, the witch couple, to help Lamia restore the balance,” Thorin paused and moved the paged of the book. 

“They knew Urien is not that kind of man. Even if the vampires are aloof to the other races, they still respected Urien. They thought something was wrong and decided to visit their Kingdom. They began to question Urien, but he went crazy and stabbed Queen Vivianne who died instantly," Thorin added.

“King Quillard was furious. Grieving for his lost mate, he commanded Evras and Xovia to summon the powerful armies. Ikrur on the other hand was enjoying the destruction he made and summoned the ghouls, trolls, ogres, demons, and vampires under the influence of his power,” Thorin said. This event caused the wolves to be hostile around the vampires. The death of the Queen left them scarred. 

“The war lasted for about eight long years. King Quillard finally killed Ikrur and found out the truth. Urien was possessed at that time and killed Queen Vivianne. And Hildegarde? They never found out what happened to Urien's wife, it was still a mystery. Some said Ikrur killed her and fed to the hideous ghouls, but others said he hid Hildegarde so that no one will ever see her," Thorin ended. The whole class was silent. Thorin couldn’t blame them. After the war of supernatural, another series of war orchestrated by vampires followed.

“Still, werewolves are disgusting animals,” a vampire girl said out of nowhere. Cassandra stiffened, ready to pounce at the girl.

"Hah! Vampires are leeches," the boy at the back retorted. Professor Thorin Stone chuckled and put the book down on the table.

“Stop it guys!” Thorin ordered. The buzzing sounds stopped. “Because of the war happened, it created a rupture between two race. Now, we had a council that will guide us,” Thorin added with a smile. The class ended with Thorin giving home works to the students. Cassandra left the room and went to the cafeteria. 

“Cassy!” Lisanna shouted and waved her hand. Cassandra instantly saw them and went to the table bringing the food with her. 

“He's here,” Abby quietly whispered, her hands were shaking in fear. Lisanna dropped her bread and paled.

“I thought he will arrive tomorrow?” Lisanna asked. 

“What are you—” Cassandra cut her sentence when the weirdest thing happened. “Do you smell that?” she asked. 

“What? We don’t. Cassy, please lower your gaze. Joana will see us," Lisanna nervously answered. It hit Cassandra’s nostrils, the smell of cinnamon mixed with woods. She sniffed the air once again, finding the source of the smell. It was a soothing yet delicious kind of smell. Cassandra doesn’t care if that group will notice her as long as she finds the source of the delicious intoxicating smell. Then the most handsome man on earth walked into the cafeteria. Cassandra suddenly froze and nearly fainted when her wolf spoke the two dreaded words she wished she didn’t hear.

“Mate! Mine!”

“Mate! Go to our mate!” her wolf kept saying inside of her.

"Shut up, Christa!"  Cassandra snapped. She gritted her teeth trying to control her wolf because she was trying to take over and Cassandra wouldn’t let that happen. If Christa were to take over, it will surely be chaos. The man must have sensed it, her mate, and started looking around him until their eyes met. Cassandra felt the world suddenly stop as she looked at him. Tall, broad shoulders, strong jaws, has a powerful aura, and gorgeous. Cassandra almost drooled over him.

“Hey! Didn't you hear me call you?” 

“I said, didn’t you fvcking hear me!?” Joanna yelled and grabbed her arm. Cassandra snapped out her fantasies about her mate and winced in pain when Joanna’s long fingernails dig on her skin, making it bled.

“Pardon, what it is?” Cassandra managed to say and removed her hand on her arm. Joanna was flaring in anger. She is a ranker and now, she got ignored by a new student. 

“Bitch! Don’t you know me!?” she shouted angrily. 

"Obviously, not,” Cassandra answered with a bored tone. She immediately saw her mate smirk and felt giddy inside. Her wolf kept pacing back and forth because of what her mate did. Now that Cassandra has fully grasped the situation, she finally recognized the girl in front of her, Joanna Redwood.

“You bitch!” she yelled and was about to slap Cassandra. Lisanna and Alice looked in horror. They couldn’t move an inch because Joanna was way more powerful than them. 

“Enough, Joanna!” her mate’s voice boomed inside the cafeteria. Cassandra’s wolf purred hearing her mate’s voice. Joanna couldn’t do anything and pouted her lips. Cassandra smiled triumphantly inside.

“But, Sebby! This bitch insulted me!" she said with teary eyes and pointed Cassandra. Murmurs and whispers filled the cafeteria. It was a rare scene for them seeing Sebastian meddled in the fight. Cassandra clenched his hand to a fist. She wanted to pull Joanna’s hair and ripped her throat for calling her mate a nickname.

“Come on!" Sebastian said and grabbed Cassandra’s hand, dragging her outside the cafeteria. Lisanna trembled, afraid of what Sebastian would do to their friend. Cassandra felt the sparks when they held hands, she glanced at him and their eyes locked. She blushed, red as a tomato. It was the first time she experienced holding someone’s hands like this. She knew it will eventually happen with her mate but feeling it right now exceeded her imagination. Sebastian halted in the front of the vacant room and pulled her inside.

“What you did there was plain idiocy,” Sebastian said firmly and faced Cassandra. Her jaw dropped and she glared at him.

“Are you taking her side?” she said in disbelief. Cassandra expected he would reprimand Joanna and not her. 

“I’m not taking her side,” he seriously said and sat on the chair. “You don't know Joanna. She will humiliate you in front of the whole Academian students or worst, hurt you," he added. Cassandra crossed her arms and scoffed at him. 

“I can protect myself,” was her only answer to him. They stared at each other for a long time and Sebastian heaved a sigh.

“Stubborn wolf,” he said. Cassandra smiled instead lashing out her anger.

“Stupid vampire,” she spat and smirked. 

“One more word from you and I won’t hesitate to kiss you,” Sebastian said. Cassandra quickly covered her mouth and took a step backward. 

“What’s your name, little mate?” Sebastian asked and stood up, slowly walking towards her. 

“I’m not little,” she hissed “I’m Cassandra Louise Reese," she told him softly.

“How about you Sebby? What's your name?" she asked emphasizing the word 'Sebby'. She saw him grimaced and couldn’t help but chuckle. Cassandra already has a hint of who he was but she wanted to hear it from him.

“Don't fcvking call me that,” he said. Cassandra burst into laughter, clasping her stomach. Sebastian smiled and put her hands on the wall, cornering Cassandra. “I'm Sebastian Alistair Blood”

“Oh, so you are the one called First,” she said. He smirked at her and leaned closer to her face. Cassandra could already his breath. She gulped hard. The looks Sebastian was giving her was enough to make her drown in his amber eyes. 

“Obviously yes, stupid,” Sebastian answered and flicked her forehead. Cassandra glared at him and touch the area that he flicked. 

“I'm not stupid, you are!” she retaliated.

“Give me your schedule,” he said. With her frowning face, Cassandra took her schedule out of her bag and gave it to Sebastian which he took. She watched him intently reading her schedule.

“Go back to your classes. I'll see you later mate," he said and gave her the schedule back. He disappeared into the thin air leaving Cassandra all by himself.

“That fvcker,” she cursed under her breath and stomped her feet. She breathed deeply and looked at the ceiling, realizing something. Her mate is no other than Sebastian Alistair Blood and worst of all he is the vampire prince. Cassandra doesn’t know if it’s possible to be mates with a vampire. Cassandra was lost in her thoughts. She heaved a sigh and left the room. She went back to her classes as the break was finally over.

“That bitch! She dares do that to me!?" Joanna yelled. “I am Joanna Redwood!” she added. She was fuming mad. Sebastian left her with the girl she had arguments with. Joanna couldn't believe what Sebastian did. She was humiliated in front of the students.

“Calm down, Joanna,” Krystal said. Joanna glared at her and stomped her feet. After what happened, they went to their hang out place. 

“It was fvcking obvious that Sebby chose her over me. How can I fvcking calm down huh!?” she shouted and slumped on the couch. “That bitch! She was flirting with my Sebby!” she added angrily. 

“Find out everything about that girl, Krystal!” Joanna ordered. Krystal looked at her as if she has gone crazy. Joanna glared at her. 

“Fvcking find out everything or your family will suffer!" she threatened. Krystal went pale and hastily nodded her head. She began calling a private investigator working in their family. Joanna smiled evilly while pouring wine into her glass. She will make sure that the girl who was with Sebastian will suffer.