Page 167 of A University of Betrayal

As for my housemates, they’re very friendly, especially Diana, the daughter of the new Circle member.

She wants to study molecular biology, which is the complete opposite of my interest in the humanities, but we immediately clicked.

The second girl – you won’t believe this – is Amanda. Yes, exactly, Amanda. I only knew her from the temple and from my visits to Alaister, and I had the feeling she was like her mother. Strict and cool. But here in this house, far away from Gloria, she’s almost a different person. She is talkative and open, very cheerful in fact, and doesn’t mince her words. In short, she’s great to talk to.

I’ll ask Alaister tomorrow if his twin sister is the same with him. I mean, it’s similar with him. Especially since he’s a male Quatura and you know Gloria. If there’s one person in Blairville who treats and controls everyone else from the top down, it’s her. I’m always amazed that you two could ever be friends.

I just hope that Alaister doesn’t give himself such a hard time anymore, especially now that university is starting, which – by the way – I’m really looking forward to.

Studying literature is and remains a dream and I can still hardly believe that it will finally come true tomorrow.

We have all grown up so quickly. Amara is already in her fifth semester. You would be so proud of her.

Mum... Even though I don’t believe in the gods, I pray every single night that you wake up again. I cry a lot. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I had to get out of Moenia.

Oh, one more thing... I’ve been wondering the whole time if it’s a coincidence that I ended up in a student house with two Quatura. I get the feeling that Gloria is somehow involved, but it’s just a feeling.

Beloved Mum,

Vanderwood is such a beautiful place, almost magical. Even though we still have to wear uniforms here – which, in a way, has a special flair, though Amara definitely disagrees with me about that.

The campus is simply huge, and I feel like I’m entering another world as soon as I wander through the stone corridors... And believe me, the ancient-looking library – which reminds me of a temple from the inside – is a dream with its old bound tomes. You can even touch the books, not like in Moenia.

I immediately borrowed a few books, including a collection by Jane Austen, which I had to read straight away. I sat down under a tree on campus and enjoyed the sun while I let my fingers glide over the coffee-scented paper. And I met someone.

I thought long and hard about whether I could write about it, but I don’t think there’s a better place than these letters here.

His name is Alarik Copeland. Yes, I know, he’s a Copeland. A real Senseque. On top of that, he’s the Alpha’s son, and the Alpha has recently become the director here.

Anyway, this young man sat down right next to me in my literature lecture. Just like that... Maybe because there were no other seats available?

He didn’t even care that I was a Quatura and he a Senseque. I’m so glad that no one from our Circle or from his pack is attending this lecture, otherwise someone would have reported it to Gloria immediately, and then we both would burn in hell now.

I had mentioned to him that we would be punished if we were seen next to each other, and he turned to me for the first time and laughed.

It has to be said that he is not unattractive, quite the opposite! He has bright green eyes and dark brown wavy, nearly curly hair. A warmer, softer brown than mine. And he grins a lot when he’s not busy writing something into his notebook.

But he can’t just sit down next to me and start discussing the species with me. That’s what he did, and his opinion on this sensitive topic is that the current species policy is total nonsense.

Somehow his words felt forbidden, but also somehow... right.

It’s been on my mind all afternoon, and I think he’s right. We have no reason to be at odds with each other. In fact, we might even benefit each other.

I’m still thinking about it a lot, but I don’t dare talk about it with anyone other than the wolf guy. But maybe... I should talk to Alaister.

Beloved Mum,

Alaister has become very handsome over the summer. I haven’t seen him for a long time, but today, as I sat there under that tree, and he came up to me in his uniform with his books under his arm, there was something very masculine about him.

His platinum blond hair makes his ice-blue eyes with their slight green tint look even more intense, especially in the sunlight. His facial features have also become more angular... and his broad shoulders...

I had told him that he had become attractive, whereupon he had pulled me away from the tree by my foot. I’d laughed out loud and told him that he was still just as cheeky as before the summer break, to which he’d just grinned and sat against the tree with me.

It’s funny to see my best friend grow into a man after all these years in Moenia and at school.

“The professors here are all so arrogant,” he’d said, and I’d grinned. He had grown up a bit spoiled himself, even if he hadn’t had the best and especially not the most caring childhood under Gloria’s care.

You can still see that he doesn’t sleep much, and that he has started drinking that strange serum that Gloria has been giving him for a long time now.