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“Where the hell could she have gone?”

“She couldn’t have gone far.”

“We should have let her in last night. She was injured.”

“She was faking it.”

“There was blood. You could smell it, so could I.”

“She had to have done it to herself.”

I wake to the annoying sound of four familiar voices. They’re close by, but I have no intention of telling them where I am.

I wait until they’ve left before getting up and stretching, soon regretting my spot near the rocks when I find every part of my body groaning and aching with multiple kinks from my awkward position.

I stretch them out and then make my way to the main building, hoping there’s a free canteen inside.

Once I hit the main door, a delicious scent hits my senses, and I follow it. After a few wrong turns and strange looks from the males here, I eventually find the canteen and make my way toward the long table of food.

Nobody looks to be handing over cash or cards, so I chance my luck and line up in the small queue.

When it’s my turn to pick out some food, I get a bit of everything, eggs, pancakes, sausages, and any extras and then head for the nearest empty table.

When no one tries to stop me for not paying, I take it as a win and sit down to dig in.

A couple of minutes later, a shadow blocks my light, and a male with blonde hair and warm brown eyes sits down in front of me.

I glance over at him with a raised brow.

“Where are your companions?” he asks as his eyes dip to my lips and eyes.

“Around,” I tell him, still unaware of the rules here and what I should and shouldn’t be saying that won’t get me or those four idiots into trouble. I dig back into my food, loving the fact that its free and warm and with the hope he’ll take the hint and leave me to it.

“You shouldn’t be by yourself,” he says, making that little hope shrivel up and disappear.

I glance at him, wondering if he’s trying to warn me. But he’s smiling at me, his body relaxed. “No one as beautiful as you should be sitting alone.”

Instead of smiling back at him, I frown. “I’m a little new to this. But isn’t there rules against trying to chat up another Shadow’s companion?”

“Only if the other Shadows find out.” He smirks again and gets up from his chair. “You ever get bored of eating alone, come find me.”

With one last look, he turns and heads out of the canteen while I’m left confused and annoyed that the females here are seen as nothing more than tradable objects.

I quickly finish off my food and ignore the strange looks from every other male in the room before heading out of the canteen.

My hopes for a shower and change of clothes gets derailed when I get flagged down by a tall lean male with brown hair and glasses that looks to be in his early thirties.

“Sena? There you are. You’re supposed to be in class. Come on, I’m heading that way now,” he says before ushering me towards a room down the hall.

“I’ve been notified of your incident.” He gives me a sad look that only makes me more confused. “If you need any help with settling in, let me know. My door is always open.”

I frown at his kind smile meant to reassure me and follow him into a classroom where a dozen other girls are already sitting, waiting.

“I found her,” he says to them with a small chuckle before pointing to a seat at the back. Realizing I’m not going to get out of this one, I head toward it and ignore everyone and anyone as I make my way there.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Professor Graves, and I’ll be covering Shadow history and anything you need to know about Shadows and abilities.”

He glances down to me. “There’s a book on the table, Sena. We’re all only starting the history of the Shadows. So don’t worry about not remembering anything.”

Whispers and hushed giggles break out around the room, but I ignore them to look at the thick book in front of me.

I open it to the first page and grimace at the tiny writing. Already dreading this class, I sit back and try to soak up some information that might help me figure a way out of here or something that can help me deal with the four assholes.

But after a few minutes of listening to how superior the Shadow genetics are and how naturally skilled they all are, I zone out.

Glancing around the room, I watch a girl with blonde hair similar to… mine make fun of a redhead across from her. Pointing at her clothes and hair.

But I honestly cannot tell what she is trying to make fun of. Her hair is stunning, her clothes pristine, and she has looks that others would kill for.

I drown them out and flip through the book again trying to look like I’m attempting to learn something when a chapter heading catches my attention.

Class One Supernaturals deemed a threat:

There’s a list of species and creatures I’ve never heard of underneath it, but it gets me thinking of the supernatural or being that switched my body. Maybe it’s in this list or on the radar of the Shadows.

I wait until the girls have left before making my way up to the professor. He’s just finishing packing up his books when I approach his desk, and he glances up at me.

“Everything okay?” he asks with a kind smile, and it instantly reminds me of the janitor from one of my old schools. He always looked out for me, turned a blind eye when I used the showers or took extra food for later from the canteen.

I lasted the longest in one place because of him.

“I know it can be a lot of information, especially on the first day,” he continues, patiently waiting for me to say why I came up to him.

Shaking the memory away, I give him a small smile while trying to come up with a way to ask this without sounding crazy. “Yes. I’m sure I’ll catch on. I was just wondering if I could ask you a question?”

“Shoot,” he says immediately.

I try to act embarrassed and scrunch up my nose at the thought of asking it. “I saw this horror movie last night…”

He chuckles as if knowing where this is already going but I play along and act like I’m a little worried.

“It was about someone who switched bodies with another person.” I force out a tight laugh and rub the back of my neck. “It kind of freaked me out to be honest.”

“You can put your mind as rest. Nothing like that would ever come near the academy,” he says with a chuckle, and I freeze.

His eyes soften at what must be the shocked look on my face.

“What do you mean?” I laugh but it’s completely forced. “Something like that actually exists?”

He nods, unbothered or worried with that little fact. Maybe whatever being that switched me is not as bad as I originally thought.

I might be able to tell him or someone what happened to me and figure it out from there.

“There’s a rare species that once existed called Variants,” he says with a far-off look as if thinking about it. “Most, if not all, are extinct now.”

Not all extinct, considering I’m here. I open my mouth to try and breach the subject when he continues.

“They were all too dangerous and ending up being hunted to extinction by the Shadows.”

I shut down any questions I was about to ask after that and instead keep the facade of just being curious. “They were dangerous?” I ask, trying to see if I can get some information about them.

He nods. “Very.”

I swallow hard, not having to fake my worry and panic. “What would happen if you or any Shadow came across one that managed to stay alive?”

“They would be killed instantly, along with those they involved in their dark powers,” he says, and my heart drops.

He chuckles at the look on my face and pats my arm. “Don’t worry though. I’m nearly positive they’re all extinct.”

I force a smile and thank him. He leaves without a backward glance while I stand there and wonder how I got myself into this fucked up situation.

One thing I’m sure of though, I can’t tell anyone here what happened to me. If I do, I’m dead.