Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: 88-Not An Ugly Duckling

Helanie:

“Hello class, I’m Professor Emmet McQuoid, your class teacher, and I’ll be the one to teach you the history of wars, werewolves, other creatures, as well as herbs and weapons. Physical training, however, will be conducted by my brothers,” he said, tossing the papers onto the podium, then quickly grabbing his glasses and putting them on.

I had never seen him wearing glasses before. I turned to check on Sydney and Salem, who were both exchanging glances—constantly looking at each other before finally turning to Emmet.

“So, let’s get started with the first class,” he said, quickly adjusting his tie before lowering his head to begin flipping through the pages of the book he had brought with him.

As his head was down, I noticed him briefly raising his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment. His gaze landed directly on me, and then he quickly looked away as if he just wanted to confirm I was there.

He started the class by giving an introduction to the academy and explaining how and when it was established. The academy was actually built long before Lord McQuoid took over. In fact, it used to be an abandoned building, so they had to renovate it. But from what I gathered, most of the interior was kept the same when they added the furniture. The way he delivered his wisdom was quite captivating, and strangely enough, everyone was focused.

“That’ll be all,” Emmet announced, slamming the book shut and giving us one last glance. His eyes lingered on me for a moment longer before he nodded and gathered his things to leave.

“I can’t believe this hunk spoke for five hours, and none of us got bored,” Lucy remarked, perfectly capturing what everyone was thinking.

It was true. Five hours had flown by, and we’d written down so much. All the materials were in the vintage black-and-orange notebook Emmet had given me in the bag the other day—a thoughtful touch. Lucy and Gavin both complimented it too.

“Let’s head out and grab something to eat, what do you say?” Lucy smiled, getting up and then immediately turning around to face someone at the front. “Why can’t this bitch leave us alone?” she muttered under her breath.

As Lucy mentioned, I looked over her shoulder and saw Jenny standing by her seat, waving at us.

“Maybe she just wants to be friends with us since Gavin is her roommate,” I thought, not the kind of person to judge someone right away.

“Stop taking her side, Helanie,” Lucy snapped. “She’s seducing my mate. She’s not a good person.” As she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away from our spot, I felt like rolling my eyes. Why the heck would she say that? There was no proof. But I didn’t want to upset her, so I just stayed quiet. Gavin followed us in silence, clearly unwilling to talk.

“Guys, are we headed to the canteen?” Somehow, Jenny didn’t pick up on the fact that none of us wanted to hang out with her.

“Hey, Jenny!” Lucy suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her. The two would have bumped into each other had Jenny not stopped midway. She looked a little shocked too.

“Why don’t you go accompany your brother? Isn’t it wrong to leave him alone?” Lucy forced a smile, trying to sound sweet, but it was clear she was trying to push Jenny away. The look of embarrassment on Jenny’s face made me feel guilty.

“But he hangs out with his friends,” Jenny mumbled, sounding drained. That’s when Gavin, who had been awkwardly standing behind us, stepped forward.

“It’s okay. You can come along with us,” he said with a cheerful tone. Lucy, clearly irritated, turned just slightly and shot him a look.

I swear Jenny saw it. She watched them for a moment before forcing a smile.

“Actually, you guys enjoy yourselves,” she said quickly. “I just remembered I have to sit with someone else.” I could tell she was lying to avoid any further awkwardness.

“Oh, shoot. Well, what can be done in that case, right?” Lucy said, acting disappointed, though I could tell she was relieved that Jenny backed down.

Jenny walked away, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether she was trying to befriend Gavin or just wanted to fit in with us girls. It seemed like she was more focused on being part of our group.

We headed to the cafeteria and took the seats at the back while the seniors grabbed the better spots.

It didn’t matter much to me. I was just happy to be part of this academy. If things had gone right, I would have gone home and told everyone that I wasn’t entirely useless. The things they had told me—about not being able to do anything with my life—bothered me so much that I cried myself to sleep every night.

I wanted to prove myself to them, but I couldn’t, because I was a coward and a weak person back then. And if I cried over any of their hits or abuse, they would call me weak and pathetic, not understanding that the abuser should be the one who gets the hate.

While I sat with my friends, my food in front of me, lost in thoughts about my life back home, I didn’t realize I had become a target for the top seniors.

“So, people—we have a special student here,” a voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. I snapped back to reality when my food tray was snatched right from in front of me.

“Hey!” Gavin stood up, facing the guy who had taken the tray.

The guy, wearing a blue and black wristband, stood facing Gavin. He was a top senior—and probably not a friendly one. His hazel eyes radiated a threat to anyone standing up to him, and the smirk on his lips proved he hadn’t come here to be checked.

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for me to leave this cafeteria without any trouble today.