Chapter 4

Autumn's POV

Turning off the faucet, I walked out of the bathroom in frustration.

I didn't know how I got back, the whole way was filled with everything about that man. The first time I saw his heart at the garden pond; the second time he draped the jacket with his smell on me; to the disdain behind... My wretchedness was nakedly displayed in front of him.

I nestled sadly in the couch, hugging myself and shivering.

"Are you going to sleep, Autumn?" my sister said as she removed my hair towel and used the hair dryer to dry my hair. "It's easy to catch a cold when you sleep with wet hair."

"Thank you, Ava."

"What's wrong with you? You seem not happy."

"Nothing, I'm just a little sleepy." I made a random excuse, for I wasn't going to tell my sister what had happened tonight, which would just make her worry.

"Then go to bed early and have a good night." My sister stood up, and asked when I didn't move, "What's wrong, don't you feel well?"

"Ava, do you know who our Luna is?"

It's been several hours since the end of the ball and no selection results had been announced.

"Alpha said he didn't find it." Ava said.

My stomach started churning.

Alpha probably didn't know that I'm his mate yet, but even if he did, he must not be willing to admit it. I'm just a person who can't even transform a wolf, how can he lead a wolf pack to defeat witch?

"I'm taking tomorrow off and taking you out for a trip. You'll be going back to school in a couple of days, and we won't be able to see each other again for a long time." Obviously seeing that something was on my mind, my sister wanted to take me for a break.

"Sister, I'm not going back to school, I want to stay." Only by staying here could I see him again, only by seeing him could I prove myself.

It seemed that Ava didn't expect my words, "Do you know what it means to stay here? Those people will come after you every day."

"I can't keep running away from it, I always have to face the truth. And Ava, as you said, I have to show some real talent to shut them up."

"Are you sure you want to do it?" Ava said, who was still a little uneasy.

I nodded solemnly. I had learned a lot in the past two years abroad.

"Autumn, I'm glad you're thinking this way. But be sure to let me know if you run into any difficulties."

"Don't worry Ava, I'm fine with it." I gave my sister a mischievous flying kiss. "Good night!"

When the sun came up, I felt like it was a day of rejuvenation. My shirt was ironed without a wrinkle, and my shiny little leather shoes made a crisp sound on the fallen leaves, like a bite of a crunchy cookie.

"Everyone, attention please! Applause for the new student, Autumn."

"Hello, I'm Autumn," I introduced myself with a smile, and the male students seemed very happy to have me there, some even whistled.

"Quiet!" The professor gestured for everyone to stop, she was a kind old lady with a smile and golden dentures, she said seriously and earnestly, "Autumn got a perfect score on this transfer exam."

Once again, the class erupted in shocked applause, and I was a little embarrassed, sheepishly bowing my head.

"Your place is over there, next to Geri's." The professor pointed to an empty seat.

I had just walked up to my seat when Geri enthusiastically pulled out my stool for me, and with a raised eyebrow, introduced himself, "Hi, call me Geri."

"Thank you, Geri," In return, I gave him a polite smile, put down my notebook bag and sat down.

"Okay little wolf cubs, I'll give you a homework assignment, write up the army training you just finished."

"Oh no!" There was an instant class wail.

"You have three days to do so."

"Army training?" I looked at Geri in disbelief.

"We attended the three-day warrior training and just finished yesterday." Geri explained. "Pack run training at five o'clock every day, and a practical training session where we had to punch seniors as sandbags one-on-one." He rolled up his sleeve to show me the large bruise on his arm.

I raised my hand to the professor and asked. "I'm sorry, professor, I wasn't in training, what should I write about?"

"The duties and qualities of a warrior. Think about what step you should start with if you were to launch an attack on witch right now." She held up her glasses and said very seriously. "Imagine that you are the hope of this wolf pack, maybe tomorrow you will be on the battlefield, and what will you do to protect the wolf pack?"

"Don't worry, you can ask me if you don't understand." Geri poked his head through.

The classroom was so quiet that all that could be heard was the turning of pages and the rustling of pens.

I remembered just walking to the entrance of the school, there passed a line of uniformed soldiers. The number of the line should be twenty, while the last three soldiers in the line were obviously much shorter than the others, whose bodies were not as strong as the others, too. As I approached, I noticed that they were a bit older, with purple lips, walking very fast and breathing heavily. Nevertheless, they could not keep up with the others and the group was pulled apart for some distance. Instead of calling them wolf pack warriors, I would rather call them the campus security team.

I asked Geri. ".Did you meet any of the soldiers who passed in front of the school this morning?"

Geri thought for a moment, and then understood what was going on. "I know the one you're talking about, what's wrong?"

"I just thought there was something strange about them, a few of them looked old."

"It's normal, there were a lot of veterans when we were in training. These years, our wolf pack has been fighting the witch, many young people have died, and most of the young people have been sent to defend the border. The wolf pack can't be without someone on duty, and the old soldiers naturally can't be discharged."

"What about us, the younger pack member? Can't we also serve the pack?" I was puzzled by this.

"Us? Did you see those veterans' purple lips?"

I nodded. "Are they sick?"

"Sort of, they hit witch's heart-eaten purple grape."

"Heart-eaten purple grape?" It sounded a little familiar, I thought I saw it in the file in my sister's room.

"I heard that it was a purple gas with the sweet smell of grapes, and that inhaling it in large quantities can make a person's body turn purple and kill them on the spot. The doctors dissected their bodies and guess what?" Geri said.

"What?" I lifted a nervous breath.

"Their hearts were eaten empty."

I sucked in a cold breath, the potion was so powerful.

Geri added. "The veterans were lucky to have just a little bit of aspirate, and the doctors said their hearts would be slowly eaten away bit by bit."

"Can't the doctors cure it?"

Geri shook his head. "The wolf pack doctors haven't developed a cure for this disease yet."

"What about the gas shield?" It is always possible to isolate toxic gases to wear a gas shield, I asked.

"That stuff is so powerful it lasts ten hours, sooner or later we'll be smothered in a gas mask." Geri sighed and added, "Too many of us have died for the wolves to act rashly now."

I prayed in my heart for the veterans with purple lips, who should have been treated in the hospital, but at the moment were shouldering the safety of the wolves on dutiful patrol. If a countermeasure could be found, the wolves would not have died so many people.

I had to do something for them.

Thinking for a while, I picked up a pen and scribbled quickly on paper.

The bell rang and several boys gathered around, I looked a little strange, I thought it was the next class. I quickly closed my notebook. A boy sat down next to me. "Hey Autumn, do you want to go to the school café together?"

"That's too boring, why don't we go to the basketball court, do you like to play basketball?" Another boy said with his fingers twirling the basketball.

"Go to the library, I have some questions that I don't really understand, just so I can ask you." Another boy said.

I smiled and was about to refuse when a familiar figure came over, the pesky Iona again.

"Hello again old classmate." She walked over and gestured to the boy beside her to give him his seat.

"Hello Iona," I greeted out of courtesy.

"Do you guys know each other?" Geri suddenly came up to me.

"We have known each other for more than ten years, surely, we are very close. You can ask me anything you want to know. I know everything about her."

"Shut up, Iona! Go back to your seat." Her words caught the interest of a few boys and I chided her loudly, knowing what she was going to say again.

"To tell you a secret, she's a loser who can't turn into a wolf."

A few of the boys shrugged and left, and Geri kept spreading his hands as if he had something to say. The atmosphere was awkward, I knew what they were thinking, after all, no one wants to be friends with a loser.

"Well you achieved your goal, you can go now." I said angrily, pointing to the door.

She raised her chin triumphantly and showed me two nostrils. "What's this?" She suddenly jerked away my notebook, and I exclaimed, it was full of what I had just written, and I couldn't let her see it. I reached out to grab it back, and she flashed to the door in a second.

"Give me back my notebook!" I chased her to the door and she dashed back out into the hallway, I rushed up again and she threw the notebook back. It was a three-way street, a little crowded, and a guy picked the notebook up and flipped through it. What a rude guy!

"Hey! That's my stuff, no rummaging!" I yelled at the man, and Iona kept stopping me from getting through. Her hand even shoved me so hard that I kept backing up and almost fell over.

Just as I was about to fall again, a strong hand pulled me to my feet. I used this strength to stand up and looked up to see that it was the man who was rummaging my notes, and in his other hand was my notebook.

"Miss, is it fun to bully other wolf pack members?" He suddenly said to Iona.

"What proof do you have that I was bullying her? I was just messing with her." Iona looked full of concern.

"You threw away her notebook."

"I didn't!" She still denied it.

"Go to the teaching office to receive punishment!" The man said seriously.

Iona reluctantly stomped her foot and turned to leave.

"Did you write all this yourself?" The teacher raised my notebook; he looked very young.

"Please give it back to me!" Just as my fingertips touched the notebook, he dodged it again.

"It doesn't matter if you didn't write it, can you sell it to me? Any amount will do. You can name your price." He opened the notebook just enough to turn to the page of Eastern Formation. "Whether it's the points of attack, constraining the opponent, or organizing play, the complexity of these tactics is not something that can be written by ordinary people, how did you make it?"

"You're looking at the wrong thing!" Taking advantage of the gap between his looking down, I hurriedly grabbed the notebook and ran to the playground in a panic.