Chapter 4: It’s a Predator’s Playground

The rest of the day was supposed to be a reprieve. With classes officially starting the next morning, the freshmen were given the evening to settle into their dorms and familiarize themselves with the campus.

For Blair, it felt less like a reprieve and more like walking the plank.

"Oh, come on, chin up!" Heather chirped, linking her arm through Blair’s as they walked into the human dining hall. "You survived Professor Feron! You’re basically a celebrity now."

"I am a walking target, Heather," Blair muttered, pulling her collar up to her chin.

The dining hall was a cramped, dimly lit room located in the basement of the agricultural building, a far cry from the opulent, glass-ceilinged pavilions the beastmen dined in. It smelled faintly of boiled cabbage and damp stone.

As soon as Blair and Heather stepped through the threshold, the low hum of conversation flatlined.

Dozens of human students, all dressed in the same depressing gray uniforms, turned to stare. But there was no awe in their eyes. There was no admiration for the girl who had beaten the beast nobility on the entrance exam.

There was only fear.

Heather dragged Blair to an empty table in the center of the room. "See? Exclusive VIP status. They’re in awe of you."

"They aren’t in awe," Blair whispered, her stomach twisting into a painful knot.

A group of older human students at the next table immediately stood up, picked up their metal trays, and moved to the farthest corner of the room. A few others actually turned their chairs around so their backs were facing Blair.

"Hey," a harsh whisper hissed from the aisle.

Blair looked up. A gaunt human boy, probably a junior, was pausing by their table. He didn’t look at her face; his eyes nervously darted toward the basement door as if expecting a predator to burst through at any second.

"What were you thinking?" the boy hissed, his voice trembling with anger. "Upstaging the nobles? Embarrassing the Snake Prince on national television? And then challenging a Crow teacher on day one?"

"I didn’t mean to—"

"You’re a dead girl walking, Willows," the boy interrupted coldly. "The beastmen don’t just get mad. They get even. And when they come for you, they aren’t going to care who is standing in the crossfire. So do us all a favor and stay far, far away from the rest of us."

He hurried away before Blair could even open her mouth to reply.

Heather scoffed, stabbing a piece of boiled potato with her fork. "Ignore him. He has zero ambition. Probably hoping to graduate and get a job filing paperwork for a badger. Total loser mentality."

But the boy’s words echoed in Blair’s ears. She looked around the room. Every single human was avoiding her gaze. They treated her like she was a ghost. Her intelligence, the very thing she thought would save her, had completely isolated her from both the humans and the beasts.

She pushed her tray away. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry at all.

"I’m going to head back to the room," Blair said quietly, standing up.

"Already?" Heather asked, her mouth full. "But I haven’t even gone over my strategy for infiltrating the Ice Rink tomorrow!"

"You can brief me tonight," Blair forced a small, tired smile. "I just need a minute to breathe."

Returning to Dormitory G offered a small slice of quiet. Blair meticulously unpacked her belongings, folding her two spare uniform shirts and placing her toothbrush in the chipped bathroom cup. The mundane tasks helped calm her racing heart.

Once she was done, she sat on her lumpy mattress and pulled out her crumpled campus map and schedule.

First period: History of the Beast World. North Tower, Room 402.

Blair traced the route with her finger. The North Tower was on the opposite side of the campus. If she got lost tomorrow, she would be late. And if she was late again, Professor Feron would probably skip the detention and just throw her out of a window.

"Okay," Blair whispered to herself, standing up and smoothing down her skirt. "Memorize the routes. Stay in the shadows. You can do this."

She left the dorm and slipped back out onto the sprawling campus.

The late afternoon sun was beginning to set, casting a warm, golden hue over the academy. Because most of the beastmen were at the grand dining pavilions or their respective faction houses, the academic grounds were eerily empty.

Blair navigated the winding cobblestone paths, finally reaching the North Tower.

It was breathtaking. The architecture was a mix of gothic arches and gleaming white marble. Towering stained-glass windows painted the empty hallways in vibrant splashes of red, blue, and gold.

As she walked through the beautiful, sunlit corridors, the knot in her chest finally began to loosen.

It was so quiet here. So peaceful. For a fleeting moment, as she trailed her hand along the cool marble walls, Blair allowed herself to feel a spark of hope.

Maybe it won’t be so bad, she thought, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. If I just memorize where I’m going, if I keep my head down and just focus on the textbooks... maybe, just maybe, I can actually survive the next three years.

Blair turned the corner onto the fourth floor, her eyes scanning the brass plaques above the doors. 400, 401...

She stopped in front of Room 402.

A muffled sound was coming from inside. It sounded like a whimper.

Blair froze. Every survival instinct she possessed screamed at her to turn around and walk away. Keep your head down. Do not get involved. But the whimper came again, followed by the thud of something hitting a desk. It was a distinctly human cry.

Before her brain could catch up with her body, Blair pushed the door open.

She walked straight into a nightmare.

The History classroom was large and tiered, filled with rows of wooden desks. But Blair didn’t look at the architecture. Her horrified gaze locked onto the center of the room.

A human girl, no older than Blair, was pinned back against the professor’s desk. She was sobbing, her face pale and streaked with tears, her arms wrapped frantically around her chest to cover herself.

She was naked. Her torn gray uniform lay in a shredded pile on the floor.

Looming over her was a hulking beastman. He was broad-shouldered and thick-necked, with coarse, bristly hair covering his forearms. Two sharp, yellowed tusks protruded from his lower jaw. A Boar beastman.

The door creaked loudly as Blair stood paralyzed in the doorway.

The Boar beastman stopped. He slowly turned, his small, dark eyes locking onto Blair.

"Well, well," the beastman grunted. He didn’t look embarrassed to be caught. He looked annoyed. "What do we have here? Another little rat wandering out of her cage."

Blair’s blood ran cold. She couldn’t breathe. She looked at the terrified, naked girl sobbing on the desk, and then back up to the Boar.

"L-Let her go," Blair forced out, her voice trembling so violently she barely recognized it.

The Boar let out a snorting laugh. He turned fully toward Blair, his hands reaching down to the leather belt at his waist.

Click.

He undid the buckle, the sound echoing in the quiet classroom. He slowly began to pull the leather strap free from the loops of his trousers.

"You must be the human genius everyone’s talking about," the Boar sneered, his tusks glinting in the fading sunlight. "Number two. You think you’re smart, little human? Then you should know the rules."

"Unless a teacher catches me, or a noble reports me, human laws don’t apply to you pets," the Boar growled, taking a slow step toward her. He wrapped the leather belt around his knuckles, his eyes dropping to rake over Blair. "And there are no teachers here. Just me, and two very disobedient toys."

The naked girl on the desk let out a terrified sob.

The Boar beastman grinned maliciously. He stopped a few feet away from Blair, his presence pinning her in place.

"If you want her to live, genius," the Boar commanded, "take your clothes off."