1 Prologue

"Miss Brooks, will you PLEASE pay attention for once? This is important material and it will be on the test!" Scolded the professor, an aged woman with bird-like eyes and a hatred for electronics and magic alike.

My head snaps up from the desk, causing the people around me to snicker. Damn, I dozed off again. I've been having the most vivid nightmares. I can't tell if they're memories or dreams, but either way, they're exhausting. It doesn't help that this professor has one of the most monotone voices I've ever heard.

"What were you doing witch girl? Summoning demons all night?" snickered the guy next to me.

"If I were summoning a demon, I would have sacrificed your arrogant ass Adam." I snapped. I couldn't see his reaction but, judging by the quiet laughs from around me, he took my joke seriously. I don't understand why someone always pegs me for a witch. I never talk to anyone about my personal life, if at all.

"Now, I expect to see you all next Wednesday at 7am for the final exam. Make sure you either don't bring a bag, or leave it at the door because you will only be allowed a pencil. Mr. Lambert, a pen is not a pencil and smart watches are not allowed. If you show up after 7 and I have shut the door, you will receive a zero. Have a good day."

Thank goddess history was my last class of the semester before finals. It's a shame that professor is such a stickler because the class could have been a whole lot more enjoyable since history is my favorite subject. She's not great at answering questions and I don't think she's been at her office after hours the entire semester. I take my time putting things in my bag so I can avoid the cluster of people all trying to get out the doors at once.

You would think people would have matured a little by the time they reached college, but apparently not, since they still constantly prod me about being a witch. Magic isn't hidden like it was. Even after the war, it's still not readily accepted by non-magic folk. People still point fingers at witches and accuse them for anything bad that has happened in their life recently. Because of peoples fears, governments have tried to regulate what kind of magic and spells are allowed to be used. This pissed off the societies of powerful witches that have had a hand on politics, secretly, for hundreds of years. The regulations started to get so strict that one of these societies revealed themselves and declared independence for all magic users, saying that if magic users are discriminated against in any way, shape, or form, the parties responsible will face punishment determined by their leader. Their leader is known only as "The King" by those in the magic community and his punishment is always death.

I make my way past the few remaining students and head to the library to study some more for this class as its my last exam. The major topic of this exam is the prosecution of witches around the world, ironically enough, but the professor is very anti-magic folk and it reflects in the materials we have to study. The reading she assigned last week was purely about the demonetization of witches, and was forty pages long. I realize it's time to go home when I doze off and smack my face against the table. I pack my bag and start walking to my car across campus in the only free lot that borders the woods. As I'm walking, I can't help but feel like I'm being watched so I turn around, nothing. I quicken my pace and arrange my car keys between my fingers in case I have to hit anyone. Out of the corner of my eye I swear I see someone walk behind a building. This time I don't bother to stop or look, I don't want to risk someone actually being there.

I make it to the first of the three parking lots, its empty, meaning there's no where for me (or anyone else) to hide so I start jogging lightly. I hear clicking from behind me, similar to the sound of dog nails on concrete, so I start to run. I'm not in the best shape and I'm practically dying by the time I get to the last lot. My little old 1991 Pontiac Grand Am is sitting under a light, all alone in the lot. I slow to a walk, unable to run anymore because of how hard I'm breathing. I look behind me, seeing nothing.

"Its probably just your imagination, Thea." I say aloud as I get to the car. Its blue paint is chipping and is probably on its last leg so I'll need to invest in something more reliable eventually.

Before I get the door open I hear a snarl from behind me. I whirl around to see a large grey wolf running for me. I fumble with the door, managing to get it open and barely make it inside before the wolf reaches the car. "Help!" I scream, as I try to shut the door, but the wolf managed to get it's head in the door frame so I can't close it all the way. If I open the door to slam it shut again, it would be able to get into the car and I'm done for. "Help me!" Oh goddess I think, I'm going to get mauled by a wolf a week before I graduate.

Just when I start to lose against the wolf, its gone. Out of breath, I slammed the door shut just in time to see a black wolf chasing after the one that attacked me.

When the wolves disappear into the woods, I lock the car door, put my head on the wheel, and just sit there trying to calm myself down. What the hell was that and where did those wolves come from? Get yourself together Thea, it was probably a freak incident that the wolf was in the area. There hasn't been a wolf spotting in this area in years so there's no way they've found you I say to myself.

*thud*

Startled, I look up to see the black wolf with his front paws on my hood. Now that he's so close to me, he seems familiar somehow. Even though his maw was covered in blood I could see the white around his mouth that that trailed up his snout. At that moment our eyes locked and I knew. His eyes were that startling shade of green I remembered from my nightmares.