Chapter 2

He nervously fidgets his fingers around the paper in his hand, looking up with dreaded eyes he falls in surprise upon finding the principal specifically staring at him. He quickly and shamefully averted his eyes down again.

"Your batches will be given to you in a few days. You can take your leave now."

The students left the office one by one. As they make their way through the corridors, malicious, taunting eyes scoff at them. It appeared that the former students were letting the newcomers know who was in charge, and that their rebellious behaviour would not be tolerated here. They wanted to instil fear in them by staring with vicious eyes, and it was working. The newcomers shudder whenever a student passes them with a cruel grin on purpose to scare them.

Eve's heart skipped a beat when a student double his size walked past him, intentionally bumping his shoulder. He quietly apologised out of habit though it wasn't his fault. He looked up and was terrified to death.

"Watch your steps, little shit. Don't be so desperate, you just got here," A face that could defeat models came in sight of Eve and shamelessly remarked, a colour of humiliation washed over Eve while other students laughed hysterically.

His gaze darted at them, but he didn't dare to look anywhere near their faces. And he could see why they were described as criminals; they appeared perfectly capable of committing every crime. Dangerous, notorious, cruel, and eyes filled with remorse, ready to commit any crime against the law and human morals. As they stare at the newbies, their expressions reveal their amusement and shamelessness.

"Hey, Mark, don't be so rude to our precious newbie. Look how scared he looks," A petite body came to stand in front of Eve, devilish bold eyes scanned him from head to toe. "And he's kinda cute, I bet he will get the yellow batch." The boy seductively leaned in. "Do you probably..like it taking it from behind, we would love to welcome you into our gang."

Eve's heart hammered against his chest at his shameful remarks.

"Theo, you're not even above his shoulder; it'll be too difficult for you," Mark chuckled loudly, as if he was deliberately allowing the newcomers to hear him.

"Well, I'm a switch and I don't mind him fucking me when he's this cute," Theo innocently smiled at Eve, batting his eyes mischievously.

Eve did not wait for them to humiliate him any longer; instead, he stepped away from them and chose the speed. Running with his head hanging low, too stunned to have any thoughts. What kind of school is this and what kind of people are these? How could students say such despicable things? He thought in his head, the atmosphere was beyond his sanity.

As soon as he barged inside his dorm he hurled all his bags on the floor and shut the door, putting his head on it, chest heaving as his lungs desperately burned for air.

"God-fucking-damnit! Who in the fucking world wanted to die so early in the evening?!!"

Eve squirmed as his soul jumped out of his body, gaze shifting in the direction of the voice. His sapphire eyes were drawn to a naked upper body sprawled out on his stomach on one of the dorm beds.

Each dorm room has two separate study desks, two beds, and a small attached kitchen for emergencies.

Eve watched as the naked boy raised his head and rubbed his eyes, grumbling.

He sits up in annoyance, feeling an overwhelming desire to beat the shit out of someone, and Eve was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Who are you?" he yelled, ignoring the fact that he wasn't wearing his shirt, which he had tossed somewhere before going to sleep.

Eve inhaled deeply, not wanting to offend this scary guy who he believed must be his new roommate any further. This person appeared to be a thousand times scarier than those he encountered in the corridors. He swallowed heavily as he attempted to introduce himself, but all he could manage was to open and close his mouth.

'How the hell did I forget to introduce myself?' Eve cursed in his head, accusing the anxiety that made him so devastated that he couldn't let out a single small noise.

"Did you lose all your communication skills?"

Eve nervously shakes his head.

"Then fucking say something!"

Eve jerked back violently at the words, his eyes welling up with tears at once. He was so worn out from everything-his new school, his parents, himself, even his life-that even a minor jolt could have caused him to collapse. He sniffled as he pondered why everyone was being so cruel to him.

"H-Hey, are you crying?" The naked boy frowned in panic as he noticed Eve's trembling body and soft sniffling sounds. He rushed out of his bed and stridden towards Eve with his long legs.

Seeing him getting near, Eve backed off. Because this student stood out from the rest. He is more bigger, stronger, and had a dark red rose tattooed on his right shoulder who's black petals end on his neck and collarbone. He is also taller, broader, and more muscular.

"I'm so sorry, kid; I was in a bad mood. I didn't mean to scare you," He shrieks and continues to rant while towering over Eve. He grabbed Eve's wrist and helped him get to his new bed in front of the other bed without stopping to think or giving the poor boy time to calm down because his frightening form wasn't helping it. Eve sat there and let out a tired sigh, he wanted to sleep so badly. "Are you feeling better now and I'm sorry again. Now can you tell me what's the matter?"

Eve looked at him with wet eyelashes and a red nose, and examined his face. And sure he appeared to be unaware that Eve would be staying in this room. The muscled boy appeared to believe that this could never be the case. Eve still didn't feel comfortable speaking, so he turned his head and looked at his bags on the floor, and the boy followed his gaze.

"Are those yours?" He asked puzzledly. Eve didn't feel right about his question, it made his chest tight for some reason, so he sheepishly nodded.

The naked boy ponders for some time, lost in his own thoughts, his broad shoulders and hard muscles on display. After some time, he smiled widely.

"This is the new semester, right? Are you a newbie? Where's your batch, show me?"

His smile was confident, like a beam of sunlight flickered across his face. A warm and pleasantly bright dimple forms on his cheeks which calms down Eve a little, not feeling much scared near this boy now, he lets his guards down a little.

"Yes," Eve let out softly, innocently looking up at him. "B-Batch?"

"Oh, how could you possibly have any? You've just arrived," River clarified. "My name is River, by the way."

River shuffled his shirt which he picked up from the floor. He extended it in the air and showed Eve a simple red batch that was attached just above the pocket and resembled more like a sparkling red stone. "Everyone is required to wear them; the batches represent the kind of crime committed by each student or who are the big dogs you should never go near." Eve nods in understanding. "Your rank and position in this school will be determined by your batch, much like a ranking system. The higher your rank, the more power you possess."

River mischievously smiled and leaned into Eve, causing him to panic and pull his head back.

"You already know why your roommate was chosen in advance and why you were given this dorm, right?" River narrows his eyes across the room and Eve shakes his head apprehensively. "I knew it!"

River leaped enthusiastically, frightening the poor boy with his sudden outburst. Eve squinted his eyes and whimpered in pain as River jumped and sat by his side and squeezed both of his arms.

River observed the terrifying face in front of him with narrowed eyes.

"I can't believe a small squirming vulnerable thing is going to stay here," River rambled, Eve didn't understand anything and looked confused even more. "You look like you could be a perfect Luna though."

"Lu-what?" Eve asked, jerking unstoppable to break from his grip but the latter was totally oblivious to his pain.

"Luna," River said but Eve still frowned his brows and scrunched his nose in confusion. He ruffled Eve's hair because he finds this new boy adorable.

"Have you ever read one of those cliché werewolf stories featuring the Alpha, the baddest and most powerful of them all? who was destined to find his mate. After they mate, she becomes Luna, and the two of them go on to rule the entire pack. Although, this isn't some supernatural shit and you are a 'he' instead of a she, but I suppose that's not the issue," He continued babbling nonsense, misinterpreting Eve's wincing in pain as mere confusion, and rolled his eyes. "You must have read them, come on. You appear to be a nerd who spends his entire time reading grimm fairy tales in his cocoon. Nerds are destined to do that shit."

"Have y-you read t-them?" Eve asked, a little offended.

"I have, my sister used to make me read them for her before going to bed," River sighed and let out strongly. "However, I'm not a nerd."

'Hypocrite' Eve muttered under his breath. Putting his full force he freed himself.

"What did you say?" River asked in suspicion.

Eve stumbled on his words, "When will I be able to get my batch?"

River evilly smiled and plopped back on the bed and started at the ceiling. "Already desperate to get into power, aren't we luna? But it's not your fault, a little taste of power and you would be deep in the venom of tasting it again and again until you become too addicted."

Eve ignored his psychology class and corrected him.

"My name is Eve."

With his honey-brown eyes, River returned his gaze to Eve. "Nice name, however, I've already chosen you as my luna, so I'm going to call you that," He stands up abruptly and looks seriously at Eve. His constant mood swings and bouncing around reminded him of monkeys, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll keep an eye out for you; just let me know if anything happens to you. I will beat the shit out of anyone for you, except for those you know who are out of my reach. But that's only one there and he's my friend so no big deal," He promised Eve his reliability.

Eve subtly let out a soft smile at his generosity. He reasoned that perhaps his new roommate wasn't all that bad and he was just overly afraid. River returned the smile and fluffed his hair, which made the newbie's cheeks warm up.

A bell's sound interrupted them. River laughed as Eve flinched in response to the sudden loud noise.

"It's for dinner. This is not the bell you should be afraid of but the devil's hour bell," River told him seriously, not looking like he was joking or messing around with him.

"W-What?"

"The nine o'clock bell. We call it the devil's hour," River stood up before Eve could ask what he meant. "It's time to eat. Come on, I'll have to explain the rules and share more information about the batches and ranks after dinner." River grabs his wrist and lifts him up. "But first and foremost, I need to tell you about your Alpha."

Eve gulped perplexedly.

"A-Alpha?"