Sous

[⚠️ Suspicious Content] Sous slowly opened her eyes, waking up with a start. She was on a bed, the sun shining through a bright window with curtains, and there was noise down below outside. The room was nice and clean, a drawer which had a mirror, another bed was to the side, a bathroom over to the other side of the room. It was a hotel. 

Sitting on the edge of her bed was Jacob. She looked at him then slowly slumped her shoulders. 

"I never went in thinking I was going to win. I was just hoping I could put her in a position where she could tell us where your mother was."

Jacob was shocked to hear such an admission from Sous. Her saying she only challenged the Alpha just to get clarity on his mother was about to make him emotional once more, but he held it back and held it in. 

Her body was sore, especially her face. Her mouth felt weird as she flicked her tongue around hitting her fangs. She sighed and slumped back down in the bed, not knowing where they were or which adults were present. Certainly Shadow was somewhere, probably drinking at a pub or bar. 

"You did really well. It was amazing watching you fight her."

Sous didn't bother to get up to look at him. "I knew she wasn't given it all she got. I tried so hard to hold on until she transformed but I was not ready. I was hoping to be able to use one of the spells to put her in a position where I had a short advantage." She sighed once more. "She was just so fast."

"She was able to grow her arm back when Shadow shot it off." 

"Elf magic." 

Two knocks came upon the door, soon opening to reveal Monica. She closed the door behind her and walked over to Sous who gave her a big hug. Sous suddenly became embarrassed when she realized Kara must have seen the whole thing from start to finish. She shook her head, feeling defeated at that moment. 

"I hate Kara saw me get my ass kicked." 

Monica shook her head and patted Sous on the shoulder. "She's very proud of you." 

Sous leaned back in her bed and tilted her head to the side. 

"You don't want to know where we are?" Jacob asked. 

"No," Sous whispered. "We're going to be leaving soon anyway." 

A couple of weeks later, Sous was feeling better. Her, Shadow, and Jacob traveled back to Red Woods to meet with a woman who was on the council. Her skin was dark, with curly hair that was at her shoulders with dark eyes. Chay was her name. 

It was at night when they met the woman. She looked at Jacob and Sous. 

"Will we be hosting these two?" 

"No, just the boy."

She looked at Jacob and held out her hand. "My name is Chay. How old are you?"

"Fourteen." 

She exchanged looks with Shadow. "Well," she shrugged. "Do you want to live amongst humans, do you want to live with a new pack, or do you want to enroll in one of the magical schools?" 

The crickets and the toads were out that night, even a couple of owls that sounded off in the darkness as Jacob thought about what exactly he wanted for himself. There was still no word from or about his mom. He didn't know of any other packs. He-he was just lost. 

"You should enroll in one of the schools," Sous suggested. 

"Wolves can't learn magic," he exclaimed. 

"I know," she said, "but wolves are able to learn alchemy or herbology. Like vampires, they don't learn magic but they learn the others." 

"I'm part wolf and vampire and with a wand, I can do just as much as any other magae. It takes more practice for our species but it's not impossible," Shadow said. "Wolves and vampires can also do seals. I mean, yeah, it's a lot of practice to learn and it consumes a lot of energy but its another option for us." 

"Whatever you decide, you need to decide quickly," said Shadow. "The wolves are going to be coming for us soon. The Alpha was 'nice' enough to allow us a head start but she was serious when she said she was going to hunt us down." 

Jacob thought for a moment longer. "I'll enroll." 

Chay nodded her head. "I'll have my husband take you to Hacate in Nadia."

"The wolves can't come to Nadia?" 

"No, they can come," Sous explained. "They're just met with opposition since they're coming across maliciously." 

Shadow nodded. "Sous is right. We're granted more protection." 

A vampire flew to them, Chay's husband. He nodded his head at the three of them after giving his wife a kiss on the lips. The plan was they were going to split up back to Nadia. Sous would travel with Shadow while Jacob would travel with Shay's husband. They would meet at the Hacate school so as to get Jacob enrolled. 

"I wanna see you do a seal," Sous said to Shadow. He smirked at her. 

Jacob rode on the back of the vampire. It was a sight to behold for him to see everything that was below, and to see other vampires in the sky as well. In the beginning of the flight, there was a little bit of talking where Jacob learned the vampire's name was Donivan. His patriarch was Clarence and was from a clan located in Nadia. When Jacob asked why he came down to Canas, Donivan simply said he wanted to explore various countries. It just so happened he fell in love with Chay and got married to her. 

Listening to Donivan made Jacob think whether he'd be able to have a content life like that or if he was going to be stuck running away from wolves the older he got. It also made him think back to Derrick. They were two years apart but the last couple of weeks proved the Omega felt pretty strong about him. 

"We're here!" 

Jacob looked up and saw they were approaching the campus of Hacate. He was nervous but he was ready to make this journey. They landed in the front entrance where Shadow and Sous were already there; although Shadow looked completely winded. He was out of breath. 

"See…I…told you…seals…took…a lot…of…en…er…gy." He practically passed out just trying to get that sentence out. Sous patted him on the back, smiling. 

Jacob got off Donivan's back and ran up to Sous and Shadow. With the vampire not too far behind, they walked into the school's entrance. 

Hacate School of Magic or the Magic School of Hacate had been around for centuries; one of the oldest magical schools in the world. One of the leading schools when it came to innovations and improvements to spells, alchemy, and herbs. The school also taught in the dark arts, something many other schools refused to teach. So hexes, curses, seals, and possession were some of the other studies that could be done here in Hacete. Jacob was so lucky to Sous. This was the school she wanted to enroll in and to think several months ago, she didn't even know the school assisted. 

The school was huge with soft lights that bounced off the ancient stone walls of the school. The school was built like a labyrinth with the ends and outs, the paths, and trails that led to this class, that stadium, that trailer, this arena. 

They walked into the admissions office that was opened twenty-four seven. Only one person was in the office though for the early morning shift. She wore a long flower dress, a long sleeve shirt, glasses that hung around her neck like a necklace. There was a name tag on her left breast that read Tabitha. 

"Hello, you must be Jacob." She said bowing to the young boy who returned the bow. 

"I can't afford to be here." 

She smiled at him. "Hacate is funded by the people nation wide. Education is very important to us here. Only the best are able to come here. They must pass an assessment test based on their species." 

Jacob gave Shadow a worried look. 

"It's okay, Jacob. Shadow is an alumni of not only the school here but also the university further up. In fact, his mother is the head professor of the alchemy department."

"WHAAAATTTT!" Sous screamed out. "No way!" She slapped Shadow on the waist. "Why didn't you tell me? We're best friends now."

"Okay, I don't know 'bout all that." Shadow mumbled. 

Tabitha led Jacob into her office to speak to him privately while Sous, Shadow, and Donivan decided to explore the campus. Shadow wanted to see just how much had changed since he'd been in school. 

The time change was drastic so although they left Canas at night, it was day here in Nadia in this region so students were going to and from classes. They spoke amongst each other and Sous heard a few languages she wasn't familiar with. 

"I wanna learn another language," Sous said. 

Shadow informed her the same language was spoken amongst the provinces the north of Canas and the south of Nadia but as they explore different regions of the countries then they would come across other languages especially amongst the different species. 

"I can't wait to enroll here." 

"Neither can I, you'll be a good pupil. You've managed to learn so much already with your studies, sparring, and even the fight with the Alpha. Not many can say that." Shadow encouraged her. 

Donivan nodded his head in agreement as they continued to walk on the sidewalk. A group of elves walked past them and Sous noticed how they looked at her. They were tall and slender, long hair even amongst the boys. They had arrows on their backs and potions on their belts. 

"Where do the elves live?" She asked the adults. 

"They can live anywhere." Shadow answered. 

"Yeah," she moaned, "but where do they really live?" 

Shadow thought for a moment; he didn't really know. Elves were a species he didn't really have much interaction with. 

"The Valley of Trey," Donivan said. 

Sous looked at him. "Where's that?" 

"It's in the northern region of Nadia on the snow cap mountains. Most of the elves hail from that region." He paused. "Many of the elves from Canas who were chased out of Red Woods by the Apex Pack made their way back to The Valley of Trey." 

'The Valley of Trey,' Sous thought. She needed to get there.