The air twisted and screeched in a purple sky. Creatures beyond one's imagination looked up at a wretched portal absorbing anything in its path even the magic in the air. Dark shadows screeched as they were ripped to pieces by the portal. Then it halted. It took a more stable form and a character could be seen on the other side. The visage of a young boy with broken bones and wounds covering his little body. He reached out into this realm for power. To gain aid.

A shade crawled carefully towards the frightening portal into a new world. It wanted to leave this realm. To feed on unsuspecting victims. So it took the leap. The portal closed behind the shade but still let it through. The twisted creature now stared at a blue sky and sensed all the people living underneath it.

It would not survive in this world. Not without a host. The shade sniffed the air for the right kind of properties for him to feed on. Fear. Anger. It needed those to feed on. Then it sensed it. The person perfect for his desires. His new host…

A head covered in blond, shaggy hair on a thin body walked timidly along the lockers. Two emerald eyes looked around to find something familiar in this strange environment. It was new to him as he had just transferred though all the other students had arrived a month earlier.

Blake Oakley wandered slowly down the corridor of Vale Academy, a private school by the Caban-Coch reservoir in Wales. It's just a street away from the local village Mactire located by the Claerwen Valley. If you walk over the Gareg du dam you will enter Elan valley and the Elan village.

Forest and dams. That's all there is in this area.

Blake's family was poor. They lived in a humble village in the district of Kingsland. His village had farms, a fire station, a rugby club and too many inns for such a small village. His family are farmers and could hardly afford a decent school but with a bit of luck and an artistic side, Blake was able to get a scholarship to Vale academy. A school so elusive it wasn't even on the map.

Blake straightened his clothes trying to hide his bruises. He was happy to have left his old life behind as his bullies could not follow him here. Though, he had not dared enter the school's art club called the Art Guild, which had granted him the scholarship, until the bruises had faded.

A goth boy hollered at Blake down the corridor. Alex Lloyd was his roommate and fortunately very kind, despite his scary exterior. Blake himself was relieved that he was able to make a friend. Coming from a village where everyone knew each other did not prepare him for a new life filled with strangers.

"Bloody hell, it's cold outside. The mist sure lays thick in the old forest. Alright, Blake?"

"Hello."

Blake gave his friend a shy smile and Alex pulled out a thick scarf from his bag. He looked like he had two layers of clothes. Blake couldn't understand the need for such a thick layer of clothes in late summer but he didn't want to argue. His uninspiring answer did not bother Alex either who merely clicked his tung.

"Good morning, sunshine. Ready for a day among the snotty delinquents?"

Quite an accurate description. Vale Academy was for the wealthy but most was sent here because of some dreadful deed they did at home. They were sent out to the lush countryside as a repercussion of their dastardly deeds. There were some exceptions, though.

Blake was suddenly almost pushed over from a force behind him. Alex caught him though before he fell onto the floor head first.

"Watch it, you bloody wanker!"

Blake rubbed his back and looked at one of the exceptions. Jaxon Price looked at them with his wild appearance and piercing blue eyes. His face burst into a charming smile.

"Don't be miffed! I mean no offense. Your mate was merely too small to see."

"Rubbish! If he was so bloody small then you would not have smashed into him."

Jaxon turned toward Blake who felt his heart skip a beat.

"Pardon me. I was a tad careless. You alright?"

Blake felt his face going red and he grabbed Alex’s jacket before shaking his head. When Blake noticed Jaxon frowning he started to nod instead.

"Is he alright?"

"He was hit by an eight feet troll. It's bloody certain that he is bruised."

"I'm… I'm fine. Look… No broken bones."

Blake stretched his limbs to prove that he was fine but stopped as Jaxon gawked at him. Blake twisted uncomfortably. Jaxon looked over at Alex who stopped him before he could ask.

"He's alright! Blake here is new. He came all the way here from some backwaters village in England so he is rather timid. Like one of those fluffy bunnies."

"I fancy bunnies. Mostly to eat though. Either way, I need to go. The rugby team is to gather in the field. Do come to watch our games."

Blake watched Jaxon walk away before he turned around and looked straight at Blake.

"Welcome to Vale Academy, coinín!"

Blake finally dared come out from behind Alex when Jaxon finally was out of sight. Jaxon belonged to one of the only wealthy families which actually lived in the village of Mactire. Claerwen Valley did not have a large population but the Price family had a large estate just outside Mactire. They have lived here for centuries and own a large portion of the forest. Though they appeared no different from the farmers in Claerwen Valley.

"A fit bloke that," Alex said slowly and Blake sighed.

"Yes…Wait no!"

"He sure left you in shambles! Well, if you fancy men then I guess Jaxon is the prime example of the male species though I heard he has a girlfriend."

Blake wanted to bury himself in embarrassment. It had taken Alex just a few days to notice Blake's attraction to his own gender. Apparently, he had not hidden it well. Blake could only hope that it wouldn't lead to any trouble in the future. Small villages can be lovely but when his homosexuality came into light, he had been furiously bullied in his village. Children can be as cruel as the parents that just watch with pity in their eyes.

"Naturally he has a girlfriend."

"Don't look so down, mate. This is an all-boys school. There is bound to be someone willing to shag you."

Blake felt his face turn scarlet as Alex showed him the way to his class.

"By the way. What did he call me? Coinin?"

"Coinín. It's Irish. Seen the word in some old recipes. It means rabbit."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jaxon ran towards the player in front of him. His opponent carried the ball. Jaxon's focus went down to the opponent's thigh as Jaxon went down low with an inhuman growl. Both he and his opponent went down hard on the field and Jaxon could hear his teammates holler as his dump tackle was a success.

"And that's how you do it, whelps. I knew that you had at least some of my blood in you."

Jaxon took off his gear and grinned at his older brother Kai, who also was the P.E teacher and coach. Not that they really needed a coach as they rarely play in matches and certainly not in tournaments. The rugby team was only to get exercise and give a focus for the more wild students.

Jaxon heard a growl from the ground and watched his mate Aeron Evans try to rise. Aeron's ebony skin was covered in mud and Jaxon saw him roll his brown eyes.

"Bloody hell, mate. A dump tackle. Are you trying to kill me?"

Jaxon helped Aeron on his feet with a burst of laughter.

"I needed to show the newbies some moves and maybe even gain some new recruits. There is a lot of spectators here today."

"So you decided to throw a dump tackle on the captain."

"I'm a full-back! That's what I do."

"Your job is to kick the ball. Are you any good at that?"

"I don't know. You never seem to reach the end of the field."

"Screw you!"

Aeron groaned but waved at the spectators that looked ecstatic.

"Still wish there would be more girls though."

"In an all-boys school? Maybe you should try playing at Elan Academy. I'm sure you would look fetching in a skirt."

"I would look adorable in a skirt, mind you."

"Well, it's better without ladies. They are too distracting."

"Says the guy with a girlfriend."

Jaxon growled and his eyes flashed in an unnatural light and Aeron raised his hands in surrender before walking over to the newbies to give them some pointers.

Jaxon looked out over the field. It was a small group this year. Only two wolves. Some witches from the Elan Coven had dared to enter the rugby team even if Jaxon fully expected them to quit as they would most likely be bullied by the wolves. The natural world did not blend well with the mystical one.

His family are mostly alphas, the strongest of the wolves, and were famous among his own people to receive the spirit of a wolf at a young age. Not all of the same bloodline receives a wolf spirit as the spirits sometimes choose an outsider but all three of the sons of the Price family gained a wolf.

His own wolf spirit called Nightmane was one of the oldest of his pack. An alpha who had chosen him when he was four years old. Four years was young for being chosen by a wolf spirit and among his people it was a sign of greatness.

Except for his own pack, they have some members in the ruby team chosen by other spirits. Two foxes, a bunch of bears, and even a lynx. Though lynxes often keep to themselves. The school only has around five lynxes from what he had heard. Otherwise, they had a lot of wolves, deer, horses, and bears in this school.

Most came from other parts of the country but his pack was welcoming to all. Even witches from Elan valley. Though they often got into fights with the wolves. Druids worked better with the animal spirits than witches with their secret societies and wealthy lifestyle. No humility at all.

There hardly was any humans in the academy. The few students who are humans are often from supernatural families. Such as a wolf family, but they themselves were not chosen by a wolf in their own pack. They are often sent to other packs in hope of being chosen by spirits of other wolves packs.

Unfortunately, few have been chosen. His family guards over fifty wolf spirits and is one of the largest packs in the United Kingdom. Or at least they could be if the spirits actually chose a host. But none have been chosen for a long time. Aeron was the last one.

Jaxon's thoughts wandered to a young lad with a timid appearance. The quiet boy from the hall was without a doubt human. He had not smelled a spirit of an animal or magic on the lad. He smelled of earth and grain. Not an uncomfortable smell for a wolf but those with spirits of animals rarely enters cities or farming villages. They needed forests and lakes. Witches keep to the cities were their unnatural practices will be more appreciated. The boy might be related to a druid but then he would have smelled of herbs.

Those fearful, emerald eyes which barely met his. No, those weren't the eyes of someone who had seen the other side. An ordinary human without knowledge of the supernatural. Rare, but not unheard of in Elan and Vale Academy. Some humans were brought in because they had the potential towards the arcane or the natural world. Maybe a distant descendant of a witch or a wolf. A descendant of one who had received a spirit has the potential to receive one as well. But they are hard to find.

A smile came onto Jaxon’s face. If that one was an animal spirit then he must be a rabbit. There is no other animal that suited that lad. He could feel Nightmare agreeing. His wolf fancied the boy and could imagine the fun it would have hunting him through the forest. Jaxon shook his head to hunt away from the picture of him hunting a little white rabbit throughout the forest in his wolf form. He needed to focus on the game. Maybe it wasn't just girls who were distracting.