Chapter 268: The College System

Vivian’s POV

Amber was already holding back her laughter, her shoulders shaking silently as she tried to keep quiet.

"I just completely misjudged the angle of the drop," Blake admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Drake huffed loudly. "He pushed my face straight into the cake, sure. But in the process of doing that, he accidentally slammed my head right down onto the damn table."

That was it. I burst into full-blown laughter no cute, polite little giggle this time. This was the kind of deep belly laugh that leaves your stomach aching, the kind you only share when someone does something completely idiotic, but so perfectly on-brand that it makes the moment ten times funnier.

"Blood, tears, ruined birthday photos, and a whole lot of forced apologies later, we found out Blake had actually broken my nose," Drake finished with a dramatic sigh.

"I remember that day!" Amber howled, wiping a tear from her eye. "It was honestly the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. Blake looked so proud of himself for about two seconds, right until he realized only his own face was covered in frosting. Then he saw Drake’s bloody nose and started bawling like he was the one who had just been attacked!"

Mark leaned over quietly to Hannah and muttered under his breath, "Remind me to keep all of our future kids far away from yours at every birthday party."

Hannah gave him a half-smile, clearly picturing the exact same chaotic scene playing out years from now. That made me laugh even harder.

Wiping stray tears from my cheeks, I turned my head to look at Zahliver, who had not said a single word through the entire funny story, but had been watching me the whole time with that soft, adoring look that always made my chest feel a little too small for my heart.

I grinned widely at him. "Has anyone ever tried to do that to you?"

Everyone at the table suddenly quieted down and looked over at us, clearly curious. I noticed how easily they all talked and joked among themselves when he was not the absolute center of attention, but the second I spoke directly to him, even with him sitting right there, they froze up a bit. His powerful presence still held immense weight over the room. Maybe Hannah was the only exception to that rule though her raging pregnancy hormones were probably doing most of the talking for her these days.

Zahliver arched a dark brow at me in amusement. "Slam my face into a table or into a cake?"

"The cake," I clarified quickly, smirking. I knew better than to think someone had not already tried the first option and lived to regret it.

"Albericus tried it once, years ago," he said in a casual, amused tone, but there was a sharp, dangerous edge hidden underneath his words. "He paid dearly for it."

"Okaaay then," I replied slowly, trying my best not to laugh at the memory. Judging by everyone’s suddenly uncomfortable expressions around the table, I was definitely not the only one who picked up on the subtle warning beneath his humor.

Once everyone had finally finished eating and started standing up to help with the kitchen clean-up, I overheard a hushed conversation that made me stop dead in my tracks.

"I am completely drowning in homework right now. I do actually have a life outside of school, you know?" Leslie grumbled quietly to Angela, thinking no one else could hear. "It is not my fault Ms. Andres is clearly not getting any action in her boring life."

Leslie did not realize that Zahliver could hear every single whisper across the room even from far away but Luke definitely did.

"Leslie!" Luke hissed under his breath, looking utterly scandalized. His face flushed bright red with sheer embarrassment as he glanced our way and subtly jerked his head in our direction to warn her.

Leslie followed his panicked gesture with her eyes and suddenly locked gazes with me and Zahliver. Her entire body stiffened like a board.

Oh, she knew right then and there that she had been caught red-handed.

I was not the least bit surprised when Leslie turned completely pale the second her eyes met mine. Maybe she saw something deep in my expression something knowing, something sharp from my own experiences. I caught Zahliver out of the very corner of my eye. His handsome face remained completely impassive, his eyes fixed somewhere else far away from this awkward conversation. He did not care about the young girl’s nervous gossip, even though we both knew he could hear every single word she had uttered.

I, on the other hand, could not just ignore it. Not because of her flustered, terrified reaction, but because once upon a time, I had worn that exact same expression. I knew what it felt like to be caught nervously between awe and fear, trying desperately to make myself smaller in front of a supernatural world I did not yet fully understand.

Leslie and her friends looked like they were roughly my age maybe a bit older in the twins’ case but it was obvious they were not spending their days sitting in a traditional high school. That realization sparked my curiosity.

"Are you studying in college right now, Leslie?" I asked casually, watching how the room quieted down even more at the sound of my voice. I was beginning to notice that this happened a lot whenever either Zahliver or I spoke aloud; conversations naturally dipped into respectful silence, as if everyone was secretly listening in without even meaning to.

Leslie nodded quickly, her hand reaching up nervously to brush a strand of red hair behind her ear.

"Yes, Luna. We go to Golden Lupus Academy," she answered, finding her voice. "Our curriculum covers art, architecture, merchandising, acting, network production, marketing, and business management."

I tilted my head thoughtfully and looked over at the twins sitting nearby. "What about you two?"

Drake answered first, tapping his fingers against the wooden table as he listed them off like he was reciting a grocery list. "I am in Red Lupus. We focus on English literature, creative writing, linguistics, cultural studies, culinary arts, dance, poetry, psychology, and socioeconomic theory."

Then Blake chimed in with a grin, "And I am part of Silver Lupus. We cover advanced mathematics, scientific research, history, environmental studies, beauty sciences, and our own experimental division."

I blinked in surprise, trying my best to process the sheer range of academic topics. I must have looked thoroughly confused because Blake took it upon himself to explain a bit further.

"There are not traditional, sprawling colleges here quite like the ones in the human world," he began, leaning forward. "Once you finish high school, you apply directly for the specific fields you are actually interested in pursuing. As soon as you are accepted, you are sorted into what we call a ’house.’ Each house has its own core focus. Gold is for the creatives. Red is for those who want to explore themselves and society. Silver is for the curious ones the book-smart types who love diving deep into knowledge. And there are several more houses, too."

"That actually sounds... remarkably efficient," I murmured, genuinely impressed.

Blake nodded in agreement. "It is a much faster system than human colleges because you get to jump straight into specialized courses that are directly relevant to your chosen path. It speeds up graduation timelines, and the best part is that it is basically free for pack members. The only thing they ask in return is that you give back to the community you use what you have learned to help improve the island. If you really excel in your studies, you might even be stationed off the island to live among humans, holding positions of influence to help support the Alpha."

By the time he finished explaining, I was honestly blown away. The thought of an entire educational system designed purely around community contribution and practical growth stirred something exciting deep inside me. I would probably have already been in college by now... if my whole life had not been suddenly ripped apart and thrown into this wild supernatural whirlwind.