Chapter 1

• LEGENDS CREATION COLLEGE, BEVERLY HILLS.
• Arabella's point of view.
• "I'm so scared, I don't think I can go to the selection parade."
• "Me neither. What if we don't come back?"
• "My mom says the king eats people. And he prefers the flesh of young virgins."
• "I heard he's ancient, hideous, and has two really sharp fangs!"
• Ugh, these are the words echoing in every hallways currently, the whole school is in a total mess as every girl I walked past was having a serious conversation about the selection parade.
• Every five years, the Beast King held a selection. Girls of age from eighteen to twenty-five, were chosen from various species—werewolves, vampires, witches, elves, and dragons.
• No one knew why the girls were taken. Those who returned had lost their memories, unable to recall what had happened or what they'd seen.
• Another five years had passed, and I was one of the unlucky eligible girls.
• Everyone was walking on eggshells as the selection parade loomed closer. Fear hung heavy in the air, and to be honest—I’m scared too.
• Not wanting to hear any more words about the selection parade, I hastened my pace and rushed towards the direction of my first class for today.
• I hadn't seen the King myself, but I suspected the girls were exaggerating. Though I knew he was old and ugly—
• "Hey, Ara!" someone called me from behind me.
• I stopped and looked behind only to see Daphne (my best friend since diapers) jogging towards me, with a bright smile on her face.
• "Hey, you’re late."
• "Yeah I know, but did you watch the news?" Daphne asked.
• "You know I hate watching the news, it adds nothing to my life." I said.
• "It adds nothing to your life, but it makes you aware of the things happening around you!"
• I sighed softly.
• "What about the news?" I asked, I don't want her to continue preaching in my ears.
• She looked around shortly, pulled me closer to her even though we're already close enough.
• "A body was found last night at the Wizardry Forest" she said in a low voice.
• "Oh..."
• "Yeah, rumors had it that he was killed by the Beast King." she whispered even lower than before.
• "Rumors?" I scoffed, "it shouldn't be rumors anymore, we all know he’s the one behind all the killings. Especially when it’s in that creepy forest."
• Daphne nodded slowly in agreement with me.
• "I wish my mate would just show up so I wouldn’t have to go to the palace," she sighed, "I really hope I never have to meet the King." She cringed at the thought.
• I chuckled and came to a stop in front of our classroom. Turning to face her, I gave her shoulders a reassuring pat.
• "Let’s not worry about the beast King right now. It’s time for class," I said with a smile, nodding toward the classroom door.
• Daphne glanced over and gasped in surprise.
• “Mr. Clovis is already in there. What do we do?”
• “We’re going in through the back!” I said, pointing to the back exit.
• Daphne’s face lit up with a grin, and she gave me a thumbs up.
• “Oh Ara, that’s exactly one of the reasons I adore you.”
• “I know, I know.” I replied with a smirk.
• ★★★★★
• "ARABELLA HUMPHREY!"
• Uh-oh, guess I've been caught.
• "Arabella Humphrey, this is the third time this month!" Mr. Clovis shouted.
• I twisted my lips nonchalantly. I turned my head to see that Daphne had already slipped into her seat. Damn girl is always so smooth.
• "That’s because your lectures are boring," I muttered under my breath.
• Unfortunately, everyone in my class is a supernatural creature with super hearing. They heard me loud and clear, and the classroom erupted in laughter.
• "What did you say?" he asked in a very angry tone.
• "Nothing." I answered quickly.
• Mr. Clovis’ face turned beet red. He slammed his fist on the table and stormed towards me, his finger pointed accusingly.
• “You think this is funny, don’t you?” he growled.
• He stopped in front of me, his eyes narrowed.
• “Detention for you today,” he declared.
• “Detention?” I asked, my heart sinking.
• “Yes!”
• My mouth parted slightly as I wanted to argue, but he wouldn't let me speak.
• "Non-negotiable. You're off the school grounds by 8 p.m.," he said, leaving no room for argument.
• I sat down and glared at Daphne, who was still laughing with the rest of the class.
• "His face was hilarious," she said, banging on her desk.
• "And that earned me a detention, ha-ha." I laughed sarcastically.
• "Oh, right. I’m so sorry Ara."
• I hummed in agreement. I’m pretty infamous among the teachers, so getting detention is nothing new for me.
• The rest of the day went by in a blur and before I knew it, it's already closing time.
• I rushed straight to Mr Clovis' office immediately after my classes, I don't want anymore of his nagging.
• But unfortunately, he has already gone home when I arrived, I wouldn't have come to the detention had I known he won't be here.
• So, I took it upon myself to sleep throughout the detention period -after all, I might work overtime tomorrow because of this stupid detention.
• Finally it's time to go home, I gathered my things and rushed out of the school. Everywhere was extremely quiet, since all the students of Legends Creation has all gone home.
• My stomach growled loudly, urging me to make it home in time and get something in my stomach -but unfortunately, from the school to my home is quite far, the only shortcut to my home is.. the Wizardry Forest.
• *Yeah, it's a shortcut, but least safe*
• I heard Amy, my sassy wolf nag in my head.
• I rolled my eyeballs.
• "Why do you easily get scared?" I asked.
• *I'm not easily scared, I just avoid what's gonna cause me trouble* she replied.
• I scoffed and smirked wickedly.
• "It's decided then, we're taking the woods" I said, referring to the Wizardry Forest.
• What can I say, I loved opposing Amy; she was always getting on my nerves.
• *You're very stubborn and...*
• I tuned her out and headed into the spooky woods. I was so hungry, I didn’t care if I got eaten by a monster. The Wizardry Forest was a dark, creepy place with tall trees and foggy mist.
• People said a beast lived here, a silent hunter always on the lookout for its next meal. I remembered Daphne talking about someone getting killed. It wasn’t unusual in our supernatural world, but it was still kind of scary.
• Even though it was dangerous, I went in anyway. The trees felt like they were closing in on me, and their branches looked like creepy fingers. A cold wind blew, and it smelled like something was rotting.
• I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone’s watching me.