CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28: TRIBRID

"Really? You can’t feel anything?" Mr. John’s voice carried a hint of disbelief, though it wasn’t sharp, just curious.

Aiden sighed and shook his head. "No. Nothing at all."

The wolf teacher studied him for a moment, his eyes narrowing as though he was trying to read something beneath Aiden’s skin. Then he exhaled softly. "Maybe," John said slowly, "your power isn’t leaning toward the wolf side either. Maybe it’s leaning more toward the witches’ side. But I think you should still keep trying, Aiden. Don’t give up so easily."

Aiden straightened his back a little, determined to at least show he wasn’t someone who would give up. "I won’t stop trying," he said firmly. "I’ll keep trying to feel my wolf."

Mr. John nodded, satisfied with the boy’s answer. "Good. That’s the spirit." Then his tone shifted, becoming more practical. "For now, though, I need to start watching the progress of the other students. I have to make sure they’re not cheating in the training."

Aiden frowned slightly, his confusion plain. "But... how are you going to do that? It’s not like you can be everywhere at once. You’d need to be at all their sides at the same time to know if they’re cheating."

The teacher’s lips curved into a grin, the kind of grin that carried a touch of pride. "You don’t have to worry about that. How do you think this place came to be? A forest inside a building, surrounded by nothing but walls? That’s not a wolf thing, Aiden. It’s the work of witches. And since they were the ones who made this forest possible, we also begged them to create a mirror-like screen for us. With it, I can see the students from here without needing to follow each one around."

Aiden blinked at that revelation, his earlier doubts replaced with awe. He turned his gaze around the thick trees, the deep greenery, the cool damp air that still somehow belonged indoors, and nodded slowly. The witches are sure powerful.

"That’s... amazing," Aiden admitted softly. "It’s really nice to see how everyone here helps each other regardless of race. I really like that."

John’s grin faded into something else entirely. A sharp sound escaped him—a short snicker filled with disdain. "Help each other, you say? Don’t be fooled, boy. Before those witches help anyone, they’ll first demand an arm and a foot. They don’t lift a finger unless they get something out of it. Those witches are cunning beyond belief."

Aiden’s eyes widened slightly. The bitterness in Mr. John’s voice was unexpected. The man went on, his words quickening, edged with long-harbored resentment.

"You know the Faes can’t lie. It’s impossible for them. They’ll tell you whatever they think straight up. Even if they try, they simply aren’t capable of a true lie. Now, don’t mistake me—Faes can be cunning too. They’ve learned the trick of half-truths, speaking in ways that hide their real intent. But at the end of the day, what they say still holds truth. Us wolves—we can lie, yes, but we despise it. We prefer honesty, straight words, then if a problem comes up, we fight it out like it should be."

His expression hardened, his jaw clenching as he spoke the next words. "But those witches? They’re the most despicable of the lot. They’ll go to any length to see their goals achieved. They’ll twist, deceive, manipulate—whatever it takes. Such... despicable people."

Aiden stared at him, unable to find words for a moment. He hadn’t expected such venom, not here, not from a teacher. In his mind he muttered to himself, And here I was thinking maybe the races didn’t fight among themselves in this school. Looks like I thought too much.

Mr. John, however, wasn’t done. He waved a dismissive hand toward Aiden. "Enough of that. Go on. Concentrate again, see if you can feel your wolf. I would hate to see you turn out to be a witch. Those cunning witches would twist you too, turn you into one of them, just as despicable."

Aiden’s mouth twitched. He wanted to argue, but what good would it do? Instead, he forced a polite smile and said, "I’ll go concentrate on feeling my wolf now."

John nodded approvingly. "Good. That’s what I want to hear."

So Aiden sat down again, closed his eyes, and tried. He tried the way he had been instructed earlier, the way he had tried in the Fae class before. He searched himself for something deep within, something that might rise to the surface, something that might feel like a wolf clawing its way out. He thought of strength, of the wild, of everything that could connect him to a wolf. But no matter how hard he focused, no matter how long he sat there in silence, nothing came. Not a flicker of instinct. Not even the faintest shadow of a call.

By the time the wolf class came to an end, Aiden still hadn’t managed to feel his wolf.

The disappointment was there, but this time it wasn’t sharp. It wasn’t the crushing weight that had followed him when he left the Fae class earlier. This time, it was different. He remembered what Mr. John had told him. That maybe his blood wasn’t aligned with the Faes. That maybe his blood wasn’t aligned with the wolves either. That maybe his real path lay somewhere else—toward the witches.

And that thought didn’t scare him.

If anything, it filled him with a strange, quiet excitement. Because if that was true, then perhaps he wasn’t broken. Perhaps he wasn’t failing. Perhaps he was simply waiting to find the power that actually belonged to him.

So, though his wolf hadn’t come, and though John’s words about witches had been harsh, Aiden held onto the possibility of discovery. He held onto the thought of what he might uncover when he finally walked into the witches’ class.

He could already imagine it—the chance to see a part of himself that had been hidden all along, the chance to finally succeed at something instead of being the odd one out.

Not caring for now about the teacher’s bias or the bitter history between races, Aiden rose with a little more strength in his step. He left the wolf class, his badge glowing faintly at his chest, and headed toward the dining hall for lunch.

He would eat. He would gather himself.

Aiden then carried his tray into the dining hall and quietly made his way to a corner table. The scent of roasted meat and herbs filled the air, mingling with the chatter of other students who were scattered around the room. He sat down, placed his tray neatly in front of him, and began eating in silence.

He had barely taken a few bites when a familiar figure appeared across the table. Ashton stood there holding his own tray, his eyes lighting up the moment he saw Aiden. With a wide smile, Ashton pulled out the chair opposite him and set his tray down.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Ashton asked cheerfully, his voice carrying a spark of excitement.

Aiden swallowed the bite in his mouth before answering. "I’m fine," he said simply, offering a small nod.

That was all the invitation Ashton needed to begin talking. He leaned forward, his face animated as he launched into an enthusiastic recount of his day in class. "You won’t believe it, Aiden. I finally managed to summon my Fae fire today. It was incredible. The moment it flared to life, I felt powerful, like the energy was rushing straight through my veins. And not just that—I managed to separate my golden fire from the blue flame faster than anyone else in the group. Even Mr. Everett looked surprised."

He paused only long enough to grin at Aiden, his pride radiating from him. Then he added, "But I know you probably already understand all this better than me. With your high Fae bloodline, I bet you’ll master it even faster than I did."

Aiden shook his head slowly.

The smile faded from Ashton’s face, and he frowned in confusion. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Setting down his spoon, Aiden looked up at his friend. His voice was calm, but his words carried a weight Ashton was not expecting. "I wasn’t able to summon my Fae fire," Aiden said.

Ashton froze, staring at him as though he had just heard something impossible. "What? How is that even possible?"

"It’s nothing serious," Aiden replied, though his tone betrayed a hint of unease. "Mr. John—my wolf instructor—enlightened me more about that senior case from two centuries ago. You remember that during the potential test, the head Instructors said there was a student then whose power leaned more toward the witches. Her Fae side never manifested, and neither did her wolf. She only ever wielded her witch powers. So maybe that’s what’s happening with me. If my Fae and wolf sides turn out to be futile, then it could mean my bloodline leans more toward the witches too."

Ashton’s expression turned uncertain, his earlier enthusiasm slipping into something more cautious. "That’s... strange," he murmured. He leaned back in his chair, still staring at Aiden. "I mean, you carry all three bloodlines. Even the potential testing globe confirmed it. By all rights, you should be something extraordinary, maybe even a tribrid. But you’ve been telling me your powers might be leaning toward only one? That doesn’t make sense to me."

Aiden lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "That’s what the school says. And the only example they have is that student from two hundred years ago. It’s the only explanation they’ve given me."

Ashton tapped his fingers against the edge of his tray, his brow furrowed. "But don’t you think that’s flimsy? Even things that happened just yesterday get twisted around and misunderstood. So how can we take a story from two centuries ago as absolute truth? For all we know, it could be wrong, or even missing pieces."

For a brief moment, Aiden considered Ashton’s words. They did make sense, and a part of him wanted to believe that maybe there was more to his situation than what the instructors had told him. But almost immediately, he pushed that thought aside. "It doesn’t matter," he said softly. "If I really was some tribrid like you suggest, then I should have felt something today. I should have been able to summon my fire or at least sense my wolf. But nothing happened. So I’ll go with the explanation I was given. My bloodline must lean toward the witches, just like that student long ago."

Ashton studied him for a long moment, clearly unsettled by the conversation. He opened his mouth as if to argue further, but then closed it again. Aiden’s expression showed that he wasn’t looking to be convinced.

Finally, Ashton sighed and let it go. "Well... maybe you’re right. It’s just my thought anyway. I don’t have proof to back it up."

Aiden offered a faint smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.