I was on my way to the accommodation.

This morning I'd overslept and forgotten breakfast, which forced me to go to those pathetic Quatura and make myself something to eat, because I couldn't make it home until the next law lecture started.

An angry Grace had crossed my path, which meant I had one problem less.

I walked down the wooden footbridge to the modern accommodation my father had finished building last year. It had style, but it had been an expensive investment, especially because it was only for students. There were twenty of these groups of flats scattered around the campus. It was one of Father's many housing projects in Blairville, as he had originally studied architecture before becoming the city's chief doctor. Just as his father had demanded of him.

I shouldn't question this investment in housing any further. Father knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, when it came to the university, he had left Alarik in charge.

My uncle had been acting weird lately, constantly missing pack meetings, disappearing when father needed him, and ordering Nash around more and more.

Not that my stubborn brother didn't deserve it, but Alarik defended Julian over and over again.

Secretly, I thought it was a good thing, because maybe it made Julian more open with the pack, but it also caused more tension between all the members of the pack.

Hunter and Harry's father, Maverick, had questioned Alarik's role at the university and as father's closest advisor last week, which had caused further unrest within the pack. He'd said there were rumors of contact between Quatura and Senseque at Vanderwood. But we couldn't just banish the witches, because there was still the treaty.

What had the founding families been thinking when they had these contracts drawn up two centuries ago? That we would all go to the same university together without confrontation? Ridiculous.

I opened the door of the big house and immediately entered the living area, where everything seemed to be quiet.

Satisfied that no one was going to get on my nerves, I hurried to the kitchen.

My stomach craved meat, so I opened the fridge and sighed when I saw its contents: lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, tons of fruit, butter, and cheese.

Then I spotted the package of ham. I grabbed it with a sigh and closed the fridge again, only to pull myself up onto the large white marble kitchen countertop.

As I opened the package, the delicious smell of juicy meat hit me, even if it was nothing compared to a fresh deer from the forest.

God, this hunger was driving me crazy.

I took out a slice and was about to eat it when I heard a rustling noise from the garbage can.

I immediately looked toward the source of the noise and saw a small puppy with thick golden fur digging in the trash.

“What the hell?”

The dog looked up and tilted his head. Then his long, fluffy tail started to move from side to side. He let go of the garbage can and came trotting straight toward me.

“Where on earth did that dog come from?” I cursed quietly, remembering that I had been sleeping at home for the last few days.

But who could have guessed that the witches had overgrown the house with animals during that time?

The puppy stopped in front of the kitchen counter, sat on its hindquarters and looked up at me.

“What do you want?” I asked, annoyed.

The little puppy tilted his head and gave an “Ow?”

I looked at the piece of ham in my hand.

“How about no,” I replied and popped the piece of meat into my mouth.

The dog started squeaking and running back and forth as if there was a staircase leading up to me on the kitchen counter that he just had to find.

When he realized that this was not the case, he came back to my side to stand on both hind paws to paw up the wall with his front paws, of course without success. However, this caused a slight scratching noise, which made me sit up and take notice.

“Not good,” I said and pushed his paws away with my free hand, which he immediately licked off.

“No, please, don't do that,” I groaned.

Talking to a dog was a whole other level.

He sat down again and wagged his tail as if I had invited him to dinner.

“I'm afraid you've misunderstood me.”

“Ahhhhh! Oh my God! Who was that?!” a high-pitched screech rang out, and the dog jumped as someone came down the stairs like a furious elephant.

When the unnecessarily dressed-up Vivienna saw the dog, her eyes widened.

“That creature has pooped on my bed!” she hissed angrily.

I couldn't help but grin before shoving another piece of ham into my mouth.

Vivienna looked up at me and took a step back.

“You! That's your mutt!” She looked at me with anger, reminding me of the fight a few days ago.

“Hardly,” I laughed, trying to cover up the hostility.

The little dog came running to her and tried to jump up, but she started shouting again.

“Go away! Shush!”

The dog ran to the couch and hid there.

I grinned gleefully. “The mighty Vivienna. Afraid of a little puppy.”

Vivienna looked at me in disgust, probably because she didn't like the way I was sitting here eating ham.

“You're no different from that dog, you Copeland scum!”

I jumped up and she immediately jumped back.

“What did you just say?” I asked with a serious look and a slight yellow gleam in my eyes.

“What is going on here?” it came from the stairs, and Julian's neighbor came down the steps. She stopped for a moment, probably because the last time she'd seen Vivienna and me talking to each other, a lot had gone wrong, but then she came down further.