Ava turned her attention on the teacher in front of her, although he wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t already heard. She was prideful, but not so much that she couldn’t respect that he likely knew much more than she did about photography. It was hard to focus, though, when she was struggling not to stare at the girl beside her.

Ava had seen beautiful people before, but never anyone like her. Camilla had deep scars down one side of her neck, but rather than try to hide them, she left them exposed, as if daring someone to stare, to judge her for it. Ava envied her for that, but for all her posturing, she’d never had the heart to put her own on display.

But while that was intriguing, that wasn’t what had drawn Ava to the desk beside her, wasn’t what had led her to abandon Ry. She could say it was, that she just wanted a closer look, but she didn’t like to lie to herself. Ava had just been drawn to the girl, in a way she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Shapeshifters believed that they were guided by their predecessors, who had shared the unique marks they bore, a way to identify shapeshifters in whatever form they took. They believed that when a shapeshifter died, their souls joined whoever next came along to bear their mark. It was believed that each shifter had many souls in their body, the elder ones trying to help guide the youngest.

Oftentimes, shapeshifters’ futures were decided for them based on their marks, and their predecessors - or marenya, as they called them. Ava was no stranger to the pressures of a famous mark. She, unfortunately, bore the mark belonging to the two most well-known shapeshifters in their history. It was both a blessing and a curse, considering how one of them was often thought to be the most evil shapeshifter that had ever been born.

Regardless of societal pressures, Ava was more concerned with the way her marenya chose to guide her. They didn’t try to push her very often, so they were relatively easy to ignore, which she usually did. But every now and then, they found something they agreed on, and it was almost impossible for Ava to pass it by. The last time this had happened, they’d led her to Argent, saving her life.

Which was why, when Ava stalked into the classroom and saw that girl with the ice blonde hair and the scars on her neck, she’d followed that pull in her heart, claiming the seat beside her. Now, listening to the teacher speak, she kept finding chances to glance at Camilla when she wasn’t looking, trying to figure out what it was about her that had made her marenya so desperate to bring Ava to this girl’s side.

So when the teacher announced that photography and art students would pair up for a semester long project, Ava turned to Camilla and smirked, only half listening to the teacher explaining the assignment.

“This project will be your final grade for the semester, but don’t think you can put it off till the end,” Mr. Anderson warned, toying with his glasses. “The idea of this project is to capture the way you see your partner. You must use your medium to show me how you feel about them.

“Do you hate them? Do you love them? Maybe they’re your best friend, or maybe you’re indifferent to them,” he said with a smile. “Show me how you see them. There will be other assignments, but this should be your primary focus.

“I’ll let you pick your own partners, but that doesn’t mean you pick your best friend so you have an excuse to talk to each other the whole time,” he added with a teasing smile directed at the girls in front of Ava. She rolled her eyes when they ducked their heads, blushing and giggling. “Today, you and your partner should talk about when you can work on this outside of school.”

“So we’re partners?” Camilla asked, one slim, pale eyebrow raised. “We won’t be able to work on it at my house, just so you know. My parents don’t do guests.” Ava shrugged.

“That’s chill,” she said. “We can figure something out. My place is loud, but if you don’t mind, maybe we can work there.” She tried to ignore the twinge of guilt she felt at so easily inviting an unknown human into the pack’s home, but it felt right, and that pull in her heart was still there, urging her on. “Do you have a car?” Camilla shook her head.

“I have a license, but my family only has one car,” she explained. “It’s never been an issue before. I don’t get out much.”

“Well, I can give you rides whenever we get together,” Ava offered. She couldn’t imagine not having the freedom her bike gave her. “Are you cool with motorcycles?” Camilla let out a soft laugh and it felt like something had pierced Ava’s heart, it was such a perfect sound.

“No problem,” Camilla said, a hint of a smile still on her lips. “I can’t today, though. My parents want to hear all about my first day,” she explained dryly.

“Some other time, then,” Ava said, smiling back. “I look forward to working with you,” she added.

“And I, you,” Camilla replied, smile still fixed on her face, blue eyes shining with beautiful heat.