Serene’s POV

"Serene, did you have another nightmare?" Shumal Sensei inquired as she rubbed my back.

"It was something else. Like everyone was there but they couldn’t hear me, I was there but no one could see or hear me. Then Zeph glanced at me and I woke up." I confided in her, covering my face with my hands.

She kept rubbing my back. "It’s ok, I am here. It was just a dream. Try to lie down." I obeyed her and lay back down. But all my sleep was gone. Shumal Sensei stayed with me. I noticed she was wearing an emerald satin robe.

"So did Zeph confess how much he loves you?" She teased me, which made me hide my face from her.

"Ohh, dear, you don’t have to be shy. We all know how much he loves you and seeing how beautiful you looked today. I was hoping he would tell you." She replied in between chuckles.

"He did, Sensei," I replied almost in a whisper, unable to meet her gaze.

"Yahh, I am so happy for you guys." Her smile had broadened and her eyes shone so brightly. "I can feel you right now. This is how I felt when Lavaria professed his love for me. I was so excited and felt like the happiest girl in our world." She had an amused look on her face as she reminisced past.

"I am sure that must have been a beautiful moment for both of you," my heart felt happy for them.

"Ohh! It sure was and considering what he had been through. I was overjoyed that he chose me of all the people he could have." There was a tinge of sadness to her voice now, and her face fell.

"Can I ask what happened to Lavaria Sensei?" I knew Shumal Sensei was not his mate. He was a werewolf and she was a vampire. Werewolves can have Folkels as their mates but having a vampire mate was unheard of.

"He used to have a mate you know. They were about to get married. She was a ’slayer’ and a few months before their marriage she was killed in skirmishes on the border with rogue vampires. I didn’t know him at that time, but he was pretty broken when he joined The Institute. He stopped being a ’Slayer’ after that and became a Sensei." She concluded with a sad voice, her hand trembling as it rested on my forehead.

This piece of information pierced a dagger in my heart and I had to blink away tears that were on the brink of overflowing. Ever smiling Lavaria Sensei had such a tragic past, I would never have guessed. Losing a mate meant losing half-part of yourselves to werewolves. Most don’t even survive much longer after losing their mates, and yet here he was, determined and strong. Making sure all of us would rise to the occasion when required.

"I am so sorry, Sensei. I didn’t know, it must have been very difficult for Sensei." I spoke softly.

"It was but he gradually recovered and now he has me to tell him jokes and keep him company. I will make sure he never stops smiling." There was determination in her eyes, that made me happy. He couldn’t have gotten a better partner.

"You both are very lucky to have found each other. I am so very happy for both my Senseis." I touched her arm and she patted my hand to acknowledge me.

"And we are lucky to have a student like you. You are like a ray of sunshine, Serene. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise." I nodded at her words.

"Try to get some sleep, sweetie. I am right here with you."

"Good night, Sensei." I closed my eyes trying to get comfortable.

"Good night, Serene." After an hour’s struggle, I drifted off to sleep again.

The next day we had off from studies so Ayrden and Alvene helped me move my stuff to Shumal Sensei’s room. After settling down we decided to hit the Dining Hall.

On our way, I saw Arlo. He was waiting in the corridor. He glanced in my direction and mouthed: ’Can I talk to you?’ I nodded at him.

"Ayrden, Alvene you guys go ahead I need to talk to Arlo."

"Sure, we will save you some food." They disappeared around the corner.

I turned to face him and he finally smiled and spoke: "You looked beautiful yesterday." I ignored his words.

"Where were you? You didn’t even come to receive your trophy." I sulked with my hands crossed on my chest.

"Dria wanted to spend alone time. She was jealous that you were wearing a very provocative dress. Her words, not mine." He raised his hands to show he was innocent. That made me laugh.

"Yes, that was something I usually don’t wear."

"It suited you, I am sure most of the girls were jealous of you yesterday." He gave me a knowing smile.

"Shall we go?" I asked him pointing toward the corridor ahead and trying to change the topic from my dress.

"Sure," we began to walk side by side.

"You disappeared yesterday morning as well. I couldn’t even thank you for being there for me." I spoke out softly.

"You don’t have to thank me, I had no clue you suffer so much. I wish I could replace all your nightmares with sweet sweet dreams." He sighed, letting out a deep breath.

"Wouldn’t life become easier if we could get everything we wished for?" It was my time to sigh.

"Ahh! You hit the nail on the head. Anyways, I brought something for you. I wanted to give it to you but wasn’t getting an appropriate time or maybe I couldn’t muster up the courage." He then extended his fist toward me and opened it up with his palm facing upwards. And my eyes flew wide open at the beauty of what he held in his hand.