"Blood clotting, or coagulation, is the process where blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a clot to help stop bleeding. The process is also known as Hemostasis, and the steps include: Vascular Spasm, Platelet Plug Formation, and the Coagulation Cascade..." The teacher droned on, oblivious to the fact that one student’s mind was worlds away.
Violet had always loved science, even found it fascinating. If there was one thing she was going to enjoy about Lunaris, it was their advanced courses and well-equipped laboratories. Currently, they were studying the comparative blood coagulation in human and werewolf physiology.
Yet, Violet had stopped taking notes on her Avax phone a while ago. And it was all because of the werewolf seated beside her.
Alaric Storm was still sleeping, and while it shouldn’t have concerned her, it still did. Not just because he was missing out on the lecture, but because his sheer handsomeness was distracting.
Violet couldn’t recall how many times she had been jotting down notes, only to turn and find herself staring at his face, her heart inexplicably picking up speed. Just like that, whatever the teacher was saying would slip right out of her mind.
Eventually, Violet gave up, deciding she’d study more when she returned to her dorm. Her attention now gravitated towards Alaric, and she found herself watching him sleep, which was pretty creepy on her part.
The teacher hadn’t paid Alaric Storm any attention, even when she’d noticed him, and Violet wondered if it was because he was a Cardinal Alpha or simply because she was used to seeing him sleeping in her classes. Or maybe it was both.
Why was Alaric sleeping in class, though? Did he just not care because he was the king of the school and could do whatever he wanted, or did he have a late night? Now that she looked closely, she swore she could see dark circles around his eyes. Was he not sleeping well?
In her quest to satisfy her curiosity, Violet didn’t realize how close she had gotten to him. She peered at him with deep fascination, like a child who had gotten a new toy and couldn’t wait to see how it worked.
They said Alaric was the quietest of all the Cardinal Alphas, and Violet could tell. There was just this innocence and tranquility about him that seemed to extend to her and soothe her nerves as well—if that even made sense.
A breeze from the window made a lock of his curly hair suddenly fall over his face, and Violet’s eyes zeroed in on it, her hand already twitching to move it. She must really have a fetish for hair.
Well, fuck it!
Violet reached out to tuck the hair away, but before her hand could brush across his forehead, a hand shot out with lightning speed and grabbed hers, a small gasp escaping her lips.
Alaric was awake, and he was staring at her with a bewildered expression as if she had lost her mind or something.
It was at that moment that Violet realized his hand holding hers was gloved, and as she watched him with a startled expression, she saw what looked like a vein of lightning pass through his head. Wait a minute, could it be...
At the same time, his eyes burned with cold anger. "I’ll suggest you keep your hands to yourself from now on."
Violet’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly muttered a "sorry" before looking ahead. For the rest of the lesson, whatever the teacher said didn’t register in her head. Her mind was far away, and all she could do was blame herself for being stupid.
It became apparent that Alaric Storm must have issues with his powers. That must be why he liked seclusion—so he wouldn’t hurt people—and yet she had eagerly tried to touch him. Yes, Violet had always known she had self-destructive tendencies, and it was becoming apparent.
But even then, Violet couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. These powers weren’t supposed to be a curse. Had their moon goddess considered that before giving it to him?
Violet’s attention was snagged when the teacher mentioned something about pairing with one’s seat partner to conduct an experiment synthesizing a comparison between human and werewolf coagulation times using carefully mixed plasma samples.
Great, she was on her own, then.
Soon enough, the samples were passed around, with pairs working on their experiments already, while Violet was all by herself with Alaric having turned the other way to continue his sleep. *Someone sure loved his sleep.
The key difference between werewolf and human coagulation was that werewolf blood tended to coagulate more rapidly, a trait evolved to handle high-energy activity and potential injuries in both their human and transformed states.
Ferrusene, the key ingredient in the experiment, was a rare mineral compound used in controlled settings to trigger and compare coagulation rates across species. When werewolf blood is exposed to it, it will clot nearly twice as fast as human blood due to this evolved coagulation mechanism.
Violet had to follow the procedure slowly from her textbook since she hadn’t been paying attention in class. She reached for the ferrusene vial and worked independently since her partner was fast asleep. She wondered how the teacher would grade this classwork considering her partner had not contributed anything to it.
Halfway through, just as Violet was about to add the ferrusene, Alaric grabbed her hand, startling her. Before she could say a word, Alaric had already grabbed the vial, tipped it until some poured away, and then added it to the sample.
"Why did you do—" Violet started, but the scathing look he gave her was enough to make her shut up and focus on the experiment.
They remained in silence for several minutes as they glanced at the coagulation indicator, the clotting reaction having reached its required result.
It was at that moment that the biology teacher, who had been observing the whole experiment, arrived at their desk. She glanced over their work with a proud look on her face.
"Great work as usual, Alaric Storm," she praised.
Wait, what? Violet couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did this guy just take all the credit when she had done the entire job? Sure, he had added the correct amount of ferrusene—which she couldn’t deny, considering her own measurement was wrong, and judging by the failed experiments around them, he had saved her—but still. This had been all her.
The teacher went on to say, "Precise measurements are critical as werewolf blood’s sensitivity to excess ferrusene can disrupt the coagulation cascade, slowing the process rather than speeding it up. Good work, Alaric. You seem to have been conscious of that rule and must have guided your lab partner throughout the whole process, didn’t you, Alaric?"
Alaric looked at her, and for the first time, Violet wondered what had possessed her to ever think this one was innocent. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing!
He said with a false smile, "Of course, I did. Violet must feel so grateful right now."
Violet was far too furious at that moment to even dwell on the fact that he knew her name.
"Good. Good. Good." The teacher clapped her hands, more than delighted to hear that. "It’s so relieving to know that you have a desk mate you can tolerate. I’m sure both of you would make great lab partners."
At that statement, Alaric turned to her, scrutinizing her with an indescribable look as he drawled, "Well, color me excited."