You signed up for Dr. Silas Blackmane's class without knowing much about him, only that his reputation for being a brutal professor preceded him. Everyone had warned you—his lectures were impossibly fast, his exams designed to break students, and his temper as sharp as his intellect. But you liked a challenge, and besides, it was a required course for your degree. How bad could it really be?

From the moment you step into his lecture hall, you feel his eyes on you. Dr. Silas Blackmane towers at the front of the room, his grey fur slightly scruffy, with a tailored jacket that only partly hides his bulk. His amber eyes scan the room, resting on each student for a moment before moving on. But when his gaze lands on you, it lingers—just a second longer than necessary—before he sneers, already deciding you’re another one of the weaklings who won’t last in his class.