As the laughter and chatter of my classmates fill the cafeteria, I weave my way back towards the hallway leading to the restrooms. The air is thick with remnants of joy, but my heart feels heavy. “Well, the fat f**k can easily miss a lunch or 50!” Jake’s voice booms through the crowd, his laughter echoing like a cruel taunt. My jaw clenches involuntarily, teeth grinding together as I fight to keep Ares, my wolf, from surfacing. Damn it all, I just want to escape this place one day. ‘Or maybe I should just rip their throats out, devour them, maim them, burn them, drown them…’ All these dark thoughts swirl in my mind like a tempest.
Lost in my thoughts, I’m suddenly jolted back to reality when I collide with something solid. “Ouch! Watch where y— Oh my god, Athena!” The voice is like a soothing melody that cuts through my turmoil, instantly recognizable. It belongs to Millie, my best friend. I glance up in surprise, trying to comprehend her presence here at Blood Moon High. Packs have their own schools, so Millie shouldn’t be here at all.
Before I can voice my confusion, she catches sight of my disheveled appearance and the lingering scent of distress. “Goddess, what happened to you?!” Her gasp is filled with genuine concern, and I can’t help but let out a weary sigh. “Surprisingly, nothing new,” I say, forcing a small smile and shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. Oops. That was probably not the best thing to say.
“More importantly, why are you here?!” I ask, urgency creeping into my voice.
“What do you mean, nothing new?” Her brow furrows deeply, and I can see the worry etched on her face, her jaw ticking slightly in agitation. I can’t bear to watch her get upset, so I remain silent, and she sighs, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the nearest restroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up first!”
“Yeah, the restroom isn’t going to cut it. I need to grab some clean clothes and head to the showers in the gym,” I reply, knowing from past experiences that anything less than a good shower and fresh clothes won’t suffice.
As we reach my locker, I pull it open to retrieve a change of clothes. Millie is animatedly explaining that she’s transferred to our pack for the year as part of an exchange program. My heart leaps at the thought of having her around, but a shadow of dread looms over me. She needs to stay away from me if she wants to have any semblance of a normal life here.
Sighing deeply, I drop the bombshell. “Millie, you need to stay away from me.”
I can’t see her expression since she’s behind my locker, but I can hear the irritation in her voice as she replies, “Why the hell would I do that?”
“I… You…” My thoughts jumble together, and I struggle to find the right words. Just then, a whistle pierces the air from behind my locker, interrupting my thoughts. “Damn, who are you?”
“I don’t believe we have met,” I mutter under my breath, shutting my locker with a groan as I hear the familiar voices of the troublemakers. Thankfully, their attention is focused on Millie, who is blissfully unaware that she’s smiling at the twin devils themselves. I had hoped, perhaps foolishly, to keep my best friend a little longer, but it seems that hope is slipping away.
I try to slip away unnoticed, but just as I’m about to make my escape, Millie’s eyes catch mine. The first troublemaker’s gaze follows hers, and his expression shifts from playful to hostile in an instant. The stark contrast in how he looks at Millie versus me is jarring. “What are you still doing here, fat-ass? Get the f**k out of here,” he sneers, and I continue walking, refusing to engage.
This is the moment I’ve always dreaded—the moment Millie will see me for what I truly am and abandon me like everyone else has. I’ve always known it was only a matter of time, but that doesn’t stop the sharp pang of hurt from piercing my heart. I’ve tried so hard to build walls around my feelings, to tell myself not to get attached. It’s infuriatingly stupid of me.
After a few moments, I hear them call out, “Hey! Where are you going?” Confusion washes over me, but I don’t dare look back. My curiosity is piqued when I hear several bystanders gasp. Fast footsteps approach, and I quicken my pace, rounding the corner toward the showers.
Before I can reach them, I’m suddenly shoved against the wall, and I find myself face-to-face with a furious Millie. I swear, this girl can be intimidating when she wants to be. Even though we’re evenly matched in strength, there’s something about the intensity in her eyes that makes me shrink back.
“What the hell was that?” she demands, her voice rising in volume, and I flinch slightly at the sharpness of her tone.
“What do you mean?” I ask, genuinely baffled.
“Look, Millie, you’ll come to see I’m not someone you want to be friends with. Especially not here. Just g—”
She cuts me off, her tone sharp and unyielding. I may be the pack’s laughing stock, but I still have some semblance of manners. “Did you hit your head or something? Why the hell didn’t you defend yourself?”
I stare at her, bewildered, my brows knitting together in confusion. Did she not hear me? Her expression mirrors my own confusion, but there’s an undeniable anger simmering beneath the surface.
“Why would I have hit my head?”
“Jesus, Athena!” She throws her hands up in exasperation, pacing back and forth like a caged lioness. “I’ve seen you fight, Athena. I know you’re holding back with me. You could easily wipe the floor with them.”
Well, I could, but I can’t exactly admit that. She doesn’t know I’ve already tapped into my wolf, and I can’t tell her about the blackmail. She would undoubtedly try to intervene, and that could put my family in danger.
“No, I couldn’t, Millie. They are the Alpha’s sons.”
She scoffs at my words, disbelief etched across her features. “They don’t even have their wolves yet, Athena!”
A wave of nervousness washes over me. What does she mean by that? “Neither do—” I start to say, but she interrupts me again.
“Bull f*cking s**t, Athena! I’ve seen your eyes flash!” she exclaims, her voice rising in intensity before she lowers it to a whisper. “Red, might I add…”
Panic begins to grip my chest, and I swallow hard. “Millie, please, you can’t tell anyone!” I plead, clasping my hands together in a desperate gesture.
She grumbles in response, but I can see the conflict in her eyes. “I haven’t, now, have I?”
Her foot taps impatiently as I contemplate her words. “Well, no… not yet at least,” I mumble, barely audible.
“I don’t get it though, Athena. Help me understand. You have an extraordinary gift, and you’re an amazing fighter. Why let them bully you like that?”
“Because I can’t fight the entire pack, can I?” I snap, immediately regretting my tone when I see the sympathy in her eyes.
“And besides, do you know what they would do to a female attacking the golden Alpha boys? In a misogynistic shithole like this?”
She falls silent, studying my face with an intensity that makes me uneasy. “So, unless you want to lather up my body in soap, I’m going to hit the shower now. Alone.”
