The Headmaster Alpha's Mate

Chapter One

Chloe looked out of the window of her father’s car, as the Scottish countryside passed in a blur of green trees and purple heather, the vehicle only slowing as her father made his way through the small villages before stepping on the accelerator once more. Her whole life was now in this car. Chloe's parents had rented out her childhood home, and would be heading back tomorrow before flying out on their own adventure to Japan in three days. The sense of foreboding was creeping into her psyche once more, the realisation her life would change so dramatically, her protests about being sent to “The Crescent Moon Academy” had fallen on deaf ears.

If only this had happened six months from now, when she would be 18, and could legally tell her parents “Suck Ass”, she would not find herself being hauled off to the place she felt deep in her bone’s was some sort of weird cult. But as she was still 17 and her mother felt this would be the making of her, maybe calm her down a little. Chloe was not really a bad girl but had to admit to doing some crazy s**t at times, normally fuelled by the monotony of school life, and the ever-present boredom of a child who found it difficult to concentrate. That mixed with her dyslexia, and being told to write down what she had learnt, which was more of a hindrance than any help.

Hell, if they asked her what she had learnt they would have found she knew more than they gave her credit for, but to her the words were lost in translation as she attempted to transcribe it, resulting in frustration. Then the act of just messing about because she knew the written work would be chastised for bad writing, poor spelling and grammar, so mostly Chloe thought to herself what is the point?

The road began to climb, then narrow, as the trees thickened with each passing mile.

“Look at how beautiful this scenery is, Chloe”. Her mother tried once more to cheer up her gloomy mood.

“Yeah, if you like green” Chloe sighed, unimpressed.

“Look honey, I know you are pissed off, but this is a fantastic opportunity for you. Maybe you can make new friends. If you possibly try and fit in. Maybe dress less aggressively, smile a little more. You will find people will actually give you the time of day”, her mother continued.

It was the same old lecture she had heard a million times before, but why should she change? If people could not embrace her unique sense of fashion and slight craziness, then as far as Chloe was concerned, it was their loss, not hers.

“Dress less, aggressive, well, given this place has gone back fifty years and has a God Awful uniform requirement, I think the cult has put pay to my creative flare and individuality”

“For the umpteenth time, Chloe, it is not a cult”. Her dad gritted out, shaking his head.

“Chloe, it is a highly expensive, private education. Which you are fortunate to have. Your father’s new company are paying a lot of money for you to receive this amazing opportunity. You need to be a little more thankful”. Her mother chastised Chloe, exasperated at her total lack of enthusiasm.

“We are nearly there, just a couple of more miles,” her father stated.

Thankful for the change of topic regarding her negativity about the place, Chloe looked out of the side window once more.

The thick pine trees rustled in the breeze, as the road turned to shale, it was more than a little bit off the beaten track, giving Chloe the shivers.

The road turned to the left, before straightening out again, and in the distance, Chloe could see the tall spires of her new school, and home. The dark, imposing, grey building, with windows set in an arch pattern, looked to be over four floors. To the left, the vast expanse of trees opened up into a large neatly kept field, where some of the other “cult members” could be seen. A few of her new classmates were running laps, others looking like they were engaging in hand-to-hand combat. It seemed that both girls and boys were pitted against each other, and even though she would deny it if ever asked, Chloe found that refreshing and pretty cool. To the right of the car stood a group of boys, and, hot damn, Chloe’s interest immediately spiked. Was it a prerequisite that all men in this place be hot? All of them tall, extremely good looking, and looked like they lived in the gym. A smile teetered on her lips as she watched them all intently. They were not as hot as the shopping centre guy, but hell, they were a good second best.

“Chloe, put your tongue back in”. Her mother shook her head as she caught where her daughter was staring intently.

At the front of the school stood a girl, around Chloe's age, long blonde hair that looked like she had just stepped out of a shampoo commercial, tall, slender, her red and black kilt sat mid-thigh, with a black blazer and white shirt. Chole almost scoffed at the knee-high white socks. The girl was beautiful, there was no denying that, but instantly Chole knew she was the Cults version of Bitchy Bev, obviously the queen bee of the place, and she inwardly groaned.

Chloe's father parked the car outside the entrance to the castle as her mother opened the car door, excitedly.

“Hello, My name is Ursula Kirkstone, and I am the head girl here at Crescent Moon Academy”, Ursula said, then extended her arm to shake her mother and father’s hand before turning to Chloe and trailed her eyes up and down her with a look of disgust, before quickly smiling to cover herself, then extended her hand to Chloe.

“Chloe Hancock” Chloe introduced herself with a brief shake of uptight Ursula’s hand.

“Well, it is my pleasure to show you to your lodgings, then take you to see Mrs Black for your schedule. I believe you are currently in the “Eclipse” house”, Ursula stated.

Chloe did not miss the slight change in her tone as she mentioned “Eclipse house”, as if that was a place reserved for the scum of the earth.

“Normally the Alp…Headmaster would personally greet you, but he is away at present at a convention, actually in England” Ursula smiled with pride as she talked about the Head as if he was some God that had to be obeyed and she was head of his personal fan club.

“Oh, that is a shame. I wanted to meet with him, to discuss things before we leave for Japan”, Chloe’s mother said with a sigh.

“I am afraid that will not be possible, he will return next week. It has been a long trip, he has been away for weeks now… can I offer you some refreshments?” Ursula faked a smile at Chloe’s parents.

Chloe quickly discerned that uptight Ursula was not that genuine, a show in front of the parents, and she would like to bet she was a class A b***h when they left.

“Actually, if you can show me to my room, so I can get unpacked, we can have refreshments later” Chloe stated, not happy at standing around whilst this girl made small talk and pretty eyes at her parents in a bid to be “nice”, and boredom was starting to rear its head as she began to look around distracted from the mundane conversation.

Ursula narrowed her eyes slightly, obviously not used to being told her idea was not the greatest anyone had ever heard before, she put on her fake smile once more, that showcased her perfectly straight white teeth.

“Of course, but first, we must get you your uniform and schedule from Mrs Black and the boys will carry your boxes to your room for you.” Ursula stated in a tone that was friendly but with the distinct hint of ‘do not mess with me’ attached to it.

Chloe and her parents followed uptight Ursula to the school office. A woman of no more than 23 stood, her red hair sat in a perfect high formal bun on top of her head, her body was that of an athlete, dressed in a tight black dress, again she was stunningly beautiful, like everyone else Chole had seen in the school.

“It’s the f*****g boarding school for the Stepford Wives”

Chloe muttered under her breath, only to receive a sharp nudge from the elbow of her mother, and a look that said ‘shut up’ followed by a small shake of her head, before she turned to Mrs Black.

“Hi, I am Chloe’s mother. Nice to meet you.” Diane Hancock extended her hand to the gorgeous woman before her.

“Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Hancock, I am Mrs Black, the school secretary and PA to the headmaster” Mrs Black smiled.

“I am sorry the Headmaster, Mr Colton, is not here to greet you personally. He sends his deepest apologies, but he is currently finishing an important convention in England at present”, Mrs Black smiled.

“Yes, we heard” Diane Hancock responded, feeling a little intimidated by the beautiful woman who looked in her early twenties, but had the confidence and poise of a woman twice that age.

“Well Chloe, welcome to Crescent Moon Academy.” Mrs Black turned her attention to Chloe.

“Here is your schedule for your lessons, along with the after-school clubs we have available. As a boarder, we strongly recommend you attend at least two of the clubs. Now most of our students are weekly boarders, or attend school daily. However, you are with us full time. I have placed you with one of our other full-time boarders and fellow Eclipse House students, Nicola Davis. I am sure you will like her. She is with us full time. On a weekend, you can go out to the village, and we do have a couple of staff members on hand, but you will need to be back in your dorm by the 11pm curfew. On school nights it is lights out at 10pm, and breakfast is served in the dining hall from 7am to 8am. We start the school day at 8:30 am.” Mrs Black explained.

Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sigh, she was already bored with the conversation, and if the teachers here thought she would be going to bed at 10pm like a good little girl, they were in for a rude awakening.

“Here is your school uniform, now as you are in Eclipse House. Your skirt, I think you will be pleased to know judging by your amazing hair, is purple and black tartan. Each house has its own colours. You have five skirts, shirts, and jumpers, with two blazers and two school ties. You are responsible for the upkeep of your uniform, and it must be worn from 7 am to 4:30 pm when the school day ends. After that, you can wear your own clothing, there are no restrictions on what you can wear after the school day, and at the weekend, all we ask is that you keep it respectful”.

As much as Chloe hated the uniform, she had to admit she was pleased about the purple tartan, and the fact she could wear whatever she wanted after school.

“Here is your Physical Education kit. PE is mandatory, and we focus a lot on self-defence. We believe every pupil, male or female should be able to defend themselves against any attacker. We also run laps to build up stamina, along with some strength exercises. You will attend PE at your allotted time slot every day, Monday to Friday, without fail or excuse.” Mrs Black smiled once more.

Chloe let out a frustrated sigh, she hated PE. Running was never her forte. However, she did like the idea of self-defence. She had wanted to go to classes a few years ago, but her mother was fearful she would turn aggressive as well as a little mischievous if she had attended those, so she had refused permission.

“Now, your things should be in your room, and it is time for you to say goodbye to your parents. Ursula will show you to your room”.