3. Among the wolves
1833 Words
Great Pines High School, California
Nadia stepped on the speeder as she saw the crosslight turn yellow. She was already late and she wasn’t about to be even more late. Contrary to her siblings, Nadia actually needed good grades so she could get into a good college, preferably far away from the area she’d grown up.
She looked at the time just as she drove into the parking area and smiled. Okay, 7.59, not too bad. The parking area was big as it was meant for both the Great Pines High School and the Great Pines Academy, the local college. However, everyone drove which meant that the parking spaces were hard to find. As she turned around the corner, a young man stepped in front of her car. Nadia stepped on the breaks and pushed her horn but it didn’t make a sound.
“Wh… ugh, for f***s sake! Hey! ...”
She stuck her head out of her window and yelled at the young man who only then seemed to notice her.
“... watch where you’re going!”
The man just grinned and slowly walked away. After about five minutes, she finally found a parking spot on the opposite side from where the entrance to the high school was. Well so much for maybe making it in time. She quickly parked and almost ran towards the building.
Nadia was ten minutes late when she finally arrived at her class and almost tripped over herself from the momentum of running. Every person inside the class turned and looked at her and a couple of girls laughed.
“You’re late, miss Harlow.”
Her teacher, Mr. Arthur Green, looked at her with stern eyes, but Nadia was still glad that it was his class. At least he didn’t have a need to find any weakness in her as opposed to some of her other teachers.
“I know, I’m really sorry.”
Mr. Green pursed his lips but his eyes got a bit softer
“I’ll let it slide this time. Now, take your seat.”
Nadia gave a smile of gratitude as she made her way towards her seat. Unfortunately, she wasn’t friends with anyone in this class. Furthermore, she had to sit in front of Gabriella who was one of the girls that laughed and whom Nadia did not get along with for more than one reason. However, she held her back straight and sat down.
“Nice entrance, mutt.”
Gabriella chuckled with another girl and Nadia had to take in a deep breath. It’s not worth it. She’s not worth it.
Even if she found math to be boring, the class went by pretty fast. She waited until most people had left before she made her way towards the door.
“Miss Harlow, could you stay for a minute?”
Nadia stopped and put down her bag. She and Mr. Green waited until the last student had left the room. Then Mr. Green closed the door and turned to look at her.
“I hear you’ve been given the great honor of taking some English classes at the academy. English was never my subject, but I feel as if congratulations are in order.”
Nadia gave a faint smile.
“Thank you, mr. Green.”
“Please, call me Arthur. There’s no reason to act as if I’m your superior whenever no one else is around.”
Arthur sat down on a chair and signaled for Nadia to do the same. When she had sat down, he continued.
“Now, you and I both know that Great Pines High and Great Pines Academy are very different schools. Though I’m sure you’ll do well in the classes academically, I’m concerned that you haven't thought of the other aspects.”
Nadia closed her eyes and started massaging her face.
“My father has asked you to talk to me, hasn’t he?”
Arthur gave a vague smile.
“No my dear. I get why you would think that since your father is my Alpha, but I’m asking because I’m worried.”
Nadia opened her eyes again and saw the heartfelt look on the older man's face. However, she was not about to give up on her chance.
“Look, I appreciate your concern and all, but I won’t be totally alone. I know that there is bad blood between the Greys and the Whites, but around forty percent of the students are a part of the White Pines Pack. Heck, my brothers and my sister all go there.”
Arthur slowly nodded but he still looked grave.
“Yes, Alexander, Natalie and Jonah all go to the school. But even though they are some of the strongest wolves attending, they’ve all been placed in classes that are dominated by White Pines wolves to protect them. You would attend a class dominated by Greys, and… “
Arthur leaned forward.
“You’ll be the only one there who is not a werewolf.”
Even if Nadia had known that she was wolf-less her entire life, it still stung to hear it. She had five siblings and she was the only one who wasn’t a werewolf. Her mother hadn’t been one either so it wasn’t completely weird, but she hated it. Arthur continued.
“Normally, you’d go unnoticed. Very few humans have attended the academy, but it has happened. However, you’re not just a human. You’re still the Alpha’s daughter and if the wrong people recognize you, well, then I’m afraid what will happen.”
Nadia swallowed the lump in her throat. She looked at her hand and started to play with her silver ring, the ring she had inherited from her mother.
“Mr. Gr..., sorry, Arthur. I’m not going to have the life that I’ve been brought up in and I have accepted that, but… if I can’t have that then at least I want the best life I can possibly get. If that means I have to put myself in a difficult position then so be it. These college credits could pave the way for ivy league schools. Besides, I don’t look like my siblings. They got both their looks and their wolf from our dad, I got my looks and my lack of wolf from my mom. Why would people who are three to four years older than me think twice about who I am? It’s not as if any of the prominent Grey Pines wolves actually take academic classes anyway.”
Nadia had a point. Where her siblings had dark hair and brown eyes, she had blonde hair and turquoise eyes. The werewolves who attended Great Pines High School knew who she was, but everyone who had been in a higher grade than her didn’t because her siblings had been there at that time and they were more interesting given that they were werewolves, thus posing a bigger threat to the Grey Pines Pack. Only higher ranking wolves were truly updated when it came to all the White Pines Pack Alpha’s children.
“Okay, if you say so. But you have to promise me that you’ll step back if anything happens. Now get to class.”
Nadia picked up her bag and gave Arthur a smile before she hurried to her next class.
The day went pretty smoothly. At lunch she met up with her only real friend, Annie, whom she didn’t share any morning classes with on Mondays. Annie was a human and didn’t know about werewolves. At times it sucked that Nadia couldn’t talk about certain aspects of her life with Annie, but she also kind of liked that she wasn’t a werewolf. It made Nadia feel like less of a failure.
When the day had ended, Nadia and Annie walked to Nadia’s car. Since she had been forced to park far from their school, they had to pass the Great Pines Academy. Just as they were nearing the car, Annie stopped and looked at the people standing in front of the academy.
“Oh my god, Nathan Dugrey. How is it even possible to be that beautiful?”
Nadia looked at the group. Nathan Dugrey stood by the entrance and chatted up some girls. Seriously, one wouldn’t do? Nadia frowned and kept walking.
“Annie, he’s a dick.”
Nadia got in the car and Annie soon followed.
“Okay, but he’s still super hot. I’m not gonna touch but it won’t hurt to look. Come on, Nadi, even you can’t deny that he looks like a freakin’ Greek god.”
She couldn’t. Nathan was tall, muscular, and his face was downright perfect with green eyes and a winning smile. His brown, wavy hair shone in the sun, but in the end it didn’t matter. Nathan Dugrey was the future Alpha of the Grey Pines Pack. She had to despise him even if he made it hard. However, he didn’t; he was a notorious player and had stepped on more girls than she could count.
“You’re right, he does. And just like Zeus he’ll probably impregnate half the world.”
Nadia smiled even if she knew that was false. Alpha’s couldn’t procreate unless they had marked someone. Annie looked confused.
“But wasn’t Zeus married to that pink woman that he had Hercules with?”
Nadia laughed and gave a great smile.
“Oh, Annie. Promise me you’ll never stop living in a Disney universe!”
They both laughed and Nadia started the car when another car stopped just in front of her, blocking her way.
“What the… hey!”
Nadia started to press her horn but with no apparent luck.
“Oh come on, work!”
Nadia was banging on the horn ferociously when it suddenly started. However, it didn’t stop again which made everyone look up.
“Are you kidding me?!”
After around twenty seconds, she made the horn stop. Though the car that blocked hers had been moved in the meantime, it wasn’t her biggest concern at the moment. Every person standing in the parking lot looked at her.
She quickly put her car in reverse and drove away in a hurry, catching a glimpse of green eyes looking intensely at her.
- Writer
