The Lost Princess (sequel to The Lost Alpha)

Her Best Friend

"Maxi! It's time for school!" she heard her Aunt Franki call from the hallway outside her door. Maxine Gabel was a 15-year-old she-wolf, and she hated school.

She loved her teachers and she loved to learn. What she didn't love, however, was how she was treated by her peers. Her whole life, for as long as she could remember, Maxi had been bullied for being different.

"Come on, Maxi, you don't want to be late!" her aunt called again. Maxi sighed as she finished getting dressed. She put her white, curly hair up into a messy bun, then grabbed her phone and her bookbag. She opened the door to see her aunt's face.

"Finally!" Franki said. "I have breakfast waiting for you downstairs. You can eat quickly before you head to school."

"Ok, Aunt Franki," Maxi said. She followed Franki down to the dining room and sat down at their assigned table. Omegas were assigned tables to eat their meals. They were all given breaks throughout the day so they could eat their meals.

Her aunt had made French toast with eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries and toast. Maxi poured herself a glass of orange juice and proceeded to eat her breakfast. When she was finished, she put her dishes in one of the dishwashers. Then she said goodbye to her aunt and left for school.

Maxi took her time walking to school. The weather was beautiful, but she really dreaded school. The other kids had always treated her cruelly. For one, she was the only one who had been born with pure white hair. She also had amythst-colored eyes.

Another reason she was bullied was the fact that she grew up in the pack's orphanage. She'd been taken in by her aunt and uncle, who worked and lived in the orphanage when she was just an infant. Her parents had died in a car accident.

Franki and Chad couldn't have a child of their own so they didn't hesitate to take in their niece. They'd raised her with manners, morals and respect. It was another reason she was bullied; they thought she acted like she was better than everyone else.

Maxi took the shortcut through the woods. It was one of her favorite places to be. Connecting with nature brought peace to her wolf and herself. She also loved the water and the library, as she loved to read.

Maxi arrived at school just as the homeroom bell was ringing. She ran quickly to her homeroom and made it just before the final bell. She took her seat towards the back of the room and waited for the teacher to do roll call.

The first half of the day went by with no drama. However, lunch was a different story. Maxi had just sat down to eat her meal when she heard a high-pitched, nasal voice behind her.

"Hey, Lindsey, look," came Sydney's voice. "If it isn't our royal guest, Maxine." Sydney was one of the children who lived in the orphanage and was Maxi's biggest bully. Lindsey was Sydney's best friend and tagged along like a puppy dog.

Maxi just rolled her eyes without even looking up and ignored the girl. This didn't make Sydney very happy. She hated being ignored.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," she tried again. "Are you deaf or something?"

Maxi sighed. "Please go away and leave me alone," she said.

Sydney laughed. "Or else what? Are you going to throw us in the dungeons, your majesty?" she asked mockingly. Lindsey just stood there laughing at her friend's antics.

"You must think you're a snow princess or something with that white hair," Sydney teased. What she would never admit, even to her best friend, was that she was secretly jealous of Maxi's hair. Sydney's was a dull brown color with no waves at all. Maxi not only had white hair, but it was also curly.

Sydney had been orphaned when she was 12. Her pack had been attacked and only a handful of members survived, mostly children. Three years later, she was still at the orphanage because no one wanted to adopt older pups. She was bitter because of it. She also knew that Maxi had a family, since she lived with her aunt and uncle, who'd been working there for years. That also made her jealous of the other girl.

As she continued to taunt Maxi, a teacher walked in and heard Sydney's loud voice right away.

"Is there a problem here, Sydney?" the teacher asked her.

"No, Miss Burns, I was just talking to Maxi here," Sydney replied with a smirk.

"I suggest you leave Maxine alone and eat your lunch elsewhere," Miss Burns said.

Sydney gave Maxi one last dirty look before turning around and leaving the cafeteria, with Lindsey trailing behind her.

"Are you OK, Maxine?" Miss Burns asked after the girls left.

"I'm fine, Miss Burns," she replied. "Thank you."

"I know those girls have been giving you a hard time for as long as she's been here," Miss Burns replied. "If you ever need help, please don't hesitate to talk to me."

"Thanks, Miss Burns. I appreciate it," Maxi said with a smile. Miss Burns went back to her post while Maxi finished her lunch before heading to her next class.

The rest of the day went by with no more drama. After school, Maxi walked home through the woods, heading up to her room to change into her work uniform. She was on kitchen duty that night, so she headed down to help prepare dinner.

After she served dinner and cleaned the kitchen with the rest of the omegas, Maxi ate her own dinner before heading back to her room for a shower. After she showered and brushed her teeth, she settled in to do her homework.

That's how Maxi's days usually went. School, work, homework, then bed, except on the weekends. Then it was work until two; after that she had the rest of the day to herself. Sometimes she'd sit in the library or the garden with a book.

Other days, she would hang out with her only friend, Sandi. Sandi was only a few months old when she was orphaned. Her parents were rogues and had been killed. Unfortunately, because her parents were rogues, that made Sandi one as well, and no one was willing to adopt a rogue pup.

Maxi and Sandi grew up together and had always been more like sisters. When they came of age, they were given a room to share with a huge walk-in closet and a private bathroom. None of the other omegas had rooms like theirs, and it made them all jealous.

Just because Maxi wasn't technically an orphan didn't make her any different in their opinion. Just because she lived there with her aunt and uncle didn't mean she should get special treatment in their opinion.

Jealousy led to more bullying of both girls. Unfortunately, Maxi always got it worse than Sandi. It always made Sandi feel bad, and she did her best to take care of her friend whenever possible.

About a week after her last encounter with Sydney, Maxi was in the school library with Sandi. It was after school hours, but the two girls had research to do for a project. They had science together and had to share the project.

"So, your birthday is coming up," Maxi said. Sandi was only a month older than Maxi. "Are you excited?"

"What's there to be excited about?" Sandi mused. "I won't be able to shift or find my mate for two more years."

"True, but it's only two years away now," Maxi countered.

"Yea, only two years," Sandi said. Even her wolf was rolling her eyes.

"You'll be able to train," Maxi tried again.

"Big whoop," Sandi said, waving her finger in the air. "Not like I'll ever be a warrior or anything like that."

"Maybe, maybe not," Maxi said. "But at least you will be able to defend yourself if you're ever attacked. At least you will stand a fighting chance of survival."

Sandi looked at her friend and then smiled. "You're right, Maxi," she finally said. "Leave it to you to always see the positive in everything."

Both girls giggled before returning to their research. The next few weeks went by without much incident. There was occasional bullying from Sydney and Lindsey, but nothing major. Miss Burns kept a close eye on the girls, giving Sydney less opportunity to bully Maxi.

When Sandi's birthday came, Aunt Franki made a cake. After the omegas cleaned up from dinner, Franki gathered Maxi, Sandi and Chad to have a little birthday celebration. Since Sandi didn't have any family, Chad and Franki treated her like their own, just as they did Maxi.

Since Franki didn't have a lot of money, she made Sandi a few dresses for her birthday. Of course, Sandi loved them. She always appreciated the clothes Franki made for her.

Maxi had managed to scrape enough money together to get her friend a friendship bracelet. It had a crescent moon charm, a wolf charm and a BFF charm.

"Maxi, this is beautiful!" Sandi exclaimed. "I love it, thank you so much." She hugged her friend tightly. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten."

Maxi returned the hug. "You're very welcome, Sandi," she replied. "You've always been more like a sister to me and I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me."

After they ate the cake and cleaned up, everyone went up to their rooms. Sandi and Maxi had homework to do before they went to bed.