Zari

Chapter 3 - Greene with Envy

***Clint

Training this morning was far more difficult than any of us expected. While keeping our large human feet on the narrow planks of the females’ obstacles was challenging, doing so in wolf form was even more arduous. One would think using four smaller paws would make the passage easier, but he would be wrong. Just as we would pick up any speed, a hind paw would miss the plank, sending the wolf to plummet painfully against the plank or ground. Who knew agility training would lead to such humility? I have a feeling that humility was one of Head Warrior Allen’s main goals for this task.

Following morning warrior training, all students go to the cafeteria for lunch. Because Elite is owned by the pack and because we are werewolves who just finished training, the cafeteria is set up differently than the public school’s cafeteria. Rather than buying meals, the food is provided by the pack and is set up in a buffet style, ensuring each student will be well fed as they recover from training. As I enter the cafeteria, I realize we are the first there. The girls must have finished training after us. We all walk over to the buffet and I grab two plates, loading them heavily with food. Since we were little, we’ve been told that one benefit of being a werewolf is that shifting burns a substantial amount of calories. When you also factor in our accelerated healing, we end up requiring a higher caloric intake than a human would. After grabbing drinks, we all return to one of the long tables and take a seat.

“What do you think the warriors were talking about this morning?” Adam asks before taking a bite of chicken and dumplings and humming in appreciation for the Southern goodness.

I think for a minute. I am not sure what exactly it was about, but I have to admit, I have a feeling I know who the “she” is that they were discussing. Shrugging my shoulders in response, I take a bite and look up to see exactly who I suspect that “she” to be. Her light blonde hair is pulled back in a bun set in place by two pencils, most likely because her rubber band was snapped during training. Her uniform shirt is strained against her chest and her uniform skirt is awkwardly angled because her rounded butt is lifting the backside of the pleated skirt higher than the front side. Unlike other females, Jaylie has a thicker build. Her body has a muscular base, but she holds a little more weight than other girls, giving the muscular form a softer, curvier appearance. Most female werewolves are thinly built, resembling the supermodel Kate Moss that every male seems to adore. Humans call it the “waif look”. Jaylie is built more like Marilyn Monroe, but with a flatter stomach and rounder rear. I must have been staring a bit too long, because her green eyes just made contact with mine, her full lips pulling together in a pouty, pensive look as though she is trying to figure out why I was staring. To avoid any more awkwardness, I turn my attention to my plates and start eating.

Once we finish, we all head to class. Elite is set up using the classical education model, so rather than bouncing from class to class, the twenty-five of us all head to one large room. Our class has one teacher, as do all four grades. Desks are set up to create a semi-circle so that all students can face each other as well as our instructor. We move from one subject to the next when a segway allows for it, seeing how each subject is actually part of all other subjects in one way or another. Our instructor begins with some new information, then questions us so that we learn through discussion with one another just as Socrates taught his pupils. It also helps us to understand a healthy pack mentality because we have learned to appreciate that the information provided by our instructor was heard differently by all twenty-five of us due to our individual gifts and life experiences. We then learn what the other students picked up on as we discuss things together.

I enter class and sit at my desk. I chose this spot on the first day because it is next to the window so I can see outside to either protect my class from approaching harm or so I can relax by watching nature, it faces the doorway so I can respond if someone hostile were to enter, and it is in the perfect position to steal a few glances in Jaylie’s direction without others noticing. Yeah, there is that soft spot Adam mentioned again. Seriously though, the girl is brilliant so I have the added benefit of learning so much more while watching her as she speaks in class. I almost wonder if those are the only moments she speaks during the day.

Our teacher begins with trigonometry as usual. He says if we knock the math out first thing, we won’t be too tired to listen. He tells us about a new application before asking the class what answers they got on specific homework questions, then asks if anyone got some answers wrong so that other classmates can go to the chalkboard to show how they got the correct answer. Shaliece raises her hand about a question she answered incorrectly, insisting that the answer key the teacher holds is actually incorrect. It is her usual defense of incorrect answers - someone else is wrong. Dr. Maddox sits at his desk to calculate the problem himself to double check it out of respect for Shaliece, as usual.

“Did you get highlights yesterday? Your hair looks blonder than usual,” Robin asks Shaliece as we wait.

Shaliece turns toward Robin with a haughty look, “My hair is naturally blond, thank you!”

“Oh. It just looks lighter today is all. You know it is pretty either way,” Robin replies in an attempt to appease Shaliece. Shaliece is the daughter of my father’s Beta, Curtis Greene. Somehow, she has gotten it in her head that she is my mate and tries to convince our peers that she outranks them. Lucky for me, mateship doesn’t start until our 21st birthdays, and I plan on being away in college for mine.

“Jaylie, will you please go to the board and show Shaliece how to solve this equation?” Dr. Maddox asks as he starts clearing his desk of the paper, math books, and calculator.

Jaylie stands from her desk and begins walking to the board. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her worn burgundy loafer tap the open side pocket of Shaliece’s backpack, releasing the contents; a box of blonde hair dye. She pretends to have tripped a little as she continues to walk to the board.

“You need to watch your fat ass, orphan!” Shaliece snaps.

At the same time, Brian points at the box on the ground, “Yeah, real natural blond, Shaliece!” He bursts out laughing, “I guess the carpet doesn’t match the drapes!?”

“Shaliece, I will not tolerate that kind of language in my classroom, nor your hostility toward Jaylie’s family status. If you would tuck your backpack against your desk properly, peers would not trip over it. Brian, please refrain from making such crude references, no matter how veiled you believe they are,” Dr. Maddox says, lifting one eyebrow at Brian.

It is no secret that Shaliece hates Jaylie. When we were all little, she tormented her for being orphaned. It wasn’t like Jaylie was the only one living in the Children’s Home; it’s just that the other kids all knew their parents were killed during the wars. No one knew anything about Jaylie’s past except the vague comment that she was “found”. As we got older, jealousy also played into it. I was in second grade when I was asked by Todd at recess who I thought the prettiest girl was. All the boys liked Shaliece, so they were shocked that I said that Jaylie was. That was the same year Jaylie’s eyes changed from a turquoise blue to peridot green. Once we were at Elite, Shaliece basked in the attention she got from other males, while Jaylie still looked like a little girl. Well, she was only 12. Two years later, Jaylie returned from summer break with two noticeable additions tucked beneath her oxford buttoned uniform shirt. Every male noticed and Shaliece had a new reason to hate her. Not that Jaylie seemed to care; she seemed as though she was unaffected by both Shaliece and the stares she was receiving from the males. I have a feeling the training injuries Jaylie sustained over our first three years at Elite were primarily inflicted by Shaliece. I can’t help but smirk at what Jaylie just did in class, her own tiny act of self-defense in a way. I look up to see Jaylie has proceeded to finish the equation on the board as if nothing had occurred, ignoring all of the talking that followed her “accident”.

“Please make notes from the equation solution on the board, Shaliece. Does anyone else have a question in reference to last night’s math homework?” Dr. Maddox asks, drawing us all back into our opportunity to learn. “If not, we will then move from mathematics, founded by the Greeks, to werewolf history, which also finds its origin in Greece. As you all know, the Moon Goddess herself resided on earth for millennia. Her longest and final residence was in Greece. It was there that she brought 10 humans to her temple, gifting each one a wolf that carried two of her traits. These were the first alphas. Clint, as future Great Alpha, can you tell us their names and which two traits each had?”

I take a deep breath and begin, “Remus, male of Greece, was gifted with strength and love. His mirror twin, Romulus, was gifted with agility and wisdom. Wepawet, male of Egypt, was gifted with battle strategy and endurance. Leto, female of Norway, was gifted with leadership and compassion. It is said that she was nearly eight feet tall. Morrighan, female of Ireland, was gifted with ferocity and magic. Esa, male of Southwestern U.S., was gifted with creativity and discipline. Tiangou, male of China, was gifted with intelligence and stealth. Ainu, male of Japan, was gifted with speed and protectivity. Apparently, he was the only alpha to stay in his original area, Japan, out of his desire to protect his offspring. Xolotl, male of Mesoamerica, was gifted with courage and music. He was rumored to have immunity to fire, but that has not been proven nor has it been revealed to be a gift from the Moon Goddess. Finally Amarok, female of Alaska, was gifted with intuition and athleticism. It is rumored that her fur shone a deep midnight blue in the daylight, giving her camouflage at night. All of the first alphas and subsequent werewolves were gifted with beauty, accelerated healing, longevity, and a mate that she created specifically for each wolf.”

“How did the werewolf population grow, Robin?”

“Each of the first alphas were gifted 5 mates by the Moon Goddess, all of whom were human. When the human was mated and marked, they became a werewolf as well. The first alphas all lived for about 1,000 years. Like werewolves now, their newly turned mates’ life spans were approximately 200 years old, so the alphas, minus Ainu, traveled the world every 200 years in search of their next mate. Each alpha had children with each of their five mates. Their children many times traveled the world in search of their mates as well, many of whom were humans that were turned, spreading werewolves throughout the world,” Robin explained.

“If we are all descendents of the first alphas, why are we not all alphas?” Dr. Maddox asked.

Good question, I thought. I could almost hear the metaphorical crickets chirping. I look around the room to see everyone is dumbfounded. Well, almost everyone.

“Yes, Jaylie?”

“Our current alphas are believed to hold inherited traits from more than one of the first alphas, giving them stronger alpha blood than the average werewolf, say three to four of the first alphas. The six Great Alphas are most likely the descendents of even more of the first alphas, probably six to ten. With matings to humans over time, many werewolves are the product of just one or two of the original alphas, limiting the number of their gifts and weakening the alpha blood. As human mates had been turned, it is understandable that they would not pass down any of the twenty traits. Unfortunately, with many archives burned during the wars, there is no way to prove the theory as written lineages no longer exist. Some human scientists do believe that DNA research might eventually be used to trace specific human traits down the road. In theory, that has potential for werewolves, too. Honestly, all of this - the lineage and DNA - is all hypothetical, but has decent foundational logic to support them,” Jaylie responded, while writing in her notebook. Every time she is idle, she is writing in that notebook.

“Excellent answer, Jaylie. This brings us to our next discussion: Biology. Please pull out your biology text books and open to Chapter 21. Today, we will be practicing Punnett squares.”

As usual, Jaylie leaves her textbook in her bag and continues penciling in her notebook. I wonder what is in those pages.

*

I watch the analog clock click on 5 p.m. “Okay class, please try to get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s exams. Your ACT will be first thing in the morning and your class exams will take place in the afternoon. In addition to your GPA, these will be an important part of your placement in class at graduation,” Dr. Maddox states. With that, Jaylie picks up her already packed backpack and bolts through the door as usual while the rest of the class is shuffling books and papers into their bags. I shake my head, partly amused and partly saddened that she doesn’t connect with her peers. Then again, she really doesn’t have peers.

“Soooo, Clint. You think you’ll be able to beat Jaylie’s scores for first in our class?” Todd asks.

I look at him incredulously. “Freaking Einstein couldn’t score higher than Jaylie. Hell, he’d probably sit at her feet in an effort to absorb some of her knowledge!”

“Language, Mr. Ralston…” Dr. Maddox calls out to me as I step into the hallway.

Todd, Adam, and Brian chuckle at my remarks. They know I am not wrong.

“Dude, you think your dad will be okay with it?” Adam asks.

I suck in a breath. I hadn’t even thought about that. My dad. Every Great Alpha has graduated first in their class, both in academics and as first warrior. I know I have the first warrior position, but not academics. What would that mean? Would it affect my ascension to Great Alpha one day? Would the Atlantic Territory Pack protest it and have me challenge Jaylie? My full body shudders at that thought. While I would do my best against her in a battle of wit, there is no way I could willfully kill her to prove that I am the top warrior. The thought nauseates me.

“Clint?” Adam snaps me out of my thoughts. “You okay?”

“Let’s just see how the tests go. As long as I keep beating you in warrior challenges, I at least have the first warrior position. That has to stand for something, right?” I reply, trying to convince myself and lighten the mood all at once.

We all get in our cars and head back to the pack house. Our pack buildings are built in a semi circle in the mountains, surrounded by dense forests, with the packhouse in the center. Only the Great Alpha’s family lives within the actual packhouse. The top floor is set up like a ranch-style mansion, while the rest of the building serves as provision of the pack’s needs: a massive dining hall and kitchen on the first floor, a ballroom and conference rooms on the second, alpha and beta offices and guest rooms on the third. While all of the buildings are built right next to each other, the packhouse is still miles from Elite, which is the very last building on the left side of the semi circle. The only building not within the semi circle is the children’s home, which is the second largest building on the pack grounds and is located directly behind the packhouse. Head Warrior Allen built it there for safety reasons: the child to adult ratio within that building was high, which would leave far too many children vulnerable if we were ever attacked. While the highest number of orphans have aged out of the home, we do still take in every orphaned werewolf child in the entire Atlantic Territory. Other buildings in the pack are similar to those found in towns. We have a movie theatre, restaurants, a bowling alley, apartment complexes, and a mall, just to name a few. The Blue Ridge Pack is smaller than most others in our territory, allowing my father the ability to rule over all of the packs. Still, we do not lack anything.