The Human and the Alpha's son

(Jared POV) The countdown is on. There are exactly thirty days until we walk across the stage for graduation, and finally leave this hellscape of a high school behind us. Kay and I already have all the credits we need, and honestly, we’re taking full advantage of that fact. Most days, we show up just enough to keep the admin off our backs. We’ve both received offer letters from a few universities—three of them in common—but we’re stuck in limbo when it comes to choosing. I’m waiting for her to decide. Truthfully, I don’t care where we go. I just want to be where Kay is. I was offered scholarships for all my top five choices, thanks to hockey. Every school wants me on their team, but none of them stand out more than the others. The only constant in all this chaos is her. I’ve known it for a long time—I’m not going anywhere she isn’t. Makayla Roberts—Kay, as I’m privileged to call her—has been my best friend since we were five. She’d just moved to Riverdale with her parents and was immediately targeted by the local pack kids. I still remember that day on the playground like it was yesterday. Finn, my father’s beta’s son, had dared her to climb the jungle gym’s rock wall. Typical wolf behavior—cocky, territorial, needing to assert dominance, even as kids. Kay had made it halfway before freezing, fear rooting her to the spot. Her tiny fingers clenched the plastic grips so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her dark hair gleamed under the sunlight like strands of obsidian, cascading over her small shoulders. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks, silent and thick. Her eyes were shut tight, as if by willing herself blind, she could make the whole moment disappear. From the ground, the pack kids laughed and taunted her, led by Finn. I remember pushing my way through the group, ignoring their jeers, drawn toward her like something ancient in me had already decided she was mine to protect. Without hesitation, I started climbing. When I reached her, I spoke gently. “Hey. You must be new to Riverdale. I’m Jared. I can help you get down if you’d like?” At the sound of my voice, her eyes fluttered open—and I swear, I stopped breathing. Emerald. Bright, wild, and full of something I couldn’t name at the time. “Y-Yes, please,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. Step by step, I guided her down, matching her shaking movements with steady encouragement. By the time our feet hit the ground, the other kids had already wandered off, their attention spans short. “Thank you,” she said, brushing her cheeks and offering a shy smile. “I’m Kayla.” “Nice to meet you, Kayla,” I said, grinning. From that day on, we were inseparable. What I hadn’t told her—not then, not even now—was that I’d felt her presence before I’d even seen her. I was walking home from a boring errand for my mom when a strange, instinctual pull yanked me off course and toward the playground. Like something in my blood had recognized her before my mind had a clue. Maybe it was the wolf in me. Being the son of the Alpha of the FrostRiver pack came with its own kind of pressure. Expectations. Traditions. Everyone saw me as the next in line, the heir. But that day, I wasn’t thinking about duty or rank—I was just a kid who couldn’t bear to see someone left behind. Even if that someone was human. Now, years later, I leaned against the side of my Jeep in the student parking lot, arms crossed, waiting for Kay to finish P.E.—the one class she absolutely refused to skip. Everything else was fair game for truancy, but not gym. It was her outlet, her stress reliever. Or maybe she just liked showing off. The bell rang with a shrill echo through the air, and a flood of students spilled out of the gym doors. Among them, Kay emerged like a shot—sprinting toward me in her gym clothes, hair flying behind her in dark waves, a wicked glint in her green eyes. Her long legs moved effortlessly, muscles toned from cross-country, and her cheeks were flushed from exertion. She slung her backpack over one shoulder and launched herself into the passenger seat, breathless but grinning. “Hit it, JJ! Lyra is on my tail!” she half-shouted, laughter in her voice. That was all I needed to hear. Lyra was the last person I wanted to deal with right now—gossip queen, daughter of the Gamma, and someone who had a very one-sided idea of how we were supposed to behave as wolves. Without a word, I threw the Jeep in gear and peeled out of the parking lot, tires squealing in protest as we made our escape. Kay laughed again, rolling the window down and letting the wind whip through her hair. “God, that was close,” she said between gulps of air. “She cornered me by the bleachers asking if we were ‘official’ now. I almost told her I was seeing someone else just to shut her up.” I glanced over, smirking. “Oh yeah? Anyone I know?” She met my eyes with that familiar spark. “Maybe.” The tension between us, always simmering just beneath the surface, sparked for a heartbeat—but neither of us said anything more. Not yet. We had thirty days left. And everything was about to change.