Prologue
"Rowena? How does it feel knowing you'll be a rogue in a week? I'm still surprised Alpha Andrew has let you stay this long after your parents proved just how weak they were. Don't you agree, girls?" Arianna loudly spoke in the hallway of the pack high school. She was living for the attention bullying me gave her. Her three minions, Lulu, Jane, and Coral, weren't much better. Between those four and the Alphas' son, Jameson, they made sure to make my life inside and outside school hell. But I've grown tired of being a doormat to their jeers. I promised myself last year that I would get stronger and grow. I wouldn't let the constant words, punches, kicks, and looks sent my way get to me. So I kept my head down and kept to myself. I didn't use to be this docile or submissive. I still wouldn't call myself that. However, to survive, I had to keep up the pretense that I was just a weak and broken girl.
"Please just let me pass, Arianna," I said, looking down at the floor and trying to appear as docile as possible.
"Ugh, fine Roweiner, I will be late for class anyway." I silently rolled my eyes and smirked before brushing past the small opening she provided. Roweiner was her newest nickname, it seems. It was... original. Who am I kidding? It was the lamest and stupidest nickname she could have come up with. I mean, she wasn't a straight-A student, but she also wasn't bottom of the class. Surely, she could have been more creative. I was not about to help her make fun of me, though. No. The best thing to do was to keep my eyes down, keep my mouth shut, and bid my time till I could leave this hell hole.
I sighed as I slipped into my seat for trigonometry in the back corner of the room and steeled myself for another two-hour lecture on formulas, triangles, and sin/cosine. Math was never my happy place; despite being decent at it, it never held my attention. Add in Mr. Halloway's boring and seemingly monotone voice, and you have a recipe for a snooze fest. Fortunately, I didn't need to pay attention to ace my tests or homework. So, instead, I spent the two hours of class writing, planning, strategizing, and thinking. Today's topic will be the days leading up to my dad's final moments. It's been eight years, but I have yet to try to remember or think about those days. It's probably not a smart idea to open that can of worms in public, let alone in class; however, it is the only time I get alone apart from sleeping. Unfortunately, the days leading up to a wolf's first transformation are some of the most important as far as health goes. If you want to have as seamless of a transformation, you need to know and accept yourself and try to have at least eight hours of sleep. It wouldn't hurt to also be in your best shape or not have any injuries prior, but in my life, that's a little hard to control.
As I mentioned, people do not particularly like me or enjoy my presence. Especially amongst the newer members of the pack. The ones who joined us when Alpha Andews beat my father in his challenge. Most of his old pack think that he should have thrown me out a long time ago or killed me like he did my mother when she refused to bow to him. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point of writing is to show people the truth. To tell a story and, in some cases, even to entertain or teach. I just hope my story does both.
