3

“Hey, there!”

Emma looked up from her half-picked cafeteria lunch, her eyebrows raised in surprise. The voice was sweet and sugary, yet somehow mischievous, like someone about to convince you to buy weed-flavored bubbled gum in detention.

A petite girl with cotton-candy pink hair and soft, almond-shaped eyes was in front of her with her hands playfully balanced on her hips.

"I'm Tammy, and you must be the new girl, Em. We were in the same English class."

Wow. This girl had a lot of audacity.

“My name is Emma.”

“Yeah, I know. But I’m obviously going to be calling you Em. So Em, how’s it going?” Tammy plopped herself down into the seat across from her, kicking her feet up like she owned the place.

Emma blinked. Twice.

She had both audacity and tenacity.

Tammy’s outfit was... definitely something. She wore deep green Capri pants with combat boots that had silver buckles running halfway up. Her black hoodie hung off one shoulder, and a knitted gray beanie sat unsteadily on her head, failing miserably to contain the wild crown of pink that framed her face. She looked fun.

Before Emma could respond, the cafeteria doors creaked open, and in came a group. Sarah and her gang probably. How many times in a day will her eyes be punished? The clack of their sneakers on tile echoed like a mini parade. They strutted in, still in their gym clothes which was basically tight shorts, translucent tops and glistening skin.

“Oh, those guys?” Tammy followed her gaze, rolling her eyes so dramatically Emma worried they’d roll out of her skull. “They always wear their gym clothes to show off some skin. It’s technically against dress code, but the school twerks for their parents. Literally.”

Tammy stuck a piece of imaginary gum in her mouth, chewed noisily, and flipped her hair over one shoulder. “I’m Sarah. I love short shorts and lip fillers. Can you guess what else I like?” she mimicked in a mocking voice. Emma burst into laughter, hiccupping between bites of her dry sandwich.

“She might be a little cranky,” Tammy added, her voice low. “Don’t mind her one bit. All that’s in her empty head is to be chosen—”

Wait.

“Chosen?” Emma echoed, her eyebrows furrowed. “Like… for what? A competition?”

“Well, yes. A competition. Oh baby, you do not know. You can’t possibly know.”

“Oh please, Don’t you leave the new girl hanging. I could give you a million dollars for this gist.”

Tammy grinned. “You’re crazy, Em. I like you.”

“Soooo...?” Emma drawled.

“She wants to be chosen by the Alpha King.”

“The what now?” Emma blinked.

“The Alpha King,” Tammy repeated, dropping her voice to a whisper. “You know... werewolf?”

Emma almost choked on her fruit juice.

“For a school play? That’s what this is about? For the love of—”

“No, no.” Tammy leaned in closer. Her perfume warm vanilla with a hint of marshmallows, which tickled Emma’s nose. Her voice dropped even further. “Werewolves.”

Emma blinked.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!”

“Look, Tammy,” she said, her eyes darting around the room. “Are you messing with me? Is this some weird welcome ritual? Did someone put you up to this?”

Tammy placed a hand dramatically on her chest. “Girl, calm down. You’re hurting me. There are werewolves here. It’s best you hear it from me. It’s still kind of a secret... but it’s an open one.”

Emma scanned her eyes quickly. “Wait. Are you...? Are you for real?”

Tammy smiled coyly, then took a slow sip from her juice box like she was building tension in a movie.

“Yes,” she finally said, popping the straw out with flair. “I’m a werewolf.”

Emma’s jaw went slack. Her heartbeat raced so fast she could practically hear it echoing in her ears. “This is... insane.”

She quickly began to scan the rest of the cafeteria. The guy two seats away, was he? That girl with sleek black hair and sly eyes, was she one too?

“Em, stop staring. Some people don’t like it when other people stare at them.”

“Oh. You mean werewolves. Wait. Do they like fight here?”

Tammy shrugged. “Every high school has fights. I’m sure your old school had its fair share of drama. Sorry to burst your bubble, Em, but nothing really exciting happens here. You’ll probably forget about all this soon enough.”

“Forget?Tammy, this is real life. Hold on,” Emma said, narrowing her eyes. “Why is the Alpha King choosing a mate from high schoolers? That’s... kind of creepy.”

Tammy burst into laughter. “Em! He’s our age. His name is Noah, but everyone calls him the Alpha King. The title kinda stuck.”

Emma raised a brow. “Wait... Noah?”

She blinked.

Suddenly, it clicked. That guy from the school secretary’s office. The one who had walked out just as she was being registered. That tall, brooding silver-gray eyed guy.

“That guy,” she murmured. “He came out of the office earlier when I came to school. He was pretty tall and was wearing a dark hoodie.”

Tammy nodded. “Yup. That’s the one. Though, he’s got an extreme case of Main Character Syndrome.”

Just then, a guy approached their table. He had broad shoulders, a clean-shaven face, dark brown eyes like melted honey.

“Hey, I’m Rakesh.”

He extended a hand toward Emma, who blinked dumbly at it for a full fifteen seconds before she realized she was supposed to shake it.

“Oh! Hi. Emma.”

“She told you already?” Rakesh turned to Tammy with a smirk.

Emma tried to play it cool. “Told what? What are you talking about?”

“Relax, Em,” Tammy said, laughing. “He’s a werewolf too. He can literally feel your heart pounding.”

“Oh my god,” Emma whispered, eyes wide. “Are you guys psychic too?”

“Not exactly,” Rakesh said, chuckling. “We can mind-link. It’s how I knew where to find you.”

Emma’s brain was about to blow for the second time that day.

This was so not how she expected her first day to go. Of all the two hundred and thirty five possible scenarios she had imagined, this was not one of them.

Tammy grinned. “I hope this isn’t too much for you, Em.”

Emma reached across the table, grabbing her hand. “Are you kidding? This is the coolest thing ever. Gosh, I’m so jealous.”

“Well, it won’t stop us from having the best time ever. You, me, and Rakesh. We’re the new dream team.”

A shadow fell over the cafeteria as a tall boy strolled in. What was in this town’s water? Why was every guy over six feet?

Emma turned slightly. “Who is that?”

But Tammy waved it off. “No, that’s Jake. One of Noah’s close friends.”

Oh. She hadn’t realized she asked the question out loud. Or maybe her face was just that transparent.

“So, the Alpha King doesn’t come to school much?” she asked casually.

“Nope,” Rakesh replied. “He pretty much does whatever he wants.”

“Well, that sounds like a typical modern bad boy.”

The three of them laughed like they have been friends since forever.

For a moment, Emma let herself breathe. Maybe this new town wasn’t so bad after all?

Then a thought occurred.

“So you guys, I’m human.”

Rakesh snorted. “Yeah, you pretty much smell human.”

“Gee, what does that even mean?” Emma chuckled.

Before he could answer, the bell rang. Emma groaned. She had been so caught up in this wild, bizarre werewolf adventure that she had forgotten she still had three more classes to go.

Trays clattered. Backpacks swung across shoulders. A girl howled. Was that a thing here?

Tammy waved. “See you later, Emma!”

“You too, Tammy. You too, Rakesh.”

Tammy turned and disappeared into the crowd with ease. Bloody hell, did she have super speed too? Probably. Just fantastic.

Emma stood slowly, still spinning from it all. Werewolves. Actual fucking werewolves.

“This is nuts,” she muttered to herself.

“That’s strange,” Rakesh said, his voice low

Emma turned as she completely forgot that Rakesh was still behind her. “What’s strange?”

“Noah,” he replied. “He... smells different.”

Emma's eyes lit up. “Noah? As in Alpha King Noah?”

He gave her a curious look, one corner of his lips twitching. “Yeah. That guy.”

She strained her neck, trying to catch another glimpse. Suddenly, her 5’6” height felt miserably inadequate so she couldn’t see shit

“Be careful, Emma,” Rakesh warned. His warm brown eyes darkened to a deep amber. “Stay away from him.”

And just like that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving her with a thousand unanswered questions.

Great.

That was spectacular advice. Only one teeny, tiny problem.

How exactly was she supposed to stay away from someone at a school she just got to?