4

Athena POV

 “I will wait for you right here” she nods, seemingly still deep in thought and not noticing the pointed look I am giving her at all.

3 rounds of scrubs later, I can still smell the rotten eggs on me. Perhaps those without a wolf might not smell anymore. But those who do have their wolf definitely will. Lucky for me nobody in school has their wolf yet, except for the teachers of course.

Saves me some grace, huh?

‘What grace? You have the grace of a bulldozer’. Ares snickers. I can’t blame her, I kind of do.

Stepping out of the shower, Millie is still in the exact same spot I left her. She looks troubled, but also.. fired up. Normally, I love that look on her. But now, when it could mean my demise, not so much. Much to my bewilderment though, she doesn’t say anything. Yet.

“Let’s get to class. Which ones do you have?”. I ask.

“I don’t know, which ones do you have?”.

“My roster will be different from yours, everyone has different courses”.

“Nope, I have all the same you do. Specifically requested it. And after that shitshow back there, I’m even more glad about that”.

“Wait, you asked to share all my classes? And they simply just.. gave it to you? Oh goddess, you are so going to get me killed here”. I groan.

“Alpha Menno may have pulled some strings here and there. Even though you are not his pack member, he cares about you, you know? And come on, grow a pair Ath! Where the hell did the firecracker I have come to love go?”.

“She was beaten into submission”. I laugh, but Millie doesn’t seem to find it amusing. If I’m being honest, they haven’t beaten me into submission. Just.. compliant, I guess. For my mom’s sake. “Let’s go snowflake”.

I grab her hand, and start pulling her back towards the hallway.  Have to admit I feel a little lighter knowing she isn’t dumping me just yet.

Just my luck though - the bell rings at the exact moment we enter the hallway. Yugh. I tense up for the onslaught Millie is going to witness. Millie though, being the absolute angel she is, squeezes my hand. Her shoulders are squared, and she walks with a level of confidence I can only dream of. I admire and adore this woman so much. Too bad we can’t mind link each other. Mind linking is a way to communicate telepathically with people inside your pack, when you have your wolf.

As always, everyone starts grinning and chuckling the second they see me. If only they knew I could rip them all to shreds if I wanted to. If I hadn’t promised my mom I wouldn’t show Ares, and if I wasn’t afraid of retribution against her. So many “ifs”.

As soon as they spot Millie, however, their chuckles and grins die down. Due to my wolf hearing, I can hear them whispering to one another.

“Who is she? And what is she doing with that thing?”.

“The exchange student is hot as f*ck. Bad choice in company, though”.

“Someone should tell her she needs to stay away from the fatty”.

As much as I try to tell myself I’m numb to everything by now, and that I don’t care what anyone else thinks, it still stings. Not as much as it used to, thank goddess. But, nobody likes to be this despised by literally everyone.

‘F*ck them. F*ck them all! I’ll rip their throats out and burn this pack down to the ground one day’. Ares seethes. Like I said – she has some anger issues. But, admittedly, I feel the same. I would take mom, luna Grace and – despite our issues – dad, and leave the rest to burn.

“Hey girl! You’re the exchange student, right? I’m Thalia, the Alphas’ girlfriend. Come with us, you don’t want to be seen with this one”. The cockroach laughs, with her friends snickering along with her.

Millie tenses up instantly. Looking at her face, I’m certain she would growl and show her teeth if she could. She lets go of my hand, and for a split second I still worry if she has finally come to her senses about her friendship with me.

“YO, ALL OF YOU, LISTEN UP!”.

“Millie, don’t!”. I whisper yell at her, looking around frantically.

“Yes, I am the exchange student. And I have ZERO interest in any of you being my friend. ESPECIALLY you, I don’t do bedwarmers for friends”. She looks Thalia dead in the eyes. “How utterly pathetic. One of the Alphas’ toys thinks she is special. Until they find their fated mate, goddess help the poor soul, and you will not even be a lingering memory”. She laughs, and I wince at the onslaught that is bound to follow.

“Now, all of you, stay the f*ck away from me if you know what’s good for you. Y’all have a fabulous day now”. She calls out, before grabbing my hand and dragging me to class. Normally, I would have sarcastically commended her for at least wishing them a fabulous day. But I am still in shock I guess.

The shock wears off quickly however, when Millie gets pulled back by her arm abruptly. It’s one of Thalia’s little minions, considering the b*tch herself seems to be too stunned at the moment.

“YOU B*TCH!”. The little tit screams, raising her hand to slap Millie.

And, right at that moment, something snaps inside of me.

I don’t care what they do to me, I’ll live. But nobody touches someone I love. I don’t care if you were an Alpha, or even the f*cking king. Nobody touches her.

Before Millie can make a move, I have moved to place myself in front of her already, intercepting her hand by grabbing her wrist firmly.

“What the…”. The little tit starts to seethe, but I cut her off. She didn’t see this coming, that’s for sure. And why would she? I have never once fought back.

“You do NOT touch her, do you hear me?!”. I squeeze her wrist just a little, causing her to scream out in pain. ‘P*ssy’. Ares comments dryly, and I have to agree with her. I barely used any strength at all.

“NOBODY TOUCHES HER!”. I yell a little louder than I intended to. But, I guess you could say the anger I have bottled up all these years is surfacing since they tried to touch Millie. “NOBODY!!!!!”. I yell once more, glancing around the hallway with a deadly glare.

When my eyes land on the 2 shit stains, my anger spikes, and a snap rings through the air.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!!”. The little tit screams, and I hear gasps coming from all around us.

“That’s enough, babe. You’ll get in trouble”. Millie whispers into my ear, and I let go of the wrist of the little tit.

“Who cares? School sucks anyways”. I reply more composed than what I am feeling on the inside. Millie grabs my hand and drags me away. I can feel their piercing gaze never leaving me, until we round the corner, out of sight.

“Well. Happy first school day!”. I smirk at Millie, before realization what I have just done sets in. I just.. feel so different when I am with Millie. And when I am at Red Runner pack. My insecurities don’t gnaw at me so badly with her, and I feel… srong sometimes. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing. Bad I guess, when you combine it with my protective instincts towards her.

“I just signed my own death warrant, but, hey, it was fun while it lasted, huh?”. I chuckle.

“That was SO badass! That’s the girl I know!! And the hell they will. If they even so much as touch you, they will have to go through me”. Yeah. It’s not them touching me what I am so afraid of. Let’s hope the little tit is insignificant enough to not earn the shit stains wrath.

“I know. But, you won’t be here forever, unfortunately”.

“Maybe you won’t either”.

“With my luck, I will”. I scoff.

“Maybe your mate is in Red Runner” .

“Maybe. But I doubt that somehow”.

Millie gives me a side hug as we round the corner to our classroom. When we enter, we seem to be the first to arrive. I normally sit at the front, but Millie drags me all the way to the back.

“Better vantage point”. We both say in unison, laughing as we walk to our seats in the left corner.

Other students start to pour in, each and every one casting a dirty look my way.

“Freak”. I hear one of them whisper, followed by some others and their whispers. I try to tune them out as much as possible.

“Alright, class”. Our history teacher comes walking in. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about his aura is… off. He looks different. And when he starts to speak up, I know exactly why that is.

“A last-minute adjustment to the course of today has been brought to my attention. Follow me”. His eyes connect with mine briefly, and I can read something that looks like mild panic in them. Whatever is going to happen, it’s not good. We never leave the room in this class.

“Field trip?”. Millie asks excitedly, but I don’t share her enthusiasm.

“Something like that”. I respond absentmindedly, while getting up from my chair. “Whatever happens, DON’T interfere Millie. I mean it”.