Chapter 6

Aria.

I leaned against the cafeteria wall, my shoulder throbbing faintly as I scanned the hallway for Lila and Maya. I rubbed my shoulder as the pain subsided for a second. I frowned, wondering why it seemed to flare whenever-

“Aria!”

I turned in the direction of my name and saw Lila and Maya through the crowd, running towards me. I smiled as I saw my best friend and walked towards her.

“There you are,” Lila said before pulling me into a quick hug. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. How’s your first day going?” She asked and I forced a smile as I nodded at Maya who looked around us as if scanning for trouble.

“Oh you know. Just a typical day for the new girl. Was bullied by both the teachers and the students and I tripped over someone’s foot in class.”

Lila winced. “That’s horrible. My classes were fine, most of them were with Maya so I had good company at all times.”

“Lucky you.” I muttered, adjusting the strap of my bag before sighing heavily. “But hey, at least I got detention for standing up to some girls, Mia and Tasha, so I guess silver lining?”

Maya's eyes widened at the mention of the nasty cheerleaders. “Mia Carter and Tasha Greene?” She asked and I shrugged.

“I don’t quite remember their last names and to be honest I could care very less about that.”

“Let me guess, Mia is the one with blonde hair, cheer captain, black eyes and mean smile?”

“Yes that one.”

“And Tasha is the one with short wavy pink dyed hair and light green eyes. Doesn’t really think for herself and follows after Mia?”

“The dumb one. Yes.” I responded as Lila chuckled but Maya didn’t find it funny as she sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

“Aria, you’ve got to be careful. You need to stay clear from Mia and Tasha. They are both in Rank 2. They are daughters of the Elders and though they look like weak perfect Barbies, they have claws, painted and manicured but they are not afraid to use them.”

“Look Maya. I don’t know how things run around here but I am not afraid to stand up for myself. I can handle them.” I said, rolling my eyes. I didn’t really like Maya and I didn’t like her telling me what I needed to do.

But Maya didn’t look convinced as she scanned the cafeteria and I noticed her expression growing serious before she turned back to me.

“Listen Aria…I heard something earlier. Did you talk to Kai Blackthorn?”

I froze, my stomach twisting at the mention of his name. “Yeah, why?”

Maya’s face paled and she grabbed my arm, pulling my closer as Lila and I exchanged confused glances.

“Aria. You need to stay away from him. Do you even know who he is?”

I frowned, snatching my hand away from hers and brushing my uniform in nervousness. I didn’t miss the scared look on Maya’s hazel eyes. The same fear that had been in her eyes this morning at my locker.

“He’s just some arrogant jerk who thinks he’s better than everyone else. Why?” I asked as Lila looked confused at both of us but I just shrugged my shoulders at her.

Maya shook her head, her voice dropping to a whisper as she ran her hand through her hair worriedly. “He’s not just some jerk. He’s the future Alpha of the Ravencrest Pack and Quarterback of the football team. Do you know what this means?”

I blinked, my heart skipping a beat at the mention of Kai Blackthorn as the future Alpha of the pack. That explained the aura of dominance and superiority around him. But it didn’t explain why he would speak to me. A mere stray.

“I don’t understand. So why would he speak to me? Twice.”

“Twice?” Maya’s eyes widened in shock as she shivered. She seemed to be panicking and I started to feel scared too as Lila tapped my shoulder in reassurance

“Oh moon goddess! Aria, look. I don’t know what Kai wants from you but he is ruthless. He might look like a perfect boy on the surface but don’t let the pretty boy act fool you. He’s dangerous. And if he is talking to you, it’s not because he is interested. He might be testing you. And trust me, you don’t want to be in his radar. I would suggest that you apply for a locker transfer so you are not within his vision.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing a million miles in a few seconds. Kai was the future Alpha? That explained why everyone was watching us when he spoke to me earlier. The way everyone moved aside when he walked and the commanding presence. And yet, there had been something in his eyes when he looked at me. Something I couldn’t quite place.

“But.. he didn’t seem that bad,” I said slowly, remembering the smile he gave me before walking away earlier. But as the words left my mouth, I almost didn’t believe them.

“Yes, he’s not bad. But he’s terrible. The worst of them all. That’s what he wants you to think. But, trust me Aria. Kai Blackthorn isn’t someone you want to mess with. Stay away from him. For your safety and the sake of your people.”

My stomach knotted as I looked at Lila who gave me a worried nod. “Maybe Maya’s right. I don’t know who this Kai is but if he’s the son of the alpha who tore through our pack with no mercy and destroyed our home and forced us to be here, then it’s best if we stay away from his path. For all we know he could be reporting about us to his father.”

I nodded, running my hand through my hair. “Great. Just what I needed, another reason to hate this place. No offense Maya.”

Maya gave me a small, sympathetic smile. “None taken I would hate it too if I was forced to leave amongst my enemies. Come on, let’s get some food before the line gets too long. We’ll talk more when we are seated.”

I nodded, following them as we joined the queue and Lila was talking about her first class and how a Raven girl had spoken to her kindly and wanted to know more about Silverwood. When she finished we, I cut in.

“Maya?” I asked as she turned to me for a second before grabbing some food and placing them on her tray. “Earlier we were at my locker and you realized Kai’s was next to mine. You freaked out. Was that because you knew it belonged to him?”

“Yes. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to scare you but that locker used to belong to a past student who had transferred from Ravencrest last year.”

“Why? What happened?” Lila asked as she waited for us to grab our food before we all walked to an empty seat in the filled hall.

“There was this guy. He was a Rank 4 or so. He thought it would be funny to mess with Kai’s locker so he broke into his locker and hid his jersey or something. You know, just a stupid prank anyone could play on each other, that kind of thing.”

I raised an eyebrow as Maya continued as we took our seat.

“When Kai found out, he didn’t just confront him. He challenged him to a fight in front of the whole school. It was brutal. Kai was ten times stronger than he is. He broke both his arms and banished him and his family from Ravencrest.”

A chill ran down my spine. “Over a prank?” Lila asked and Maya nodded grimly before she started eating. I gave Lila a worried look and just as I started to eat, someone walked to our table.

“Well, well. Look who’s trying to fit in.” My stomach dropped at the sight of Mia and Tasha standing in front of our table. I didn’t miss the way Maya visibly flinched as she nearly choked on her food.

Lila stiffened beside me and looked at me in confusion.

“Mia and Tasha. What do you guys want?” I asked irritatedly as Lila gasped at the mention of their names.

“Nothing. We just want to formally welcome you both and along with your friends to Ravencrest High, that’s all.” Tasha smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Get up. Both of you.” Mia ordered immediately and I didn’t miss the group of boys that came to stand behind our chairs and I looked at them worriedly before turning back to Mia.

“Why?” I asked, my voice shivering as I tried to keep steady despite my heart racing in my chest.

Mia leaned in, her face just a few inches from mine. I could scent her perfume and see her perfect glassy skin. “Because I said so. And because your little stray friends are over there waiting for you.” She said, gesturing to the center of the cafeteria where a group of Silverwood wolves stood huddled together, head bowed and looking scared.

“They are waiting for you to join them.” Tasha finished. I looked around the cafeteria that had gone silent, all eyes on us as they all had similar wicked smiles on their faces while the others didn’t even care as they watched.

“What is going on?” Lila asked worriedly as she looked at our pack members at the center of the hall.

Mia smiled. “Don’t worry, little stray. You’ll see. Now get up. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Maya stood up slowly, her hands shaking as she looked at Mia and Tasha who frowned at her interference. “Uhm, Mia and Tasha. I don’t think—”

Before she could finish, Mia’s hand shot up in a blink of an eye and slapped Maya across the face with a loud crack. Both Lila and I jumped at the sound as it echoed through the silent cafeteria and for a moment, everything seemed to stop. My heart pounded in my chest and Maya’s face snapped to the side, her cheeks reddening and her eyes widened in shock.

“What gave you the right to speak to me, Rank 6? You don’t think, you obey me.” She said, glaring at Maya before she turned to me, her smirk had vanished and she looked even more scary now.

“Now get up, both of you.”

Lila was on her feet in an instant and I felt a surge of anger rise in my chest. “How dare you hit your fellow classmate?” I asked angrily.

“Fellow classmate?” Tasha laughed, her voice filling the intense air. “That brat is even less important than what I have for breakfast.”

But before I could respond Tasha signaled to the guys behind us. And immediately the Ravencrest students stepped forward and grabbed both Lila and I, yanking me to my feet as one of them pressed hard into my shoulder causing me to scream in pain.

“Stop this!” I shouted but it fell to deaf ears as they dragged us to the center of the cafeteria where the other Silverwood wolves stood, their faces pale and their eyes widened with fear. I stumbled after them , my heart racing as the entire cafeteria watched in silence.

They shoved us amongst the others and I staggered to remain on my feet as I clutched my shoulder, my visit in blurring as I felt warm blood seep through my uniform.

Laughter echoed in the distance as I turned to see Mia and Tasha stand in front of us. From the corner of my eyes I could see Maya still standing in shock, not looking at what was happening. But I noticed the tear falling down her cheeks.

“Attention everyone! It’s time for our annual tradition. The Stray Welcome!”

The room erupted into cheers and laughter and my stomach churned as Lila looked at me fearfully and I gave her a warm smile of reassurance. I glanced around, my chest tightening as I realized what was happening. The Silverwood wolves were completely surrounded by the Ravens, closed in like a pack of wolves circling their prey.

“What’s the stray welcome?” I asked softly as Mary, one of our pack members answered under her breath.

“I heard amongst the Ravens earlier that it’s a ‘welcome’ for new strays.” She said, her voice low so that only us could hear as I noticed someone wheel in a large table filled with food and I frowned in confusion.

“They throw food at us. It’s supposed to be funny.” She finished and my heart sank.

Funny? This was humiliation, plain and simple. It was a subtle act of show of power. Display us like outcasts in front of the whole school and throw food at us.

“Aww guys don’t look so sad. This is our way of welcoming you to Ravencrest.” Mia laughed before she stopped aside. “And who better to start than our future Alpha.” She said and the whole hall erupted into cheers.

“Kai Blackthorn!” She announced cheerfully as everyone clapped and cheered again very loudly.

My stomach twisted as I turned to see Kai standing in front of the crowd, his arms crossed across his chest in an arrogant posture. A smug smile on his face. And for a second, his eyes scanned through my people before it landed in me. I imagined I saw something flicker in his gaze, hesitation?

No. Because it was gone in a second, replaced by that cold arrogant smirk that I was starting to hate.

“Care to do the honors, Kai?” Tasha asked as he stood in front of the table.

“Why not?” He said, his voice smooth and casual but filled with a tone of authority and power that sent shivers down my spine.

I watched him pick up a tray of spaghetti, his blue eyes locking onto mine as he smirked coldly.

“Welcome to Ravencrest, little omega.”

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