ORIENTATION DAY

Chapter Two

Chloe’s POV

ORIENTATION DAY

This was my second day in school, and things weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.

"Is the whole orientation thing going to take long?" I questioned my roommate, Rita, who was next to me as we both walked into the hall along with several other students.

This was it. A school full of werewolves, witches, and powerful creatures.

The academy was located in the central region, according to people. Children from different Alphas, Betas, and Omegas all attended this school. Most of the children, anyway.

It screamed power! Some were here to impress their parents, just like me too. Their performance here was going to determine if they were qualified to rule over their parents' pack or not.

The most loved Omega might end up working for those future Alphas and Lunas later on. It’s more like a hierarchy where everyone wants to climb the ladder.

"This is my first time here too. How am I supposed to know?" She snickered, a smile plastered on her face. Everyone seemed excited about the whole school thing. I guess I was the one with the problem.

Even though I was homeschooled throughout my life, I hated it so much.

We both sat next to each other on an empty seat while a man climbed onto the podium after a few minutes of waiting.

Everything around me went silent immediately while I got lost in my thoughts. I wasn’t ready to listen to whatever bullshit he had to say.

"Hey! What group will you be joining?" Rita hit my leg, whispering as low as she could, her voice slowly drifting me out of my thoughts.

"What group?" She looked at me with so much dissatisfaction.

"I thought you said Omegas barely do anything in this Academy. So why are you being concerned?" I whispered back, but it seemed I must have hurt her feelings with my statement.

She doesn’t know my real identity yet, so why was she being emotional?

My father had hidden my identity from the school. Not surprising. An Alpha who’s ashamed of his own daughter and wouldn’t want anyone to know she’s here.

An Alpha child who can’t even transform yet, born with a weak wolf. Yeah. That’s the kind of daughter I was, and he wasn’t proud of it.

"I'm sorry," I apologized immediately.

"It's okay. It seemed you weren’t listening, but there are some things Omegas will be doing too. Make sure to listen so you don’t end up being a target for the bullies," she stated while I nodded.

Bullies? I'm never getting bullied.

Time went on and different speakers kept addressing us. Their rules were bullshit to me, but what could I do?

"Uhm, we are so sorry, but the last speaker for the event won’t be here due to certain circumstances," the host announced, and a loud groan escaped from the room.

"You should fetch him here!" one of the students—a lady—shouted while others agreed. They all seemed to have attended the same high school before now, so they were able to relate to a few things.

"What’s happening?"

"One of the triplets was supposed to be here. He's a senior," she stated.

"Oh? And?"

"Most of the ladies here dressed up cute, wearing makeup and making their uniform tighter because they’re seeing him today. They actually don’t care about the whole orientation thing."

Oh!

"Fuck them! Thank goodness he didn’t make it here, because I’m not ready to listen to some stupid shit anymore."

"I’m sorry. Something came up and he couldn’t make it. We’ll be ending the program now," the host continued.

I watched as some of the students stood up and walked out of the hall, stomping their feet on the ground with angry expressions on their faces.

Rita and I mumbled on words, we kept on talking on our way out of the hall not until an incident brought up back to reality.

"Oh! I’m so sorry," Rita apologized immediately after she bumped into someone.

"Oh shit—" Rita cussed as her eyes landed on the person standing right in front of her.

No! Someone had bumped into her, and the hot coffee had poured on her shirt, but there was no reaction, more like she didn't have enough time to react.

The young lady stood there, watching as Rita apologized. Two girls who looked like her clones were behind her.

Gasps fluttered. Murmurs filled the air. Students were starting to gather.

This shouldn’t be a situation to fuss about. What the hell was going on?

"She’s in trouble again..."

Rita’s face went tight. Her hand clenched the hem of her skirt. She was really scared. I could see it from her face, the way she lowered her head immediately after making eye contact with the lady.

"Rita, you should watch where you’re going! Tf! Do you know how much this uniform costs? Do you think you’d be able to afford another one?"

I could already tell she was among the highest group of students in the school, judging by how well her uniform was well tailored compared to ours.

It also seemed like she knew Rita from before.

"I’m sorry," Rita apologized immediately.

"You’re sorry?"

Before I could process anything, the lady marched over and slapped her. Hard.

The sound cracked, followed by laughter and whispers. Like it was normal. Like she deserved it.

I couldn’t believe it.

Rita crumpled, one hand to her face, tears dripping onto the floor.

And no one moved.

I did.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted, stepping forward.

Silence.

Everyone turned.

I crouched, reaching for Rita. Her hands swatted mine away.

"Did I ask for your help?" she snapped, voice trembling.

Still, I saw it. The shame. The pain. The broken pieces she didn’t want anyone to see. She stood up on her own, leaving me crouched on the floor.

Was this the reason she had told me not to get involved in her life?

"Excuse you?" the girl scoffed, lowering her eyebrows. "And who do you think you are?"

I stood. "Chloe. And I don’t care who you are—you don’t get to put your hands on her. She’s a student just like you, and hitting someone this hard isn’t right."

"Ouuu! Look who we have here, everyone. An advocate," she mocked.

The laughter got louder as she slowly walked towards me.

"New girl," she said, brushing invisible dust off my shoulder. "You don’t know the rules. That’s why I’ll forgive you... this once. I think someone needed to make the rules clear to you."

Then her hand shot out—and slapped me.

My head snapped to the side, a sharp sting blooming across my cheek. I stumbled and hit the floor.

Suddenly, a wave of heat exploded through me. I didn’t know where it came from—but it felt familiar.

The copper taste filled my mouth. Blood.

Gasps again. This time at me.

She tilted her head. "You don’t want to make me your enemy, Chloe."

I stood slowly, hand on my cheek. Eyes locked on hers.

"Bitch," I said.

More gasps.

She raised her hand again. She was about to slap me, but I caught her hand mid-air before she could.

"Enough!" a man’s voice boomed, interrupting us all.

A tall man in a gray coat stepped in. He spoke at the orientation earlier, and i figured he was amongst the school officials.

"Everyone to your dorm. Now," he instructed.

"I’ll be watching you," the young lady said as she walked past us, followed by the other students.

---

I didn’t go back to the dorm.

I found an empty room and collapsed on a bench in the back, heart still racing. My cheek throbbed.

Why was I here?

Why was this place worse than home? I’d rather go on dangerous missions than deal with this crap.

I thought things were going well for me, but I couldn’t stand a friend getting bullied.

Footsteps approached outside the room. I didn’t move.

"I kinda liked her. She stood up to Anne."

"She’s done for," another voice said. "Anne’s going to make her life hell."

I froze. They were talking about me. They must’ve seen everything. A whole lot of students had gathered, so I bet they knew who I was already.

"Not just Anne. If she’s on Anne’s bad side, she’s on the triplets’ bad side too."

Triplets?

I’ve heard how powerful they were, and that was it.

"She might end up like Astrid."

Silence.

"What did you say?" a voice hissed.

"Don’t be stupid. You know what happened to her. They say it was suicide, but—"

"Shut up! Someone could be listening!"

Their footsteps disappeared down the hall.

I sat frozen, my mind spiraling, trying to wrap my head around what they just said.

Astrid.

I stood up, about to storm out of the room and look for the guys who had just mentioned my sister's name. I didn’t want to make wild assumptions.

I needed to confirm if my sister was really murdered or if she committed suicide.

Another guy suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Someone said I should hand this over to you." He handed me an envelope, leaving me in a state of confusion.

I couldn’t even get to ask who had sent the envelope before he walked right out of me.

I opened it, and there it was. I slowly read the letter, my heart beating fast with each sentence.

"You have to be careful, so you don't end up like your sister. I'm watching you."