Chapter 2

"Wade!" I screamed amidst breathing fast. I was scared and at the same time glad that I just saw someone that I knew— literally the only person on the street.

" What in God's name are you doing out here by this time?" I questioned while looking around to know if I'll see my 'stalker' 

"Jeez, chill out sweetheart, I was just doing my morning jogging when I saw you running. Did you see a ghost? Because your face looks like you saw one" he asked mockingly while trying to suppress the laughter that was already springing up from the side of his lips.

I just hate the fact that this guy looks crazy hot even in the dark and he's taking my breath away— the brief run has taken half of my breath away and he was taking away the rest!

Wade Daniels was a complete model figure. His hazel-green eyes can make anyone, like anyone, fall for him. Coupled with his impeccable smile that always exposed the one-sided dimple on his left cheek, his charm was irresistible. His height was intimidating and just to make things worse, his chiseled abs and broad shoulders were barely hidden behind the thin piece of jersey he wore. Anyone could see the jaw-dropping, killer body of Wade Daniels.

"Hello!" He said finger-clicking and pulling me out of my wild imagination.

"Look, I have to get going. I'll see you in school" I said as I made an attempt to walk out. His cold palms came in contact with my left elbow and I felt a tinge of warmth crawl up my skin.

"Your water bottle", he said in a hushed tone as he slowly bent over, picked up my water bottle and handed it over to me.

I swallowed hard. 

"Is this guy trying to be a gentleman or what?" I thought.

"Thank you", I whispered in a mocking manner.

Taking the water bottle from him, I turned and jogged back home– I was jogging, not because I wanted to exercise my bones but because I was scared that someone might come out of the shadows and give me another hot chase.

*******

"Hey Jenn, how're you been feeling since last night?" Diane said, peering at my face.

"Can you get your nose out of my face, young lady? Someone might think that you're a lesbian with the way you're poking your face into mine" I said, plugging in my earpiece.

"Come on. Tell me about it. How did it feel?" Diane whined.

"Dee, you have heard this same gist for like a million times. There's nothing special about shifting and trust me, it's not worth all this hype" I replied nonchalantly, in a bid to escape the conversation.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal because you can easily shift unlike some people," Diane replied. 

I could perceive the sadness in her tone. Diane is a Gamma werewolf and she's yet to shift into her wolf form although she will be clocking 17 in a few months. She refers to herself as a mini-werewolf and sometimes a pup because her primal instincts are still very much underdeveloped. 

This has made her question me endlessly at the end of every shift on each full moon. I'll have to give her a detailed explanation of what it feels like to shift into the wolf form and how I manage to dress up after shifting back to my human form. Talking about it was so tiring because Diane would always cut me short in between the explanation and ask an annoying question that would make me start explaining all over again.

That explanation phase was always hellish and I hated talking about it but Diane has never shifted before and the only thing that made her feel less tense after each full moon was my shifting experience stories. 

But today, I was hellbent on not telling that same boring story again. I decided to change the topic this time.

"Dee, you're yet to tell me about your mate, or haven't you met him yet?" I asked, tilting my head to rest against the hard surface of the brick wall of my classroom.

My desk was in the corner of the classroom. I love sitting by the wall, that way it'll be easier for me to go unnoticed during a quiz session.

"I didn't meet him at the last pack meeting. I guess my mate is not in my pack or maybe the moon goddess didn't make a match for me" Diane said, childishly pouting her lips.

"Don't worry, you'll find your mate soon" I said, patting her hands that were on my desk.

"Talking about mates. You, Jenna Wilson are yet to find one as well" 

"Tch. Dee, you already know that I'm not interested in whatever that has to do with a mate and the moon goddess shit. The fact that I'm living far away from every werewolf pack simply indicates that I don't want to have anything to do with them" I replied, smacking my lips.

"Jenn, you can't run away from who you are. No matter how much you try to avoid it and wish for your werewolf form to go away, it won't go away because it is still within you. It is a part of you and the earlier you accept that fate, the better for you."

"I don't want to accept this fate. This is not the life I want to live. For God's sake, I want to be a medical doctor and not some wild animal running in the forest whenever I'm agitated or angry. I want to save human lives, Dee, not prey on humans" I could feel the rushing emotions beneath my words.

"Jenn, you know it's funny that you want to become a medical doctor even as a beta werewolf that you are. You are a werewolf Jenn, you'll crave blood at times and what will you do when you start craving human blood during surgery? Come on, baby girl, life doesn't work the way it does in your head" Diane chipped in.

"I'll find a way to survive with this curse. I just need some time to figure it out, '' I said absent-mindedly. My head was already filled with thoughts of how to suppress my werewolf side and live normally as a human.

"Well…. While you're still figuring out how to live as a werewolf doctor, you also need to figure out how to stop Wade Daniels from boring a hole into your head" Diane teased.

"What? Wade Daniels? Is he looking at me for real" I asked inquisitively, trying so hard not to look in the direction of where Wade sat.

"Yes sweetheart, since you're not interested in finding your mate, you can probably start by dating a human. That is what we call 'substitution' in mathematics" Diane said with a mischievous smile plastered on her face.

"Eww. I don't have time for that overrated cheesy stuff that you all do" I said with a disgusted look.

"You're just boring. Get a life Jenn, you won't be a teenager again" Diane retorted, giving me a 'tongue out' expression.

"Spare me the sermon miss" I replied, taking a glance around the classroom.

My classroom was filled with noise and loud chatter could be heard from different corners of the classroom. Vera, the gossip queen was seated right in the middle of the classroom, running her mouth as usual while her information-hungry audience gathered around her, giving her the premium attention she always craved.

At the extreme of the classroom is April, the classroom president, doing what she knows how to do best— reading. April is a cute, tall Indian girl and half the guys in my class once had a crush on her or probably still have a crush on her but she's not the one to give you attention if you're not talking about things related to academics. Rumors have it that her parents put a lot of pressure on her and always compare her to her younger brother and that is the reason why she reads so much to prove herself to her parents. I believe the rumors to be true because why would someone read every day of her life without talking to anyone? 

And at the back of the class, we have the indifferent Kimberly Clarksville, nothing seems to interest her as she always kept a straight face. The look on her face would make you wonder if she is forced to attend school every day. She'd scroll through her I*******m reels non-stop, raising her head at intervals to look around the noisy class.

And just like in every typical classroom, there is always that handsome basketball player, whom everyone assumes to be a playboy. Girls always drool whenever he passes by but he never seems to take notice of the girls in my class. He can never be caught without his headset, drowning himself in loud music. That "playboy" is Wade Daniels. 

Wade Daniels is the only guy in Camelot Academy that has gotten dangerously close to finding out about my werewolf side. 

"Jenna Wilson!" A familiar voice screamed my name, jerking me back to reality.

It was Carmen's voice.

"You're needed at the Principal's office right now" Carmen roared authoritatively, tapping on my desk.

"And what happened to Good morning? Or you were not taught to greet people whenever you see them for the first time in the day?" I replied, raising my eyebrows provocatively.

Carmen has always seen me as a rival ever since I transferred from Lincoln High School to Camelot Academy. I won't blame her though. The fact that the guy she had a crush on, doesn't even spare her a glance. And Yes! your guess is right– she has a crazy crush on Wade Daniels.

Wade Daniels, on the other hand, had eyes for just one person—ME. The love triangle is so boring and draining because I have to deal with the deathly stares that Carmen sends my way every time she catches Wade looking in my direction. 

"Look, young lady, I'm not here to barter words with you. Your presence is needed at the Principal's office"

"Alright," I replied as I watched Carmen catwalk to her desk. Phew! so much ego for such a tiny creature like Carmen.

"Hey, Dee, I'm going to the principal's office," I said, tapping on my best friend's back. She was probably lost in her world of fantasy as she stared out the window absent-mindedly.

"Wilmington's office? Why?" She asked with her eyes wide open.

"I don't know" I shrugged as I stood up to briefly adjust my skirt.

In Camelot Academy, whenever your presence is requested in Mr. Wilmington's office, it indicates two things. One, you're in trouble. Two, you'll be in trouble soon. The principal's office is one place that I've successfully avoided ever since I came to Camelot Academy.

"Why does the principal want to see me?" I wondered as I briskly walked towards the door.

I could feel the eyes of my classmates, shooting lasers in my direction.

"And hey, you might want to adjust your shirt properly because your parents are also in the principal's office," Carmen said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. 

Ugh! Such an attention whore. 

My heart skipped a beat immediately I heard Carmen say that my parents were in Mr. Wilmington's office.

My palm became sweaty and my legs became too heavy to carry my body.

What could have gone wrong? What are my parents doing in my school? 

These questions rang in my head as I made my way down the hallway that led to Mr. Wilmington's office.

When I got to the office I met my foster parents discussing inaudibly with Mr. Wilmington. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson adopted me after my parents' death when I was just eight.

"Here she is. You can now speak with her in the reception area. It's a pleasure meeting you both" Mr. Wilmington's voice roared as he shook hands with my father.

Mr. Wilmington is a man with a smallish stature and one might mistake him for a student but whatever he lacked in height, he made up for it in character. His voice is deep and authoritative which made everyone in Camelot Academy dread his office.

"Hi mom, what's the issue?" I asked quizzically as we stepped out of the Principal's office and into the reception area.

My mom looked at my dad briefly as though she was searching for answers in his face. Then she turned to me.

"Jenn, we had a visitor last night"

"Ok…" I dragged the word on, rolling my eyes and patiently waiting for the rest of the information.

"We had a visitor from your birth-pack last night. He said his name is Adolph and that you're invited to the pack's meeting that will be held on the next full moon," my mom was talking very fast as though she's been burdened with the information she just passed on.

"The man looked really dangerous," my dad chipped in. "Did you notice anyone stalking you or something like that recently?" 

"No dad, uhmm I'm ok" my voice was shaky. 

How did the werewolf pack discover my existence and where I live after nine years? It seemed as though my past was catching up on me really fast.

"Will you go on a brief vacation again? Maldives, Singapore or Italy? Where do you wanna go this time" my mom asked with a worried look on her face.

Anytime I get an invitation for a pack's meeting, we either relocate or I travel out of the country for a brief vacation. It was just an escape from meeting other werewolves. I wanted to live like a normal human being just like my mom and dad.

"I'll go," I said.

"What?" My parents shouted simultaneously, staring wide eyed at me.

"I'll go to the pack's meeting" I reiterated to let the information sink in.

"It's high time I stopped running away from my past. If I'm going to succeed in finding out my real parents' murderer, then I have to start with going back to where I was born", I thought to myself as my parents stared at me in awe