CHAPTER TWO: YUP! THIS WAS A BAD IDEA

This was a really bad idea.

They’re both looking at her like she’s the answer to their prayers, the very air to their lungs, while their mating scent invades my own lungs so much that I nearly gag. They never stop staring at Aurelia even as they finally come to a stop, and I know why. Everyone knows she’s going to be an alpha female at some point because her wolf is strong, a born leader, and her human side is incomparably beautiful.

All the things you need to be on the alpha’s sons’ radar.

As for me? Everyone knows I’m only ever going to be an outcast. It’s because I really, really don’t belong in this pack. Caeli is all about reputation and utmost control, of unrivalled intellect and centuries-old knowledge that are the very bones of our existence. Each pack in our world has its own unique purpose. Caeli’s is record-keeping and the continuous search for better, more proficient pack medicine, something that has been installed into me since I was a pup.

Live for the Pack a creed every wolf here breathes by. Every wolf except for me.

As my mum puts it, I’ve always been too wild, too uncontrollable, and in general too nosy for my own good. I’m sure that’s the sole reason most of the teachers at this academy absolutely hate me and most likely the reason that my adopted brother sometimes pretends I’m not really his sister. Being an embarrassment to the shifter world is weirdly something I can live with. But being an embarrassment to my own family is the only thing that’s kept me from running away.

Damn, I need more wine if I’m going to think about my family.

The alpha’s sons, Dumb and Dumber as I’ve nicknamed them, just gaze with wide eyes at Aurelia. Their expressions are almost panicked. Aurelia watches back and sighs. It always makes me laugh at the simple fact that she stares down future alphas who will no doubt one day fight for the chance to be pack leader, and subsequently, crown her alpha female only if she, in turn, chooses them back.

But I don’t know if she will. Aurelia is picky about her guys, a lot like me. Not that many have been interested in the girl who doesn’t belong here. Beyond their curiosity, I’m usually too different for them to look at twice.

The alpha sons may be handsome and muscular, both of them built like dump trucks, but for as strong as they are, there’s not a lot going on upstairs under their thick, white-blond hair. My point is proven when they both stumble for a second on what to say to Aurelia. They scratch their heads, no doubt in search of a cheesy, overthought chat-up line, and then one of them says something that surprises even me a little.

“Would you like to come and dance to the song that is playing? I heard you say it was your favourite once.”

Aurelia appears almost happy that one of them noticed she likes the song that’s playing.

She looks at me, and I nod.

“Go. I’m going back to my room with the wine.”

“Okay, see you back there later,” she replies with a big smile.

The two of them quickly wander off down the corridor, and I hear her laugh a while later as I take another long drink of the bottle. A warm buzz floats down my body, the wine finally kicking in, but then I notice I’m left alone with the other alpha’s son who I can never remember the name of. Every girl at this academy, other than me and Aurelia, has got their names memorised and written down in their diaries with love hearts.

I know she doesn’t do silly stuff like that just because we share a room and have done since we both came here when we were eight, like every young pack member. Their names come back to me now as I gaze at them: Mathi and… Dammit, I can’t remember what the other one’s name is.

I stand and fake a big yawn before trying to walk away. But Mathi reaches out and grabs my arm, stopping me. I knew it was never going to be that easy. These alpha-holes rarely ever take a hint.

I narrow my eyes on his brown ones, a big contrast to my light grey.

“Let. Go.”

A smirk slides over his lips.

“No. Why should I?”

He moves closer to me, lining up our bodies, and the disgusting thoughts circling in his head are written on his face as clear as day. This asshole better back off. He can’t touch me; his father himself accepted me into the pack, which means I have the alpha’s protection until he isn’t alpha anymore. Of course, I worry about what will happen to me if the next alpha, AKA Dumb or his brother, Dumber, becomes alpha. But that won’t be for some time yet. Right now, my focus is to get this unwanted paw off my body.

At the sight of me trying to wiggle my arm free, his smirk deepens into a malicious smile. He tightens his grip and pulls me closer, bringing his lips to my ear.

“You and I both know no one would notice if you went missing. You are just the outcast, the red wolf in a pack of white purebreds.”

He jolts me harder against him, his hands leaving bruises on my arm, but I refuse to turn away, to even wince at the pain.

“Actually, that begs the question as to why you are still here. I’m surprised my father let you into the academy at all, half-breed.”

Searing rage slams into me at the insult. Half-breed is the delightful nickname purebreds use for wolves like me; a subtle reminder of our so-called inferiority. Well, that’s what they like to think. Anyone who’s called me a half-breed usually walks away with a black eye.

I ball my hands into fists.

“Maybe your dear father likes my mum a little too much. He does always seem to be admiring her.”

The wolf’s smile fades, and I inwardly chuckle at his stupid expression. So easily provoked, these young alphas. However, my satisfaction is short-lived. With a growl, he slams me into the wall, and I gasp from the impact. He presses his thick forearm against my neck, holding me in place, and the air dies in my lungs.