Chapter 6

Zahra's POV

Sabrina, Kelly, and Rosa. Otherwise known as the High Heel Hyenas. They’ve made my school life a slow, stupid kind of torture since I set foot in high school.

Here’s the part that would surprise most people. I’m actually a brainiac.

Technically, I should still be in eighth grade, but two years ago my middle school recommended I skip ahead. I got my hands on the paperwork and filled it out before my dad even noticed. I’m fairly sure he still doesn’t realise I’ve been in high school this whole time. Zach has stayed silent, and my dad would have to speak to me to discover it, which is never going to happen.

When I started high school at twelve, ninth-grade work wasn’t going to cut it. My teachers pushed me into sophomore classes quickly. By the end of my first year, I was already taking junior-level courses. Now, at fourteen, I’m in my senior year. I’m set to graduate at the end of this academic year.

To make it worse, I’m also taking online college courses in Computer Tech, Maths, and Economics through the state university. Mr Varner, my maths teacher, helped me apply to their dual-enrolment program for gifted students. He’s always there if I need help, though honestly, I rarely do.

My schedule is packed, but I like it. School used to be mind-numbingly dull. Now it’s finally challenging. Sometimes. At the rate I’m chewing through credits, I’ll finish high school and head straight into a degree. I’ve already applied to a handful of colleges to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics online. PPE fits. It makes sense for the life I’m building.

There’s no way my dad, or the Alpha for that matter, would ever let me leave the pack to go away to college at fourteen, so online is my only option for now. It works out. It means I can keep training too. By the time I finish my degree, I’ll almost be old enough to try out for elite training. Then I’ll have everything I need to lead, or at least build something of my own.

So why do I put up with the High Heel Hyenas.

It’s not that I couldn’t take them. I definitely could. But they’re small-minded, and fighting them would be a waste of my energy. Their whole ambition is to become mates to future leaders and slide into ranked status like they earned it. Plus, fighting back would draw attention I can’t afford. Attention leads to questions. Questions lead to my father. I’d rather swallow my pride than hand him new excuses.

So, for now, I keep my head down, endure their nonsense, and bide my time.

The morning drags, as it always does. Before I know it, we’re all being swept along toward the cafeteria like an adolescent herd.

I grab a tray without bothering to check what’s on offer. Mystery meat and soggy vegetables are a regular feature here. Food is food, and this is the only proper meal I can count on each day. Most days it’s this, plus a granola bar and an apple in the morning. Barely enough to keep me going with how much I train.

I drop my tray at our usual table and wait for Sienna and Abby to show up. I don’t care what’s on the plate as long as it fills the ache in my stomach and keeps me upright through the afternoon.

Abby is an omega. Her mum owns a local diner. Her dad is a community gardener. They’re the kind of people who make you feel like you’ve stepped into a warm hug the moment you walk into their space. Abby and I have been friends since kindergarten. On my first day, my hair was a complete disaster. No one at home had helped me get ready. Abby sat me down and braided it like we’d known each other forever.

She’s been my best friend ever since.

We’ve never shared any classes, but she’s like a sister to me. I missed her terribly when I moved up to high school early. Being able to have lunch with her again is one of the few things that makes this place bearable.

Sienna and I met on my first day here too, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. Her schedule has been normal, so we don’t share classes anymore. Her parents are pack warriors, strong and skilled and terrifying in the way people admire. Sienna’s following in their footsteps. She joins me for extra sessions sometimes, but she doesn’t have the same obsessive drive I do.

Sienna has a social life. A family that actually likes her. And none of the relentless need to escape that keeps me running on four hours of sleep a night.

Lunch is our time. We catch up, swap stories, and pretend the world isn’t a mess for fifteen minutes.

While I wait for the girls, I scrape the last frosting off my science textbook with the edge of my fork and shove another mouthful of cafeteria food into my mouth without tasting it.

I’m blissfully tuned out.

Until a voice so smooth it could talk its way into a locked room slides into my space.

“Hi. You’re Zahra Larkin, right. Beta Larkin’s daughter.”