01: Runaway Wolf

Chapter 1: RUNAWAY WOLF

A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE GREAT BATTLE BETWEEN THE SHE WOLF AND THE ROGUE LYCAN PRINCE.

It was the saddest moment in April Rose Darlington’s seventeen years of existence, having settled down to a decision to leave home for good. It wasn’t because of the series of horrific nightmares, the random waking up in the depths of the woods in the middle of the night, or the rampant bullying from her high school peers, saying she smelled like a wet dog. The difficult decision came full circle when she almost took her seven-year-old brother’s life under the shining moonlight two weeks ago.

April Rose couldn’t believe the fact that she’s a werewolf out of all the hideous creatures of the night when she could easily be anything other than the hairy monster. In the depths of her mind, she could be a cunning trickster of a witch or a vicious bloodsucking vampire. Perhaps she could also be a simple mortal human being, just like her crush, Jesse. Jesse was the first ever guy to show a bit of interest in her when almost every other guy in her high school was visibly disgusted by the way she dresses herself, the way she smells, and the way she’s not very fond of combing her long, dark black frizzy hair that extends all the way to her lower back. In spite of those, April Rose was actually a girl of such naturally alluring beauty. Her striking green eyes that she got from her deceased father matched perfectly with her supple caramel skin.

Pain blossomed inside April’s chest just as she jumped aboard the train going towards the rising city of Kingston, where her future awaits. Tightly grasping her small backpack, she was going to leave the simple town of Wolverhampton with the lingering thought that everything would hopefully be alright. She had high hopes that things would be better once she was out of her mother and brother’s lives. Not only that, there’s one less mouth to feed, but there’s also one less unpredictable monster to worry about.

“Excuse me, young lady. That seat’s already taken by someone; thank you.” An elderly white woman spoke, barring April from occupying the empty seat right in front of her.

“Oh, I’m very sorry.” April saw how the woman was giving her an obvious fraudulent smile. She saw right through the smile, immediately reminding her of those times when people would give her a backhanded compliment and then give her a fake smile in the end.

As the train began to move, April walked in a wobbly motion through the center aisle in hopes of finding an empty seat where she could finally rest. Her feet were already sore from walking over ten miles at the break of dawn just to reach the station by daylight. Thankfully, after sucking up all up the exhaustion, she arrived just in time, but she desperately needed to settle down. She found an empty seat right next to what seemed to be a family of three. The empty seat was right next to the man of the family, who was snoring noisily like a pig.

“May I?” April looked straight in the eye of the mother of the family, carefully gesturing towards the empty seat.

Instead of letting poor April take her seat, the woman yanked her young daughter, who was busy playing with a raggedy doll that had eyes made out of buttons, closer to her. She then grabbed a leather bag from the edge and then threw it exactly on the empty spot. “I’m sorry, it’s already taken.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, anyway.” already riddled with blatant disappointment, April nodded and looked away before her eyes eventually caught another woman waving in her direction.

"Come, darling, come!” read the woman’s lips.

Gritting with uncertainty, April gradually inched her way towards the sophisticated-looking woman. She could already feel the growing soreness in her ankles, and she had no other choice but to take her chances. There’s no way she’s going to stand for the next five hours of the trip. The young runaway was momentarily overwhelmed with shock once she saw the entire face of the woman who invited her. The other half of her face had visible scars, which seemed like they came from a tragic accident of some sort. The woman also had an eye patch, which tickled April’s curiosity. She thought it must've been from the same accident.

“That seat’s empty; you may take your seat, dear child," the woman said, tightening her leather gloves.

“T-thank you, kindly.” April breathed out, feeling a huge rush of relief that she could finally take a seat after hours of walking on foot.

“It’s only normal for people to be scared of it," the woman continued.

"I'm sorry, what?” April asked out of confusion.

“I’m talking about the other half of my face.”

“Oh, I-I wasn’t—.”

“It’s fine, darling; I’m used to it. I got these scars from a terrible accident that took my husband and daughter’s lives over a decade ago.”

“I-I’m so sorry to hear that," April muttered, feeling the need to express such empathy to a stranger.

The woman scoffed in response. “You don’t have to be sorry for me, young lady. The world is mad and cruel, and you don’t know me at all.”

“S-sorry, ma’am. I don’t mean to... I’m April Rose, by the way.”

“April Rose?” With her single eye, the woman glared over at April. She was curiously inspecting the young girl, who had recently run away from home. “Who gave you such a flowery name?”

“My mom," April blurted out. “She said she loved roses blooming in the month of April, most especially the white ones.” a wide smile curled in April’s lips followed by a quick memory of her mother flashing right before her eyes. Then the smile eventually faded into a frown when she realized she just left without saying goodbye, not even a note or a simple sign that she’s never going back. They’re probably already looking for her but it’s too late now. She has already made her decision and there’s no going back from it.

“Mhmm, loyalty," sighed the scarred woman.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“White roses symbolize loyalty," the woman uttered, bringing out a flip lighter and a stick of cigarette from her purse. “Anyway, I can see that you are traveling alone, young lady. Where are you heading to?” she inquired.

“I-I’m going to." April suddenly paused, thinking about the little escape plan that had formed in her head. She knew where she was going, but she just didn’t have any clue where the place was. “Is there any chance that you know where the Sun and Moon Academy is?”

“Did you just say the Sun and Moon Academy? ," the woman repeated, having heard the familiar academy for the first time in many moons.

“Y-yes. Do you know where it is? My mother told me my dad used to go there.”

“Oh, I see what’s going on here, young lady. You ran away from home.” The woman muttered, completely taking the young April by surprise.

“H-how did you know I ran away?” April trailed off; her voice was shaking.

“Oh, please." The woman rolled her eyes, subsequently lighting her cigarette and blowing the smoke right onto April Rose’s face. The young runaway coughed and tried her best to clear the air with her tiny hands. “Darling, I wasn’t born yesterday. Sun and Moon Academy is famous for taking up and fostering runaways.”

April Rose wasn’t relatively shocked by the trivia that the scarred woman had just told her. She knew what the boarding school was all about, and that existing knowledge had a huge influence on her eventual decision. Her mother once told her the simple story of her life. She was not a runaway but was rather forced by her parents to study at the Sun and Moon Academy just because she was different and they were ashamed of her existence. She’s the only fanged and clawed creature in their family. At the boarding school, she eventually met April’s dad, who was, in fact, a runaway, and they both fell in love with each other. Though April cannot remember anything about her father since her mother refused to talk about him, she knew she'd find Sun and Moon Academy a much more welcoming place.

“I was hoping to find the place. I don’t know where else to run." April began, she was already starting to feel great about the school.

The scarred woman took another puff of her cigarette, but this time she blew the thick smoke onto the side. “Well, I was once a student there. I could tell a lot of stories about that place, but for now, I’ll let you discover the place on your own. I’m sure you’ll find solace there.”

For the next five hours of the trip, April Rose had fallen into a deep slumber by the scarred woman’s shoulder, only to be awoken by her.

“Wake up, darling! We are only a few minutes away from your destination.” The woman tapped April by the shoulder.

“Oh, t-thank you for waking me up, Madame. I-I’m truly sorry that I fell asleep on your shoulder.”

“It’s fine, darling. It’s just like having my dead daughter again, but anyway, we are actually here already. My, oh my, time went fast!!!” the loud shrieking noise of the train stopping was the sign that April had already reached her next stop.

As the train gradually settled, April Rose stood up and took a deep breath. She’s a step closer to reaching the Sun and Moon Academy, the place she would eventually call home for the next how many months or so.

Seconds before April Rose Darlington could even walk away, the scarred woman put her to a halt. “Wait! Hold on, young lady. I have something for you.”

April turned around and faced the scarred woman as she frantically searched for something in her leather bag. “Er?”

“I’m going to give you this emerald pendant that I got from someone special while I was at the academy.” The woman stood up and approached the young runaway. “I want you to have this.” Immediately, she reached out for April, quickly locking the pendant around her neck.

“But—.”

“Shhhh.” April was just about to complain, knowing that she couldn’t take anything from a certain stranger, but the scarred woman shushed her. “I don’t have anything to do with that pendant anymore. And I do think it perfectly matches your strikingly beautiful green eyes and your supple caramel skin.”

“T-thank you so much, Madame.” April reached out for the pendant, and it actually looked shiny and pretty. She never had anything this pretty in her life.

“Also, I wrote the address of the school on this piece of paper.” The scarred woman then handed the piece of paper that she ripped from the back of her journal while April Rose was asleep. “You should be able to find the place in no time. Good luck on your journey, young lady.”

As soon as April Rose jumped out of the train, it became clear to her that she’s never going back home. Maybe at Sun and Moon Academy she’ll finally fit in. Maybe at the academy, she’ll find people who will accept her for the feral monster that she is. And maybe at the academy, she’ll find someone who will help her tame the growing she wolf within her.