Chapter 002

Chapter 002

“Shit”

Jaime cursed for like a hundred times since waking up today.

By the time he reached the school, he was already four classes late.

He looked at the clock at the hallway, 11.00am, he could still believed that he had fainted out of no reason, for 4 fucking hours.

“Damn it…” he whispered under his breath.

There was no point rushing now. The teachers would already have marked him absent. Another strike against his already tarnished Image.

He leaned against the cold lockers for a moment, chest tight.

He still could not figure out why the pain, and why did it feel personal to him. Was it related to his wolf…

Or was it something worse?

The whispers, the rumors, they weren’t entirely lies.

He rubbed at his chest, right over the empty space where a wolf should have been.

Only silence answered him.

“Watch it, freak,” snarled Damon, Alpha Derrick's son, slamming his shoulder into Jaime in the hallway. His friends laughed like it was one of the funniest jokes.

Jaime stumbled against a locker but said nothing. His books spilled to the ground. No one stopped. No one helped.

“Still haven’t found your wolf, Rowan?” Damon said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Ohh sorry Beta Rowan is not actually your father.”

The nearby student erupted in laughter. Some brought out their phones to video. But in everything, Jamie chose to remain silent. Like he had always been.

He took all the pain and mocking in silence. Not giving his enemy the privilege of seeing him crumble.

“Maybe he left his wolf behind in the test tube his dad made you in.” Another cohort of Damon said.

Laughter. Again.

The sting didn’t come from the words. he’d heard worse, much more worse that a point he had become used to it. Choosing to suffer in silence. But the pain was much worse from how easily everybody believed it. And how often he had actually questioned himself.

Jaime crouched down to pick up his books, but Damon was not yet done. He stepped on the book that Jaime wanted to pick.

“Hey trash, who are you ignoring like that?” He asked, his expression turning ugly.

Jaime ignored him, nit in any way phased by his threats. If not that Damon was the alphas son, he would have retaliated by now. But it wasn’t just that… something else was preventing him from retaliating. 

The empty feeling since this morning was Still there. It kept on bugging him, like part of his other half was missing.

“Hey, the future alpha is talking to you” another cohort shoved Jamie, forcing him to look at Damon who had an enraged face.

“Acting touch right?. Now I will enjoy beating you until you beg that I stop.” he raised his hands, 

Jamie braced himself for the blow. Not at least affected by anything.

“Hey stop you two” a sharp voice stopped the blow from connecting with his jaw.

It was one of the teachers. And by the look of things, he was equally strong and didn't tolerate nonsense. 

“Mr Braddock, this is our pack issues, stay away” Damon scowled at the teacher,

“This is school ground, you can do your pack business in your pack, not here, Mr Damon” the teacher's unrelenting voice retorted. 

The hallways fell into a deep silence, everybody waiting for what Damon would do. Jaime raised his eyebrows at the teacher. Apparently the teacher was new and didn't know how things worked.

Who was Damon?

He is the heir to the greencreek sector. After the war, the world was divided into different sectors that can also be known as a pack.

They called it the United Twelve Sector, but there was nothing united about it.

The world hierarchy had fractured during the war. Human governments collapsed , with some of them retreating into underground bunkers with their arms and weapons. Leaving only the supernaturals, that's the werewolfs who treasure their territory more than anything to be at the forefront of the war. 

Bearing the brute attack of the aliens. 

After the war, they banded together and divided the world into twelve regional sectors, each the size of a continent, ruled by the strongest of their kind, which is the Alphas, guarded by Betas, and held in check by the new laws that were put in place for their own benefit. 

That was the power of an alpha, rolling thousands of werewolves. The type of power that Damon had, but seeing a common teacher willing to challenge him for justice. 

Well it was the first of its kind.

Jaime tightened his fingers around the edges of his books, waiting for the world to explode. 

He could feel the anger coming from Damon the most, because he is a beta. Or rather was the supposed beta. But Damon had rejected him years ago. 

But to the surprise of everyone…

Damon gave a mock salute, eyes gleaming with smugness.

“Yes, Mr Braddock.” He spat out the title like it was an insult.

Mr Braddock’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing more.

Teachers didn’t challenge Alpha blood in the first place, him standing up to him was already enough.

Damon and his pack finally drifted away, but not before Damon turned back, slow and deliberate, eyes locking onto Jaime’s.

Who struggled to look away with every streght he had, but Damon was using his alpha instincts to keep him in place.

The world around them seemed to fade.

Damon’s smile curled into something crueler, colder.

“You know why you never became a beta, right?” Damon said, low enough that only Jaime could hear.

Jaime stiffened, Damon had poked at his soft side.

Damon leaned in closer, his breath hot and poisonous against Jaime’s ear.

“Because weak bastards like you don’t get the title. You get left behind to rot in your misery.”

Jaime’s nails dug into the skin of his palm.

“You are a disgrace to your father, a disgrace to this pack, and you are a disgrace to the whole worthy beta guards at large.” Damon spat, stepping back, arms wide like he hadn’t just destroyed Jaime’s honor and pride. 

Jaime’s throat burned. His heart thundered against his ribs. His vision blurred with anger. Deep injuries he had buried resurfaced again.

He wanted to say something.

Wanted to do something.

But the words wouldn’t come.

He felt something stirred at his chest, it was a flicker, subtle that if he had not been too focused to calm his inner self down, he wouldn't have noticed it.

But as soon as it came it vanished 

Replaced by the familiar emptiness.

Damon laughed softly at his silence, shaking his head like he pitied him.

Then he turned and swaggered down the hallway after his friends, leaving Jaime alone.

With his honour shattered.