6 - First of Last

Sophia's POV 

Three days had passed quickly with nothing much happening. Typical day at the packhouse training with my brothers, doing some of my duty as the Alpha's daughter, like patrolling around the vicinity, teaching some wolf kids some basic stuff about our pack, helping she-wolfs fix some stuff back at their home, and most importantly, visiting the jail to ensure my bloodthirsty parents and brothers haven't randomly killed some criminals or rogues just to pass time as they always claim to be bored or blowing off steam. The elders were pestering me about it last time when we saw each other at the community council meeting. They keep on reminding me that they still need them to give us information and spill some details about what is currently happening in Redburg City, the city in which all of the towns are trying hard to avoid. Redburg is a shady place; they won't allow visitors, but they still attend the yearly banquet of the peace treaty to prevent clashing with Woodhill, Bloodbury, and Cladbridge City. The three other major cities in the wolves' dominion aside from Redburg. 

Redburg is just next to our city, and on our east side is Bloodbury. Cladbridge is located in the northern area, and the center of our cities is the demilitarized zone. Any act of war or clash is highly prohibited here, and no pack has ever broken this rule as they can't take chances with the consequences. Well, enough with that topic for now. Anyway, thank Goddess that my family finally stopped torturing those unfortunate souls. At least I can finally breathe for awhile, since I know their calmness won't last for, let's say, another whole week. I do hope my calculations are wrong and they just fully stop torturing and killing. 

I have just arrived at Woodhill University, as it is the first day of our last school year. After this school year, we can go back to our daily boring lives or go find a job that helps our pack or the whole wolf community in Woodhill City. Others are future Alphas and Lunas anyway, so there's that. But with me being the rejected Luna-to-be, it sucks, as I do not know how on earth would I ever survive with my ruthless family if I really stayed there for good. Maybe I should just travel to other cities. Stuck with my daydreaming, some lovebirds decided to wake me up and pull me back to reality.

"Here comes thy gossip of the year!" Sandra Williams, my best friend ever since we were just in the bellies of our mothers, beamed and jumped at my back, forcing me to carry her. Her mate, Noah Evans, my other best friend, pulled her away from me and scolded her. The three of us have been best friends since birth, if it is not obvious already. They just recently discovered they were mates, and I am happy for both of them. They suit each other and are worthy of each other.

"Pumpkin, you just ate. Stop playing around or else you might get a stomachache," he remarked, fixing Sandra's crinkled blouse. I scoffed. I mean, I get that they are mates, and of course, mates come before anything or anyone else. But, geez, we were best friends first! I facepalmed since I thought he was lecturing Sandra because she jumped on me or for at least speaking out loud, causing all of the students to look in our direction. which is honestly so uncomfortable and frustrating. But what else can I do? No way I'm yelling at them to stop like some teenage spoiled brat just to further humiliate myself.

"Sorry, peanut, I just got all excited! I missed Sophie so much! It has been so long since we last saw each other." She pouted and replied with her baby talk voice. It might be annoying to some, but I honestly found her cute, and it really suits her personality. Well, I mean, only other she-wolves are annoyed with her. She's the adorable and bubbly girl next door. Noah is constantly on guard with the other wolves that want to claim her. Despite the fact that everyone knows they are mates, Noah has even already marked Sandra. I feel sorry for Noah, but I honestly still want to hurl with their cringey callsign, regardless of hearing it for almost a year now. They found out they were mates last year when we were eighteen, and now obviously we are nineteen-year-olds.

"You are just jealous, Pia! Well, I am too though; Noah is such a great mate to Sandra." Lia whined and scratched its fur like some cute little animal.

"Yeah, unlike our jerk mate," I blurted out at her, and she still defended the mate who rejected us. Now I feel sorry for Lia; she doesn't deserve to be rejected. Lia then argued that I don't deserve this too and assured me that Carter would later change his mind. I just laughed at that thought of hers. As if that stonehead will ever take back his words that he proclaimed in public. There's just no way.

"Don't worry, Sophie! I smacked Xander yesterday for you! He even tried to hide from me! Can you believe it?" Sandra proudly proclaimed. Noah laughed and shared how hilarious Sandra was when she saw Xander at their packhouse. Xander was said to have been hiding at their jailhouse for two days until Sandra finally found where he was and smacked him in the back. The smack was not too hard, but she scolded Xander too much. And that made Xander even gloomier, and he cursed at Carter. I laughed at how Noah and Sandra took turns sharing what happened. They then shared that Noah was staying over at Sandra's packhouse for a week, which is no surprise. Sandra and Xander are the famous duo cousins, as they treated each other as siblings, considering that both of them are the only children. Xander is the next Alpha of the Nightstalkers, one of the big three. It is extremely amusing to see Sandra, being the gentle and adorable girl that she is, being stern to her cousin. She said it was to prepare him as the future Alpha of their pack and to make him tough for Xander's future mate. While we were still talking about some stuff, like our duties or the future after we graduate, the three of us went to the bulletin board of the senior year department to find out the location of our rooms. Luckily, Sandra and Noah are still classmates; the two of them cannot stand to be away from each other, even for a single moment. And of course, I am in the same class as theirs! I was so happy that I hugged Sandra tightly, which surprised her because I am not that showy kind of girl. I was honestly anxious the whole time, especially with what happened at the opening ceremony. I fear that Principal Grum will try to fix things his way, like making Carter and I classmates. Imagine that!? It is truly revolting, and if that ever happens, I'd rather just move to Redburg. I refuse to spend my last school year walking on eggshells just because I am classmates with a senior president of a mate. I'd really choose and happily be the third wheel of these two lovebirds. And with that, we stride our way to our classroom, ignoring the students' whispers and stares at us, specifically me. It is so obvious what they are gossiping about—only two things: the rejection or the attack. Either way, the main topic would be me. We heard some giddy whispers and murmurs, and we already know why they are doing that without even looking around. The senior-year jocks are here, hailed as the King of Suits. Yes, that cliché and corny name for a group of quartets. Spade is the formal and official alias of Carter. Some also call him president since no student could call him by his name except those he gives permission to. It really irks him for no reason; maybe it is just his egoistic self. Club refers to his cousin, Henry. Well,  I guess there is no need to further discuss why because that really just suits him. Xander earns the pseudonym 'Heart', as he really values emotions more than anything else. Benjamin of the Midnight Pack, also a future Alpha and one of the big three, is being referred to as Diamond, or Dia for short. His charisma and being the brain behind the suits make him deserving of that nickname. That settles them as the King of Suits. Without looking back, I just continued walking since it was almost time for the classes to start. Not until I felt his presence and his hands on mine.