Shadow Among the Pack ( PREVIEW ONLY, Exclusive in NovaFiction/Kindle Vella)

Chapter 3 Racing with the Wolves

By the time I arrived at the gym, everyone was already doing their warmups. I made sure to stay away from the others as I did a slight warmup of my own. The boys in the class were doing stretches, but most of them were wrestling with each other.

I guess that having superior physical male genes, they don't have a problem with physical activities.

The moment I touched my elbows after stretching, I winced. The bruise was starting to hurt. I just hope that it won't heal too fast that they will notice that I have fast healing abilities.

"Does it hurt?" I turned around and saw Cana, the timid girl in class, looking at my injured elbow.

She was one of the people who would occasionally approach me and try to chat with me. Cana is a timid wolf. A characteristic that wolves would normally despise. I suppose that's also why the others are shunning her.

In a way, she's just like me, but she's a wolf and generally and racially belongs to the pack.

I turned to her. "It's nothing. It's just a bruise and would heal on its own."

Cana brushed her short dark hair away from her glasses and fiddled with her nails. "Would you...like to pair with me on stretches?" She said it in a whisper that I almost didn't hear it.

I am not a dumbass to guess that she wanted to become friends with me after all of her attempts to approach me. But I, on the other hand, am not sure whether I even want to have friends. Besides, it's not like I am going to stay here for long. I don't want to have any lingering attachments to this place.

But, I do feel bad if I ignore her.

"Sure," I said while looking in the other direction. I sat on the floor and stretched out my legs. I saw Cana smiling brightly before heading towards me. But in the process, she tripped on her untied shoelace and fell face-first on the ground.

I stared at her for a long as she wasn't moving from her position. "Hey," I called out to her. "Are you still alive, Cana?"

I jumped in surprise when she suddenly raised her head and gasped. "You know my name?"

I gave her an odd look and raised my brow, "Yeah? I mean, you always mention your name whenever you ask to team up with me in class."

She exhales a breath of relief before rising to her feet. "Thank heavens." She cracked a grin. "I thought you didn't know because you were usually ignoring me when I tried to talk to you." I was soon regretting my decision as the talk became strange and emotional on her part.

I knew it, I should have just ignored her as usual. It's pointless for me to become friendly if I leave the pack in a few months. Thankfully, the sound of a whistle helped me to escape this predicament.

I got up from the ground and dusted my pants. "Coach is here. We better get going." I told her hurriedly without looking back. I felt terrible for treating her, but I pushed the thought aside and focused on the class instead.

Everyone was lining up for the drill run on the track field. The girls began to line up to the side and waited for the coach to call for our names to the line on the field. The boys are sitting in the center of the area as they wait for their turn. Girls would always run first because the boys are always so rowdy that it takes a while to settle.

"Good morning, everyone. As you all know, we will have an interschool competition in the next two months. One of the main sports is the obstacle course, which we will need fast runners for. Four females and four males. Be sure to run with all your might if you want to represent our school!"