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

Chapter 5 A Member of the Pack

"For the last time, Miss Lunaris, are you sure that you haven't done anything to provoke miss Alexa?" It was the third time that Greyson, our school principal, interrogated me. He was looking at me dubiously through his thick rectangular framed glasses as I sat across from him.

It took all of my willpower not to scream at him at this point. Somehow, I was starting to feel like he was trying to pin all the blame onto me while I was clearly the victim here of Alexa's assault. "No," I repeated the answer that I told him a few minutes ago. "As someone who can't morph into a wolf, there's no reason for me to pick a fight that I can't win," I told him. "And I already told you the reason. Alexa was emotional that I was the last pick for the team in the obstacle course."

Greyson still wasn't convinced. Instead, he now took my words to grill me once more. "Did you really won the race?"

"W-What does that mean?" I asked, my voice hardened at the question.

Greyson folded his hands on his desk as he studied me. "I don't want to accuse you or anything, Miss Lunaris, but it is unheard of that a non-shifter like you can easily outrun a werewolf."

I blinked and gaped at him in disbelief. "Are you saying that I cheated?"

"No, no." He said calmly and raised his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Those were not my words. You said them yourself. All I wanted to know is how can someone of your...caliber managed to do achieve that?"

Unbelievable. Despite all of my reasonings, he was still keen on believing that I was the one causing all the commotion. Since he's an adult, you'd think he would look past all of the racism for rejects like me. But apparently not.

The door suddenly swung open, and in came Alexa when her head was casting to the ground while being accompanied by Atticus. Upon seeing the future leader of the pack, Greyson immediately sat up straight. "Atticus, what brings you here? I was just in the middle of talking to Miss Lunaris to get the whole truth."

The expression on Atticus's face darkened as he glanced at Greyson. "Yeah. I heard your conversation. And at this point, I am starting to question why my father hired an incompetent guy like you."

I gapped at him as well as the others who were present in the room. I couldn't believe that he had said those words to the principal. Next alpha or not, I don't think that he should be calling the principal incompetent.

Heavy air began to settle in the room, that it was starting to get uncomfortable.

Mr. Greyson was stunned that his lips moved like a choking fish before he managed to form words again. "I-I beg your pardon?" He stuttered.

The look on Atticus's face hadn't changed. His gaze was cold as he leered at Greyson. "I heard your conversation. Even though she continued telling you that she never provoked your niece, you were so determined to keep her record clean that you harassed an innocent student into admitting a mistake she never made." Atticus clicked his tongue and glanced at him. "Fucking pathetic. While you were busy, I interrogated your niece instead, and guess what? She already admitted that she attacked her classmate." He glanced at Alexa and gestured for her to move forward.

Alexa fumbled with her hands before moving forward until she stood before her uncle - Mr. Greyson. "I-I'm sorry. It was all me." She says. Her body was shaking in fear. It was the first time that I had ever seen a proud girl like her so shaken up.

I was rooted to my seat as I watched the exchange. I have heard about how Atticus deals with misbehaving members of the pack, but I thought that he would just be dealing with students and not the school staff.

I didn't even know what to do about this situation, so I sat quietly and watched the exchange.

"Now that it is settled, you should release her and write a report about your niece, don't you think?" He says while pointing in my direction before he continues, "And before I forgot. I'm going to report this to the Alpha. If I were you, I better start packing."

I guess that was the last straw for Mr. Greyson because he slammed his hands on the table hard enough that it broke the glass covering the wooden surface. "You've got to be joking," Greyson says through gritted teeth. Greyson drew his brows together in a deep frown. "The person that you're protecting isn't even a werewolf! Protecting someone who won't be relevant in the future is absurd. You're not even the Alpha yet and you're already getting cocky. As the future alpha, you should be protecting your pack!" Greyson's eyes had morphed into the color of his wolf as he glared at Atticus.

Atticus, on the other hand, simply glowered at the man as he carefully made his approach. "Yes, I am protecting my pack. And since Lunaris here was born into this pack, it still makes her an official member whether she can morph or not. And as long as she is a member, she will be treated like any other member of the pack." I flinched the moment that he turned to me while tilting his head to the side. "Come on. You're no longer in trouble since you're the victim."

It took me a while to figure out that he was waiting for me to get and follow him out. When he saw me casting a worried glance at the enraged principal, he surprised me by calling for my attention. "You don't have to worry about him. Get up and let's go."

I hastily gathered up my belongings before I followed Atticus to the door. He pried it open for me and waited until I passed through before exiting himself. Once the door closed, I turned my body to face him without looking at him.

"T-Thank you," I stuttered with my words.

It wasn't the first time that I spoke with this guy. And from my impression of him last night compared to the man I saw earlier, he seemed very different. The man in front of me appeared stiffer than the one I met as a wolf.

"Don't worry about it." He cast me a short glance along with a tiny smile on his lips. "I'm sorry about the way the others are treating you. It isn't fair."

I averted my gaze and simply nodded. Even if he did help me, I should still keep my distance from him.

Something caught the corner of my gaze, and I saw that he was rubbing his bare arms unconsciously. It was the exact spot that I dug my nails into to get a better grip on him before he fell onto the cliff.

I was starting to feel uncomfortable. "I should get going." I began to walk away.

"Lunaris. That's your name, right?" I paused in my tracks and nodded my head without turning. "If anything like this happens again, do not hesitate to come and ask me for help, okay?"

Again, I nodded with looking back. And when it seemed like he didn't have anything to say anymore, I finally started walking again.

As I did, numerous thoughts ran into my head. Why, after all these years, is he trying to be helpful all of a sudden? If he really was true to his words about pack equality, he should have done something long ago. I have been an outcast for years now, and if he thinks he can just play hero just now? What a joke.

When I was sure that I was out of earshot, I scoffed. No matter what he does, he's still a wolf. I am sure that deep down, he might have a motive for all of his actions.

A/N: If you guys are interested, you can read the rest of the story in NovelStar as I am no longer permitted to upload further than chapter 5