Henley

Chapter One

It wasn't something you'd see everyday, a rabbit shifter entering a private school with wolves around every corner. Even in Outopía, where shifters were supposed to be safe around each other, prejudice rein free like a plague.

Despite Henley's pleas to just be transferred to an all prey school for gifted shifters, he was thrown here, a school full of all wolves that could kill him with a snap of their fingers.

However, here Henley was, about to be thrown into the wolves den with nothing but his brains to accommodate against the strength of the powerful packs that were behind these doors. It would be a poetic end in a sense, but Henley wasn't ready to die yet. He still hasn't found his mate.

With a sigh and a silent plea for his nervous tick to go away, he pushed open the doors. He was immediately hit with a wave of power that his instincts begged him to run away from, he couldn't bring himself to do it though. He had to prove he was different from his seven sisters who were all dumb as doornails. He had to prove he was better than them in some way.

He didn't have their looks of beautiful black hair and brown doe eyes. He didn't have the figure of a beautiful doe rabbit, and he certainly couldn't get by in life with just a sway of his hips. He was quite the opposite of his sisters in that regard.

Being only 5'4 to their 5'6 figures, his hair was such a light blonde it almost seemed white, and his eyes were a beautiful blue that seemed like two clear ponds in a meadow. Little freckles painted his pale skin like stars across the sky. He wasn't well built, but wasn't plump like his mother. He was skinny, but not deathly so, small outlines of where abs should be decorated his skin.

He was a beautiful specimen in his own way, but being the unwanted male baby in the family made his self esteem plummet. He was the mere youngest of a family of nine, not knowing his father as he had been killed in a rogue wolf attack some years earlier. He was the simple outcast of the family that wanted nothing more than to disappear, but shine at the same time.

He walked through the halls, touching his head in hopes his nervous half shift went away. He would already be targeted as an outsider and he didn't need his ears giving away another thing that was different about him. Unlike his family, his ears hung down like drapes in front of his eyes. His family had large pointed ears that stood proud on top of their heads like a crown.

He quickly made his way to the office once his thorough check of his head came back clear. He shied away from any attention he received, passing by the tall wolves with ease. He finally made it to the office, successfully passing by all the curious wolves.

The office was simple, an oak desk took up much of the space. Oak chairs sat in front of it, lined against the wall as if waiting for their turn as well. Motivational posters were plastered on the white walls, irridecent lights shining on them like they were in a hospital.

A small woman sat typing away on a computer at the desk, her hands seemingly moving at the speed of light as she handled the school's paperwork. It was only after Henley cleared his throat that the woman even seemed to notice him.

"How may I help you?" She asked, brushing brown hair from her plain brown eyes. She had an uninterested look on her face.

"I'm new here and I need my schedule." Henley managed without a stutter that would of given away more of his prey instincts than his scent would.

"Ah, Henley right? You're the new rabbit shifter, let me get that printed for you, just a moment. " she said, seemingly hissing out the word rabbit as if it offended her in a way. She quickly typed on her computer before running over to the printer on the other side of the huge desk.

"Here you are, I'll call a student to help show you around give me just a moment." She said in an almost sickeningly sweet voice. Her forced kindness did not go over Henley's head though as he allowed a shiver to run down his spine.

Within only about five minutes the door to the office came open and a gorgeous man walked in, his scent almost knocking Henley to the floor. He smelled of sweet clovers and honeydew with a hint of mint. He was absolutely gorgeous with bright green eyes and black hair that seemed almost too perfect on him. He stood at 6'6, very well built with authority raining off him. His five o'clock shadow looking almost too good on his already gorgeous figure.

"Mate!" Henley's inner rabbit yelled, ready to jump the man's bones already. Henley shook his head, eyes widened in horror. There was no way this man could be his mate. The man was obviously a high ranking wolf, and built like a God.

"Henley, this is Chasin, he will be showing you to your classes for the day. Please follow him." The front desk lady spoke, knocking Henley from his thoughts.

He shyly followed Chasin to his first class, not saying anything for fear of rejection. Interspecies couples were frowned upon in their society, and Henley knew that well. It was similar to homosexuality in the human world.

"Here we are, um do you wanna talk to me after school?" Chasin suddenly said as they stopped in front of the chemistry classroom. Henley could almost laugh at how ironic it was, but his nerves and fears stood in the way. He prayed to the goddess that his ears wouldn't come popping out in front of Chasin. His prayers were ignored though when his ears popped out of his head and flipped down in front of his face.

"I-I mean sure, um yes." Henley managed out between stutters that made his body wrack with shivers. Chasin chuckled at this before leaning down and planting a kiss on Henley's cheek in reassurance.

"Don't worry so much, I would never even think to reject you." Chasin said before walking away with a wide smile on his face.

Henley was taken aback, not sure whether he should believe the wolf or not. It was very common for interspecies mates to reject each other for fear of the prejudice that lay within Outopía. Especially with a predator and prey relationship. It was just frowned upon.

Henley wanted to believe his mate though, wanted to officially accept him and complete the mating process. He knew he couldn't bring himself to reject the male, but he also was fearful of what was to come.