WOLVES

•CHAPTER ONE•

I could imagine that without students roaming the halls of the neglected public school I was currently trying to navigate It could have had the potential to be a half decent place, but when the decision was made to pair thirty odd teenagers to one underpaid, overworked adult, surely, that overachiever understood the chaotic environment they were constructing. This 'irresponsible teen' even got it.

And with absolutely nothing differentiated itself from the thirteen other renditions of the underworld that I'd once attended, Fredrick Lane High had provided me with the perfect harborage. The same stench of soiled milk spiked with the overkill of (young) men's deodorant clouded the air and flooded any potential threats sense of smell, together with the familiar deafening bass of a trying-to-hard "DJ's" garage band mixtape battling the volume of the of juvenile gossip high school kept me safe from the wolves.

Public schools definitely were the best places to hide for a wanderer like me, with all the different types of sounds and smell no safe or sane developing wolf would subject themselves to this environment. Thus, allowing me to remain under the radar and be undetected by most for a portion of the time. But despite beasts like myself avoiding the renowned place of public misery, human hunters aren't as affected by what keeps me safe from my own kind. So I had the added baggage of human hunters circling in on my unique trail more often than desired.

Making my way further down the halls of Fredrick Dane High it was ten to nine and I already asking myself, was that piece of paper even worth it? There were probably countless better places for me to find refuge and stay under the radar, but none of those places could help me get further at life and although I was disadvantaged in every other aspect of my existence, I made a promise to get somewhat ahead and make my education a priority.

But it was hard to keep that in mind when you're surrounded by so many airheads. Every clique you could think of were settled along the walls, from Goths to Geeks they situated themselves perfectly allowing a narrow pathway in the centre allowing a way for the scheduled strut of the identified popular crew.

Their laughter and gossip remained the same as any other teenager at any other high school across the country; the party the weekend before, how many chicks he had banged, the homework they had forgotten; listening in from group to group it all remained unchanged.

Finding my locker in this place was a breeze, the rustic box also resembled that which I had come across before. Swiftly I disposed of my belongings, stacking my textbooks high without any sort of organization before proceeding to hunt through my bag in search of my schedule.

Almost Suddenly my surroundings became silent, and a single laugh filled the halls paired with the clacking of stilettos hitting the tiled floor.

Well, this was new.

I spun to scope out the top of the school's hierarchy, they all walked in a synchronized manner looking as if they were the cast of some low-budget nineties teen movie. Pretty faces paired with high heels, Shorts skirts and plump lips, backed up by the muscle of the school's top sports team they fit their profile perfectly. However, they held a unique allure, and as they continued their strides they were hard to ignore.

I heard a faint growl jolting me back to reality. Oh, Flippen crap. That was my signal to run.

Twisting back around I rummaged through my belongings grabbing the books for my first class. I could make it through the day I thought to myself, they wouldn't be expecting me to stay and the school was on unclaimed grounds, no pack had territory here. I didn't let my fear show, I also didn't let them know that I was aware that they noticed me.

"Rouge." They hissed at me as if I was a virus, now right alongside me, within distance to slam my locker door shut for me. Looking up they were all in two single filed lines, from shortest to tallest the beauty up front, backed up by their brawn. they stood all with an identical pose and disgusted looks on their faces.

"What're you doing here led head?" The girl at the front of their line spoke making reference to my unusually coloured hair, a large grin gracing her face all before shoving me into the wall now behind me and stepping on my feet with her designer heels.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked refusing to show any signs of fear or irritation, urging her with my own smile.

"Excuse me?" To say I was disappointed in her response was an understatement, it was typical of pack wolves to underestimate a lone opponent, this lone opponent though has had her fair share of interactions with "leashed beasts".

"Of course, you didn't hear me." Rolling my eyes as I proceeded to speak my mind "Typical pack wolves, their skills never could meet up to that of a rouge." Knowing id strike a nerve with at least one of these territorial lap dogs id decided to be on my way. They didn't seem too impressed with my response as their grows became more audible, but I had had this encounter many times before Fredrick Dane and unlike them, I knew exactly how this was going to play out; and because of the WOLVES law, I was safe within the walls of this high school.

The bell rang and I comfortably made my way toward my first class holding my head high; although that delight didn't last long and that confident feeling I previously had flipped in the matter of time it took to turn a corner and I couldn't help but stare as I Faced a new sort of pain. I was in utter disbelief at that moment where I was confronted with this stranger's tall frame slouched over to match the height of the girl he was so passionately kissing, and although his eyes were closed I knew from the meters I stood away they would be just as beautiful as he was and that's all I wanted to focus on, but, with his arms wrapped so securely around her waist, and her hands in return doing loops up and down his back, before this moment I was unaware of how much more my heart actually had left to take. But as I felt the hunger and lust radiating off of them, my once broken pieces were now crushed to dust.

He felt someone staring, that why his eyes opened, and I was right, they were beautiful although during our first interaction I was greeted with flashes of irritation and confusion, as our eye met I wanted to cry out. His tongue still danced in her mouth as he watched me, mixed emotions dancing across his face, not once did he miss a beat perfectly in sync with her, while his eyes remained locked with mine and I couldn't take it.

And so I ran; away from the school, from the cliques, from my classes, away from the bullies, my future and my mate; I kept running. In every fight or flight situation I always chose to be the runner, it kept me alive, but the further away I strode the more I wondered should I have fought? But I knew even if I had, he wouldn't genuinely accept me and that destroyed me the most, prompting me to run faster with no purpose or direction I had nowhere to go. The rain poured down on me but it didn't slow me down, only inducing me to go further. Further towards nothing, because although I was moving I had never felt anymore stagnant in my life.

I made my way to a closed off reserve, jumping the fence and not even caring if I had potentially crossed onto pack territory, and I continued running until all I could see was trees. I continued on running till my knees gave out, the physical pain not even coming close to the wrenching misery that my heart and inner wolf was experiencing. I had read human stories of heartbreak and heard legends of wolves rejected by their mate, and in the moment I finally understood how the descriptions couldn't have fit more perfectly.

As a result of the rain my clothes clung to me in the most uncomfortable and restricting way, my hair also, became sticky and matted from the running through the trees. my tears surely resulted in big black smudge marks under my eyes and as my human legs finally gave out and dropped to the group as they also fell they just became extra drops perfectly coexisting with the raindrops that had formed puddles around me.

Making my way to the nearest tree to seek refuge from the rain I snuggled into the trunk, ignoring the stiffness, I also remained unfazed by its peeling bark, I was not unfamiliar with this environment but no foregoing feelings could compare, my heart was broken and my body was cold. And I couldn't believe how much the sludge beneath me only reminded me of his brown eyes.