Alpha: Rising Path

2- Omega

Zoe loved wolves.

She loved to read stories of packs that protected their members because they had that family bond, stories of loyal creatures that mated for life, stories of survival that was only possible together as a pack. Family. Zoe always wondered what it felt like to be a part of a pack. She wondered if the wind against her face as she ran with a family that loved her felt as invigorating as it sounded.

Growing up, she even used the terms they had. She thought of her mother as the Alpha, and her father was her mother's mate. Her aunt Angelia was the Beta who hadn't found her mate. They were a pack, even when she couldn't remember her mother's face. Or when Zoe had to start doing street performances for money to help with the rent.

Zoe paused her mental pondering, then began rummaging through her locker as she thought about her family.

Her past was a jumble of cut-outs in her mind, memories clouded most of the time. She had moments where names became clear, but they always left her more confused than before.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as someone slammed into her from the side, pushing her down to the ground. Her materials clattered to the ground. Her head hit the floor hard, causing her eyes to water.

Zoe looked up to see the large football player already on his feet and running off with his friends. For a split second, the girl could swear she had seen two large canines jutting from his lower jaw on either side that were visible over his upper lip. She blinked, and the boy looked normal from behind, making her believe she had imagined it.

She turned her head as she sat up, the laughter of the popular girls making her growing headache worsen. Zoe's black eyes met the brown eyes of the leader, and the smile she received made her flinch. She looked away, picking up her school materials before standing up and organizing her locker again. It wasn't the first time those girls bothered her, and Zoe was more than sure that they had something to do with the boy crashing into her.

Helen was the leader of the group of girls, a pale girl with blond hair and brown eyes. Her skin looked tight over her bones as if she couldn't afford to pay for food, but Zoe knew the blonde had more money than she knew how to spend. She was a second-year student just like Zoe, but she loved to give the loner girl trouble.

The girl on her left, always on her left, was Hana. She was Asian, something Helen always announced when she had the chance. Her brown hair was straight and pulled up tightly in a bun, brown eyes softer than Helen's. She was a straight-A student, which made Zoe question why the second-year was in Helen's group. Hana didn't speak that much, but she still stood up for her leader whenever necessary.

The red-headed African American girl with blue eyes was Judie. She was the one who was always gossipping about one thing or another, the source Helen got her information from. Zoe felt slight sympathy for the first-year, but she couldn't make herself feel empathetic when Judie was the reason Helen had become interested in tormenting her.

Dejia was a third-year student. Like Judie, she was visibly African American due to her dark skin tone. Her black eyes were always watchful, and Zoe found it unnerving whenever the older girl stared her down. Her purple hair was pulled back in a bun, and she wore the simplest clothes without looking poor: A jacket, jeans or leggings, and dress shoes. While she wasn't eager to do Helen's dirty work, Dejia didn't hesitate when she was told.

All of this ran through her thoughts as Zoe grabbed her notebook and textbook for her last class of the day. The bell rang, and she had to force herself not to look back at the four girls who followed behind her.

--

Class had been as stressful as every day was, but Zoe could feel the stares of the four girls on her the entire time. It made focusing on class much harder, and she had to remind herself to be calm. The more nervous she looked, the more attention the girls would pay her.

When the bell rang to announce the end of class, Zoe turned to lock eyes with the gray-eyed girl who always sat in the back. It happened almost every day, so much that Zoe stopped questioning the flipping of her stomach when she looked at the girl. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, cascading in a waterfall down the girl's back. Her almond skin looked bruised in a few places, and Zoe wondered if the girl had family troubles. Her gray eyes were filled with emotions Zoe couldn't identify in the few seconds they locked eyes.

Unlike the other times, Helen grabbed Zoe by her arm. "Heey, Zoe. Ready for today's fun?"

Zoe kept her eyes on the girl with gray eyes as she adjusted her black leather jacket. The girl was still walking towards the door, even as Zoe silently pleaded for her to help. She didn't want to know what Helen meant by fun, and being surrounded by the four girls didn't help with her growing anxiety. She didn't care that she had never actually spoken to the girl. Zoe just needed to get away from Helen and her group as soon as possible.

She couldn't hide her disappointed desperation once the girl disappeared. Helen noticed, smirking. "What? Sad that your girlfriend didn't come to rescue you?"

Zoe frowned. The class was mostly empty now. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Hmm. Maybe." Helen tapped her own chin thoughtfully. "I mean, she did leave you even with your lost puppy eyes." Before Zoe could argue, the girl smiled in a way that made Zoe's stomach twist in a different way.

Dejia grabbed a hold of both of her arms from behind, a stoic look on her face.

"Now," Helen began. She gestured to the empty classroom. The teacher had gone out with the crowd of students, and now Zoe dreaded what was going to happen. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"