Waindale

I walk into my first class of the day and immediately sit at the back. I fiddle with the buttons on my sweater as I wait for other students to make their way in. My schedule is almost the same to what I was enrolled in at Waindale High School, except for two electives. They’ve been replaced with nutrition and wellness and the very mysterious lycanthropy. Vivianne explained before class that it’s something the humans at the Academy can take. It teaches them about their fellow students, how to cope with the idea, and how to view the world from this new perspective without becoming overwhelmed.

I never thought I would be taking a class about werewolves, especially at some private school that’s filled with them. I never thought I would be okay with it because it makes the person I am mated to feel better. I never thought I would be giving into all of this.

The Wren I was when I first met Adam is not the Wren I am today. She was a nervous wreck, stuttering and ogling and trying to understand. The mere sight of the guy made my face flush like a fully ripe tomato. If I told that girl back then that she would be giving things a shot, well, she may just shake me and call my crazy. Maybe I am crazy. I think it takes a certain amount of madness to be willing to go through with this.

I look down to my hands when people start to enter the room. Every time someone comes in, I ask myself, are they human or one of them? I’ll eye them a bit, consider a few things, then ultimately realize that there’s no way for me to tell.

Two boys walk in together, looking very friendly with one another. They make their way toward the back and steal the seats just in front of me. My eyes go wide and I bring my hand up to my face. Looking for my phone as it’s buried in my backpack, I search for something to do, but suddenly one of the boys turn and watch me. I stop and look back.

“Hey,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here.”

His friend turns as well but doesn’t say anything. “I’m new,” I tell the guy, wishing he would turn back around.

“New?” His face lights up with some sort of deviance. “We don’t get many new students. I know you aren’t human—I know all of the humans in this town, so you must be a shifter, right? What are you? A rogue turned good?”

My face scrunches a little. “What? Why do you care? Just—look the other way.”

It’s like I can’t find the balance between anxiety-ridden and defensive. Adam told me to make friends but instead I’m behaving like I’m a little off upstairs.

“Aw, come on. Didn’t mean to push your buttons,” he says. All of his words are laced with something, but I’m not sure what he’s trying to get at. “You can’t blame me for asking, right? You’re human then?”

I nod.

“That’s great. I love humans. They’re the best, right?” He nudges his friend.

“Yeah, sure. The best,” his friend says tiredly before facing forward.

The guy shrugs off his friend, not bothered. “So you’re human, new to Waindale, and somehow got into this school. Aren’t you just the perfect mystery.”

Two girls sit beside us, distracting me. “Hi, Devon,” one of them says, directing it at the guy.

He bumps his brows at me then turns to her with a charming smile. “Hi, Penny,” he says, embellished. “Did you meet my new friend here? Her name is...”

“Wrenley,” I say to her. “Hi.”

“Come over here, Wrenley. Don’t let him bother you.” Penny smiles and pats the chair in front of her.

Not wanting to be rude, I grab my backpack and move the few seats over, sitting and smiling back to her. Penny glances to Devon and makes a face as if saying ‘ha, I win!’ Devon rolls his eyes and chats with his friend, leaving me to the girls who are not promised to be any better than him.

“So, Wrenley, interesting name. I’ve never heard it before,” Penny’s friend says. “I’m Caitlyn—boring name, right? I bet everyone remembers your name.”

“How can you not?” Penny adds on. “Can we call you Wren? Do you like nicknames?”

“Actually, my mom calls me Wren.”

Their faces spark. ”Wren. I like it. It’s so modern,” Caitlyn says. “So, I heard Devon say that you’re human. We are too. It’s so refreshing to have more of us at the Academy. New faces are always welcome, especially since we never get any.”

“Definitely,” Penny agrees. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the shifters are super nice and everything, but sometimes we feel left out. Ya know?”

I sigh. “Yeah, I know. I felt a little left out when I first moved here. I just didn’t feel a part of their group, kinda.”

Caitlyn and Penny smile. “We totally get it. Penny and I just stick together. Our families have known each other for generations. Do you have family in Waindale? Is that why you moved?”

“My grandma lives here. My mom was raised here. We just recently moved.”

“So you’re no stranger to Waindale, right?”

I shake my head. “I used to visit all the time when I was younger.”

Penny asks, “So your family told you about the town secret then? I mean, our families told us. Your grandmother must know if she’s lived here for so long. That’s how you got into the Academy, right? Because of your grandmother?”

Quickly, I blurt, “Uh, yeah. My family told me. My grandmother’s been here since she was a child.”

Lies! Grandma moved here when my mom was four years old. My being at the Academy is clearly raising questions. As a human, everyone wants to know where I’ve come from. I guess humans don’t just join the Academy out of nowhere. These girls are a part of the founding families—they’re born into this.

“So she lived through the attack like our grandparents. Isn’t that so insane?” Caitlyn asks.

Before I can agree or tell the truth or runaway, the teacher begins talking and all attention is aimed toward the front of the room. I flash the girls a smile before facing forward. I can’t help but sink in my seat, wishing to be back at the high school; there no one cared where I came from. Maybe I can switch classes. There is no way I am talking to these girls ever again. These lies are destined to collapse in on me.

At lunch, Vivianne and I meet in the lunchroom as we planned. I find her waiting against the wall with Imogen right as I pass through the doors. Just as she sees me, I make a face, a defeated face, a face to show her that I’ve already messed up. I hurry over with my backpack slipping from my shoulder.

“Wrenley? What is it?”

“I lied. I lied to these two girls and now they probably think I’m a part of a founding family. They think my grandma was here during the attack. What if they keeping asking questions? What if they find out I’m lying? People are wondering why I’m here, Vivianne. Humans don’t just join the academy randomly. This is a born-into situation that I have clearly not been born into.”

“Woah, woah, calm down,” she says and leads me to a table. “How did that come up?”

I drop my bag on the bench beside me and fall into my arms on the table. “This boy asked me if I was human and I said yes. Then these girls came and took me over to their side. They started asking me all these questions.”

“What were their names?” Imogen asks.

“Penny and Caitlyn,” I say, lifting my head up. “They’re the kind of girls I’m usually scared of. I just couldn’t say no to them.”

“I-I’m sure it’ll be fine. I doubt they’ll look into it. Why would they care?” Vivianne says. “We can put you in a different class. Just tell Adam and he can put you in whatever the heck you want. No one will question him.”

“That doesn’t sound fine.”

Imogen rolls her eyes. “Let’s just threaten them or something. Like, if they keep asking questions, we’ll cut off their pretty ponytails.”

“No, Imogen. The last thing we need is those girls running to the Dean’s office saying we threatened them. If that happens, Adam will come over and we’ll screw ourselves over.”

“I should have never come to this school,” I murmur. “I don’t belong here. Everyone knows it, and if they don’t know it yet, they surely will by the end of the day. Caitlyn and Penny don’t seem like the kind of girls who hate gossiping. I talked to them for a minute and suddenly I know that there’s a division between the humans and the shifters, and they don’t feel welcomed by you guys. They feel forced into it by their families and liked me because they thought I was in the same situation. Also, they think my name is weird.”

Vivianne takes a deep breath. “No, you belong here with us. You do. We just need to get you away from those girls. When do you see Adam next?”

“Today, sometime.”

“Perfect. Just tell him then that you need to switch classes because some people are asking too many questions. Trust me, he does not want the truth behind your being here to get out.”

My shoulders fall. “I don’t want to ask him for more. I already asked him to let Eli stay at the high school. He’s going to think I’m helpless. We have to handle this ourselves.”

“So threatening?” Imogen suggests.

Vivianne’s glare shoots her down. “No. No, we’ll have to tell them that you’re mated to one of us. Someone with authority, but not Adam.”

“You thinking Beta or third?” Imogen asks.

"Beta? Third?”

Vivianne looks to me. “If you’re mated to Adam’s Beta or Third in Command then that gives you a reason for being here. It’s something we could tell everyone. I’m sure pack members will be surprised, but it will withstand against the humans.”

“Great. I’d be digging myself a deeper hole. I don’t want to pretend to be mated to someone else. I don’t want to lie. I want to go back to the high school. I know this place is suppose to teach me about you guys and your pack, but what’s the point? What’s the point in me learning anything about you when I’m just a secret? So what? Adam becomes Alpha and I’m waiting by in the shadows—the mate no one knows he has. He keeps me hanging on because he doesn’t want to lose me, yet he can’t commit to me. No. I won’t do this any longer.”

“Wrenley, please, just—”

“I transferred for him. I quit my job at the diner because of my new schedule. Why I am the only one giving things up?”

“Because he’s going to be the Alpha. He’s giving up a lot to take on this position,” she tries to explain. “You don’t understand what it means to be mated to an Alpha.”

“I understand that the Alpha’s mate is the Luna, but I don’t get to be her because I’m not like you.”

Vivianne face tightens up. “What? Are you even hearing yourself right now? Every girl in existence wants to be mated to an Alpha. It’s like winning the lottery. So what? You don’t get to prance around and call yourself Luna? You don’t even know what she does! We’re trying to help you, Wrenley, but you have to realize that being a mate means you give up things. Being mated to an Alpha means to give up a lot of things. If you can’t handle that, then maybe you shouldn’t be mated to him at all!”

“Vivianne!” Imogen shouts and pulls her down.

I look around at the many eyes watching us as my chest rapidly rises and falls. Vivianne slaps her hands over her mouth and can’t bare to even blink.

Imogen looks to me. “Do you think?”

I quickly grab my bag and get up from the table. Heading for the lunchroom doors, I see Penny and Caitlyn standing in my way. “Mated to the Alpha?” Caitlyn says with a smirk.

I push past them and escape.

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