"You better hurry girl. It's a long walk to school." Elaine said scornfully.
Charlotte looked up from her bowl of dry stale cereal in confusion.
"Walk?" She repeated. "Is there no bus?"
"If there was would you have to walk?" The woman taunted, raising a thin eyebrow at the girl.
"How will I know how to get to the school if I've never been there?" The teen asked, ignoring her foster mom's snideness.
Today was her first day of school since moving to North-North Rochester. She didn't know where the school was. She hadn't been into town yet. Under her foster parent's orders, Charlotte had stayed in and around the house the past few days.
"Go left when you reach the main road. The school is about 3 miles down. You'll see the sign." Elaine explained dismissively.
"Oh, and from now on you can eat breakfast there." The tall woman added, snatching the bowl of cereal away from Charlotte's grasp. It was a waste of money to feed the girl, Elaine didn't want to give her more than was necessary.
Charlotte nodded, it wasn't like she would miss the gourmet breakfast options at the house. The school food might not be appetizing, but at least it wouldn't be stale. Well—hopefully, it wouldn't be stale.
Standing up, Charlotte grabbed the backpack at her feet and threw the bag over her shoulder before heading out. The backpack was an old one of Danny's and it showed, the straps were just barely held together with silver duct tape. It wasn't much but it would do.
Outside, it was cold but not yet snowing. They were expecting an arctic blast to come through any day now. However, other than the wind speed picking up, the weather hadn't changed much.
As Charlotte stepped off the porch, a gust of wind whipped her hair back aggressively. She wrapped her jacket around herself tightly in response, walking briskly to keep warm.
She had never liked the cold of winter.
The way the wet iciness seeped through the skin and chilled the bones was unpleasant. Especially for those who couldn't afford luxuries like scarves, warm jackets... indoor heating, to stay warm.
Spring couldn't come soon enough in her opinion. She'd take sunshine and dogwood flowers over snow and ice any day.
As Charlotte walked in what she hoped was the right direction to school she was plagued by an odd feeling, almost as if someone was watching her. Tiny hairs on the back of her neck pricked up.
The main road, like everything else in the town, was carved through the forest; pine and fir trees abutted the dark tarmac. Their thick foliage shielded the deeper forest from view.
Charlotte glanced nervously to her right, trying to peer through the trees. A couple of times she thought she saw a black shadow moving through the greenery, but when she blinked it was gone.
It was unsettling, to say the least.
Maybe it was just first-day nerves, Charlotte tried to convince herself. It didn't matter how many schools she attended, the first day always made her anxiety peak.
Despite her uneasiness, she arrived at the school unscathed.
The school building, it turned out, was nothing like she expected. She'd been anticipating something gross looking, dilapidated, maybe even prison-like. Most of her previous schools had been like that, old and needing repair, but the districts always seemed to lack the money to renovate or rebuild.
The school in North-North Rochester was old, but not in the way she expected. It was a large stone mansion that had been converted into a school.
Honestly, it was quite beautiful, almost what Charlotte imagined a private school might look like.
The mansion was built way back in 1908 and had a little bit of French-Canadian influence which could be seen in the ironwork inside, at least that's what Carter had told her.
Carter was a senior who worked in the office during one of his throw-away periods.
After the school secretary handed Charlotte her schedule, she suggested Carter might show her around and the boy seemed more than eager to do so.
Apparently, the building could be confusing to navigate since it was not originally designed as a school. Bedrooms had been converted to classrooms, the ballroom to a lunch room, sitting rooms to offices, etc.
"....and that's Mad Dog Mike. The jury is still out on whether he got the name because of his mad football skills or if he was bitten by a rabid animal," Carter said, pointing to a statue tucked away in a nook as they passed by.
Charlotte giggled at his attempt to joke. She was glad Carter decided to show her around, he was at least trying to make it interesting.
Suddenly, the boy came to a stop beside a tall oak door, one of many that dotted the hallway.
"Ok, here's your first class. I'll come to get you once it's over, so I can show you where your next class is. Make sure to wait for me." Carter smiled and winked at her.
Heat rose to her cheeks as she blushed.
Was he flirting with her? Charlotte wasn't sure what to do, she smiled awkwardly and ducked into the room. Class had already started, but the teacher didn't seem bothered by her coming in late. He simply gestured for her to take a seat.
Charlotte hoped she hadn't come off too awkward around Carter. He was definitely attractive with his dirty blond hair and seafoam green eyes—she may or may not have covertly checked him out.
The boy had a pleasant demeanor which she liked. He was friendly and energetic—much like a golden retriever. She was willing to bet he was one of those people who naturally drew others to him.
True to his word, Carter walked her to her class and the one after that. Charlotte did her best to make mental notes so she could get to class by herself tomorrow.
"Ok class, make sure to read Chapter 16 on covalent bonding and answer the end-of-chapter questions for tomorrow." Mrs. Heflin shouted as the students rushed out of the room.
Charlotte quickly shoved her books into her back and hurried out the door to meet Carter.
"Where to next?" She asked cheerfully, as she walked up to where he was waiting, leaning against the wall, opposite her classroom.
"You have your lunch period, so I'll take you to the cafeteria." He said, unfolding his arms.
"Oh. And you don't?" She asked, a bit disappointed; she hadn't made any friends yet. There were some students interested in getting to know the new girl. Mostly they peppered her with the basic questions. Other students seemed aloof or even hostile for some odd reason.
"No, unfortunately, they have to split the lunches because our lunch room is too small for everyone to use at once," He answered.
Seeing her small frown, he gave her an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry, I'll introduce you to my friend Amelia. She has the same lunch as you. I think you'll like her."He said.
Charlotte was surprised by how considerate Carter was. It made her feel warm.
"Amelia!" Carter shouted, apparently catching sight of the girl.
A pretty girl with braided black hair gently pushed her way toward them through the crowd of students.
"Hey, Carter!" She greeted with a smile.
"Amelia, this is Charlotte. She's new here. Would you show her to the lunchroom? I've got to get to combat—er, I mean conditioning class." The boy said, stumbling over his words. His green eyes darted quickly over to Charlotte, but she didn't seem to notice his slip.
"Of course!" Amelia answered gleefully, as she came to his rescue. She didn't hesitate at all in dragging Charlotte away.
"How's your first day been?" Amelia questioned as she pulled Charlotte along.
"It's been good," Charlotte answered honestly. "I'm still trying to figure out where everything is, Carter has been very nice in showing me around."
"Yeah, Carter is nice, but even nicer to look at, don't you think?" Amelia chuckled. Charlotte was fairly sure she was blushing. Obviously, she wouldn't be the only one who noticed how attractive he was.
"Here we are," the girl announced, coming to a stop at the end of the lunch line.
A couple of people turned around, giving Charlotte dirty looks as if they were annoyed by her presence.
"Don't mind them," Amelia said. She'd also noticed the hostile looks Charlotte received. Standing at an angle where Charlotte couldn't see, she glared back at them warningly until the other students looked away, chastised.
"Some people here don't like outsiders much. It's the small-town mentality." Amelia said to Charlotte, rolling her eyes.
The brunette nodded hesitantly.
Amelia continued to chatter as they made their way to the front of the line. Charlotte wondered how she had this much energy. She had to really focus on what Amelia was saying so as not to miss anything.
"Are you new, girl?" The lunch lady asked after she picked up her food. "You need money in your account. No money, no lunch."
"I'm supposed to get free lunch... I'm a ward of the state" Charlotte informed her, awkwardly holding her lunch tray in front of her like it was a shield.
She tried to explain it quietly, but her face flushed with embarrassment when people behind her began to whisper.
"Tomorrow, you ask for a sack lunch then. A sandwich and an apple. That's all the state covers." The lunch lady said, frowning.
Charlotte nodded uncomfortably and hurried to catch up to Amelia who had already made it through the lunch line. Another student had stopped to talk to her, so she hadn't heard the conversation between Charlotte and the lunch lady.
"Is everything ok? Oh, look Mads already saved us a seat. Come on." Amelia said, seeing her friend waving them over.
Charlotte quickly followed Amelia, taking a seat at the table she led them to. She didn't want to draw any more attention to herself.
"Hi! I'm Madison. I believe we had Chem together." The new girl introduced. She had soft features and a sweet heart-shaped face.
"With Mrs. Heflin? I think I did see you on the other side of the class. It's nice to meet you. I'm Charlotte..." She trailed off as a beautiful blonde girl swept past their table. She was wearing ripped blue jeans and a band t-shirt, even in that she looked like a model. Everything about her screamed effortless and confident.
Who's that? Charlotte thought.
"That's Seraphina," Amelia answered. Charlotte winced, she hadn't realized she'd asked out loud. "She's the daughter of... Someone very important. And obviously, she's extremely gorgeous. You might have some classes with her, she's a senior as well."
Amelia and Madi shared a silent look that Charlotte missed.
"She's the head cheerleader. All the boys love her, but she'll probably end up dating the quarterback this year," Madison added.
"How typical", Charlotte sighed.
The three girls chatted for the rest of the lunch period. It seemed Carter was correct. They got along quite well. Amelia even suggested she come over for a girl's night in a couple of weeks, but Charlotte was hesitant to accept. She didn't know how her foster parents might feel about that.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly. Charlotte was disappointed to find that they had put her in PE instead of art. She made a mental note to ask the secretary tomorrow if she could switch.
There were several times throughout the day when Charlotte ran into Danny, but he ignored her, so she didn't approach him. They didn't have any classes together because she was a senior and he was a junior.
After the last school bell rang, Charlotte started the long trek home. She had the same peculiar feeling that there was a black shadow following her.
Could it be the wolf?
Perhaps it was hunting her... trying to finish the job he had started? Charlotte shivered thinking about how massive it had been. Much bigger than any other wolf she'd seen. Surely something of that size couldn't move so nimbly through the forest.
Charlotte hadn't told anyone about her run-in. She was careful not to, recalling the two male visitors, Jacob and Greg, that came over on her first night, and their comment about wolves.
She considered asking Amelia and Madison about it, but she didn't know them that well and she wasn't the type to take a leap of faith. Especially since she had a new cult theory that was holding strong. No, it was better to not say anything until she figured out what Jacob and Greg were upset about.
Another shadow crossed her path, startling her, but when she whipped her head around there was nothing there.
*** GIO ***
It had been a long time since, Gio had concerned himself with the dull, repetitious schedules of the human-skinned, but now he did—because of his mate
His mate. It would take him some time to get used to that.
The wolf had been watching her since their run-in yesterday. So far all he'd discovered was that she was staying on his territory, in a little house on the outskirts.
He could sense that she was inside, but he didn't see her again until that morning when she'd walked out with her backpack on.
It was obvious she was heading to school—to the same school he went to years ago.
Technically he was still a student there since he'd never graduated. He stopped going when he lost his human-skin.
Gio couldn't help but follow her. His paws moved almost unconsciously, but he kept his distance, not wanting to startle her.
It felt peculiar being back on campus.
That didn't stop him from hanging around outside of the school all day. He spent his time leisurely, laying around in the shade and noting when the school bells rang by tracking the sun's position in the sky.
Perhaps it was overkill, but he wanted to know where she was, even when he couldn't be with her.
His wolf felt an incredibly strong pull to be with their mate at all time. Especially since she wasn't marked, which was another problem—every instinct inside of him was screaming at him to mark her, to claim her, but how could he when he was stuck in his wolf form?
His mate was human.
If he tried to mark her, he would surely kill her and that's not even considering the actual mating which was out of the question. He shuddered to think what the result of that might be.
Not for the first time, he mentally cursed the witch who subjected them to this demented existence.
It had been five years... five years he had been stuck in his wolf form... five years since their Luna, his mother, was murdered and his pack was cursed.
Just thinking about it made Gio seethe with rage. Everything he loved had been stolen from him in the blink of an eye. Now, he couldn't bear to lose anything or anyone else. The idea alone, had his body shaking with anger.
He hadn't always felt this strongly. The loss he had suffered as a teenager had been profound and formative. The anger and anxiety that he drew from it probably weren't healthy and he knew that.
To make matters worse, he was slowly losing his mind... they all were. There were days when he would go without a single human thought, only growls and instinct. His instincts were raw and animalistic.
The wolf held a deep distrust for anyone outside of his circle.
Although that was partly because the witch who cursed them, Serena, was not a stranger... she had walked among them, eaten beside them, and more. Had she been a stranger it might have been easier for him to accept, but no, that was not the case.
They'd welcomed the witch into their pack with warm hearts and open arms, but apparently, loyalty meant nothing to witches. The bitch didn't hesitate before turning on them, killing the Luna and cursing the pack.
If only he'd known then what he knew now... maybe he could have stopped her, killed her, never let her inside the pack—done something to prevent this.
Gio still remembered how the curse had felt. It was like a rubber band had snapped inside him. The pain was excruciating—the aftermath was even worse.
He had been running in wolf form when it happened. The power of the spell hit him with such force that he lost the rhythm in his stride, tumbling head-over-tail toward the forest floor like a newborn pup.
Dazed and disoriented, he'd immediately known something was wrong. He tried to change back to his human form and was horrified when he realized he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't slip back into his human skin.
He was stuck. Forever locked inside the body of a wolf.
And it was the same for the others.
Those that were in human form when the curse hit were stuck in human form. Those that were in wolf form were stuck in wolf form.
As time passed, those in human skin were frustrated to realize they were losing much of their wolf strength and senses. In contrast, those in wolf skin seemed to become more volatile, losing themselves to their more primal instincts. Their once strong pack became broken and fragmented.
Discontent festered and the pack became difficult to control.
Much to Gio's dismay, he and a small group of wolves had been forced to exile quite a few wolves whose aggressive erratic behavior made them a danger to the pack.
Among the ones they were forced to cast out was his best friend Blaine—the wolf who should have been his second in command.
Bile rose into Gio's throat at the memory.
It was a terrible decision to make—One that left him torn. However, in the end, he knew protecting the pack was more important than anything. Yet, it did little to ease the ache in his heart.
Realizing they couldn't live like this; the Alpha led a small group in search of Serena to force her to undo the curse. No one else had been able to find hide nor hair of the coward. She'd disappeared right after killing the Luna and casting the horrid spell on them.
They searched for years, then one by one the Alpha sent the search group back until only he remained. The Alpha was still out there searching for a cure to fix their pack.
Although the Alpha would always be a leader first, he was also Gio's dad. Thus, he had the misfortune of losing both his parents in rapid succession. Without his mother and father, he had to grow up very fast. He couldn't continue being a bratty teen alpha.
Gio had to step up. He tried to at first. But for a time, depression drove him to the fringes. It became so bad that at one point, he thought he might be consumed by it. Never being one to burden others with his emotions or feelings, Gio kept it inside.
It took him a while, but he eventually smothered the demons within him. Was that the healthiest way of dealing? Probably not—but it worked for him.
The wolf came to accept this beastly existence as his new normal. He accepted that his life had forever been changed, but now Gio had found his mate and she ignited something inside of him.
The frustration and discontent were boiling up again. Human emotions that had long since been oppressed were reaching and clawing for the surface.
His own skin felt restricting; the fur around his neck was too tight, strangling him. Gio itched to shed his wolf skin once again.