Chapter 2

Elena.

My light blue sedan was waiting. It was a hassle to get it, it took some troublesome work, a lot of car repairs, and many hours stranded on the side of the road, but I finally managed to fix it up as best I could. It was a gift from my grandfather, who told me that if anything happened to it, he would kill me. I wanted to tell him that it was barely working properly, but I kept my mouth shut.

I got into the car quickly, throwing my shoulder bag onto the passenger seat before starting it up. While turning on the radio, I searched for my favorite radio station. It just so happened that a Halsey song was playing, so I spent most of the drive singing Halsey's "Graveyard". It was more like a sing-along for me - well, I'm not exactly known for my singing abilities.

The ride was fast and reckless, as it usually is. Almost all the drivers were checked, and I only passed my driving test with a few points. At the first red light, I checked my phone, sighing when I saw that my mom had sent me a long message about the consequences of oversleeping. I quickly replied, before stuffing my phone into my bag.

I drove slowly as I entered the parking lot of my school, watching everyone carefully as I looked for a parking space. I pulled into the parking lot, parked my car, and grabbed my bag. It was October, but the sun was shining as brightly as August. Taking my sunglasses from my bag, I opened the car door and got out.

While walking towards the front of the school, I threw a cheerful smile to anyone I saw, occasionally waving to different people. The school parking lot was filled with blue and gray, our school colors. We were at Crescent Moon High School, the only high school in our small town.

Named after our pack in this town, this school is the center of activity in this town. The building is new, only a few years old, but the local government ran out of money halfway through building it. That meant the facilities were of lesser quality, but we had a lot of really big windows. All that was inside was the toss of a penny to determine whether it was broken or not, usually landing in a broken position.

I took off my sunglasses when I reached the garden tables located on the side of the building. The tables were clustered just opposite the door to the east side of the school. My best friend was sitting at one of the park tables which was the only empty park table. She was playing on her cell phone while drinking iced coffee.

I dropped my bag on the picnic table as soon as I walked up, collapsing on the bench with a groan. Jane looked up, a smile on her lips. Immediately, she began to speak in a high tone.

"Starbucks is driving me crazy. I can't go in there without being sued by the employees," Jane blurted out dramatically, handing me a hot chocolate. I took a sip, before looking at her.

"Is that boy... Arsenio?" I asked, and she nodded glumly.

"You'd think he'd know after I didn't text him back, but I guess not," Jane said, taking a long sip of her coffee before looking around absentmindedly. The wind made the leaves sway on the ground and sent chills down my spine.

"You shouldn't have given out your phone number," I chuckled while turning my face away from her.

Jane's parents were the Beta of our pack. But Jane had more of a submissive personality, with the only bitchiness in her being for her mate and Sasha. Even to me, but only occasionally.

" Where is Sasha by the way?" She said suddenly, her eyes darting around the parking lot. Then I turned my head towards her, before shrugging.

I thought maybe she was getting late with her face full of sketchbooks. Her interest in school was nonexistent, just like me, but she always got perfect grades. She was always working on her sketchbook, easily ignoring everything around her.

"Calm down, I'm here."

Then we looked to the right and found Sasha there. She was holding her sketchbook in her side, as always and her backpack in her other hand. Her lips were drawn into a bored pout.

Sasha was different from Jane and me. Her demeanor was often cold and standoffish, usually because she preferred to be alone rather than being forced to socialize. Her parents were members of a political pack, important leaders who dealt with other packs. This job required them to be away from home most of the time, as they were always traveling. Sasha preferred to be aloof from others because that was how she was raised, sheltered from the outside world.

Her cold demeanor never stopped Jane and me. No matter how bad she was, we knew that deep down, she appreciated us. Or, at least, we hoped so.

"Are you rolling on the ground?" Sasha asked once she looked at me, her eyebrows raised. I knew she was teasing, but I still had to roll my eyes dramatically.

"Oh how funny, when I was just struggling this morning!" I called out while crossing my legs. Her lips twitched into a smile for a moment, before she returned to her normal, flat face.

Now we only had a few moments to relax before the bell rang. I slung my bag over my shoulder and joined hands with Jane. Jane forcefully took Sasha by the hand, and we started walking towards the school door together.

"A fellow student said that we have a new English teacher coming," Jane said as we opened the door. We stepped inside, enjoying the warmth of the school building. The other students were running around, looking for their lockers.

"What happened to Mrs. Lawson?" Sasha asked as we walked to our respective lockers. Well, our combined lazy natures made us all share one locker, as close to each other as possible.

Mrs. Lawson, to be honest, was a loser. She had an annoying personality and could find a way to constantly complain about her miserable life. Miserable by her own reckoning, all because of her own doing. She was our English teacher in the first semester and had been an English teacher for two consecutive years.

"I heard she broke her leg," Jane said as she pulled her books from her locker. Sasha did the same, while I once again left my books at home. I closed the locker and turned the key.

"Besides, we have a new substitute teacher now - and I hear he's a guy," Jane said with a grin, brushing her black curls off her shoulders.

I threw Jane a smile. "You do realize that you're already mated to my brother, right?"

"God did not put any men on this planet for us to just simply ignore. Besides, I can look at those eye candies all I want as long as I don't eat them!" Jane said with a chuckle. I could not help but laugh too, and even Sasha smirked for a moment.

The final entrance bell rang, and the students almost fell over in their rush to get to class.

"Gosh, you would think that they would actually want to go to class," I said grumpily as I watched the kids rushing toward their classes. The red-faced freshmen were somehow still not ready to face the day, and the seniors were languidly trying to avoid being hit.

"We should probably go too," Sasha said, her narrow eyes scanning the hallway. Jane sighed but nodded. I said nothing, instead letting them lead me towards the English class.

The English classroom was only a few doors away from the lockers, and even from a few meters away, I could hear the boisterous laughter of the people inside. I saw Reid for the first time when I got to the door. He was leaning against the door frame, grinning goofily at passers-by. A letter-patterned jacket was draped over his shoulders.

"Hello gorgeous," Reid said cheerfully as I walked up, reaching out a hand towards me. I broke away from Jane and grabbed onto his hand. He pulled me close, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Reid Anderson, charismatic as ever," I said, nudging him from the side. He led me into the room, silently whispering to myself.

He was about to say something more but was drowned out by the voices of his friends calling out to him. He just winked at me, kissing my hand gently before leaving me.

Jane and Sasha walked to their seats, which were facing each other. Then I sat in front of Jane, looking at her with a tired gaze, before staring ahead.

The classroom was empty with no teacher present, and only the skeleton of the building remained. The bookshelf near her desk was still full of books, but the personal books were gone. The only creepy memories of her were the strange animal figurines covering her desk.

The teacher, it seemed, was late in arriving. We waited patiently for a few minutes after the bell rang, before getting into small talk.

Then, just a few minutes after the school bell rang, a fragrant smell filled my lungs. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath while trying to place it. This scent was unlike any scent I had smelled before - it was as delicious as the scent of vanilla cake - no! More than that.

"It smells so good!" Lexi said while daydreaming, almost more affected than I was. I nodded slowly, closing my eyes tightly as I breathed in.

My hearing became focused as the door to the room creaked open. I could hear every step, every breath. My eyes widened, and I pulled myself up from my slumped sitting position.

"Sorry I'm late, I had trouble in finding this school," said a new man who had just entered the classroom. My eyes fell on him, and I noticed him. He was tall and handsome. His hair was dark brown, disheveled on top of his head, but more than that, he looked even sexier. I could feel myself getting lost every moment, and as the seconds passed, I waited for him to meet my eyes.

He stopped, his eyes locked on mine. My breath caught in my throat as he looked at me. All my senses were uncontrollable, drowned out by the silence.

Then, in an instant, everything Lexi had shouted became clear.

Mate.