The Alpha's Rejected Girl

: : : Sophie : : : High school. What can be more miserable than this? I stand in front of the school sign, taking a moment before I step through the big double doors of Sterling High School. My feet drag down the long halls of the corridor, and I keep my head down to avoid any eye contact with people. Now before you call me a melodramatic teenager, you must know something. My mother just passed away a week ago. My mom was battling cancer for four years now. We first found out about her diagnosis when I was thirteen. My mom pulled me aside one night and told me she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. The chances of her surviving was 30%, assuming she had the best care available. My mom and I did not come from the wealthiest families. In fact, in our world, we would be considered the lowest of the lowest class. You see, just like high school, the wolf world has a strict caste system. At the very top, you have the Alpha that leads the pack, then you have the Beta that supports the Alpha, then you have the Gamma or Elders, Zeta which is the war general of the pack, Delta the messengers, and then you have the soldiers, warriors, hunters, and scouts — and underneath that you have the Theta which are the medics — and underneath all that, you have me, an omega. Well, technically, since I’m under eighteen, I’m still considered a psi — which are non-ranked members of the pack. Usually, after eighteen, us wolves will decide the path that we want to embark on. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle as warriors and soldiers, meanwhile, the heirs to the Alpha or Beta will continue their parent’s legacy, and the rest of us fall to the bottom. For me, however, my fate has been sealed. My mother came from a family of Thetas and she wanted to pursue medicine, so she went to college to study for it. But there, she fell in love with a human man. His name was Richard and mom said he was the kindest, nicest person she’s ever met. She knew that falling in love with a human was against the rules. You see, us wolves have something called ‘mate bonds’ that are given to us after we turn eighteen. For some people, it might take longer for them to find their mate and sometimes, there can be more than one mate for one wolf. But the Moon Goddess is always fair, usually. There’s always someone for everyone. And my mom, by choosing a human man as a mate, means that she’s rejecting the wolf mate the Moon Goddess has for her and that’s considered a sin. And so, our family fell to the bottom of the rank, which is the omega. I was born a year after my mom and dad got married, and I was the only half-breed to ever be born in our pack – the Sunset Banes. So, yes, my fate is sealed. No matter how hard I work at school or what achievements I have, I will forever be a half-breed. I will never be fit enough to hold any positions in the pack, I don’t have a voice of my own, and I can only serve the others, and that’s it for me. “Oh my God, look, it’s the trash-breed,” An obnoxious, bird-like voice calls for my attention. I look over and sure enough, it’s Krystina Hall. “Is it me or the air suddenly reeks in here?” she sneers, looking right at me. Her friends around her are laughing too, and I can only stand there and do nothing. This is nothing new to me. Krystina Hall has been picking on me ever since I can remember. She’s the daughter of Alpha Hall, leader of the North Wind Pack. The North Wind Pack controls the area upstate of the city, but like every wolf in the state, she and her brother, Kristopher, attend Sterling High too. “Give her a break, Krystina. Her mom just died of cancer,” A voice comes from behind her and that’s coming from her twin brother, Kristopher. He doesn’t mean that in a nice way, by the way. His tone is mocking and pitying. “Oh, whoops,” Krystina fakes a sorry smile as she sashays away from me. And of course, she deliberately shoves past me as she walks, causing the books I’m holding to fall to the ground. Kristopher is no better either, he steps on the cover of my 'The Sun Also Rises' book on his way out, leaving mud all over my favorite book. “Great,” I sigh to myself as I bend down to pick up my books. And I use the hem of my sweater to clean the muddy book. “Ugh, ignore the Bop to the Top Duo!” Taylor Hickman, my bestest friend in the entire world, swoops in out of nowhere and she helps me collect my books before more people step on them. Krystina and Kristopher remind me of Sharpay and Ryan from High School Musical. They’re both blonde, rich, and highly obnoxious. That’s why Taylor and I nickname them the Bop to the Top Duo. “I swear, they’re the scums of the earth!” She continues. We get up to our feet once all my books are gathered. “Man, I am so glad we don’t belong in their pack!” “I know, right?” I laugh as I receive my books from her. Krystina and Kristopher are from the North Wind Pack upstate while Taylor and I belong to the Sunset Banes pack in Long Island, that’s west of Queens in New York City. In total, there are seven packs ruling New York, and they’re called the Mighty Seven. First, you have the North Wind Pack upstate, then the Madfur Claws ruling The Bronx, then you have the Crescent Moon in Queens, the Blue Point pack from Brooklyn, the Kaligo pack for Manhattan, the Shadow Rock for Staten Island, and lastly, there’s us, the Sunset Banes pack from Long Island. A long time ago, the seven packs used to fight over territory and land, but after the Great War of 1919, they settled the lines and began living in harmony and peace. As a result, the Sterling High School was built so all the wolves from all the seven packs can come together as friends. Friends. Yeah. Very funny. Other people like Krystina and Kristopher will have many friends here, but for someone like me, high school is nothing but a place full of bullies. I’m not just answering to the higher ranking kids in my pack, but from all the seven packs. And guess what, out of the thousands of kids enrolled here, I am the only one that’s half-breed — the lowest of the lows. Walking down the halls with Taylor, I can’t help but look to the courtyard behind the glass window. I see Krystina, Kristopher, and their friends strutting their way to the middle table, the popular table. In that table, all the who’s who of Sterling High is present. You have Connor Chen, the Alpha Heir to the Blue Point Pack, he’s got dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, perfect tan skin, and a jawline like Charles Melton. Then, you have Jayden Hastings, Alpha Heir to the Crescent Moon Pack, he’s also the class president and he’s got dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, which reminds me of Austin Butler. And then, last but not least, there’s Kieran De Angelo. Kieran is the Alpha Heir to our pack, the Sunset Banes and he’s captain of the football team. He has beautiful jet black hair and perfect green eyes, the kind that makes you feel lost after staring at it for too long. “Hey, babes,” Krystina purrs as she approaches the table. “How was your spring break, you guys?” Krystina’s wearing a very short skirt, and it hikes up her thighs as she sits down on the table, so her panties are somewhat showing. But hey, I don’t think she minded that, I think she did that on purpose. “It was great, my family and I had a blast—” Connor replies, and Krystina puts her hand on his knee. “Ugh, I hate high school,” Taylor rolls her eyes and turns away. I quickly run to follow her. Taylor’s got a thing for Connor ever since the seventh grade and he asked to borrow a pen from her in Algebra. She thinks he’s the cutest boy she’s ever seen on the planet. But Connor, however, doesn’t even know that Taylor exists. So… there’s that. “Girl, you are preaching to the choir,” I say as I catch up with her. “But hey, on the bright side, it’s only two months and two weeks and three days away until graduation,” “Someone’s been counting,” She laughs. “Just about every second of every day,” I wink back. Taylor then stops for a moment and I stop in my tracks too. “Anyway, Soph, how are you holding up?” she asks cautiously. “By my feet,” I shrug. Taylor rolls her eyes and a small smile slips to her lips. “It’s fine, my mom’s in a better place,” I say reassuringly. “There’s no pain in heaven, right?” “Right,” she nods her head. I know I can act tough, but the pain from losing my mom is still very fresh. I always get a little teared up every time I think about her. Taylor probably noticed it too, because she quickly changes the subject. “You know what I was thinking? We should do something this weekend to cheer you up!” she beams. “Law and Order marathon and pizzas from Joe’s?” I beam back. “Um, no,” she shakes her head. “I was thinking about a party, actually,” “A party?” “You know, the party of the year is happening this weekend…” she trails and I stare at her in confusion. “Dude! It’s Kieran De Angelo’s eighteen birthday party this weekend!” she quips. “Oh, right,” I say. “But Tay, I don’t know if I feel like I’m in a party mood—” “But Soph, that’s like, the biggest party of the year!” she cuts me off. “And Connor’s gonna be there!” “Which is why we shouldn’t be there!” I argue. “I’m not gonna be welcomed there and Connor doesn’t even know you exist!” “Yet!” she argues back. “And how will he know that I exist if I don’t show up?” I can only roll my eyes as I keep walking. “Come on, Soph, do this for me, please?” Taylor catches up with me and gives me her famous puppy-dog eyes. I stop and sigh as I stare at her. “Look, all the wolves from the seven packs will be there. No one’s gonna care about us. We’re just gonna have a good time and stay out of everybody’s way,” she argues again, pausing for a beat before adding, “Besides, maybe this is where I’ll find my mate?” Mate… The word catches me off guard. Sophie’s eighteenth birthday was in January and it was great. She transformed into her wolf and everything. She hadn’t found her mate yet, though, and it’s always on the back of her mind. “Come on, Soph, it’s probably the last party we’ll have before graduation,” she pouts. “And they’ll have cake and free drinks!” I open my mouth as I’m about to say something, but something else catches my eye. I see Kieran walking down the hall. His gaze is cool and stoic, his jawline is sharp like a knife, and just his presence alone, it demands your attention. I can’t stop but look at him as he walks past, and for a split second, I get a whiff of his masculine scent and oh my God… my knees suddenly feel weak. “Hello? Earth to Sophie?” Taylor waves her hand in front of me, pulling my attention back. “F-fine, I’ll think about it,” I stammer as I pull myself together. And just in time, the bell to first period rings. “Gotta get to chem, see ya later!” “Okay! Think about it!” Taylor yells as I run to my class, hiding my blushing cheeks. “It’s cake and booze, Soph, cake and booze!” * * * - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -