Chapter 2: polar opposites
"Oh my gods, you have to be kidding." I spat. I pat down all my pockets and dump out the contents of my backpack on the courtyard ground.
"What is it now? Left your head in English class?" Tracy laughs and I just roll my eyes. I can't understand how she takes this whole situation so lightly. I'm totally mortified about everything going on while she's always smiling or laughing.
We're polar opposites, I guess, which is probably what makes us such good friends. Liam left a while ago to meet with his parents for dinner, so now it's just me and Tracy.
A light breeze blows through the air and smacks me in the face. I scowl and pull my hair into a messy ponytail using the scrunchie that was on my wrist.
"Worse," I reply, digging through everything. "I left my phone inside." I take a deep breath and tilt my head to the sky, wanting to shift into my wolf so badly. I've been itching to run free for a week, but I've been so busy I never get the chance.
Tracy kneels down next to me, the green grass folding over our legs. "Well, school's over for the year... do you think the door's still open?"
I sigh and stand up, brushing myself off. "I have to try it."
There's no way I'm leaving my phone in there. I have to have it so I can get alerts from my dad or the pack; otherwise we could be in danger.
A lot of danger.
We live in the pack of Ignis. Ever since my father took on the role as Alpha, we've been totally safe. 0 wars, little to no out-of-the-ordinary deaths, and only one rival clan within the whole Circle.
The Circle is all of the packs in our area including Ignis, since all 12 of us are formed in one big circle.
Since we've always been in so much control, we've never really had experience with something going wrong. I'm 17 now, so it's been 14 years since my Grandfather died, and my dad took on the job.
Sometimes he gets stressed out. But I can assume that somebody who put their everything into their pack for 14 years would get a little frustrated once in a while.
Of course, now, it's worse than ever. I've never seen him this bad. He tries his hardest to hide it, but his hands are always shaking, conversations never focused.
There's one clan in the Circle named Furorem, which is latin for fury. Starting two months ago, Furorem started bombing the Clans to their right. They've already knocked out four.
They bomb, raid, kill, steal. Bomb, raid, kill, steal. Bomb, raid, kill, steal.
It's a vicious circle, really.
And the worst part is: We're only two clans from where they left off.
Dad's working harder than ever to stop them from getting here, but I don't know how he could possibly do that. And though I respect his every decision, I secretly wonder whether this will work or not.
When my father either dies, or decides to retire, the pack will go to my sister. Where she should be the one by his side at all times, it's her younger sister that is, which isn't fair. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem helping my dad or the pack, but that's not the point. She should be the one doing it, not me. I honestly worry about our pack when she'll be Alpha.
It'll never work out, and she'll probably get kicked out, or killed by angry wolves that hate her.
I shake my head and ask Tracy to put the stuff back inside my bag while I'm in the school, and she agrees. While I walk into the building, however, (luckily the doors were still unlocked) I get the strangest feeling that something's not right. Since I've always been the one in charge my whole life, I usually am smart enough to listen to that feeling. Werewolves can sense things better than humans, as well.
But I decide to put it off to the side of my mind. I'm just on edge. There's not really anything to be nervous about. I continue to walk through the dark, empty corridors.
The day passed slowly today. Since it was the last day, we didn't learn anything. Just sat around and socialized. But I was on edge every second of it. I hated that feeling when the slightest noise was made, I jumped. But can you blame me?
In the end of the day, after all our classes, we went to the summer pep rally. At the beginning, the principal of the school spoke at the podium, and we all said a prayer for the lives lost in the recent bombings of four clans. We also said a prayer for the mysterious disappearances of some young women from each of the packs, too.
It was torture having to sit there when I could be trying to help my dad come up with a way to stop from Ignis being bombed, but I had no choice.
Since dad is the Alpha of Ignis, and mom his Luna, he's required to speak at each school in the clan about what's going on with mom at his side, so today he spoke at mine.
I teared up watching him struggle for words. He's kind of like me. He always has something prepared. (I don't all the time, but I try.) But today, his words were scattered, and nothing he said made much sense. He kind of babbled about the clan doing all they can, to keep up protected, and for us not to worry.
Real peppy, huh?
After that, the real pep rally happened. Cheerleaders cheered, pom dancers danced, but no one was impressed because everyone messed up their routine in some way, surely distracted. It was just horrible to watch everyone so jumpy and scared.
I shake the feeling of fear from my body as I make my way to my locker. I need to stay strong. If my dad and I can't stay strong, how is the pack supposed to?
I get to my locker and fumble with the lock. I pull it open and look around. It's totally empty. I groan and smack a hand against my forehead. Where else could it be?
"Seriously!" I shout loudly. My voice echoes through the halls. Where else was I?
I realize my phone must be in the science lab, which is where I was last.
I quickly eye my locker one more time, close it, then weave through the halls and deeper in the building.
Then I stop. My ears perk up and I listen. I swear I could have heard something. I listen a little longer, and yes. There it is again. Footsteps. I start to backup, my back to the wall. Maybe it's Tracy?
No. I can see her from hear through the small window of the science lab door. She's still in the courtyard, the sun setting. The halls darken and a feeling pulses through me, but it isn't fear. It's haste. The urge to run and keep the pack safe takes over my body.
The person in these halls isn't just some student, or teacher. It's someone unwanted. I can feel it.
And then he rounds the corner. A silouhette of a man comes toward me, and a strangled gasp escapes my lips. But as he comes closer, I can see it's just some guy my age, wearing a striped shirt, khakis, and a beanie. A totally normal guy.
I sigh deeply and mentally scold myself. I have to control my fear. I have to calm down. If I'm not calm, no one will be.
"Hey. Sorry, you just startled me," I say politely. I turn into the science lab and grab my phone off a desk. When I turn back to the hall, he's leaning against the door frame.
"Hey, hottie," he smirks, his deep blue eyes searching mine. I sigh. I'm not in the mood for pigs.
"Out of my way," I say, pushing him to the side and leaving the room. I feel empowered again slightly, but that ends quickly. He grabs my arm. "Come on, junior year is over. Let's have fun!" I yank my arm from his grasp and stare into his eyes with a scowl on my face.
"Listen, you jerk. I'm not in the mood right now, okay? Go pick on someone your own size." I try to turn again, but his hand finds mine. A pang of fear shoots through me. Gods, I hate that feeling. "Don't touch me!" I scream at him, and pull my hand away. I run through the hallway, phone in hand, and exit the same way I came in. What a total creep.
I find Tracy leaning against a tree, and she must sense my worry because she says, "Aria, you okay?"
If I want to keep the pack calm, that means Tracy, too. "Yeah, I'm totally fine. Let's head back to your place?"
She smiles and nods and we walk to her house. Comparing the creepy guy to everything else going on makes him seem like nothing at all, so I forget about him quickly.
When we get to Tracy's, we do the stuff we love to do, and I let the fun take over the unsettled feeling I had before. I laugh for real this time, and it feels good. We make cookies, gossip, do nails, and take turns putting a new hair serum in each other's hair.
Later that night, chilling out in the living room, we both end up falling asleep next to each other on the couch. I dream of senior year and Tracy and I having the time of our lives, and I feel so happy and worry free that I don't want to wake up.
But I don't have much of a choice when my ears are filled with the sound of Tracy's mother's high pitched screams.
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