VENUS WAS PREPARED to do anything in the world in order to avoid the day ahead of her. High school was the bane of her existence, she would rather stay home and polish every single weapon her father owned over and over again rather than go. Unfortunately, the world is an unfair place. Making her way down the stairs and joining her father at the kitchen table, she couldn't help but let out a grunt.
"Oh come on, high school isn't that bad." her dad laughs, placing a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her which she digs right into.
"It is when you're a loner and everyone around you has the IQ of a peanut." she speaks through a mouthful.
"It's a new year, Vee. New opportunities, new you"
"I hope you know how insanely cringe that was."
"My point is, it's somewhat of a fresh start. Get yourself out there, make some friends!"
"Thanks for the words of encouragement but I'll pass." she smiles sarcastically, grabbing a piece of toast along with her keys and making her way to the front door. "Thanks for breakfast!"
Other than the fact that it was school, Venus had also lost her only friend almost as soon as she started high school. It was hard on her since she'd always had difficulty speaking to people and making friends because everyone used to find her 'weird'.
Another reason why she hated school so much was the difficulty of finding a proper parking spot every morning, she didn't know how the students who owned the first row of cars got here so early. God knows it could never be her, her designated parking area was always towards the farthest end of the lot and she genuinely didn't mind it.
Walking towards the main steps, she caught a glimpse of Scott Mccall getting off his dirt bike. He was looking around when he caught her eyes from a few meters away and held her gaze for a second longer than would be considered normal. It caused her to become anxious, giving him her best smile and a small wave before walking into the building and making her way towards her locker.
That wasn't too weird was it? she thought, maybe dads right, maybe it is time to make new friends.
Making her way into her English class, she takes one of the remaining seats in front of the other brunette boy from the other night leaving the seat next to her a host to a very awkward exchange between Scott and what she assumed was his ex girlfriend.
Their new teacher had made the most dramatic of entrances, sending a text to everyone within the classroom of the last line of their assigned book for the year. Venus couldn't help the bad feeling that kept returning to her almost regularly now but she managed to ignore it for now.
Maybe it's because of the fact this woman somehow has all our numbers, that's weird, right?
She had been so focused on her work, she didn't even notice Scott get pulled out of class but she was quickly snapped back into reality when she overheard the brunette boy behind her speaking with Lydia about how her dog bit her. This kid really can't whisper.
"You know how animals start acting weird when there's an earthquake?" he asked the clearly uninterested strawberry blonde next to him.
"Meaning what? There's gonna an earthquake?" she mocks.
"Or something. Maybe it means somethings coming."
Venus couldn't help but mull over the conversation she had just overheard. Why was this boy so curious as to what was happening? He was onto something though, the animals were in fact reacting to something but the what had been eating her up for the past month since she had stumbled upon those cougars.
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud bang coming from the classroom window, she looked over in surprise only to be met with a large bloodstain. Her eyebrows furrowed as she spotted the large group of birds flying straight towards the windows, her eyes widening as she quickly realised the feeling she got wasn't for nothing.
"Everybody, get down!" Miss Blake yells and Venus is suddenly pulled onto the floor next to Lydia and the boy that sat behind her, he quickly pushed her under the desk next to him before covering the strawberry blonde with his body.
Venus started to feel very lightheaded as the birds kept crashing through the windows and sprawling dead across the classroom floors. Her head started to pound the more the birds started dying around her, she could feel all the pain and fear they felt and it hurt her as well. Then suddenly it all stopped.
Everything after that happened so fast, people panicking around the classroom, picking feathers out of their hair and clothes, wiping blood off her wounds. Venus was so out of it, she didn't realise Lydia speaking to her for a minute before focusing in again.
"Hey, you're okay." Lydia speaks softly, but little did she know it wasn't their surroundings that scared the girl, it was the fact that she could feel everything falling apart and the imbalance brewing all around her.
Venus realised she had been silently staring at the two people in front of her before she decided to speak up. "Um, thanks. For grabbing me, I was totally spaced out."
"No problem." the boy with moles spoke, giving her a small, awkward smile before walking away.
A few minutes later, paramedics were hastily making their way into the classroom and helping everyone injured, she hadn't even noticed the cut on her forehead before she was handed a sanitary wipe to clean it off.
"Venus!" her father calls as he rushed into the classroom, gaining the packs attention at the strange girl, ever since Scotts revelation they had all agreed to keep an eye on her. "Are you okay?" Alexander asks as he checks her over, quickly taking notice of the fearful look in his daughters eyes but he wasn't sure if it was due to their current surroundings or if it was another feeling.
"Dad this is three times now. It's not a coincidence, its a pattern." she speaks lowly, not wanting to alert anyone to the conversation they were having. Her father didn't have enough time to reply though as he caught sight of Chris Argent walking through the door. They held each others gaze for a minute, before Argent made his way to his own daughter.
He of course knew who Alexander Fiore was, being a hunter himself, but he hadn't seen the man in over fifteen years and he certainly wasn't expecting to run into him here and now. He thought that after the accident a few months prior the man would've packed up his family and left, but he should've known better.
The Fiores have protected this town for centuries, Chris Argent should've known that Alexander Fiore would never break an oath that important. Even if it wasn't really relevant to himself.
Alexander pulls his daughter out of the classroom shortly after, making their way out of the school and heading on their way to hopefully make sense of all of this.
Allison noticed her fathers lingering stare where the pair had just left, choosing not to interrupt his conversation with the sheriff before asking him.
"Who was that?" she asks, catching her fathers confused stare. "Venus' father, you looked like you knew him."
"I do know him." the man sighs, making his way out of the classroom as well with his daughter. "He's a hunter."
•••
"I've seen your mother do it a few times before." Alexander calls out to his daughter as they made their way through the trees. "You just have to really focus on your surroundings, let yourself truly feel the forest around you."
"Do you know how crazy you sound?" his daughter scoffs, "You're saying I can talk to trees?"
"Essentially, yes. You still don't understand the capacity of your abilities, Venus, there's so much you can do if you just give in and focus."
And so she took her fathers advice, stepping forward and taking a deep breath, she could smell the dewy grass, she could hear the birds chirping in the trees, she could feel the soft breeze flowing through her hair and rubbing onto her skin. Then the whispers took over making her eyes snap open to look around, she quickly noticed they were gone.
"You felt it didn't you?" her father asks with a smug smile. "Try it again but really focus this time."
She closed her eyes once more, feeling everything she had before and as quickly as they were gone, the whispers returned. Venus closed her eyes even tighter as she tried to make out what they were saying. Moving closer to one of the many trees around her, she gently places her palm on the bark finally able to hear clearly at the contact.
"Alpha pack."
EDITED