Ten years ago
"Yo Traeger, my man's, how's it going? Wanna hang out later?" My friend Ben asks me after I get out of class.
"Nah man, my mom won't let me until my homework is done," I respond solemnly, shaking my head. He shakes his head and we walk out the front doors of the school and separate ways to our homes. Deciding to cut through the forest saving time, I hear rustling in the brush near me, but I ignore it.
"Why didn't you bring the runt to me, Jessika, I would've dealt with it myself," someone growls in a low gravelly voice.
"I don't know, sire. If you would only give me more-" a female squeaks out in a low voice.
"Sire she will not-," a second female voice begins.
"Silence! I will not have my subordinates disobey me. Not even my own daughter. I hereby sentence you to one week without a hunt, instead, you are to be hunted for the week in the nearby forestry," the male growls loudly. By this time I had snuck my way behind a tree and was spying on them. The man was at least seven and half foot tall, the first woman whose name was Jessika was kneeling on the ground in front of the man, she looked like she was around sixteen or seventeen, and the second woman whose name I couldn't catch looked around twelve cocks her head to the side and sniffs the air.
"I smell something," the second woman growls looking around. Hiding quickly behind the tree before she could see me I hold my breath lest they hear me breathing. "Smells like a human," she growls again, and the others transform into their respective wolves and start sniffing the air. I peek around the tree and gasp loudly and they all look my way. I feel something hot and liquidy run down my leg, one of them growls lowly and that snaps me out of my daze. I turn tail and start running as fast as I possibly can, hearing the wolves running after me. I risk a look back and see one snap their jaws at me.
I trip over a rock falling to the ground flipping onto my back. I scoot backwards until I hit a tree looking at the wolves surrounding me and closing in. One of them transforms back into a human, bones breaking and reshaping themselves, once done one of the women the nameless one kneels down and gives me a hard glare then sniffs me. I feel my bladder release its contents again.
One wolf snaps at me and the other licks its chops like it was staring at its next meal. The lady holds out a hand at the others then says, "forget what you seen here or we will eat you," then snaps her teeth at me making me yell in terror. She shifts again and nods her head to the side and walks off into the woods.
I get up and run the rest of the way home. "Mom! You won't believe what I seen on my way home today in the forest," I yell once I burst through the door.
"Oh honey, what did you see?" She said smiling in the kitchen making my after school snack.
"I seen a pack of wolves and they transformed into humans, and, and they were giants," I say excitedly to tell someone what I saw.
"Honey you know that that stuff ain't real right?" She chuckles handing me a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it.
"But I did see it mom," I reply looking down at the floor until I feel a soft hand lift up my head and see my mom smiling at me, then she says, "go change you stink,"
"Yes ma'am," I reply and run upstairs to take a shower and change.
"Sire, what about the human?" Jessika asks the male.
"What about him?" The man with a long scar from his brow to mid-cheek asks back.
"We let him walk away, he could've been our mid-day snack until dinner," Jessika answers the man.
"And? Even if he tells anyone no one will believe him because he's only a child, and children have wild imaginations," Kyna interjects.
"Kyna, please. Look Jessika, Kyna is right, no one will believe a ten year old boy," the man tells Jessika and Kyna smirks at her earning a middle finger in return.
"Listen Ezekiel I know that your alpha now and that we're supposed to follow your every order, but I have to object on this one," Jessika tells Ezekiel and his face gets tomato red.
"I will rip you a new asshole if you ever call me that name again," he growls getting up in Jessika's face. Not backing down from an obvious challenge shifts into her werewolf form and hunches back but before she can lunge on the leader a throat clearing interrupts her. They all look at the source, and find the elder of the pack has found them.
"I suggest you keep this childish fighting in your private rooms," the elder says.
"Yes, elder," we all say, bowing their heads allowing the elder to continue.
"This in-fighting is what got Zelph's pack dismantled because they were causing the pack way too much trouble and drama, not to mention unwanted attention of the humans," she tells them all walking over to Kyna she sniffs the girls hair and recoils in obvious disgust, "you smell Kyna take a shower and meet us outside by the river so we can proceed with the ritual,"
"Yes, elder," Kyna replies respectfully and slips away into the thick forest and runs to her home to shower.
Present Day
"Yo Ben, check is it that the girl you're interested in?" I ask, pointing to a cute brunette with gages and piercings.
"Yeah, but she'd never go for someone like me," he says looking at the girl.
"You miss one hundred percent of the shots you never take, bro. So why not ask her out?" I tell him punching his shoulder.
"Yeah I guess you're right," he says getting up and starts walking toward her. After a brief conversation he comes walking back to me and says, "you fucking asshole she has a boyfriend,"
"Is there a ring on her finger?" I ask him, raising a brow.
"No, I didn't see one," he replies, raising his brows.
"Well you know what they say, 'she's still game until there's a ring on it'," I tell him, then add, "watch and see how it's done, bro,"
Getting up I walk over to the girl and say, "Hey, I saw that you were sitting by yourself and I was wondering if I could sit with you, if that's cool?"
"Yeah it's cool with me as long you're not a creep," she says looking up at me and giving a half smile.
I slide in on the bench seat where she's sitting and ask, "what's your name?"
"Jessika. Jessika Saunders, and you are?" She answers and fires back the question.
"I'm Paul Hugh the third at your service, pleasure to meet you," I say, earning a small laugh from her.
"Well Paul it's been nice talking to you, but I have to get back to studying," she responds looking back down at her books and notes.
"My real name is Traeger. Traeger Wise, but most people call me Trae for short," I say looking at her books on what seems to be chemistry. "You know I'm studying chemistry too, so maybe we could meet up and study together sometime," I tell her.
Looking up she says, "Really?! Oh thank the gods for you Trae, that would be awesome, thank you!" Jessika exclaims looking at me with emerald green eyes.
"Your eyes are very pretty," I say without thinking, then say, "uh, that was... I didn't mean to say that, I'm sorry,"
"No, no it's alright, I get that a lot actually, mostly from old men, or pedos," she says, packing her stuff and getting up.
"Hey Jessika there's actually someone that I want you to meet," I wave Ben over to us and introduce the two. "Ben, Jessika, Jessika, Ben,"
"I remember you. You're the guy from earlier that tried to hit on me and I told you that I had a boyfriend," Jessika says coldly.
"Well you see Traeger-" he starts then I elbow him in the ribs making him grunt and say, "I always thought you were cute but I didn't have the courage to talk to you,"
"Uh huh, so you recruit your friend to warm up to me and then you slip in and introduce yourself to me and then tryna get with me, am I right?" She asks sternly and with a hardness in her voice that makes Ben gulp and take a step back. "Well I have to go, and I'll leave you with my number so we can set up a study session," she says and writes down her number then gives it to me then gives Ben a hard glare then walks off towards the gymnasium.
"You fucking asshole," Ben exclaims his voice high and pushes me hard enough to make me stumble backward. "That was my win, and you had to swoop in and take it from me!"
"Um excuse me but if I remember correctly you needed a wingman to help you and I was that wingman," I respond smartly, smirking.
"You know what, Trae? Fuck you. Fuck you and your high horse that you rode in on. I'm done," he says and walks off. I chuckle walking to the main building getting ready for class.
Jess: What do you mean that you don't have a mate yet??? You know if you don't have a mate for mating season you'll be banned from going to the ritual
Kyna: I don't have a mate because I don't want one. No matter how many times I get horny af all the pack males want is to breed and have sweaty greasy sex with one female then hand her off to another male. I think that it's disgusting 🤢
Jess: W.e. Anyway I met this really cute human that I think that you would absolutely fall for
Kyna: A human? Rlly Jess, rlly? Do you think that low of me that I should mate with a human of all species
Jess: Hey don't judge, I'd jump his bones before I'd jump another of the pack males, the pack males are a little too rough for my liking
Kyna: Eww 🤢 wtf Jess? I don't wanna know about your sex life
Jess: Like you have one? 😂
Kyna: STFU!
"Miss Saunders, would you please tell me the compounds of hydrochloric acid?" My professor asks me.
"The compounds of hydrochloric acid are hydrogen and chlorine," I answer with ease, looking at the professor and smirking.
"Alright what is the chemical structure of sulfur?"
"Chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic,"
Traeger: Hey, what's up?
"Very well," he says and continues teaching.
Jess: Nm just in chemistry learning shit that I already know
Traeger: lmao I feel that. Wanna meet up tomorrow?
Jess: Sure why not? What's the worst that could happen, right XD
Traeger: Right
Kyna: Jess you need to come home right now
Jess: What, why?
Kyna: Bc something's wrong with one of the elders and there's gonna be a meeting of elves and werewolves on neutral ground and the elders want all the pack leaders there. It's happening at eleven thirty at night so we need to prepare
Jess: Again why? The elder is probably just sick or something, shouldn't be anything srs. But elves and werewolves were at war for what centuries, this is gonna fucking huge in the werewolf circles
Kyna: Ikr that's why you need to come home right away so we can get ready
Jess: K omw