Chapter 1
Leoni
I’ve been the outcast of my family for years, though they’ve never treated me as such. I am still the black sheep, undervalued and underrated. My friends, well the very few I ever had, called me naive and think I deserve everything that I have coming my way. I’ve never fit in, and I doubt I ever will, no matter how far away I am. I studied hard to get into college only to be hated by my peers. I was looked down on and ostracized for the way I looked. I like the colour black. So sue me. I am into all kinds of music, from rock to death metal. I wear dark baggy clothes, chains, heavy buckled boots and dark makeup. I have changed styles of music growing up, but I have tended to stay with the current genre of music. My hair is jet black and is halfway down my back unless I desire to put it up. I usually braid one half, so my shaven hair is visible.
No one understands me or who I am, not that I want them to. I didn’t breeze through high school. I dealt the cards drawn. I hoped one day I would make my parents proud of me so much, so they would notice me more than they noticed me more than my siblings and my younger sister. Mainly, she was the apple of their eye, and they always doted on her, especially when she did well at school. What did I get for doing well at school? A grunt and try harder. Why the fuck do I even bother?
Even when I got into college, they didn’t seem happy for me. They were less happy when I got thrown out because they didn’t like my face. The other students who went there didn’t like me or the clothes I wore and always complimented me on how weird I looked, but I didn’t fucking care it was who I was and if they didn’t like it they could go and fuck right off. I am who I am if they don’t like me. It’s not my fucking problem.
It all got too much when they started goading me and taking the piss out of me. Then I snapped. The whole college was against me and guess who the principal took sides with? Not me, that’s for sure.
My parents were more pissed than I had ever seen them. They had never been cruel with their words towards me before until that night when I returned home. I needed to be alone and process what had actually happened. It hadn’t actually hit me until I walked back through the door, and they pounded on me asking me what the hell had gotten into me. They had not so many very nice choices of words. I knew they didn’t care for me much, but even less when I ruined my chance at college.
I eventually went back to college. And, going into my second-choice campus, hoping it would be better than the first choice I had decided to take and how wrong I was about that choice. Would this one be better? I sure hope so.
I walked alone. I was always a loner, but I had hoped to find friends, ones I could actually be myself with and not build up a whole fucking facade to fit in.
I entered the building, going directly to the reception. I already had my ID badge, so I swiped it against the machine that clicked to let me in. I asked for directions to the room my class was in. She smiled sweetly, giving me directions.
I headed through the maze of corridors and eventually got to the room where my first lesson was going to take place.
I slid in, and the professor looked at me smiling. “A new fade this year, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Professor Henley.”
“I’m Leoni.”
He smiled sweetly. “Please take a seat, Leoni.”
“Thank you, Professor Henley.”
He chuckled. “Please, call me Ryan.”
“Sure Ryan.”
He chucked as I walked passed and made my way to the back of the room and sat down.
“Right now everyone is here, we’ll begin.”
The door flew open and a girl around my age strode in, head held high, wearing a black frilly skirt and knee-high boots and a Basque. “Miss. Gregory, you’re late, again.” Professor Henley sighed.
She grinned wickedly. “Sorry, my alarm didn’t go off.”
He sighed. “Again. Fine, sit down.”
She winked at him and almost skipped through the classroom to where I was sitting. “Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
I looked up at her, her dark hair curled down her chest which was barely held in the Basque. Her lips were black like her eyeshadow and eyeliner. “When you stopped eye fucking me.”
I heard chuckles across the room. “Sorry, I… Sure you can sit down.”
She smiles and drops her bag on the floor. She sits down. “Thanks.”
I smiled at her, not knowing what to say.
“I’m Areina, by the way.”
“Leoni.”
“Cool name. Maybe we can hang out?”
Professor Henley cleared his throat as I answered her. “Now we are all here and there will be no more interruptions. Let’s begin.”
I think I’m going to like it here much better than my last college, with a hot professor and a wild-ass girl who seems to be in my safe length. I hope we become friends. I wonder if there are more like her here as the lesson begins.
Professor Henley
I watch her through the lesson. She’s a pretty little thing. But I know for a fact she’ll end up in trouble if she decides to hang around with Areina Gregory. She’s got a habit of pulling in the most gullible girls she can to her little swah-RAY. She’s the only one of her friends in my group who does a good job. Hunter and Cody don’t take this class, or they’ll be in some trouble. They like taking in the helpless and, well, making them not so helpless.
I can sense that Leoni wants to make friends but Ariena’s and her friends aren’t it. She’ll end up in more trouble than it’s worth. She has no idea what she’s going against. I smelt her before she entered. I think the others did and chose to stay away. But, Areina likes humans more than she likes her own, even if she’s mated to Hunter. She is a kindred spirit and I hope and pray to god she doesn’t harm this girl. She has no idea she’s sitting in a class full of hormonal wolves.
I wonder what brought her here? I remember reading the enrollment sheet for the last term, and she was on it and then she wasn’t. Now, six months later, she’s here and having no clue she’s the only human among wolves. I need to make sure that she is safe no matter what.
The lesson goes swiftly, everyone gets up and moves swiftly toward the door. “So how do you fancy having lunch with us?”
“Sure.”
Areina smiles brightly, and I speak before I could think. “Leoni, can I talk with you?”
She looks at me confused.
Areina grins thinking I want her for more than just a chat. Well, she’s wrong.
“It won’t take long, I promise.”
“Sure.”
“Take as long as you like. I’ll wait outside, okay?”
“Okay.”
Areina winks as she leaves.
I want to roll my eyes at her idiocy. But I refrain from doing so.
“So what did you want to talk to me about, professor?”
I cleared my throat. “Please call me Ryan. We’re not in high school anymore.”
“Sure.”
“How are you finding your first day, Leoni? I know it can be hard and daunting to come to a different college and start all over.”
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
I smiled. “If there’s anything and I mean anything, I’m here to talk about your work or anything else.”
“Thanks, Ryan, I appreciate it.”
I smiled. “Just be careful around Areina, okay. She’s a wild card, that one.”
She giggles. “She’s cool. I like her. I hope to find more friends like her.”
I hope she doesn’t.
“I need to be around people like me.”
I looked at her confused. I don’t see anything wrong with her or the way she looks. Or am I missing something?
“I’m sure you’re fine as you are, Leoni, you’ll easily make friends.”
“I doubt it.” she mumbled, but I heard her perfectly.
“Why’s that?” I asked curiously.
She looked at me shocked, as if I wasn’t supposed to hear what she said.
“How did you? Never mind. Forget you heard it.”
“Are you okay, Leoni?”
“I’m fine. I have to go before lunch ends.”
I nod. “Sure. I’ll see you next lesson.”
“Sure later, Ryan.”
“Later Leoni.”
She hurries out of the class, closing the door and leaving me with more questions than answers. Makes me wonder why she thinks she can’t make friends and, more importantly, I want to know who the real Leoni is.
