Switched

Reyna kept her head down as she made her way down the hall to her next class. People gave her looks of annoyance and hatred, but they never acted on their feelings since they knew that she was the Alpha’s daughter. She didn’t understand why people didn’t like her. She was well-trained and intelligent, her grades being the best in school. But because she wasn’t particularly beautiful, she was looked down on. But Reyna didn’t really care about her appearance. She believed that spending money on makeup or designer clothing was a waste of money. From a young age, she saw how the common people worked hard to get what they had and she strived to do the same. She worked and saved money to eventually start her own business. It wasn’t a big business, but she was happy with it. She split the income it was making in half, putting part of it back into her business and using the rest to support some local charities. Reyna wanted to do more, but her business needed to grow.

Reyna made it to class with plenty of time to spare, taking a seat close to the front so that she could see and hear better. She wore glasses, but she needed a new prescription, yet she didn’t want to spend money on a new pair. Her parents wanted her to wear contacts, even offering to pay for them, but she didn’t want to take their money. In fact, ever since she started her own business, Reyna put all the money her parents gave her into a savings account so that she could give it back to them if there was ever a need. She always felt like there was a disconnect between herself and her parents, like she didn’t truly belong in that household. When she was younger, people jokingly claimed that she was adopted because she didn’t look like either of her parents. Her parents just laughed it off, claiming that Reyna got her looks from her great grandparents.

A group of boys walked into the room, laughing and Reyna had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes. The leader of the group, Maximus, was the son of the current Beta. Max’s eyes fell on Reyna and he pointed her out to the rest of the group. They all grinned as they walked up to her.

“Look guys, it’s the Nerd!” Max said. He put his hands on Reyna’s desk and leaned forward. “What are you up to, Nerd? Forgot to do your homework?” Reyna tried to ignore him, but Max grabbed the book she was reading and held it up for the others to see. “‘A Guide to Fashion and Apparel’? Finally decided to look into wearing something besides a hoodie and jeans?”

“Give it back Max,” Reyna said, reaching for the book.

Max childishly held it out of Reyna’s reach. “If you need better clothes, then why not ask the Alpha for some money? Or is he too ashamed of your ugliness to buy anything better?”

“Maximus, give it back to her,” a voice said. Everyone turned to see a girl with a pink pixie hairstyle.

Max glowered. He hated when people used his full name. “Cristine.”

She glared right back at him. Cristine was Reyna’s best friend as well as the daughter of a pack warrior. Although her family wasn’t high ranking, she never was one to back down, always willing to pick a fight with Max’s group or defend Reyna. Just like Max, she hated her full name, preferring to be called Cris.

“I think Cris is right, Max,” a boy named John said. He was one of Max’s friends and he had a crush on Cris.

“Fine,” Max said, dropping the book on the floor. “This was getting boring anyway.” He stomped past Reyna and headed for the back, his friends following him. John gave a slight bow on his way. He was the timid one in the group and despite Max’s bullying, he always tried to show Reyna respect. Reyna knew that he did it because of Cris.

Cris rolled her eyes, picked up the book and placed it on the desk before taking a seat next to Reyna. “Those boys really need to grow up.”

“It could be worse,” Reyna said.

“And you just had to jinx it,” Cris said. Reyna followed her gaze to the door. A group of girls walked in. The one in the front had blond hair, dyed from its original brown. Her green eyes found Reyna and Cris then went to the back where Max was. A smile appeared on her face and she walked towards him.

“Max!” she took his arms in his then gave him a peck on the cheek. Max grinned and kissed her on the lips. Kylie was the daughter of the current Gamma and Max’s girlfriend. Just like Max, she often bullied Reyna. She was what one would call a materialist, always wearing the latest design and most expensive jewelry. As long as it cost a lot of money, Kylie didn’t even care if it looked good on her or not. She loved flaunting her money. Cris and Reyna knew that the only reason Kylie was passing her classes was because she was paying people to do her work. And the teachers were turning a blind eye to it, not wanting to upset their Gamma. It helped that the Gamma made regular donations to the school. Max’s father also made donations which made the teacher mark his graders higher, giving him enough points to pass each class. Cris and Reyna wondered if the Pack was going to be in good hands when Max and his friends took over. Since Max was the Beta’s son, he was guaranteed at least the role of Beta. However, since the current Alpha only had one daughter, the next Alpha position was up for grabs and Max had his eye on it. As Max’s girlfriend, Kylie was hoping to become the next Luna.

Even though he hadn’t announced it yet, the Alpha wanted Reyna to become the next Luna. He had been telling her for years, along with Reyna’s mother, the current Luna, that she needs to find a strong Mate because he’ll become the next Alpha. Reyna had been training to take the Luna position her entire life, despite not really wanting to be in power. She only wanted to help her pack grow. One of the reasons she was reading the book in the first place was because she heard that Marley Mayhew was visiting the pack. Marley was a fashion designer who has designed the ceremonial clothes for Alphas and Lunas for decades. Reyna was surprised that she was coming here since the next ceremony for the pack wouldn’t be for a few more years. Still, Reyna wanted to talk to the woman since she was such a great business woman.

“What is taking our professor so long?” Cris asked. Reyna looked up, her eyes going to the clock. Professor Jean wasn’t one to be late. In fact, the only time he was late was because of a Rogue Attack where he had joined in on the fighting. He had been only five minutes late, all wounds already bandaged. But it had been ten minutes and he was still not here. Suddenly the door opened and the dean came in. “Sorry everyone, but this class is dismissed. Professor Jean has been in an accident and will not be in charge of this class for a bit. You will get an email when class is ready to resume.” The dean left without another word. People began to whisper as Max and his group stood up. They didn’t really care about Professor Jean. The left to go have fun. “Professor Jean was in an accident? I hope he’s ok.” Professor Jean was the professor that Cris looked up to the most.

“Should we go to the pack hospital and see if he’s there?” Reyna asked.

“Sure,” Cris said, instantly getting up. Reyna quickly packed her things and the two of them left the school. Cris drove them to the pack hospital and a nurse informed them that Professor Jean wasn’t allowed visitors. Cris and Reyna looked at each other in concern. All of a sudden, a doctor came running down the hall towards the nurse.

“We need more B-,” the doctor said.

“We don’t have any,” the nurse said. “We are short on the supply.”

“I may be able to help,” Reyna said.

“Oh, you are the Alpha and Luna’s daughter,” the doctor said. “That means you are B-.” It was common knowledge that the Alpha and Luna were B- so it only made sense that Reyna would be too. “Come with me. Your blood will still have to be tested, but I’m sure it will be fine.” The doctor and Reyna left Cris with the nurse and headed to a room. They drew some of Reyna’s blood, leaving the tube connected for easier access. The lab rushed the results and when the doctor got them back he frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Reyna asked.

“I… I think we need to contact your parents,” the doctor said. He motioned for the nurse. “Please call for the Alpha and the Luna. We need them here now.” Reyna remained seated, looking at the doctor in confusion, but he wasn’t looking at her. About fifteen minutes later, Reyna’s parents came into the room looking very concerned.

“What’s wrong with Reyna?” Luna Kathy asked.

“Nothing Luna,” the doctor said, bowing. “It’s just, I found something odd about her blood test.”

“What is it?” Alpha Roy asked.

“Her blood type doesn’t match,” the doctor said.

“What do you mean?” Luna Kathy asked.

“Her blood type,” the doctor said. “It’s different from both of yours.”

“How can that be?” Reyna asked.

“Well… that’s…” the doctor froze, afraid to speak.

But Alpha Roy caught onto the implications and turned on Luna Kathy. “Did you cheat on me? Is Reyna not my daughter?”

“What?” Luna Kathy asked, her own anger rising. “That’s impossible! There is no way I could have cheated on you even if I wanted to. You’d know if I had. I’m your Mate!”

Alpha Roy looked away from her in confusion. He knew there was truth to what Kathy was saying since if a Mate cheated, the one that was cheated on would feel the pain of the betrayal, but Roy had never felt that kind of pain. Still, he needed the truth. “I want a DNA test.”

“You can’t be serious,” Kathy yelled. “You really think I slept with someone else and got pregnant?”

“I don’t,” Roy said. “But something is clearly wrong here.”

“Fine,” Kathy crossed her arms. “But when the tests prove that I’m not a cheater, I expect an apology!” She turned away from her husband. “Now where is Professor Jean? You said Reyna came here to give her blood to him? I’m B- so I’ll give him my blood.” She sat down next to Reyna and held out her arm. The doctor was more hesitant, but he did what she asked. Her test came back, proving that she was B-, so the doctor led her to where Jean was and began the transfer. He came back and collected some blood from Roy and a little more from Reyna. He sent it to the lab, requesting it to be the top priority. When the transfusion was done, Kathy came to the room, feeling exhausted. Roy tried to help her, but she ignored his hands and sat down. She was still angry and Roy couldn’t blame her. He thought about calling the test off, but it was already too late. The doctor came into the room looking even more confused and scared than before.

“What’s wrong?” Roy asked.

“We have the results,” the doctor said. “And I’m sorry to say that they came back negative, for both of you.” Roy and Kathy’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?” Reyna asked.

The doctor took a deep breath and turned towards Reyna. “It means that Alpha Roy and Luna Kathy are not your biological parents.”