Chapter 1:

Last day of summer break. What's there to like? All you have to look forward to is the dread of your school opening up again. However, there is still an air of excitement, especially when starting high school. The day before, I got up, with my hair a rat's nest, and shuffled my feet across the floor. Picking up the new uniform from my suitcase, I quickly looked over it. Tomorrow, I will be attending a prestigious academy in the great city of Talunia! Considering how I live in a small town, I was excited, yet nervous for it.

However, that's tomorrow. After putting the uniform back in the suitcase, I put on a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. I brushed my hair and tail, cleaned my mouth out, and washed my face. All wolves have to have some dignity even when at home. Right when putting on my favorite striped fuzzy socks, my ears perked up. Ah shoot, here we go again.

"Sissy!"

"Hi Felicity…”

A small body crashed into me. “Kiara, it’s time for breakfast! Come on!”

Felicity is my younger sister. She's 12 years old and the most hyperactive wolf that could exist. She wags her tail so often that last year, we had to get a cast on it. Her long ash-brown hair was worn in pigtails that day, and her honey-colored eyes gleamed. Her Beth Bonnie-Bun-Bun pajamas always had paint stains on it, but thankfully the paint was dry. Dad considered making up a new word that means "over-hyperactive wolf". He's thinking "Deggy" might work, but he's not sure yet.

Unlike my sister, I keep my hair short, near the chin. My eyes are more "peanut butter" than honey. Other than that, we are similar externally, but very different internally. I’m more calm than Felicity. Logical too. However, we share a natural curiosity.

Speaking of curiosity, very little news ever made it to our hometown Nocturne. The only important news about what’s going on outside of our little city was things such as…

There’s a new medicine

Elections are coming up

There’s a fire 15 miles from us

Etc.

Apparently, we’re the only city in Talunia County to be this secluded. When I was younger I asked my parents, and they said it’s just a “religion thing”. Yeah right, what religion? Most of us are atheists. All I knew was that it’s a personal decision and most wolves haven’t chosen to leave for over a hundred years.

As I walked downstairs, I couldn’t help but think that this would be the last time I’d be in my own house for a few months, as I’d be staying in a dormitory until winter holidays. It’s a bittersweet feeling. As I reached the dining room table, I glanced to see my mom and sister already seated.

My dad already left for work. He usually leaves at 6 after all. Dad has an office job and usually comes back by 4 pm. Dad has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He has the same ears and eye shape as I do, though.

My mom is at the head of the table. She usually stays at home. My sister and I look a lot like her, with ash-brown hair and light gold eyes. However, our eyes are a slightly different shade; dark brown and light yellow can be mixed in many ways.

As I sat down to dig into the waffles (my favorite!), Mom spoke up.

“Hey Kiara, how’s my little sugarplum feeling about high school?”

“Mom!” I shouted. I love Mom, but this gets embarrassing.

“Oh, come on now Sugarplum. My baby girl’s all grown up! And going up to the city as well.”

“Mom, anyone in this city could go to the city if you just drive a couple of miles.”

“Well... you need to be very prestigious to travel to the city…”

“If you say so, Mom.”

Felicity was jumping in her chair so fast it looked like she was a vibrating phone. Ever since the “incident”, she was banned from eating sugar. Therefore, her waffles were as plain as a rock.

I smeared butter on one of the waffles.

“Felicity, when Kiara leaves, you’ll be the oldest child in the house now.”

“Okay Mom!”

…

“FELICITY!”

Even though I had finished packing my clothes and essentials to move to the dorms, I still had some other stuff left. I had grabbed a red backpack to put the last few things in, but…

“Give my phone back!”

My sister had the audacity to steal my phone and was now running around the house laughing. Soon, I was chasing her to get my phone back, and then she took the phone case off of my phone and threw it at my face. I barely noticed her zip out into the backyard, but she left the door open.

I sighed. “It’s no joke Sissy, give my phone back and- DON’T THROW IT ON THE ROOF!”

I managed to grab her wrist just before she threw my phone on the roof. Prying her fingers apart, I took my phone back. “What were you doing?”

She turned to me with those innocent honey eyes. Her face wasn’t its usual mischievous expression, but a downcast frown.

“Sis? Do you have to go today?”

“Felicity. It’s an hour until I leave, but you’re asking now? Yeah, I’m gonna leave for the Talunia Academy. If I don’t make it there by 6, I’ll be kicked.”

“But sis! Will you forget me when you’re at that big fancy school?”

I was taken aback by this. “Why would I forget you?”

“While you’ve been getting ready, you’ve been ignoring me.”

Felicity grabbed my hands. “When you go to school, you might forget me.”

I held out my pinkie. We always did pinkie promises when we were younger. “Look Felicity, I promise with my heart that I won’t forget you even though I’m at school. Okay?”

“No! No pinkie promise. I want…”

Felicity thought for a while, then lit up with an idea. “Put Beth Bonnie-Bun-Bun on your backpack!”

I laughed. Felicity is so innocent. “Okay, then. I’ll put Beth Bonnie-Bun-Bun on my backpack, but can you do something for me?”

“Okay sis…”

“I want you to calm down a bit and think before you act. Alright?”

“Okay sis! Wait… alright sis.”

We hugged each other before going back inside. Like I promised, I put the Beth Bonnie-Bun-Bun keychain on my backpack.

…

By 4, I was ready to travel to the dorms. When Mom drove me, I said goodbye before picking up my suitcase and backpack and walking up to registration. The dorm receptionist was waiting.

“Name?”

“Kiara Thompson.”

“Dorm number?”

“Uh… ”

I pulled out the registration form. “124.”

“Oh, so you’re a freshman. Let’s see… here’s your key.”

The receptionist handed me a keyring with a small brown key on it. “Thanks,” I said.

Looking around, I saw a lot of wolves with similar forms and keys. They must be other students. Wonder why several of them have tattoos on their cheeks. Must be a fashion statement. Then again, I’ve seen some politicians on TV with tattoos on their cheeks too. But that doesn’t explain why several wolves have strangely shaped ears and tails. Or why everyone smells weird. All wolves can smell other wolves, but none of these guys smell anything like anyone back home.

Anyway, room 124. First floor, twenty-fourth room. Based on what I saw other wolves doing, I assumed the guys are on a different floor. At least this isn’t like those dumb rom-coms with a guy and a girl in the same dormatory. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal.

“122… 123… 124! Here it is.”

When I opened the door, I (thankfully, no rom-coms here) noticed another girl unpacking her duffel bag. She was muscular, probably a jock (although she was even more muscular than most of the boys back home). Her hair was a dirty blonde and her eyes were a fierce electric blue. She had one of those weird tattoos over her cheek, a reddish diamond shape.

“Hey,” I said. “I guess we're roommates now. What’s your name?”

She looked at me in disdain. “Ugh, I got paired up with a dumb beta…”

“Why are you calling me a betta? Are you calling me a fish?”

Her face shifted from uninterested to pure confusion. “What do you mean ‘why are you calling me a beta’? Are you trying to one-up me? I thought all betas cowered under alphas! Well, I’m an alpha, so why are you not submissive to me?”

It almost felt like she was speaking in a different language.

“Sorry, but…”

“But what?” Her confusion had shifted to shock during her rant.

“What the heck is an alpha?”