-:Cecelia's PoV:-

I woke up late, surprising myself. I was meant to wake up at quarter to six, but I was sleeping like the dead till seven. Damn.

I missed my morning jog and was feeling a little groggy from sleeping longer than normal. Groggy yet refreshed. How was that even possible? I'd love to know.

I dressed for school like usual. I was cheery that day, so cheery that I even winked at myself in the mirror when I was done dressing. A plain white oversized tee with 'WTF - Where's The Food' printed across it and a pair of blue jeans. I laced up my pair of combat boots and threw my hair in a lazy ponytail.

I checked and time and realized that I needed to get going lest I wanted to be late. I hurried out, locking my door behind me. I made sure my wallet and keys were on me as I made my way downstairs. Pleased that they were, I treated myself to an apple and pancakes for breakfast. I downed a glass of milk and sauntered out.

I was in my car, driving to school when it occurred to me I was being weirdly happy. And trust me when I say it didn't take me long to point out the reason. My smile quickly turned upside down with the knowledge. Dang, that was bad. I didn't want to owe my happiness to anyone.

I couldn't owe my happiness to anyone.

Making sure that my mood was in check, I slid into an empty space in the parking lot. Years of training to be a warrior and excelling in combat sort of conditions your posture and aura. To an extent that people willingly part like the red sea without any prompts when they see you approach. Either that or they suddenly remembered I was their Alpha's daughter.

Not to brag, but I'd place my bets on the former.

I walked to my locker, keeping my face blank. That helps in keeping people at bay when they are already intimidated by you. I was so glad that I no longer had to pretend that I was pleased to interact with masses even when I didn't want to, just for courtesy's sake. That welcome back party was definitely tough. I was so not in the mood that day. I shuddered at the thought of all the bubbly smiles and fake niceties I exchanged then.

I put in the combination and pulled the locker open. A note slipped out. I frowned and pocketed it for the meanwhile. I stashed a few books I forgot yesterday and sorted them in my bag for the day. I closed my locker and walked to my first class - History. 

I honestly had zero fun in the class. I was usually a good student but that class felt like it was going to be the death of me. I was only taking it to complete my credits. I almost groaned audibly when I entered the class. So much desolation. It reminded me of why I kept putting it off till I absolutely had to take it and ruin my Senior year. 

Joy.

I slumped into my seat, only to remember how yesterday went in that exact same seat. I wanted to kill something at the reminder. I settled for killing time for the sake of the clueless humans sitting around me. I pulled out my sketchbook and a few pencils and began sketching carelessly.

'Calm down,' Sera soothed, noticing my forceful strokes.

I scoffed.

'Isn't this exchange supposed to go the other way around?'

'Well, it would but you're the one who's angsty, sweetie.'

' . . . touché, you bitch.'

She laughed.

'Seriously though,' I argued. 'Xavier is fine, but Ash isn't.'

'Ash?' she smirked.

'Is that all you got from it?' I retorted. She laughed again.

'Fell for his wolf before his human. Now that's new,' she teased. I scowled.

'I am not falling for Ashton in a billion years!' I snarked.

'You didn't deny you fell for . . .ahem . . . Xav,' she sang. I snapped my pencil in half. A few heads turned in my direction but looked away just as fast when I glared at them. My pack members bowed their heads as a sign of submission when they encountered my glare. I should've felt guilty for scaring them but I was too mad to care.

'I'll kill you.' I bit at Serafine.

'Oh, you're done for.' She cackled.

'Fuck you.' I closed the link and blocked out my wolf. Annoying bitch. On cue, the bell rang, and the teacher came in almost immediately. He sucks. Mr. Cross, if I was not mistaken. He was so uptight and strict, he didn't even offer a proper greeting before he began the lecture.

I was thankful when I realized that Ashton seemed to have been skipping class. Too bad the same couldn't be said for the brunette who was on his arm yesterday. She was sitting diagonally behind me and I swear to Selene, she could stare well. Who stares with such murderous intensity? I could be her Luna in her future for all she knows. Sera was bristling at the disrespect.

Finally, pride won over sensibility and I turned around to glare back, my eyes black. Surprising me, she looked away in under ten seconds. I had anticipated her to fight the urge seeing as she gave off the aura of a pureblood. A gamma or a beta's daughter. But it seemed like I wasn't the only one who couldn't get their wolves to agree all the time.

Satisfied that we were superior, Sera and I turned back to face the teacher who was writing something on the board. I took the opportunity to blink away Sera's presence from my eyes. The rest of the lecture went by uneventfully and I was more than pleased when it ended.

I stopped by my locker to dump my bag there. I had Dance next. I smiled a little. I loved dancing. It was almost like training and combat, but not really. I ambled to the dance room and saw it filling up. I smiled wider as I strolled over to the back and sat down against the wall under the ballet barres.

I closed my eyes and focused on the soft melody playing in the background. Music had been my escape for as long as I remember. Grandma pushed me towards dance since it combines both music and physical activity. I opened my eyes to see the teacher prance in. She looked nice and ebullient. 

"Okay, let's begin!" She exclaimed as soon as the bell rung, stopping the music. Before she could elaborate, the door opened again and my smile dropped. 

There stood Ashton Summers and his trophy girlfriend who didn't look very happy. Trouble in paradise? Why wouldn't there be? It wasn't like he met his mate who he can neither accept nor reject. 

Why do they have to be here?

"Late? Again, Mr. Summers?" The teacher shook her head. "This won't do. Strike two. Get a third strike and it's a week in detention for you."

I could see him struggle not to back-answer.

"Yes, Ms. Coleman," he forced out stiffly. She frowned at the delivery but gestured for him to take a seat inside anyways. That's when he spotted me and did a double-take. So did his girlfriend. Awesome. I maintained eye contact stoically. No emotions on display whatsoever. His eyes flashed with an unknown emotion for a second and then went back to their cold and emotionless state.

Bloody fantastic.

He looked away first, not because he wanted to but because the brunette nudged him forward. Our pack members didn't bat an eye to the exchange, used to the rivalry in between the packs. To think about it, no reaction would've probably raised more questions. 

The pair made sure to go and sit as far away as physically possible. Ms. Coleman cleared her throat deliberately, calling for our attention. When I faced her, her eyes were already on me.

"Ah, I assume you're the new student. Cecelia Rivers?" She asked.

"Yup," I nodded.

"Why don't you come over here and introduce yourself?" She said. I laughed to myself. Over fifty percent of the class were werewolves from either mine or neighboring packs. They knew me. My name and reputation preceded me. I smirked when my pack members chuckled and urged me to go on.

I got up confidently and made it to the center.

"So, ya'll already know who I am now, right?" I began and there was another round of chuckles, making me grin. "It's Cecelia Rivers, for those of you who missed it."

"And have you danced before?" Ms. Coleman asked, smiling slightly. She was clearly amused.

"Actually, yeah," I smiled back at her. "I was on the dance team in my old school." She looked impressed. She must have known about my 'previous school.'

"Why don't you try out for our dance team?" She suggested. I was tempted, I'll admit. I missed moving to the beat in front of an appreciative audience. The thrill of competing and winning. But, I had new commitments here.

"I'm sorry but I'll have to decline," I said politely. I wanted to train the noobs with Aaron, find out what the fuck is going on that he's hiding, adjust, catch up with the work I missed and keep up with the new work. I was packed.

She looked genuinely disappointed.

"Let me know if you change your mind," she told me. "I think we might have a spot for you on the team."

"Of course, I'll be honored," I beamed. Somebody coughed in their hand and muttered 'kiss ass'. I snapped my head to the girl at the back. Gorgeous would cover her looks spot on. She smirked, oblivious of the number of glares on her. Maybe I underestimated my pack's love for me. 

She was a Silver Moon, I could smell her. Her voice was low enough for humans to miss it but us Weres? Not so much. A few Silver Moons chuckled with her. I didn't dare look at where Ashton was seated. If he were joining in on the fun, things would get ugly.

"Oh, meet Mathilda," Ms. Coleman smiled at her. "She's on the team too."

Lovely. Add that to the list of reasons I won't be on the team anytime soon. I watched as Mathilda smiled sweetly at Ms. Coleman.

"And you call me a kiss ass. What does that make you, genius?" I mumbled under my breath. My pack guffawed. She scowled. Ms. Coleman and the humans of the class looked confused at the sudden outburst. Ms. Coleman shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and motioned for me to go back.

'Awesome.'

'Served her right.'

'Alpha female right there.'

'You tell her!'

My pack members pounded me with mind links and I let out a small laugh. It felt so nice. I felt like I fit in with my pack. Who would've thought?

'Thank you.' I linked back and received more smiles. I simpered. I was definitely bipolar.

"Fine, that's enough." Ms. Coleman interrupted. "We'll start a new dance today. Waltz." She stated. 

Some groaned and others yelped in excitement. I listened, eager to know what exactly we were going to do. I had waltzed before but I barely remembered.

"I don't want your inputs now," she chided and continued. "I'll pair you up." 

Cue more groans.

"Why?" Someone whined.

"Because I said so, Ms. Wiener. Now, let's go . . ." She began randomly pairing people up.

"Ashton and Cecelia," she announced after a while.

"What?" We protested in sync.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, ma'am actually there is," Ashton protested. "Can't Bree and I pair like always?" So that was the brunette's name. I glanced at her to see that she sat quietly, waiting to see where this went.

". . . no. Deal with this." Ms. Coleman responded.

"Please, Ms. Coleman, anyone but him," I tried.

"He's terrible and you're great. Brianna won't be able to help as much this time." She stated.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"What if I'm not comfortable with it?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I winced internally. She looked between us, contemplating. I knew everyone was watching the drama unfold. The packs were smart enough to keep their traps sealed shut but a few humans couldn't shut it.

"She's so damn hot dude. Why wou-"

"He's smokin'. I'd kill to be his partn-"

"Too bad." She said in a final steely tone. I sighed. I looked at Ashton and he looked at me. We wore similar expressions of discomfort and displeasure of the verdict.

That was going to be one hell of a class.

*************************

A/N:-

Haha. Late update. I honestly wasn't even gonna, but then I felt creative. It's past midnight so I'm missing my zzzs. 

QOTD: Are you a morning person or a night person?

You know, I released the first chapter on 17th May and today is the 23rd (before midnight). So that makes seven chapters in seven days! I'm so proud of myself!! Lol.

How're you liking the read? Tap that star on your way out.

Until next time, all my love,
xoxo.