/// Lulu ///

Morning classes seemed to last forever. To my luck, Ansel was in them, so that helped the wait a little. I was very curious as to how their pack worked, and I found that it would be very important for me to learn how wolves... well, do what they do.

As soon as the bell rang, I grabbed my books and headed immediately to my locker. I saw Mitzi, Trixie, and their pack across the hall. They were eying me and whispering harshly amongst each other.

What, are they really going to change their minds now? I thought to myself, hurt and a little pissed. Bitch or no bitch, it would've been nice to stick with Trixie during school hours.

From the edge of my vision, I thought I saw Mitzi approaching me. I gulped. I already had to deal with one hostile pack today, and I didn't need to deal with another.

"Hey Laurel," Ansel appeared at my side, having grabbed his lunch kit. He placed a hand on my back, rubbing it in a soothing circle. "You ready to go?"

Blushing from his sudden appearance, I grabbed my own lunch kit and shut my locker. "Mhm," I replied softly. Smiling, Ansel kept his hand on the back and guided me away from Mitzi and her pack.

From the corner of my eye, I swore I saw Mitzi glaring at Ansel. The male didn't make any effort to acknowledge her.

Once they were out of our sight, I looked up at Ansel. "Thanks," I mumbled awkwardly, giving him a crooked smile. "Can you, uh, let go of me though?"

"No problem," he took his hand off my back. "The best way to get Mitzi and her goons to leave you be is to pretend they don't even exist," he explained, sounding proud of the little stunt he pulled.

"Noted," I responded, feeling a little chill.  I blinked a few times. "Um, where does your pack eat lunch?"

"We eat in a cubicle near one of the fire exits," he told me. "It's just down this hall,"

I've never heard of kids eating near a fire exit. I mean, I guess back at Brookside, people would eat wherever they could.

We turned the corner, and I was greeted by five people, including Cynder sitting in the middle. The fiery-haired girl smiled at my appearance. "Ah, welcome to my pack, Laurel," she greeted me. "Please, feel free to take a seat,"

"Thank you so much, Alpha," I replied gratefully.

To my surprise, I heard Cynder snort. "You don't have to call me by that stupid title, Laurel. You can just use my name," she replied, a little sourness in her tone.

Confusion washed over me. "But I thought-" I glanced back at Ansel, who had sat beside me. "You said you were Beta,"

Ansel shook his head. "You think we'd actually use titles like that?" He asked. "In our pack, The Companionship, we don't believe in the use of titles like Alpha, Beta, etc. It just seems unnecessarily harmful to anyone involved,"

I was surprised. From what little I had learned, every werewolf in their pack were hellbent on following this very demanding hierarchy. It was a bit of a relief to hear that not everyone agreed with this method of pack life.

"We only use them to cover our tracks," One of the pack members, a girl with short black hair, clarified. "If other packs knew of how we actually run things, that'd make us look weak and vulnerable,"

So even if they didn't use ranks to describe their packmates, there were still forced to act as if they did in front of everyone else. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for these werewolves, being forced into a position they didn't feel comfortable with.

"Anyways," Cynder changed the subject. "Let me introduce everyone. You've already met Ansel, and that girl beside you is Vivienne," She gestured to the girl with short black hair.

Cynder continued, pointing out the other members sitting with us. "Those two lover boys are Jonah and Beau," she motioned to a pair of guys sitting next to each-other, and then pointed to a brown haired girl who had her hair in a braid. "And this is Tabitha,"

"It's nice to meet you all," I smiled, grinning at them.

"Same here," Jonah sat up, returning the grin. "There won't be too much to worry about while you're with us. Well, maybe except for Beau's occasional complaining..." he teased.

"It's not complaining," Beau protested, giving his boyfriend a playful shove. "Am I not allowed to be concerned about tests or anything like that?"

I could hear Vivienne and Ansel snickering as Jonah gave his companion a playful look. "Of course you are, it's just you can get a little carried away sometimes, that's all,"

I found myself quietly giggling at the two lovers' antics. Ansel had been right; it almost seemed more like a family bond in some ways.

Once the laughter had died down, Ansel gave Cynder a serious look. "On my way to pick Laurel up, Mitzi tried to approach her," he announced, catching everyone's attention. A sudden tension filled the environment.

"Could you pick up on her emotions at all through scent?" She asked, her tone sounding closer to that of an adult's. Ansel nodded. "It was sweet, but with sinister intentions, as far as I could tell," he explained. "I had to show Laurel affection, like that of a mate in order to get her to back off,"

"Any attempts of interrupting?"

"No," he took a bite out of a sandwich he had brought. "She stood watching us for a moment before skulking off the her pack,"

"Hmm," The fiery-haired teen had a thoughtful look on her face. "There's no doubt that she is aware of Laurel joining our pack..." she murmured, half to herself. Her eyes flickered towards me. "Do you think your sister will be questioning you about us?"

"I don't think so," I told Cynder honestly. "Trixie can get real annoyed with me sometimes, but she doesn't like getting into my business. She didn't do it at Brookside, so I highly doubt she'd do it now,"

But what if she did? I wondered to myself. Now that Trixie has joined a pack, those wolves might make her do a whole bunch of other stuff to make my life a living hell.

Cynder seemed to sense my worry. "Just to be safe, I think we ought' to try out that little plan Ansel used," she proposed the idea, her gaze shifting to instruct Ansel. "Would you be comfortable with pretending to be Laurel's mate? At least for the time being?"

"A-are you sure?" I blurted out, shocked. Realizing my mistake, I immediately turned to face a confused Ansel. "I-it's nothing against you, I-it's just, well , um..." I was struggling to find the words. "It just seems kind of weird to pretend stuff like that..."

Instead of getting angry, Ansel gave me a reassuring smile. "I understand your doubts. Really, I do. But since we don't know what exactly Mitzi wants with you, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a werewolf at your side helping to protect you, at the very least until Mitzi and her mutts leave you alone. Would that be okay?"

I hesitated. I had never once had a real boyfriend. Sure, there was Tyler in fifth grade, but that didn't mean anything. That was nothing compared to a legitimate relationship, not to mention with a werewolf.

But then what about Trixie? Was she eager to antagonize me? What for? What could I have possible done for her to align herself with someone so... scummy?

Then, an idea popped into my head.

Fuck Trixie.

"I agree, on a few conditions," I announced, facing Cynder and Ansel. I pointed to Cynder first. "I can't be turned this upcoming full moon. Trixie is supposed to turn then, and I'd like to examine her behaviour as much as I can before making that decision myself. Is that alright?"

Cynder looked surprised, but she appeared to consider it. "That could work," she agreed.

"And the other condition?" Ansel asked, tipping his head to the side with curiosity.

I gently used my hands to grab Ansel's, giving him a small smile. "Everyone, but mainly you, have to call me Lulu,"