/// Lulu ///

Mr Watkins shut the classroom door behind us. He glanced around to make sure there was no one there.

"... Mr Watkins? Is something wrong?" I asked, a little frightened by the sudden events. He sighed, looking down at me with worry in his eyes.

"Are you sure you didn't know about packs?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah. I just wanted to know what you meant, that's all,"

The teacher had a horrified look on his face, as if it were unbelievable that I had never even heard of these "packs" he was talking about.

"Well... have you ever heard of werewolves?" He asked his student, his tone cautious.

My eyes widened, and I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "Bullshit,"

I immediately covered my mouth. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have swore!" I apologized. "It just sounds so... unreal..."

Mr Watkins had the most sorry expression on his face. "It's alright, Laurel. I'm surprised that no one thought to tell you. Usually our human students are informed beforehand, in which they have usually planned their own turning, and have found a pack of their own,"

I rubbed my eyes. So much information to take in, all at once too. "I see. So it's like wolf packs?"

He nodded. "Exactly. Nobody's really taken to you yet? Not even your sister's new pack?"

So that was why Mitzi and Trixie were already so close. She had joined Mitzi's pack. And was probably going to be turned soon, if she hadn't been already.

Mom's gonna kill her.

"What should I do?" I asked him. Mr Watkins looked a little uncertain, likely due to the unusual circumstances of this situation.

"I won't force you to find a pack," he told me. "If a pack wants you, then you join. But now is the time to lie in wait. I can put you in a locker spot with the loner wolves, which should be a better signal to indicate that you are looking for a pack,"

I hesitated. "Okay, that's fine, just... one more question?"

"Yes?"

"Do I have to become a werewolf? In order to attend here?" I glanced away.

Mr Watkins furrowed his brow. "That's a bold question, young lady. Everyone that goes here is a werewolf. By saying no to the Turning, you are making yourself more vulnerable than necessary to other wolves. Are you sure that this is what you want?"

I nodded. "Yes it is,"

The teacher sighed. "I can't really do much at this point anyways," he figured. "Alright. It will remain our little secret for now. I will bring it up with the principal during the lunch break,"

He then opened the door for me, ushering me inside of a room quite literally filled with curious wolves. I shuffled awkwardly back to my desk, my face red from all of the stares.

Trixie glared at me, and whispered to her packmates. Since when had she become so invested in this sort of system? Weren't we supposed to stick together?

So much for a sister.

*****

"Hey! New girl!" A voice called out to me.

I could barely hear it amongst the crowd in the cafeteria. It felt as this the entire student body of wolves had crowded themselves within this one large room. I did my best to keep to myself, as Mr Watkins had suggested. I initially had tried to stay close to Trixie, but she had made it quite clear that she wanted nothing to do with me during school hours.

"Hey! You!" The same voice called. I turned around to see a taller girl with brown hair. She had clearly dyed it with streaks of passionate red and flaming orange, making her easy to recognize. What could she possibly want with me?

"Yes?" I asked, looking up from my granola bar. I had planned to buy cafeteria food, but I ditched the plan after I concluded that it may be food purely meant for werewolves, not some stray human like me.

The girl gave me a friendly smile. "You're one of the new girls, right? The other Castillo girl?" She questioned, her coffee eyes concentrating on me.

I felt myself squirm nervously under her gaze. "Um, yeah? My step-sister is Trixie Castillo, if that's what you mean. I'm assuming you're looking for her?"

My gaze travelled across the cafeteria, where Trixie was surrounded by Mitzi and her pack. She appeared to be laughing, and having a better time than I was.

"No, actually. Like I'd want anything to do with Mitzi and her dogs," the girl snorted, sitting herself down beside me. "I wanted to talk to you, Laurel,"

I was startled. "You know my name?"

She smirked. "I was in your home room. Everybody would not shut up about you and your sister. You both have yet to be turned, correct?"

I slid away from her a little, freaked out. "Nobody was supposed to know!" I whispered harshly, my eyes wide.

The fiery-haired girl tipped her head to the side. "We're wolves, Laurel. Does Watkins think we're stupid?" She rolled her eyes. "Even when we haven't shifted, we know these things. Your scent is distinctly a human's scent, while Trixie's is blurred, since she has been spending so much time with werewolves,"

"Oh... I see," I replied softly. I could sort of understand what this stranger meant, but this was still new and strange. "What exactly do you want with me?"

The girl held a sympathetic look on her face. "Well... one of our pack mates was in your English class, and he noticed that you were alone, and that none of the other packs wanted anything to do with you,"

"Are you asking me to join your pack?" I asked hesitantly. Being forced to become a werewolf was the last thing on my mind.

"Not if you don't want to. I just thought I'd put the offer out there. You seem rather alone, and I figured you'd, at the very least, want to have friends, you know?" She pointed out, giving me a lazy smile.

I considered her words. This girl (whoever she was) seemed to be a genuinely kind person. Plus, it would be nice not to sit alone at lunch and during class.

But there was still the other dilemma... what if Trixie changed her mind? What if all of these werewolves were really all cruel, hooking her and her sister into some kind of trap by attending this school? It seemed like a risky move.

"Can... can I think about it?" I requested. "I've never been a part of a pack before, obviously, so I want to think over my options,"

The stranger nodded. "Of course. Once you have made up your mind, you can tell me or any of our other pack members. You can recognize us by this:"

She moved her bright-coloured hair to show me a singular, small reddish-gold hoop earring. "It's how other wolves identify our pack. Each pack has their own kind of symbol, whether it be jewelry, a scent, a catchphrase, something unique to them. This earring is ours,"

I nodded in understanding. "Okay," I smiled a little. "What's your name, before you go?"

The girl gave me a sharp-toothed grin. "Cynder. Cynder Woods. It's nice to meet you, Laurel,"