••••••Over One Year Ago••••••

The weekend before Jonas' junior year started, there was a huge house party that all schools, except Hawkings, were invited to. As an Elite, Jonas was naturally there, but he was agitated. He had just had another incident with his father and was still shaking off his nerves from the basement.

Jonas wanted to drown his anxiety in alcohol, but his attention was caught by a petite redhead stumbling more than someone should. She looked about Eli's age, triggering his protective instincts. When he noticed Michael and a group of guys eyeing her with lecherous grins, a sickening feeling washed over him.

He was about to approach and help the girl when Lukas pulled him back, chattering about something meaningless. It took maybe a minute to shake him off, but it was a minute too long. Jonas panicked. The girl was gone, and so were Michael and his group. Jonas rushed to the last place he saw her and frantically asked several people if they had seen them. A couple of partygoers pointed upstairs, and Jonas bolted up the stairs.

The problem was that the house had many rooms, so Jonas had to burst through each one, startling several couples in the process. Eventually, he came across a locked door and heard crying from the other side. With no time to spare, he kicked the door until the lock gave way and saw Michael in the act of tearing off the girl's clothes. She was crying and protesting through slurred words.

Jonas burst into the room, forcefully throwing Michael off the girl and quickly taking down the others involved. He grabbed his hoodie, zipped it around her to cover her trembling body, and wrapped his arms around her for warmth and comfort. As she continued to cry, Jonas softly reassured her that she was safe and everything would be okay.

Despite Jonas's efforts to comfort her, she continued to slur her words, and her breathing grew dangerously slow. Fearing that she might have been given something that could harm her, he carefully sneaked her out the back of the house and rushed to the hospital. There, the doctors confirmed she had been roofied with an exceptionally high dose. Jonas's swift action had likely saved her life.

He stayed with her as they cleaned her system. When she came to, she freaked out, but he quickly calmed her down. She remembered small portions of what happened, including the assault, but also that someone helped her—Jonas.

Initially, the doctors suspected Jonas might be the one who roofied her, but the girl quickly set them straight. In a display of unbridled anger, she defended him vehemently. However, her emotions were in turmoil; she shifted rapidly from anger to fear and vulnerability.

Although Jonas had intervened and stopped the assault, he understood that any form of sexual harassment could leave lasting trauma. The girl was reluctant to share her name with him or the doctors, so Jonas never pressured her and instead called her "Princess." He asked her to call him "Jo," a name reserved for his little brother, reflecting his desire to protect her with the same care and dedication.

When a male doctor came in, she started to panic again. Jonas quickly shielded her and kicked him out, demanding that only female doctors attend to her. He was intimidating enough that they complied.

The next day, he skipped school to stay by her side, engaging in numerous conversations to help her relax. He read novels aloud from his phone and shared stories about himself—his fights at the gym, silly pranks he had pulled, and how he teased his brother.

Her emotions fluctuated wildly—one moment, she was laughing at a story, and the next, she was crying. Whenever a man passed by, she would flinch and cower. Realizing her reactions, she would break down and suffer from panic attacks. Jonas remained patient, talking her through each episode. When she criticized herself for being weak, he comforted her by sharing his own fears of the dark, even admitting how he would get panic attacks if the night was too dark. This honesty helped her visibly relax.

It took a while, but Jonas finally persuaded her to call her family. Despite her initial desire to pretend nothing had happened, she eventually agreed. He held her hand and offered gentle encouragement throughout the call. When she finished, he wiped her tears away and praised her bravery. Stepping into the hall, he sat quietly in a chair with his hood up, wanting to stay nearby to ensure she was okay while giving her and her family space. Knowing her brother had a strong dislike for anyone from St. Vincent's, he kept his distance and lowered his head to avoid any potential confrontation.

A boy around his age burst into the room in a frantic state. Jonas caught only a brief glimpse of him, his dark blue hair a blur. The girl's cry of "brother" reached him, and he heard her sibling's muffled, soothing words. Jonas sighed and lingered for a moment longer, pulling out his phone to read the angry text messages from his father. Lost in the barrage of messages, he didn't notice a couple entering the room. Instead, he could only hear the girl's distress as she was enveloped by her mother and father's comforting presence.

Figuring it was time to face his father, he snuck away to the bathrooms and locked himself in a stall to call him. Before he hit the call button, the door slammed open, and there were heavy steps. Jonas peeked through the crack of the stall and noticed the blue hair.

Jonas listened intently as the boy's sobs filled the air, each shuddering cry heavy with raw emotion. The boy's anger bled through his words, and his voice, thick with despair, broke into a series of curses and self-recriminations. He berated himself for being a "worthless brother," lamenting his failure to protect his sister. Jonas would never forget the haunting yell that tore from the boy's throat as he pounded the mirror in frustration. The harsh words eventually gave way to deep, sorrowful sobs, each one a testament to his shattered sense of self-worth.

Each anguished breath from the boy resonated deeply with Jonas, stirring a profound empathy within him. He knew all too well the torment of failing to protect a loved one.

Just as Jonas was about to step out of the stall to offer solace, the boy's father burst in, enveloping him in a tight, wordless embrace. There were no words exchanged, only the silent support of a father letting his son grieve freely.

The boy, his voice raw with desperation, begged his father to let him seek out the person who had hurt his sister. His father, trying to offer some comfort, promised that they would find the perpetrator but cautioned him against taking matters into his own hands. He explained that confronting the assailant would likely lead to violence, and if the brother acted on his rage, he could either kill the guy or become a target himself.

The father's voice was heavy with unease, revealing his deep concern that the fight for justice was already stacked against them. Jonas could sense the father's frustration as if he knew the battle ahead was fraught with overwhelming odds and likely to end in disappointment.

The father repeatedly reassured his son of his love, and once the boy had calmed down, they left the bathroom, leaving Jonas alone with his own grief.

That night, Jonas returned home with the hope of discussing the incident with his father. He pleaded for his father to take action so that Michael would face consequences for his actions. But instead of taking him seriously, his father laughed at his plea. Overcome by fury, Jonas faced a series of firsts that night.

It was the first time Jonas had ever raised his voice at his father and stood up to him directly.

It was the first time his father had a murderous look in his eyes.

It was the first time his father used a weapon other than his fists to hurt Jonas.

It was the first time Jonas had been locked in the basement for over 24 hours.

It was the first time his father had called in a sick day for him at school to cover up the fact that he was locked away.

It was the first time, but definitely not the last time, during his school year.

He finally went to school on Friday, his nerves frayed and his heart heavy with anger and self-loathing. Michael, with his connections, would never face justice. His father cared only about his reputation, not about what was right. The most painful realization was that his father would never offer him the same gentleness and kindness that the girl's father had shown in the hospital. All his years of effort felt wasted.

That day, he saw Michael across campus, and his world stopped. His mind registered only a few things.

A girl lost a part of her innocence.

A family was heartbroken and powerless to seek justice.

A brother's heart was shattered as he blamed himself.

In the darkness of the basement, Jonas was haunted by the girl's cries and the brother's anguished sobs. Their echoes continued to rattle in his mind, a relentless reminder of the pain he could not erase.

Rage consumed Jonas as he zeroed in on Michael. The brother couldn't touch Michael, but Jonas could.

Despite his efforts to appease his father by being the perfect son, the beatings never ceased. The basement remained a constant. The cycle of aggression continued. Why bother maintaining the façade of 'Joey Spencer' when it never made a difference? To hell with his father and his name.

As Jonas approached, Michael's words barely registered in his mind—something about ruining his good time.

That was the final spark needed to shatter all his remaining restraints. He only came to his senses when the security guards hauled him off Michael's battered body. He couldn't be sure whether he had been screaming or snarling like a wild animal. It must have been the latter because from that moment on, he was no longer Joey. He had become the Wolf.