Elise Thorn hated school.
Not because of the reasons normal people would: the crazy deadlines, the overbearing teachers, or the enormous workload.
It was because school reminded her of the one thing she had always tried to forget.
Archview High was a high school situated in the town of Archview, a small town located at the seaside.
At first glance, one would expect the small town to be like any other, but it held supernatural secrets: humans who shared genetic codes with wolves. They roamed everywhere, hiding in plain sight to the otherwise normal people of Archview. They were on the streets, in the supermarkets, even in churches
They were called werewolves.
And Elise was one of them.
Except, she was different.
The wolves had a hierarchy of power. The strongest remained at the top, acquiring the best social status and political power within Archview, while the bottom feeders were the laughing stock.
There were three clans in total, the Silverdrew clan, the Nightbloom clan, and the Everglade clan. The three clans were all headed by the wolf with the highest social status and purest wolf blood among them all: the Lycan Alpha.
But unlike the Alpha, there were werewolves that hadn't quite unlocked their full wolf at all. It was like they didn't even have one.
They were called Omegas, and that was exactly what Elise was.
Elise didn't belong to pack as far as she knew. She was an orphan, not having any memory of her parents apart from the crescent necklace her mother had left to her, which she fiddled with whenever she was anxious.
She had wanted to have a taste of normalcy by enrolling at Archview high under the guardianship of her aunt, but just like anywhere else in the small town, Archview was crawling with werewolves.
Even as she walked down the hallway and saw Becky and her squad approaching, she knew this day would be like any other.
"If it isn't the worthless underling."
Becky said with a flick of her blonde hair. She undoubtedly had a pretty face, but the heavy make-up she put on made her look more like an evil witch.
Elise already turned to leave, her books still cradled in her arm, but she quickly found herself surrounded by the gang.
Becky Everglade, as her surname would suggest, was the daughter of Roland and Tasha Everglade and the heiress to the Everglade pack.
She was the prize, carrying a social status that most werewolves could only dream of. Rumours had it that even the Alpha had eyes for her. Of course she'd be a stuck up bully.
"Hey, I'm talking to you." Becky snapped her fingers in Elise's face.
"I still wonder why an underling such as yourself won't just go join your kind in the pack house. My packhouse personally needs a maid. Why don't you make yourself useful?"
Elise was much too used to this routine, she turned away and tried to wriggle her way out of the situation, but the girls huddled closer, blocking her path.
"Principal Birne went for a staff meeting outside school. No one is coming to your rescue today."
Becky and her girls came closer. Elise suddenly found herself in a tight squeeze. Students passed by like nothing was happening. Of course, no one would dare double cross Becky. Not humans, not even werewolves.
Before Elise knew what was happening, she was shoved to the ground. Her books and papers spilled to the floor, and Becky's squad kicked and stomped at them till they were nothing but scrap.
"You really think you deserve to breathe the same air I do, Omega girl?"
Becky kicked her in the chest, and Elise found herself flying to the far end of the hallway.
Werewolves like Becky had unnatural strength, and a wolfless Omega like Elise was certainly no match for her. All she could do was shuffle backwards while the gang walked slowly towards her, their irises flashing a dangerous yellow.
"When you heard I was enrolled in this school, you should have ran away with your tail between your legs. But you stayed, and I have tolerated your obnoxious presence for long enough."
Becky came within talking distance of Elise and spread her palms, her werewolf claws sprouting from the tip of her fingers.
Her fangs grew out as she flashed Elise a devilish smile. Elise's heart skipped a beat. She never knew Becky could take it this far.
With lightning speed, her claws came at Elise's throat, slicing towards her exposed neck in a dangerous arc. Elise braced herself for impact, her eyes shut in anticipation of what seemed to be her demise.
She expected enormous pangs of pain and the gush of blood, but it never came.
Elise opened her eyes to see a hand latched around Becky's wrist, restraining her claws which were already fatally close to her neck.
She looked up to see Luka.
"How dare you?"
Becky said as Luka shoved her arm away. She had been momentarily shocked but quickly regained herself at the sight of her brother.
"Do you realise what I just stopped you from doing?" Luka responded.
"Why didn't you just let me teach her a lesson?"
"You would've killed her, Becky."
Becky's eyes widened in a bit of shock, but the look of malice quickly took over.
"And so what? She doesn't deserve to be here in a school with us. She needs to know her place. I don't know why you always have to get in my way!"
Becky yelled as she shoved past Luka and stomped down the hallway, her girls following her closely behind.
Luka sighed in exasperation, as he looked in the direction of his departing sister.
Luka Everglade, unlike his older sister, was responsible and less reckless. When he saw his sister about to make what seemed to be the biggest mistake of her life out of pride and ego, he knew he had to stop her.
An unwritten rule of the pack was to never kill another werewolf as a werewolf yourself. Even though Omegas weren't fully werewolves, they were still among the pack.
Luka knew his sister didn't exactly mean to kill Elise. Normally, a slice to the throat wouldn't have been enough to kill a werewolf, only scare them or cause a bit of pain, but his sister had been too foolish to realise that Elise was a lowly omega with no wolf.
She would've most likely died from that attack, just like a human would've.
"Are you okay?"
Elise was drawn out of her thoughts to see Luka's outstretched palm. She took it and he hoisted her up.
"Thank—"
"Don't". Luka interrupted her before she could express her gratitude.
Just like his sister, Luka sported blonde hair and blue eyes with a pretty face that had most human and werewolf girls swooning. He was fairly tall, and seemed like a good person compared to his sister. But Elise knew he didn't like her. He only helped her to keep his reputation intact.
"Maybe you should consider leaving this school for good. Before Becky finally rips your throat out." Luka said as he walked in the opposite direction.
"What a jerk!" Elise thought to herself as she tried to salvage what was left of her books.
People still passed by, werewolves shooting her glances of disgust and disdain, and humans rushing past like they were scared of associating with someone like her.
Elise was already used to being an outcast, but she suddenly felt more emotional today. She had no real friends or family. As an orphan, she never even knew her parents, and her aunt, Thea, was arrogant and selfish just like every other person she knew.
She had only even agreed to take care of Elise because she had no children of her own, and for someone who was barren, she had no love within her to give, so she poured her bitterness on poor Elise.
The thought of going back home drained Elise. But sadly, she had to.
One depressing environment to another.
She thought.