Chapter 1: High school. Just Wonderful

Briony's POV

A grunt escaped me as my body slammed hard against the courtyard floor. I tried to ignore the pain shooting through my knees as I glanced up at the girl standing on the steps.

I bit my lip, forcing a bitter smile. "High school. Just wonderful."

"Move it, you clumsy cow." Victoria's voice cut through the hallway chatter.

Her hand connected with my face, hard. Blood leaked from where her fake nails sliced my lip. A few students snickered nearby, one laugh deeper than the rest.

I'm Briony, daughter of our pack's Beta, but since my father doesn't care for me, my status in the pack is actually lower than an Omega.

Victoria is the daughter of a school board member who somehow appointed herself as the school's unofficial "discipline enforcer." She has two inseparable minions—Chloe, a girl desperate for approval who follows Victoria's every command, and Zoey, who's just as mean but lacks Victoria's cunning.

They love finding excuses to make trouble for kids at school. That's why I constantly oppose them—though my father dislikes me, it doesn't change my Beta bloodline and my obligation to protect the weaker members of our pack. Keeping Victoria focused on bullying me means she harasses other kids less.

I noticed the freshman they had cornered was using this opportunity to escape. Good. Better that I face these people alone.

"Sorry, missed the memo on library staircase protocol?" I met her gaze while trying to rescue my textbook from under her shoe.

Victoria's platinum hair whipped around as she moved, ice-blue eyes flashing. "That little brat ruined my limited-edition handbag in front of everyone! She needs to learn her place."

I glanced across the courtyard where our pack's future leaders had gathered. The Alpha triplets commanded the space effortlessly - Maxwell and Christopher lounged against the marble railing, while Benjamin stood alone by the fountain, his tribal-style tattoos visible under his rolled-up sleeves. My brother Noah, the future Beta like our father, and Ethan, the future Delta, flanked them like sentries. All five of them were inseparable.

Even from here, I felt their auras - that pressure that makes lower-ranking wolves instinctively drop their eyes. Every passing girl adjusted her posture and slowed down, hoping for a moment of attention from the pack's most eligible males.

What actually happened was predictable. Victoria and her crew were so busy trying to catch the boys' attention that Chloe backed into the freshman, causing a smoothie disaster on Victoria's precious handbag.

Now, everything she had painstakingly prepared has been ruined. I could almost envision her fury and embarrassment - embarrassed about losing face in front of that group of boys.

"If you'd focused on walking instead of showing off, this wouldn't have happened," I said evenly. "That kid was just in the wrong place."

Take it easy, I told my wolf silently. We've been through this before.

They have no right to treat you this way, she answered, her voice echoing softly in my mind. You're stronger than they know.

"Go pick on someone your own size," I said.

Her hand cracked across my face again, harder this time. More blood trickled from my lip.

In truth, I couldn't really blame Victoria and her lackeys for flaunting themselves in front of the future Alphas and their friends. After all, those boys changed after summer training. The triplets especially - all over six-foot-three now, broad-shouldered, with sharp features and intense eyes.

Every summer, our future leaders go to the Polaris City Training Grounds. They learn their roles: Alphas study leadership, combat, economics, politics, and conflict resolution; Betas like Noah learn to be effective seconds and how to manage pack resources; Gammas train to protect the Luna and serve as her assistants; Deltas sharpen their combat skills and learn defensive strategies. Everything to make sure the pack's future is secure.

The changes triggered a frenzy among the girls: hallways reeking of perfume, skirts suddenly shorter, laughter higher and more desperate.

Me? I couldn't care less. Maybe because I know the real Noah behind that smile, or maybe because my wolf gives me a different perspective on mates. The Moon Goddess chooses each wolf's perfect match, creating a bond that lasts forever.

I believe those destined connections matter most. But that's not my concern right now. Before thinking about mates, I need to survive.

I remember when Victoria first came after me in eighth grade. A small girl ran down the hallway with Zoey chasing her in clunky platform shoes, Victoria and Chloe clicking behind in their heels.

I breathed in and stepped between them. "Zoey, stop. Why chase a kid?"

"The little bitch took pictures of me and posted them in the school chat!" Zoey's face flushed red. "She needs to learn her place!"

"So your solution is what? A hallway chase? Is that how warriors behave?"

Victoria slid up beside me, her face twisting into a smile that never reached her eyes. "Look who's playing hero. Raymond's mistake. The girl who killed her mother." She leaned closer. "Remember your place, Briony. In this pack, you're lower than an Omega."

So there it was. The reason for my low status. My mother died in childbirth with me, and my father blames me for her death. I don't think he hates me—he just pretends I don't exist. People say I look like my mother, which must remind him of the love he lost. My brother Noah used to be kind to me. We're less than a year apart and were once close. But he too has distanced himself from me.

That afternoon, my long-sleeved shirts were in the wash. When I changed into a t-shirt at home, my father spotted the bruises on my arms.

He didn't care if I was hurt. He worried about his reputation as Beta. Was his daughter fighting? Or too weak in training? Without hearing my explanation, he sent me to my room without dinner and kept me home until the bruises faded.

That night, I stood in the bathroom, staring at the purple marks on my arms and scratches on my face. I wondered why protecting someone weaker made me a target.

Ironically, when things got worse, my wolf refused to wait. At fourteen, at the end of eighth grade, I experienced an early awakening - something that usually happens at sixteen or seventeen.

At least now I have my wolf. That warm presence inside me, like a sanctuary. Even in my darkest moments, she whispers encouragement, reminding me of my strength.

She says she emerged early because I'd been through too much, and she needed to protect me. I keep this secret carefully hidden, even from my father. He pays so little attention that he hasn't realized his daughter runs under the full moon, her fur shimmering with the same silver-blue light that once filled his wife's eyes.

Now, with high school barely starting and Victoria and I already having multiple confrontations, this is truly... "wonderful."