Kane

"Come on Kane, what's wrong, you don't wanna fight back today?" The boy pushed Kane into the wall, sneering as he did so.

Kane winced, only seeing rainbow colored spots in his vision as his head hit the wall. It was way too early in the morning for this, he thought to himself. He had a test to study for.

Other students passed by them, not even glancing in his direction, preferring to act unbothered about the constant harassment humans face in the school. Kane coughed, trying not to show too much pain as he was elbowed in the stomach.

"Sorry but I can't be happy about being harassed all the time." Kane said, barely being able to see with his vision swimming. If he wanted to he could've given this guy a taste of his own medicine, but he held himself back, knowing it wouldn't be a good idea.

"Shut up." The boy said, smashing Kane's head against the wall. Kane grit his teeth as his skull came in contact with the wall again, leaving a bruise on the back of his head. Then he heard the voice of an angry teacher and he knew he was saved.

"What are you doing?" They heard the sound of heels before they saw who the person was. Then before Kane could even blink, the bully was pulled away from him.

"Looks like you just earned a trip to the Principal's office ." The teacher gripped the boy bullying Kane by the back of his hoodie, her claws digging into the fabric of his hood as she got angrier.

She looked at Kane, her angry expression, softening. "Kane, are you alright? You should go to the nurse, you may have a concussion. I will be there after I have a talk with the principal." Kane could barely understand the woman as she spoke so quickly. Before he could respond she dragged the angry student by his hood down the hallway in the direction of the principal's office.

"Well that was shitty." He leaned against the wall, waiting for his vision to adjust back to normal. Once he could actually see again he started walking towards the nurse's office trying to ignore the rude looks he got from his schoolmates. This was all routine for him at this point.

When he reached the nurse's office he was greeted with a sympathetic glance and a gesture to the two beds on the far side of the room. Trying not to laugh at the pitiful expression sat down on one of the beds, waiting to be checked up before he took a nap.

"So, what is it today Kane? Any cuts or bruises, or is it just throbbing pain today?" the nurse asked with a sigh.

Kane laughed, "Don't worry, it's just throbbing pain today. So I should count myself lucky." He said, trailing off when she didn't find his joke funny.

"You really shouldn't joke about stuff like this, Kane. I hope you're aware that you don't actually have to take all this harassment from these kids, the rest of the staff cannot always be there to help, although we will still try our best." She walked over to him, doing a thorough checkup to see if he had a concussion. Then she flicked the spot on his shoulder where a tattoo and muscle was hidden under his baggy clothes. Kane could feel the tattoo heat up, and then he suddenly felt better. The branding must have healed him as it usually does.

"You need to start fighting back because at this point it is not about morality. I'm sure that if the kids at this school knew that you were a former hunter they would leave you alone. Wouldn't solitude be better than being bullied every day?" The nurse asked him, walking towards a medicine cabinet.

"I'm still technically a hunter, especially since my parents don't know I've defected from the organization. And besides shouldn't you be telling the bullies to get their act together instead of the victim?" Kane questioned, his headache becoming better by the second.

"Yes, Kane you're right but we try as hard as we can to punish the students who decide to harass you but the school board refuses to help us. So now we have a bunch of ignorant, privileged brats running around our school." Mrs.Jones muttered while she grabbed Advil from the cabinet and gave two pills to Kane, along with a bottle of water.

"Swallow the pills and drink the water. Then after that you can lay down and rest until your teacher inevitably comes in to check on you. I'm sure she will be in the office arguing with the principle for at least another hour so you will have enough time for a nap. And don't worry you don't have a concussion... this time." She trailed off, still looking concerned for him.

"I hope you know Kane, that being a hunter does not make you invincible. It just makes you harder to hurt but you are not immune to pain." She told him, looking very concerned.

"Got it.. I promise I'll be more careful." Kane said to the woman, obviously lying to her as he laid down on the bed and got comfortable. He managed to keep his eyes closed and doze off for a few minutes until he heard a door slam open. Being the light sleeper that he is, he woke up, immediately moving into a sitting position on the bed. When he sat up all he saw was a pretty girl with dark brown skin stomping towards him, looking very upset.

"I fucking hate this school." The girl said, as she stopped in front of Kane and put her hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened?" She asked, checking his face for bruises.

Kane held back a laugh when he saw how worried she was, she reminded him of a fussing mother. "Nia, I'm fine, you don't need to be worried about me."

Nia huffled, looking like she was about to murder someone, hopefully not him. "Yes, I do. If I don't worry for you who will? Especially since you seem so determined to stay at this school when we could just transfer."

Kane sighed and laid back down on the small bed, surprisingly content on the uncomfortable pillows. "Sooner or later you're going to start getting gray hairs because of all your panicking. I hear worrying gives you wrinkles."

Nia rolled her eyes at Kane,  sitting down on the bed that was next to his. "Who gives about grey hairs? Maybe I'd be less worried if a certain friend of mine took his injuries seriously." She sent a sideways glare towards him as he closed his eyes, purposely ignoring her gaze.

"You sound like an overbearing mother." He grumbled, trying not to admit that he was enjoying the attention. Kane found it refreshing that someone in his life actually cared about him and wanted to be around him. Especially when everyone else he was surrounded by hated him.

"You were sleeping before I stormed in here weren't you?" She asked, looking a little bit guilty. Kane opened his eyes, shaking his head to make her feel better. "No, of course not. Why would I be sleeping?" He asked her, forcing down a yawn.

"You're lying. You should go back to sleep." Nia told him, gesturing to the bed. "Besides, you need more sleep anyway. You're practically a night owl." When he hesitated she smiled and gestured for him to close his eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll still be here when you wake up, you're not gonna fall asleep for hundred years or something." She laughed and then pulled out her phone to scroll through one of the many social media accounts she has.

With a resounding sigh Kane laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, eager to fall asleep again. "At least I won't have to take that test today." He said, and the last thing he heard was Nia's laughter, clashing against the quietness of the Nurse's office.

~~~~<>~~~~

"I'm so sorry about what happened to you Kane, I promise I will try my hardest to either expell him or convince his parents to switch schools." Mrs. Meyers said angrily as she paced around the office.

"Bullying should not be tolerated at this school." She told him, trying to get a hold of herself. "Why is the school board so useless when it comes to the topic of bullying?" She muttered while looking at her watch.

"My planning period is almost over," the stressed woman gave Nia a stern glance, meaning business. "Do not let him out of your sight, if Mr.Zaveri goes anywhere you will too."

Nia nodded and waved, "Don't worry, he's practically my shadow anyways." Kane grumbled, crossing his arms, visibly disagreeing. The teacher nodded and walked out of the nurse's office, angrily muttering to herself about calling the school board.

As soon as the lady left, Nia turned to Kane and smiled with a gleam in her eyes.

"Where do you wanna go?" She asked, feeling satisfied when Kane smirked. "Let's go to that burger place, a few blocks from here. If we hurry up we can be back before last period."

Nia wrapping her arm around his shoulder, already directing him towards the door. "I like the way you think!" They were both inches away from the door when the Nurse sighed.

"I would say you're not supposed to go anywhere but you won't listen. Hurry up and come back here so that they won't have to file you as absent for more than two classes." She said, while putting pills in a cabinet. The Nurse quickly walked up to them and gave them both passes.
"At least when you come back you won't be in trouble for skipping." Then she went back to her desk and sat down, determined to mind her own business.

Nia and Kane laughed as they walked out of the office, their voices reverberating as the empty halls. Everyone else except them were in class. The pair walked out of the school, quietly laughing to themselves.

"Ah! The smell of fresh air!" Kane said, basking in the sun's rays. Nia laughed and spun around, her braids framing her face as she practically glowed in the sunlight. "That is actually the smell of freedom." She said, looking back at the school, her exuberant expression turning into one of disdain.

"Too bad it's only temporary." Kane muttered, and they both started to quickly walk off the gigantic property that was Unitas High school. One of the most prestigious schools in the world, known for producing some of the influential leaders and public figures in the supernatural world.

And it was hell on earth.

"How much time do you think we'll have until the nurse won't cover for us anymore?" Nia asked, looking at her phone to check the time.

"Two hours at most, she'll be lenient today because I got hurt. Don't know why though, I heal like it's nothing." Kane flexed his fingers and jumped the fence with Nia following suit. Within fifteen minutes, they reached a quaint little burger place and sat down in their usual spot, which was the comfortable couch in the corner furthest away from the door.

Once they got settled they quickly ordered food, trying not to sigh at how delicious it was.
"It was always the small restaurants that have the best food." Nia stated as Kane laid his head on her lap, stealing some of her fries and shoving them in his mouth all at once. When Nia wrinkled her nose at him he laughed, still chewing on the food. After a few minutes of comfortable silence Nia poked his cheek, effectively gaining his attention.

"So are you still going on that... mission tonight?" She whispered the last part, looking around conspiratorially. 

He snorted, "Of course I am. It's not like I have a choice at this point. I already accepted."

"How important is the mission itself ? Is it important enough for the Alpha to send backup, or is he still just using you without caring about whether or not you die?" Nia said in a calm voice, while crossing her arms as she looked down at Kane, who was still laying in her lap comfortably.

"It's a solo mission, but it's fine. I can handle it." He promised her as he questioned whether or not he was telling the truth. If Kane was being honest he would prefer to not be doing all of these missions alone, Nia had offered more than once but Kane always refused, preferring to keep his best friend out of danger. It would be stupid of him to bring her along.

"Can you though, Kane? You always end up getting hurt, and then to make sure that no one notices you go to school the next day, even if you're not fully healed only to get bullied for all of your efforts." She whispered, trying to keep all of the werewolves nearby from hearing their conversation.

He moved off Nia's lap and sat up, sighing at her prodding , even if he appreciated it. "I wouldn't call it bullying. I'm not affected by it that much... the most you could call it is... unfriendly interactions?" He trailed off, starting to realize that didn't sound any better.

Nia scoffed, almost shocked that he could try and down play how he's treated. "Kane, they treat you shit. Why do you continue to risk your life for people who will never appreciate you in the first place? " She asked him, making Kane even more weary.

"You know Nia, you're being very hypocritical. You do the exact same thing with everyone else. I saw how bad it was before we became friends, and yet you still felt bad for them. So when did you become so unforgiving?" Kane teased, trying to change the subject.

"When the werewolves started bullying you... I was fine when it was just me but now it's both of us and I'm not happy about it." She muttered, while taking the opportunity to lay in his lap.

He laughed seeing her get comfortable in his lap. "I thought you were mad at me?" He asked, jokingly when she crossed her arms.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm mad a society for thinking it's okay to take advantage of humans." Nia stated, her hair covering her irritated expression. I hope you know that most of the werewolves that know your secret don't care about your wellbeing, they're just using you as a toy."

Kane shrugged, "We'll talk about this later okay? After school I'll meet you at your house so we can talk in private, without having to worry about people eavesdropping."

Nia sighed and got up from the couch, pulling Kane off the couch with her. "You better keep your promise" She pointed at him and he nodded, holding his hands up in the air.

The walk to back to school was quiet, the silence was not awkward but it was not completely comfortable either, with both of them being very nervous. When Nia and Kane entered the school, they both headed towards their last class of the day, turns out they had skipped two classes, not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things.

When Nia and Kane entered the classroom, all eyes fell upon them as they stood in the doorway,

"Mr.Zaveri and Ms.Smith, I'm so glad you could join us." Mr. Harris, their AP Literature teacher said with a sarcastic smile. Then he pretended to gasp as he saw the food they were holding.
"And you brought food for the class too? How thoughtful of you." He said as he glared at them.

They brought out the passes as soon as the class started to laugh when their literature teacher chewed them out. "We have passes from the Nurse... and the food isn't you." Nia said, giving her pass to Mr.Harris as Kane did the same.

"Sit down, now." The teacher growled out, looking very displeased with the two students.

Nia and Kane quickly took their seats in the back, trying to ignore the glares they got from some of their peers.

One of the guys in the class stared at Nia, refusing to take his eyes off of her. Out of the corner of Kane's eye he saw Nia glare at the boy, her piercing gaze meeting his from across the room. As the guy looked away Kane couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he looked so sad.

"If there will be no more interruptions then I will gladly continue on with the lesson, thank you." Mr. Harris said, glaring at Kane and Nia.

"You're welcome!" Kane and Nia said in unison as Nia winked at their teacher.

"We are here to please." Nia said, grinning as she ignored the glares they got from their fellow students.

~~~~<>~~~~

"Are you ready to talk to me now? Or are you going to continue to avoid the situation?" Nia said with her arms crossed on her bed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't avoid anything, I circumvent around subjects I don't like."

"That's the same thing, Kane. You just used a bigger word." Nia rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh as Kane was sprawled all over her bean bag chair.

"Exactly." He chuckled and winked at Nia, which only irritated her more. "Why are you the one panicking? I'm the one risking my life out there."

"Only because you won't let me go with you. That and you don't ever worry about yourself, I'm trying to teach you that it's okay to be selfish sometimes. Why can't you just get the concept?"

"Being selfish is a sin." Kane said with a smirk on his face.

"But self-preservation is not." She said as she paced around her room, her anxiety growing by the minute.

"Nia I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, nothing is going to go wrong, I promise." He got up off the beanbag chai and headed towards the door.

"I have to go now, the Alpha is waiting for me."

Nia nodded, "I'll be waiting for you once your mission is done, try not to die."

"Got it." He smiled and left her room quickly jumping down the stairs, determined to ignore the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Maybe Nia is right about this mission...

Fin.

I'm so happy the first chapter of the book is finished! I've been working on this story for over a year now so I hope you guys enjoy it!

Edit: this chapter is trash but I promise my writing gets at least a tiny bit better. I don't know what the fuck I was doing here. This is a terrible introduction to the book lol

T.J