Ana’s POV

After remedial goodness class, Ben offered to escort Jay and Carlos to the tourney field. Naturally, I decided to tag along—partly out of curiosity, partly because I couldn’t bear another second of Auradon Prep’s suffocating wholesomeness. “Tourney” sounded like it might have some semblance of excitement. Plus, I wanted to see if it was anything like lacrosse back home in Beacon Hills.

As we arrived at the field, I spotted the players warming up. They had lacrosse sticks in hand, were wearing mouthguards, and were running drills on the grass. For a moment, nostalgia hit me. It really did look like lacrosse—the finesse, the strategy, the focus on speed over brute force.

“This is simple. It’s like lacrosse,” I said confidently.

Ben chuckled. “Not really. Tourney is a mix of lacrosse, hurling, soccer, and football. It’s a bit more... chaotic.”

“Oh. Well, I think I could get the hang of it,” I said, shrugging. Confidence is key, right?

That’s when I heard a laugh. A loud, obnoxious laugh that made my blood simmer before I even turned to see its source. The culprit? Some fair-skinned boy with perfectly coiffed blond hair, hazel eyes, and the kind of smirk that screamed entitlement.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“You,” he said, still laughing. “You actually think you can go out there and play tourney? Tourney is boys only. I mean, look around, babe. Do you see a single girl on that field?”

I glanced around, and damn it, he was right. Not a single girl in sight. But his smugness? Oh, it was unbearable.

“Well, maybe I’ll be the first girl on the team,” I shot back, narrowing my eyes.

His laugh got louder, and his little posse of friends joined in. “Oh, that’s funny, sweetheart. Why don’t you run along and file your nails with the cheer squad?”

That was it. My fists balled at my sides, and I could feel the familiar burn of anger creeping up my spine. My vision blurred slightly, and I knew—knew—my wolf was about to make an appearance.

Carlos tugged at my sleeve. “Ana, maybe you should... go.”

“Why?” I snapped, my voice low and sharp.

He pointed at my reflection in the glass of the bleachers. My eyes were glowing gold.

Shit. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to breathe. Alpha. Beta. Omega. I repeated the mantra in my head until the anger ebbed, and when I opened my eyes again, they were back to their normal color.

“This isn’t over, you pig,” I said, glaring at the boy. Without waiting for a response, I spun on my heel and stormed off.

I made it back to the school, leaning against the wall as I pulled out my phone. I typed out a quick text to my dad, Stiles, and another one for Derek—even though he probably wouldn’t see it for weeks. Technology wasn’t exactly his forte.

After pocketing my phone, I wandered over to the lockers, where I spotted Evie and Mal chatting.

“Hey, Ana!” Evie greeted me with her usual sunshine smile. “How’d the tryouts go?”

“They sucked,” I said bluntly. “This place is full of misogynistic pigs. The coach wouldn’t even let me try out, and some obnoxious animal of a boy—Chad, I think?—was a complete asshat.”

As if summoned, the very boy I was complaining about sauntered around the corner, talking loudly to Ben and Audrey. Oh, great.

“Speak of the devil,” I muttered.

“I’ll catch you later,” Evie said, excusing herself quickly.

Mal and I turned our attention to the royal conversation.

“Come on, Chad. Give them a chance,” Ben was saying.

Chad scoffed and Audrey spoke up

“No offense, Bennybear, but you’re just too trusting. Look, I know your mom fell in love with a big nasty beast who turned out to be a prince. But with my mom, the evil fairy was just the evil fairy. That girl’s mother—” he pointed at Mal, “—and don’t even get me started on the furry mutt. She almost attacked Jane in goodness class and chad on the tourney field!”

“I did no such thing,” I snapped. “Scared, maybe. But attack? Please.”

Ben defended us, but Chad and Audrey left, their egos intact. Ben turned to Mal, his expression soft.

“How was your first day?” he asked her.

“Super,” Mal replied, though her tone was anything but.

Ben’s eyes landed on her locker art. “You should really think about taking this talent off the locker and into art class. I could sign you up. What do you think?”

Mal’s attention drifted to Jane, who was walking past. “Way to take all the fun out of it,” she said, turning on her heel to follow Jane.

That left me alone with Ben.

“You’ve got a girlfriend,” I said flatly.

Ben blinked. “Yeah...”

“Then maybe go back to Barbie over there and stop drooling over Mal,” I said before walking off.

I followed Mal into the bathroom, where she was talking to Jane.

“Hey, guys,” I said, keeping my tone light. Jane flinched, and I sighed. “Relax, Jane. I’m not going to hurt you. I actually wanted to apologize for scaring you earlier. That wasn’t cool of me.”

Jane relaxed slightly. “Oh... thanks.”

Mal smiled at me briefly before turning back to Jane. “Sorry if it feels like we’re cornering you. We were just hoping to make a friend. You probably have all the friends you need, though, huh?”

“Hardly,” Jane admitted.

Her answer didn’t surprise me. Audrey’s clique didn’t exactly scream “inclusive.”

“Really?” Mal asked. “I mean, with your mom being Fairy Godmother and headmistress? And your own, um... personality?”

“I’d rather be pretty,” Jane said, eyeing our hair.

I ran a hand through my dark locks, and Mal did the same with her purple ones. Jane wasn’t wrong—we had great hair.

“You know what?” Mal said, pulling out her spellbook. “I have just the thing. Beware, forswear, replace the old with brand-new hair.”

Jane’s hair transformed into a sleek, shoulder-length style.

“Wow!” Mal said. “You almost don’t notice your... other features anymore.”

Jane lit up. “Do my nose next!”

“Oh, I can’t. Big magic is tough without a wand,” Mal said. “Your mom could do it, though.”

Jane’s face fell. “She doesn’t use the wand anymore. She says real magic is in books.”

“That’s crap,” I said bluntly.

Mal grinned at me. “Total crap.”

Jane hesitated before smiling. “If I can convince Mom to use the wand, you’re so invited.”

“Yay!” Mal said, waving as Jane left.

When the coast was clear, I turned to Mal. “Okay, spill. What’s the deal with this wand?”

Mal smirked. “Come to our room, and I’ll tell you everything. Deal?”

“Deal,” I said, following her. Something told me my time in Auradon was about to get a lot more interesting.