I huffed as I waited patiently in the principal's office, staring at the wall. I was still a bit infuriated. I was used to being in there because I got into fights a lot. And I mean A LOT. Most of the fights were with Chase and a few with other classmates.

I heard the door handle click and watched as the principal came in. I let my eyes follow him as he strided over behind his desk.

"Alright..." he said. He looked at me. "Um Jake, do me a favor. sit in the chair over there in the corner. I don't need you lashin' out on me."

I rolled my eyes and moved to the chair in the corner. He plopped down onto his chair and fixed his name tag on his desk that read 'Mr. Smith'. He cleared his throat and folded his hands.

"I'm disappointed in you," he said in a deep firm voice.

"Sir, it wasn't my fault," I said, glaring at him.

"Trixie told me everything along with other witnesses."

"So you trust her words over mine?"

"Yes. I know you. You can't fool me."

I scoffed. "You should be questionin' Chase. He's the reason why I'm in here."

"I would watch that tone of yours if I were you. And no, you are here because of that horrible incident you had caused in the hallway."

"Well maybe if he hadn't disrespected my friend, that wouldn't have happened."

Mr. Smith didn't answer. He pulled out some papers and started writing something. I just sat there with my arms resting on the arms of the chair as my hands

gripped them. Intrusive thoughts crept into my mind. The image of me leaping over his desk and strangling him to death. The image of me shifting into my wolf again in his office. A devilish grin stretched across my face, but immediately went back into a scowl as Mr. Smith looked up at me.

"So, tell me what actually happened since you think it wasn't your fault."

"I thought you said-"

"Just tell me," he interrupted me, rubbing his hand on his chin, leaning into his chair.

I huffed and began telling him everything from start to finish. Mr. Smith listened attentively. One thing I left out was that Chase slapped Lulu.

"Just so you know, I will be questioning Chase. Also, I think you left something out."

"What?"

"I was told that Chase slapped Lulu, but Emma told me otherwise."

"Since when do you listen to what Emma says?" I said as I folded my arms.

"She was a witness. It's my job to ask."

I scowled and was about to say that Emma is a "b word" but Mr. Smith raised his hand to cut me off. He was glaring at me, already knowing what I was about to say. For the next several minutes, I just existed in silence. I was honestly ready to go home. I just stared into the abyss as Mr. Smith rustled through paperwork and occasionally glancing at me.

'How is he not afraid of me? How he know that I won't just' pounce on him?'

I started fidgeting with the chair. "How long am I gonna be here?"

He didn't answer, but after a minute, he spoke. "So, you will be suspended for two weeks."

"What?!" I shouted. I stood up, my arms unfolding themselves.

"Sit. Down," he sternly said, his dark brown eyes glaring at me.

I folded my arms. "No."

I should've been ashamed of myself for talking to the principal like that. I was just a stubborn teenage boy–a boy with serious issues.

Mr. Smith sighed and took a sip from his white coffee mug that had big black letters on it which spelt out his name.

"School will be shut down for a week. You will be back two weeks after. You put someone in critical condition," he told me. "Do you know how many fights you been in?"

I shook my head.

"21 fights in total. And you know who started it? You. For at least 80% of the time.'

"I doubt that."

"Of course you do. You're lucky I didn't expel you after that shit you pulled."

"I have a question. Is Chase suspended as well?"

"What do you think? Of course he is, but you should've been the bigger person and walked away."

"Seriously? How was I supposed to walk away from that?!" I raised my voice, clenching my fists.

"I suggest you get out of my office before I add another week."

I grumbled and started getting my things. As I was leaving, he said something about disregarding the fact that I wasn't normal–in other words, not saying a word about it and just forgetting about what I had just turned into.

After I got home, Mellissa was waiting for me by the stairwell as soon as I walked in. She was giving me an icy stare and to be honest, it was a bit scary.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked, trying to be oblivious.

"You know what's wrong. I got a phone call 'bout you being suspended for 2 weeks. You got into a fight again and exposed your identity in front of school!" Mellissa shouted angrily. "Even worse, you put someone in the hospital."

I shrugged. "So."

"So? Really? That's all you have to say?"

"Yeah. I don't care. I'm goin' upstairs," I said, walking past her, going up the stairs.

I was incredibly annoyed. I wanted to be alone. I had a strange history of being disrespectful to her and my mother. I was definitely a good kid. Good grades and everything. My behavior was just a problem. I was easily ticked off by a lot of things.

"No you will not!" Mellissa's angry voice bellowed. She grabbed my wrist, almost pulling me backwards.

"Let go of me!" I growled, yanking my arm away, but her grip only became tighter.

"You were supposed to keep yo' identity a secret!"

I turned my head towards her. "Why should I? My brother and my so-called dad already knows where I am!"

A bunch of more heated shouts were exchanged.

"You know what, you're grounded."

I scoffed. "Whatever. You should've gave me back to my mom."

Mellissa sighed. She told me that I couldn't go back to my mom and that she couldn't tell me the reason why. All of a sudden, she had me following her up the stairs to bring me to the attic.

_______________________________________________________________

As she lowered the ladder to the attic down, she gave me a look as if to tell me to go up. I put my bookbag down and climbed up the ladder. I opened the attic door and went into the darkness.

After I got up there, I looked around using my night vision. It was very ominous and dark. There was no light as there were no windows. With every step I took, the floor creaked.

'Why did she want me to come up here?'

I walked through a maze of boxes with dust and spider webs everywhere. The whole place seemed deserted as if no one had been up there in months. I sat down by one of the boxes and dusted it off. I opened the flaps and my eyes saw books–or journals that appeared as books. I quickly rumbled through the box.

"Hmm nothin' interestin' in here," I said to myself.

I pulled another box towards me. There was a label on it. It read: Family Secrets. I immediately stood up and picked it up. I left the attic and quickly entered my room, locking the door. I placed the box on my bed and made myself comfortable on top of my blankets. I shoved my hands into the box and pulled out a book. It was old-fashioned and was a garnet color.

"Freddy," I read the label on the front. My brows furrowed in confusion. "Who is Freddy?"

I opened the journal and noticed the paper was an old beige color. The texture was a bit gritty and old. I flipped through the pages slowly as I grew curious. I stopped at a page with a bunch of writing and pictures. In one of the pictures, there were wolves that were gathered around, standing on rocks as if to be in a pack. All of them were brown except for one. The one with jet black fur and golden eyes.

'Why does it look like mine?'

Under the photo was a description that said:

1981. The night of becoming part of the pack.

The other page had a photo of that same black wolf, this time, it was up close like a portrait. Next to the photo was another photo. In the photo was a dark skinned man. Something about this man was familiar.

My eyes went wide in realization.

'Oh my god. This man was in that photo Jacobe gave me. He's my dad?'

As I flipped through more pages, I noticed that there were pages missing. I just kept reading. I stopped at a page when I saw a wedding photo. My eyes lingered on the writing from which I could barely read due to cursive or being blacked out.

1984. Special night of my life. I love you my lovely wife, Janiya.

'So my mom was married before.'

I stared at the photo for a long time. My mom appeared very young and beautiful. She seemed to be excited as she was standing forehead to forehead with the man.

'They must've been a happy couple.'

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I wiped it away quickly. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I tried to read the rest, but no luck. That is, until I found the

picture I saw when I first encountered Jacobe. My eyes went straight to the description under it.

I can't take care of this child. He has the gene and I have a feeling that something is going to happen. I have to split this family apart.

'What the hell.'

Anger washed over me. I slapped the book shut and just sat there thinking. I couldn't believe that my own dad would abandon his own son. He even created a monster out of my brother.

I hurriedly dove into the box, finding another book. Thankfully, I found one. It had no title and was a royal blue color. This book must've had serious secrets, otherwise it would've had a title. I quickly opened the book and I was met with–a picture of 4 men. They were all standing shoulder to shoulder, wearing tuxedos and sunglasses. Think of Men In Black. My eyes widened in horror. These men weren't just any men. These men would come to my home and would tell my mother that they were people of a business that searched for kids who were strangely gifted and intelligent.

But that was all a lie. They tortured me. Used me as an experiment. They tried to make me into something that I'm not. I didn't even know how they didn't wake up my wolf doing what they did. It lasted 6 months. They stopped after failing the experiment. I purposely hid my scars and walked around, putting on a fake face. My mother ended up noticing my behavior and that's when–I told her. I told her the truth which sent me to therapy for 2 years. I was almost sent to a mad house due to how many mental breakdowns and episodes I had.

Flashbacks of everything flickered on and off in my brain. The endless terror. The screams. The men. The needles they stuck me with. The chair they tied me to. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head with my hands in my hair.

'Calm down. Breathe.'

I blew my breath and stormed out of my room, going to Mellissa's room.

"What the hell is this?" I said, throwing the book on her bed. She was lounging on her bed with her legs crossed, reading a book.

She looked up at me. "Watch it and what are you talkin' 'bout?"

"Why is there a picture of those men in that book?"

She scrunched her brows together and reached for the book. She opened it and as soon as she saw the first page, she gasped. She scrambled out of the bed, grabbing the book.

"You weren't supposed to find this."

"Well how was I supposed to know, you sent me up there without warning," I told her, throwing my hands up.

"Did you read anything in this book?" Mellissa asked, fear rising in her voice.

I shook my head slowly, almost hesitantly.

"Did you?!" she repeated.

"No. No, I didn't."

'Why is she so freaked out?'

She sighed in relief.

"Why was those men in that book?" I asked, now worried. She shook her head, rubbing her hand on her face. "You know those men ruined my life."

"Those men aren't around anymore."

"Then why are you freaked out?"

She blew her breath and mumbled a "nothing". Then she walked out.