"Damian," Alex whisper-yelled, pointing to the seat next to Val. The boy she'd crashed into in the corridor grinned at Alex and narrowed his eyes when he spotted Val, cocking a brow before taking the seat.

Val chose to ignore him, instead turning her attention to Mr. Feinman and focusing mostly on keeping her eyelids open. It didn't last long.

Too many questions were forming in her head despite having tried to settle with what she was told. She was seriously starting to reconsider if her mental health was sound. It certainly didn't seem like it.

Daphne had never lied to her before. Never.

And yet, here she was, fruitlessly trying to figure out what it was exactly that the woman was keeping from her — what she was lying to her about. What happened yesterday.

"We'll see you outback!" Alex called when the bell rang. Damian nodded, disappearing out of the class.

"Ready?" she asked with a small smile. Val nodded.

A blonde bumped into Val as they walked out; the girl's features twisted in disgust. She opened her mouth to speak—

"Val, come on, they're waiting," Alex called from behind. She took another look at the girl, muttering a quick 'sorry' before jogging a bit to reach her.

"Better to have crashed on a wall," she mumbled. Val gave a quizzical look.

"You'll find out soon enough," she sighed, "let's go find the others."

It was a surprise to see how small the number of students was, considering the sheer size of the building. How could they even keep it running like that? She shuddered to think what their heating bills looked like.

Alex led her out and walked toward a worn-looking picnic bench currently occupied by four other people.

"Look who I brought!" she announced excitedly and side-stepped so the others could see her. With a grin, she started pointing at each of them as she called their names.

Samantha was a red-haired girl sitting on top of the wooden table at the front, with big, green eyes, and a smile she had no doubt had people melting over at sight. A green blouse stretched around her toned stomach and her black sweats moved up and down her ankles as she moved her legs. A lock of curly hair dropped over an eye as she grinned at Val with a slightly tilted head. She thought she saw the arm of the boy sitting at the back reach over to tuck it back.

Ian, Alex called him. He blew off a strand of hair from his forehead and nodded at her. She barely got a glimpse of his eyes before he lowered them back to his phone. Even though he was sitting, Val could tell he was tall, with broad shoulders and a sharp jaw. A muscle feathered there as he gritted his teeth. Val looked away.

"And you've already met Erik and Damian." Alex waved a hand. Damian's upper lip curled as he leaned on the bench, a pair of stormy gray eyes scrutinizing her from head to toe. He was the least buff out of his friends, but the black material of his shirt stretched enough around his biceps to suggest there was lean, hard muscle underneath.

He was also the polar opposite of Erik, whose smile always seemed genuine, and an inviting aura surrounded him at all times. Compared to him, Damian was all rough edges and sharp features.

"Play nice," Alex warned, ruffling his curly brown hair with a hand.

He ignored her.

"If you wanted a pet you could've gotten a dog; why bring a human? Besides, what do we have Samantha here for?" He clicked his tongue. Val noticed the small interest that pulsated through the group. Samantha pulled back her lip to snarl a retort when he raised his hands in silent surrender. Ian took interest for a moment, raising a sarcastic brow that made her think that was usual for them, then went back to scrolling through his phone.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember — leaving."

Erik snorted, muttering a "didn't even last five minutes". Damian walked off to the building behind the school, eyes tracking her one last time before he turned his head.

Val frowned, did he say human?

"Don't mind him, he acts like an idiot most of the time but he's cool. You can call me Sam." The redhead smiled and extended a hand.

She took it. "Nice to meet you."

"It's good to see the face behind Alex's excitement, you're all she ever talked about since yesterday."

"See?" Erik threw up his hands, "I wasn't the only one saying it."

Alex crossed her hands at her chest. "We don't get many new people around here. Is it so bad to be a little excited about it?"

Erik brought his forefinger close to his thumb and mouthed 'a little' with a grimace, earning a kick from Sam. He stuck his tongue out and Val smiled, he was a lively one.

She found it a little strange. She'd barely uttered a sentence to Alex when they first met, and yet here she was, being introduced to her friends. She didn't understand all the excitement but she wasn't about to complain. Better that, than not knowing anyone at school at all. Daphne had said something about that too...

Sam looked back at her. "Where are you from?"

Daphne and I have been moving a lot, so I guess you could say — everywhere?"

"Is Daphne your sister or...?" She tilted her head — quite like the kind of movement an interested puppy would make.

"No. She's my mom, well — stepmom." Samantha nodded in understanding and Val instantly liked her for not pushing for more information. People usually liked to inquire about her past. Whether her parents were dead; if she'd been raised in an orphanage. She glanced at Alex.

"We have gym class together, right?" Alex nodded and the redhead grinned.

They continued talking for a few more minutes, mostly about school and which teachers she'd really like to get on the good side of, when the bell rang again. She noticed it was a lot quieter than the ones in her previous schools, It'd be really easy to miss hearing it if she weren't paying attention.

Erik seemed particularly happy about gym class as he took off in the direction Damian had walked off to, beckoning the others to do the same.

Passing through the double doors, Val looked at the wide space that spread in front of her. It looked even bigger from the inside.

While empty for the most part, the floor was covered by a huge mattress. She pushed down a little — hard enough to stand balanced, but soft and high enough to prevent any injuries, she realized. Maybe she should suggest buying one for the house as well.

The wall on the other side was completely covered with chains hanging from the tall ceiling, not one inch of the white wall behind it to be seen. Val couldn't think of a reason why so much metal hung there — other than the slightly ripped-at-the-top boxing bag lying in a heap underneath them — she found it unsettling.

The wall on her far left had another set of double doors that lead inside the school, as Sam explained, and another, single and fully open, that lead to the changing rooms. A stairway started a few meters short of the corner and it climbed up to a sort of balcony that spread throughout the wall and stood in front of another door, iron, to the wood exactly underneath — the 'equipment storage'. Large, wide windows were pitch black, completely untouched by the lights on the ceiling.

Val staggered forward, grabbing hold of Erik's arm to steady herself. She looked back at the person who pushed her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the girl she'd bumped into earlier said, an innocent smile on her face. The same two girls from before were looking them over, sizing them up. The one on the left, a beautiful girl with black hair and striking, blue eyes, was looking at her with boredom while the one on the other side, a hazel-brown-haired girl with vibrant, green eyes, couldn't seem to be able to stay still. Eyes full of curiosity searched her face. Val resisted the urge to snap at the blonde. New school, play nice, she thought, and released a tight breath.

"It's okay." Val smiled as the blonde studied her, much like a wild animal would their prey right before it pounced. The hair stood on the back of her head, a hand casually tightened to a fist at her side.

Finally, the girl mused, "You're new here, right? I think I heard them call you... Val?" — a nod — "We don't get many new people around here."

"I heard." She looked at Alex with a hint of amusement, but the girl wasn't smiling. The tension seemed to be making her fidgety.

"Well," the girl said slowly, "be sure to ask if you ever need help, okay? I'm Britney, by the way." And something about that smile made her tense. It was identical to the one Daphne would give her every time they sparred. Val gave a sharp nod. When Britney looked over her shoulder, her eyes shone.

"Damian!" she called excitedly. For his part, Damian didn't so much as look up, but Val noticed the slight pursing of his lips, and how his jaw tightened in clear irritation. She gave a small smile, some of the tension leaving her body. Served him right.

He was standing with his back to the wall, phone in his hands. Britney hurried toward him, grinning wildly at Samantha over her shoulder. The two girls followed her with a groan. Ian watched her go with furrowed brows.

"Alright, what am I missing here?" The others snapped their attention back to her, their eyes softening.

"That," Erik pointed out, "is Britney."

"So...we hate Britney?" She raised a brow.

"There's always that one kid thinking they own the place, right? Well, that is she." Alex filled in and her lips pulled back just a little. Sam threw an arm around her shoulder and she immediately settled. "It's best you steer clear of her. She can be a real pain in the ass if she wants to." Val nodded.

"Round up!" A voice boomed suddenly, making her jump. She followed it to a woman shouting in the middle of the room. She was beautiful, barely in her thirties; but her eyes looked older, wiser. There seemed to be an abundance of oddities in that school. Val was starting to get intrigued. Begrudgingly so.

"And that's Ms. Wallace. You definitely don't want to get on her bad side." Sam grinned and started pushing her ahead.

Val followed the wave of kids moving to the teacher, and Erik called Damian over, who had a jump in his step and a grateful smile on his face as he neared. She almost felt bad for him — almost.

"You know the deal about these day's practice, so, five laps, then dodgeball. And don't get any funny ideas, the rules still apply," the woman declared, voice strong and authoritative. She dismissed any grunts or groans with a flick of her wrist.

Five laps later, both classes were split into two teams, taking their sides in the clear space. Val, Damian, Samantha, and some others were on the same team while Britney, her friends, and the rest of their group were on the other with the rest of the students. Ms. Wallace's whistle signaled the start of the game and everyone took stance; balls held high and eyes on the competition. Soon the room turned into a battleground, red and blue balls flying in every direction, bodies snapping back and forth.

First to go out was Ian, unsurprisingly — who lost no time in getting hit at — along with a couple others from the opposing team.

"Where are you going, Black?" Erik challenged, "Afraid to take a hit?" He grinned and threw the ball right at Damian's face.

Damian ducked and grabbed another ball that was aimed at his legs. He threw it back at Erik and it bounced against the side of his shoulder. "Oh is that how you were going to do it?"

Erik's answer was a vulgar gesture behind his back as he walked over to Ian, amused.

A ball struck the side of Damian's head and Alex whooped from the other side, bumping her fists into the air. "You snooze, you lose, butterfingers. Whoo, get out!"

Damian narrowed his eyes but left with a snort.

Sam took down Alex next, and as Erik cackled from the side, half-heartedly trying to fend her assaulting hands off when she reached him, Val noticed she and Sam were the only ones left in their team. Britney glared from the other along with the blue-eyed girl, who seemed shorter at that moment than a little while ago.

Val now understood why the others disliked her as her ball struck the side of her friend's waist. A throw or two after missing Sam's head, Britney began taunting her.

A reassuring smile and a couple of short words made her stand down, but this girl was wearing her patience thin. The others didn't seem too happy, while the crowd surrounding them either whooped, booed, or just watched boredly from the sides. Ian was glaring at the side of the blonde's face and Val considered what exactly he would do if he took that step forward he was clearly itching to take.

"I got to say, Sammy," Britney mocked, "I thought your parents would have thrown you out by now. After your unfortunate brother left, there wasn't much use in keeping you with them anyway, was there? Oh wait, I guess there's just that one left. What was his name again?" A wicked smile crept on her face. Samantha froze, the color draining from her face. Val fumed as shock seemed to pin her new friend in position. Britney laughed, pleased with the reaction she'd caused. She took a few steps back and snapped forward, throwing the ball directly at Sam's face.

"Sam!" A voice worriedly shouted from behind, and it took her a second to pinpoint its location. That must have been the first time she heard Ian speak.

Val blinked, and was now standing next to Sam with the ball firmly held in her hands. She resisted the urge to drop the ball and furiously rub her hands together. The girl could throw! Ian was mid-stride as Sam snapped out of it and stared at her, dazed, for a few moments. Then she turned on her heel and walked off to the exit leading inside the school.

Britney cackled. Val turned to her, narrowing her eyes.

"Playing nice my ass!" She took a few steps back and snapped forward, throwing the ball with as much force as possible. Britney yelped as the ball hit home, and she fell back, body going completely still. She lay there with wide eyes as everyone dropped what they were doing and stared, eyes whipping from Val to Britney in shock. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She growled.

Erik appeared at her side. "We should go," he said with a nervous laugh, pushing her toward the same direction Sam had gone to.

"What. Did. You. Just. Do!" Britney hissed. She raised her torso enough to bare her teeth before disappearing behind the closing door. Maybe Erik was right to pull her away; she had the distinct thought that if she had stayed back, venom would have sprung out of Britney's mouth like a snake's.

Sam was a little further down the corridor when she spotted them.

"Are you okay?" Val asked when they reached her. The redhead nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah, I just need to get my history book, want to come?" She didn't push it, she barely even knew the girl. Nodding, she followed her down the corridor while the others went back to get their stuff, throwing hesitant looks their way. Val tried not to stare too openly. She wasn't sure what that interaction was about, but it was obviously a sore spot for her.

"Can you hold for a sec?" Samantha passed her the book and kept rummaging in her locker. The instant she made contact with her skin, everything around Val faded to a blur, and voices broke against the blackness of her vision.

"Everything we're doing is for your own good, sweetie," said one of them, voice soft and soothing.

"I don't want to hear it! We're going through with this," said another. This one was different, it held more authority, more power. Was she hallucinating?

"Val, can you hear me? Val!" Val flinched and covered her ears but it didn't help. The voices kept getting louder and louder.

"Val!" She snapped her eyes open. Sam was shaking her, hands firm on her arms.

"What happened?" Her voice sounded too far away in her head; it took her eyes several seconds to be able to focus again.

"You just spaced out for a minute." Sam frowned and bent down to pick up the book she'd dropped. "Is everything okay? Maybe you should go get checked by the doctor..."

She huffed out a breath — she was supposed to be asking her that. "Yeah, everything's okay; I just zoned out for a bit. Let's go." She smiled and rushed forward. The ghost of a voice whispered something in her ear, but it was low enough that it felt more like someone blowing on it than anything else. She tried to hide her shudder.

~~~~~

Erik took a step back and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm, panting. He'd decided to stay and train after classes — again.

He couldn't go back home, couldn't contain himself into those walls now. They suffocated him, closed in on him — it made his skin crawl.

It was normal. Change was coming and his body was preparing — he just wished it would try preparing itself in a way that didn't drive him crazy. He could almost feel his blood boiling in his veins, his skin ripple and tighten as if ready to shred at any given time.

Everything was getting brighter; louder. He wasn't in any sort of pain, but the itch that stretched throughout his body, coaxing that sweet release, was far more painful than anything he'd ever had imagined — he needed a distraction, and training always seemed like the best option.

Sam was his usual sparring partner, looking for her own way to drown it, but Alex had taken her place for a while. That was how they worked; one drained the other until the exhaustion took too much out of them to consider the rest.

"Tired already, buttcheeks?" Grinned Alex.

Erik growled and swiped with his hand, "I told you to stop calling me that!" Alex ducked with ease and kicked his knees in. He fell with a groan.

"Okay, okay." He held up a hand, his breaths coming out short and erratic. "Enough for today." Alex grinned, but as she turned to Sam, Erik lunged. They rolled a few times before she had him held by the throat, fangs bared. "You do remember that the restrictions prevent us from doing that outside practice, right?"

Her mouth stretched into a sinister smile. "Are you referring to my fangs, or to the fact that I kicked your ass?"

"Oh, please." He chuckled. "If it weren't for the fight with Sam earlier wearing me down, we both know you'd have tasted that mat by now."

"Don't bring me into this," sighed Sam.

Alex bristled but leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I'll be sure to mention that to whichever unfortunate female crosses paths with your ass in the future. I'll tell her to treat you very gently, don't worry, maybe even throw in a break or two for poor you to recharge since stamina seems to be that much of a problem." Sam choked on a laugh.

Erik pushed her off with a huff; she cocked a brow. "I thought you liked my ass," he drawled, "or at least that nickname seems to suggest so."

A bemused smile and a tilt of the head had her looking right at the edges of his sweats. "It's a fine specimen," she mused, nodding, "but let's not forget, I'm not like you; I don't go around smelling other people's rear ends."

"Can you at least try to remember I'm standing right here?" groaned Sam, "Seriously people!"

Alex bumped fists with Erik and laughed as they sat down next to her.

A few moments later Erik started hesitantly, "So... Val really knows nothing about us? What we are...?"

For all her obvious ignorance, Erik still had his doubts. You couldn't just bump into this place. And it was on no map known to humans. But she...she didn't know anything. And none of it was faked — she wasn't lying. So how could she have come?

Sam leaned in to listen as Alex mulled over it. "I'm not sure how exactly she turned up here but, no, she doesn't seem to know anything about this — us."

"But how could she not have noticed?" Sam furrowed her brows. "She did mention not having gone out much since they moved, but she couldn't have just passed all these people on her way to school and not know — not see."

Erik hummed, "With the restriction put on us there's hardly anything for her to see. No one would dare disobey the Alpha; the patrols are the only ones permitted to change, and even then, they are far away from the streets for her to see. Maybe Ian was right — maybe it was just dumb luck that she hasn't encountered anything yet."

"Even so," the redhead sighed, "when practice starts, she's going to find out one way or the other. Gym class was only a temporary thing to help us take the edge off. Soon, that will be over too."

"Do you think..." Erik swallowed. "Do you think she might be a hunter?"

Alex whipped her head to him. "What? No!"

Sam watched them with calculating eyes before she chimed in: "I don't think so either...but it does raise a few questions."

Erik pursed his lips. "Then maybe Damian was right; maybe we just need to tell her and be done with it. It'll be better if we ease her into it anyway. And we can also see if there's any surprise there, or something?"

"No." Alex's head snapped up. "We can't tell her. N-not yet."

"Alex..." Erik started.

"Don't," she warned with a half-hearted snarl. "I just — I like how normal it feels when we talk. And she's human, we don't know if she'd want this... us. Maybe we should talk to Daphne first, she probably already knows of our existence. That's the only explanation there is about them being here anyway, plus we can also watch for her reaction. It'll be easier that way, too — for her."

They slowly nodded.

~~~~~

The alarm clock went off for the 5th time now, and Val finally woke up, groaning and twisting around on her bed as her bones cracked. She felt sore.

Daphne had woken up early again to her screaming, so she let her rest. She didn't remember much about those particular dreams, she just supposed it had something to do with that man — those wolves.

Waking up in bed was a relief, but there was still something nagging at her, nestled right at the back of her head. Human, that boy had mocked. And Daphne was lying to her... and those voices in her head from before —

She shook her head, groaning. She was seriously starting to lose her mind.

A small smile stretched her lips as a memory of the now-sleeping woman making her pancakes for countless mornings came to mind, and she headed for the kitchen.

Leaving both plates on the table, she picked her raging phone up.

"Have you been dreaming of me again?" she purred seductively. Alex snorted.

"I have come to realize that a fine beauty such as yourself shouldn't hide behind closed doors. Share your gifts with the world." She mocked the tone Erik had previously used as she spoke, "Plus, I wanted to schedule things early. That way you won't be able to find an excuse to avoid it again."

"Avoid what? You're going to have to be more specific."

"We're going to the movies," Alex squeaked excitedly. The silence was as good of an answer as any. "Oh, come on," she groaned at the other end. "You haven't gone out with us since you moved. Not once! At least come to the movies with me..." she whined. Alex was pouting; Val knew it without even having to see her.

It amazed her how quickly they all clicked together. How she could visualize her face and her expression so vividly in her mind, as if they'd known each other for years, just from the tone of her voice.

Val groaned. It had been a week since school started, and she always went straight home afterward. People always stared at her, she didn't like it. And... she felt uneasy, restless.

Apparently, a week of terrible excuses was as far as she'd let go.

"Fine," she sighed, "but you're buying popcorn. I'll come pick you up at eight?" Alex squealed her approval and ended the call.

"Yay..."

"Morning." Daphne walked in. She was still in her pajamas, hair looking like someone electrocuted them, and eyes swollen and bagged, giving away the fatigue of the last few weeks. "Not a word," she warned. Val wisely kept her mouth shut.

"Wasn't planning on it," she murmured, to which Daphne gave a distrustful look. "Well, maybe only a little."

"Right..." Daphne yawned, eyes zeroing in on the plates. "Pancakes!" She jumped onto the seat and began gobbling down everything she could get her hands on. Val chuckled and joined her. Surprisingly enough, they were edible.

They spent the whole day relaxing, binge-watching their favorite movies with the company of a large, family ice cream, and doing nothing. Sweet, sweet laziness.

Having a training-free day was a whole miracle of its own. Not that she minded really, she enjoyed the workout and all the painful sparring.

Daphne's phone suddenly rang, startling them both. "I have to get this."

Val nodded and checked on her own. Alex had texted her about half an hour ago but she'd ignored it until then.

'I'll be waiting outside my house at eight sharp.' Val read inwardly, and jumped up; she had less than half an hour to get ready and go pick her up. Scowling — and maybe slightly drooling — she eyed the ice cream and took a last, big scoop of pity from its magnificence, then moved to put it in the fridge.

"I didn't have time to talk to her yet, we need to delay it," Daphne whispered harshly. Val stilled. She was talking so lowly; she wondered how she could even hear her at all, let alone as clear. "We've barely had this day, just give me an—"

"Okay," she finally sighed. She could hear the frustration in her voice, even while whispering, "today." She ended the call and Val took that as her queue to step in, but Daphne only looked toward her. "I know you've been listening, Val, come out."

She stiffened. "I have to pick up Alex in a bit; we're going to the movies," she blurted out and quickly ran upstairs to her room before she could stop her. Panic, she realized — she'd panicked.

She got dressed and ran out with a shouted 'leaving'.

Feet pounding on dirt, she narrowed her eyes at the bumpy road. There wasn't much pavement in this town, she'd noticed, only dirt roads that were stomped to near stone.

"Ten past eight...great," she muttered when she saw Alex standing outside her house, pacing.

"Move, move, move." She pushed on her back to get her to walk faster. "We're going to miss the movie!"

"Okay, okay!" Val tried to match her pace, lest she fell flat on her face. "Are the others not coming today?"

"Busy," she replied hurriedly, hastening her pace.

*****

"Remind me to never watch a movie with you again," grumbled Alex, clearly trying to hold back a smile. There was a slight tremor to her body.

"'I'm a grown woman, I don't get scared of fiction'," Val mocked with some brawn in her voice. "Big words for such a small vessel," she teased. Alex scowled.

"Some are based on true events you know, those can freak you out."

"It was a vampire movie, Alex. Which part of it was 'based on true events'?" She chuckled and rubbed her temples. What started as a dull, little ache had grown to hedge hammers pounding in her head. Alex watched her from the corner of her eye.

"They were burning them. Lots of people were burned in the past, accused of having used witchcraft and stuff."

"True, but most of those were innocent people. The hunters in the movie were only trying to protect the humans from the vampires." Alex hummed but didn't answer.

Val suddenly stilled. A jolt of lightning tore through her spine as her legs gave up their strength to hold her up. She dropped to her knees and clutched at her head, wincing.

"Val? What's wrong?" Alex was on her knees next to her, hands roaming comfortingly over her arms and back. "Do you feel sick?"

She couldn't speak; she could barely breathe. Any attempt came out as nothing but pathetic little whimpers. The oxygen was draining from her lungs and her veins burned like wildfire coursing inside them. The world spun, surroundings blended together.

"Val?" Alex tried again, carefully trying to tilt her head.

Val snapped up, eyes burning, stinging as if someone drenched them in alcohol and — pleading. Alex visibly shuddered, backing up a step.

"Your eyes..." she gasped.

A scream tore through Val's lips. Her hands instantly flew to her teeth, where they were being pulled out from her gums. Fingertips grazed the tips of something sharp, drawing blood.

Alex watched in shock as her friend shrieked and screamed in pain. "This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen!" she chanted over and over.

Val groaned and fell forward, hands struggling to keep her weight up. She was burning; like someone was spurting hot lava over her body, melting her flesh.

And she wanted to shred it apart; the skin that now itched, rippled, to let something out. Whatever it was. She just wanted it to stop —

"Pick up, pick up, pick up!" Alex was panting, flinching at every sound that came out of her mouth.

Val shrieked and writhed. A thousand needles were stabbing at the bottom of her fingernails again and again and again —

She pulled her hands back in and long, deep gashes were left in their wake, stark against the paved floor. There were bits of her nails, too, scattered in the bloody crevices on the pavement.

She ground her teeth and raised her hands at eye level. Long, sharp claws greeted her, glinting a deep crimson under the moonlight. She saw red.

A chilling howl tore through her throat, reverberating in her chest, her bones. She hoped, in her delirium, that whatever it was that was trying to get out, did, because she was going to throttle it later — then she slumped forward and blacked out.