Val stared at the school wide-eyed, hoping she didn't trip herself on the way in. This town was big — no doubt — but the school was huge.

The main building stood several feet tall in front of her, and on the right spread the immensely big yard where dozens of students were walking about. On the far end — right behind the school — stood another building, just as tall, if not more. Probably the gym.

She swallowed and moved for the door, trying to ignore the not-so-discreet looks she received. Some were intrigued while others seemed confused. Yep, new girl in town all over again.

A few grunts and curses beckoned her to look from the corner of her eye as a tall brunette girl taunted a muscular blonde boy, and she seemed to be winning from the looks of it. The boy had blood running down his face and a wicked red mark on his jaw that she knew would bruise painfully. Experience — you see.

The girl, however, was barely even winded. She grinned at him and opened her mouth to say something when he snarled a retort and barreled toward her. A man separated them, surely starting through a long lecture. She ignored the rest.

Val wandered the school hallways trying to blend in with her surroundings as much as possible, not wanting to draw any more attention. She had to find the principal's office to get her books and schedule but it proved to be a lot harder than she'd hoped. The place was like a maze. She groaned.

"Are you lost?" Val turned around to a short, brown-haired girl with big green eyes staring up at her.

"Huh?"

"Are you lost?" The girl repeated, only much slower this time, as if talking to a child. "You're new here, right?" she continued, flashing her a big smile.

"Uh, yeah. I was searching for the principal's office but..."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the place after a while. It's always confusing at first. I'm Alex by the way." Another smile.

"Val."

"Well, Val... you're really close. Just take the left here, then turn right and you'll find it."

"Thanks." She gave a friendly smile and went on her way. She had the distinct feeling of the girl still watching her but she didn't turn around.

Val knocked on the door three times before the characteristic 'come in' sounded and she pushed through the doorknob.

The office was big and plain yet very impressive. The floor was made of wood and the sidewall — the one next to the door — was completely covered by a big library filled with books, giving off a hint of elegance to the place.

The wall on the opposite side had three large windows lighting the room with the bright morning sun and on the far end — behind a large brown desk — sat the principal. On a brown, leather, office chair, gaze cast downward at one of the many documents that lay on his desk.

The man motioned her to sit on one of the two chairs in front of him and Val obliged, still looking around. Her eyes suddenly fell to the two paintings that hang high on the wall behind the man.

Beautiful.

"Volana Donovan," the man mumbled, gaining her attention. He looked no older than thirty-five, with dark brown hair and warm, brown eyes. Val couldn't imagine him as being a school principal, her own experience had her looking out for someone a bit more unpleasant. And slimy, sort of speak.

"From what I can see here, you've run into some trouble in your previous school." He continued studying the document that proved to be her school file in silence for a few moments before he closed it shut and stood up, revealing his tall stature. "But all that is in the past now." He threw the file in the trash can next to the desk.

Show off.

His mouth twitched upward at her raised brow.

"We have a couple of ground rules here but all you need at the moment is your class schedule." He opened one of the desk's drawers and pulled out two pieces of paper.

"This is your weekly class schedule," the man handed her one of the pieces, "and this is your locker combination." He handed her the other. "Come back after classes for your books. Don't be late."

Val found it hard to keep her eyes on the man in front of her — which spoke volumes considering he could've ditched principal-ing for a modeling career — once again diverting her gaze to the two paintings. She admired the detail and the obvious effort the artist put into them, and she stood there, in awe, staring at the beautiful wolves.

One painting depicted a single black wolf, standing tall and proud. The sense of intimidation and power it gave off both intrigued and excited her. The one next to it felt different, yet very similar. A similar black wolf was in it, but this time its beautiful glowing fur was stained with crimson, and dark, wolf-like figures surrounded it, threatening it. She could almost feel its panic, its pain, as it bore its blood-stained teeth. Somehow, she could tell that it was still in control, in power. The darkness seemed to seep into its fur, blend in with the wild malice, making it look even deadlier.

It wasn't strange for her to be intrigued by a drawing or a painting before, but this felt different. She could've ripped them off of the wall right there and then if not for the man standing in front of them.

Her sudden interest didn't go unnoticed by him when he spoke. "You seem to have taken a liking to those two." He nodded back. Val noticed a carving at the bottom part of the first one, a crystal standing right in the middle. Swirls adorned the wood and seemed to circle the crystal, tainting it and expanding on its own, emerald glory, as if to protect it. The second one — while it bore the carvings — was missing the crystal.

Her hand instantly flew to her neck, where she found the necklace her mother had left her still chained around it. She tilted her head. They were similar...

No, she chuckled to herself. No, no, no. No more stupid theories. Her head was filled with enough of them already.

"Um..." Val trailed off, not knowing how to call the man.

"Right." He smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I'm John Mayne, the principal of this school."

"Mister Mayne," she hesitated, "who painted these?"

"An old friend did. She used to live here." His brows furrowed, but he was watching her every move. He assessed her with bright, keen eyes.

"Where is she now?"

"She died long ago." She mentally slapped herself. She shouldn't have asked.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"You should get going, class has already started." John barely spared her another glance as he sat down and surveyed one of the documents piled up on his desk. She could almost hear him groan at the tall stack of paper.

After she left the office, Val followed the principal's instructions and made her way to her first class. Muffling words were coming from the inside. And of course, she was late. "There goes nothing," she mumbled.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door three times before pushing it open. Everyone went silent and all heads whipped to her. That's exactly why she didn't want to be late. The class was big but she didn't get much time to look around, her eyes falling on the teacher's sour face. His eyes were throwing daggers at her head.

"Decided to join us, have you?" The teacher said, irony and agitation clear in his voice. Val, thankfully, didn't deign a retort and the teacher sighed when he realized he wasn't going to get an answer — or an apology that is.

"As I was saying, Miss Donovan, is it?" He glanced down at his paper, then back up. "My name is Charles Feinman and I will be your math teacher for this year. Now find yourself a seat."

Val closed the door behind her and scanned the room for an empty seat. Her eyes fell to a hand waving frantically from the back.

"Alex?" she whispered when she reached her. The girl gave her a wide grin and motioned for her to sit, whispering back a 'hey'.

"Some of you had the pleasure of having me as your teacher in the past years while others are seeing me for the first time..." Mister Feinman's voice disappeared in the background as Val dragged her pencil on her notebook, the lead making small, hissing sounds as she drew.

She tried to ignore Alexs' staring, but when she turned with a questioning look, the girl just shook her head and turned back to the teacher.

The school bell rang loud in her ears when she dropped down the pencil, admiring her work.

"Wow, you're really good!" Alex hovered over the drawing. "You should sign up for art class!"

"Thank you," Val mumbled shyly and picked up the drawing, the sudden movement making the wolves look like they came to life. When they left the room, Alex was on her trail.

"Sorry," she'd said at some point. "We don't get many new people here so I was curious. But I'm friendly, I swear!" Val had just nodded. Socializing wasn't one of her strong suits, but she wasn't about to turn away the only person in this school who'd actually tried to hold a conversation with her.

The rest of the classes passed torturously slow, with Val taking comfort in drawing, giving no attention to the world around her. Once the bell rang, signaling the end of her last class, she sighed and practically melted onto the chair.

What am I doing with my life? she thought to herself and jerked up, suddenly remembering she had to pass by the principal's office for her books.

Mister Mayne's words came to mind as she rushed. She swore.

Impact!

Val went tumbling to the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" a voice snapped at her.

"Watch where you're standing!" she snapped back, getting back on her feet and continuing on her way, barely looking at the guy. Jerk.

Going into the office for the second time, Val thought that maybe she could ask a few more questions about the paintings, not quite sure if the principal would want to answer them after their last conversation.

"Mister May—"

"Your books are on the chair." He motioned at the red leather chair in front of his desk, his eyes never leaving the documents in front of him. That's a no then...

She picked up her books and left the office, dropping them off at her locker before heading for her house.

*****

"I'm home!" Daphne mused from downstairs. Val swirled and twisted, irritated by the sudden intrusion, before she calmly closed her eyelids, slowly drifting back to her peaceful sleep. "I brought pizza." She jerked up.

"Could have started with that!" she shouted loud enough for Daphne to hear.

"Where's the fun in that?" She could almost hear the grin on Daphne's face.

Dragging her feet painfully slow, she headed downstairs and entered the kitchen space. An irresistible scent filled her nostrils. She licked her lower lip. She hadn't eaten that day and she just now realized how hungry she really was.

"How was your day?" A beaming Daphne greeted.

"Tragic!" Val made sure to sound as dramatic as possible, hand pushing on her forehead and everything. Alas, it was no use, she would get no sympathy. "How come you got pizza?" she continued, sitting down at the kitchen table, eyes already devouring the cheesy heaven. Her stomach growled.

"Thought I'd make your tragic day a bit more bearable," she mocked.

"Nothing more tragic than your acting like you're kind." Val gave a sideways look and they laughed, digging in.

*****

Val was in the living room when two figures approached her. A woman and a man. Her vision was still blurred, but something was different this time. She could see past the blur enough to look at their eyes. The man's dark, mysterious eyes and the woman's beautiful emerald green ones.

The two figures abruptly stopped and turned their heads to their right, facing the third. Nothing had changed with that one, the man was still just a blur.

The woman stood protectively before her while the two men lunged at each other. She took her in her arms, holding her tight as Val witnessed the two men change forms, shifting into two giant wolves. She turned her gaze toward the female. Red sparks flickered in the woman's irises before she averted her gaze.

Val's eyes started to burn and she squeezed them shut, opening them only when she felt the absence of the woman's warmth.

Last thing she saw was the wolf's teeth closing in on her, and then all went black.

Val shot up, screaming in pain. She forced her eyelids to open and looked right into the mirror she'd placed in her room.

She gasped.