The air was sickly sweet, filled with a sugary aroma. I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling the ambrosial smell, peaking my head from my covers. My moms’ pancakes were the only thing that could wake me up from a dead sleep. On my bedside table my phone was blaring it’s alarm, (Which was Low by Flo Rida), for the third time, but it just translated to white noise to me.

Even with the music blasting, and the smell of my mothers delicious pancakes, sleep always won. I was drifting back into unconsciousness, my limbs becoming heavier by the second.

“Ruby, turn that awful music off!”

My eyes snapped open, before I shut them. I turned my head, shielding my eyes from the light that was streaming through my window, which was right over my bed. I pulled my comforter over my head, stifling a groan.

I poked my hand out from under my covers, waving it around for a few moments until I hit my phone. I struggled to turn off my alarm, but sighed in relief when the music shut off. By the time I had retracted my hand and was cradling it to my chest, bitter cold had already seeped in the cracks and into my warm cocoon.

Realizing that I couldn’t run from the cold, I kicked my blankets off of my body and let the polar air nip at my body. I stretched, arching my back, before letting my arms falls to my side. Sitting there for a few moments, I rubbed my eyes, trying to get my body to kick into gear.

Exhaling, I looked over at my phone, leaning over so I could pick it up. The screen flashed to life, and I nearly choked when I saw the time. I only had twenty minutes to get ready and get out of the door.

I dropped my phone on my nightstand and leapt out of my bed, cautiously trying to avoid stepping on any miscellaneous objects that were strewn on the floor of my bedroom.

In my house, it was customary that I woke up late, and at this point it would be abnormal if I woke up at a normal time. As I persist to the attendance lady in my school, my family are my enablers. Not only do they not wake me up at appropriate times, fully knowing I won’t do it myself, they also force me to stay up and do slave labor such as, and not excluded to, the dishes.

The attendance lady was, to say the least, never pleased with my excuses.

As I struggled to get to my bathroom, which was connected to my room but a narrow door, I barely avoided stepping on random objects that were scattered along my floor. It was moments like these I cursed myself for forgetting to clean my room, though I hadn’t in months, and there was a fat chance I would any time soon.

I cracked open my bathroom door, clicking on the light. The granite counter of my bathroom was covered in my different products. On the other side of the bathroom, directly across from my door was another, which led to my brothers room. We shared our bathroom, and since he was as messy as I, it only led to the shared space being a disaster.

I did my normal routine, washing my face turbo speed and brushing my teeth. I put in my contacts, and I was about to leave the bathroom to find some clothes when I noticed my hair.

A gasp left my mouth as I went to reach for my tangled chocolate brown hair. It’s usual curls were now knotted and tangled. Normally it was a dark, curly mess, but today it was a plain travesty.

“You look like a Komondor,” Dottie, my inner wolf, teased. She laughed inside my head as I inspected my hair, deciding the best course of action. Dottie was just like me, which was not a good thing.

“Oh thanks Dottie, I’ll remember that next time I go into wolf form. I’m thinking a mud bath for 2?” I threatened back, opening my drawer so I could grab a paddle brush.

I tugged the brush through my hair, wincing periodically as it got caught on my knots. Deciding I couldn’t back out now, I roughed it out. Over and over I combed it through my tangles. It took a few minutes, wildling away at my time, but the end product was somewhat workable. I put some product in it, scrunching it up in my hands, before calling it quits. It was fluffy and undefined, but it would have to do.

Finally leaving my bathroom, I took one more look at my phone and groaned. I had six minutes left, six minutes to get dressed, gather my stuff and get out the door.

Stumbling over to my closet, I tugged open my closet, sighing in aggravation. My clothes were piled up in a few heaps on my closet floor, overflowing from my hamper. I sifted through my clothes, pulling out a simple white shirt and some jeans. I grabbed my fluffy pink jacket from the top of the pile, and stepped out of my closet.

I struggled to get the clothes, but in the end it came together semi-well. I grabbed my phone and slipped on my boots. Trudging to my door, I glanced at my room one last time before slipping into the hallway.

I rushed down the stairs, my stomps echoing through the stairwell. When I got down to the ground floor, I paused sheepishly. My mother stood in the kitchen, her arms crossed, shooting a glare at me. Her anger radiated through the room, and I could see her eyes dart from me towards the pile of pancakes that were placed nicely at my spot at the table.

“Mom, I don’t have time!” I pleaded, motioning to the clock we had mounted on the wall. Her eyebrow went up, and she repositioned herself, ignoring any form of sympathy. I stared at her for a few moments, before realizing there was no way I would get out of breakfast. Rushing to my seat, I plopped down in my chair and picked up my fork.

Within three minutes I had downed the pile of pancakes, and though I almost choked a few times, I was still happy. I still had time to get to school, and my mother had mellowed out a bit.

“Bye mom, thanks for breakfast!” I called to my mother as I stood from the table, nearly knocking over my chair. I ran to the door, grabbing my backpack, which I had discarded by the coatrack the night before. Slamming the door shut after me, I jumped down my front steps, nearly stepping on my moms’ pansies as I landed. I sighed in relief that I hadn’t squished them, and continued down the path that connected to my driveway.

My light blue 1966 convertible sat, waiting for me. It was a pain in the ass to get, it took a few shady jobs, a lot of auto repairs and hours of being stranded on the side of the road, but I finally got it working as well as it could. It was a gift from my grandfather, who told me that if anything happened to it he would murder me. I wanted to tell him it barely worked as it was, but I kept my mouth shut.

I got into my car quickly, throwing my shoulder bag into the passenger seat before cranking it on. I turned on the radio, finding a station I liked. It happened to be playing Adele, so I spent a good portion of the drive belting Turning Table. I wasn’t exactly known for my musical abilities.

The drive was fast and reckless, as it normally was. I was checked out most of drivers ed, and only passed my driving test by a few points. I checked my phone at my first red light, sighing when I saw my mother had sent me a long text about the ramifications of waking up late. I replied as quickly as possible, before tossing my phone in my bag.

I slowed when I pulled into my schools parking lot, watching everyone closely as I looked for my parking place. I pulled into my parking spot, putting my car in park and grabbing my bag. It was October, but the sun was beating down like it was August. Grabbing my sunglasses from my glove department, I opened my car door and got out.

As I walked towards the front of the school, I flashed a cheerful smile to whoever I saw, waving occasionally to different people. The school parking lot was a colorful mess of blues and greys, our school colors. We were the Frémont Sharks, the only high school in our small town.

Named after James Charles Frémont, the school was a staple of the town. It was newer then most of the building in town, but the county had run out of money, so they were only able to give us big windows. Everything inside was a coin toss to whether it was broken or not, and usually it was not.

I took off my sunglasses as I came to the picnic tables that were situated around the side of the building. They were in clusters directly opposite the doors to the east side of the school. My best friend sat at a picnic table, which was the only empty picnic table. She was scrolling on her phone, drinking an iced coffee.

I dropped my bag on the picnic table as soon as I walked up, collapsing on the bench with a groan. Maddie glanced up, her lips tipping into a smile. Immediately, she started going on a tangent.

“Starbucks is driving me nuts. I can’t go in there without getting prosecuted by the employees,” Maddie exclaimed dramatically, handing me a hot chocolate. I took a sip, before looking at her.

“Is it that boy- Aaron?” I asked, and she nodded glumly.

“You’d think that he’d get the idea after I didn’t text him back, but I suppose not,” Maddie said, taking a long sip of her coffee before looking around absentmindedly. The wind caused the leaves to ruffle along the ground, and forced a shiver down my spine.

Maddie’s parents were the Betas of our pack. Maddie however had much more of a docile personality, with the only mean bones in her body meant for her mate and Sara. Even me, but only on occasion.

“Where’s Sara?” She said suddenly, her eyes gliding around the parking lot. I looked with her, before shrugging.

I suspected that she was running late with her face stuffed in her sketchbook. Her interest in school was null, like mine, yet she could keep up perfect grades. She was always working on her sketchbook, easily blocking out everything around her.

“Calm your asses down, I’m here.”

We looked towards are right, and located Sara. She had her sketchbook held tight to her side, and her backpack in her other hand. Her lips were tugged into a bored frown.

Sara was different than Maddie and I. Her attitude was often cold and bitter, normally because she’d rather be left alone then be forced to socialize. Her parents were pack politicians, important leaders who dealt with other packs. This job entailed that they weren’t home almost all of the time, as they were constantly traveling. Sara preferred to be secluded from others because it was how she was raised, sheltered from the outside world.

Her cold attitude never stopped Maddie and I. No matter how awful she could be, we knew deep down she appreciated us. Or, at least, we hoped.

“Did you roll around in the dirt?” Sara asked as soon as she saw me, her eyebrow going up. I knew she was teasing, but I still had to roll my eyes dramatically.

“Oh real funny, I just struggled this morning!” I exclaimed, crossing my legs. Sara’s lips tipped into a smile for a moment, before she went back to her normal, stoic face.

We only had a few moments to relax before the bell started ringing. I slung my bag over my shoulder and locked arms with Maddie. Maddie forcefully grabbed Sara, and we began walking towards the school doors.

“A little birdy told me we’re going to have a new English teacher,” Maddie said as we opened the doors. We stepped inside, basking in the warmth of the building. Kids rushed back and forth, looking to get to their lockers.

“What happened to Ms. Crimson?” Sara asked as we walked to our locker. Our combined laziness meant we all shared one locker, as close to our first block as possible.

Ms. Crimson was, in all honestly, a loser. She had a nauseating personality, and could find ways to drone on and on about her pitiful life. Pitiful by her own reckoning, all by her own hand. She was our first period English teacher, and had been for 2 years straight.

“I heard that she broke her leg,” Maddie said, tugging her books out of the locker. Sara did the same, whilst I had once again left my books at home. I shut the locker and spun the lock.

“Anyways, we have a new sub now- and I’ve heard he’s a guy,” Maddie said with a smirk, tossing her black curls off of her shoulder.

I shot Maddie a smile. “You do remember you’re mated to my brother, right?”

“God did not put boys on this planet for us to just ignore them. Besides, I can look at the candy as much as I want as long as I don’t eat it!” Sara said chuckling. I couldn’t help but laugh as well, and even Sara smirked for a moment.

The final warning bell rang, and kids nearly toppled over themselves to get to their first period.

“Jeez, you’d think they actually want to go to class,” I said grimly as I watched kids rush for their classrooms. Red-faced freshmen somehow still unprepared for the day, and seniors sluggishly trying to avoid getting hit.

“We should probably get going too,” Sara said, her narrowed eyes skimming the hallway. Maddie sighed, but nodded. I said nothing, instead letting them lead me towards English.

English was only a few doors down from the lockers, and even a few meters away the steady, clamorous laughter of the people inside could be heard. I noticed Fletcher first when I came to the door. He was leaned against the doorframe, grinning goofily at passersby’s. A letterman jacket was slung across his shoulders.

“Hello beautiful,” Fletcher said cheerfully as I walked up, reaching out towards me. I broke off from Maddie, grabbing Fletchers hand. He tugged me close, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Fletcher, as charismatic as always,” I said, nudging Fletcher in the side. He led me inside the room, tsking under his breath.

Fletcher was going to say something more, but was drowned out by the voices of his friends, beckoning him over. He just winked at me, kissing my hand gently before leaving me.

Maddie and Sara made their ways to their seats, which were horizontal to each other. I sat in front of Maddie, casting her a tired look, before looking forward.

The classroom was vacant of a teacher, and was only the barebones of what it used to be. The bookshelf near her desk remained full of books, but the personal ones were taken off. The only creepy remanences of her were her odd animal figurines that covered her desk.

The teacher, as it would seem, was running late. We waited patiently for a few passing minutes after the bell rung, before falling into easy conversation.

Then, only a few minutes after the bell had rung, a sweet smell filled my lungs. I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply as I tried to place it. It was not like anything I had ever smelled before- it was as delightful as my mothers pancakes- no! More so.

“That smells delicious!” Dottie said dreamily in my head, almost more affected than I. I nodded slowly, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I inhaled.

My hearing became centered as the door to the room creaked open. Every step I could hear, every deep breath. My eyes shot open, and I pulled myself from my slumped position in my seat.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I had trouble finding the school,” The new man who had entered the classroom said. My eyes darted to him, and I easily took him in. He was tall, and handsome. His hair was dark and he had these captivating blue eyes. I could feel myself getting lost with every moment, and as the seconds went by I waited for him to meet my eyes.

He paused, his eyes glided to meet mine. My breath caught in my throat as he took me in. All my senses were out of control, drowned out by silence.

Then, in a second, everything Dottie was howling became clear.

Mate.