Legacy: The Alpha's Son And The Enchantress

Luna

Coming to this town was not my choice. I'm not one to complain about trivial things like other girls my age. In fact, many would say I don't act my age, as I'm quite mature in many ways. However, being seventeen keeps me tethered to my parents, which is what brought me to North Walland.

The town isn't as quiet as I imagined, yet something here makes me feel uneasy. I can't quite explain it. It's like an energy flows through me, sending chills down my spine, like a whisper in my ear.

However, my tastes don't align with the plan my parents made for me, without my input. We arrived a few weeks ago, and today is my first day at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. At least that's something positive.

The problem is... well, how can I put it... everyone here is a jerk. New West is renowned, yes, but it's the school for the rich kids. It's where the offspring of the elite study, and like all spoiled children, they are full of arrogance.

Of course, I'm no saint. I have my flaws, but at least I don't trample on others to get what I want or to maintain an air of superiority.

At this very moment, I am staring at the massive, classic building that resembles an old castle, with all its well-maintained and expensive features. It's a beautiful sight, exuding elegance, but the people chatting, passing by, and some even staring at me, are not to my liking.

Obviously, they all know each other, and I'm the only stranger here, so I'll be the center of attention for a while. Thankfully, I'm not the shy type.

Clutching my sketchbooks, with my backpack on and wearing the uniform-opting for the pants instead of the suggestive skirt-I walk among them.

I must admit, I'm a bit anxious. Being the new girl sucks, but I'll face it with my head held high and without shame. Even if many girls my age look at me with disdain or envy.

Before I even step on the first stair, my playlist through my headphones plays something that relaxes me, even though my musical taste isn't what these people are used to. I like something darker, melancholic, and sometimes more festive, but still calm in its own way.

I take a deep breath and walk through the entrance, observing the inside of the enormous school, which, at first glance, isn't much different from the outside. Huge staircases lead to the upper floors, and I estimate there are about five levels, with classrooms spread out, leaving the ground floor for the banquet hall.

I could say this is going to be the worst experience of my life. Moving to a new town, surrounded by strangers, with a strange feeling. Even more so in a school filled with people who care more about their bank accounts, morality, and good manners. Well, good manners to them mean appearing to have a happy, righteous life, while in reality, they can't stand each other.

Should I feel sorry? Perhaps. But as I notice the stares of my new classmates, that thought quickly vacates my mind.

I don't care about any of them. Do I come off as arrogant? Yes, perhaps pretentious too. But I can't judge myself, especially not now and not here. If they can be, why can't I? After all, unlike them, I don't look them up and down and judge them by the clothes they wear or the gossip about their classmates' lives.

I don't care about any of that, except for my studies. I want to go to Oxford and study literature. It's something that's been ingrained in me, I would say. Well, from my mother's side at least. As for my father, a big businessman, he wants me to study business administration, to take over the company leadership when I'm older and when he finally decides to retire.

I can't see myself in that position, I don't think I ever will. I hate being the leader of something I have no passion for; business, that's just not my thing. I prefer my corner, at the back of the library, reading a classic book or a mystery, getting engaged until the last chapter, to find out if everything I imagined will actually happen.

I take a deep breath, finally returning to my reality. I didn't want to do this, but a girl with short hair, glasses, bottle-bottom lenses, wearing the school blazer, which is the trademark of this huge school, appears in front of me, babbling something that I try to read from her lips.

But since I can't comprehend everything because she speaks too fast, I end up having to pause my playlist and take the earphones out of my ears. And as soon as I do that, her shrill, very annoying voice enters my ears, making me regret everything. I believe this girl is here to greet me.

I entered halfway through the year, which isn't very common, but since my father decided to move here at the last minute, without my consent, my enrollment had to come to this institution, so I wouldn't miss anything in any year of my study phase.

"Sorry, I didn't hear or understand anything you said," I communicate. The girl, who at that moment let her shoulders droop, looked at me incredulously but quickly composed herself, giving a shy smile, and started babbling again. "I was saying my name is Mary Ann, I'm the person who's going to greet you, show you every detail of this school..."

To be continued...

And I pause, extending my hand, and say, "Mary Ann, thank you very much, but the beauty of being a newcomer is discovering things on your own. Plus, I never come to a place without doing some research, so I think I can manage."

The girl looked disappointed again, shrugged, and lowered her eyes, speaking sadly, "Okay, it would have been a great opportunity to make a friend, at least." She said these words almost whispering, then lifted her gaze, noticing that I had heard and understood her words. She gave a nervous smile and continued, "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?"

Inside, I wished I could roll my eyes. Friendship wasn't something I particularly enjoyed having; I was quite isolated. I don't know, ever since I was little, it's like when I look at someone, I feel like that person is judging me or hates me, so I simply prefer to be alone. But I wouldn't say that to this girl, at least not out loud, because when I looked into her eyes, I could see she was desperate. It was like a whisper, the plea in my ear: please, nobody here likes me.

I bit my lip, trying to understand if that was something said by her lips or something from my mind, a fantasy that happens too often, something I actually hate. I don't like being a lunatic, but it seems to be increasing over time. I don't tell my parents about this; they are busy, and even if I did, they would think I was going crazy. It's not the first time I believe I'm reading someone's mind or interpreting what their eyes are saying. It's also not the first time I've had bizarrely scary dreams, where reality distorts. It's like I'm living through it, as I can smell the flowers, feel the cold, the warmth of a heart beating so strongly that it almost jumps out of my chest. But at that exact moment, I had to focus on my reality, even though it's often quite difficult.

So, I said, "Okay, there are some things I still don't know about this school, so you can show me, starting with the language class."

With that, she jumped with joy and, without my permission, linked her arms with mine, dragging me along. As we ascended the first flight of stairs, we passed by three girls leaning against the wall, and they glanced at us and whispered something.

I wanted to understand, and after straining, I could even hear, or at least, that's what I imagined. "Look at the newcomer with the weirdo. She's cute, but with that other one, she won't make it until the end of the year, I bet."

I didn't flinch; I stared at them the moment I passed by, as if to say: yeah, idiots, I heard everything you were saying, or thinking. I didn't stop for anything; I was dragged along by the girl I had just met, who was desperately trying to be my best friend. It was annoying, but I wasn't going to make enemies on the first day.

Besides, I feel that whenever I'm doing something or being rude to someone, I feel like those other girls, I feel like I'm not at all like them. In fact, I feel somewhat reclusive, someone who likes to be alone and is often critical of everything, including myself, so I want to change a little since I ended up in a new city.

As we climbed, more teenagers from various classes appeared. Most of them ignored me, just like they ignored my new friend, who kept chatting incessantly. We were like two extremes, and mind you, I don't know her well enough to say that. But first impressions count in the beginning, and that's what was showing. She was totally different from me. While I hated talking for too long, she loved it.

Plus, she loved contact, something I hated. But I allowed it at that moment. Upon reaching the second floor, she showed me the lockers, the classrooms, and at one point, I saw a group of boys. I think they were my age, a little older than me. They were tall. Handsome, I would say. They were wearing their jackets with the school logo, a very elegant suit, which I envied. The girls' jackets were predominantly pink or lilac.

The two men's were dark, both green and blue. One of them stood out. He was the strongest, the most interesting, with hair as black as night. Long, wavy hair that fell over his pale face. His eyes were black.

I could only notice this because he stared back at me. And, incredibly, I didn't look away from him. It was as if he was pulling me somehow. An attention that made time slow down, as if it were in slow motion. We passed each other. And as that happened, I felt a strange shiver. It was the first time I felt so vulnerable and afraid.

Not a bad fear, but a fear that led me to insecurity and those strange dreams I had been having lately. I shook my head, laughing at myself, because that was nonsense, obviously. He was just an ordinary boy. And, according to what I heard from the little conversation of his friends who chattered as much as this girl pulling me by the arm.

I would say they were athletes. Well, I don't know what kind of sports they have at this school. That wasn't a part that made me particularly curious. But for sure, they were from the varsity team. I only snapped out of it when we finally stopped. She pointed to a room that wasn't entirely empty. The teacher wasn't there yet. And she smiled at me and said, "We're on the same schedule, in the same class, and there's a seat next to me, empty, ready for you."

This time, I couldn't help it. I rolled my eyes with a feeling of, "Oh my God, I'm going to have to put up with this girl for even longer." So, I closed my eyes and forced a smile, saying, "How lovely."

That was the only thing I said. Then, we went in. Other students who were there turned to look at us, staring at me. Obviously, for a few weeks, the newcomer would have everyone's attention. One thing I hate. That's why I hated moving. Despite this school's good reputation being the center of attention, it wasn't my strong suit.

Adrian

My life was starting to change. And I wasn't used to any of it. Sure, since childhood, I understood and knew that this would eventually happen at some point. I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Being born into this family, with my father's DNA, was becoming difficult lately. Even though, all along, this was something that displeased me.

I was different from everyone else, not just because of the wealth my father had. Not just because of the power he wielded in this city, especially in this school. But because our lineage came from an ancient time. Where we were forced to grow up and be who we didn't want to be. At least I was.

Because everyone else, all my friends outside of school, my uncles, aunts, cousins, for centuries, were cursed to transform into a being totally unknown to humanity. And in their worst moments, they completely lost their senses. They became connected to their primal DNA, attacking everything and everyone in their path. I've always had issues with anger. But once I turned 17, it got even worse. I didn't want to wake up with a headache after dreaming about my future.

Well, my father said that was just a useless fear that I would have to accept because there was no turning back. Long ago, my ancestors took actions that were at least despicable, leading them to a curse. A very powerful witch created our lineage, our karma, which to this day, transforms each one of us into this beast that I abhor. The night before, I went through something I had never experienced before, even though my father always said it was coming soon. I lost sight of myself.

It was as if I wasn't this man anymore, but something else. And the instinct of this other thing led me to a place totally different from the ones I frequented. When I woke up in that forest, I was so disoriented and confused that I had a peak of anxiety. Luckily, there was always someone behind me, especially now, with my transformations happening much more frequently.

My body ached. Even though it healed very quickly, I felt my bones breaking, shaping into that beast I had no control over. I took a headache medicine, believing that would finally allow me to go to school and continue with my daily routine, as a human.

But ever since I turned 17, I haven't been normal. I wasn't normal compared to my peers. I heard things I shouldn't hear. I felt sensations I didn't want to feel. I could sniff out a subtle scent from miles away. And my sixth sense became much more acute. And just today, after that transformation where I ended up miles away from my home, I see that something was different at school. When I laid eyes on that girl, it felt like I already knew her, like we were connected. Her eyes didn't leave me, and it was like I couldn't get into my own mind. But I didn't allow it. I couldn't allow anyone to get inside my head and find out how bad I was on the inside.

"Adrian, are you listening to me?" I finally snap back to reality, where my best friend looks at me, with a furrowed brow, wondering if I was really paying attention to what he was saying. "Lately, you've been in la-la land," he grumbled.

La Luna. You have no idea how much that affects me. The full moon triggers in me an emotional upheaval that only gets worse. As my 18th birthday approaches, things have gotten even worse. Puberty for wolves is entirely different. First comes the phase of semi-transformation. Touch becomes heightened, as does smell. Strength becomes uncontrollable, as does rage. You feel the vibrations, the strange scents, hear the heartbeat, and what people say, meters away from you, and little by little, you transform. The bones in my body become flexible, they break and rearrange every time fury leads me to the state of a young wolf. The changes become apparent, the eyes shift shape, and the moon, well, it's one of the main culprits for taking me farther and farther from home each time. Whenever this happens, I forget everything I did. I have no control over my actions, I don't know how I ended up in that place, or what I did.

My father says this is common with any other member of the pack. And while they eagerly await it, I detest it and pray that it never happens.

"What do you want, Jacob?" I ask, unmotivated.

We were in the cafeteria, a place that I used to love, but now it makes me uneasy. The smells all blend together, I can't control them, not to mention the murmurs and shouts of my schoolmates, which in my ears, seem to scream.

"The game this Friday is very important," he said, leaning against the cafeteria table. When I lifted my gaze, I came face to face with the newcomer. She's strange. It's like I know her from somewhere. It's strange. A connection that I can't explain. The problem is, I feel vulnerable every time she stares at me. It seems like she wants to get into my mind, but I won't let her. "The coach wants us to train more. You know we have to go to the finals, and as the team captain, you have a big responsibility."

"The team is very focused," I said, diverting my attention from the girl. "We know our opponent. It'll be easy to beat them."

"I like the positivity, but I still think we should push ourselves more."

She's still staring at me. Even though I'm not looking back, I know she is, and it makes me furious.

"How about we gather the group?" I said, getting up. I lost my appetite and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. "You're right."

"I am?" She seemed surprised.

"Let's train more," I said, irritated, meeting her gaze, which doesn't intimidate her. "I'll meet you in 10 minutes, on the field."

I left without looking back. Who does this girl think she is, to stare at me so blatantly?