“I mean, where can I get them from, and what exactly do I need?” I watched his jaw tighten and wondered if he hated seeing me every time I spoke.
“Go to Lamar and ask him. He’ll give you the list,” he dismissed me with a wave of his hand. But before he could walk away, he paused briefly, studying my face for a moment. “Since you said you don’t have a home anymore, I would suggest not wasting money on something you’re going to fail at. We’re giving you a chance because you were persistent, but let’s face it-you won’t pass any of my tests. So why waste money on a tracksuit and the other items? Go back to your pack and find something useful to do,” his words felt like a slap in the face.
So that’s how he saw me? A child given a chance just because she insisted. He didn’t even take me seriously.
“Thank you so much for your advice. I’ll find a way to earn money and buy what I need,” I responded, trying not to sound rude since he was now my supervisor.
“Earn money? You don’t even have any savings?” he scoffed, leaning down slightly, bringing his face closer to mine as if daring me to repeat myself. I didn’t. My stepmother used to take away whatever I earned.
“I don’t,” I admitted, and he pulled back, stretching his neck as he looked up at the sky with an exhausted sigh.
“Is anything in your life going right?” he asked, placing his hands on his hips. As much as I desperately wanted to shake my head, I didn’t want to come across as pitiful.
“No! I’m lucky enough to have this opportunity to even be a part of this test,” I replied, but he narrowed his eyes slightly, clearly skeptical of my response.
“If you’ll excuse me-,” I turned and walked away. He didn’t call me back, and by the time I reached the door and glanced over my shoulder, he was already walking away.
Once inside, I found the five other candidates watching me as they spread clean sheets over their mattresses.
With only a small bag in hand, I walked over to the last empty mattress and sat down on it. They had their own pillows and blankets too. But I didn’t mind using what the shelter was providing.
“So, are you guys from rich packs too?” The two girls spoke in unison and then giggled at the coincidence. They looked nearly identical, but one was taller and had a different hairstyle. There were also slight differences in their face shapes.
“Hi, I’m Sydney Coombs, and this is my twin, Salem Coombs,” the one with purple hair said, shrugging her shoulders good-naturedly. Both of them wore branded clothes, carried designer bags, and sported expensive jewelry. Salem, however, didn’t seem interested in talking; she rolled her eyes as her sister introduced them.
“We’re from Blood Hunters Pack,” Sydney continued, mentioning a wealthy northern pack. Those packs were known for their affluence. I had heard great things about them, but it made me wonder about the omegas in their packs. The news always focused on betas, alphas, and gammas.
“What about you?” Sydney turned to the quiet guy lying on his mattress, neck bent as he scrolled on his phone.
He glanced up, and the way he looked at her made me uncomfortable for her. His gaze was cold and emotionless.
“I’m Lamar Baker,” he said flatly. He had very little hair, shaved off intentionally, and a scar split his upper and lower lip. He wore a black jacket, black pants, and heavy black boots. The fact that he didn’t mention his pack was strange.
“And what about you? Do you need an invitation to introduce yourself?” she said, making me nearly choke on my own spit. The guy beside me immediately lowered his gaze, clearly embarrassed by her cruel comment.
“I am Lucy Dixon, and he’s my mate, Gavin Tee,” she said quietly, lowering her head after introducing them.
“And where are you two from?” Sydney pressed, arms folded over her chest.
“I’m from a small pack in the south,” Lucy replied, her voice soft. My body tensed at the mention of the south.
“Oh! The south has small packs?” Sydney sneered, exactly what I had expected her to say. The north and south were always in competition, but the north kept their pack matters so secretive that no one really knew much about their internal issues.
“And what about you?” Sydney’s attention turned to me, and I noticed how everyone paused what they were doing to look my way. At this point, I wished Sydney was as quiet as Salem.
“I don’t have a pack,” I said, taking slow, steady breaths.
“Oh! A rogue!” Sydney made a gagging motion and then turned away in disgust.
“How are you going to pay the academy fees then?” Lucy asked, surprising me. It was clear they had already noticed I had very little, but her question about fees caught me off guard.
“Fees?” I echoed, confused. I didn’t know there were fees to pay.
“There’s a hefty fee for both the shelter and the academy classes,” Sydney shrugged with a smug smile, clearly enjoying her upper hand.
I was speechless. How on earth was I supposed to pay fees?
As I sat there, stunned into silence, I heard a slight chuckle from the guy lying nearby. My side of the cabin had Lamar and Gavin’s mattresses and the rest were on the other side, opposite to us.
“If you want to earn some money, I can offer you a job,” Lamar spoke up. It felt like my prayers had been answered, even though I hadn’t prayed.
“Meet me outside in five minutes. I’ll explain,” Lamar finished, giving me a glimmer of hope in an otherwise overwhelming situation.
Helanie:
While everyone unpacked their belongings, I sat and waited for Lamar to leave. He didn’t unpack his bags.
After a few seconds of silence, he rose from his mattress, slid his phone into his pants pocket, and glanced at everyone while walking toward the door. I only gave him a few seconds’ head start because I didn’t want to be left too far behind. Immediately, I made my way to the exit.
“Hey! If you’re going, check if the warriors are bringing food for us,” I heard Sydney yell, but I didn’t respond to her. I was already out the door and didn’t plan to go back inside until I had this talk with Lamar.
As he had mentioned, he was waiting for me by the tree, a cigarette in one hand and some cards in the other.
“You said you could help me,” I approached him, still carrying my bag over my shoulder. There was nothing in it worth unpacking-just a few items I preferred to keep close.
“You need money,” he said again, this time only raising his eyes.
“I do,” I replied.
“How old are you?” he scanned me from head to toe and asked.
“I am eighteen,” I responded.
He nodded his head before chuckling softly. “You look much older than your age. You have quite a body to die for-and I’m not flirting.” Before I could even take it as a compliment, he clarified that it wasn’t even that: “I just stated a fact. Anyway, I need to see your ID. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Luckily for me, I had made my ID the day I turned eighteen, the cursed day of my life. It was our pack’s rule that whenever someone turned eighteen, they had to register and obtain an ID right away.
I handed him my ID and watched him raise his brow, then smirk again. “You said you don’t belong to a pack.”
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