Prologue
Alana POV
It was my eleventh birthday, but I couldn't even muster even a small smile. Unfortunately, it was a school day, and I knew I would be picked on and teased all throughout the day. I hated how all of the other pups in the pack always bullied me, just because I wasn't strong like them.
It's not like I chose to be born with a birth defect on my heart that caused me to be weak. I couldn't help the fact that I was prone to fainting spells whenever my weak heart couldn't push the blood through my body as fast as I needed it to. None of that was my fault, and it bothered me to no ends that the other pups at school treated me like I was a leper or something.
Since I didn't have any friends, I usually kept my nose buried in a book to avoid making eye contact with anybody, but that seemed to give them more reasons to pick on me. Sometimes, I could block them out by putting all of my focus into what I was reading. However, there were other times when they would say something so outrageous that I would become infuriated.
I had to constantly attempt to keep myself as calm as I could, because if I let my blood pressure and heart rate get too high, that was when I became more prone to having one of those dreadful fainting spells. Everyday I left school with one thought on my mind, and that was the thought of leaving this dreadful pack as soon as I turned eighteen and reached maturity.
When I got to school, the teasing and bullying started like clock work. I did my best to ignore them, but I was finding it to be more difficult than usual.
As soon as our teacher announced to the class that it was birthday, my biggest nemesis, Julie, thought she would be cute and yelled out, "Oh my Goddess, I can't believe the weakling lived another whole year. It's a miracle."
Of course, everybody else in the class with the exception of me and the teacher started laughing hysterically. Tears instantly stung behind my eyelids, as I tried to keep my composure. It really hurt my feelings to hear my fellow pack members say such heartless things about me.
A few seconds later, I heard the Alpha and Luna's son, Kyle, teasingly remark, "I don't know why her parents didn't kill her right away, instead of making our whole pack look weak."
That was the last straw for me, and the day had only just begun. In a fit of rage, I threw the book I was holding straight at Kyle's head, as I angrily screamed, "Shut up! You don't know anything! You think you are so much better than me, but you would be a nobody if your parents weren't the Alpha and Luna!"
The corner of the book hit him just above his temple, and he instantly started growling at me, as he stood up from his seat. I could feel my heart start to race, but I was at a loss on what I should do next, so I jumped up from my seat and sprinted out of the classroom as fast as I could.
I only made it halfway down the hall, when I became too dizzy to run any farther. I could hear two sets of feet running behind me, but there was no way I could run any further.
I bent over and placed my hands on my knees, in hopes that I could prevent myself from fainting, but that didn't help. Within a few more seconds, those familiar black spots clouded my vision, then I slumped against the wall beside me, as I slipped into a state of unconsciousness.
Kyle POV
As soon as I saw Alana throw the book, I was instantly shocked by her sudden reaction to what I said, so I didn't even attempt to the dodge the book. The second it crashed against my head, I was brought out of the momentary shock I was in. Right away, I glared at her and immediately started to menacingly growl at the weakling, as I stood from my chair.
Her dull gray eyes went wide in fear, and I could hear her heart start racing, then she sprinted out of the classroom. She ran faster than I had ever seen her run before, and I had a hard time catching up to her. However, she only got halfway down the hall, before she stopped in her tracks, then I saw her body sway, before she bent over with her hands on her knees.
I continued to run toward her with the intention of getting payback, but I only made it a few more steps, then I watched her slump against the wall. As her frail little body crumpled to the floor, I felt a twinge of pain and sadness in my heart. I didn't know why, but every time I saw her faint like that, it always made me insanely sad.
When I reached Alana, I looked down at her unconscious body. Even though she was weak and always looked sickly, she was still abnormally pretty. Of course, I would never tell her or anybody else that I thought she was pretty.
Sometimes, when she was reading one of her books, I would steal a glance at her. On rare occasions, I would get a glimpse of the prettiest smile I had ever seen. Her lips were thin and pale, just like the rest of her body, but when they curved up to form a smile, they looked perfect on her.
Whenever she was enjoying the book she was reading, her normally dull eyes would get a little twinkle to them. I absolutely loved to see that, because it made the gray in her eyes look more like silver, and it was the prettiest contrast to her shockingly white hair.
Our teacher ran up behind me a few seconds later and anxiously mumbled, "Oh dear, I better get her to the nurse."
However, I was quick to insist, "I will take her, Ms. Reynolds."
"Are you sure?" she worriedly asked.
"Yes! I've got this," I stated with determination, then I leaned over and picked up Alana's frail body.
I had been close to Alana before, but I had never picked her up. I almost couldn't believe how light she was, and that made me feel even more worried about her health. I didn't understand why I was suddenly feeling so worried about her, but I did not like the feeling one bit.
As I walked down the hall carrying her frail body, I could smell her scent stronger than I was used to, because of our close proximity. That was when I noticed just how much I liked her scent. It was the sweetest scent of cherries mixed with vanilla, and I couldn't stop taking big whiffs of it.
When I reached the nurse's office, I carried Alana to one of the beds and gently laid her down, as I explained to the nurse, "Alana had another fainting spell. Please, let Ms. Reynolds know when she wakes up."
"Okay, Kyle. Thanks for bringing her to me," she politely responded with a smile.
I quickly left the nurse's office, then I navigated through the halls back to my classroom. The whole way there, I couldn't stop thinking about the weakling, and I found that to be quite annoying.
I spent the next few hours wondering if that white haired classmate of mine was okay or not. It was weird that I was worrying so much, when I should have been mad at her for hitting me with the book, but the moment I picked her up and felt how light and weak she truly was, all I felt was sadness and sympathy for her.
As soon as I heard the teacher's telephone ring, I shushed my classmates, then I focused my hearing on Ms. Reynolds' conversation. I was instantly relieved when I heard the teacher say, "Thanks for letting me know. I will be watching for her."
The second she hung up the phone, she walked straight to the door and opened it, then she stood there and watched for Alana. I couldn't take my eyes off the door, as I waited to see Alana walk through it, and when she did, there was no stopping the smile that stretched across my face.
When Alana's eyes locked with mine, I could see fear swirling in them, so I kept the smile on my face and just nodded at her. Everyone in the classroom stayed quiet until Alana sat down, then Julie thought she would be cute and sassily stated, "Oh look, the weakling finally returned for her punishment."
Instantly, my eyes snapped to Julie, then I growled at her, before I angrily snarled, "Don't say another ill thing to her or about her ever again. That goes for everybody. If I hear about anybody teasing Alana again, you will be punished for it."
"Oh, so it's okay for you to tease her, but we can't?" Julie snidely retorted with a look of disgust on her face.
I glared at her and barked, "No, that is not how it's going to be. Nobody includes me. I meant what I said, Julie. Don't ever tease Alana again."
"Whatever," she sassily huffed, then she straightened her back and glared at the chalkboard in front of us.
Alana POV
I couldn't believe it when Kyle stood up for me and told the whole class to never tease me again. I thought for sure it must be some sick joke to make me let my guard down, so he could come in for the attack and get his payback.
I tried to ignore the thoughts that kept floating in my head about all the different ways he might be planning to get his revenge, but it was almost impossible. By the time school ended, I felt like I had sweated enough to fill a gallon jug, and I was a total nervous wreck.
The entire walk home, I kept glancing over my shoulders, but I never saw anybody following me or anything like that. The only thing that seemed different was the fact that not a single one of my classmates looked in my direction or said a thing to me. Usually by that time, I would have heard at least three insults.
When I made it to my home without a single insult thrown my way, I was downright stunned. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I couldn't deny how nice it was to not hear mean things said to me.
As soon as I stepped into the house, my parents started singing Happy Birthday, as my mum carried a cake in my direction. It was a cute round cake that she decorated with light pink flowers around the edge of it. In the middle, she wrote in cursive, 'Happy 11th B-day,' and for the words, she used a pretty dark purple icing.
After I blew out the candles, my mum cut a piece for each of us, then we sat together and enjoyed the delicious chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. Besides the teasing when I first got to school that resulted in me throwing my book at Kyle, and Julie's crappy comment when I returned from the nurse's office, it was the best birthday I'd had since I started going to school.