The Alpha's Other Daughter

Chapter Two

‘Am not!’

‘Are too!’ screeched Charlette in her high-pitched voice.

‘I am not!’ I grumbled back, my face confused by the taunt my sister persisted in making.

‘Yes, you are dear.’ Came the voice of my Mother.

‘Mum, why do I need to go to the new school? Why can I not go to kindergarten with my friends? Why do I go to the same grade as Charlette?’ I queried, in shock and sadness.

‘You are older than your friends by enough to fall in the same year as your sister, so you will both be in the same class, my dear.’ Mother sounded frustrated, trying to explain things to me. She had told me more than once, but it still did not seem to me that it was right. I did not want to leave the few friends I had made.

My mother made a different excuse each time she told me, yet my father was happy to keep me in kindergarten longer. Mother always won when it came to their children.

Begrudgingly, I dressed in the awful dress called a school uniform. I preferred jeans or shorts, not dresses, whereas Charlette loved dressing up in all kinds of dresses, not even owning jeans.

On the first day of school, a driver, my two older twin brothers, and sister Charlette, took us all to school in their father's large SUV. From then on, we would all catch the bus and join the other children from the pack.

Mother believed we needed to catch the bus in the hope they would bond with other kids in the pack and not look like spoiled pups from a privileged family.

I stared out the window as we approached the large school.

This school was both lower school and high school, all in one, making it a huge school.

Other packs also used this school, which was why it was so large and catered for all ages up to college, university, or other studies that the Alpha deemed necessary.

The school was a large red brick building four stories high, and many children played on the grounds.

To the left, the sounds of balls bouncing on concrete could be heard.

I could not see those playing with the ball from my window.

Paved pathways darted in different directions around the area, though one substantial path made a straight line from the car park to some open double doors. It had many students walking in and out of it.

‘Come on, we will be late.’ Groaned Jason as the doors of the SUV swung open, and he had to stop himself from running off to his mates. He could see them near the doors. He hesitated until Justin came to his side and nudged him to move.

Jason and Justin took off, forgetting their sisters, and headed to the doors, rushing up the path while Charlette and I tried to follow. The boys were too fast. Both of us almost had to jog to catch up.

‘Slow down, Jason!’ commanded Charlette, in her screechy voice that I hated so much.

Jason glanced over his shoulder and halted.

He had forgotten his sisters and knew that if Dad heard of this, they would be grounded, and that idea would not sit well on the first day back at school.

‘Come on then. I will show you where your classroom is,’ he growled back, watching in disappointment as his brother continued to their friends, leaving Jason to look after the girls.

I followed behind Charlette and Jason, my head bouncing around, taking in the surrounding sights. So many kids of all sizes were walking about, which was overwhelming for such a little girl. The hallways were full of chatter and laughter as friends greeted each other and chatted about what they had done over the school holidays.

The hallways were vast and long, and doors lined the other side of the hallway as they walked quickly down.

Jason walked with authority and knowledge of where he was going.

All this was not new to him. He was headed to the classroom he and his brother were in last year.

Looking over his shoulder, Jason said.

‘I will come and get you at lunchtime and show you where you can go and eat. Don’t expect me to sit with you; I have mates to catch up with and discover what they did over the school holidays.’ Jason grumbled.

Jason walked into an open door and greeted a lady standing near the entrance.

‘Morning, Ms Dove, these are my sisters. I will leave them with you. I got to run and catch up with Justin.’ Jason all but ran out the door before even properly introducing them to the teacher.

The lady had a kind, welcoming smile. As she looked at the girls before her, she glanced up to watch Jason rush out of the door with an amused smile before looking back at the two before her.

'Morning Girls, I am Ms Dove. What are your names?' Her soft, calming voice made me eager to please this lady.

‘I am Charlette, and this is Emily.’ Charlette said smugly, taking the lead role as the older sister.

‘Welcome, girls; you may choose a seat, but remember, the one you choose is the one you have to sit in every day for the whole year.’ Ms Dove waved her hand towards the room of desks and waited for the girls to choose.

I looked at the room with fifty desks and chose one near a window, hoping that I would feel free by being by the window, especially if all the desks were taken.

To my relief, only thirty desks were filled. I watched as, one by one, other nervous boys and girls entered the room and got the same information as they did. It was rare for a room to have only thirty students. This was a worry for the staff, hoping this was not the start of fewer pups being born. Every other class was held between forty-five and fifty students, so this was indeed a small group.

The class roll was taken, and though I was feeling homesick already, I did not dare show it.

A few girls were crying for their mothers, and I was not going to show them tears. Her sister was lapping up all the attention from girls near her, and I knew if I cried for my mother, Charlette would never stop teasing me for a very, very, very long time.

A boy sat on the seat next to me, fiddling with his phone.

It shocked me that one so young could have a phone.

I pondered for a while as the teacher continued the roll call about whether I would ask my mother if they could have one, too. I was sure my brothers already had a phone which they had given to them when they started school last year. Maybe the mother just forgot to provide them with one. Pups of their age can't mind linking yet, as they don't have a wolf, so I was not going to share with anyone that I had my wolf. I was scared I would get bullied if they knew. Most don't get to shift into their wolf until they hit twelve or higher-ranked wolves, and no later than sixteen for lower-ranked wolves. Even though they may have heard their wolf earlier, they still don't shift, which has something to do with the bodies, as they are so young and are not coping with the change. Little did I know that if anyone had known I had shifted, I would have been sent to the palace to live with the royals, as they would have believed me to be unique and would have wanted to find out if I had any unique gifts that they could train and hopefully benefit the packs.

The teacher was funny, making the class join in the lessons with laughter.

A story of some history that had something to do with the Royals was given.

The short lesson on the history of wolves was given so that it was seen as something other than a lesson. I had expected letters and numbers, but they got stories most of the day.

I heard a bell ring a few times, but we stayed in the classroom.

The teacher said it was so high school students could change classrooms, and each subject was taught in a different room, whereas the lower school never changed rooms except for music and sports.

A different ring sounded, more like the banging of a gong, signaling lunchtime had begun.