The Forbidden Daughter

CHAPTER 3

TALIA’S POV

I pull into the schools parking lot and cut the engine. Removing my helmet, I look up to the building in front of me. It’s bigger than my previous one. It looks like your typical high school that has been maintained nicely. About 3 stories high with grass fields all around with lots of benches to sit under trees or just to enjoy the sun. My eyes wonder over the lots of students roaming the grass, doing their own thing and some are even looking curiously at me.

I dismount and pull my hoody’s hood over my head to hide my face. With helmet in hand I head towards the school’s entrance, ignoring the open-faced curious looks, making me feel slightly agitated. I make my way to the reception area where a woman sat. She looked about my mom’s age with short brown hair and dark blue eyes. She’s typing away at her computer, but she looks up when I approach her, and she gives me a gentle smile. “Good morning, how can I help you?” She asks. Her eyes narrow slightly, and she inhales through her nose while she quickly scans me from top to bottom before looking at me again. She still holds the smile on her face, but I can see her eyebrows crease slightly in the middle.

Werewolf! I realize when I catch her scent. Luckily, my scent is suppressed so I wouldn’t smell like a wolf but not entirely like a human to her either. Strange. It is not uncommon to run into wolfs outside their packs in neutral territory, but it has been a while since facing one in a human school.

“Hi, my name is Talia Wilder. I’m new here.” I say. Returning a small smile of my own.

“Yes of course, the new girl.” She says and starts looking for something on her desk. I watch her movements carefully and summarize that she’s no threat but will keep my guard up. If she’s a wolf, there are bound to be others so I’ll have to be aware at all times.

“Ah here we go. This is your schedule Miss. Wilder and this is the map of the school to help you get around but I’ll get someone to help you for today just to get the idea of the place.”

I take the papers and quickly look through them. “Thank You uhm…” I say and realize I don’t know her name. “Miss. Prince but you can call me Anthea and welcome to Ceaser High.” she says giving me a toothy smile. “Thanks Anthea” I say and I’m aware that the door opens behind me again.

“Oh Jane, Glad you’re here. Would you be able to help Talia here to show her around to her classes for today please?” Anthea asks a girl that must have entered behind me. I turn around to see a girl nodding at Anthea before she shifts her gaze to me. She’s about my height, Blondish hair and blue eyes and straight nose. She’s also wearing a hoody but unlike my darker color, she’s wearing a salmon pink one and a pair of light grey skinny jeans and sneakers. She smiles at me and extends her hand. “I’m Jane McCall, nice to meet you.” She says, her blue eyes twinkling as a genuine smile forms on her face.

I return a smile of my own and shake her hand. “Talia Wilder, nice to meet you too.” I reply the greeting and for some reason I feel at ease around her.

We head out of the office area and into the hallway before we start making our way to collect my necessary books for class then head towards the lockers. “Let me see where your locker is” she says as she holds out her hand for the papers that Anthea gave me and hand them over. She leads me down rows and rows of blue lockers and stops at the one assigned to me.

“Here you go. Mine is just around the corner from here.” She says pointing down the hall. “I see that we have most of the same classes together so I’ll quickly let you settle in while I get my books for our first class and I’ll give you a quick walk through to where the other class rooms are.” She says and walks off, heading down the other lockers down the hall and past the other students attending to their own lockers, leaving me standing looking at her retreating back.

“I punch in the number on the keypad that was given to me and dump my books in along with my helmet. I scan my list of subjects I will be having and as I was shoving the books in my bag, a loud thud and whimper reaches my ears and I look around me, but all the other students all went about their own business as normal, before looking to where Jane disappeared to. I strain my hearing, focusing on trying to pinpoint where it came from as I block out the background noise of the other students.

I pick up a frantic heartbeat along with a slower one and others. I grab my bag as I shut my locker and hurry through the other students, ignoring their curious looks at the new girl and round the corner and stopping in my tracks. Jane is pushed against a wall by a muscular body. A tall, dark brown-haired guy, looking like a senior student towering over her with a satisfied smirk on his face while Jane cowers with her head down. He seems popular too, seeing as he is surrounded with that type of friends’ circle, laughing and encouraging him on as he boxed Jane in with his arms on either side of her shoulders.

“Please l-leave me alone” Jane whimpers but he only gives out a small laugh at her unease. “Meet me in the janitor’s closet for some fun and I’ll leave you alone” He grins down at her and she shrinks back even more as the lights above them flicker angrily.

My blood heats up and feel my wolf stir. Guys are d***s, but a guy that tries to force himself on a girl is downright unacceptable in me and my wolf’s books. I step up to the group before she can reply.

“I believe she said to leave her alone!” I say in a cold voice. He snaps his head at me, an irritated scowl on his face at being interrupted. His brown eyes look me up and down and the same grin crosses his face and I shiver in disgust. He steps back from Jane giving me his full attention, trying to give me his most charming smile. “Well hello there gorgeous, I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here.”

I want to punch him so bad but resist the urge, I did promise my mom not to get into any trouble after all, so I give him my usual cold glare that I have perfected over the years of dealing with d**k heads like him so I ignore him and address Jane instead while holding his gaze.

“Jane, I believe we have a class to get to.” I say. Not as a question but more of a commanding tone. She nods her head gripping her bag tighter over her shoulder but before she can duck underneath his arm and take a step towards me, ‘d**k’, as I prefer to call him, grabs her arm to hold her back. I bite back a growl as I feel my blood pounding. “Let her go!” I spit at him. He looks to me again and I can feel his anger rolling off of him and his scent reaches me. Another werewolf! An alpha by the aura that he is emitting. I sweep my cold gaze over his friends and take a gentle but deep breath through my nose. They are all werewolves. s**t! Why hadn’t I noticed it before? They must be from a nearby pack. “Who do you think you are?” He spits back at me and my gaze meets his again.

“Pissed off if you don’t let go of her” I say coldly, taking another step towards Jane. His friends chuckle behind him and some of the other passing students have even stopped to see what was happening, forming a small crowd around us. I feel my wolf, Nera, growling, she does not like being boxed in and I plead with her to calm down. Before he can react to my snarky threat the bell rings to signal first period and the crowd disperses. Hurrying as to not be late for class.

Jane uses this distraction to get out of his hold to rush past me, grabbing my arm in the process to drag me along. Before I round the corner, I give him a final warning glare and disappear with Jane to our first class. “What the hell was that all about?” I ask her as we take our seats at the back of the class. She managed to compose herself on the way here and she turns her head to look at me. “I’m sorry you had to get involved. I usually dodge him most of the time but… His name is Jake Lupis. He and his friends transferred to our school a few months ago because their school burned down or something.” She says. “It’s a challenge to him and his friends to try and sleep with as many girls as they can.”

I tensed. “Lupis?” I questioned in disbelief. She looks at me curiously. “Yeah, you know it?” she asks. “Uhm... No. It’s just a curious name that’s all.” I reply quickly and she turns back to her textbooks just as the teacher walks into the classroom. My mind is running wild. It couldn’t be, could it? Mom’s last name was Lupis before she changed it multiple times during the years. I saw the documentation a couple of years back when we were packing up to move again and my mom told me that she gave me her mother’s maiden name, Wilder, and I never needed to change it because the people were only looking for my mom. Probably a coincidence I think to myself shaking my head. Just then d**k-head Jake walks into class with some of his goons and take their seats on the other side of the room. I ignore him but feel him glaring at me.

The teacher, Mr. Connolly, gets my attention as he starts with introducing me to the class and soon lessens resume. Surprisingly, the rest of the period goes by quickly and Jane and I walk to our next class and so on. Luckily we didn’t run into trouble with d**k again, that was until lunch came around.

After standing in line for lunch we head for an open table and sit down. “You know you don’t have to sit with me if you don’t want to?” Jane says looking down at her food tray. I frown at her. “Why would I want to do that?” I ask her, baffled and her head shoots up to look at me confused… and hope? “As far as I can see the other students are d***s and I actually find myself enjoying your company.” I say shrugging my shoulders. She stares at me with her mouth slightly open. “And I don’t pity you if that’s what you are thinking. Besides, I don’t like crowds.” I say and look to my food tray and decide to start with my fruit salad first.

In the corner of my eye I can see a small smile cross her face, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead she also starts eating as a comfortable silence settles between us. Something about her puts me at ease. Like I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not. Maybe I’ll finally make a friend this time.

I get pulled from my thoughts by someone clearing their throat at our table and we turn to see Jake the d**k standing there with a sly grin on his face. “What do you want?” I ask in a cold voice, glaring at him. I see his goony friends observing this little display a couple of tables away. His grin falters slightly but he replaces it with a toothy smile making me shiver in warning. My wolf growls when he slips onto the bench next me. This is not going to end well.