Lena stood at the door of the massive hallway.
Through the frosted glass of the entrance doors, she could see the hallway was packed with wolves lingering by the lockers.
The gatekeeper had spoken about the Ascendants being awake. What was this? Night class?
Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, Lena twisted the brass handle and pushed the door open.
She braced herself for everyone to stop and stare. At North Ridge High, a new face meant instant trouble. However, here, nobody even looked up.
"If you hate Mr. Rhino’s history class, you’ll absolutely hate Mrs. Fisher’s class on mate bonding," a girl a few feet away complained, tossing her hair. "She completely ruins what’s supposed to be hot and liberating with all her lectures on feminism."
"Just stop. Some of us actually want our men to dominate us," her friend laughed.
Because everyone was completely minding their own business, Lena wondered if it was the Alpha scent on the fabric masking her perfectly.
Lena inhaled the scent again, feeling warm fuzzies in her core. She probably needed to head to the administration office or something. However, she didn’t know where to start.
A locker door slammed shut with a sharp, echoing sound that rang in Lena’s sensitive ears, making her frown from the discomfort.
"Wait... why do I smell Alpha Christopher?"
The immediate radius of the hallway went dead silent.
"Where? Is he down here?" A sudden, jagged wave of raw panic rippled through the nearest cluster of wolves.
"Don’t joke about that! Alpha Christopher doesn’t step foot in the lower wing unless he’s gracing us with his presence."
"I’m not joking. I can literally smell him!" She defended, "It’s coming from..."
Slowly, the casual atmosphere in the corridor shifted. Lena felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as the physical weight of dozens of eyes locked onto her.
She tried to tell herself she was overthinking it. It had to be all in her head. But as she glanced back over her shoulder, the students she had just passed were spinning around, openly staring and whispering behind their hands.
"Pinch me! Is that her?"
"I don’t think so."
"What the hell? They look so much alike..."
Lena forced her chin up, ignoring the murmurs as she kept her eyes peeled looking for anything that looked like an office.
It seemed the intoxicating Alpha scent of the stolen sweatshirt was drawing their attention to her, but the whispers didn’t make any sense.
Feeling entirely lost, she stopped in front of a she-wolf leaning against a locker. "Excuse me, where is the—"
The she-wolf responded by gripping her friend’s forearm, her eyes wide with absolute shock. "Oh my god, even their voice is exactly the same."
Lena’s jaw tightened. Feeling the sting of their dismissiveness, Lena turned away from them, frustrated and confused. Just ahead, a bronze map was mounted to the paneling of the wall.
Perfect.
Lena quickly scanned the directory, tracing the layout until she found the administrative wing. The principal’s office was just a single corner ahead.
She turned the corner, the whispers fading behind her. Caught up in the rush of adrenaline and her old habits from the pack house, Lena forgot to do the one thing she should have done.
She didn’t knock.
She gripped the heavy brass handle, pushed the door wide open, and walked straight into a sight she was absolutely never supposed to see.
Two figures were tangled against the edge of the massive desk.
Lena’s cheeks reddened and she instantly slammed the heavy door shut, backing away into the hallway. "I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!"
Lena was still in a state of shock when the handle turned.
The door swung open, and the she-wolf walked out, furiously straightening her uniform collar and looking thoroughly flushed and embarrassed.
Lena opened her mouth to apologize again, but she just shot her a sharp look and brushed past her.
Lena wasn’t sure what to make out of this.
"Don’t just stand out there," a smooth, entirely unbothered voice called out from inside the room. "Come in."
Lena swallowed her nerves, adjusting the massive hood of her stolen sweatshirt as she stepped past the doorway.
Behind the mahogany desk sat a man.
Lena’s gaze swept over his desk, where a name tag was placed: Principal Stan Erect.
Principal?
Most importantly, Erect was his surname?
Meeting his gaze, Lena could swear he didn’t look like any principal anyone could ever imagine. He was young, dangerously good-looking, and leaned back in his leather chair with his legs crossed on top of the desk, completely acting as if what Lena had just witnessed was totally normal.
Which it absolutely wasn’t?
"Welcome to Sanatio Academy," Principal Stan said, leaning forward and resting his chin on his knuckles. He offered a lazy, flashing smile. "I already knew about your arrival. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say to you. Your file from the North Ridge Pack is... well, it’s a bit of a mess."
Lena didn’t answer. She sat down in the leather chair across from him, feeling intensely uncomfortable.
The air in the room still carried the scent of sex right on the edge of the table where a traumatizing scene had just unfolded.
And yet, this man was shamelessly sitting there, looking entirely chill.
Lena let out a quiet sigh, cutting her eyes away from him.
It was a classic manipulation trick. He was the one who got caught doing something wrong, yet he was forcing her to carry the weight of the embarrassment.