SERAPHINA’S POV

Werewolves and humans have never mixed well.

Yet barely ten years ago was when the first human made contact with the wolves that were a hidden otherworldly civilization at the time.

A peace treaty had been reached between both kinds and although our leaders may have signed it on a piece of paper, in truth, humans remain the outcasts, pushed off into the corner and neglected like we aren’t people too.

I’ve always had more than a few opinions about their kind - they are beasts, monsters that should never exist in the first place. I know they don’t like us, but not all of them share such a mindset, the few who were different were like pillars of hope to the rest of us.

“Seraphina!”

I hear Miss Lucy’s familiar voice filter into my thoughts just before her head sticks right into the room I’m in, washing the pots. She's the caretaker of the little human orphanage I’ve known as home all my life, and also the only werewolf I’ve ever had the chance of meeting.

“Are you done with the pots? Call the children to come down for a meal.” She orders simply, turning back to the kitchen she was in.

The sternness in her tone has only ever been an act to put most of us in check. In actuality, her heart was way too soft and big for her own good. Despite being a humble Omega female, she had opened her own home to orphaned human children years ago.

I nod almost instantly, tossing the pot aside while running to the end of the crooked stairwell at the end of the tiny hallway. I take in a deep breath, summoning the strength from my body before I yell out at the top of my voice.

“Food’s ready, time to eat!”

There’s not an immediate response from my call. Bone chilling silence follows, before the sudden eruption of numerous small feet thudding against the wooden floors in haste.

Suddenly, a dozen of them come running down just like that, children ranging from 5 and above. Until 15 come rushing down the stairs, shoving the others, and immediately deflecting into the kitchen in true commotion.

I wait until they're all settled and before I can turn to get my own plate, I spot one of our youngest coming down - a twin, almost completely inseparable from his sister, but now without the other.

“Where’s Emily?” I ask.

He looks up at me with a frightened gaze but says nothing, shaking his head. The look on his face tells me otherwise and it only takes a moment for the realization behind his action to sink.

I waste no time, running up the stairwell next, peeping into every room I pass before I come across one that isn’t completely empty and my guess wasn’t wrong.

A group of older girls, all my age, stand over the smaller measly looking Emily, laughing with constant taunts, while she’s tattered.

Emma, Riley and Tina, the orphanage’s ruthless bullies, and it seems Emily’s been caught in their net today.

“Look at the scared little thing, almost like a tiny mouse.” Emma snickers, sneering at her like a predator.

“Hey, squeak like a mouse for us, c’mon.” Tina taunts, placing the edge of her arm on her head while Riley laughs like there’s some funny joke being said here.

The sane thing to do would be to ignore this, or make an excuse that Miss Lucy is coming just to get them to flee, but when have I ever gone with the sane thoughts?

The sight of it all triggers something in me, flaring up my own anger, followed by the high-pitched ringing in my ears that always comes right before my outburst and every poor life decision I’ve ever made.

I pick up a wet mop stick resting against a corner wall and walk into the room abruptly, drawing their attention to me immediately.

“Tired of messing with kids your own size, huh?” I say, walking closer, trying to hold myself back.

The three girls look at me too quickly, scared for their lives until they recognize me and let out relieved breaths.

“Well, if it isn’t Sera. Here for seconds?” Riley speaks to me first, tilting her head to the side and referring to last night.

The day before, she had me locked in the toilet all day and I couldn’t go to school just because I refused to do any of their chores.

Her wicked smile and that of her friends now turn to me fully and mostly off poor Emily. I could take the bullying, I always have, but I couldn’t imagine the little girl being able to.

Three against one… and a half; that’s hardly fair - so of course, I won’t play fair.

“Run!” I yell to Emily once our eyes meet and just like that, she gets up on her feet and dashes out through the door.

“Hey!” Emma yells, seeing what I’ve done.

Before the rest can react to it, I raise the mop stick, smacking Riley in the face with it and pushing her backwards, colliding into the other two like a domino, before I run away.

Their united screaming echoes from behind me, but I never stop running. I run down the stairs, past the group of children eating, down to the back door and through it.

I run out of the orphanage and down the path in the back that leads right into the bushes, pushing myself as fast as my legs can take me.

“Come back here, you freaking bitch!” Riley screams from behind, letting me know they’ve already caught up.

Shit.

Despite the pouring rain, I double my pace, dodging through the trees expertly, having been here more than a few times and just barely losing the three.

Just when I start to celebrate mentally, praising myself from escaping them, I suddenly trip from a root sticking out of the earth and fall face flat onto the hard muddy floors and let out a groan of pain.

I’m immediately disorientated by my fall, feeling a slight pain just in my ankles while I try to get myself together and keep moving, but it’s too late.

Their footsteps catch on and soon, they tower over me, breathing hard from the chase while glaring hatefully.

“You freaking bitch!” Riley screeches first, landing the first blow with her foot to my side and the others follow almost immediately.

Each kick and blow to my body lands painfully against my already soaked and wet body.

I groan in pain and struggle to break free; they never stop, releasing all their anger on me.

It doesn’t stop until I stop fighting, until the world around me goes numb and my consciousness slowly fades from my body, and I find myself floating on something like a cloud.

Feeling nothing, not even my own body.