Love. Wonderful pointless love. Fake is what it really is. False. Not real. A disillusionment that's torn apart my family. The 5-foot, thorny rose figure that's pricked blood not just from fingers, but bodies. Love is what alluded my mother into thinking that my father was a gentle man. It's what alluded my father into thinking that his abuse was justified. After-all he claimed he did it out of love. Every hit to the face, every second of being locked in a closet, every cry escaping my mothers mouth...was all for love.

Two individuals bound together by their own foolish, idealistic minds, destined to tear each other apart, and have their lives end in death. That is what love did to my parents. That is what love does to people. I've seen it many times. And after all that my eye's have endured, I refuse to let myself feel even the slightest twitch of the ruthless emotion.

The night-air of Autumn is cool as I continue my walk towards my Aunt's house, from my job. Two buses, and a Ten-Mile walk-a-thon for a measly seven bucks an hour at some cheap gas station. Life. Small droplets of rain begin to fall from the sky. Great. I hate the rain. It reminds me of him. ...Reminds me of Ray. ...Of seeing his body lifeless on the living room floor.

"Ray?! Ray!? RAY!? Answer me please!" I shook him and shook him but nothing. Footsteps. My father. "He had it coming. ...I'm so sorry but son he had it coming." He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the wall. "HE HAD IT COMING!" He sobbed into me. "They both did…" He mumbled into me. ...Both? Oh no. Mother!

I shake my head. Not today memories, not today. It's been six months, time to move on. I can't grieve forever. ...I can't love forever.

"I'm home." I yell, as I walk into the door. It reeks of perfume and sex. I walk into the kitchen. The tables a mess. There's chocolate syrup on the floor and chocolate handprints on the fridge. Well, someone's had a wild night. Wouldn't be the first time. I make way towards the downstairs guest bedroom, but stop in the hallway. It smells...like wet dog. The rain patters against the windows. I hear a creak. I whip around towards my backside. Nothing. I speed walk to the kitchen and grab a knife. I walk to the living room. I still my breathing. ...I hear another breath. I'm not the only one here! "Show yourself!" I demand. I see a figure in my peripheral vision. I turn towards my side. A beast. A giant wolf. With red eyes. Deep black fur. "Easy pup." Bark! I fall backwards. It growls menacingly. The animal stalks it's way towards me. My heart is banging in my chest. The rain pours harder. A flash of lightning and a roar of thunder follows. The beast leaps at me, but is tackled to the ground by another...beast?! The two animals wrestle together. Bookcases, lamps, the t.v. falls to the ground. The black wolf whimpers and it's neck is bitten fiercely by the other wolf. An auburn wolf, with grey,blue eyes. Like rain. A puddle of blood begins to form under the two. Crimson red.

I can't just stay here. I need to leave. I get up to run. "Ahhhghghg!" I scream in sheer pain. I fall to my knees and clutch my left shoulder blade. Did one of those animals just bite me?! I need to call for help. 911!

Still clutching my shoulder, I run to the guest bedroom downstairs. I shut the door and lock it. I fall onto the kingsized bed staring up at the ceiling. I fumble in my pocket reaching for my phone. Thump!Thump!Thump! My heart beats. I stop fumbling for my phone. Somethings off. ...Silence. I slowly sit up. CRASH! The bedroom door comes tumbling down. In walks the auburn wolf. Bloody cuts, and welts, lay on it's back and face. I stare at the creature. Scared. Nervous. Worried. Adrenaline pumping. Suddenly the cuts and welts start to disappear, slowly. I gasp softly. Strange. My vision blurs for a split second and I feel a sharp throb of pain shoot from where I was bitten, to the rest of my body. Both of my hands are at my side to steady me. The wolf and I lock eyes. The rain outside stops and the room, the house, is filled with nothing but the sounds of the wolf's panting and my shallow breathing. Is this animal going to do something? Anything?! My fingers fidget. Suddenly, the wolf blurs and what is now standing in front of me is a human. He's in a skin tight shirt, and skintight jeans that hug his muscles. His brunette hair is tousled. His eyes...his eyes are-

"Sorry." The man says thickly. Is this even real. I can't even speak. This is all just ridiculous. Another burst of pain hits me. I hiss. The man walks towards me but I tense, causing him to stop. I look up at him. I clear my throat, and begin to speak.

"Is there, a woman...dead. ...In this house?" The man sniffs the air, then nods.

"I can smell the blood of two individuals, yes."

"Is that...thing dead?"

"Yes." The man gives a quick nod. "Are you alright-"

"I'm fine." I deadpan. I wish this man would wipe that look of concern from his face.

"You can't stay here. In this house. You have to come with me." He says hesitantly.

"Oh do I?" I retort. I hear a couple of footsteps from outside the room. The man in front of me stands up straighter. In walks a blonde old man, and a girl.

"Katniss. Gale. Leave please." The elder one of the three says. The man and the girl exit. The older man walks up to me. He touches my left shoulder blade. I hiss and draw myself away from him. He laughs. "Well you're certainly going to make a wonderful addition."

"To what." I demand. "What is going on?"

"Oh you'll find out soon enough." Suddenly claws elongate from the elders fingers and he punctured my right bicep. I yelp in pain. My vision blurs. I go numb. And all I hear is rain.

...

I open my eyes to sunlight piercing through sheer burgundy curtains. The bed I'm in is unfamiliar. Unfamiliar softness. Unfamiliar charcoal scent. I sit up, gazing at my surroundings. The room I'm in is thoroughly decorated with 20th and 19th century paintings, and wall decor. There's even a slick red grand piano, with a granite black bass sitting beside it. It's like I'm in a brand new season of Gossip Girl. I get out of the bed. I walk over to a body-length mirror on the other side of the room. I'm dressed in the clothes I wore the night before. Or was it two nights before? Who knows, I could've been passed out for a whole year. My eyes scan my body. I appear to be healthy. No scars or bruises. My shoulder blade! I turn around trying to examine the area. Just then, the bedroom door opens and in walks the man from the previous night. I stop what I'm doing immediately. I'm completely still. Just staring.

"You might wanna take a shower." The man says, a light smile pulling at his lips. I sniff myself. Yuck. I must've been out for at least a whole day to smell like this. "There's a private bathroom on the other side of the room. There's towels and uh, things, in there. I'll check back in a couple minutes." With that, the man leaves the room. I quickly resume trying to look at my left shoulder blade. I catch a glimpse of it, and, it's healed! Strange. Very strange. Everything since the previous night has been strange. The two giant wolves fighting. The wolf turning into a man. That old guy hurting me with his claws! And here I thought this type of stuff only existed in the movies.

Guess I should shower.

A sigh of pleasure and relief escapes my lips as the steaming hot water hits my backside. This is nice. Should I escape? Should I even try? What if the people in this place want to murder me? Or what if they want to help? So many questions. Questions. Questions. Questions. ...Ray liked to ask a lot of questions. He was always so curious. ...Ray. ...Mother.

"HE HAD IT COMING!" He sobbed into me. "They both did…" He mumbled into me. ...Both? Oh no. Mother! I pushed myself out of my father's grip. I ran up the steps to my parents room. "Mom! Mom!" Tears flooded my face like rain. I pulled at my hair and screamed. "WHY!? WHY!?" I felt someone walk behind me. As I turned around, something heavy hit my head. And I blacked out.

Bang!Bang!Bang! "Save some for the rain forests." I hear the man yell over the rush of the shower water. "I'm almost finished!" I yell back. "Alright. I'll be out here waiting."

Oh Peeta. What to do, what to do?

I shut off the shower. I open the curtains and start pulling on some sort of uniform, that I assume, was left in here for me to wear for the day. Once I'm dressed, I look into the bathroom mirror. It's still covered in steam. I take my hand and wipe it across the mirror, revealing my reflection. I stare into my eyes. I wince. ...They remind me too much of the past. Of my mother. Of my hurt. I take a deep breath then release it. I walk to the bathroom door and place my hand over the handle. Whelp, looks like I'm gonna be staying in this place for a while. That is, if they decide not to kill me.

The man, who's name I've learned is Gale, and I walk through hallways and corridors in silence. We pass rooms with open doors revealing desks, and rooms with closed doors revealing golden numbers. Room numbers? Desks? "This is a school." I mumble. Realization hitting me. Gale smirks. "What kind of school is this?"

"Sans Academy of the Divine."

"Divine what exactly?"

"All students here are descendents of prestigious werewolf-" I stop walking. Gale stops too.

"Werewolves?" I ask, my mouth slightly agape.

"C'mon. I would've thought you'd put two and two together and figure it out by now. Haven't you seen Twilight or watched Teen Wolf?"

"Yes I've seen werewolves in movies, and I had my suspicions but-"

"I get it. Give it a day or two. That's when it'll really sink in." Gale resumes walking and I resume my place at his side.

"Has what's happening to me, happened to anyone else?"

"Yeah. But not many get bit by an alpha. Especially an alpha like Brutus." Gale stops in front of two giant oak double doors. "We're here."

"You coming in?"

"No. I have class. I guess I'll see you-"

"What's gonna happen to me? I mean, I know that whoever's in there is most likely going to ask if I want to stay or not. But what happens if I say no?"

"Then you'll be let out into the real world as an omega wolf."

"Omega?"

"It means you won't have a pack. Or anything. You seriously need to watch some Teen Wolf."

"Whatever. I'll probably just stay." I sigh. "There's nothing else out there for me anyhow." I mumble. Gale gives me a look. A cross of concern and curiosity. "What?" I retort sharply. He needs to stop that. It makes me feel uncomfortable.

"Nothing." He replies. "You never told me your name you know."

"Huh, I guess I didn't." With that I open one of the doors, and walk into a giant room, leaving a semi-stunned looking Gale, out in the hallway. I close the door behind me. I look up and see three people sitting behind a large wooden oak desk. Two old men, and one young woman. The old guy who clawed me. A man with pure white hair, and a snowy-white beard. And a woman with blackish, red hair reminiscent of a dark lagoon. Mysterious. A single chair sits in front of the three. If I didn't know any better I'd think this was the oval office. The guy who looks like Santa stands up. "Young man. We would very much appreciate it if you had a seat." I hesitantly walk towards the chair and sit down. The air in the room is thick. My throat clenches. I wipe my hands on the dress pants of the uniform I'm wearing. Santa notices and his eye twinges a bit. Hm. "I suppose introductions are necessary," the man continues, "I am Mr. Snow. President of this Academy."

"Mr. Abernathy. Or Haymitch, whichever is fine with me. Oh, and I am thee assistant princi-pal." The man with claws slurs, burping at the end. I roll my eyes.

"Sup. I'm Johanna." Says the woman. Mr. Snow clears his throat. Johanna sighs dramatically. "Ms. Mason. My apologies. And I am the Dean of student coordination." I scoff. What kind of title is that. Ms. Mason seems to have read my mind because she smirks and says, "I know right." I laugh lightly, but my eyes soon meet Mr. Snow's. I stop laughing, and shrink back a bit.

"And you are?" Mr. Snow asks.

"Peeta. Mellark."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Mellark. Now, time to get down to business-"

"This is a werewolf academy and you want to know whether I will join you. If I say yes you'll probably do a crash course of werewolf 101 with me. If I say no you might, I dunno kill me?" I say bluntly. My pulse skipping a beat as I say the last sentence. Ms. Mason looks at me amused while Mr. Abernathy is knocked out on the desk (How professional). Mr. Snow however, grins coldly and hardens his gaze a bit. I want to shrink back in the chair, but I fight it. Instead, I sit up and stare at the elder even harder. Afterall this Academy is filled with werewolves. I can be just as tough as they are. And weakness does not seem like it'd be a glamorous trait to portray within this place. Mr. Snow grunts. "Well, you're very blunt. So I've assumed you made your decision."

"I'll stay."

"Really?"

"Surprised?"

"Not many seem to accept staying here so easily. Especially when they're your age and are newly turned."

"Turned? Does that mean I'm some sort of werewolf or something."

"It means that you are a werewolf. Nothing else."

"I don't feel any different."

"Of course you don't. You've been injected with a tranquilizer."

"You all tranquilized me?" I accuse. Ms. Mason speaks up.

"Look, newly turned wolves are a handful. Especially ones that don't know about the whole werewolves existing type thing, so yeah, we drugged you-"

"Johanna." Mr. Snow scolds, but she shrugs him off. "But the drugs should wear off soon, and your werewolf abilities will soon kick in."

"So...If I did say no, what would you all do to me?"

"You'd be set free. As an omega." Mr. Snow answers with disgust leaking from his tongue as he practically spits the last word.

"What's so bad about those?" This time, it's Ms. Mason who answers my question.

"That's something you'll learn over the next two weeks."

"I'm sorry?"

"All newly turns who were human and know nothing about us, you, get to have two weeks of a crash course history slash semi-training lesson with Mr. Abernathy. You'll stay in an area we don't use anymore on the west side of campus."

"And then I'll just attend here?"

"Not exactly. Yeah you'll be taking some classes here but your training will be different from the other students. We'll train you to be in our task force. Our army." Ms. Mason smirks, with a glint in her eye while Mr. Snow tenses, glaring daggers at Johanna. She notices. "Oh please, he was gonna find out anyway. Besides being in an army isn't that bad Peeta. It's pretty cool, especially since it's a werewolf one."

"So ," Mr. Snow speaks up, 'I'll show you to where you'll be staying for the next two weeks and any further questions feel free to ask Mr. Abernathy." I look over to the old man still fast asleep, drool seeping from his mouth. Gross. I take my eyes off the sleeping brute and stand up.

"Thanks. I guess."

"No need . Now, off to your temporary living quarters." Mr. Snow walks from around the desk and heads towards the double oak doors to exit. I follow him, waving a small goodbye to Ms. Mason who gives me a sly smile and a wink. As and I walk past students, and classrooms, and richly decorated halls, it all hits me. This is my new life. This is my new life. A werewolf. Who would've thought. Seriously, who would've thought. In just six months, I've managed to witness the death of the ones I loved, get bitten by a werewolf who I know murdered my Aunt and whoever she was screwing, and attend some prestigious werewolf academy. This is so much. Too much. This is too much. Whatever. Breathe Peeta. Breathe. This is your new life now. And you're going to learn to deal with it; to live it. Who knows. Maybe...Hopefully...this new life can make you forget about the past. About everything. That would be nice. ...Too bad this is the real world. Then again, werewolves are in the real world so who knows. ...Who knows…