Jade Chen has spent the entirety of her life trying to keep her head down, for what good it does her. Her family and pack alike only care what she can do for them, nothing more. Otherwise she's essentially someone to abuse at a whim and pressure into their precise mold. Only a very tightknit group of friends has kept her sane all these years, especially after her parents mated her off. The clock is ticking until she's shipped off to be a brood mare to an Alpha old enough to be her father. She's white-knuckling her way through her senior year when the Pack Alpha of none other than the Winchester-Campbell pack moves into town, bringing numerous pack members with him. Despite her initial plan to avoid Dean at all costs, it doesn't quite work out that way.
Written at the request of and in collaboration with FeralG3.
Alpha! Wolf Shifter! Dean and Omega! Wolf Shifter! Jade (OC). Omegaverse, Shifter AU, High school AU. Rated for language and smut.
Trigger Warnings: Physical abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, attempted rape, eventual gore on the very deserving.
I know, I don't usually write OC fics, but this was a request I liked the sound of and thought I'd flex a little-used creative muscle. Since most of the chapters are long-ish (you're welcome), updates shall be posted every other day instead of everyday, to allow for enough time properly vet before posting.
"Regular talking with emphasis as needed."
'Written dialogue.'
"Mandarin dialogue, translations for phonemic transcription provided at chapter's end if not provided in the dialogue itself."
Thoughts and/or train of thought.
Enjoy!
Jade was quite sure no one else had ever wished their alarm clock would be the thing to wake them up in the morning. Not unless they were having a nightmare. Truthfully only paranoia kept her setting her clock to go off every morning, for all she'd have to turn it off before the grating buzzing could sound. Well, if she was lucky it would, but rarely was she lucky. Whatever god she'd offended, either in this life or some previous one, they didn't allow her such mercies often.
Today was not one of those days where she was roused by the need to smack off the buzzing a few feet from her head. Instead today was one of those mornings where Sherman decided to wake her up as he trudged back into their house after his shift at McDonalds. Technically it shouldn't be over until eight, but when you were the Pack Alpha's son and the owner was a member of your pack, there was a lot you could get away with.
Considering he'd asked for the night shift so he wouldn't have to get up early, he was very bitter about it. So bitter he liked to swing by the family punching bag on his way in from work. Jade's nose caught his scent when he barged into her room, but she was so tired she didn't get the chance to fully wake up before he was on her. Literally.
Sherman flopped onto her small bed, throwing an arm around her and yanking his elbow under her chin in a choke hold. Jade flailed, gasping, fumbling to grasp the arm currently cutting off most of her air. This wasn't easy, even if she wasn't the youngest she was still the smallest, even Mindy was taller than her for all it was a mere two inches. But when you yourself barely reached five foot one, you didn't exactly have many inches to spare.
"Wakey-wakey little sis," he sneered in her ear.
Pleas would get her nowhere. Jade had learned that long ago. She blamed the rude awakening, for all she should be used to it by now, how long she spent wiggling and smacking her brother's arm in a tap out. That last one only made him tighten his hold, snickering. Only when she went limp, gaze lowered in submission, did he release her.
Jade coughed as she was dumped unceremoniously onto her floor, Sherman getting to his feet.
"Better get going on breakfast. Dad's going to be up soon."
Like she needed the reminder. She did manage to dodge the brunt of his idle kick in her direction, but he still grazed her. As she lurched upright and spared a glance for her small, cracked mirror, she could already see a bruise forming on her neck. It'd be gone in an hour, but she still hated it when their early morning wakeup calls left marks. It meant she had to go to school with them, however briefly.
Jade hurried to the bathroom first, so she wouldn't run late as she waited in a line that intentionally didn't hurry. She had speed-prep down to an art, able to get in and out of the bathroom in under ten minutes. From there Jade took precious little time to coordinate what clothes she pulled on, just enough to know they were clean and matched. Granted just about everything in her closet were hand-me-downs, but Mindy was very fashionable and felt the need to reboot her closet once a year, so it wasn't all that bad. Or it wouldn't be if Mindy wasn't far flashier than Jade. She had to take off a lot of rhinestones, glitter, and buckles before she could wear most of it. Today the closest things to hand were a knee length black skirt meant to go over loud leggings, which she eschewed in favor of a plain black pair, and a white shirt Mindy had used to cover whatever outfit that wouldn't have otherwise passed muster on the way to school. She shoved her feet into sneakers not yet worn enough to warrant a new pair and shrugged into a pre-ripped denim jacket. Seriously, who bought something pre-ripped? Shoes, along with bras and underwear, were the only things they were decent enough to buy for her specifically, if rarely. Even then, if it wasn't for Nai-Nai she'd be in Mindy's bras too, for all they were different sizes. It was the one thing Jade might have been proud of if they didn't cause her so much grief.
She slid folders of homework into her backpack, thrusting her battered and cracked prepaid phone into her jacket pocket, and ducked out of her room. When they'd moved into this house it had just been a large closet, but they'd put in some Craigslist furniture and turned it into her bedroom. Jade was just glad the thing wasn't under stairs. She had that much on Harry Potter, her room was nearly twice as big as his had been, she even had a window. A small, rectangular window on ground level that let in cold like you wouldn't believe, but still a window.
Jade hurried back up to the first floor, setting her backpack by the back door, then set about making breakfast. That entailed putting a kettle and pot of water on the stove, turning on the coffee pot, dropping two English muffins into the toaster, scrambling twelve eggs, and making fifteen strips of bacon. Fresh, not microwaved. Father hated that already-made bacon. Sherman and Lee just liked the fact it was harder for her to make. Never mind the pancake batter she had gotten very good at whipping up on the fly.
The coffee pot was gurgling and the kettle was starting to whistle when her father came into the kitchen, dressed for work. Most Pack Alphas didn't always take full-time jobs unless it was running whatever business their pack ran. While he did run their small pack, which only had twenty members including their family members, he'd taken a job at a local insurance firm since moving to America. Her mother ran a local bridal boutique in town, at which Mindy was a secretary, while Lee somehow managed to not get fired from his Gas 'N Sip position. Lee didn't have to be there until eleven, though, so he wouldn't wake up until ten. Since mother and Mindy had to be at the boutique in an hour, and father had to be at his office before that, they had to leave shortly after Jade slipped out for school. Since her mother and sister liked to eat before they applied their makeup this meant they all demanded breakfast while she was still at home to make it.
Li Jun came into the kitchen first. Jade paused scrambling the eggs to pour a cup of coffee, slopping in a little cream and giving it a quick stir before passing it into his waiting hand. He took a sip, sinking down into a chair at their kitchen table. Jade took the pan of scrambled eggs off the stove, turning her attention to the pancakes. She slid the third thin pancake off its pan, which had previously been used to cook bacon, onto a plate. Thin, crape-like pancakes that were a more traditional dish than the fluffier variety they favored here in America. She raked the scrambled eggs over them, then added ripped up bacon. The first plate was set before her father, who gave her a disapproving look for the delay before he tucked in.
Wang Li came in shortly after. Her coffee only got two sugars before it was placed before her along with her plate with a polite bow. Jade wasn't even graced with a glance, disapproving or otherwise. Her mother simply picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
"It's still a little doughy," she said, nose wrinkling daintily as she chewed her first bite. "Cook it better next time before serving it to me."
"Sorry, Mother." If she had a dollar for every time she had to utter those words, in Mandarin or English, she'd have enough money to leave and never look back. Her parent's English was good, but they preferred using their native dialects at home. It was easier, especially when they were angry, which they often were when they spoke to her.
The English muffins popped out of the toaster and promptly went onto a plate, thin pats of butter on the inside of the four halves, four soft boiled eggs placed next to them. Jade was pouring water from the kettle over tea leaves when Nai-Nai made her way into the kitchen, steel colored hair in its usual neat bun, dark eyes crinkling in a smile.
"Zǎoshang hǎo, Nai-Nai," Jade said quietly, setting the tea and plate down even before her grandmother could sit down. Her parents found it irritating when she told them good morning, and if she said it to Nai-Nai too loud they took offense.
"Zǎoshang hǎo, Li Jing."
The microwave went off as she cleaned the pans she'd used, signaling the leftover steamed buns she was reheating were done. She gulped the last of her orange juice, but before she could get them out Mindy wandered into the kitchen. Jade turned around in time to see her sister open the microwave, then make a thoughtful sound as she took out the plate.
"Um…Mindy?" she said quietly, one hand lifted halfheartedly. "Those are…."
"Delicious, thanks," Mindy said, dropping into her seat. "Where's my coffee?"
"If you're going to eat those, let her eat your pancake if you're not going to have it," Nai-Nai scolded.
No one said anything as Jade poured one more mug of coffee, not adding anything to it. Mindy liked it black. She set it down in front of her sister, then reached for her plate only to get stabbed by her mother's chopsticks. Jade yelped, yanking her hand back, blood dripping from the two shallow holes in the back of her hand. The look Wang Li was giving her would have curdled milk, radiating disgust as she cleaned the blood off her chopsticks with a napkin.
"Don't touch your sister's food. I did not raise a greedy pig."
Jade lowered her gaze, reluctantly moving away from the table. Nai-Nai's eyes narrowed, but there wasn't much she could do. As an elder she did garner respect, but Omegas didn't have much power in a traditionally, strictly patriarchal pack. The only reason Wang Li had as much say as she did was because she was mate to the Pack Alpha, and as Betas Jade's siblings would always outrank her. The only hope she had of having a say in anything was if she was mated to a Pack Alpha, even then she'd only have what they gave her. The curse that was being born an Omega in an Alpha-run world.
She glanced at the clock, grabbing her backpack from the floor and slinging it over her shoulder as she reached for the door.
"This crap coffee is lukewarm!"
Reflexes honed over many long, painful years had her ducking just in time, the mug narrowly missing her head, a few of the shards drawing blood.
"Don't you dare leave that mess here," Li Jun snapped. "This is my house, I won't have you disrespect it in such a way."
"Yes, clean it up before it stains," Wang Li ordered. "Make a fresh pot for your sister while you're at it."
Great. If she didn't hurry she'd be late. Again. If it was just her Jade wouldn't mind as much, but Kevin gave her a ride to and from school most days. He'd wait no matter how late she was so she wouldn't have to shift and run. Though some days that might be a blessing.
Jade started another, smaller pot of coffee as she swept up the shards with her bare hands, dumping them into the trash. The broken porcelain cut her hands, but it was faster and simpler than getting a dustpan and broom. Besides, she would heal in a few minutes.
As soon as there was enough in the pot Jade poured coffee into a fresh mug, making it quick so there wasn't much to fall onto the hot plate. Mindy gave her a dirty look as she snatched the fresh mug, muttering what was probably some unflattering comments under her breath Jade didn't bother listening to. Likely it was nothing she hadn't heard before.
Jade bolted out the back door before they could stall her any more, jogging around the narrow flagstone path and down the driveway. They didn't like it when what few friends she had tried to help her, so Kevin had to park around the corner. He was waiting when she got there, yanking open the front door and sliding into the passenger seat, dumping her backpack on the floor between her feet.
"Go!" she blurted, slamming the door.
Kevin grimaced, taking his foot off the brake, his used hatchback lurching away from the curb. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the seat.
"Sherman wake you up again?"
Jade made a face. It was the downside of having a friend who was freakishly smart, you didn't have to tell them much of anything before they figured things out. She'd forgotten about the bruise that was probably an ugly blend of green and yellow by now.
"Must have actually had to work last night," she muttered.
"You can speak up when you're not at home, remember?"
She didn't bother arguing. She was already shy, introverted, something years of pressure and abuse had only reinforced. It took a lot of conscious effort to speak up, in every sense. As it was speaking in a volume much higher than a whisper was unnatural, something her entire pack had reinforced.
When they pulled up at the first stoplight between home and school Kevin reached into the backseat, passing her a paper bag. "Here. Mom made extra."
"Thank you," she said quietly, gratefully accepting the food. When Kevin noticed she wasn't eating breakfast very often he'd started showing up with extra food, always with that flimsy excuse. If he didn't one of her other friends did. They were the only reason she ate lunch more than a few times a week, on the occasions when Nai-Nai wasn't able to give her something to buy food with. No one in her pack was going to. Even then, there were just as many bullies at school as there were at home.
Jade mowed her way through three homemade breakfast burritos, fresh scrambled eggs and bacon and cheese wrapped in tortillas, all still warm. Ms. Tran was a good cook. She might push her son as her parents pushed her, but from what Jade could tell she did it right. Kevin actually wanted to be on the debate team and the chess team and the band. He wanted to do all those things, he chose the clubs he joined and the instrument he played. Jade only had a say in things if she could convince her parents it was a good idea and it was all theirs from the beginning.
"Did they tell you anything else about Morningstar?"
She made a face, gulping down the last bite of her breakfast. "No. Dad got angry when I asked. I don't think I'm going to get anything else out of them. Peter told them I was asking around. They…weren't happy."
Kevin winced sympathetically. Peter, like the rest of her pack who'd immigrated from China, answered directly to her parents. They also enjoyed taking full liberties with the designated pack punching bag. She hadn't gone to sleep until late last night because having cartilage heal was a pain, and she'd had to reset her nose herself. She hadn't wanted to bother Nai-Nai, but before he'd ratted her out Peter had nearly broken a rib. She'd needed an extra set of hands to make sure it was only cracked. Li Jun had said the nose was a warning, a taste of what would happen if she kept pressing.
"You sure you don't want me to do some digging?"
"No. They'll find out, they always do."
"They won't. Come on, Jade, let us help you."
"You do more than enough."
"You have a right to know about this guy."
"I'm afraid it doesn't matter," she said, shrugging wearily. "If I do find out about him it won't change anything. They've still chosen him, they've signed the documents. As soon as I have my heat they're shipping me off to Lucifer Morningstar."
Kevin didn't look happy about this. Jade wasn't either, but how she felt about the situation didn't matter. That much had been made as clear as humanely possible, and then some. She was an Omega, her place was to do as she was told, don't make eye contact, and only speak if spoken to. The only reason they insisted she finish high school was so they could add a diploma to her list of accolades. Apparently a perfect attendance record and straight-A report card meant more if it was accompanied by the diploma rather than a GED. Just like being in band only meant something if she was first chair, being in the AV club only meant something if she was in charge of it, being on the competitive mathematics team only mattered if she was the captain. She'd practiced until she was sore on that cursed flute to make second chair, never mind first, an accomplishment that still eluded her. But gods forbid she practice at home when she would abuse their ears with the grating sound of her abominable practice songs. The AV club she'd talked them into letting her join because her friends were in it, but they'd only agreed because she convinced them it would allow her to better arrange and promote events for her Alpha in the future. The mathletes were the only easy one, they liked the idea of her being good at math and she was genuinely good at it. Becoming captain had been the easy part, maintaining it was the difficult bit.
"Did you hear back from Tessa about that chemistry homework?"
"Yeah, check my bag. Hey, did you get a chance to practice that altered song Mr. Elton gave us?"
"No," Jade sighed, taking out Kevin's chemistry binder, absently tucking a lock of her long hair behind one ear to get it out of the way. "I spent most of the weekend balancing the books for mom. Mindy messed them up again."
In addition to being another feather to shove into her cap, they liked to take full advantage of the math skills she applied in mathletes.
"Why do they let her do them in the first place?" Kevin protested.
"I don't know," she mumbled, comparing his homework to hers, fishing out a pencil to make corrections. There weren't many, but every point mattered. Especially if it so much as looked like you were going to get a B your parents let the pack hunt you like a rabbit for sport. "I suppose it's for the same reason they turned down people who were far more qualified for the position."
"Right. Hey, remember that pack that's moving into town?"
"Mmm-huh," she said absently, bracing her homework sheet on the dash to carefully etch out the right answer as they drove.
"Did you get the chance to tell your dad about it?"
Jade just gave him a deadpan look.
"Sorry. Someone's got to, and it doesn't sound like he pays attention to these things like he should."
"He doesn't. I think mom threw away the meeting letter we got in the mail."
"They're not in China anymore, they can't do this," Kevin groaned.
"If you want to tell them that, you're welcome to try. Anything that comes out of my mouth is either wrong or disrespectful, remember?"
"Even in China you had to do things a certain way. Shifters are Shifters."
"So you've said."
"I thought he tried not to offend people."
"Only if he thinks they're powerful enough for offending them to be bad. Otherwise he doesn't care. Just wait, this will turn bad and it will be my fault."
It had actually started to impress her, the logistical acrobatics they did to make it her fault all the time every time. Kevin was right, there was a way to do things, and Shifter politics could get very bloody very quickly. That was the whole reason they'd left China in the first place, there were thousands upon thousands of individual packs all out to make a name for themselves or simply survive. If you weren't keeping your head down and kissing strategically chosen shoes you were fighting turf wars. So her parents had spent their life savings and Nai-Nai's to move their small pack to America. She and her siblings had all been born here, in Lawrence, Kansas. The first generation of American-born citizens in their family. If her brothers and sister paid attention they might have warned their parents themselves, but then they'd never had much care for reality. So until then, the extensions of good faith and introductions from the pack moving into town would go ignored. This was doubly rude, since the new pack didn't have to reach out in the first place, but to do so was considered a gesture of respect. To have that not just refused but ignored was a blatant slap in the face. Considering Li Jun stressed how much they needed to build rapport with American packs, build bridges, relationships to benefit them, he was quite literally shooting himself in the foot. Especially when you took into consideration just who this new pack was.
Only when she was stowing the corrected homework did Jade ask, "When are they moving in?"
"They already did, last week. Me and mom went to see them over the weekend."
"Oh." Perhaps the hammer would descend sooner than she'd anticipated. "Was it nice to see them again?"
Kevin's face softened as he smiled. "Yeah. It'll be good having them around again. They're starting school tomorrow, I can introduce you."
"No, it's fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Kevin only sighed as that last word came out as more of a squeak. At least he didn't belittle her for her crippling shyness. It wasn't like she'd asked for this, she didn't enjoy it, she just…was.
Besides, Jade liked her small, tightknit circle of friends. She didn't see the need to add to it, or worse, add to her tormentors by making a fool of herself at introductions. Regardless of how highly Kevin thought of them, she wasn't about to take that gamble. Gambles never worked out for her. Ever. She was just trusting what Kevin had told her, that they really were good people and she would get along really well with them. If Jade didn't need normal attention, she certainly didn't need the attention of one of the largest packs currently in existence.
The moment Kevin parked outside the school Jade heaved open her door, climbing out. Tessa met them halfway to the doors, passing Jade her flute case. She had one at home, a battered second-hand thing for the rare occasions they decided they wanted her to practice at home, but this concert flute was her primary instrument. One she didn't dare bring where her siblings could tamper with it, or worse, destroy it. Renting it from the school was cheaper than buying one, so naturally they did that, but they promised hell if something should happen to it. Whether she was the one to actually do the damage never factored into it. As much as she hated the damn thing, the last thing she needed was to provide them with yet another reason to rough her up on a silver platter. If they'd let her choose what instrument she was to play, Jade would have chosen the guitar or the piano. Something you could play while you sang. You could hardly sing and play a flute at the same time, but then that was one of the reasons her parents had chosen it for her.
"Thanks. Oh, and you misspelled viscosity. I fixed it on Kevin's, but you should check yours."
"I did?" Tessa protested, shrugging her own bag off her shoulder to fish out her copy of the homework.
"You spelled it like it was vasectomy."
Kevin snorted as Tessa grumbled, grimacing and bracing her paper against a locker to fix it.
"Thanks, anything else?"
"No, you're good. Thanks for letting me barrow it."
"Sure, sure. Hey, when're the new guys going to get here? I'm dying for some fresh faces."
"You're going to have to wait until tomorrow, like the rest of us," Anna quipped, brushing by them and tossing a bottled protein shake into Jade's hands. "Drink up. See you in homeroom."
Considering how often they didn't feed her, Jade wondered how her family didn't seem to think anything of the fact she wasn't deathly underweight. If her very close, very dear friends didn't feed her during the week she'd be a walking skeleton. She never asked them to, but she was forever grateful they did. Shifters had very high metabolisms, an active one needed at least double the daily caloric intake of your average human, more so for Alphas, but that didn't mean Omegas didn't have similar needs. It was something of a tradeoff, considering they also had above average human strength, speed, and stamina, running hotter than their human counterparts in a very literal sense. Well, Betas and Alphas did. Omegas did too, but even though her normal temperature was a toasty 101.2 Jade still tended to get cold. Kevin did too, so did Tessa and Samandriel, so she knew it was normal, but she still found it irritating.
Jade checked her hands once she'd slid into her desk in homeroom, glad to see the cuts on her fingers were completely healed. Thank gods, playing a flute with bloodied fingers was a real bitch. She'd gotten over how sad it was she knew that from experience.
No, the last thing she needed in her life was the additional drama of getting involved with a new pack. There were a few other Shifters in town, a pack of coyotes no larger than the Chen pack, a few cougars, a few bears on the town's outskirts, a handful of single-family packs of wolves like the Tran's, all of whom were on vaguely good terms with each other. It didn't matter just how big this Winchester-Campbell pack was, didn't matter that their Head Alpha was moving into town with his family and close members of the pack. Jade had enough problems without potentially adding even more. She was glad Kevin's surrogate family was moving back into the same area as him, but she'd be keeping her distance.
BREAK/BREAK\BREAK
As it turned out it didn't matter that Jade had corrected her homework that day. Ruby's latest lay had apparently broken things off before she was done with them, so she'd taken it out on Jade. This time she'd dumped her entire backpack in the toilet while Jade herself was thrown head first into the next stall. Three tiles cracked at the point of impact. At least the teacher was nice enough to let her redo the homework, so long as Jade did so during lunch under her watchful eye. She ended up scarfing down what Ms. Tran had sent for her between the next two class periods.
After school things only got slightly better. She and Samandriel spent most of it recording the journalism club for Wednesday's Hump Day broadcast and started editing the footage. After that she had a mathletes, which had once been her haven. It hadn't been this year, not since Alistair had moved into town. There were rumors, like he'd been kicked out of military school, he'd been banished to live with some hard-ass uncle since his parents couldn't handle him, he'd signed a deal so he couldn't get sent to prison for crimes no one could agree on, the list seemed endless at times. All Jade cared about was that the Alpha skeeved her out and he was a very sore loser. He was a half decent mathlete, so he'd been allowed on the team, but he seemed to take it very personally that she, an Omega, was simply better than he was.
Jade caught a ride home with Tessa, who was on the team with her and Kevin. But like Kevin she dropped her off half a block away so no one in the pack could snitch. She walked through her front door only to have a mountain of laundry dumped on her while the pack went out for a run. Sometimes they'd let Shifters go for a short run during school, during gym period, but they hadn't today. Jade hadn't been able to run in almost a week, her wolf was getting antsy, but there wasn't much she could do about it. They didn't like it when she ran on her own, something about it being too 'dangerous' for an Omega to go on a run without an escort. Like many of their rules they didn't make sense to her, but then they didn't have to. She'd have to 'study' at Kevin's house tomorrow or something if they didn't let them run at school. Much like her flute skills they neither noticed nor cared that their restrictions severely hampered her skills and sanity, but nor did they punish her when her stability and skill contradicted them. Either they were genuinely so foolish or they thought she was special. Not in a good way, though. She was never anything in a good way.
By the time they got back she had dinner on the table and the laundry was in the dryer. Afterward she had to clean the kitchen, fold and stow the laundry, and do her homework before she allowed herself to fall into bed in an exhausted sleep. Considering the average Shifter needed a few more hours of sleep than the average human, Jade somehow managed to get by on the scant six she could scrape together on any given night. Four on the days before tests or if there was a particularly large load of homework. Or, gods forbid, they decided some chore needed to be redone to their satisfaction. On the days she'd stumbled into school having not slept at all it was because of that last one.
Sherman must have had a better night at work, he only flopped down on top of her the next morning rather than wrestle her off the bed or put her in a choke hold. On the days where he'd been sent home early he had a bad habit of jumping onto her bed feet-first or smothering her with her pillow. At least Lee hadn't been home at the same time as her these days, he had fewer opportunities to harass her and bully her. It was just as well, he tended to be more creative than Sherman. On a good day, or a bored one, Mindy was only petty. On a day when she decided to put actual effort into things she could be even worse than their brothers.
Jade dozed through most of the twenty-minute drive to school, after making quick work of that morning's offerings courtesy of Ms. Tran. As they made their way towards the main building an unusual amount of activity on the far side of the parking lot caught Jade's attention. It always got more attention when new Shifters moved into town, but a pack like the Winchester-Campbell Pack? It was the least of what was expected.
"You sure you don't want me to introduce you?" Kevin asked as they pushed through the side doors.
"Absolutely positively."
"I'm not," Anna protested, brushing by them and hooking her arm through Kevin's. "Come on, introduce me."
"You're not the one who needs to get out of her shell," Kevin protested as he was dragged back outside. "You need to get back into your shell more often!"
Jade cracked an indulgent smile, shaking her head. No, Anna did not share her introverted nature in the least. Sometimes she envied her friend that. But then she'd decide that would just make the target she seemed to have on her back even larger and that envy would evaporate.
She dropped by the AV room to do a little more editing with Samandriel before they hurried to homeroom. Today was marginally better, she was able to dodge Ruby who was still fuming about being the dumpee rather than the dumper for a change. She also felt very good about the pop quiz in chemistry, despite the artillery being aimed her way through most of it. Apparently Bela didn't feel quite as sure of herself and directed her ire at Jade rather than attempt to salvage the quiz. There was no way she could have done the latter considering how many spitballs were aimed her way.
Best of all, Coach Uriel announced that all humans would be spending gym playing basketball, while all Shifters would be allowed to go for a run. Jade shivered as she felt her wolf howl in delight, mincing in excited circles, eager to get out and stretch her legs. She barely noticed when Kevin hung back, didn't bother to stop and ask why. The moment Coach Uriel motioned for them to get going she was sprinting for the gym doors with the rest of them. She wasn't the fastest any more than she was the strongest, but a properly motivated Shifter could really move if they so chose.
Generally it was frowned upon to allow teenage Shifters to run rampant over an uncontained area of land, but Coach Uriel happened to be one of the local bear Shifters. Even a teenage Alpha with zero self-control wasn't stupid enough to screw with a Kodiak. It was excellent motivation to get back in time to change back out and get to your next class on time.
Jade barely made it out of the yard gates before her wolf couldn't take it anymore, erupting midstride with a howl of glee. Just changing form was a surge of relief. The feeling of earth and grass under her paws, the wind in her fur as she ran for the trees, hearing the thunder of paws all around her as everyone else shifted, the surge of scents to a nose far more sensitive to her own…gods how she'd missed this.
As much as she reveled in these runs, they came infrequently enough she often handed the reins over completely. Let her wolf run and frolic as she pleased while it lasted, so long as she didn't hunt. Hunting down something like a deer for a snack then shifting back to human immediately after was ill advised, as your stomach tended to shrink. Most Shifter families had to get a large freezer unit when they had pups because it took time for them to get a good hold of their instincts when they first started shifting in earnest. Many a Shifter pup had slunk home with half-eaten prey that they hadn't been able to resist.
Thankfully hunger currently took a backseat to the need to run. To revel in the outdoors and finally being on all fours. Her wolf bounded around for a few miles, slowing down a bit as the initial itch was scratched. She leapt over a narrow stream, scrambled up a rocky ridge and crossed a meadow, stopping to roll in a bed of wildflowers to her hearts content. Jade sighed contentedly, gladly sitting back to let her wolf take over. She drifted in a semi-conscious state, only aware of the overall joy radiating from her wolf and keeping vague tabs on where they were going. As long as they went back in time to not have Coach Uriel come after them, she didn't care.
Jade knew most people liked to run side-by-side with their beasts, but she'd decided some time ago that she couldn't have that luxury. Not if she also wanted to retain her sanity. They had specialized Shifter prisons, with Shifter guards and monitored shifts three days a week. Even incarcerated felons had more rights than she did. Yet another thing she tried not to think about.
Her wolf eventually began circling back, reluctantly heading back towards school and all its torments. Jade was still drifting, enjoying the overall sense of peace and wellbeing she rarely got to relish. They'd caught an interesting scent, a new one. One of the new Shifters perhaps? Kevin had said they weren't all wolves. She'd never scented this breed before. It was feline, she was sure, but not cougar. She'd never met any other feline Shifters so she couldn't tell.
Both she and her wolf were trying to pick out just what it was they were smelling, paying just enough attention to their running so as not to fall on their face, when they ran straight into something. Something big and furry and hot and definitely not a tree. Even as she went sprawling, tumbling nose over tail to land on her side in the grass, Jade wished dearly she had run into a tree.
Her wolf scrambled, getting them belly down on the ground only to freeze before they could stand. Jade hurridly tumbled into the proverbial driver's seat alongside her wolf, gaping at the two sets of very large paws planted in the grass ten feet from her nose. Slowly, heart pounding like a jackhammer against her ribs, Jade looked up…and up, and up four long, muscled legs. Legs that led to a barrel of a chest with muscle clearly visible even under a dense coat of glossy, sandy brown fur. The same could be said for their haunches and neck. How could even a neck be muscled?
Eventually Jade made it to the wolf's face, which she normally wouldn't do. Eye contact and submissiveness were hardly synonymous, but in her defense she was in shock. Something that didn't get any better when she made it that far only to meet a pair of crimson eyes.
Oh gods, red. Red eyes. Alphas had red eyes.
Those eyes were narrowing as the Alpha stared down at her. Suddenly she had no trouble moving again. Just as soon as Jade could get her legs under her she was off like a shot, bolting away from the irked Alpha as fast as her paws could carry her.
She was still sprinting when she burst into a clearing surrounding the school, half tripping over her own limbs as she struggled to slow down. Jade stumbled into a walk, sucking in deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down. It was fine, he hadn't followed her. If she'd really angered the Alpha he'd decided she wasn't the trouble. A nice change, to say the least.
Jade waited until others were trickling in to reluctantly join them. It occurred to her as she minced passed the baseball field that she hadn't seen Kevin. Or Samandriel, for that matter. They usually ran together on days like this. Where were they?
There was no sign of them even as the bell signaling the class's end buzzed gratingly over the PA system. Reluctantly Jade sank back into her smaller, two-legged self. Her wolf didn't even fight it anymore, as much as they both hated this.
Her limbs felt pleasantly warm and loose as she made her way back to the changing rooms, taking her things out of her locker and slipping into a bathroom cubical. Not so much because she was embarrassed, more because she was an easier target if she didn't. She'd gotten shoved into the outer halls in nothing but her underwear one too many times. That last time they'd even locked her out.
Jade was going to put her gym clothes back into her locker when Ruby and Bela rounded the corner, covered in dust and twigs and grass and bits of leaves. She dropped her eyes, shoulders hunching as she hurridly twisted her combination. She couldn't make out what they were talking about, though she doubted it really required that much giggling.
She almost made it, too. She'd traded her gym clothes for her books, closing her locker and twisting the dial back to zero, and she had her eye on the door. Jade was ten feet from it when Ruby said, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"
Jade froze, but when she tried to bolt the Beta grabbed her by the scruff and hauled her back, throwing her into the lockers. "What do you want?" she asked, not raising her gaze, even showing her neck in hopes it might placate Ruby. Or at least make whatever was about to happen not quite so bad.
"What I want to know is why, when we finally tracked down that hot piece of Alpha, we picked up your scent. Huh?"
She stared blankly up at Ruby, trying to figure out if she was serious. No, Ruby looked genuinely angry. So did Bela. "I-I'm afraid I don-don't understand." The words came out far softer and weaker than she'd intended.
That got her slammed into the lockers a second time. More bruises for the collection, then.
"Of course you don't," Bela scoffed. "See? I told you it was an accident. I can't believe you were worried about this pathetic little bitch. This mouse couldn't even look an Alpha in the eye, much less talk to one. And never one like that."
Ruby made a face, thrusting Jade away from her hard enough to send the smaller wolf to the locker room tile. Jade took the opportunity, scrambling to her feet and bolting out the door as the warning bell rang. The halls were clearing out already, which meant there were far fewer people to fight her way through, but her next class was calculus. All the way on the far side of the school and on the third floor. Sometimes she barely made it even without interference. What few tardy's she had this year were for this class, specifically due to Ruby and Bela.
Jade broke into a sprint was she was in the main hallway, taping into that handy dandy Shifter speed in an effort to not add another tarty to her rap. One more and she'd have detention, which would mean no breakfast or dinner for three days if her parents found out. She flew across worn linoleum, skidding around a corner and bursting through a side door into the east stairwell. There were wider, more centrally located stairs, but those tended to be more crowded and this one was closer to her classroom.
She took the stairs two at a time, sneakers smacking against the cement steps as she hurled around the narrow landings, footsteps and rapid breaths echoing in her own ears, the tall cement walls making them seem all the louder. Jade was in such a hurry she never looked up, more concerned with her own feet in an effort to keep from tripping. It had happened before, and she didn't want it to happen again. Not now, anyway.
Because she never looked up, she didn't notice the person on the third-floor landing until she was on top of them. Literally. The Omega ran straight into a wall of muscle radiating heat for the second time that day, yelping as she was thrown backwards, books and pencil bag flying from her hands. She flailed, her own feet trying to put distance between herself and what her nose told her was an Alpha. A very strong Alpha. Jade didn't realize this as a mistake until her back hit the low bar that made up the stair's rail, her arms pinwheeling in thin air in a futile attempt to keep her balance. Jade caught sight of a blur of brown and gray right before her vision was filled with florescent light strips and chipped beige paint. The rail was biting into her back at an angle, but between her momentum and loss of balance she wasn't just running into it, she was going over it.
It happened so fast Jade had no time to try saving herself, mouth falling open in a yelping shriek as she felt herself tumble over that metal rail.
As quickly as it started, her fall was stopped. Jade gasped as something grabbed her leg, arms floundering, staring down three stories to the cement floor below before jerking her gaze away. She looked up, eyes bulging when she realized the person she'd ricochet off of was bending over the rail, one hand wrapped around her calf. A strangled sound left her throat as the tall Alpha lifted her clear of the rail with that single hand, catching her arm with his free hand so he could flip her upright again and plop her down onto the landing. He did this on her own two feet, but her knees gave out the moment he let go and she collapsed onto dirty concrete, staring up at him with a mix of awe and no small amount of fear.
Whoever this was, he was obviously very strong. More so than any other Alpha Shifter she'd ever met. She might not be very big herself, but he'd still lifted her by her foot, above his head, in slow, deliberate movements. With one arm. He was wearing ratty jeans and a gray t-shirt under a brown plaid shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. They did a decent enough job of obscuring most of him, but it was still very obvious the tall Alpha was broad shouldered and very muscular. Now that she thought about it, he also smelled like a wolf. He smelled like that wolf. The one she'd spent a good twenty minutes running away from.
Gulping, Jade reluctantly raised her gaze to look him in the face. She was screwed anyway, right? Might as well get a look at him before it went farther downhill.
She could see why Ruby had been upset. He was very easy on the eyes. If it wasn't for the blatantly Alpha scent and a physic that many would kill for she might think him a little too pretty to be one. The short cut light brown hair confirmed it. Yep, definitely the wolf. His eyes were green in this form. And he had freckles. Wait, his lips were moving. He was talking. Oh dear.
Quickly dropping her gaze again, Jade glanced around and fumbled to gather her scattered things. "I-I'm sorry, I…I did-didn't catch-catch- what-what-what did you say?"
The Alpha sank into a crouch, reaching over to pick up her calculus binder and her worn purple pencil case. The panic-induced ringing in her ears finally died down enough she heard what he was saying this time. "I just asked if you were okay. You were really booking it up those stairs. Can't believe you almost went over the edge."
"I'm-I-I-I'm fine," she mumbled, biting her lip. She hated it when she stammered. It came out every time she was truly rattled, without fail, and had been a favorite teasing point. See what it took to get Jade to stammer and make fun relentlessly once she did.
He picked up her textbook before she could grab it. It had fallen the farthest, landing pages-down on the floor. He flipped it shut, then checked the cover before handing it back to her. "Are you in Ms. Mortem's class? Calculus?"
Actually Ms. Mortem preferred Billie, but that didn't change the answer so Jade nodded. She just knew she'd start stammering again so keeping her mouth shut seemed like the safer route.
"Awesome. Please tell me you know where it is. I can't find 333 anywhere and I've been all over this damn floor twice."
Jade blinked at that, taken aback. Even more surprising than his words was the hand he extended down to her as he straightened upright. The last time someone had done that they'd yanked it away at the last minute. But…he'd seemed nice so far. He hadn't had to help her any more than he'd had to save her.
Deciding she had little else to lose, Jade timidly reached up to put her hand into his, calluses rough against her palm. Long fingers wrapped around hers, which suddenly seemed tiny in comparison, and in one fluid movement she was pulled all the way to her toes. Jade's gaze jerked back up to his face as he dropped her hand. She wrapped both arms around her things, taking a shuffling step back, nervous fingers shoving elbow-length hair behind her ears.
"I-I um, yes, I-I-I'm in- I have Bill-Bill-Billie for cal-calculus."
"Billie?"
"She-she prefers…not-not Ms. Mortem. Some-someone shuff-shuffled the number-number-number plaques. They-they haven't gotten to f-fix them- "
She cut off, eyes widening as the bell rang. Class was starting. She was late. She was going to get detention.
A sound that was far too much like a squeak for her liking slipped from her lips as Jade pivoted, lunging for the door, wrenching it back and dashing into the hallway. She was vaguely aware of the heavy feet following her, but that wasn't her primary concern at the moment. The Omega sprinted the last few feet to room 333, bursting through the door only to stop cold as every single set of eyes turned to her. All eighteen of her peers plus Billie, staring in judgmental silence as first she then the Alpha came through the door. Her heart leapt into her mouth before plunging through the floor.
"Ms. Chen, good of you to join us. Mr. Winchester. You're late." Pointing to a desk against the far wall, one of two not taken, she said, "The seat taken on the first day is the one you have for the remainder of my class. No moving, no switching. But since it is your first day, and Wilber hasn't gotten around to fixing the room numbers yet I'll let this one slide. Ms. Chen, I'm afraid you don't have any excuse."
Jade felt her legs go wobbly. This was it, she was screwed. From the smug looks on more than one classmate there was no way her parents wouldn't know by the time she got home.
"Actually it's my fault she's late," the Alpha interjected. "I was chasing my tail up here, she's the only reason I found this place. Can't you just write the numbers on the walls or something?"
Billie arched a single brow at that. "No, I'm afraid the principle considers that one more act of vandalism we don't need. Fine, just don't make either of you late again. Take your seats. You've wasted enough class time."
Stunned, Jade hurriedly shuffled to her seat in the back corner, secured on the first day. That was it? She was off the hook, just like that? As much as she liked Billie, the Beta prided herself on being tough but fair. No one was exempt from any rules, even the students she liked. But then, Jade had never had an Alpha vouch for her before. As she slid into her seat she peeked through a curtain of hair over at him as he folded himself into the last remaining desk. Had she really run from him before? Yes alright he was very big, very strong, but he wasn't really that frightening.
Then she noticed the looks Ruby and several others were giving her, Betas and Omegas alike. Jade shrank into her seat, focusing her attention on her paper as she started taking notes. She froze midway through dating the paper when it finally hit home what Billie had said. Winchester. Billie had called the Alpha Mr. Winchester. From what Kevin had told her, the only Mr. Winchester this could be was Dean Winchester. Firstborn of John and Mary Winchester, considered to be one of the strongest and most formidable Alphas in North America for all he still wasn't out of high school yet. The rumors were varied and often vicious, for all Jade was more inclined to believe her friend, who'd lived with them for a time.
Perhaps he hadn't changed as much as Jade had feared. Yes she would likely have an even bigger target on her back now, if the dark looks she was getting was any indication, but…Dean had been kind to her. Gentle. He'd lifted her one-handed in a somewhat awkward position, but he hadn't been rough with her. Just the opposite. She couldn't remember the last time someone had handled her and not left a bruise.
Maybe she'd take Kevin up on that introduction after all.
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