POV: Alex

My arms had a heaviness to them, but also a sense of warmth. As my eyes fluttered open from the light bleeding through the blinds, Steven's soft breathing filled up the silence in the room, covers and sheets blanketing our bodies. Even without taking a second glance, from the clothes on the ground and the underwear hanging on the doorknob, I could tell something had happened the night before. Hesitantly, I pulled back the sheets covering our bodies. We weren't wearing anything. I swallowed down my panic and carefully got out of the bed, placing Steven's head on one of the pillows and tiptoeing to the bathroom.

Before I could open the door, it flung wide open, a look of shock on Nathan's face, his hand immediately covering his eyes. "Why are you naked!" he hissed.

I grabbed one of the shirts on the ground and covered my waist. "Don't open your eyes," I said as I moved past him into the bathroom. "And make sure Steven stays covered." Nathan groaned, closing the bathroom door behind him, the sound of someone throwing something over someone getting my full attention. "And don't wake him up!" I whispered as loudly as I could through the bathroom door, then turning to observe my features in the mirror. Even without working out and doing any sort of physical routine, my body still kept its wolfish physique. Eyes were sharp and clear, claws were longer than normal, tail wagged behind me, and smells assaulted my nose from all angles.

After inspecting my body just a bit closer, the long stray strands of fur and the bushier than normal tail, a shower sounded like a good idea. I stepped into the shower after turning on the nozzle, warm water hitting my fur in all the right places. For some reason, my shoulder was a little bit sore, and there was a bundle of heat below my waist. Making the wrong decisions like I always did, I looked down, immediately regretting the action and keeping my facial expressions stone cold, thoughts empty and focusing on small ridges in the tiled wall.

We...didn't do anything last night...right? I don't remember doing anything. Then again, why weren't we wearing clothes?

I stepped out of the shower and dried off my fur, not exactly fully satisfied with the outcome. My reflection copied my actions, putting on pants as I did, brushing the same teeth, and hating the way a white shirt defined my muscles.

For once in my life, can I just look weak? Stupid Alex, you are weak, weak in the mind.

I took one last glance at my reflection, forcing a tiny smile, sharp white fangs greeting me and asking me out on a date, a very ravenous and dangerous date.

The door closed behind me and Nathan pointed at Steven, keeping his voice quiet. "You two didnt have sex did you?" I shook my head, not really knowing if that was the true answer. "Ok. Well, just...I don't want to wake up and see your dick again, alright?" My shoulders shrugged on instinct and I forced a chuckle down. "Anyways," Nathan said, "I have some school stuff to finish, damn advanced classes are a pain in the ass."

I stopped him before he could leave, holding onto his elbow. "Hey, before you leave," I said. "Um, I know this is sorta out of the blue, and maybe we're not the best of friends, but I just need to ask if you plan to ask Jordan to the dance."

He glanced down at my grip and I released it. He shifted his head to the side, scratching his ears. "Well," he said, "I planned to. But I'm not the best at expressing how I feel."

"I get it."

"I'm sure you do."

"She just really wanted to know," I said. "Please don't tell her I told you, lord knows she would kill me faster than Mrs. Carter did."

Not only a couple days over and I'm already making jokes about it? Just goes to show how fucked up I am.

Nathan chuckled, his glasses falling down on his face. "Don't worry, I wont tell her. Thanks for letting me know though. I know I can be a bit...silent." He sighed. "I want to ask her, I really do. Things are just difficult. I don't really know how to ask her, I don't know if she'll say yes." He rolled his eyes, cursing underneath his breath. "Of course she'll say yes if you're asking about it."

"So you'll ask her then?" Excitement rose in my chest.

He glanced off to the side. "I have stuff to finish." And he closed the door behind him, leaving me with my mouth slightly open. My ears perked up to something stirring behind me, sheets falling to the floor and Steven standing in the middle of the room rubbing his eyes.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily.

I kept my eyes straight ahead. "I have no idea, I just woke up a couple of minutes ago."

Steven glanced down at the ground and giggled. "Ok, well, still doesn't explain as to why I'm not wearing... anything."

Digging through the dresser on my side of the room, I found an oversized shirt that seemed like it would fit him well, or at least he would look cute in it. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips when he finished pulling the shirt over his head. "I'm still missing underwear," he whispered seductively, his finger tracing circles on my chest as he leaned in for a hug. He giggled again at my tense reaction and found some underwear in one of the dressers, pulling them up as he shook his butt in front of me.

"Ok Mr. Horny," I bantered with a tiny smile. "Let's save that for when we're a bit older, yeah?"

He slanted a smile, his ears flopping to the sides. "We're both seventeen, but whatever. Anyways, what day is today?" He scratched his head, eyes looking over to the calendar which we hadn't changed the month on at all. "Right...it's not a school day, right?"

"Nathan is off doing something for one of his classes, but no, it's not a school day."
Before Steven could speak, the intercom in the room chimed to life, one of the secretaries speaking clearly through it. "Will Alex Kingston please report to the principal's office?" We both looked at each other, unease settling deep in my stomach.

"Y-yeah," I said, my voice softer than before. I'll be right down."

The intercom shut off and Steven shrugged his shoulders. "You've already been through hell and back. There's really nothing they can do to hurt you or make you feel even worse than you already do."

My shoulders slumped, jaw tense. "Right," I said, "maybe they just want to thank me for putting Mrs. Carter in jail."

Steven rolled his eyes, picking up the clothes on the floor. "Look, if they wanted you gone, you would already be gone. Don't worry about it." He straightened his spine after placing the clothes on the dresser. "Do you want me to come with you? I'm sure they won't mind."

Of course I want you to come with me.

"No, it's ok," I said, opening the dorm room door. "It'll only freak out the herbivores more if two canines showed up."

Before I could close the door behind me, Steven said, "They don't really care anymore."

The school was a lot quieter than it usually would've been on a weekend. Hallways were empty, lockers were shut tightly, teachers strolling through halls like they had someplace to be. And then there was me, the wolf seemingly stalking the halls with his tail between his legs, mind going insane as to why the principal had even called me in the first place. Surely I had done nothing wrong, other than sneaking into Mr. Parker's office and destroying the evidence they had against Mrs. Carter. But that was long gone. It couldn't have been that, could it?

I pushed open the doors of the principal's office, clearing my head of any thoughts, breathing deeply through my nose, the scent of pine and aspen stinging it. The principal had his hand on his cheek, lazily scrolling through some website on his laptop. His eyes shot up to mine when I closed the door behind me. "Glad you could make it. Please, sit." I did as I was told, sitting down in the chair provided, tail curled up behind me.

"I didn't do anything wrong, right?" I said, trying to make light of my pounding heartbeat.

The principal shook his head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong, other than the other things you've done around the school." He sighed deeply. "I called you here because I wanted to say sorry, for everything that has happened to you. We should've- I should've paid more attention to the therapists we had lined up for you. I should've done more background checks, reviewed their personal files and...whatever else I could've done."

"Mr. Hargreaves, you don't need to apologize-"

"But I do," he said, laying his hands on the desk. "It's my fault for everything that's happened at this school." I could tell this was hard for him, his constant heavy breaths, the creaking of the chair as his leg bounced. "I know I'm not the greatest principal with all of the prejudice that goes on here. There will be a stop to it, there will be no more 'seclusion' or 'segregation' for any type of animal. Obviously safety must out rule everything, carnivores still need to be wary of their instincts and urges. The infirmary will be open for any carnivore struggling with their instincts, highly trained and qualified mental health professionals are being hired as we speak for the betterment of this school...for the betterment of every animal."

"Sir, thank you for telling me this, but I don't understand what I-"

"I want to be the first to tell you this, because I know how close you are to her." He opened one of the drawers beneath his desk, placing a neat white sheet of paper in front of me. He motioned for me to take it, and I did, eyes glossing over the tiny black words until they reached the bottom, where it said in big red letters, "Jordan Anderson to be the new Student Council president."

She finally did it.

My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing, and I kept reading it over, and over, and over again, until it finally registered in my brain. "But what about Brittney?" I said, somewhat disappointed in her lack of input.

He glanced off to the side. "She stepped down yesterday, dead set that Jordan should be the one to take her place. Rightfully so, she has the most potential out of any of the animals here. Her leadership skills and ability to take charge is extremely admirable. I'm only sorry that it took us this long to finally change what has been broken for so long."

Brittney wouldn't just give up power, that isn't like her. What else is going on behind the scenes? I'm tired of being in the dark all the time, not knowing if anything is real or not. Is it possible for me to act like Jordan?

My eyes narrowed at the fine print, none of it explaining anything important.

What would Jordan do?

What would Nathan do?

Well, Nathan's probably insane.

"What's the part you're not telling me?" I argued, tossing the paper back onto the desk, probably with a little bit more force than I would've liked. "I'm not stupid, at least, not anymore."

He put up his hands in surrender. "No tricks here, no planning, nothing."

"So why tell me? Why not tell Jordan? You really think I'm going to walk out of here and-"

"Alex," he interrupted, "I understand that you're cornered, and I wouldn't want to do anything to draw your ire. Brittney told me to tell you about this, it wasn't my decision for it to play out like this, but I respect her wishes and judgement. During the school dance the title of Student Council president will be awarded, and I want Jordan to not have any knowledge beforehand."

The door behind me opened, Brittney walked through, her eyes immediately meeting mine. "Sorry," she said to the principal, "but I need to talk to him, if you don't mind."

The principal pushed up his glasses and smiled, walking out of the office as Brittney took her seat next to me. "I bet you're wondering why I chose to tell you this," she said, fiddling with her fingers. "To be honest, I have no idea. I think I'm just too scared to tell Jordan myself, or maybe it's something else, it's hard to tell. Either way, I just couldn't keep it in, I knew I needed to tell someone or I would go crazy. You were the best option." She smiled weakly. "I know you think of me as this carnivore hater, as this animal who only wants to achieve her goals, to advance her position. And for a long time, it was. I was so dead set on hating other animals…" She closed her eyes. "I think what I'm trying to say is, thanks...for changing me." She looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact as she stood up from the chair and made her way to the door. "I think," she added before leaving the room, a smile plastered across her face.

The principal came back in, leaving the door open behind him. "Well," he said with a sigh, "you're free to go. I can't stop you from telling Jordan, but I hope that you won't. I want the happiness and joy from receiving the position to be authentic. I want to show the whole school that it doesn't matter what you are, carnivore or herbivore, small or big; you can do anything, be anything you want. And I promised your parents I would find you another therapist for next year, someone you can really connect with. Do you have any in mind?"

I smiled, getting up from my chair. "I do, actually. Her name is Dr. Lorraine Sherman, she was my psychiatrist when I was little and when I was admitted to the hospital."

"I'll give them a call," he said as he watched me leave his office, my heart easing to a state of rest. It would've been nice for my senior year to have Dr. Sherman at the school, to know that at least somebody empathized with my struggles and my pain. She was my only wolf friend, the only wolf who treated me as an equal rather than someone to scoff at.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket to find several messages from Steven, along with a few missed calls from him as well. I answered his call and was greeted with Steven's voice. "Hey," he said. "My dad is coming by the dorm to talk to me about something...he said you should be there with me."

I began my walk back to the dorm with Steven still on the phone. "He didn't say anything else?" I asked, hoping it wasn't about a court case or something.

"No, he just said, 'I need to share something important with you, it might be easier if Alex is there.' and he left it at that."

"Sure, I'll be there in five minutes." I clicked off my phone, the dorm room closer than I thought it would be.

When I opened the door, Steven was sitting on the bed, wearing the clothes from this morning, although he looked freshly showered. He looked up at me, fingers trembling as they laced together. "I know I shouldn't be like, scared from him anymore. The secret is out, whether I like it or not, and he seems okay with it."

"Sorry about that," I said, sitting down next to him. He leaned his head on my shoulder, tail thumping on the bed.

"I just hope it has nothing to do with you and that whole Mrs. Carter case. I still can't believe she did that, she actually ate an animal, and she was right underneath our noses the whole time. I should've believed Jordan when she told me about it, I should've believed her."

There was a knock at the door. "Steven?" Mr. Parker's voice boomed from the door.

Steven stood up and made his way to the door, opening it to reveal the massive German shepherd in a casual outfit, something I never would've imagined from only seeing him in his usual police officer uniform. His eyes moved to me, a slight nod in my direction.

"Look," Mr. Parker said, "this is important, so I want you to sit down. I have a lot of explaining to do."

Steven swallowed hard, pushing the door open to accommodate his dad, then sat down next to me.

Mr. Parker pulled over a chair and sat in it, breathing in deeply and just staring at us. I couldn't shake the thought of how similar they looked, how identical they were when paired next to each other.

Mr. Parker shifted in his seat. "Steven, I haven't been honest with you. All of your brothers know...but you're the only one who doesn't. I thought I would be protecting you if I didn't tell you, if I kept a secret. I now realize that was a mistake, I should've told you the moment you were born, the moment I first ever laid eyes on you." Steven grabbed my arm, holding onto it tightly. His jaw was clamped shut, eyes fixed on his father. "It's also dangerous for you to not know, for you to figure out when the timing is at its worst. Steven," he said, holding back tears in his eyes. "You're not a purebred German shepherd."

"What do you mean 'purebred'?" Steven asked.

"He means you're not 100% German Shepherd," I said, the words coming out easier than I thought they would've.

My family history was in the dark, we had nothing on my parents, and the adoption facility didn't really help. My origins were unknown, my species was unknown, other than the physical attributes. I could've been part feline, and there would be no way of knowing unless one of the traits showed up.

Mr. Parker nodded in agreement. "You never met your grandparents, and there's a reason as to why I never let them see you, or let you see them. Your grandfather, my dad, is a wolf, just like Alex." Mr. Parker swallowed, Steven's eyes widening just a bit. "Your grandmother is a German Shepard, making me half grey wolf, half German Shepherd."

Steven's mouth opened, revealing his sharp fangs. He pricked his finger on them, testing their merit. "So...I'm part wolf?"

Mr. Parker nodded. "Your 1/4th wolf, not as much as me, which is what I wanted to happen. I didn't want my children growing up with wolf attributes...like me. I have the natural instincts as a normal wolf would. The things I've done in my past, I'm not proud of, but you deserve to know. You still have the chance of developing wolf traits, I can't tell you what they would be. Dogs are bred to be the perfect canine, to have no instinctual urges, to have no other thoughts than to serve society. In your case, you don't get that luxury, neither do I. It's why I wanted Alex to be here." He looked towards me, eyes pleading for me to say something. "I can find some peace in knowing you have a wolf as a...boyfriend."

"This is a lot to take in," Steven said, his grip tightening around my arm, his claws digging into my skin.

"I know it is," Mr. Parker said, softening his expression. "But you deserved to know, I couldn't keep it from you anymore."

Steven took a deep breath and swallowed. "Dad, I need you to leave...now."

Mr. Parker sighed, trying his best to maintain eye contact with Steven, but he just pointed to the door. Mr. Parker left with his tail between his legs, taking one last glance. "I love you," he said before shutting the door behind him.

Steven looked like he was just barely keeping himself together, fists clenched and lips trembling.

"Hey," I said, caressing his face, placing a hand on his back and moving it in circles, "this isn't the end of the world. Just because you're part wolf doesn't mean anything to me." He leaned into me, tears gently streaming down his face.

"It's not that," he said with a sniffle. "It's that he kept it a secret, that he lied to my face for seventeen years. Why now? Why did he think telling me now was the best idea? After everything I've been through?" He started to cry a little bit louder, his breathing hitching. "It never ends, does it? The pain just keeps adding on, and on, and it never leaves. I can't have one day without something going wrong, without something ripping my soul out of my body."

For you I would cross the line.

I would waste my time.

I would lose my mind.

I pulled him into a hug, hating myself for allowing everything to come crumbling down, hating myself for letting everything destroy the animal I loved the most. There was no fixing what had happened, there was never going to be a solution, or a fix for everything I had done. It was stuck in everyone's minds, festering until one little inconvenience and it all blew up. But this was more than just an inconvenience, this was his whole life being told he was something, then having to learn that he wasn't.

We can't make any promises.

Steven cried more and I was helpless to do anything. Words wouldn't come out of my mouth, and all I wanted to do was hold him, that was all I could do. As useless as I was, at least I could hold him.

"Hey," I said, pulling away from the embrace and staring into his muddy eyes, "I'm here, I still love you. We'll get through this, together. Besides," I said with a smile, "It's nice to know I'm not the only wolf here now." That made him chuckle, wiping his eyes with his fists.

"Even if I am also part wolf?" he asked, throat thick with emotion.

I leaned in and kissed him. "Makes it even better," I said after pulling away. "Now we have two wolves in this dorm room, even if you're 1/4th wolf."

Steven sighed, composing himself. "Yeah, but dogs are already hybrids...so what does that make me?"

"It makes you, you . Nobody is going to treat you differently, because you still look like a dog on the outside. And if some wolf part of you starts to show, you'll be with me, and nobody will bat an eye."

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me onto the bed, the sheets and pillows flying in the air. "What would I do without you?"
I kissed him gently, allowing my fingers to run through the fur on his face. "It's gonna be a long road, but I'll always be there for you, like you were there for me. I've made mistakes that I'm not proud of. So I guess the question is: what would I do without you?"

He tapped a finger against my nose. "I guess we're the perfect broken couple."

The door opened, Nathan setting down his bags and immediately covering his eyes. "STOP FUCKING IN OUR ROOM!" he screamed, throwing a pillow at one of us, although he missed.

Steven cackled, falling off the bed and holding a hand over his chest, trying to control his breathing. "We-we weren't-" he couldn't get a full sentence out without laughing again, pounding his fists against the ground. I just rolled my eyes, throwing the pillow back at Nathan.

"You can uncover your eyes," I said. "We weren't doing anything."

Nathan groaned as he uncovered his eyes, his glasses foggy and smudgy. "How was I supposed to know when I walk in and see you on top of him? " He pointed at Steven, eyeing me down.

"Well it's not like we can get our own room," I said, helping Steven off the floor and covering his maniacal laughter.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose and smiled, flaring his nostrils. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." His ears perked up. "Oh, I have to ask: why was Steven's dad in the dorm building?"

Steven immediately stopped his laughter, looking towards me and getting a nod of approval. "Apparently," he said, "I'm ¼ wolf...or something like that," he mumbled, all the happiness gone from his face.

Surprise washed over Nathan's face. "Oh, he told you? I thought he was going to keep it a secret for a while."

Steven's eyebrows creased. "Wait, you already knew?"

Nathan crossed his arms. "Yeah, it was easy to figure out."

"How...how did you know? And why didn't you tell me!" Frustration and anger boiled over in Steven's eyes.

Nathan sighed. "It wasn't my place to tell you. It would've only drawn a rift between you and your father. I didn't want that, and neither did Jordan. So we kept it quiet, but then Jordan had to go and tell your dad that we knew, so that was a mess we had to clean up."

Steven hung his head low. "I understand," he said, going over to the bathroom door and closing it.

Nathan slumped his shoulders, sitting down on his bed. "I didn't want to tell him. God why am I so fucking stupid? Why did I think keeping it from him was the better option?" I thought he would look at me for an answer, but he didn't, so I kept quiet."

"I don't think he's mad at you," I said. "A lot has happened today for him, he just needs a break."

"Life doesn't give anyone breaks," Nathan said, falling backwards onto his bed and flexing his claws. "Why am I so fucked up? I can't tell Jordan how I feel, I can't make my friends happy, and I'm the worst at judging social situations." He closed his eyes and muttered under his breath. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"I have better hearing than you do, you know," I said, standing in the middle of the room. "And for what it's worth, I think you're doing just fine. Nobody's perfect in what they want to achieve, everybody is different and special in their own way. I have to believe that because of what we've been through-what I've put everyone through."

I have to believe that we are all just insane. Nobody is mentally stable.

Nathan got up from his bed and knocked on the bathroom door. "Steven? I'm sorry, I should've told you everything when I figured it out." He pressed his hand against it, then letting it fall loosely to his side. "I don't know how to make it up to you."

There was sniffling heard from the other side and Steven hastily opened up the door, his eyes red and puffy. "You don't have to make it up to me. You're still my friend, I'm just...tired. Everything is so fucking impossible, and somedays, I just want it to end."

Nathan forced a smile-I could tell from experience-and he glanced down to the ground. "I think I'll tell Jordan how I feel tomorrow." His eyes met mine, then back to Steven's. "But I need yall's help to convince me to do it, because I'm terrified."

Steven wiped the tears from his eyes with a light laugh. "Of course I'll help you, Jordan's my friend too, I want you two to be happy."

Nathan and Steven went about planning how Nathan was going to ask Jordan to the dance and the elaborate way they were going to tell her. It made me laugh a couple of times, seeing my friends together, being happy and letting go of their fears and their ghosts, if only for a little while.

Nathan, do you know that Jordan already won the election? If you do, please don't tell her. Be there for her when she wins, be the one she runs off the stage to hug after the news. Please, do that for me.