A/N: Heyyo! I'm finally back with chapter 1 of this story. I'm sorry for such the long wait. I got sick, writers block, etc. I'm not particularly proud of this chapter and may come back and rewrite it once again, but just to let you guys now, the story will be picking up from here! These first few chapters have just been introducing us to the characters.

The present day

Over time Max had indeed grown used to living within the human world. Over the next 5 years prior to her being adopted into Kate's family, the family taught her what she needed to know to get through life. Basic english, math, and a few other things. Anything else she happened to learn on her own.

At first, her forced shifts were quite frequent, at least a week between each. However, they began to dwindle to at least once a month. After her four years of learning about human culture, or whatever else she had to learn, the Marsh family surprised her by buying her an apartment in the depths of the city.

She moved in with Kate - who Max now recognized as a sister - and for the next 5 years they worked together to keep the apartment paid for, and cared for. They would visit the other Marsh's every weekend, and the family would take that as their chance to meet with their wolf counterparts and spend the day running through the woods.

However, the peace didn't seem to last as long as Max would've liked. More and more shifter sightings were being reported on the outskirts of the city, and now many citizens were being drafted into Blackwell Academy; a pristine academy run by the Prescotts which dealt with training people how to fight shifters.

At first it seemed that Kate and Max were safe from this, however, their assumptions were wrong as soon as they received a formal letter made out to the both of them, basically commanding that they start attending.

And now, Max was inside a shooting range, leaning against the stone wall behind her. She was currently watching the instructor, a tall man who looked to be of middle age. Goggles rested on his face, and really one of the main things that stood out about him was the mustache that rested on his upper lip. He held a gun in one hand, taking aim at a target that rested at the other side of the room.

A gunshot rang throughout the room, the echo bouncing off the walls followed by the sound of something hitting the ground and rolling; the shell of a bullet. This was soon followed by a thump as the weapon was set down on a table beside him.

The man turned around and crossed his arms, his gaze quite intimidating as he looked at all the students lined up against the wall, watching him - some gazes were nervous, others were confident, and some gazes were focused elsewhere.

"By the end of this quarter you will be taught gun safety, the different functions on a gun, and other topics. Next quarter you will put these skills to the test in our shooting range here, and then the real training will begin."

He was pacing in front of the students as he spoke, his hands having moved from his chest to behind his back, his fingers intertwining and his hands overall folding together, "By the end of your time here at Blackwell Academy, some of you will have dropped out, others may have been injured and - though rare - some may even die, and even then, a few of you will make it through our rigorous training. And you will rightfully learn how to fight the beasts that threaten our city."

He opened his mouth to continue speaking after observing the faces of the students, however, he was drowned out by the sound of the door swinging open and hitting the wall, and a girl walking in.

She was breathing heavily, her face flushed, and she looked as if she was obviously trying to catch her breath. Atop her head rested a dark blue beanie that looked as if it were about to topple off. Underneath was a disheveled nest of bright blue hair, cut quite short. Her face was tinted a light pink, and it didn't take too long for the strong, smoky smell to hit Max, causing her face to contort to one of faint disgust.

"Chloe, you're late," the teacher spoke, an odd parent like attitude coming over him. However, the girl in question - Chloe - simply scoffed, and brushed the issue off her shoulder with quite little ease.

"Whatever, Mr. Madsen," she said - quite sarcastically, noted Max - before she began to search for a place among the group of students that were against the wall. The room seemed to stay silent while the girl tried to find her place, and she eventually found a place besides Max.

While the smell of smoke quite disturbed the shifter - and Kate's face seemed to say the same - some other scents found their way to Max. The forest, pine trees, flowers… yet mingled and buried underneath the scent of smoke and a tad bit of alcohol that seemed to find its way in.

Though Max's gaze had found its way back to the teacher, her mind was centered on the girl beside her. The scent was vaguely familiar, but god, where was it from? Frustration seemed to be evident in Max's posture, which had stiffened considerably as she leaned against the wall. Yet, she was driven from her thoughts as Kate brushed her hand on Max's arm, and the brunette looked over at her friend.

"Are you ok?" Kate mouthed, and Max only gave a curt nod.

"Chloe," Mr. Madsen spoke, picking up the gun he had previously set on the table and holding it firmly in his hand, "Since you seem so nonchalant about being late to your first class of the year, why don't you come over here and show the class what you know?"

Max felt the stranger stiffen beside her, however, moments later she only strode confidently to the teacher and took the gun from his hand, "Alright step-ass," she said, and continued to the shooting range.

Mr. Madsen himself looked quite peeved by the response, though he remained silent.

Chloe seemed to take her time examining the gun, before she assumed the shooting position and aimed for the target in which Mr. Madsen was shooting at earlier. A gunshot soon rang throughout the room and a bullet lodged itself near the center of the target that rested on the other side of the room.

The blue-haired girl tossed the gun a bit carelessly onto the table before she turned around to face the wall of students. A smirk seemed to find its way onto her face and she gave quite the dramatic bow.

During this movement, Max kept her gaze on her, the gears working within her head to try and figure out who exactly this person was and why they looked so familiar. She hadn't realized she had been staring until the girl stopped in front of her and cast Max quite the smug look, "What do you want?"

The tone sounded like a playful tease, however, the words struck something within Max, and she fought to keep her composure - though she no doubt looked surprised by the fact she had been noticed.

"N-no, just, wowser. You sure know how to handle a gun," Max said, biting her lower lip a little as a bit of a nervous tick she held, and she crossed an arm over her chest, hugging the other to her side.

The girl was about to respond, however, a sharp ringing cut through the air - the bell, signalling that it was time to transition to the next class. Max took this opportunity to grab Kate's arm and pull her along, ducking her head and turning away from the blue-haired punk.

"What the fuck do you want?"

The broken voice she recalled hearing so many years ago replayed within her head, and the images of a girl with blonde-hair in quite the mess played before her eyes. It seemed to finally click. Was that the human that she saved so many years ago?

"Max, I think you're cutting off the blood circulation in my arm," a worried voice rose from Kate behind her as Max continued hurrying down the hallway, and she finally realized her mistakes and an embarrassed feeling budded within her.

Letting go of Kate's arm, Max glanced around nervously before stepping closer to the lockers to avoid the students going down the hallways to their next class.

"Max, are you alright?" the timid girl asked, though Max simply offered a small smile and shook her head. And, in order to avoid any further confrontation, she began to walk away. This would at least silence things until after photography, since Kate had the same class as her still - but her locker was in another area.

Aside from the fact everyone was supposed to learn gun control, and fighting in general, the academy offered additional courses.

In Max's case she would be heading to the photography room next after a stop at her locker, where she would retrieve her journal, textbook, and camera (she didn't want to risk the precious item getting damaged in the training room).

Once she reached her locker, it didn't take long to retrieve her items, and Max went ahead to her next class. When she reached the room, she was aware of the fact that the teacher wasn't currently present. However, the door was wide open and students were filing within, so she decided to take her place.

When she stepped into the room, she began to examine her surroundings with curiosity. It was a decent sized classroom, different photographs hung on the walls, newspaper articles cut out and framed, a TV, teacher's desk… usual classroom stuff, really.

Noticing a desk open in the back of the room, the shifter took no hesitation in hurrying over. Pulling the chair out, she sunk into the seat with a pleasant sigh and placed her items on her desk. This is my swamp now, she thought to herself, a grin daring to show on her lips at the thought of the quite horrid meme that spread across the internet.

It didn't take long for the bell to ring, and Max was quite relieved that her table was empty. She took this as a chance to take in her surroundings. Kate had - in fact - come to class, and was sitting at the table to her right, glancing at Max worriedly before moving her gaze to the windows once she had been found out.

To her left was another table filled with two girls. They seemed to be whispering and giggling every once in awhile. One of the girls had a pixie cut, her hair looking quite unnaturally blonde, while the other had longer, more believable blonde hair. They both wore clothes that looked at if they had just walked right off the catwalk and into the classroom, and Max had to hold back a snort.

She took in the view of another few students before sitting back in her chair and rubbing her eyes, a tired sigh escaping her lips. A few minutes had passed, and the teacher had yet to come into the classroom.

Instead, an older man soon appeared. He wore a gray suit, his head held no hair, and wrinkles that covered his face gave away his age - unless he got those from stress rather than age, really.

"Sorry, class. I understand that this is your first day here, but unfortunately, Mr. Smith won't be here to accompany you," his voice was powerful, though something about it set Max on edge, and it made her squirm uncomfortably in her seat, "He had a… hunting accident this weekend and is currently in critical condition. Until further news if given, this class will become a study period, and I will keep watch. And for those of you who are curious, I am Principle Wells."

Without any further words towards the confused students, Principle Wells sat down behind the desk, and seemed to be getting comfortable. Any conversation that had ceased prior to him talking now continued, a bit louder than before.

Wowsers, so much for being able to get ready for action with my camera, Max thought to herself, giving a sigh. Her mind began to drift to the blue-haired girl from the previous period… or, really, woman, considering she was probably around the same age as Max, 26 or so.

But… now she knew exactly who this was. The human she'd saved those many years ago… It wasn't exactly the looks that gave her away, no - she looked far different than what Max remembered - but her eyes, her voice… It sent shivers down her spine, memories running through her head.

"...ax..."

The look in her eyes when Max had gone to lead her back to safety, the pure anguish and anger that hid behind them.

"Max?"

The sounds of the girl leaving Max on the edge of the woods, though she could've sworn she heard her starting to sob as she began to melt into the city, and Max retreated-

"Max!"

The sound of Kate whispering quite harshly to her to get her attention finally managed to break the barrier of Max's thoughts, and the woman looked up to meet the other's gaze. Kate had moved closer and was sitting in a chair across from Max. How Max didn't manage to notice that, she wasn't sure.

"Y-yea?" Max replied, quite embarrassed.

"What happened earlier?"

Though Kate could be quite the shy nugget - as Max liked to call her after seeing a Tumblr post that fit her quite well - she could also sometimes be a little intimidating if she wanted to know something. Though it was quite the rare thing to happen, and when it did it caught Max quite off guard.

Max contemplated telling Kate the truth with people so close by, but if anything, she could somehow make it seem like a normal thing… and Kate seemed like she wasn't ready to let Max off the hook so easily.

"It was her, Kate," the brunette responded, her voice coming out a bit harsher than intended, and she gave a bit of a frustrated sigh upon seeing Kate's surprised expression at her tone of voice, "You know…" she urged, hoping to get Kate's memory to click.

The expressions on Kate's face changed slowly, from one of pure confusion, to one of thought, and finally to one of recognition. But she stayed silent.

God, this was quite bad. Really, she just… it wasn't something she could even comprehend. She was stuck in school with a human she saved 10 years ago after being partially responsible for the death of her father. Not only that, it looked like she went total Kylo Ren or some shit.

"I just wanna get through the day. Short classes because it's all just introductions, and then go to the apartment and crash…" she complained, the brunette putting her head on the table and letting out a groan of frustration.

The next class would be a switch to fight class. While the first half of the day was dedicated to gun control/training, and the elective of your choice, the second half was physical work, lunch, and then - finally - freedom.

She heard Kate let out the smallest of giggles at Max's reaction, and the brunette lifted her gaze and quirked a brow. Kate was normally very shy, quiet, and kept to herself - especially out in public like this - but in private, even she could be a little outgoing. Though to see Kate even a little bubbly out in public was quite amusing.

Max flipped the girl off with a teasing grin on her face before placing her head back down on the table, "Man, I hate school. It sucks. I just want to sleep for 40 years, to be completely honest," the shifter complained.

However, Kate simply ignored her in a way that told Max she wasn't going to really deal with her complaining. Not in a rude way, but yea, Max had been complaining a lot more since they were told they would be going to Blackwell Academy.

For the next half-hour or so, small-talk did manage to continue until the bell rang, and Max stood up from her seat. She watched Kate retreat to go get her own things as Max began to pack her stuff quickly. The Blackwell Dojo - as Max liked to call it - was in another building entirely, and it was going to take a few minutes to get there, and she didn't want to be late on the first day.

As soon as the two were out of the classroom, they made their way through the sea of students and out onto the campus grounds. A comfortable silence was between the two as they walked to their destination, however, that soon broke when Max spotted the blue-haired Kylo Ren from earlier.

"Oh, Dog," Max grumbled to herself, quite uneasy.

She hesitated in her movements for a moment, causing Kate to glance back a bit worriedly, before Max quickly moved to catch up. The doors to what looked like a massive gym were propped open, and the scents of all the students that were mingling within made her a tad dizzy.

While she had gotten used to living in huge populations, she couldn't really help it. Sometimes these things were a little overwhelming.

Max was a bit surprised to see Mr. Madsen pacing around the center of the gym with a clipboard in hand. She didn't really expect to have him as the same teacher for this class, but in a way, it kinda relieved her of anxiety.

At least she would only have to get to really know two teachers throughout her time here… Whenever that replacement one came for photography, anyway.

Noticing that the crowd of people were either hovering around the front of the bleachers talking, or sitting amongst them, Max set her backpack against the wall alongside the mass of others. She was thankful that Kate was sticking near, so at least she wouldn't be alone with somebody she didn't know, and she began to make her way towards the bleachers.

Climbing up the metal steps until she reached the row just before the very top, Max sat down on the edge, and Kate sat down across the steps on the other side.

The brunette simply began to examine the bustle of students below. At times like these, she was simply spaced out, wondering what exactly had been happening these past few years. She'd gone from living the life of a wolf, to that of a semi-normal human… minus the forced shifts that came on occasion when she wasn't able to make it back to Kate's parents' house for the weekends.

What snapped her out of attention was a high-pitched noises of a whistle, causing Max to flinch somewhat in surprise.

"Alright class!" Madsen snapped, raising his voice to catch the attention of the horde of students talking in front of the bleachers, "take your seats within the bleachers. I'm going to be partnering up each of you with another student in this class, and continue on from there."

He didn't continue speaking until everyone was seated and at least a little bit quiet, to which he finally raised his clipboard, cleared his throat, and began to read off names.

About 99% of the names Max didn't recognize, until Kate's name came up. She was paired with somebody named Victoria Chase, and Max didn't bother scanning the crowd to look for who this Chase person was, because she knew her name was coming up next.

"Max Marsh* will be paired this year with… Chloe Price," the way he spoke the girl's name set Max on edge for a moment, and she didn't know why until a blue-haired woman stood up and pulled a beanie onto her head proudly. Great! Just when she thought she might somehow be rid of this walking memory!

Max watched nervously as Chloe came sauntering up the steps, and once the other woman caught notice of Max's staring, she only wiggled her eyebrows, causing Max to snap her gaze away and turn a bright red shade.

In the end, that didn't help either, since Chloe decided to sit down in Max's view and flash her quite the bold grin.

"Y'know, I have quite the hella good gaydar built inside me, and right now, it's off the rocker. Good thing you're paired with me," her grin only continued to grow, and Max continued to only give her a shocked look.

"Are you cereal right now?" Max asked, her stunned look mixed with complete confusion and even a bit of repulsion when she recalled the disgusting scent that lingered around her, "oh my Dog, don't hit on me," she stated, turning away in quite the mess and looking back down at Mr. Madsen.

Was this chick she literally just met hitting on her? Maybe she just didn't have any filter, liked to start up trouble, all that jazz...

If anything, god, she knew this was going to be one hell of an adventure.

*since she was adopted into Kate's family she will have Kate's last name