Chapter one ~ Pilot

There were times when life feels like a cruel lie, like there is some sort of sinister, evil force constantly out to get you and make your entire existence feel like a living hell. And then there were times when you discover your life is actually a cruel lie, and there are, in fact, twisted, immortal beings maliciously plotting plans to torment you in any way they possibly can.

I know it may seem a little dark, however for some very unfortunate people, like me, this sad little fate is a reality.

The name's Aleksander Wolfe. Or, more commonly, Alex. Up until a few months ago, I didn't have a last name.

See, I was abandoned approximately six weeks after I was born. According to my guardian, some travellers found me crying on the edge of a forest one night and called child protective services to take me in. After running some DNA tests, they discovered I had no living relatives and neither my mother or father had been recorded in their data collection.

That left me with two possible conclusions - either my parents lived off the radar their entire lives before they decided they didn't want me and gave me up, or I'm the spouse of some freaky aliens from another planet.

Sometimes, I seriously wish it was the second option.

Since practically the day I was born, I had been a resident at St Agnes' Orphanage off the coast of Long Isand. It wasn't the best place, but certainly not the worst. The area wasn't that popular, a kid getting adopted maybe once in a couple of months.

I resided there up until the age of eleven. A mysterious man under the name Atticus Wolfe suddenly showed up, whisked me away from my lonely, boring life at St Agnes, and then literally shipped me off to a boarding school in Manhatten.

Atticus Wolfe was a young-ish man. He was tall, a little over six feet, with golden brown hair and a neatly trimmed brown beard. We had only had one proper conversation, that being the day he met me, which I found a little odd.

Usually, if anyone was looking to adopt a child, they would have scheduled meets with them frequently and it normally took a while for the kid to actually go home with them. Not to mention all of the paperwork that he would have had to complete on top of that.

Either way, no one else seemed bothered. In the holdiays, I live with Atticus in his bland Los Angeles Mansion, although most of the time, he's busy with work. During the school year, I inhabit a small dorm in Redwood Academy for troubled kids.

Redwood wasn't exactly far from luxury. It was a big place, the campus stretching across acres and of acres of land. The school building was in a sort of horseshoe shape with a large forest stretching across the right side and the left bordered by a lake.

This is where my story starts. September first. A fresh, dull school adventure just about to start. As I mentioned previously, Atticus adopted me a few months ago, back when I was eleven. I started Redwood sometime mid-July, and I have to say, the school sucks.

Now, I don't just mean obnoxious teachers and difficult school bullies. Everyone, literally everyone, came from a wealthy background with important and famous parents.

And you know what wealthy parents mean. It means they had their kids sent to the best schools there were, leaving me sitting in a class full of twelve and thirteen-year-old Einsteins.

To make matters worse, I turned twelve yesterday. That meant I suffered another lonely, depressing little birthday locked up in the mansion alone while my so-called guardian ran around doing who knows what.

Given all of that, I was not in the best of moods as I lugged my suitcase through the school gates in that early September morning. Yawning, I stopped at the front of the school, staring up at the insufferable red banner that read, 'Welcome back, students! We look forward to another adventure with our explorers!'

Did I mention Redwood had a knack for cringey school mottos?

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. Turning back to glance at the sleek black hummer that had dropped me off, I watched the butler, Alfred, retreating into the vehicle and driving off. That's right, Atticus didn't even have the tact to see me off himself. Don't worry, it's not like I need another adult storming out of my life.

The autumn breeze lapped at my hair as I continued my journey into the school. Campus was split into multiple buildings. The left of the school was dedicated to the preschoolers and nursery kids, while the right was for the older kids, like me.

Each grade was in a separate building, and for the unlucky kids who had the pleasure of staying at the school overnight, the dormitory building was right on the end, closest to the forest.

I was certain that made it easier to sneak out, possibly even run away, although it didn't seem like anyone had tried. Sucks for them.

Stepping inside, my whole body melted at the sudden warmth. The Halloween decorations were already being put up, despite October being a whole month away. I hauled my suitcase into reception, signing myself in and heading towards the dorm building.

A grimace passed over my face as I stepped outside once again. I wasn't sure why, but everything seemed to be feeling a little strange this school year. First, it was that dream, then that mysterious figure that had been following -

"Stop that,'' I mentally scolded myself. "Don't even think about it anymore."

A shiver passed down my spine. It had been only three days since I had woken up to the scare of my lifetime - me laying beaten up and bruised in the middle of a forest with a strange man standing over me. Not to mention the bone-chilling dream I had last night about a woman with vampire teeth chasing me down Montauk beach.

I was shaken out of my daze once I reached my dorm room. F28, male side. The dormitories were yet again sectioned by grade - the higher you are, the older you are. Each floor was split into male side and female side, neither allowed in the other's section unless you wanted a serious scolding from the principal and a month sleeping nextdoor to Mr Grayson, the single, most terrifying teacher in the school.

The dude was six feet seven, which should have been the first red flag. His hair was platinum blonde, long enough to be plaited twenty-four seven as if he was some sort of Viking. And his walking stick, which I was ninety-nine percent sure he didn't need, had the head of a serpant engraved at the top. He had an accent, too. It was hard to place - Russian, maybe?

I couldn't tell you.

Fumbling with the keys for a few seconds, I finally managed to open the door. My roommate, Rhys Finnick, was already inside, back turned on me as he unpacked his bag. Rhys was one of the few, if not only, toleratable people in this asylum. He, like me, felt like an outsider in this place of misery.

Rhys looked up as I closed the door. His curly hair had grown since I last saw him, and his normally dark skin had gotten darker since the summer. Rhys was this mixed race kid from Minnesota, living with his dad whenever he wasn't trapped here with me.

"Hey man," he greeted, shoving his empty suitcase under his bed. ''Have a good summer?"

Shrugging off my backpack, I began loading my clothes into my side of the wardrobe. ''It was alright," I told him. "Snuck out a couple nights to explore the forest. What about you?"

"Went camping all August with my dad." Rhys answered nonchalantly. "Almost torched down the forest, actually," he paused, glancing up at the ceiling before shrugging. "Fire got out of hand ... I think. Can't really remember."

My hand hovered above my bag. I turned around, and every hint of friendliness wiped off my face instantly. I stared at him, silver eyes deadly serious. ''When did this happen, again?

Rhys's frown deepened. "A couple of days ago." He cleared his throat. "Look, man, I don't have the best memory, and my brain's been foggy for a while now, so I can't - "

"Three days ago," I said quietly. Rhys blinked in confusion. "It happened three days ago. August twenty-ninth." I repeated, a little louder. Taking a step forward, I stared into his orange-brown eyes. "Didn't it? Didn't it?!"

My mouth went dry. I involuntarily took a step back, not realising until now how close I had gotten to him. An apology was already on my lips, however Rhys seemed surprisingly distracted.

"You're eyes," he breathed out, his own wide and staring at me like I had grown a second head.I swallowed.

"What do you mean?" It must have come out harsher than I meant it, which made me feel a little bad, however I always got defensive when someone mentioned my eyes. I didn't need any more reminders that they made me even more of a freak than I already was.

Rhys shook his head. "No-no, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, for a split second, they changed colour. Your eyes went green."

A frown settled on my lips. Green? "It must have been the lighting," I suggested quickly, although we both knew it was something else. Something much more serious. A tense silence settled in the room, only broken once the first bell rang signalling that class was starting soon.

I left my half-unpacked suitcase on my bed, walking the long way to class. All I could think about was how something was seriously going wrong this year. And I had a strange feeling I was about to find out what.

《》

"Take out your copies of 'Lord of the Flies'," Mr Grayson announced, stalking around the room with his hands folded behind his back, occasionally slapping his cane on some poor student's desk. "It would be beneficial to reread the last chapter if you wish to be successful in your book review. I believe the last time you even thought about reading a book was July."

I rested my head on my hand as I internally fought against my will, ever so tempted to daydream out of the window instead of reading the book. It was cruel to force me to sit an hour of English first thing on a Monday morning, especially when I couldn't remember the first thing about the stupid book we were reading.

Sometimes, I didn't think teachers remembered I could barely read, let alone write a book review about something I'd seen two whole months ago

.A yawn escaped my lips, and I remembered how tired I was. I had barely slept last night, too busy staring out the window, asking whoever I thought was listening why I always appear to be alone all the time, especially on my birthday.

My whole body jolted forward as Mr Grayson slammed his cane down on my desk. His snow-like hair drifted down before my eyes as he leant down to study me intently.

"Bored, are we, Mr Wolfe?" I tried swallowing the lump in the back of my throat as every head in the room turned to stare at me. Mr Grayson pretended to check his watch. "It's barely five minutes into the lesson, and you're already half asleep. Did your parents ever teach you manners?"

Gritting my teeth, I spat out an apology, trying to cool my head as a flare of anger jostled through me. I had envisions of yanking Mr Grayson forward by his receding hairline and seeing if he could still run his mouth while I launch him out the window. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

I opened the book to the final chapter, trying my hardest to focus on the words on the page. That's when I first heard it - the faint, raspy male voice.

Aleksander.

My head snapped up. I frantically scanned the whole room, trying to see who had called my name. But the strange thing was, nobody seemed to have moved.

Was I imagining things? Reluctantly, I reopened the book, sucking in a deep breath as I struggled to keep track of the storyline. Was I that sleep deprived that I was hallucinating?

Aleksander Wolf.

I slammed my copy of 'Lord of the Flies' on the table. Now I was pretty much certain that I had heard a voice. Yet again, no one seemed to have opened their mouth.

Taking a calming breath, I ran my hand through my hair. My eyes searched the room again, double-checking I wasn't missing anything. Mr Grayson shot me a perplexed look.

"Mr Wolfe, it would help if you actually looked at the book if you wanted to read it - .. "

I zoned out whatever the douche was saying, my eyes travelling to the window next to me. The voice seemed to get louder, more desperate.

Save us! You've got to save us!

The male voice had combined with a female voice now, both of them begging at me in unison. Flickers of that man in the forest popped back in my head. I still remembered his burning gaze full of hatred, staring down at me like I had just slapped him in the face.

The male voice - it was his. I wasn't sure how I knew, and I wouldn't have been able to tell you if you asked. I hadn't even heard him speak that day. The second my eyes opened, he had glared at me and sprinted off.

But still, I was ninety-nine percent certain it was his. I didn't even know his name, or how I ended up with him on August twenty-eighth, and now he and someone else was begging for help?

My hands clamped over my ears as the voices got louder. My head spun. I felt a sharp pain in my head, like someone was slapping up my braincells with a baseball bat.

Get up! Save us! Stop waiting! We don't have much longer left before -

"MR WOLFE!"

I shot to my feet. Ignoring Mr Grayson screaming at me and the baffled expressions of my classmates, I stumbled to the front of the class, pushing off desks to keep myself upright.

My body felt completely drained, as if I had just run a marathon. I practically exploded into the hallway, speeding down the corridors with no exact destination in mind.

Find us! You have to! You are our saviour - child of the m -

"Alex?"

I froze. Slowly, I unclasped my hands from my ears and looked up, taking in my surroundings. I ended up on the landing of the English staircase, stood in front of the large window that overlooked the forest.

My gaze turned to the person that had called my name, stopping short when I met Rhys's warm eyes. A flush of relief washed over me. Before I could ask what Rhys was doing here, someone else beat me to it.

''What are you guys doing out of class?"

Ever so slowly, I turned my head to the side to glare at the approaching girl. Serenity Quinton-Slater. She had dark skin and dark curly hair, and she had this infamous death glare whenever she was about to pummel someone into the nurses office. She's quiet in class, getting almost full marks in every test, and seems pretty harmless until you get on her bad side. Then, she'd absolutely batter you.

In other words, my arch nemesis since I could walk. We both resided at St Agnes' until Ms Quinton and Mr Slater came looking to adopt in January this year. The option was between me - a dyslexic idiot that can't reach above a grade D, and her - an intelligent, drop-dead gorgeous straight A student.

I guess you can tell who got chosen.

And man, did I have the shock of my lifetime when I walked into maths in July to see her staring right back at me. I rolled my eyes at her. "Could ask you the same thing."

"Unlike you, I can afford to miss two minutes to go to the bathroom. Your grades are already low enough."

Before I could retort back and say some things that I would most likely regret later, Rhys put a hand on both of our shoulders. ''Cool it, you two. There is no need for this now." He paused. "Or any time, actually."

FIND US, the voice screeched.

I groaned, clutching my ears. Serenity and Rhys turned to me in confusion. ''Alex?" Rhys asked tentatively. "You good?"

THERES NO TIME! WE'LL BE DEAD BY THE SUMMER SOLSTICE!

Summer solstice? We'd just had a summer solstice. The next one was next year. A frown settled on my face. I was pretty sure the voices were acting a little too dramatic if they weren't in danger of dying until next year.

Apparently, the voices didn't seem to like my mental thoughts. That was proven correct by a sudden exclamation of, 'HURRY UP!' echoed through my head.

"What do you mean?!" I snapped back mentally. "How do you expect me to save you if I don't know where you are? Hell, I don't even know who you are! How are we even communicating?"

Neither of the voices answered.

Serenity's head appeared in my vision. I suddenly stepped back. "What ..?" I realised I must have completely blanked them out. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"Forget about it," she muttered. "What are you guys doing anyways? Why are you just standing here?"

Rhys hesitated. "I just ... I dunno. I felt this sudden urge to come here, didn't even know where my feet were taking me until I just stopped here. And then I saw Alex ... "

They both turned to me questioningly. But before I could even think of a believable answer, my head automatically turned to the left to stare out the window.

My eyes burned. Suddenly, I wasn't just looking at the edge of the forest. My gaze seemed to journey further into the trees, past a lone stag drinking in the lake, past a hummingbird perched on a tree branch, past a little family of squirells burrowing their nuts into the ground.

I froze.

Red eyes. Blood red eyes staring right at me. The shadow was large. It was hairy, fur pitch black. It sat back on its haunches on the rock, cocking its head to the side as if realising that I could see it.

A bone-chilling growl erupted from its mouth. Two more figures popped up behind it - completely identical except their eyes were a different colour. Orange. And I was willing to bet the red-eyed one was the alpha.

RUN PUP!' The male voice hollered in my head. 'THEY'RE AFTER YOU!'

The alpha tilted its head up to the sky, snuffling in a large amount of oxygen. Then it pounced. The three wolf-like creatures took of running. And somehow, I knew they were heading straight towards the school. Straight towards me.

My blood ran cold.

"RUN!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I took off in a sprint back down the stairs, and I could only pray the others were following me.