Chapter 2

Sophia's POV. 

      I knew Alpha Dave wasn't to be trusted. There was just something that seemed false about his smile and now I knew what it was.

    He has a plan. Well, I'd just have to be smarter.

"Sophia, Sophia" Alpha Dave called out.

    What did he want? Is this part of his plan to make me stay here?

  "Isn't Sophia there?" He shouted from the living room.

   "Yes sir, I'm here " I shouted .

"I thought you were leaving for the institution today?" He asked Miranda behind him. 

"Alpha Dave, I'm a bit tired, I feel a little under the weather too, so I'd just wait till tomorrow" I answered. 

"You'd wait till tomorrow He asked again.

"Yes sir, I'd prefer it if I go tomorrow" I responded. 

"No you can't, you have to go today" he shouted.

"S...sir, Alpha Baron always told me it's good to begin a journey in the morning, it brings you good luck" I responded. 

"Well Alpha Baron is dead now, you have to learn to live with my rules!!" His voice was now stern.

"I'm sorry sir... I'm just finding it a bit hard to leave the pack" I begged. 

"Your absence doesn't change anything. It's not like you mattered even when you were here, you can't shift, so you're useless .

"I...

"Just get out of my sight and you'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, no more excuses," he said .

"Thank you, sir," I said, leaving his presence. 

       If Alpha Dave and Miranda had anything planned for me, I was going to know what it was tonight, or if it was anything he had planned on my way, I'd be safe if I went tomorrow morning.

*********

     The next morning came faster than I expected it to, maybe because I wasn't sleeping, I was up through the night, thinking and pondering on what Alpha Dave had planned.

    Today was the day, it was the day I'd finally leave the pack, I'd finally see less of Miranda and her friends, and I'd finally stop getting bullied about how different I was from the rest of the pack.

    My bag, packed with everything I own, a few clothes, a small jotter where I had once planned strategies with Alpha Baron and most importantly, my acceptance Letter into the Prestigious Institution Of Wolves. This letter was prove that I wasn't the weak shiftless wolf the whole pack saw me as. I was more than that, and this was my chance to prove it, to prove it to all .

    "This is your chance, Sophia, this is your chance to prove that you're more, don't let them take that from you, " I told myself as I looked into my old mirror. 

    "Where's she" I heard Alpha Dave's voice as he approached my room. "Sophia....aren't you ready to go yet" he continued. 

     "M..morning sir, I'm ready to go now " I stammered. 

     "Leave now. As you go there now don't fail , you can't afford to be more useless than this" Alpha Dave said, seeing me out.

     "Thank you, sir," I said leaving the house.

I wish Alpha Baron was alive to see this day, his big girl as he always called me was going to the Prestigious Institution Of Wolves. A dream I had and knew only because of him.

    If he were here right now, the last thing he'd say as I left the house is.

    "No matter how bad it gets, no matter how bad things could be, remember you can always come home".

     The pack felt oddly quieter than it usually is, probably because it was still morning and most people were still in their houses. But what better time to leave than now?

       It almost didn't feel real, in a few hours, the forest, the pack, the mockery, shame and the constant bullying would all be behind me soon, and then it would be a new start.

*********

         I was about to begin my journey, it was supposed to be a three-hour journey, but what if Alpha Dave had something planned on the way for me?

    I'd take the forest path, that way, he wouldn't be able to get me. No matter what he had planned, nothing was going to stop me.

     My heart felt lighter with each step I took away from the pack. I was more excited because I'd prepared for this all my life, but somehow, I still did not know exactly how to react now that it finally came.

    What would the academy be like? Would I make friends? Would my classmates respect my intelligence? Or would they be like Miranda and her friends? 

    " Let's not get too ahead of ourselves now Sophia, you still have one more test to do" I whispered to myself.

     I kept thinking of how good the academy would be when I heard the sound. The sound was familiar.. a stick had broken.

   But it wasn't summer yet, so breaking of sticks or twigs shouldn't be common. My hands began to shiver. 

     "Hello?" I called out, hoping no one would answer.

   No one answered, but it seemed oddly different. 

 The forest then seemed oddly quiet, more quite than it normally was.

    I walked faster ahead, praying nothing happened on my way.

*********

    I still felt like I was being watched like someone was waiting patiently in the bushes, ready to attack at any moment. My hands became sweaty and shaky.

   "Stay calm Sophia, you're just being paranoid " I tried convincing myself.

     But then, there was something in the trees, it seemed like a shadow, but I was sure it wasn't an animal. 

This figure was too fast to be an animal. My heart dropped as my grip on my bag tightened. I didn't know what next to do. The only thing my mind could say was RUN!

    Before I could run, a hand grabbed me from behind, holding me so tightly, as another hand covered my mouth. I tried my best to scream, but no one could hear me, not especially in the thick forest.

   "Got her" I heard a masculine voice behind my ear.

    Another figure came out from the shadows.

"Well well if it isn't the shifless wolf" both masked men laughed.

     "Shiftless Wolf" I knew they were from Alpha Dave and Miranda.  

     I tried to break free, but it only made his grip tighten.

       The other masked man stepped closer and pulled my bag from my shoulder. He scattered it, it was like they were looking for something.

      "Found it," he said, holding up my acceptance Letter.

      "Perfect," the man covering my mouth said, a huge smirk was now on his face. "Miranda's going to love this".

     I knew this had something to do with Miranda, I just knew it. I knew she felt bad that I got picked into the institution and she wasn't picked.

   "You're not taking that from me!" I shouted, could hardly be heard because of the hand still covering my mouth.

   "Oh, we already have," one of the masked men said, as they both laughed callously. 

     I always knew Miranda was a bully and she was unfair, but this? This was just being cruel. I wasn't going to allow this to stop me. I'm going to make it to the institution no matter what. I needed to do something, and I needed to do it fast.

   I bit the hand that covered my mouth as hard as I could, and with that as a distraction, I made my way out of his grip and ran as fast as I could into the forest.

     As I kept running, I could feel the harsh whip of branches and twigs against my arms and legs. With each step I took, the voices of my pursuers grew fainter and fainter.

       I spotted a small cabin among the trees. It was my chance. I quickly ran inside the old cabin and slammed the door as fast as I could. 

   I pressed my whole body on the door, my chest beating as fast as it could go. I looked through the room and saw a rusty knife laying on the table.

   I quickly grabbed it, my fingers sweaty and shaky as I gripped the handle.

      "She couldn't have gone far" I heard the voices of the men around the house .

       These men weren't ready to let me be. I looked through the room and saw a rusty old floorboard.

   I opened it, and hid under it, holding the knife tightly to my chest.

    I heard the door open, and the sounds of heavy footsteps as it approached me.

   "She's not here" I heard one of the men say after a while.

   "Then she headed to the academy" the other replied. Let's go.

       I didn't move an inch until I heard the last of the footsteps. My body was pale, my heart racing, as I crawled out from under the floorboard. If they couldn't find me in the academy, they were sure to come back, I have to leave here, and I have to leave now.

   

***********

       I looked up ahead and could already see the gates of the Prestigious Institution Of Wolves. The structure was tall, with carvings of wolves at the entrance. My racing heart felt relieved as I saw the gate.

     Miranda!!

What was Miranda doing here? She's holding my acceptance Letter, dressed in a long dress.

    "Good day sirs, I'm Sophia Clarks " I heard her say, giving the guards my acceptance Letter. 

     My fists clutched, and my jaw tightened. 

How would Miranda be so cruel?

   No I couldn't let this happen, I wouldn't let her win.

"Wait" I shouted. "That letter is mine"

     Mi

randa turned immediately, her expression filled with shock and surprise.

   "You?" She shouted. "You shouldn't be here!!"

"Neither should you" I replied.