Am I the prey?

Because of the two lovebirds earlier, I had to cancel my intention to spend a long time in the pool area.

I shuddered in disgust as I imagined what they were doing there.

Oh God, could the pool water be contaminated by them? I couldn't imagine swimming in the pool water they had used. Instantly, a feeling of nausea swept over me.

"Are you hungry?" Jeni asked, still faithfully following my steps.

"Not really, maybe I need an isotonic drink." I replied, because that's what I needed right now. My body's fluid levels had decreased drastically after witnessing that steamy scene. Oh darn, I was thinking about that disgusting thing again.

"In that case, let's go to the cafeteria." Jeni suggested, pulling my hand once more.

"Wait, Jen, could you please take me to the swimming club room first? I'm not very familiar with all the locations here, and unfortunately, I left my map in the classroom earlier." I asked for her help, hoping she would agree, since Jeni was the only person I could talk to on my first day at NYHS.

"Sure, I'll take you there." I guessed she would be willing to help.

I walked alongside Jeni, trying to remember the way. It turned out that the swimming club room was passed through the library. I wanted to enter, but I couldn't bear to make Jeni even hungrier.

Maybe I could visit the library tomorrow.

Jeni stopped in her tracks, and I followed suit.

"Why?" I asked, puzzled by the direction of Jeni's gaze, which seemed confused.

"I just remembered, Maudy won't be coming to school for a few days," she answered, making me raise both my eyebrows. Maudy? Who was she, and what did she have to do with the club?

"And then?"

"She's the head of the swimming club, and she's my cousin." she answered, finally helping me understand.

"We can ask the vice president or other members about it, right?"

"No, when it comes to new members, Maudy doesn't want others to get involved." Jeni replied, making me slightly disappointed because I really wanted to join the club quickly so that I could swim to my heart's content there.

"Don't worry, Maudy will like you, and you'll definitely be accepted right away." Jeni continued, making me nod again.

And now, I was really thirsty. Why did NYHS have to be this vast? It took me ten minutes to walk from the club room to the cafeteria.

"What drink would you like?" Jeni asked when we arrived at the cafeteria, and I immediately took a seat in an empty chair. My legs were really sore; I would soak them in warm water when I got home from school. Yeah, that was a good idea.

"I think I'm hungry this time." I whispered with a smile.

"Okay, then. Just wait, and I'll pick out food and drinks for you." Jeni said, then grabbed the red tray available in the pantry area.

I slightly leaned forward to massage my calves and ankles. Why were they so sore? Have I been inactive? Yeah, I guess so. I'm not too fond of exercising, like running or going to the gym, but swimming isn't bad either. Maybe because it's in the water, I never feel tired at all. Ah, I don't know.

I glanced around the cafeteria, looking for Jeni. She was taking quite a while, and I really needed a drink. I was about to stand up from my seat when my body froze as I realized who had just entered the cafeteria.

Why did my legs suddenly feel so heavy? I remained seated, staring at the guy with his hazel eyes. He walked followed by a few people behind him. Wait, the girl, I still vividly remembered who that girl was.

My brain worked twice as fast, and now I understood. So, the two lovebirds in the pool were actually him, the werewolf guy, with the girl who had casually hung on his arm. It was evident from their slightly damp hair.

"Where are you going?" Jeni's voice snapped me back to reality, and I looked in her direction. She was now standing in front of the table with a tray of food and drinks.

"Oh, I was just looking for you." I answered, then turned my gaze back towards the group of werewolf guys who had taken seats at a large round table in the middle of the cafeteria. I furrowed my brows in confusion. That table seemed different from the rest, and I had only realized it when I saw that the other tables were square and not as large, while the round, big table was positioned in the center of the cafeteria.

"What are you looking at?" Once again, Jeni redirected my focus towards her, handing me a bottle of isotonic drink.

"Who's he?" I asked, curious.

"Who?" Jeni asked, following my gaze now.

"The one sitting with the girl on his lap," I inquired again.

"He's a werewolf."

"Seriously?"

"I've never been more serious."

"I don't see fur, tail, or fangs on him," I said, although I had initially considered him to be like a werewolf.

"Come on, you need to be his target first to see the wolf in him."

"Target? Prey?"

"Yes, and I don't recommend it. Don't ever get close to him. Maintain a minimum distance of two meters, or he'll truly mark you."

I blinked a few times, trying to gather my thoughts that had drifted far away to the previous day. Minimum distance of two meters.

I smacked my forehead, feeling completely resigned to being marked.

"Are you okay?" Jeni asked, noticing my silly behavior. And the answer was no, I wasn't okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you call him a werewolf?" I was curious about the nickname Jeni gave him, which was exactly the same as the one I had imagined. This meant I wasn't alone in thinking of him as a werewolf.

Jeni struggled to swallow her sandwich before sipping the water in front of her, then answered my question, which I was eagerly waiting for.

"Because he does resemble a werewolf. Not that I mean he's literally a werewolf." Jeni explained, confusing me even more.

"He's Alpha Gray Wolfin. You know what I mean." Jeni asked, and I quickly nodded, understanding the name. Even the name of a gray wolf seemed to fit his grayish eye color and his wolf companion.

"And you must know that just by his name, we can already guess that he's the leader of the other werewolves." Jeni clarified, causing me to once again look at the round table in front of me. I tilted my head slightly, as Jeni's position blocked part of my view.

"So, why are they sitting there?" I asked again, my curiosity skyrocketing when it came to discussing the werewolf guy.

"That's their spot, they even have a room that serves as some sort of headquarters for their gang." I became even more curious about who they really were.

"Who are they, actually?"

"What's certain is that they hold higher positions than us, they have power in their hands, so they can easily get away with causing trouble."

"Causing trouble, they?"

"Yes, they do. One of them even got caught with drugs and had a sex party, but they managed to get away with it." I covered my wide-open mouth in shock. I was prepared for the Western lifestyle in this area before I actually made the decision to move to New York, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

"And Gray's intervention always saves them." Jeni continued. Oh, so his nickname is Gray. I grew more curious and tried to sneak another peek at them. I was genuinely taken aback when the werewolf guy named Gray was passionately kissing the girl in his lap.

What kind of school did I enter? I inwardly grimaced.

But I was even more shocked when his sharp gray eyes locked onto Jeni's direction—no, more precisely, at me. He was staring right at me, and he immediately broke off the kiss.

Stupidly, I remained frozen, meeting his gaze. As he rose from his seat and walked towards me, my heart pounded in my chest.

"Jen, I have to go, my class is about to start." I said hastily, attempting to run before Gray reached our table.

"Your food, Aurel!" Jeni shouted.

"Just for you." I replied, then took a thousand steps to exit the cafeteria.