Not Yours Anymore, Alpha

The doctor told me I was lucky to be alive.

A pack of wild wolves had mauled me in the woods behind the district boundary, tearing into my flesh until I fell into a three-week coma. But when I finally opened my eyes, I lost my memory.

I forgot everything in my life.

Today was my first day back at Crestview High.

I barely made it past the iron archway of the front courtyard when three girls stepped directly into my path.

The girl in the middle crossed her arms. She wore a tailored leather jacket, her blonde ponytail swinging over one shoulder. The two girls flanking her wore matching sneers.

"Well, well," the blonde said, her voice grating. "Look what crawled out of the morgue."

I stopped, adjusting the strap of my canvas bag.

"I heard the wild wolves chewed you up and spat you out," she continued, taking a step closer. "Too bad they didn't finish the job. What a waste of good rogue teeth."

The girl to her left snickered. "Maybe they choked on how pathetic she tasted. Even rabid mutts have standards."

"Seriously," the third girl chimed in. "Why are you even here, Maya? Just to stink up the courtyard again?"

I stared at them. Their faces meant nothing to me. No recognition sparked in my head, just an empty hollow where memories belonged.

"Do I know you?" I asked.

The blonde blinked, her smug smirk faltering for half a second before turning sharp. "What did you just say?"

"I asked if I know you," I repeated, my tone even. "Because you're standing in my way, and you're loud."

The girl on the left gasped. "Is she crazy? Blair, did the wolves give her brain damage?"

Blair. So that was her name.

"Shut up, Chloe," Blair snapped, never breaking her glare with me. She leaned in, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Listen to me, you worthless Omega. Just because you survived getting shredded in the dirt doesn't mean your place in this school changed. You're still garbage. You still bow when I talk to you."

I glanced at the entrance doors behind them. Other students were stopping, gathering in loose circles to watch.

"Whatever," I muttered, sliding past her shoulder. "Find another hobby."

"Hey!" Blair shrieked. "Don't you dare turn your back on me!"

A heavy boot slammed into the base of my backpack.

The sudden force threw me off balance. My palms slammed hard against the rough concrete, scraping the skin raw. My bag tumbled forward, spilling notebooks across the walkway.

Laughter erupted behind me.

"Look at her," Blair sneered, her footsteps clicking against the stone as she walked up to where I was kneeling. "Right back where you belong. On the ground."

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a half-empty plastic bottle of strawberry milk. She twisted the cap off with a crisp snap.

"A little welcome-back gift for our pathetic Omega," Blair said, lifting the bottle above my head. "To help you remember who runs this place."

She tilted the bottle.

I didn't cower. I didn't shut my eyes.

My hand shot upward, fast as a striking viper, and clamped around her wrist.

The grip was iron. Blair froze, the plastic bottle tipping sideways without a drop falling. Her mouth opened in shock, her pale eyes widening.

"What are you..." she stammered, her voice shaking with disbelief. "Let go of me!"

"You talk too much," I said.

I scrambled up from the pavement in one smooth motion. Before she could yank her arm back, my other hand grabbed the bottle from her fingers.

I threw the entire contents right into her face.

Pink, sticky milk splashed over her forehead, nose, and eyes. Blair shrieked, stumbling backward as milk dripped from her eyelashes and soaked the collar of her expensive jacket.

"My face!" she screamed, clawing at her eyes. "She threw it in my face! Get her!"

Chloe and the other lackey reacted instantly.

"You dead bitch!" Chloe lunged forward, both hands extended to grab a fistful of my hair.

I didn't back down. The survival instincts that kept me alive in the woods took over before my brain could even calculate the move. I ducked beneath her outstretched arms, pivoted on my right heel, and drove my boot straight into Chloe's stomach.

The air blew out of Chloe's lungs in a violent wheeze. She folded in half and crashed onto the concrete.

The third girl was already closing in from my left, her nails aimed at my cheek. I spun, sweeping my leg out low. My heel caught her right behind the knee. Her joint buckled with a sickening pop, and she slammed face-first into the pavement right next to Chloe.

Three seconds. Three bodies groaning on the ground.

Blair was still wiping pink milk from her chin, coughing and spitting, staring at her two friends in absolute horror.

"You..." Blair whimpered, backing up until her spine hit the brick wall of the administrative building. "You're an Omega... you can't..."

I walked over to where my canvas backpack lay. I picked it up, shoved the loose notebooks back inside, and zipped it shut. I dusted the chalky concrete grit off my palms, then looked back at Blair.

"Touch me again," I told her, keeping my voice quiet enough that only she could hear, "and I won't use milk next time."

The courtyard was dead silent.

Dozens of students stood frozen on the steps, their jaws slack. The whispers started instantly, rippling through the crowd like a shockwave.

"Did you see that?"

"Is that really Maya?"

"She took down three of them without even breaking a sweat!"

"Since when can an Omega fight like that? Wasn't she terrified of Blair last semester?"

I slung my backpack over one shoulder and ignored them all. I turned toward the main entrance, stepping over Chloe's outstretched hand as she wheezed on the stone.

Standing near the double glass doors was a tall guy with broad shoulders and messy dark hair. He wore a varsity jacket with an Alpha crest embroidered in gold across the chest. His jaw was clenched so hard the muscles jumped under his skin, his grey eyes locked on me with intense scrutiny.

Blair's boyfriend. The school's golden-boy Alpha.

The entire crowd parted around him, waiting for him to step in, waiting for him to demand an explanation or put me in my place for attacking his girl.

I kept my stride steady.

When I reached the doors, I didn't slow down. I didn't flinch under his heavy gaze. I brushed right past his shoulder, close enough that the wind of my jacket fluttered against his sleeve, and walked into the hallway without sparing him a single glance.

Behind me, the silence broke into frantic chatter.

And from the shadows behind the lockers, a pair of dark eyes watched every breath I took.