His Friends
I enjoy the rest of my protein-only breakfast in peace, only half listening to Nico and David talk about the upcoming football season. Football is basically the only sport any of the dominate wolves are allowed to play and that's only because they are on all on the "super-varsity" team. It's basically just our school district's way of separating the supernaturals from the humans. (I know, really subtle name, but I guess "hidden in plain sight" and all that really works.) We have our own "super-league" with about five other high schools in the area and only the "super-varsity" teams from each school are allowed to participate. There are tieflings, goliaths, aasimar, yuan-ti, and even a couple of dhampirs on some of the teams, but our school only has warlocks and werewolves.
Every year some poor human shmuck "tries out" for the team. Inevitably they gets super upset when they aren't deemed "good enough" and instead placed on normal varsity team. Even though the super-varsity is composed of only supernatural, tons of humans show up to the games every year to watch the "best of the best", so we can't be too brazen about using our abilities on the field. No one ever questions why scouters never come to the games or why none of the kids ever get recruited to play football in college.
Honestly, football isn't really my sport. I find it a bit tedious, much less interesting and diverse than volleyball. But—I must admit—I do enjoy watching all those dominate, hormonal teenage wolves try to stop themselves from shifting in front of all the humans when the game doesn't go the way they want. Like a bunch of toddlers throwing a tantrum. Other than that, I go to the games to support David, but I'll be glad when this season is over. Once he graduates, I'll never have to sit through another football game ever again.
Unless my children want to play. I shudder and shut down that train of thought immediately.
When we are all finished eating, Mom makes a reappearance from the kitchen before we leave. David thanks her with a "Breakfast was great Mrs. Berkley! See ya at the pack meeting tonight Mr. and Mrs. Berkley!" I sigh, knowing "pack meeting" is really code for our parents getting together to plan my "surprise" sixteenth birthday party on Sunday. Ellie isn't the best at keeping secrets.
Eventually, David, Ellie, and I are pulling out of our drive in David's Tesla Roadster, a gift of "peace" from the coven we share this land with. I guess they didn't really appreciate our pack's gas-guzzling trucks polluting the local wildlife, so they gifted the pack ten Teslas a couple of years back. Mom calls the coven tree-hugging hippies, but even she agrees that the coven's magic does keep our forests unusually healthy and thick.
It is about a thirty-minute drive out of pack territory into the suburbs where Grandville High is located. On the way, we pass by the coven's mansion just as a sleek black Tesla is pulling out of the enormous drive. It follows us all the way to the school. When we park, I can't help but look over at the group of four warlocks and a witch exiting the car. Of course, I know all of them, even though we run in completely different social circles.
The three older boys in the group, Deron, Luke, and Barrett, look like total delinquents with their magical tattoos covering their forearms and neck. I don't know what the tattoos' "official" name is, but everyone in the coven gets them when they turn sixteen. It's like a rite of passage or something. I vaguely remember my mother telling me that the marks display what their magical specialty is. She tried teaching me what they all meant when I was a child, back before the peace treaty was signed. She said that, as the future Luna, I needed to be able to assess my enemies' abilities. Honestly, I found her lessons in coven culture as dull as Mr. Dungan's history lectures.
Besides, I didn't need to be able to read their tattoos to know what those three hellions were capable of. They've made it their personal mission to torment me ever since Freshman year. At first it was just name calling and vulgarities. But it got worse after Deron got his marks in fire and Luke in stone magic. That's when they started setting my shoelaces on fire or throwing pebbles at me. One year later, Barrett showed up to school as another earth warlock, but his specialty was in plant-based magic. He was particularly annoying, because sometimes he will restrain my arms with his vines and keep me from walking away while they taunt me.
I hate them with every fiber of my being, but have never spoken out against them. They are all on the super-varsity team with David and I don't want to risk them fighting each other. And I know David would fight for me, peace treaty be damned. He's that kind of reckless. If the Alpha's son started picking fights with the most promising young warlocks, it could mean war between coven and pack. And nobody wants that.
A turf war could draw the attention of human law enforcement. So we trust each other to police ourselves and protect each other from external threats, both supernatural and human. Besides, even if their behavior is super annoying, it's not like they can really hurt me permanently. Due to my shifter nature, any burns or cuts they inflict are always healed within minutes, so I never have any evidence that they attacked me.
It sounds bad, but it's fine really. They aren't worth making a fuse over. I'll just avoid them this year. I really don't like drawing attention to myself anyways. I can deal with them by myself. It's fine. Really. I'm fine.
Not to mention, I don't want to draw his attention. Those warlocks are his friends. Alastair Malum.