The Silent Wolf

"Leana! Time to leave for school!" Miss Mary called out from the kitchen.

Quickly I gathered up my art and school supplies into my backpack. I went into the kitchen before leaving to let her know that I had heard her and was heading out. Seeing as my foster home wasn't too far from the school, I just walked. When I was about halfway there, my friend Christian appeared beside me.

"Leana, have you heard that the new pack's Alpha, Jackson, has already made it to the top of the class?" he asked. "I have to say that it's going to be weird having another pack going to school with us."

I nodded my head to encourage him to keep talking.

"Apparently all the girls in our grade are trying to fail their classes so the teachers will have him tutor them," he continued while laughing. "It's not working, 'cause of course the teachers caught on fast. The amount of students drastically failing was pretty obvious."

I nodded in agreement. Jackson and his pack quickly made a name for themselves in the little time they'd been going to school with us. Not only was their pack known for being strong, but a good portion of the unmated wolves in our pack saw the amount of 'fresh meat on the market' as their chance to move up in the ranks.

Christian continued to talk about the latest gossip surrounding the new kids. "So how long do you think people will talk about them?" he asked as we made it to the school.

I just shrugged in response, but I guess he wanted my opinion 'cause he kept pushing me for an answer. Looking around to see if anyone was near, I turned towards him and started to sign my response.

"I honestly don't really have an opinion on them. Whether or not they stay the hot new thing around school doesn't matter to me as long as they leave me alone."

Christian sighed after seeing my reluctance to sign. "You know, Leana, you signing isn't something to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Everyone in the pack already knows what happened."

"Some of the other students at this school would say otherwise. Even though they know I have to use sign language, they still feel the need to mock me for it whenever they see it," I replied. "But I hope that I can stay under the radar and minimize my contact with the new pack. The less they know about me, the better."

"You never know, they might be really nice."

"'Might' being the operative word. I'd rather not leave it to chance. Besides, it doesn't matter; I'll keep to myself, like I usually do, and avoid everyone as best I can. Now let's go. Class is going to start soon."

Sighing one last time, Christian nodded, and we started making our way to the first class of the day. We didn't even make it fully through the door before we bumped into a group of people, knocking one of them down in the process. It wasn't a big group of people thankfully, but I could immediately tell that they were not from our pack.

"Watch where you're going next time," said one of them while helping the one that fell up off the floor.

"We are so sorry, Alpha Jackson!" Christian exclaimed while I frantically started bowing in a show of apology.

We started to walk away, but someone stepped in front of me. "Wait a second. Where do you think you're going without apologizing to our Alpha?" he asked.

Christian was by my side immediately. "Allow me to apologize on her behalf."

"No, let her speak for herself," he replied before turning me around to face who I assumed was Alpha Jackson. "Come on, speak up and say you're sorry," he continued angrily when I remained silent.

"She can't!" Christian exclaimed.

"What do you mean she can't?!"

"She can't speak!!"

All of a sudden everyone's eyes shot to Christian. "She is unable to speak, so I am apologizing on her behalf. It was an accident. We didn't mean to run into you guys, let alone make your Alpha fall. Now I am asking you nicely, please let her go."

"Let them go, Aaron," Jackson said.

"But Alpha—"

"That's an order. Let them go," Jackson interrupted.

As soon as the one that I now knew was Aaron let me go, I backed up into Christian and bowed once more before quickly getting as far away from them as I could. Christian followed soon after as I made my way to my classroom. Fortunately Christian and I had all the same classes for a good portion of the day. Up until art class at least. Christian was always more of a sports kind of guy—art was never his forte—so while I was in art class, he was in his foreign language class.

"Leana, are you okay?" he asked once we had made it to our seats.

I nodded in response, still in shock. I could already tell that everyone was talking about my run-in with Alpha Jackson and the other members of his pack. Looks and whispers followed me wherever I went.

Soon after, the teacher walked in, silencing the class before starting the lesson.

My next few classes went by pretty uneventfully. My run-in with the new Alpha was in fact the latest hot topic of conversation, but everyone opted to discuss it amongst themselves rather than confront me about it. Christian stayed by my side, helping make sure that I was as comfortable as I could be with all the looks and whispers. However, my next class was art—meaning that I was gonna be completely on my own until lunch. If I'm being honest, I was a little scared for a few reasons:

1. Christian wasn't around to make sure that no one bothered me.

2. Alpha Jackson had been transferred into the class with me.

3. Christian wasn't there to make sure that Alpha Jackson wouldn't bother me.

"Are you sure you can't stay with me this one time?" I asked him once I was sure that no one would see me.

"I'm sorry, Leana, I have a really big test today. Mr. Brown said that everything we learned last semester is fair game. You know how he's always trying to find ways to fail as many students as possible. He's a cruel man," he replied.

Looking down in defeat, I bid him farewell, and we headed to our respective classrooms. Making my way to the back corner by the window, I started setting up the different supplies I would be using today. We were working on painting different landscapes, focusing on light sources and depth perception. I tried to help out as much as I could by setting up and putting away the different paints so that Mrs. Jade would have more time to help as many students as she could. As I was setting up the second-to-last station, Mrs. Jade walked in with none other than Alpha Jackson.

"Ah, Leana, just the person I was looking for. As you probably know, Alpha Jackson is transferring into our class. I was wondering if you would be okay with him sitting next to you so you can help him with any questions or problems he might have until he gets caught up," she said when she spotted me.

My mind was going a thousand miles an hour as I looked at the two people in front of me. Mrs. Jade was looking at me with hopeful eyes, whereas Alpha Jackson was looking at me with an unreadable expression. After weighing my two options, I reluctantly nodded. What was the worst that could happen? He'd sit next to me for a few days and then move seats and we wouldn't need to interact ever again. No harm, no foul.

"Thank you, Leana, you're a big help," Mrs. Jade said happily before walking to her desk, leaving me and the Alpha to ourselves.

"So where are we sitting?" the Alpha asked, turning towards me.

Slowly I pointed to the corner where I always sat.

"By the window?" he asked.

I simply nodded in response before making my way to my easel and putting on my apron. The Alpha followed slowly behind me, moving his easel closer to mine before sitting down.

"We're painting landscapes, correct?" he asked as the other students began to file in and take their seats. Once again I nodded before pointing out the window to the sun and then back at his canvas. He looked at me in confusion before asking another question. "Sunlight? I need to include a light source?"

Again I nodded as I watched him look for a reference photo. It didn't take him long to find one he liked. While he printed it out, I started mixing my paints. As he made his way back, all the girls tried to stop him, but surprisingly, he ignored them. All of a sudden, he picked up a tube of paint and squeezed it on his pallet. My eyes widened, and I started vigorously shaking my head.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused by my reaction.

Quickly I grabbed an unused apron and handed it to him, indicating that he should wear it.

"You want me to wear an apron?"

I nodded.

"Why?"

I pointed to the paints, then to his shirt, and then made an 'x' with my fingers. Getting paint on your clothes was awful 'cause it didn't come out. Once the paint touched your clothes, it was there forever.

"No paint on clothes?" he asked, still very confused. I gave him a thumbs up as he put the apron on.

Looking at him, I knew that he was having a hard time understanding me. Writing down everything he needed to know would take too long and only drag him farther behind. Biting the inside of my cheek, I raised my hand for Mrs. Jade to come over. She finished helping the student she was with as fast as she could before making her way over to me.

"Everything okay, Leana?" she asked.

Turning slightly away from Jackson, I started signing, "I feel like Alpha Jackson should be paired with someone he can better communicate with. I'm afraid that with me helping him, he will just fall further behind."

I could feel his eyes watching me, but I ignored it as Mrs. Jade started to reply, "I understand your concern; however, you are the best student in this class. You're like a second teacher, so even with the communication barrier, I know you will find a way to get him caught up."

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught our attention. "Is something wrong, ma'am?" Jackson asked.

"Not at all. Leana is just worried about the communication barrier. I don't think it's a problem, but if you would feel more comfortable with someone else, I can have that arranged," she explained.

"I agree, Mrs. Jade, communication is not a problem," he replied.

"Good, it's settled then." She gave me a reassuring smile before walking away to help the next student.

"So," Jackson started, "what do I do next?"

I walked over and grabbed the primer and a large brush. Then I handed them to him and pointed to the canvas once more. He took them out of my hands and nodded before starting to prime his canvas.