Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Save her!”

Her lungs burned as she moved her legs faster, pushed forward by the unknown voice. Blackness crept in through the edge of her vision; she wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline or the lack of oxygen. She didn’t need sight to run through the forest though, her body was designed for this. Having never traced the particular path she now took to Crackstone’s Crypt, her body moved primarily on instincts she didn't know she had. She jumped over logs, ducked under branches, flew off stumps. It was only after she narrowly dodged a blurred obstacle that she realized what she was doing was not normal.

“SAVE her!” The voice sounded again, louder this time. Was she running towards it? It wasn’t a voice she recognized, but she didn’t care – she wholeheartedly agreed.

Save. Her.

She didn’t care what it would take, as soon as she heard that Wednesday had been kidnapped and taken to Crackstone’s Crypt, she flew out of the castle like a bat out of hell. Well, like a wolf out of captivity might be a more apt description.

“You have to move faster!”

She tried to push herself, but she could feel the limitations of her tiny human legs. She could not physically move faster. She pushed harder off the ground, hoping a lengthened stride would push her to make it in time.

“FASTER!” The voice boomed.

The world grew darker as the black spots in her vision invaded further into her periphery. A branch ricocheted off her head as her newfound instinct failed her.

“I’m trying!” She cried out. She could feel wetness streaming down her face. She didn’t know when she started crying. An inferno lit up in her body as she gave herself another push to go even faster. With the newfound speed, she mistimed her jump and couldn’t clear the next log she passed, sending her careening towards the ground face first.

The absence of wind should have generated a serene silence. Instead, a rumbling resonated throughout the clearing. Anyone in the area would have guessed a thunderstorm or earthquake approached. But not Enid. She knew it was something much more deadly. It could tear through towns, destroy cities, and murder anything in sight. The rumbling turned into a growl which spat out barely discernible words.

“MUST. SAVE. HER.”

Her muscles began rippling and she tensed to endure the pain coursing through her entire being as she began to transform into something more. Finally, she was in touch with herself.

Enid has finally met her wolf.

Chapter Text

“Will that be all?” A quivering mess of a boy knelt in front of Enid after presenting a lunch tray on the table in front of her. Her wolf snuffed happily at the obvious show of submission, but she shifted uneasily in her seat; she was still new to all of this. Ever since Enid was just a pup, she worked hard to not slip through the cracks – to be seen. Between five older brothers, an uncaring mother, and a pushover for a dad, there wasn’t much attention to go around. Unfortunately, Enid thrived off of attention. At least she thought she did, but her transformation made her think twice about that little piece of her identity.

“Yeah Zach, you really didn’t have to pick up my lunch for me.” Enid gave a sheepish smile as he quickly backed off having delivered a tray of food. The cluster of wolves gathered around her all waited for her to take the first bite before they began eating.

It was the fifth day back at school after the extended winter break. The break which was extended after … you know … the Hyde, the zombie pilgrim rampaging the school, and the … the hug. She knows compared to the former items on that list, the hug with her roommate Wednesday Addams shouldn’t even cross her mind, but anyone who met the little goth girl with a love for all things death and destruction, they’d agree with Enid that it was a big deal. Her first ever transformation was somewhere in the middle of all that as well, a fact that was constantly brought up every waking minute of the break.

Not only had she transformed on a blood moon, but shortly after as she began to go through her second puberty, she presented as an alpha. Those two little pieces of trivia combined meant that she was supposedly genetically hardwiring herself to be a particularly powerful alpha – blessed by the moon goddess herself. Enid herself wasn’t very religious but was brought up surrounded by the culture and the services which were held in Her honour. However, after years of being told that the one deity who had the back of every lycan on the planet had somehow singled out Enid just to shun her took a number on her faith, so she largely ignored the services her family attended. As an untransformed wolf passed the age of thirteen, she wasn’t even allowed to go to the majority of religious events that the other pups she grew up with went to.

That all changed in a heartbeat. She was christened into the community and had full access. With Enid’s new status, Enid’s mother flaunted her wherever she could. Being the first alpha in the Sinclair pack in over six generations, she was thrust among the upper crust of wolf society and expected to be seen. Suddenly Enid was making her debut at the Saturnalia Ball; the event of the season for anybody who was anyone in the West Coast Packs. An event that her family hadn’t previously been invited to until now.

She pushed that memory out of her head. That night was definitely something she wanted to keep far away. Frequently mates-for-life were sniffed out during the ball, and something about that didn’t sit right with her wolf. Luckily the joint facts that it was her first ball, and she was still just 17 made her mom back off on introducing too many matches to Enid, though not without yelling and tears.

“Hey Enid, how’s it going? I haven’t seen you all week.” All the wolves around her froze, eyes darting between Enid and Ajax, the gorgon who just approached the table. It was clear as students they understood and respected her previous relationship status with the gorgon, but as wolves they didn’t like anyone approaching their alpha without explicit consent.

“Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy. Y’know, wolf stuff.” She gave her cheeriest smile, but eyed the wolves around her, silently nudging them to keep it cool and not rip his face off. Somehow Ajax seemed completely oblivious to the lose circle they formed like apostles to their messiah. She frowned at how close that metaphor felt to her current reality. True alphas were rare enough as it was – an estimated 0.5% of the wolf population presented that way – and being a blood moon alpha only made them more devoted. Funny that just two months ago they all did their best to ignore her.

“Ahh cool” He gave an overexaggerated nod, clearly not having processed anything she just said. A rumble built in her chest, and she felt a familiar temperature rise in her body. Something inside her did not like the lack of respect. She waited, letting him have a moment to say out whatever he came to say and giving herself a moment to cool down and stay in control.

“What’s up?” She tried to prod him along. Despite her personal appreciation for the break from normal wolf hierarchical structures, both her transformation and alpha status dramatically increased her aggression and general impatience. Many of the wolves back home can attest to that (and had the scars to prove it). Constantly the wolf inside her yearned to break free and run through the woods or rip a few faces off. She used the pressure of her elongated claws digging into the lunch table to curb her temper.

Ajax laughed nervously while scratching the back of his neck. The action drew Enid’s gaze to his neck, which was now slightly elongated to get a better angle for his itch. It also happened to further expose his pulse point, an obvious display of submission. Her eyes zeroed in. The urge to force even the non-werewolves around her – especially ones who didn’t show her the respect she deserved – overwhelmed her. She felt her claws breaking through the wood of the picnic table. It provided a good distraction, so she tried to focus on it.

“Classes are starting tomorrow, and I was just wondering –“ He jumped up suddenly after looking up to meet Enid’s gaze, taking a step back. Her wolf merely watched him, never losing focus but not moving an inch. It knew he wouldn’t be able to escape even if he bolted as fast as he could, and she gave him a head start. “- Whoa are you okay E? Your eyes are lit up all weird and stuff.”

She shook herself, jolting out of her trance. Her claws receded back into her human hands, but not without taking out a substantial piece of the table out. She winced slightly at the wood splinters now engrained into her fingertips.

“Yeah! Just a wolf thing. What was that about classes?” She said hurriedly while teething at her index finger. The splinters were already getting pushed out of her skin and any exit wound left behind was closed before the small piece of wood could hit her feet. Werewolf healing certainly had its perks. Ajax’s eyes trailed down to the splinters and his eyes and mouth stood wide open.

A beat passed before he managed to find his words again.

“Oh nothing, just that I’ll see you in them.” With that he scurried away, not unlike a mouse who just spotted a ravenous lion. Both her and her wolf let out a sigh of relief.

Alys, a beta who quickly asserted herself as Enid’s right hand, leaned across the table towards Enid. She had previously acted as the leader of the school pack before this semester and Enid naturally took over. Despite not wanting it (and saying as much before coming to school), it only took one day of walking around the other wolves for her own wolf to demand veneration. It only took her standing her ground in front of Alys for the markedly smaller wolf to step aside for the natural alpha.

“That gorgon knows you’ve transferred into mostly lycan classes this semester, right?”

“Mostly, but not all.” Enid replied. Originally, she was going to be in only lycan classes, but she couldn’t bear being stripped away from all her friends. Though she had no trouble admitting that Ajax hadn't crossed her mind until now. “Speaking of, I need to go Ms. Odair about getting caught up.”

Walking through the halls and finally getting a moment to breath for herself, Enid realized she hadn’t actually thought about Ajax since she came back from her fight with Tyler. Even at that moment, her mind had just been thinking ‘Where’s Wednesday. Save Wednesday. Get to Wednesday.’ She only had a split second given to Ajax as she registered, he was just ‘Not Tyler. Not enemy.’ She shook herself from that thought. There was something since that night which made her excessively obsessed with her roommate – her roommate who still had not returned to campus despite classes beginning tomorrow – and Enid wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. For now, she put it somewhere on the admittedly very long list of changes and new information to unpack and process that came along with her unusual transformation. At least until she could see her again.

‘Until I see her again.’ A familiar voice rumbled, no purred in the back of her mind. Goosebumps prickled the hairs on her arm and an involuntary shiver passed through her despite the excessively strong wolf metabolism keeping her warm in the cool January air. Definitely not something she wanted to unpack now. Shoving all thoughts of Wednesday into the deep dark recesses of her brain, she walked into the lycanthropy classroom.

'I'll just hang onto those.' The wolf greedily grabbed at those thoughts and went momentarily absent. Enid furrowed her eyebrows, deciding again, that was something to think about later.

“Ah Enid, I was wondering when I would see you.” An older wolf with russet brown hair peered over the glasses resting too low on the bridge of her nose. “Please, come in and have a seat.”

Enid approached the chair in front of her desk. She reached her hand out and grasped Ms. Odair’s similarly outstretched arm in greeting, bowing her head slightly in a show of respect before sitting down. Though she was the more highly ranked wolf, Ms. Odair was still her teacher.

“It’s a pity we only allow access to advanced level lycan classes only after your first transformation.” She gave a sad smile to Enid, “but we must work within the constructs of our society, and I will do my very best to prepare you for what is to come.”

Enid blinked.

“Excuse me Ms. Odair –“

“Please call me Cora.” She corrected.

“- Cora.” Enid stuttered out. “What do you mean, ‘what is to come?’”

“You must have seen the unrest within the leadership over the break. I heard you had made your debut.”

Enid paused, unable to respond to the prompt. She had barely been able to say more than two words to any wolf she met, too busy trying to meet everyone. The few lengthier interactions she had were nowhere near the political leaders. With only a blank stare as her response, Cora sat back with a sigh.

“Nevertheless, we will be going over both current and past history in our Lycan leadership structures course. As a blood moon alpha, you will play a big role in our future.” This fact Enid knew. The hand the moon goddess had in her transformation and her subsequent presentation as an alpha made Enid appear as a vessel to their deity.

“Uh Ms. Odai- I mean Cora. I just came by to pick up my textbooks.” Enid laughed nervously. This was precisely the reason she postponed this meeting as long as possible.

Cora’s face softened, the urgency fading away in a flash as she slid over a prepared pile of books across her desk to the new werewolf.

“Of course, Enid. Perhaps it is better if we take things slowly.” Enid exhaled with relief. Slow was a luxury she hadn’t been given since she transformed and it was more than welcome. “I have annotated these textbooks with some of the more relevant passages to get you caught up.” She grabbed the topmost textbook and opened in the last quarter of the thick tome. “This discusses biology related to presentations. We unfortunately covered true alphas last semester and will be finishing up omegas in the next two weeks. Because of the nature of the semester’s end, we didn’t finish the entire unit as intended. Now, normally I wouldn’t expect you to complete the alpha and beta section of the course exam, but given the nature of your own presentation, I think it’s fair to ask you to take it in its entirety.” Enid’s blood pressure spiked at the mention of a full course exam. If this was ‘taking it slowly’ she was petrified to see what a medium pace looked like. It was honestly a miracle she hadn’t been put on academic probation yet with how she performed sometimes.

“Of course, I will make myself available as a resource whenever you need me. Not just for coursework, but any questions you have I’d be more than happy to guide you as best I can.”

A forced smile stayed plastered on Enid’s face. This really wasn’t how she wanted to start the semester, but this was her luck in life from now on it seemed. She reached forward to slide the books the rest of the distance towards her. “Thanks Cora, I’ll keep that in mind.” With that she stood up and started backing towards the door. “I’ll get started on these and see you tomorrow in class.”

Before the teacher could say anything else, Enid had exited the classroom and practically ran down the hallway back to her dorm. Taking the steps up the tower of Ophelia Hall two at a time, she kicked the door open with her foot before stopping in her tracks.

In front of her lay the barren half of the room that belonged to Wednesday. She bit back a whimper building in the back of her throat as she tore her gaze away from the emptiness to put the textbooks on her desk. Unfortunately, the emptiness just settled in her chest. She let her eyes travel back to Wednesday’s empty bedframe and desk. At the end of last semester, she was technically expelled from school right before she set out to battle Crackstone. Wednesday never even responded to her texts if she was coming back. Everything of hers had been packed and labelled for shipping back to her family’s estate. Their family’s butler, Lurch, had cleared the majority of her possessions before Enid had been discharged by the medic. At that point, Wednesday was long gone. No goodbye, no acknowledgement of what they had been through together. This time a whine audibly escaped from her lips.

It was almost like she never existed, like everything that happened last semester was just a figment of her imagination.

‘The window’. She listened to the rumble and let her eyes trace the intricate patterns in the shared window – half rainbow, half clear glass. Definite proof Wednesday had at least once lived there and it wasn't a fever dream. ‘We will see her again.’ Never before had her wolf tried to comfort her. Could she actually have a regular conversation with it?

“Will we?” She asked out loud, testing the connection. She waited for a minute. For five minutes. Nothing happened. She felt nothing.

She was alone.

Chapter Text

A sudden creak in the upper staircase shook Enid out of her silent meditation on the floor of the room. She listened to the footsteps reach the top of the landing and started running towards the door to meet whoever was coming. Enid couldn’t help but think her wolf had some precognition and was warning her to Wednesday’s arrival. At that thought she couldn’t help the wide grin that exploded on her face. If she had a tail in this form, it would’ve started wagging at full speed.

She briefly contemplated running to the bathroom to freshen up, but decided she couldn’t wait any longer to see her roommate. It really has been too long.

She swung the door to her bedroom open, nearly ripping the wooden door off its hinges. She made a mental note to be slightly more cautious with materials here. A short figure with dark hair stood with her back to Enid. She frowned. Not only did Wednesday not have her trademarked pigtailed braids in but she also exuded a less than pleasant odour which made Enid crinkle her nose. That’d take some getting used to, but all things considered, Enid was ecstatic.

‘You’re an idiot.’ Her wolf finally made its grand reappearance, of course just to insult her.

“Hey!” Enid said back at it, out loud. She was going to have to have some choice words with the wolf before it completely tore down her self-esteem.

“Enid?” The girl in front of her turned around to face the she-wolf, having just opened the door to her room. The room that was not Enid’s. Goddess above she was an idiot.

“OMG Yoko! Did you just get back? How was your break?” Enid used her years of practice to put a smile on her face (thanking her mother for that particular skill), while shoving down the feeling of disappointment threatening to consume her. Over the initial shock, she straightened up and bounded over to her long-time friend like an overexcited puppy. She may not have been Wednesday but Enid was still happy to see Yoko, wrapping her into a massive bearhug. With Enid’s newfound stature, she almost entirely engulfed Yoko with her arms and easily lifted her off the ground.

“Whoa there, E.” The vampire laughed out, “You gotta be careful with that werewolf strength.” Enid put her down gently and gave her some space, a big goofy grin plastered on her face. At this point her performative excitement had transitioned to real happiness. She realized it’s been ages since she’s seen any of her friends.

“Damn girl, you must have grown like what, six inches?” She waved her hand over the top of her head to see she now only went up to Enid’s shoulder. Before Yoko was a taller than her, but now Enid had a good five inches on her and had to crane her neck down to look at her.

“Seven and a half, and it’s still going.”

“So, wolf stuff has been kinda intense,” She gestured to the very clear changes in her appearance, “Is that why you’ve been ignoring all my texts? What’s your mom been like? Your whole family must be proud!”

“Ha, yeah, it’s been a time and a half. But I asked first! How was your break?”

Yoko raised her eyebrows so they were clearly visible over her dark circular sunglasses, tilting her chin down in a clear ‘we will talk about you sooner rather than later’ expression.

“It was cool, I visited my sofubo (grandparents) and the rest of the clan back in Mishima. Ren’s been a little devil as per usual but grown up so much.” She sighed sadly but smiled fondly. Yoko came to school in America since her parents moved her here when she was a child, but she sorely missed her extended family, in particular her little cousin Ren. Enid shared her smile and gave silent comfort, letting her friend relive the fresh memories she had of her family. After a moment, Yoko perked back up. “But spill the tea, I want to know everything.” She enunciated each syllable, emphasizing just how much she needed to know. Finally back with someone she was actually comfortable with, Enid was more than happy to oblige.

“Oh Em Gee! Yeah, as soon as I got back, my mom wouldn’t leave my side for a second. Absolute night and day with that woman.” Yoko chuckled, moving to put her small bag on the desk chair close to her in preparation for the lengthy catch-up talk. “A few days after landing in San Francisco, I started to grow a whole bunch, which is perfectly normal, but then at the next full moon I presented, and everyone just completely lost their minds.” It felt like a massive weight was being lifted off her chest as Enid finally started to explain how being an alpha made her suddenly centre stage in the entirety of the community. She was just about to go into details of the Saturnalia Ball and get Yoko’s opinion of the disaster that it was, when she was cut off.

“Wait, hang on a sec. You presented as an alpha?” Enid swore Yoko’s face turned even paler than normal, which was impressive considering her almost pure white complexion. In a fraction of a second, the air seemed to turn to ice as Yoko let her sunglasses slide off her eyes. She looked at Enid, scrutinizing her fully. The young werewolf shifted uncomfortably where she stood, not liking the sudden change. She honestly couldn’t remember if she ever saw Yoko’s eyes before. Somehow it felt like she was staring at one of her best friends completely naked.

“So, you’ve been getting trained to be like, head of all werewolves in California I’m guessing?” Yoko prodded. Enid didn’t want to correct her and say that given the nature of her transformation she was likely getting placed in an even higher-ranking position. She just gave a slight nod and kept her mouth shut. Yoko rubbed her hands through her hair, trying to calm herself as she thought about whatever it was that made her change her stance so suddenly. Enid really didn’t see what the big deal was, so she just stood, petrified that her most reliable, long-standing friendships was about to change because of her presentation.

“I’m sorry, E. It’s just… I’m not really supposed to talk to a werewolf head without an official vamp around.” She glanced around nervously, as if she was going to get staked right then and there. “Y’know, since the werewolf-vamp peace is still relatively fresh we like to have peacekeepers around to prevent any misunderstandings.”

“Uh… right.” That was news to Enid. She honestly thought the rivalry between lycans and vampires was made up by normies to drive a wedge between outcasts. It would’ve been nice if one of the werewolves who were ‘training’ her actually bothered to give her a piece of useful information. “But it’s just me, nothing has to change.” She insisted.

Yoko laughed nervously and looked back into her room for an escape. “Yeah, maybe let me just check first. It’s better if we try to keep this semester as drama free as possible. Trust me.” With that Yoko slid into her room and closed the door in Enid’s face.

The young werewolf stared at the door, trying to process what just happened. Since when did ‘give-no-shits’ Yoko care about what anybody else thought of her? Cared about the rules? That was always Enid’s thing. Even if they were some high-ranking vampires, what were they really going to do? She wiped angrily at stray tear which had escaped down to her cheek and stomped back to her room, using all her willpower to not tear down the door in front of her. She dove into her bed, hiding under the covers while hugging three of her stuffed animals close to her chest. At least they still had her back.

***

A silhouette stood in the centre of a clearing, beckoning Enid forward. The forest was eerily quiet, the trees barren from the winter cold meant not even a leaf rustled in the light breeze. She could hear the fall of her paws on the soft dirt as she walked towards the figure. For once, she let the calmness descend upon her. The wind felt good brushing her fur and the cool, crisp air cleansed her lungs. She was where she was supposed to be.

“Enid!” A voice cut through the silence like teeth through flesh, a voice Enid would recognize anywhere. She whirled around just in time to see Wednesday be grabbed at the leg by a Hyde – one at least twice the size of Tyler – and yanked roughly to the ground. Enid began rushing towards Wednesday, launching herself from her hind legs directly towards the Hyde. “Look out!”

Ignoring Wednesday’s warning, she leapt at the creature. Only, she couldn’t go any further, being pulled back by the tail. She landed roughly on her back, looking up just in time to see a blur of something lunge at her neck.

***

Enid woke with a start, clawing at her duvet. Rays of bright morning light broke through the shreds of fabric she tore off, slowly pulling her out of her panicked reverie and back into the waking world. Her eyes darted around her room, looking for something, anything, to centre herself. Her eyes landed on the empty bedframe on the opposite end of the room. Wednesday’s bed.

Why was it empty?

Where was she?

Enid’s hair stood on end, mimicking the hackles that she’d have in her canine form. She leapt out of bed and charged over to Wednesday side until she was mere inches from where the girl should have been sleeping. She sniffed at the empty mattress, confirming she hadn’t been there recently. Today was the first day of classes. Why wasn’t she here?

Charged by her nightmare, Enid stormed out of her room in her day-old clothes towards the headmaster’s office. She had to know where Wednesday was. Make sure she was safe. Make sure she was alive. Enid was flooded with thoughts of the worst-case scenario. She hadn’t heard a peep from Wednesday over the break, despite her being the only one she texted. She rationalized it as ‘Wednesday is anti-technology; she wouldn’t text anyone.’ But what if she was wrong? What if Tyler broke out of his confines and tried to finish what he started? Why didn’t Enid find Wednesday and make sure she was okay?

She barreled through the hallways, pushing through students and creating a tornado of chaos in her wake. “Enid!?” She could hear a shout of her name. Somewhere in the back of her mind she vaguely recognized it as Ms. Odair, but her wolf had taken over and she was on a mission. A mission into the headmaster’s office to figure out where the heck was Wednesday.

“Enid! Where are you going?” This time she thought it might have been Yoko, but it was becoming less and less clear. She could feel the power resonating from her alpha, enhanced by the bodies of wolves she could now sense behind her. Alys, Zach, and at least two others must have watched Enid charge by and immediately moved to cover her flank as she rampaged through the school.

She pushed the door to the principal’s office open, breaking the lock and causing it to slam on the wall with a loud boom. She strode into the room, deciding which throat to tear out first.

Ahem.

She meant who to yell at first.

She stopped in her tracks as she took in the scene of the office. What little planning she afforded to her confrontation with the headmaster on her way here went a little like this; The headmaster, Principal Williams, would be sitting calmly at his desk looking over some papers or doing whatever it was principals did all day. Enid would approach him and calmly ask where Wednesday was; whether she was still expelled or simply late in attending Nevermore. If she was late, Enid would take one of the cars from the other werewolves and get Wednesday’s cute little butt over here, traffic laws be damned. If she was expelled, then Enid would tear out Principal Williams throat then forge his signature reinstating Wednesday as a student. Then she would proceed with grand theft auto and kidnapping. Simple enough.

However, all her careful planning was shattered in an instant when she counted not one but two individuals in the office. Not that she couldn’t take on two people, she was more than capable of that. The fact that one of them was armed didn’t deter her either. Really, only one thing could stop her.

“Wednesday?”

The tiny girl was behind Principal Williams brandishing a knife, holding it closely to his abdomen as she scrutinized a document that he was actively filling out. At the exorbitant entrance of five wolves, she didn’t so much as flinch; only her dark eyes darted up to meet Enid’s for half a second. The same couldn’t be said for the principal, who nearly leapt out of his seat at the outburst. Once the initial shock wore off he dutifully kept filling out the piece of paper in front of him. Really, Enid couldn’t care less what the principal was doing. Wednesday was here. Wednesday was safe. The blonde she-wolf could gaze into Wednesday’s dark brown eyes for hours, getting lost in exploring each fleck of imperfection in her iris. When Wednesday said a single word, she nearly fell to her knees in relief (or worship, she couldn’t tell).

“Enid.”

She was so fucked.

Chapter Text

“Wednesday, you’re here!”

The dark-haired girl regarded Enid for another moment, before flicking her eyes back to the paper on the desk. It only took that fraction of a second for her heart rear it’s unwelcome self into her throat. Just as Principal Williams finished his next pen stroke, Wednesday’s hand whipped out with lightning speed (though Enid might have been feeling slightly lightheaded to really see properly), snatching the paper before folding it precisely and pocketing it in her all-black Nevermore uniform.

Thank the goddess she was wearing her Nevermore uniform.

Enid let out a breath, feeling infinitely more relaxed than she had since… well to be perfectly honest with herself, since she last saw Wednesday. No, that wasn’t right, it was definitely since last semester, but it couldn’t have specifically been Wednesday that was the cause for her tension.

Could it?

No, it was definitely all the wolf stuff that gave her all the nerves, and Wednesday relaxed them because Wednesday was… well a problem-solver, and she was on Enid’s side. Her unorthodox methods might be off-putting to some, and some people might even call her a villain of some sort, but you know what Enid thinks about that? When you got a supervillain on your side, you know they’ll have your back. To hell with what’s right, they do whatever it is to get what they want and protect who they want to protect. They proved that to each other last semester when nearly died saving each other (and the school, but Enid didn’t think about that).

Now they were back together; it was their big roomie reunion. Were they going to hug? Last time they saw each other they hugged. Enid really wanted a hug. Enid watched as Wednesday slipped the dagger she held to Principal Williams’ side somewhere in her uniform while simultaneously yanking out another dagger stabbed into the table through his sleeve with her other hand, sheathing it similarly into some unknown location. With how perfectly tailored that uniform was, Enid was at a loss for how she hid them so seamlessly. As Wednesday started moving towards her, Enid started to panic. Should she stick her arms out? There was no way Wednesday would initiate a hug, so it was probably a good idea. Enid really wanted a hug.

‘She’ll slice your arms off with those knives.' Her wolf suddenly interjected with a warning.

‘Ha, Wednesday wouldn’t do that to me. Stupid wolf.' She thought directly at it, causing it to growl back. Suddenly, she got a flashback to their very first meeting, when Wednesday backed off from her attempted hug. That made her hesitate. She could handle knives coming at her – she was a werewolf for goodness’ sake! But could she take that kind of emotional hit? That, she was less certain of.

‘Wednesday would never reject a hug from us!’ Her wolf preened, clearly overconfident.

‘Wait, didn’t you say literally two seconds ago that Wednesday would relieve me of my limbs if I tried to hug her??’

‘Yeah, but like, in a sexy kind of way. We’re totally into that.’ Enid shook her head, leaving that to unpack later. Wednesday now stood directly in front of her, glaring at her in that murderous way she did. The wolf’s brain was flooded with a scent that was distinctly ‘Wednesday Addams’. She inhaled to completely flood her olfactory senses with the smell of old books, ink, and iron, committing the decadent smell to memory. Focusing back on what she could see, she took the small girl in.

Everything looked just as Enid remembered. Actually, correct that, Enid’s memory didn’t do the tiny girl justice. Her bangs, cut sharply across her forehead, accentuated the angular features of her face, giving way to two braids which framed the pale perfection that was her face. It juxtaposed the softness of her lips and roundness of her eyes perfectly, drawing you in to study it more. The shine in her hair was evident, and almost made Enid want to reach out to touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked.

“Enid you are drooling like a dog.” The werewolf clamped her mouth shut with a click at the goth’s sharp tone. She eyed Enid, before her eyes moved to look at Enid’s arm. Wednesday reached her hand up, moving towards the wolf.

Was Wednesday Addams going to hug Enid of her own accord? She held her breath, not daring to make a single move in case this momentous opportunity was lost. Now, Wednesday’s hand was mere inches from Enid’s arm, though she didn’t look down to see where contact would be made. Oh, how desperately she wanted to. Any second now, Wednesday’s hand would touch Enid and officially, the hug they shared at the end of last semester would prove to not be a one-off thing. Their relationship would be redefined.

Then suddenly, Wednesday’s hand was retracting. Did Enid miss her touch because of her daydreaming? That seemed highly improbable. Though it was only two months ago, Enid vividly recalled the fire that ignited everywhere the goth touched her, imprinting the memory of the hug in her very being (which was perfectly normal. Enid thought it could’ve been her one and only hug from her bestest friend, of course it felt that way).

‘You didn’t shower this morning, you probably stink.’ Her wolf growled out. Ouch, rude. Though Enid couldn’t refute that, she didn’t have the best hygiene in the last 24 hours. Her eyes tracked towards the floor in shame, but a white fluffy object in the goth’s hand caught her eye. She zeroed in on it, her mind needing a moment to understand.

Wednesday scrutinized the white feather that was carefully pinched between her thumb and index finger curiously. She looked up at Enid one more time before pocketing the feather and walking off as if nothing Earth shattering just transpired. Maybe Enid really did just black out when coming into the office. Maybe Wednesday wasn’t even at Nevermore yet and it was all a fever dream.

‘Nope! No, that definitely did just happen!’ She could feel her wolf frantically running around in circles, causing her head to spin. It she felt lightheaded before, she felt outright faint now. With the grace of a drunken rhinoceros, Enid barreled towards the nearest bathroom and dunked her head under the sink.

A few minutes later, the blonde werewolf was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, her face and shoulders soaked. She was absentmindedly picking the feathers that had stuck to her clothes and hair, which she realized must have come from her torn up bedding. She couldn’t help but feel like an out-of-control monster.

Now, feeling as cool, calm, and collected that a teenage, pubescent, alpha wolf could possibly feel, she poked at her wolf. If it wasn’t for it, Enid could have handled that a lot better. She could have handled a lot of things better.

‘Be careful what you wish for kids.’ She thought sullenly to herself, remembering how desperately she wanted the beast to awaken just two months prior. Though with no response from the wolf, she knew it had at least calmed down enough for her to feel temporarily normal again.

That is, until a timid knock came from the door, “Hey boss. You okay?” Alys cautiously poked her head into the bathroom, eyeing the Alpha from behind the door.

Enid gave an emphatic nod, bobbing her head dramatically above her shoulders. “Yeah, of course!” She swallowed down her raging emotions and tried to play it cool while standing up. While being a ‘true alpha’ put her at the top spot for now, it wasn’t impossible for her to lose the position if she lacked the ability to be a strong leader for her pack, or so her mom kept telling her. She imagined what she looked like now – dripping wet and attempting to use the entire stack of paper towels to wring what water she could from her hair – looked anything but ‘strong’.

Alys eyed her, assessing the situation before she apparently deemed it safe to come in. In her hand, she held a backpack and a towel with clothes stacked on top. “I got Zach to grab these when I heard the water turn on.” She said with a small smile, holding the items out to the young alpha. Enid grabbed them gratefully, swapping the paper towels out for a real towel and heading to the bathroom stall to get some privacy to change. She knew most wolves were incredibly immodest with their bodies, but it was still brand new to her, and she’d rather keep her modesty in front of Alys.

A moment of silence passed; Enid could only hope it stayed that way. Of course, if there was anything she could count on, it was that nothing would turn out quite how she wanted.

“So… what was that?” Alys asked timidly.

“What was what?” Enid retorted, trying hard to hold back the sharp tone her wolf wanted her to add to the questioning subordinate wolf.

“Y’know, the charging through the halls, the storming into the headmaster’s office, the running back out and hiding in the bathroom...” Her voice trailed off. Enid slowed in her changing, trying to think. She didn’t have an answer really. Nothing other than ‘the wolf took over and demanded to see Wednesday’, but that really wasn’t something she wanted to get into.

“I know it’s hard, especially since it’s all so new.” Alys continued when she didn’t get a response. Enid waited with bated breath. Could it be that having an insane wolf constantly shout at you was a normal thing? “I remember the smells and sounds were all so over-stimulating, I just wanted to go into a padded room to get away from it all. It took months to get used to.” That did sound familiar to Enid, but her heightened lycan senses were the least of her concerns. She wanted to ask her about the voice, but the risk she faced if Enid was the outlier was too great. She only just got accepted into the pack and she didn’t want to be outcast so soon, to be labelled as insane.

“It doesn’t help that the Addams girl smell a bit weird.” Enid ground her teeth together, fighting back a sharp comment. How dare she say Wednesday’s scent was anything less than perfect? She waited for her wolf to retort, ready to rein it in, but it stayed in its slumber.

“The point I guess I’m trying to make is, I’m here for you. The whole pack is here for you.” She said, now speaking more firmly. Enid lowered her hackles and let herself calm down. She forced a smile on her face before opening the stall door to see Alys standing in the middle of the room. Her eyes shot open when Enid became visible, standing more erect and shifting her weight between her feet. She was clearly trying to gauge if she overstepped the unseen boundaries with her alpha. Enid didn’t really want to confront her right now that she most certainly did, she had enough problems as it was.

“Thanks Alys.” Enid smiled warmly at her, appeasing the other wolf. Her mother had warned her that Alys might’ve been a pain and tried to assert her dominance as the previous pack leader, but clearly, she was wrong.

“Anytime.” She shifted nervously again, eyeing the clock on the wall. Enid followed her gaze.

It was 9:00 am! Class started thirty minutes ago!

“Shit, shit, shit, we have class!” Enid shouted, slinging her backpack over her back, and rushing towards the door.

“Don’t worry, when you came running past us, I told Caden to tell Mr. Odair we would be late before following you.” Alys was right behind her, grabbing her own backpack that Enid hadn’t noticed she ditched outside the headmaster’s office. Enid spared a curious glance at the young beta; she seemed to have an answer for everything. The beta just shrugged. “You came by right as the first period bell rang so I kinda figured.” She was very matter-of-fact, and Enid was thankful that she seemed to take everything in a stride. At least one of them seemed to have everything all figured out.

When they ran into the gymnasium, Enid couldn’t help but look around for a certain dark-haired goth. She inhaled deeply, subconsciously trying to track the girl. Everywhere was just sweaty, pubescent omega and beta wolves running around. Right, she was in werewolf classes now, at least for the morning. She visibly deflated.

“Sinclair, Murphy!” Mr. Odair, the gym instructor, barked out. He was a stout, heavy-set man with incredibly bushy eyebrows and a thick moustache. Enid knew he was Ms. Odair’s mate, and that she was the ‘alpha’ in the relationship, but she could not picture it. He lifted a finger and ushered them over, pulling out a clipboard from behind his back and eyeing whatever was on it before looking Enid over. She should’ve been used to it by now – the scrutiny her new nearly 6’ tall body got – but she still felt itchy as he looked her up and down.

“Twenty minutes left of class, I expect you to do laps and fit in 5 miles in that time.” Enid gaped. Did he really expect them to put on an Olympic level pace? She knew they now had werewolf abilities but that seemed excessive. She looked over at Alys, but she seemed just as unfazed as ever.

“C’mon, let’s put our stuff down and get going.” She nudged at Enid.

Enid was glad they were able to get out of the gym, which looked oddly similar to a military bootcamp. There were rows of werewolves doing push-ups, climbing rope, and sparring each other. Since they were going on such a long run, they were allowed to use the track outside.

Just 17 minutes later, they were finished their run and Enid wasn’t even out of breath. She actually held back as she opted to keep the pace Alys had set, who was panting heavily when they completed the run.

“Jeez Sinclair” She rasped out, “you took that like it was nothing.” She keeled over, resting on her knees and wiping sweat from her brow.

Enid chuckled nervously, “Ha, yeah I guess so.” Other than her obvious growth spurt and others telling her how much faster and stronger she would be, she never really tested it out. It felt odd, but in a good way.

“Impressive Ms. Sinclair.” Mr. Odair had come up behind them, clicking his pen and writing on his clipboard. “We’ll have to see what you can do,” He eyed Alys disapprovingly, “unhindered.” He looked like he was going to continue, but two rough-housing furs who were getting out of hand on the sparring mat made him turn away to shout at them. They took that as their opportunity to shower and change before their next class.

Enid took extra care while under the water to scrub off all the dirt and sweat that had accumulated over the last 48 hours. It was the last hygiene check she had before she would see Wednesday (and the rest of her friends of course) at lunchtime. Using the same towel she used earlier to dry off, the blonde then sifted through the backpack Zach had grabbed for her. She really hoped that she didn’t have to change back into her smelly gym clothes.

Upon opening the bag, she was met with not only a change of clothes into an outfit Enid definitely would have picked out for herself, but also the textbooks she picked up from Ms. Odair for her next two classes. She could’ve sworn her bag was empty before all of this. The alpha couldn’t tell if she should be creeped out or impressed. Either way, she was going to have to talk to the werewolves about her room and boundaries against going in there.

“Hey Enid!” Think of the devil, Zach was leaning against the girl’s changeroom when she exited and fell in line with her as she walked past.

“Hey Zach, how’s it going?” She asked politely.

“Oh, y’know.” He smiled sheepishly. No, she didn’t know. Could he just get to the point already? “Mind if I walk with you?” She wanted to say that he was already walking beside her, and they were going to the same classroom. If they didn’t walk together, they would just be walking a few feet apart, it really didn’t matter.

“Sure.” Was all she replied. The pack had already grown rather sizable behind them, as their cohort shared all the same morning classes and traveled as, well, a pack.

Suddenly, the smell of old books and ink flooded her senses and caused her head to shoot up. She sniffed again, and her head veered in the direction of the source. Partially obscured by a pillar on the other end of the quad was none other than Wednesday herself, still in the black Nevermore uniform that Enid saw less than an hour ago. So, she didn’t hallucinate the whole morning exchange, thank the goddess.

Just to make sure, because Enid didn’t actually ‘talk’ to her and for all she knew it could be a very convincing impersonator, Enid veered her path, her legs slightly picking up in pace. Only she forgot her alpha-hood meant the entire pack turned with her too. “Hey guys, keep heading to class, I’ll meet you there.” She ordered, turning her head slightly to make sure they weren’t on her tail anymore. With only a few curious glances, they all obeyed without question. Occasionally pack hierarchical structures came in handy.

As she got closer, Enid realized there was at least one other person completely obscured by the pillar with whom Wednesday was speaking. She focused in on the conversation as she came even closer.

“Look, I don’t want you there either,” The unmistakable voice of Bianca came out – Enid knew she smelt something fishy, “but if you expect me to carry it all the way across campus…”

“This insipid piece of paper authorizes the move.” She raised the paper which Enid recognized from their morning debacle in the headmaster’s office.

“I get that, but –“

“Hey guys!” Enid interrupted, coming up behind Wednesday. She could very clearly see Bianca now, especially considering Wednesday barely came up to just below the wolf’s shoulder in height. She smiled, being extra sure to bare her teeth at Bianca in warning. She remained unfazed in the exterior, but Enid could smell the jolt of fear and hear the heartrate increase which came off the siren with her entrance.

“There, ask Enid and leave me out of it. I’m late for class.” The siren said, before heading off in the opposite direction of where her class was.

Wednesday let out a huff before turning to face Enid. She craned her neck back to look at Enid in the eyes, trying to compensate for the nearly eight inch gap between them, but remained silent.

“Hey.” Enid whispered, giving her a soft smile. Alone in the quad, away from the pack – it felt calm. It felt right. So close to Wednesday, she could feel her body heat tickle the hairs on her arm, and she let her scent flood her olfactory senses and massage her brain. Enid could stay there for hours.

The goth had other ideas though, because for the second time that day, she wordlessly walked away from Enid. Shocked and dumbfounded, Enid did nothing but stare at Wednesday’s retreating form and wonder what she did wrong.

Chapter Text

‘She just left us.’ The wolf sputtered out. Enid ground her teeth together.

‘Yeah, I got that.’

‘HOW could she just leave us?’ Enid didn’t say anything back to it; she couldn’t. There was no way she could answer that without having the urgent need to crawl into a hole and let a slow, painful death take her. The wolf continued when it didn’t get a reply, ‘Does she not remember who we are? Because I’m pretty sure we were more than whatever THAT was just two months ago.’

Yeah, Enid did distinctly remember that. What gives?

‘We should chase after her.’ That didn’t sound like a half bad idea, but Enid had class and didn’t want the pack to question why she was chasing after Wednesday Addams, again. Heck, she wasn’t even ready to ask herself that question, especially given the girl’s odd behaviour.

‘We are going back to class.’ She firmly commanded back at her wolf. The last thing she needed was a repeat of this morning, of her charging down the hallways, claws slashing and feathers flying. To her surprise, the wolf remained silent and allowed Enid to take the reins.

‘But we’re chasing her down after class right?’ It asked after a moment of Enid walking in silence towards the Lycan classroom.

‘Oh yeah.’

***

Enid took a deep breath before entering the classroom, mostly calmed down after her interaction with the infuriating(ly cute) small goth.

“Good morning class, I trust you all had a rejuvenating break.” Ms. Odair began as the class settled down. “We will be continuing where we left off from last semester, as we weren’t able to complete all of the topics necessary due to the abrupt end of classes.” Enid could smell the uneasiness of the entire classroom at the mere elusion to the events of last semester. “However, given that we ended on the night of a blood moon, I thought we would take today to discuss it, and it’s significance to our society.” With the pointed look Ms. Odair gave Enid, she sunk further into her seat. This was about to get super uncomfortable. Why couldn’t she catch a break?

“Can anyone tell me why it is called the blood moon.”

‘I think I know where this is going.’ Her wolf rumbled, amused at the girl’s discomfort and eagerly awaiting the attention it was about to get. Enid wanted to smack it.

“Because the moon turns red, and blood is red.” Caden said from somewhere in the back, the eye roll audible in his voice. Enid exhaled, maybe she would be let off easy and Ms. Odair would let the topic move on.

“Good, Caden, but that is why humans call it the blood moon.” Ms. Odair walked around to lean on the front of her desk, this time not even hiding the challenge in her gaze to Enid. She could feel her alpha bristle, but Enid kept mouth shut. Beside her Alys had her hand raised, eagerly waiting to be called on. After a moment, Ms. Odair finally stripped her gaze away from the alpha and called upon the other girl.

“It was first coined in the 1400s when a group of normies coordinated multiple attacks against the European packs, and slaughtered hundreds of us.”

“And why did the humans pick this particular day for the attack?”

“Because we can’t turn on a blood moon.” She said. The smell of uneasiness turned into full on anxiety at this point. The fact that an undead pilgrim and a Hyde were let lose and attacked the school on a day that the furs were left defenseless was not something anybody there wanted to relive.

‘But we can! Ain’t no lunar eclipse stopping me!’ Her wolf preened.

“Most of us at least.” Zach, sitting on Enid’s other side smiled over at her and nudged her elbow. She did her best to return the smile – she knew he only had good intentions – but it felt impossible.

“That’s right Zach, we are extraordinarily fortunate to have what is called a blood moon wolf in our midst.” Enid might as well have had a target painted on her back for all the eyes that turned to stare at her. She hated that she was being spoken about as if she wasn’t in the room. “Blood moon wolves can transform during the lunar eclipse, said to be due to a special connection with the lunar goddess herself. As such they are regularly deemed as protectors for the whole of werewolf society.”

If Enid could, she would melt onto the floor. Why couldn’t she just be a regular wolf that transformed on regular moons at regular times? ‘C’mon, isn’t it great that they are talking about us?’ No, no it was not.

‘If I didn’t come out at that time, Wednesday would for sure have been a snack for that hyde.’ Enid could feel her eyes flash over with the electrifying sheen of her alpha at the mere mention of Wednesday being anywhere near the Hyde. Her claws elongated and dug into the already battered desk from countless teenage wolves before her.

“Uhh Enid, you alright?” Zach whispered uncertainly; his head bent low to the table in a show of submission in response to the anger exuding from her in waves. Out of the corner of her eye, Enid could see Alys glance between her and Ms. Odair, uncertain of what to do.

“Ms. Sinclair, do you need to take a breather?” Enid looked up to see that she had come to stand by her desk, and hand resting gently in front of her in a show of comfort without daring to make contact with her. It was the smart move, Enid likely would have ripped her arm off if she was touched.

She exhaled, willing herself to calm down. It seemed to be all she was trying to do these days, with varying degrees of success. Her eyes returned to normal, and she smiled up at Ms. Odair, “No I’m okay.”

The teacher waited a moment, not convinced of Enid’s reply but her own wolf hesitating to refute the aggressive alpha. She knew she had to maintain a delicate balance with Enid as her teacher and guide, but also as a wolf who respects the alpha. Seeing no further escalations, she walked away to continue the lecture. Thankfully the rest of the class was spent talking about werewolf political hierarchical structures, a topic Enid had to study extensively over the break and was incredibly familiar with.

When the bell finally ran, she went to stand up and collect her books. “Our next class is in here too.” Alys informed her gently. Despite the beta’s experience with transformed lycans, Enid’s display reminded her that she had no experience with alpha’s and had to be careful.

“We have two hours of lycan classes?” Enid gasped, she thought they were going to joint classes with the other kids and she could have another opportunity to track down Wednesday in a non-stalkerish, non-alpha kind of way.

“Yeah, we were just in politics and sociology, now we have biology and presentations. Since we’re seniors and stuff.” She laughed nervously, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Ms. Sinclair.” Enid turned to see Ms. Odair ushering her to the front of the class. She was peering over her glasses at her laptop screen, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. This couldn’t be good. Enid tiptoed to the front of the room, wondering when she was going to catch a break. When she made it to the front of the desk, Ms. Odair began again, “Ms. Sinclair, I’ve just received word from Principal Williams about a request to change your roommate assignments?” She glanced up at Enid now, a question on her face.

What did she mean, ‘change roommate assignments’? Enid certainly didn’t put in a request, she needed loved having Wednesday as a roommate. “Now I know you two were friends prior to your transformation, however given the nature of your presentation –“

“Did Wednesday submit the request?” Enid interrupted.

“I’m not at liberty to say.” Who else could it be though? Only the girls themselves and their parents could have a say in roommate assignments. Enid’s mother didn’t care about her day-to-day enough to meddle – she was too preoccupied with Enid’s future – and Wednesday’s parents clearly respected her autonomy. Enid certainly wouldn’t even entertain the thought.

It must have been Wednesday who didn’t want to be her roommate.

Ms. Odair continued, “As I was saying, given the nature of your presentation, I don’t think it’s wise –“ Was Wednesday moving out because Enid was an alpha? She felt her wolf’s jaw drop, a crack forming in its perfect self-image. “– for you to room together.”

Enid’s brain buffered, processing what she just heard. Ms. Odair was saying they shouldn’t room together? Enid shook her head to clear her train of thought and start over.

“You mean to say…” She began, “that we weren’t already rooming together?”

“No, as of this semester, you weren’t.” Ms. Odair said simply, clearly unaware of how her words were exponentially decreasing her chances of making it out of this room alive. “You see, as the lycan counsellor, I consult on each werewolf’s living conditions and schedules at this school, and it is in your best interest – as a wolf but more urgently as an alpha – to room either on your own or with another wolf of your choosing. It could be dangerous if you were to live with a human, especially given all of the changes you are going through.”

Enid saw red, she was ready to paint the town with blood, she was going to –

‘Wait, wait, wait, but are we rooming with Wednesday now??’ Her wolf interjected her boiling over. Huh, good point. Since when did her wolf pull her out of a rage? She repeated the wolf’s question out loud.

“This is what I wanted to discuss. It seems Principal Williams has signed the transfer, against my better judgement,” She mumbled the last part under her breath to herself, “however I believe it is in my prerogative to override the form and decline it as the lycan supervisor.”

Enid placed her hands on the desk, looming over the teacher. Her eyes flashed their electrifying blue as her wolf rumbled close to the surface. For the first time since the blood moon, they were on the same side again. She could hear her wolf’s voice blend into her own with her next words, forcing all the power of the alpha she could muster.

“Don’t you dare.”

Chapter Text

The change in the room’s atmosphere was instantaneous. Anger charged the air, and suddenly every wolf was part of a live circuit that threatened to overload and blow out at any second. Enid could sense each person’s wolf, individually tasting each one’s aggression and/or submission to her display. She found that she could gauge their likelihood of combating her, and for the most part, none were even close. However, the immediate submission she felt from each student behind her did little to curb her wrath, because her target was pointedly not doing what she should have been doing. What her alpha demanded.

“Ms. Sinclair?” Ms. Odair turned from her computer to peer at the bristling alpha while maintaining a calm exterior. It didn’t fool Enid though; she could smell her fear. While it came off her in waves, Enid needed more to be satiated.

‘Submit!’ Her wolf echoed in her head, exuding stronger alpha pheromones to force the teacher under her hand. She could hear whimpers from the class behind her as they could do nothing but drown in the overwhelming air. She bared her teeth but held back the growl that was waiting diligently in the back of her throat.

“Ms. Sinclair!” Enid had to give it to her, she was certainly brave. At this point her claws elongated and dug into her already worn-out desk, battered from years of adolescent wolves learning to control themselves. “This… display,” she took a moment to find a good description of what Enid was doing without validating it, “is precisely the reason rooming with a human is strongly inadvisable.” She asserted.

That gave Enid pause. She didn’t back down – she wouldn’t dare – but she didn’t amplify her dominance.

‘She’s lying! Wednesday is more than capable, and we have perfect control!’ Her wolf said. Enid wholeheartedly agreed with the first point, but just in the last 12 hours alone she was hard pressed to agree that she and her wolf together in the same body exemplified ‘perfect control’. She combed her brain, looking for an actually valid reason she could give Ms. Odair.

‘Use your words, use your words.’ She chanted to herself when her wolf kept offering her claws and bite as a very convincing bargaining chip.

‘She can’t override the transfer if she has no hands to sign the forms.’ Her wolf argued.

‘And I can’t room with Wednesday if I’m expelled.’ She retorted, making her wolf pause.

Very deliberately ignoring the scenarios it offered showing the hierarchy of people she could maim or kill to both room with Wednesday and prevent her expulsion, she tried to retract her claws. While still angry, it was incredibly difficult to oppose the natural biological response. She winced as the pressure in her nailbeds was only just barely tolerable.

‘Ms. Odair,” She began, relieved that actual words left her mouth instead of incoherent growls, “Cora,” She corrected herself, hoping that the colloquialism would further make the ‘lycan supervisor’ hear her plea.

“Is there anything I can do to convince you that it’d be okay?” She notably tried to pitch her voice upwards as the growl threatened to break into her voice.

Ms. Odair let out a loud exhale, feeling the lessening aggression in the air. She took off her glasses and rubbed her temples as if not immediately submitting to the alpha had given her a headache, which wasn’t entirely impossible. “Enid, I understand you want to stay with your friends, and it might seem like you can get a handle on your… mood swings.” She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully and trying not to overwhelm the clearly distressed girl, “but with spring coming and the lycan heat and rut cycles it brings –”

Enid nearly choked on air, her face no doubt a bright tomato red. She hadn’t even thought of that.

“– You can understand why non-beta wolves would be given their own rooms. The details are included in the text highlights I gave you yesterday.” She cleared her throat. There were only four omegas at the school, and no alphas, so it wasn’t hard for that particular fact to be neatly swept under the rug and not thought about.

‘Ooo Ooo! I have a solution.’ While Enid felt herself shut up at the mention of presenting wolves mating cycles, her wolf seemed to only get more excited. ‘Tell her Wednesday is our mate!’

This time Enid did choke on air. Panic and a million questions flew in her brain as she coughed, creating a tornado of thought and emotion. Her wolf wasn’t wrong about how that would make Ms. Odair back off. Wolf mates were considered sacred and eternal - a perfect union of matching souls, something Enid dreamed about since she was just a little pup - so she couldn’t just say that as a bargaining tool.

‘But you wouldn’t just be saying that. It’s the truth.’ Her wolf prodded.

“Besides,” Ms. Odair continued, “You can still visit each other after class and before lights out, eat lunch together. Really there are still many options for you to socialize with your friends.”

“But we’re roommates.” She whined. The teacher gave her a look, clearly unconvinced.

“Enid, please try to see my reasoning. It’s not only your situation I must consider but also that of Wednesday.”

“But she was the one who put in the transfer request, that must count for something!” She refuted.

“I’m not sure if Ms. Addams is fully informed on your situation either. I will be sure to have a chat with her after I revoke the request.” At this, she turned to face her computer and began to click at the PDF document she had up on the screen. Enid’s eyes darted between Ms. Odair and the screen. She had to come up with something to change her mind.

Running out of options, she bent to her knees and rested her chin on the desk, looking not unlike a dog begging at the dinner table for the last scrap of food and whispering in a voice low enough so that only Ms. Odair (and not the rest of the class) could hear her next words. She couldn't believe she was doing this, but she had no choice.

“Wednesday and I are mates.”

Lunch had finally come. The hour after Enid’s little confrontation with Ms. Odair was nearly unbearable. If she thought everyone was staring at her before, they now made her feel like she was stripped bare and being scrutinized under a dissection table for specimen analysis. Really, they were just wary of her. After her charged display of dominance, they got a taste of what she was, and more importantly, what she was capable of. It was obvious she showed just a small percentage of her true wolf, so her classmates were incredibly attuned to her needs to make sure she didn't turn her wrath onto them.

As such, she couldn’t blame them for how attentive they were, following closely on her heel and listening for any whim they could cater to, but she could certainly resent them for it. Taking in the quad now full of the other Nevermore students, she sniffed at the air, looking for the smell of old books and ink that permanently made itself at home in her brain.

Instead, she was flooded with the off-putting odour she first traced on Yoko which seemed to be a trademark of all the fangs, the moldy crypt smell being the undertone that connected all the vampires sipping on their lunches together. She could smell the iron of the blood they drank, even going so far as to discern the blood type coming from each cup. As the wolves passed by, one of the fangs caught Enid’s eye and got up, waving at her.

Talking to her was the last thing Enid wanted to do right now, not when she had yet to track down Wednesday, especially now that the teachers thought (or knew; she still was uncertain of the validity of the fact) that Wednesday and her were mates. As a wolf leader, she had duties though. One of them was to talk to the fangs and any other species that requested it, so after telling the rest of the wolves to go ahead without her, she gave the fang a weak smile and headed in her direction. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yoko give her a big smile and two thumbs up.

Right, Enid needed to sort out the whole ‘Yoko being able to talk to Enid regularly without a vampire ambassador in the room’ debacle. She couldn’t believe she almost forgot about that. Well, perhaps when it came to Wednesday she could forgive herself a bit.

“Hey Enid, how’s it going?” Enid had reached the fang, Celeste, and they moved away from both the wolves and fangs to give themselves some semblance of privacy for what must have been a diplomatic exchange.

“Hey Celeste! It’s been good. First day of classes are always a wild time.” She laughed, trying to sound engaged and genuine and totally not letting her eyes stray around the courtyard in search of a certain someone.

The red-headed vampire gave her a sympathetic look. “Right, it must be especially tough with all the new senses kicked into overdrive. I heard it’s the worst in the first few months for you guys. It’s the same with us.”

It was pretty well-known that the increased senses were overwhelming as your brain got used to the onslaught of new information, but Enid always figured it’d be worse for vamps. While most were indited into the species after rigorous trials, some were still transformed accidentally, and they were completely unprepared for the changes. Of course Enid had little difficulty relating to that since her own transformation from an untransformed wolf to an alpha seemed similar in intensity.

“Anyways, Yoko told me you are an alpha right?” She waited for Enid to nod, confirming the information. “That must be what that extra smell is.”

“What does it smell like?” She couldn’t help but ask, curious if it was different to the vampires than to her wolf brethren.

“Ha, uhhh…” Celeste chuckled nervously, “Not the greatest, I’m sure you’ve been realizing that fangs and furs don’t have the greatest olfactory compatibility.” Enid sniffed again, this time focusing fully on Celeste. No books and ink, just fang. Enhancing her statement, Enid’s nose immediately wrinkled in distaste. Instead of offense, Celeste visibly relaxed and laughed. Enid let herself do the same, maybe Yoko was just kidding about the ‘lycan-vampire dispute’ she mentioned yesterday. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Anyways, I wanted to introduce myself as the fang representative. My dad is the coven leader in New England, and I’ve been training for some time for it.” She said, voice turning businesslike. Enid’s expression immediately fell; she did not like where this was going. “I know Yoko and you were friends before you transformed,” Enid really didn’t like the past tense used by the vampire to describe her friendship, “but especially since you’re so new and getting used to all this, it’s best if you guys hang out in the quad or just any public place.”

So that was it? Enid was forever to be treated like a radioactive baby that could explode at any second. Restriction after restriction was to be placed on her until somebody finally had the gall to put her in a locked cell? Her nostrils flared out in anger, letting out a huff of air that might as well have been steam. Celeste took a step back, putting space between herself and the wolf. Smart girl.

“When am I considered as ‘not new’ anymore?” She asked, grinding her teeth together to let out her frustration in a way that avoided tearing Celeste’s head off and burning her alive. As much as she wanted to, she knew it’d just be further proving her point.

“Whenever this,” she gestured to Enid subtly, clearing her throat and taking yet another step back, “is under control. We just want to prevent emotions from flying high and someone to do something they’d regret.”

“You think I’d hurt Yoko?” Now Enid took a step forward to reduce the space the retreating fang previously made.

“Not intentionally.” She held her hands up in a soothing motion and surprisingly kept her voice level. A testament to her no doubt decades of experience. “But I don’t want her to have to defend herself and risk someone getting hurt. Even if no harm was meant, with who you are it’d be a political scandal.” She tried to explain. 

Right, Enid was supposed to be a regal political head for the lycans not only at the school, but for (at the very least) all of North America. As much as her wolf wanted her to, she couldn’t solve all her problems with violence. She took a single deep breath and willed all the anger out as best she could, seeing marginal success in her new emotional state.

“I don’t think avoiding each other is good either, both on a personal level and on the societal scale.” She said, finding her voice. “If anything, it’ll just further draw the divide. I know it’s hard, but you have to trust me. Trust I can control my wolf and trust that Yoko can take care of herself.” Celeste put her hands on her hips and looked Enid up and down, taking in her new confidence while considering her words. “From what it sounds like fangs and furs went from enemies to just barely amicable. Maybe we can start working on being friends.” With that she stuck her hand out as an offering, hoping to seal some sort of understanding between them.

‘Not bad for a newbie.’ She thought to herself while Celeste stared at her hand, contemplating what was just said.

It was then that Enid should have realized that her wolf was being a bit too complacent. It’d be a whole hour since it'd done anything to put her foot in her mouth or threaten expulsion. Of course, it was at the moment that Celeste decided that she would agree with Enid, reaching out to take her outstretched hand, that Enid’s next breath brought in the long overdue scent of old books and ink. Her eyes shifted and caught the shadow of black gliding through the edge of the courtyard, and so really, what happened next wasn’t Enid’s fault.

Before Celeste could take her hand, before Enid could even have a single coherent thought, the wolf had dropped her arm and bounded in the direction of all her desires.

“Wednesday!” She called out. The small girl stopped mid-stride and turned around to face the bubbly werewolf and look her up and down. Oh, Goddess above it felt good to finally get her full attention. Now all she needed was for Wednesday to speak more than two words to her.

“Enid.” She said. Cool, one word down, two more to go. She needed to get her to say something. She needed to hear her voice more.

“What’chya doing?” She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels, trying to play it off casually. She was thankful that Wednesday (hopefully) didn’t have supernatural hearing or else she’d hear the pounding of her heart. With how it was going, Enid felt like she might not be able to hear anything other than that.

Thankfully, she knew she was wrong when she heard Wednesday speak. “Arranging my belongings. It seems they were misassigned upon my arrival and I’m rectifying that.” Enid and her wolf preened. Wednesday went through so much trouble just to room with Enid again and she just (kinda sorta) admitted it to her face. She must have cared about her. Maybe now was the time for their hug? She did shower now after all.

“Need any help?” She said instead. Baby steps, she didn’t want to invade on her personal space.

“Not necessary. Thing has moved most of it and I had the sirens move the larger items.” She stated. Of course Wednesday could get the sirens, the beings who were known to use their song to get what they wanted, to do her bidding. Was there anything this girl couldn’t do? She pushed away the slight disappointment she felt over not being asked to help herself. “This is the last of it.” She ever so slightly tapped a medium sized black bag slung across her shoulders. Enid jumped at the chance.

“Can I grab that for you?” It turned out Enid literally jumped at the chance, taking a big step towards Wednesday and rapidly closing the space between them. Much to Enid’s delight, Wednesday only slightly leaned away, instead of taking a step back as she would’ve done in the past. The wolf held her hand out, waiting to be given the bag. As much as she just wanted to rip it off her and help her, it was still Wednesday's choice.

She waited, watching as Wednesday clearly considered something Enid was not privy to. After a few seconds, Enid could’ve sworn her pupils dilated every so slight. Suddenly, the lack of space between them was electrifying. Enid simultaneously felt a safety blanket envelope the space they stood, secluding them from the rest of the quad, as well as an invigorating charge that seemed to heat up her whole body. Now, not only was her heart pounding loudly in her ears, but each beat pulsed an unfamiliar heat that ignited something in her veins. Her resolve to just stand there and let Wednesday decide was slipping with each second after that. The instinct to grab not only her bag but also pick up the girl herself and carry them both up to their room was overwhelming.

‘Wait pick ‘her’ up??’ Enid caught herself, mid-thought. What did that even mean? Of course Wednesday could walk herself up to the room. By that logic however, Enid didn’t need to carry her bag, Wednesday was a very capable individual. No, she wanted to; she wanted to so badly it felt like she was a dehydrated desert explorer who just found fresh water and wanted a drink.

Thankfully, Wednesday relinquished the need for Enid to wait any longer when she said, “That would be acceptable.” A massive smile spread across Enid’s face. She wanted to jump for joy, run excited circles around Wednesday, eat an entire cake celebrating Wednesday’s acceptance of her. Instead, she just took the offered bag and walked beside her roommate (damn that felt good to say) to their room.