Chapter 7 Petty Introduction.

STAR

Mr. Fez.

I assumed immediately.

He looked around late thirties maybe, tall with dark slicked-back hair and sharp eyes that looked permanently unimpressed by life. He wore a black button-up with the sleeves rolled slightly past his wrists and there was something terrifyingly calm about him.

His gaze landed directly on Daisy standing beside my desk.

“Miss Vale,” his voice came out cold and smooth but sharp enough to cut skin. “Why are you out of your seat?”

Daisy straightened instantly. “Sir, she—”

“Sit down.”

The entire classroom went dead silent.

Daisy looked shocked for a second probably because nobody interrupted her usually. “But sir—”

“I do not repeat myself.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Sit.”

Daisy’s jaw clenched so tightly I thought her teeth might crack but she obeyed eventually, storming back toward her seat while the rest of the class suddenly found their desks very interesting.

Imogen leaned slightly toward me once Daisy sat down again. “Legend,” she whispered secretly.

I bit back a grin.

Mr. Fez dropped the files onto his desk before picking up a marker and writing something across the board in neat handwriting. The classroom remained painfully quiet except for the scratching sound of marker against board.

“Welcome back everyone,” he spoke finally while turning around. “As most of you already know, this semester focuses primarily on werewolf territorial politics, pack alliances and combat strategy integration.”

Several students groaned softly.

“Your complaints bore me already,” he deadpanned.

Liam snorted quietly from the back while Daisy still looked seconds away from trying to murder me publicly.

Mr. Fez continued speaking while organizing papers on his desk and honestly I tried paying attention but my brain kept replaying Daisy hitting the floor.

Worth it. Absolutely worth it.

Then suddenly Mr. Fez paused mid movement.

“Hm.” His eyes scanned the classroom slowly before landing directly on me. And somehow every other person’s eyes followed too. Fantastic. Just when I thought I could finally be invisible.

“So,” he said calmly while leaning slightly against his desk. “I hear we have a new student.” My stomach tightened immediately.

“Come on out and introduce yourself.” 

Why. Why must that be necessary even here. 

The entire classroom suddenly felt too hot.

Every pair of eyes locked onto me while Mr. Fez waited expectantly near the board and honestly, I hated public introductions with every fiber of my being. People always stared too much and this school already stared at me like I’d dropped from another planet.

Imogen nudged my arm gently. “Go.”

I inhaled slowly before standing up from my seat. The moment I stepped into the aisle, my heel suddenly caught against something and my body lurched forward violently.

A few gasps sounded.

My heart jumped straight into my throat but somehow I managed to catch myself against one of the desks before fully face planting in front of the entire class.

Humiliation burned through me instantly as I turned sharply to see  Liam sitting there innocently with one leg stretched slightly into the aisle, his chin resting against his fist while amusement danced openly in his stormy eyes.

Asshole.

A few people snickered quietly while Daisy looked one second away from dying of happiness.

My grip tightened against the desk. Then suddenly I remembered our little confrontation earlier.

"You will not introduce yourself in this school as our stepsister. You will not embarrass us by telling people that such a low weakling is related to us."

A slow smile spread across my lips.

Oh.

So that’s how we were playing today.

I straightened myself calmly, smoothing invisible wrinkles from my skirt while Liam’s smirk slowly faded the second he noticed the look on my face.

Too late for regrets now asshole.

I walked toward the front of the class slowly and confidently despite my embarrassment. The room stayed weirdly quiet except for whispers spreading around like wildfire already.

“That was definitely on purpose.”

“Did Liam just trip her?”

“The Blackthorne twins AND Daisy Vale don't like her on her first day? Oh she’s dead.”

I stopped beside Mr. Fez’s desk before turning toward the class with the sweetest smile I could manage.

“Hello everyone,” I began smoothly. “I’m Star Ashton.”

Several students stared expectantly. I watched Liam carefully from the corner of my eye before continuing.

“And…” I smiled wider, “I’m the stepdaughter of Alpha Frederick Blackthorne. Alpha of the Moon Sage pack.”

Silence. Complete silence so much that one would definitely hear a pen drop.  Then chaos.

“What?!”

“No fucking way.”

“She’s related to them?!”

“Stepdaughter?”

“Holy shit.”

The classroom erupted into murmurs and gasps instantly while heads snapped toward Levi and Liam so fast it almost looked painful. Daisy’s jaw literally dropped open while the girls beside her stared at me like I’d grown another head.

Liam’s expression darkened immediately and Levi looked worse.

His gaze locked onto mine sharply and even from across the room I could feel the warning in it. Too bad for him, I suddenly didn’t care anymore.

I smiled triumphantly.

Was I petty? Absolutely.

Was it worth it? One hundred percent.

Mr. Fez himself even looked mildly surprised before his expression shifted quickly into something more respectful. “I see,” he nodded slowly. “Well then, Miss Ashton, welcome to Dusk Shade Academy.”

The tone difference was immediate. Even I noticed it. “Oh, she’s definitely rich rich.”

“That Birkin is real.”

“Told you Daisy was lying.”

“No wonder she acts like that.”

“Her wolf must be high ranking too.”

Daisy looked like she wanted to strangle every person speaking..I almost laughed. “Please take your seat,” Mr. Fez continued politely.

“Thank you,” I smiled before walking back toward my desk while whispers followed me the entire way. I passed Liam’s desk slowly on purpose and his eyes narrowed at me dangerously. “You’re going to regret that,” he muttered under his breath.

I smiled sweetly without stopping. “Cry me a river brother.” Imogen looked absolutely stunned when I sat back down beside her. “You're the Alpha's new stepdaughter?” She whispered in gasp shock.

“Well... he is married to my mum so I guess so.”

“No way. Like seriously your mum is beautiful. She's a goddess which explains you!”

I grinned while pulling my notebook out. Across the room Daisy still looked furious but more shocked while Levi leaned back silently in his chair again, though now his attention seemed annoyingly fixed on me.

Good.

Let him be annoyed. I wanna grip his annoyed and stick it so far up his ass it's never discovered again.

The lesson finally started properly after that but honestly within fifteen minutes I realized something horrifying for an A+ student like me. This school was ridiculously advanced.

Like actually ridiculous.

Mr. Fez spoke about territorial dynamics between dominant packs, historical alliance systems and combat ranking structures like everyone already understood everything perfectly. Meanwhile I sat there trying to stop my brain from leaking out of my ears.

At my old school we barely touched half these topics.

I scribbled notes quickly trying to keep up while Imogen occasionally slid her notebook closer to me so I could copy missing information.

Literal angel.

Mr. Fez wrote several complex diagrams across the board before turning around again. “Now,” he clasped his hands behind his back. “Considering the collapse of the Northern Crescent alliance after the Lycan border conflict, what strategic failure do you believe caused the downfall?”

Half the class immediately raised their hands.

Of course they did.

Nerds.

Well... I used to be a nerd.

Mr. Fez pointed toward some guy near the windows who immediately started talking about leadership imbalance and resource dependency. Another girl added something about territorial greed and weak pack treaties.

I understood maybe forty percent of what was happening.

Maybe.

Then suddenly Mr. Fez eyes landed directly on me.

Oh no.

“Miss Ashton,” he spoke calmly. “Your thoughts?” My soul physically left my body. The classroom turned toward me instantly.

I blinked once. Twice and then my brain completely emptied itself.

“Uh…”

Fuck.

“I think…” I swallowed hard while trying to gather literally any intelligent thought. “Maybe the alliance failed because… um…”

Why was everyone staring so hard?!

My face grew hot instantly.

“The leaders probably didn’t…” I stammered awkwardly. “Coordinate well enough?”

A snort sounded somewhere. Then Daisy and her girls couldn't hold back their laughter.

Not a small laugh either.

A full mocking laugh.

“Oh my God,” she giggled dramatically. “That’s your answer?”

Several others joined immediately. Heat crawled violently up my neck while embarrassment twisted painfully in my stomach. I hated this feeling. Hated it.

Mr. Frederick frowned slightly. “Miss Vale—”

“She sounds like a middle schooler,” Daisy continued smugly. “Even first years know the Northern Crescent collapse happened because of supply route sabotage.”

More laughter.

Fantastic.

I stared down at my notebook tightly while trying not to let it bother me. Maybe this school really was too much for me.

Then suddenly Levi spoke. “It’s not the new girl’s fault.”

The classroom quieted instantly. Even Daisy blinked in surprise. Levi barely looked up from where he sat. “She’s mediocre at best given her last school. Obviously she wouldn’t understand advanced discussions yet.”

“Ouuuuu.” Several students reacted immediately while Daisy looked shocked.

Did he just defend me?

No.

Wait.

That wasn’t defending.

That was insulting me politely.

My eye twitched. Imogen looked horrified beside me trying not to react. Levi finally glanced toward me briefly, his expression cold and unreadable as always.

And honestly? I couldn’t even process why his words annoyed me so much. Maybe because he sounded so calm saying them. Maybe because part of me hated that he was technically right. Before I could think further, Liam suddenly leaned back in his chair and smirked lazily.

“Mediocre?” he drawled. “That’s generous.” The room went silent again. Liam’s eyes slid toward me slowly.

“She can barely keep up with basic politics,” he continued casually. “Makes you wonder how she even got accepted here. Oh right, ”

Silence crashed through the room immediately after. Complete silence.

Even Daisy stopped smiling.

Nobody laughed this time.

Nobody moved either.

The whole classroom just sat there staring between me and the twins like they were waiting to see if I’d burst into tears or run out dramatically. Honestly, a small part of me wanted to. 

Still. I was pissed. Not embarrassed. Not hummiated. I just felt pissed. 

I see what they're trying to do. Make me feel like I was beneath them. Like I was stupid.

I slowly lifted my eyes from my notebook and looked directly at him. Liam lounged comfortably in his chair with that same arrogant expression stretched across his face while Levi sat beside him silently, one hand against his jaw, looking completely unbothered.

And suddenly? I got irritated enough to stop caring. I leaned back slowly in my chair and crossed my arms.

“Well,” I started sweetly, “for someone still questioning how I got accepted here, you both sure spend a lot of time thinking about me. I feel honoured that a low mediocre like me doesn't have to pay rent to live in your heads.”

A few students instantly choked trying not to react. Liam’s smirk twitched slightly. I continued before he could speak.

“And honestly, I’d rather struggle academically for one day than spend my entire life acting like an emotionally constipated asshole with a superiority complex. Because trust me the struggle is temporary. But the latter.....”

The classroom collectively sucked in a breath. Imogen’s eyes widened so much I thought her glasses might fall off.

Liam stared at me. Levi finally looked fully interested.

Oops did I poke two big bad wolves little fragile male ego? I shrugged casually. “But I guess the moon goddess can always work miracles.”

A guy near the windows whispered, “Holy shit.” Daisy looked absolutely horrified.