“Oof” was the only sound I made as my long time tormentor, Carl, punched me in the stomach. Doubling over, I held my stomach as I tried in vain to breath.

“What, had enough already Madox?” he taunted grabbing a fist full of my hair and pulling me up to look at him.

“Oh, what are you not gonna cry and beg me to stop?” he asked sounding a bit disappointed. I'd learned long ago that begging, pleading, and crying only made it worse specially when he was already in a foul mood. So, instead I did my best to stay absolutely silent. Dragging me by my hair across the locker room, he threw me into one of the shower stalls so I'd have no where to run as he kicked me in the stomach repeatedly. As the first bell rang, he stopped kicking and said “remember if you tell anyone, it'll only get worse” before he turned around and left. Fighting to stay conscious, I waited until I heard the door close before I passed out from the pain. When I woke up again, I noticed I wasn't in the locker room and started to panic until I realized I was in the nurses office. Glancing around, I noticed a boy no older than me with silver blue hair that was longer on top and swept to one side with the back and side shaved almost entirely off sitting in a chair at the end of my bed. Sensing my eyes on him, he turned his head to look at me as he closed whatever he'd been doing. Standing, he placed whatever it was on the seat and walked towards me before saying anything.

“Oh, you're up faster than I thought you'd be” he said emotionlessly.

“How'd I get here? I remember passing out in one of the locker room showers but after that nothing” I said confused.

“That would be because I found you unconscious and carried you here. You do know where you are right?” he asked with a stone cold expression.

“Yeah, we're in the school nurses office. Crap, that means she went to go call my parents” I said smacking myself in the head and closing my eyes again.

“Yeah, is that a bad thing? You may need to go to the hospital” he said.

“Not bad exactly just not good either. He's gonna be annoyed unless he sends my mom and then it'll be worse but I don't wanna know what they'll do if they both show up” I said moving my arm to cover my eyes. Silence filled the room for a few minutes before I heard the door open and close again. Heels clicked on the tile floor as nurse Hayley walked towards me.

“Oh Madox, you're awake. That's good. What do you remember?” she asked coming to stand by my side.

“Just passing out in the showers and waking up here” I lied not looking at them. For some reason, I got the feeling the guy knew I was lying but didn't call me on it.

“Okay, you don't seem to have any brain damage. Move your arm so I can check for a concussion” she said clicking on a open light. Moving my arm, I stared at the ceiling until she told me where to look.

“Alright, it doesn't appear that you've got a concussion. Why'd you pass out though?” she asked.

“I was at my limit pain wise. It took everything I had to stay awake as long as I did” I said not looking at them. Nurse Hayley knew about the beatings I was getting almost daily. So, I didn't have to tell her any more. Silence descended on the room again until the door opened a few moments later admitting both my parents. Moving to stand at the end of the bed, Nurse Hayley and that boy made room for my parents to check on me.

“I'm fine mom, really” I said answering her worried expression. After a few moments of silence, my dad turned to the nurse and my rescuer. Sniffing, he asked “who are you boy?”

“My name is Conner De Luka sir. I found your son passed out in the locker rooms and brought him here” Conner said.

“De Luka, are you one of Alpha Miles De Luka's boys?” my dad asked.

“Yes sir, I am technically his youngest son” Conner said shrugging.

“Technically?” mom asked Conner confused.

“Yes ma'am. I have a twin brother who was born a full six minutes before I was” he explained.

“Just out of curiosity, would you happen to know who your father chose to train our son Madox?” dad asked surprising both Conner and I apparently.

“Wait what?” I asked sitting up confused and immediately regretting it.

“Since your brother and I will be leaving tomorrow to join the fight, your mother and I asked Alpha Derick to request someone from the Blood Rose pack come to train you” he said then turning back to Conner who hadn't moved an inch added “do you know who that might be?”

“Alpha Miles has chosen to send our strongest fighter to fulfill that honor sir” nurse Hayley said.

“And who might that be?” dad asked trying to get a name as Conner just stared at me.

“You're looking at him Beta Charles” Hayley said putting a hand on Conners' shoulder which apparently snapped him out of whatever he was thinking making him look at her.

“Oh wow, you're younger than I thought you would be” dad said as Conner and I stared at each other again.

“If you'll excuse me, I really should be getting back to class” Conner said before grabbing his bag bowing and then all but running out of the room.

“I'm sorry about him sir, he's just not used to being praised by anyone other than family. Usually, if the pack does it there is an unintentional veiled insult attached to it” Nurse Hayley explained as she apologized for his sudden departure.

“Why's that?” I asked curious.

“Because like you Madox, Con, sorry Conner, is an Omega. Now our pack isn't prejudice against them, in fact our Luna, his mom, is a male omega as well. The problem is that they underestimate him and even when he exceeds their expectations they somehow can't believe it was ever possible. Con worked his ass off to get the strongest warrior title and now he's working his ass of to graduate at the top of his class and go to medical school despite being an Omega. He wants to prove he can do anything despite what people and other wolves think of him” Hayley explained as if she'd known him her entire life.

“You sure do seem to know a lot about Conner, Nurse Hayley” I said in wonder.

“Of course I do. He's my favorite cousin. His mom is my mom's younger brother” she admitted freely. Trying to stand up, I flinched a little in pain. Looking over to where he'd been standing, I noticed he left his book behind. Walking over to it, I picked it up and asked “Nurse Hayley, do you know where he went?”

“Well he said he was going to class but he really only has to attend his AP classes this afternoon. And since he wasn't himself when he left, I'd say he's probably on the roof of this building. Don't worry, he's not the type to intentionally hurt himself. He just goes up there to clear his mind a bit. You should probably go talk to him Madox and tell him everything. He can't train you if you're always banged up so bad you can barely move let alone breath” she answered then added “take the south end stairwell. It should be unlocked when you get there and don't be surprised if he doesn't say anything and looks either pissed off or like a stone statue. It's his defense mechanism.”

“Okay, thanks. Mom and dad can you please wait here. This is something I have to do alone, okay?” I asked and headed towards the door with the book in hand. As I made it to the stairwell, the bell rang luckily not many students used this stairwell so it was fairly empty as I climbed. Reaching the door, I took in as deep a breath as I could then exited onto the roof.