The Fat Human both Alphas wanted

VANESSA

"She looks like she swallowed a whale," someone said, and loud laughter erupted around me. I was already on the ground, legs crumpled like a piece of wood from how hard I had been pushed. A crowd had gathered, laughing loudly.

"Why not stand on your feet and fight back," another student said, mocking. "She needs food for that." Another round of laughter. The sides of my eyes tingled with the hot sting of forming tears.

This was the worst humiliation of my life. My first day, and the worst one. I looked up, blinking rapidly, trying to save myself from the tears that were coming.

"No signs of weakness, Vanessa," I mumbled under wet eyes. I planted my hands into the ground, finding an anchor, then my legs moved next, then my waist, pulling myself up.

"Look, the whale is trying to get to her feet. Let's give her some encouragement." They clapped and cheered loudly as I took one step after the other, trying to find my balance. "You can do this, fatso," someone mocked.

Now that I had gained my balance, I sniffled, holding it all back. I picked up my backpack and walked away, with my head between my shoulders.

My shoulder slugged from being heavily stuffed with food, packed snacks, a can of soda, some sandwiches, and a packed lunch.

I took a short break, hands pressed to my chest, taking in deep breaths like my life depended on it. I wiped off a pool of sweat on my forehead. And kept moving.

When I applied for admission into college, I never expected I'd be caught in a dilemma like this. Stormville University has always been my dream school. Whenever the ad for it came on screen, my face would light up in excitement.

Then, a week ago, I secured a scholarship into this university of my dreams. My hands were literally trembling when I got the email.

But today being my first day I noticed that things were better from the outside than they were on the inside. I discovered that Stormville was a werewolf-only university when I witnessed a student shift into a black wolf right at the back of class.

My blood ran cold. When I tried to escape being seen, they caught up to me and demanded to know why I had spied on them.

They forced me to shift shape too, and when they discovered I couldn't, they called me feral. Another called me cursed. Defective. But the truth was, I was human, and I had just discovered a secret that could kill me.

I walked across the quad, avoiding lurking eyes, taking off twigs, grasses that had stuck to my hair, eyes gawking at me. Snarls and growls came like mockery, but I kept moving, head down, staring at my shoes.

"Fatso," a female student called out. I later learned her name was Brenda. She was tall, thin, flat-stomached, with a face card I could never have. From a small crowd of students sitting under an umbrella tree along the east wing of the quad, loud laughter erupted.

I simply rolled my eyes and walked away. I could never let anyone find out about my secret. So I took it all. The insults, the abuse, all of it.

"Just a few more steps to the office, Vanessa. You can do this," I said between struggling breaths. Just as I reached the pavement, I held onto a pillar, pulling my knees upward to climb onto it. When you're plus-sized, a mile always feels like a hundred.

The hallway was quiet and empty, like someone had sounded an alarm to clear it out. I kept moving, the ground quaking beneath my steps.

As I reached the office floor, I searched the doors for name plates. One held the name Dr. Abeight. Another read Professor Willtooth. I kept searching.

Then I noticed a man stepping out of an office ahead. I couldn't see his face because he was walking away with hurried steps, but I noticed his shoulder-length blond hair, his broad shoulders, his fit, powerful frame. His stride was ethereal, almost like royalty. He was so tall I half expected his head to brush the doorframe.

I quickened my pace, trying to get a better look at him, but his steps outpaced mine. "Hello?" I called out, hurrying to catch up.

"Hello... ethereal being?"

No response.

His frame grew smaller and disappeared from sight.

I'd lost him.

I was halfway down the hallway, so I turned back, breathing hard from the little effort it had taken. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, knees weak.

Then my eyes caught a worn office door bearing the name I'd been searching for. The nameplate read Professor Tom Lawrence. The same office the ethereal stranger had stepped out of.

I snapped my fingers. Perfect.

I adjusted my shirt and went for it.

Knock knock knock.

No response. I knocked more than seven times, and still nothing. So I turned the knob slowly and pushed the door open. It creaked, the sound echoing through the space.

"Hello, Professor Tom... mind if I come in?" I called, eyes raised.

"My name is Vanessa Dodge, a new student, and I really need to speak with you."

Still silent.

So I pushed the door open further.

"Ahhhh!" I yelled, hands flying to my mouth in shock. My backpack slipped off my shoulder without resistance, my heart pounding at what lay before me.

A man in his mid-sixties, salt-and-pepper hair, was dangling from the ceiling, feet and legs stiff with rigor mortis.

Blood pooled beneath him. I could hear my own heartbeat, loud and shaking in my ribs. My hands trembled. "Oh my god," I yelled, my voice cracking. I didn't realize I was backing away until I bumped into something and fell hard, face hitting the floor.

"Helllllppppp!"