Evan was running as fast as he could. The reason was pretty simple.
"I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!!!"
He was sprinting to class.
Calibrating his new phone had taken longer than he'd thought. Now he was running flat out. He'd heard that Professor Ratel got mad easily at late students. He'd also heard about the professor's legendary punishments in the form of homework. He really didn't want to find out how much of that was true. So he ran as fast as he could, not looking where he was going.
Just as he was taking a corner, he felt himself slam into something. He fell to the ground and landed on something soft.
"What the…?"
He grabbed the mysterious object. It was really soft and springy.
"You little…!!!"
He heard a growl and felt someone's hand grab his ass. He let out an embarrassed yelp. A second later a pair of strong arms hoisted him into the air.
He was being held up by a jacked wolf girl. She growled, staring into his eyes and baring her teeth. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her tail fur bristling.
"Any last wishes?"
He was just about to ask what the hell he'd done when another voice chimed in.
"Ramming into and groping the boss is going to cost you, big time."
He glanced to the side. He saw a grey-furred she-wolf holding one hand to her breasts, her other hand opening and closing into a fist over and over.
The muscular wolf girl clenched her fist and was just about to punch him when the bell rang.
"We don't have time for him, Astrid. We'll deal with him later."
"But…"
"You heard what Frida said! We're going!"
The wolf girl threw Evan onto the lawn, and as they walked away one of them tossed him his phone.
It took Evan a few seconds to snap out of it. He grabbed the phone and started running again. By the time he reached the classroom, the bell had rung a while ago.
Professor Ratel was not pleased. Even though the prof didn't even come up to his chest, Evan was more afraid of him than of the wolf girls.
"How do you explain yourself?"
Before he could answer, the ram at one of the desks spoke up.
"It's not his fault, sir."
The teacher turned to the student.
"And how are you so sure?"
"I saw it from the window. Frida's gang ran into him."
Ratel looked him up and down, then glanced around the classroom.
"Is this true?"
Everyone nodded slightly.
The teacher sighed and turned to Evan.
"If you have problems, report them to the Headmaster. Now sit."
Evan went to his seat and, as he walked past the ram, whispered a quiet "thanks."
A short break between classes. A moment to catch some air—and some people clearly needed it. Evan was walking down the hallway with the ram who'd spoken up for him.
"Thanks. I'm Evan."
"Shaun Woolsey. Don't mention it. But, you know… running straight into Frida like that?! I don't know whether to envy you or pity you."
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Frida and her four wolves run the area around the school, but they won't do anything to you if you don't get in their way."
Evan facepalmed.
"I'm screwed."
"I'm starting to envy you."
All Evan could do was sigh heavily.
Somewhere else at school.
A group of five wolf girls lounged on the grass. One of them was lying on her back, not caring at all that her panties were on full display.
"I'm so fucking pissed. What are we doing about that fur-less guy?! We going to hunt him down?"
"Calm down, Astrid. Everything in its time."
"Ingrid, why wait?"
"Did you see what he looked like? Like what?"
Astrid shot her a sharp look.
"What kind of question is that? Like a human from televi—"
At that moment another wolf girl sat up.
"Wait, that was… a human?!"
"Only just now catching up?"
Ingrid sighed, and the smaller wolf girl laughed.
"Astrid is such an airhead. Too much muscle."
"Fuck off, Mira!"
The others just laughed.
"Hey, Frida! We're over here talking about how some guy groped your tits, and you're just sitting there doing something with your hand."
Frida was leaning against a tree, repeatedly opening and closing her fist.
"Sorry, girls. I was just thinking about his ass. I've never felt something that meaty and soft in my life."
"Frida's in loooove. In looove."
"Fuck off, Mira."
Ingrid clapped her hands a few times.
"Alright, alright. Whatever you think about it, you all know this isn't something we can just let slide."
Frida nodded. They weren't the only gang in town. If it got out that they let something like this go, other groups would take it as a sign of weakness. It'd basically be an open invitation to attack.
"Ylva, got any intel on him?"
A wolf girl with a slightly nerdy vibe put down her S&M magazine and grabbed her smartphone.
"The guy's name is Evan Smith. He was admitted by the Headmaster a couple of days ago. Who he was before and whether he has any family—no data. Either there's nothing, or it's encrypted. The only noteworthy info is admission form AS-451."
Frida perked up at that.
"An off-system admission that requires council approval?"
Ylva gave her a curious look.
"So that's what 451 means? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering your old man's on the council."
Frida leaned back against the tree.
"Don't. Say. A word. About my father."
Astrid yelled:
"Can someone explain to me what that even means? Are we going to go kick his ass or what?!"
Ingrid growled at Astrid.
"It means that if we go and kick his ass, we're the ones who'll get our asses kicked. By the Headmaster and by the council."
Ylva sighed.
"Exactly. And hard. Criminal case level. Even if Frida begs Daddy for help."
Ylva drew the edge of her hand across her throat. Even Astrid's brain understood how serious that was.
"So we're just supposed to look like wimps?"
Frida jumped to her feet.
"Relax, girls. I've got an idea. We'll do this clean—and if it works, we'll have more fun than with any regular beatdown."
She grinned, baring her teeth, her tail whipping excitedly in all directions.
"Where is that coin? Oh, there."
Evan finally pulled a coin from his pocket. Now he had to make one choice: pick a drink from the vending machine. But which one? There were no typical Earth drinks. His fingers wandered over the list when he heard:
"I recommend OrangeClaw."
"Thanks."
As soon as Evan grabbed the can from the machine and turned around, he froze. Frida and her gang were standing right behind him.
Before he could say anything, two of them grabbed him under the arms and dragged him off to some dark corner.
There, Frida looked him straight in the eyes. Evan was at least grateful that the fur on her tail wasn't bristling and it was swaying gently. And that her lieutenants weren't flanking her this time—but that was only a small comfort.
"I want to talk about what happened this morning."
Evan squeaked one word in a thin voice.
"Sorry."
She just flashed her fangs.
"I'm very sorry."
She gave a soft laugh.
"If I were just some regular girl, I'd accept that. But the gang's reputation is on the line, and I can't just let it slide."
Evan pressed his back to the wall, his eyes searching for an escape route. Frida poked him in the chest with a finger.
"Beating you up wouldn't be satisfying, so here's the deal. Next class is PE, and we've got sprints. You beat me in a race and I'll let you off. Got it?"
"And if we don't get paired up?"
"Trust me, we will. I made sure of it."
At that moment one of the girls flashed a victory sign. Frida leaned in closer.
"If you lose, you'll have to make it up to me for what happened this morning."
Evan swallowed.
"What does that mean?"
Frida suddenly hugged him and started groping his ass.
"Oh, I've got a couple of ideas. I'll make sure to punish you properly."
Evan wondered what exactly that might mean. Then he jolted. He felt her hand getting dangerously close to his backdoor. On top of that, he noticed one of the girls holding an S&M magazine.
"See you in PE."
Frida let him go, but added one more thing.
"And don't even think about faking sick and hiding in the nurse's office, or we will beat the shit out of you. Got it?"
"Got it."
Evan slumped to the floor, staring after the retreating wolves. His brain pieced together the information into an image that was… not particularly pleasant for him. Punishment, S&M magazine, and her obsession with his ass. In his mind's eye, Frida appeared in a dominatrix outfit with a huge strap-on and a whip, telling him she was going to "punish" him.
"What the hell did I get myself into?!"
"What the hell did you get yourself into, Evan?!"
Rufus stood next to him in PE. Shaun was on his other side. Warm-up was over.
"Pissing off Frida?"
"I envy you."
"There's nothing to envy… Shaun, right?"
"That's right."
Evan held his head. The wolf girls had forced him into a bet on the race. And he was pretty sure he didn't stand a chance.
"So it's true?"
"That Frida's good at running and sports? Yeah."
"So I am going to get punished."
"I envy you."
"There's nothing to envy, Shaun! You damn masochist!"
Evan sighed, but at least he was glad he'd gained a friend out of this.
"Well, there's only one thing left. Just run like a starving wolf is chasing you."
"Thanks, Rufus."
Finally, the coach blew the whistle to line up. Evan had a faint hope they wouldn't pair him with Frida.
"First pair: Evan Smith and Frida Vollmond."
So much for hope.
They walked up to the starting line.
They got into position. Frida threw one last comment his way.
"Is your ass ready for me?"
"You'll have to catch me first."
Evan tried to sound as confident as possible, but he knew it didn't come out that way. Frida just laughed.
At the whistle they both took off.
Evan and Frida ran, and time seemed to slow just for them. At first, Frida didn't go all out, giving him the illusion he might actually win—but then he started to pull ahead, and she sped up. Evan didn't think about anything. He just ran straight for the finish line as fast as he possibly could.
They both crossed the finish line and doubled over, gasping for air. Frida growled at the referee.
"What's the result?"
They all stood and watched the video replay on a phone. Frida's wolves stood behind Evan, sure their boss had won. Evan felt like he'd lost. In the end, all their jaws dropped.
Evan had won, beating Frida by half a body length.
Everyone was in shock.
"I lost?!"
"I won?!"
Silence fell for a moment.
"A deal's a deal. I'll forget what happened this morning."
"Yes!"
Evan shouted with joy. Frida, on the other hand, was seething inside. Her plan had been perfect. She'd never lost a race before. Well, not for years at least. She'd lost, and their plans for the evening had gone to shit. She deserved at least a consolation prize.
She grabbed Evan's ass, and he jumped like he'd been burned.
"What are you doing?! You promised!"
"I promised to let the collision slide. I didn't say anything about stopping the groping."
Frida went to sit down with her girls. Ingrid nudged her.
"Bruised your pride, huh?"
Frida just growled at her.