Lukas
After driving for longer than I wanted to in order to get to my destination without having to stop at a hotel, I finally made it to the property of the academy that is run by my father’s old friend and ally, Alpha Philip Edwards.
He was no longer in charge of his own pack; after he lost his mate to a rare disease, he handed over his pack to his younger brother. He then opened up an academy with an elite training program for what he liked to call “misfit wolves.”
Basically, any wolf of alpha blood who wouldn’t inherit their title — usually wolves who were not the firstborn in the family — or any wolf looking to receive elite training to potentially move up in rank within their home pack or any other pack could enroll in the program.
They came from all over. The alpha-blooded wolves w
Lukas She looked immediately confused, craning her neck around to check me for a mark, but obviously found nothing. I shook my head at her, answering her unspoken question. “I can’t claim her yet.” I stopped there, giving her the short version, hoping she’d leave it at that. “I’m willing to play wing-man for you, though. While I’m here,” I counter offered, trying to get the focus off of myself. Her eyes darkened at my words and she looked down, tucking her light blonde hair behind her ear and throwing it back over her shoulder. She opened her mouth to reply to me, then closed it again, her eyes scanning the occupants of the bar. She was clearly searching for someone, or rather searching to make sure she didn’t see someone. I was immediately on alert, my body tense and ready to pick a figh
Juniper 11:59pm. That was the time on my phone. Exactly 24 hours had passed since I had turned 19, and nothing that had happened had turned out the way I had expected. I set my phone down with a sigh, my eyes scanning the stars above me, waiting and hoping to see a shooting star, or a comet, or… something… I could make a wish on, something that I could pin my hopes on for the coming year. I still had so many questions, so many thoughts running through my head after the events of today. When would I get to meet my birth parents? Where were they that they couldn’t raise me? How would I be able to rule a kingdom that I knew nothing about? When would they expect me to take over? And of course, the biggest question of all: who would be my mate, and when would I finally meet him?
Juniper **********Dream********** The sun was bright; the light burning through my closed eyelids. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a bright environment, filled with colorful flowers and dense plant life. The vivid colors around me were unlike anything that I had ever seen on our packlands, completely taking my breath away with the overwhelming beauty that surrounded me. I found myself drawn to the flora, my bare feet moving me through the soft grass to examine everything before I could even think about what I was doing. Upon closer inspection, the wildlife seems to be a mix of plants that I am familiar with, having seen them on our packlands or studied them in my advanced botany classes at school, and plants that I had never encountered before in my
Lukas My head was pounding, the feeling completely overwhelming and unbearable, the light from a giant window causing me to squint my eyes closed in pain. I groaned, hauling my body over as I rolled and tried to sit up unsuccessfully, only causing me more discomfort. The pulsing in my forehead was incessant, growing louder and stronger every time I made even the slightest movement. “Hey there, easy now,” a male’s voice sounded from nearby. I felt a bottle of some sort of liquid being handed to me, and I grabbed it wordlessly. “Here, drink this,” the voice told me. I finally sat up, eyeing the bottle of water in my hand warily before turning to look for the source of the voice, every movement causing a bigger pulse of pain in my brain. My eyes
Lukas I blinked, because I wasn’t expecting that question at all. “I’ve never really thought about it, but Drew isn’t a full wolf. You know that,” I reminded him. “I’m not opposed to it, and I know the pack will be fine with it. I want someone who is a hard worker and who I can trust and rely on. Being a wolf doesn’t automatically make them those things,” I said. “Still, how would that work? Would they be able to join the pack, be part of the pack link?” Phil smiled knowingly. “It can be done, yes. It will have to be done under the radar, since King Tobias likely won’t approve, but there are ways around that.” He stood, and I stood with him, following him out of his office and through the front doors of the building, towards the training yard. “The elite class is training right now. That’s where you’ll find the people I have in mind for you.” He glanced back at me as he continued to speak. “You’ve already met a few of them, actually.” “Finn?” I asked, and he nodded. “And who else?
Lukas “Birthday boy! Hey, birthday boy! Wake up!” Chloe’s voice bellowed at me through the closed door of my bedroom in my suite in the guest hall, but I just rolled over, shoving my head under the pillow to block out her voice and the sunlight. I had planned on spending the day alone in my bed, letting my misery wash over me as the memories of my birthday two years ago played repeatedly in my head. It sounded like the perfect way for me to spend my birthday this year, since I wouldn’t be celebrating it with my mate or my pack or my family. Chloe had other ideas, however, and before I knew it, my door was slamming open and Chloe was marching into my room like hell on wheels. “Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with you?” she yelled as she saw
Lukas I sat for a moment in my car after I parked, staring at the windows and the signs of the shop, mustering up my courage to go through with what I had planned. I had done nothing like this before. The people I knew who had said it hurt like a bitch even with our shifter healing. Still, I knew this was what I wanted. I knew this was one way to have June’s “mark” on me before we could actually be together. I finally exited my car and walked the few steps to the door, yanking it open and setting off a chime that alerted the employees that a potential customer had entered. I glanced around the shop, taking in the interior. Artwork littered the walls, mainly sketches from the employees that worked there, I assumed. The walls themselves were a dark hunter green, and there was a matching green couch in the lobby, with a table in front of
Finn This fucker is taking too long, I grumbled in my mind as I waited in the lobby of Hank’s shop. My beast was restless. The trip here was not enough to settle his restlessness. He’d been on edge ever since Lukas arrived. Not that we had anything against Lukas himself. He was great. Almost perfect, which was frankly annoying. My beast respected him to where he almost even liked him, which meant a lot for him. He was ready to follow Luke when he finally went back to his pack, and I thought that was the best idea for both of us. No, Lukas wasn’t at all what had us both on edge. I glanced at my watch again and leaned forward with a sigh, resting my elbows on my knees, when Hank finally walked out of the back. I glanced up at him, and he eyed me quizzically. “What’s eating you?” he grunted. I huffed in response. “The same old shit,” I muttered under my breath, standing up. “Well, take care of it,” he scolded me with rolled eyes. I whipped my head at him and narrowed my eyes; I