The beginning of the end

  There’s something about the smell of rain that both ignites the soul and eases the mind. The morning sky was veiled with dark clouds, preparing to shower my forest. I opened the door to our cabin and took in a deep breath, before sighing contently. While the weather was in my favor, this day would not be. I heard my father’s footsteps coming down the stairs and closed the door behind me as I stepped outside. I already knew what he was going to say and preferred to enjoy these few moments of bliss before going back to reality. If this had been any other day, I would have already been gone, running through the trees in sheer harmony. Unfortunately, this wasn’t any other day. This was the first day of my last year in high school. To some, that may seem something to celebrate, given this would be my final year. For me, it was the end of a long road leading up to my final days of freedom. School had been a welcomed delay for my inevitable fate.

  -

  When I was ten years old, my mother was killed in a territorial battle against a pack of rogues. Rogue packs rarely came into our town, but when they did, they brough disaster and misfortune to those of us who resided here. Unlike normal packs, rogue’s don’t have territories or principles. They are thieves, murderers and conmen. My mother was a kind and caring woman who tended to her pack as the Alpha’s mate should. She had defended our territory with honor and lost her life in the process. My father had to be strong for his pack, but he was never the same after that. My father knew our pack was too weak to fend off a second attack. In an act of desperation, he struck a deal with another pack that resided in our town. Before the deal, we had been rivals with a long history of vendetta against one and other. Our pack, Shadowfang, and Redclaw had been enemies for generations. Redclaw’s Alpha agreed to fight alongside Shadowfang, but in return, I was promised to the Alpha’s son. The battle was won and the rogues were outcast from our town, and I was set to pay the price for our victory after we finished high school.

  I knew I should have been happy about the arrangement; we had successfully defended our territory and were uniting two rival packs together. Besides, Cedric’s son wasn’t the worst I could do. In fact, he was the complete opposite. Byron was tall and fit, toned and tanned. His curly, light brown hair and piercing green eyes were enough to floor any woman, especially the girls at our school. Byron was an Alpha in the wolf world as much as he was in the human one. I should have been content, but my instincts were telling me something different.

  Arranged mating wasn’t an often occurrence in our world, but it did happen. There was an old tale my mother used to tell me about The Moon Goddess, who chose our mates for us. It was said that when the time came, your inner wolf would call out to your mate and the two would be united under The Moon Goddesses declaration. A time ago, our ancestors would worship The Moon Goddess and would remain celibate until her declaration was made. Our species has evolved since then, but my father still speaks of The Moon Goddess in high regard. He believed that The Moon Goddess still touched us without our knowing. As he swore, she was the reason he fell in love with my mother in the first place. That was as far as he would speak on the subject, always getting choked up at the mention of my mother. Even with this, he believed my arrangement to Byron would credit our packs generously. He believed it was for the greater good, even if he could see how much I resented it. It wasn’t about Byron or uniting the packs; it was about taken away my rightful name as Alpha and my choice of who to mate with. I would go through with it for my father’s sake and the sake of the pack, but I refused to go down submissively.

-

The rain still hadn’t come as I set out for school. My only comfort was not having to go through it alone. Ashton, Kyler, Jace, Fyn and Melanie walked alongside me with the same dreary look I had. Another beautiful day that we had to spend locked inside with humans. We walked in silence the entire way, letting the impending feeling of doom consume us. It wasn’t until we passed the gate and were in the middle of the field that Ky spoke.

  “I want to go home.”

  I nodded, sharing his feeling. “That makes all of us.”

  A group of girls walked by us, their laughter piercing my ear drums. I recognized the girl in the lead to be Chelsea, Byron’s ex-girlfriend. He had more than his share of the girls in this school, but Chelsea had been one of the longest relationships standing at eight months. I wondered how she would have felt if she knew he was already promised to someone else. As if on cue, I caught sight of him standing a few yards away, surrounded by his pack. I tensed when he met my eyes. The smile on his face widened and he took a step in my direction. I cursed to myself and turned away.

  “Look who’s coming over to say hello.” Ash rolled his eyes.

  He was as bitter of our arrangement as I was. Byron stopped just a few feet from me, closely followed by his packmates, Damien, Axel, Lane, Daxton and Louis. I glanced over his shoulder, realizing someone was missing. From seemingly out of nowhere, Vivian snaked her arm around Byron’s torso and leaned against him while shooting me a look. Our packs stood still for a long moment, just staring at each other, before Byron spoke.

  “Glad to see you all again.”

  “We’re forced to come every year, let’s not pretend like this is a reunion.” Fyn crossed his arms.

  Byron’s smile didn’t waver and he took a step closer, lowering his voice. “Except this year is different, is it not?”

  His gaze flashed to me for a short moment, before returning his attention to Fyn. I wasn’t sure what I saw then, but the hair on the back of my neck began sticking up. Confidence? Arrogance? I expected him to be just as gloomy as the rest of us, but he was just the same cocky Byron I’d known for years. Usually, our packs avoided each other in the halls. Why was he talking to us now? My question was answered when he spoke again.

  “Listen, we’re all aware of what’s going to happen at the end of the year. I’m thinking we can make the best of this situation and get to know each other before our packs are united. After all, eventually everyone here is going to be living together.”

  I winced and pulled Fyn behind me. “You want us to hang out with you for the duration of the school year?”

  His eyes met mine again and I felt my heart skip a beat. I had never stood so close to him before, and the reality of being his soon-to-be mate was beginning to sink in. I held his gaze, forcing myself not to show him I was unraveling in his presence.

  “We have to come to terms with it eventually, Natalia. We might as well do it sooner rather than later. Don’t you want to get to know us?” his eyes glimmered slightly.

  I bit my lip, glancing behind me. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

  He smiled. “So, you’ll sit with us at lunch then?”

  I nodded, unable to find the words to respond. I heard both our packs behind us mumble under their breaths, equally annoyed. The bell rang and the wolves took their leave, all except Byron and I. We kept our eyes locked on each other, even as people brushed past us, hurrying to get to their first class. When the crowd had cleared, he leaned in, making his voice barely audible.

  “It would be best if you didn’t fight me; they need to see us as one or they will never accept me as their Alpha. I’m sure you understand the fate of our packs rests on our shoulders, Lia. Don’t make this harder than it already has to be.”

  “Strong words for someone who’s made sure his pack stayed far away from us for the last three years.” I cleared my throat.

  He narrowed his eyes. “I thought I was doing you a favor. You didn’t seem to want anything to do with us.”

  “Was it that, or you doing yourself a favor? Let’s not pretend like any of us are happy with this arrangement. I granted your request, but that doesn’t make us friends, Byron.”

  “I think you’ll change your mind soon enough.” he smirked.

  He turned away, starting up the steps, leaving me to ponder what he said alone. Something about the way he was so sure of himself was both annoying and admirable at the same time. I found myself smiling as I headed for the door, welcoming the challenge that was to come.