Back to the Academy

The shadowy figure in front of Mason giggled and called out his name. No matter how much he squinted, he couldn't see her face or body clearly but she felt familiar. He felt more comfortable with her than he did with most people.

"Come on," the melodic voice encouraged before giggling again.

"Wait!" He called out in a panic as the figure started moving away from him.

He started chasing after her but she only grew further and further away like he was running on a treadmill. The further she got, the blurrier her image became until she was almost a blob in the distance.

"Wait!" Mason called again before the ground fell out from beneath his feet.

"Wake up!" Matthew yelled as he banged on the bedroom door loudly, jolting Mason awake and out of his dream.

Mason groaned and buried his head under his pillow, determined to ignore his annoying brother. His dream lingered in his mind as he tried his best to remember what the mysterious figure had looked like. He sighed in relief when the knocking suddenly ceased, happy to go back to sleep.

Before he could drift off again, he felt a large weight drop onto his body, pushing him into the mattress and all the air out of his body. He bucked the weight off and onto the floor with a thud, unsurprised to hear Matthew's amused laughter. He poked his head over the edge of the bed and glared at his brother with half shut eyes and sleep muddled hair.

"What do you want?" Mason demanded in a sleepy but angry tone as he stared at his mirror image - the same twinkling blue eyes as his but neater blonde hair.

"Time to get up, bro!" Matthew chirped excitedly as he leaped to his feet gracefully. "We have a long drive ahead of us."

"Is that today?" Mason asked with a frown as he sat up completely. "Where did the summer go?"

Matthew snorted and shot his brother a knowing look, "Seems like someone was having too much fun."

"Get out," Mason replied tiredly as he climbed out of bed, unfolding his tall frame with a stretch. He pointed at the door and made a beeline for his ensuite bathroom.

He sighed happily as he turned the knob in the shower and the hot water started cascading down his body. He closed his eyes to savor the warm water before getting on with it - he knew he didn't have time to take a long shower.

Today he and Matthew were leaving for Star Academy for their last year of school before they'd take over Alpha and Beta duties. This was basically their last chance to let loose before they had very serious, adult responsibilities. They had been born to lead The White Death Pack but the idea of leading such a strong, old and powerful pack was a little daunting.

A fact Mason would share with no one but Matthew.

There was no one he trusted more than Matthew but he hadn't told his twin about his weird recurring dream. He was sure that it meant something but he wasn't sure what - he wanted to believe it had something to do with his mate.

Mason was jolted out of his thoughts by knocking on the bathroom door.

"Leave me alone, Matthew!" Mason yelled out as he washed the soap off of his body. "I'll be out in a minute."

He took the silence he received in reply as Matthew's acceptance of his answer. He rolled his eyes and sped out of the shower, toweling himself down vigorously before quickly brushing his teeth.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to find his father in his room instead of Matthew. Marco Grady was a very handsome man, even at fifty years old, with absolutely no gray in his healthy head of dirty blond hair. His sons had both inherited his tall and muscular build.  

"Good morning," Marco greeted warmly."Ready for today?"

Mason smiled at his dad and gave him a quick side hug before disappearing into his closet to start getting dressed. He pulled on a very simple outfit - a plain white tee and ripped jeans, the look completed by worn combat boots.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Mason answered with a wan smile as he came back into the room with an empty suitcase.

Marco raised a surprised eyebrow, "Only packing now?"

"I can always buy anything I forget," Mason answered with a shrug as he started ferrying  clothes from the closet to the suitcase. "I know why you're here."

"Oh?" Marco answered with a laugh. "Have I become predictable in my old age?"

Mason chuckled and shook his head, "You're hardly old, Dad. I'm just used to the speech I get at the start of every school year."

"Should I skip it this year?" Marco asked with a chuckle as he watched his son go back and forth.

"You can hit the key points, if you want to." Mason laughed as he put the last of his things into the large suitcase.

"I think all I'll say this time is that after this, it's the real world." Marco said seriously as he looked into his son's eyes. "You need to be ready to be an Alpha by the time you graduate. You've worked your whole life for this, finish strong."

Mason nodded solemnly before he picked up his suitcase. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Marco assured him before cracking a slight smile. "Your mom is waiting downstairs to feed you and shed a few tears."

"Let's not keep her waiting," Mason suggested as he indicated for his dad to lead the way. 

The two men walked the short distance to the stairs in a comfortable silence - each lost in his own thoughts. Mason's mind was full of thoughts of his destiny while Marco's were wondering if Gianna had made enough food for him too.

"There's my Alpha," Gianna called out with a wide smile as Mason walked into the kitchen. 

While Gianna had a loud and strong personality - she was at least a foot shorter than the men in her life. Her hair was a lighter shade of blonde than her husbands, the same shade as her sons. Her brown eyes were alway full of warmth and laughter; making her the perfect mother and Luna.

She pulled him into a deep hug, unwilling to let him go for a few minutes. Mason smiled at her gently when he noticed her teary eyes when she pulled away. He kissed her forehead fondly and squeezed her again.

"Come on, Mom." He cajoled her teasingly. "We'll be back before you know it."

"It's just not the same without my babies here," Gianna sniffed as she guided Mason to the kitchen table, where Matthew was already working on a huge plate of food.

"They're hardly babies," Marco commented as he heaped his plate with food.

"They'll always be my babies," Gianna disagreed sternly. "Even when they're Alpha and Beta, they'll be my babies."

"I have no problem always being your baby, Mom." Matthew commented with a sweet smile as he pushed his empty plate away from him.

"Suck up," Mason grumbled under his breath, laughing when his Mom slapped his arm playfully.

"You could be more like your brother," Gianna teased with a mock pout.

"You'd hate it if we were the same," Mason shot back with an easy shrug.

"That's true," Gianna laughed. "You two balance each other out. I couldn't handle two of the same."

The kitchen was silent except for the sound of forks and knives on plates as Mason and Marco ate. Matthew quietly enjoyed his coffee while Gianna hovered behind him, her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't forget to take care of each other," Gianna instructed her sons. 

"We always do," Matthew assured her as he grabbed one of the hands on his shoulder comfortingly. "You can always check in too."

"It's not the same as seeing you," Gianna complained as she leaned down and hugged her son. "You two better call me more than you did last year."

"Please do!" Marco interjected. "I can't take another year of complaints about you two."

Gianna glared at her husband, "I don't complain."

"Boys?" Marco asked his sons, roping them into the conversation.

"We need to leave now if we want to get there in good time," Mason answered with a chuckle as he jumped up. "I'll start loading the car."

"I'll help!" Matthew chimed in as he quickly jumped up and the two of them sped out of the room.

Mason was not surprised to find a group of pack members waiting in front of their house when he opened the door. It was mostly the younger members of the pack that had come to say goodbye to their future leaders. It was something they had done from their first year at the Academy - that was the point where their education had diverged from the rest of the pack.

As usual, most of the boys were there to send Matthew off while most of the girls were there to remind Mason not to forget them. The closer he got to being Alpha, the more attention he received from all female wolves in the right age range. None of them seemed to care that he wasn't their mate - or they were hoping he was somehow.

Mason and Matthew made quick work of loading their car up with the help of a few pack members. They exchanged idle chit chat with a few people as they waited for their parents to join them.

The moment Gianna and Marco joined them, the four of them locked into a tight family hug. When they pulled apart, they only exchanged smiles before the two young men waved goodbye to everybody and slid into their car.

"You ready?" Mason asked Matthew as he started the car.

Matthew grinned and turned the radio on, "Let's hit the road!"