“I, uh, I didn’t understand any of that, sorry,” said Arla, as she stretched and began climbing down from the top bunk to get a better look at her roommates.
“Who are you?” asked the tallest girl Arla had ever seen. She was almost the same size as a full-grown Alpha werewolf, towering over Arla and the other two girls in the room. She had deep olive coloured skin, hair the colour of mud, and eyes that matched. It looked like she spent all her free time outdoors under the sun.
“How do you fit in the bed?” asked Arla incredulously, before she gasped and her hand flew to her mouth to cover it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude.”
The three girls chuckled.
“It’s ok,” replied the tall girl. “To answer your question, I don’t fit, it’s very uncomfortable.”
Stepping out onto the cobbled street, Arla got her first look at her new community in the daylight, and was instantly enchanted by it. It felt like she had stepped back in time, into a quaint village she’d only ever seen in movies, yet it had a familiarity that made her instantly relax. The smell of chimney smoke hung in the air, and although it aggravated her nose with her heightened sense of smell, she knew she’d adapt quickly. The girls walked to the end of the main street, in the opposite direction Arla had arrived the night before. Another wider section of the lake came into view, and it was breathtaking. It was completely still and looked like glass with the sunlight bouncing off it. They veered to the left and stopped in a wide open paddock. The training area appeared to be broken into various zones; there was a section with a garden, anoth
“I’m sorry,” she said, trembling as tears streamed down her face. “Was that? Did she?” Julian rambled, leaving his students and rushing over from the lake. “Yes!” replied Carmen, slowly regaining her composure. “Pure magic. White.” “Wow!” was all Julian could say as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “We need to inform the Elders.” “No! Please don’t!” begged Arla, the feeling of déjà vu was overwhelming. “I’ve already had to leave two packs because of my magic. I won’t have anywhere to go if the Elders kick me out too.” Julian and Carmen exchanged confused glances. “You don’t seriously t
“I hope I’m not interrupting, I just wanted to come and introduce myself to Arla. I’m Victor. You made quite a debut this morning,” he said with a lopsided grin, extending his hand for Arla to shake. Arla felt her cheeks heat embarrassingly, taking in his compliment as she returned his handshake. “Uh, um, thank you, I think,” she replied, nervous under his intense gaze. “I hope we have a class together soon. I’ll see you around, Arla,” he said as he returned to his own table. Meredith’s laughter broke the three other girls out of their trance-like state. “You should see the look on your faces right now,” she teased. “A good-looking boy comes along and you all turn beet red.” “He’s divine though,” sighed Lydia hopelessly,
Arla enjoyed the early morning sunshine as she walked to Harriet’s farm. The village seemed so peaceful, and as she crossed the bridge, the lake was flat and calm. Birds chirped happily, and she stopped for a moment to take in the view. It was all so new to her, yet warm and somehow familiar, and despite missing her pack and her friends, she had started to view it as home. She had written letters to Felix and Chloe which Elder Laurel had promised to send for her, and now she was impatiently waiting for replies. Elder Laurel had also offered to have mirrors delivered to them so they could communicate more regularly. As she watched the small fish in the water, she wondered what her friends were doing now. She wanted to know if Felix’s ribs were healing and smirked, imagining how Violet and Rocco’s first week of cleaning duty had gone. It was a great
Alpha Lorenzo lay in bed early on Sunday morning, not entirely sure if he’d even slept. The past week since he’d had to send Arla away had been impossibly hard for him. Marcel was still ignoring him most of the time, and when he wasn’t, he had a terrible attitude, which in turn made Lorenzo short-tempered and grumpy with everyone around him. He tried to hide it as much as he could, but it was exhausting. He distracted himself during the day by throwing himself into his work with the pack and businesses, but at night when he lay in bed, all he could do was worry about Arla. Was she ok? Was she being treated well? Was she happy? Did she hate him for doing this? As he lay there staring at the ceiling, he felt it. A tug on the mate-bond with Arla that was so faint he would have missed it had he been busy. He flew out of bed, throwing on some sweatpants and
Arla was a dirty, sweaty mess by lunch time. The girls, along with Victor, stopped and ate the food that Astrid had packed, and Arla asked Harriet about what it was like growing up as a witch. In return, Harriet asked a million questions about life as a werewolf, and Arla described her pack and her friends as both Harriet and Victor listened with interest. Harriet was easy to talk to and easy to like, and Arla was surprised to find herself warming up to Victor as well. The conversation flowed freely between the three of them for the remainder of the afternoon as they worked. Harriet’s initial flustered demeanour regulated itself once she realised he only had eyes for Arla. She had now mastered the blooming process, and Harriet had moved on to teaching soil enrichment, seedling growth and harvesting. Arla was a natural at all of it.
The weeks turned into months, and before long Arla had turned fourteen and was positively thriving at the coven. She commanded an aura of respect and power that came from the confidence in the strength of her abilities. They widely respected her for her talent as well as her caring nature, and as she took on more responsibility helping the teachers train the younger witches, she was looked up to as a mentor. She struggled to believe that she had only known she was a witch for less than a year. As the rumours of a new white witch had circulated, more and more witches had requested the Elders allow them to visit, to meet Arla in person. She had become somewhat of a celebrity within magical circles and the Elders tried to limit her exposure, concerned about the intentions of some in the community. Meredith had
She felt the magical barrier let her through and passed a few more trees before they finally came into view. She was smiling like a fool as she kept running, and as they noticed her, they broke into tremendous grins of their own. Lorenzo knew he would never forget her smile in that moment, and how thrilled she looked to see them. Without thinking, she ran and launched herself into Drew’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug and her legs around his waist. He laughed and spun her around before a low and possessive growl sounded next to them. He placed her quickly back on her feet and took a step back, bowing his head to his Alpha. Arla was mortified when she realised she had broken protocol by addressing the Beta first, and bowed her head to Alpha Lorenzo as well. “I’m sorry for not acknowle
Arla, Lorenzo, Lydia and the witches had assembled in front of the pack hospital, waiting for the return of the rescue party. The witches were abuzz with a mixture of nerves and excitement. For some, it had been many long months since they’d seen their loved ones, and they still had no idea the conditions they were kept in, how they were being treated, or if they were still alive. Milo exited the first van, approaching Lorenzo and bowing his head respectfully as the rest of his team helped the passengers alight. Lorenzo held out his hand to shake Milo’s, stepping aside as one witch cried out and ran to embrace her daughter. “There were three casualties in the cells, Alpha. We’ve wrapped them and transported them with us, they’re arriving in a separate vehicle shortly. I thought their relatives would want th
Arla entered the bathroom, stripping off her borrowed clothes and running the hottest shower she could tolerate. Stepping into the stream, she lathered up her body wash, watching the dried blood and dirt slide down her body and into the drain. She became lost in her thoughts as snippets of the battle replayed in her mind - the evil look in Alpha Anton’s eyes, her fear for Lorenzo and her pack, the strength and power she felt when she used the mate-bond, Maeve’s pain as teeth sank into her neck…” She screamed as she was pulled from her thoughts by a pair of muscular arms around her waist. “Sorry, sorry, I thought you heard me come in,” Lorenzo soothed, holding her close. “Drew! Violet! Lorenzo, we need to inform her dad,” she struggled against him, her fac
Arabella stalked her prey silently, creeping further out of sight. With teeth bared, she saw her opportunity and took it. Arabella flew gracefully through the air, her attention focused squarely on the neck of the white wolf whose back was to her. Her sharp teeth pierced Maeve’s skin like needles and the white wolf yelped in both surprise and pain. Arabella’s paws had barely made contact with the ground when she felt an intense pain tear through her body. It started at her neck, causing her to open her jaw in reflex, releasing Maeve, who backed away. The pain quickly radiated throughout her whole body as she was flung forcefully to the ground. Violet felt weak, her connection to Arabella fading, and when Arabella glanced at her paws, Violet saw she was lying in a pool of dark crimson blood. 
As they forged deeper into the forest, they finally spotted Alpha Anton, standing in human form and surrounded by witches, only a handful of whom Arla recognised. Where did he find these witches, and where are Sadie and Victor? Were they punished for my escape? The thought made her stomach churn violently, and her mind raced. The sound of Marcel pulled from her thoughts as he unleashed a loud, primal, Alpha howl. Marcel shook his head in confusion, turning to see the wolves from his own pack, along with Alpha Dominic and Alpha Roman, also submitting. Arla and Alpha Anton’s army were the only wolves seemingly unphased by it. “You issued a fucking Alpha King comm
The first warning siren sounded at five o’clock in the morning. Lorenzo and Arla sprang from the bed as the first rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains. They quickly dressed in the first clothes they could find, listening to the sounds of frantic movement below them in the house. “Alpha, incoming, approaching the western border. Forest is ablaze. There are too few of them for it to be the full attack,” came the mind-link from Eli. “Probably a diversion, only send enough teams to cover it.” “Yes, Alpha. I’ll keep you updated.” Lorenzo relayed the message to Arla as he pulled the curtains open and saw the smoke rising in the distance. He could feel the adrenaline begin to flow in preparation for battle. The responsibility on his shoulders felt immense.
Violet stood in the training hall with the rest of the pack’s warriors, waiting for the meeting to start. She had presumed the gathering was to announce battle plans, but had been surprised to hear people around her mentioning that the Alpha was going to choose his mate today. Alpha Lorenzo was six years past mating age and still had not found his true mate, so it made sense that he would select a chosen mate. Violet had no doubt in her mind that he would choose her. She had rejected her mate in order to be with the Alpha and was still feeling some of the effects months later, but her single-minded focus on becoming Luna helped distract her from the pain. The pain would all end once Alpha Lorenzo called her name. The hall quietened as the head warriors arrived, and Violet’s chest constricted painfully
After breakfast, Lorenzo and Arla joined the visiting Alphas and their delegates in the conference room. Some packs had brought their Alpha and Beta along, while other packs had left their Betas to run their pack at home and had bought a head warrior in their place. Alpha Lorenzo had called his senior team into the meeting, so Drew, Eli, Andy, Milo and Jake were all in attendance. Introductions were made and Arla hoped she wouldn’t have to refer to anyone by name, as she’d immediately forgotten half of their names and packs. The men soon settled down to business. “To bring you up to speed, Luna, our borders have been reinforced, patrols are more frequent, warriors from all packs are on standby and ready to fight when the time comes,” Drew informed her, enjoying watching her squirm uncomfortably when he called her Luna, and hoping that she wouldn’t make
They were almost out the back door when Millie’s voice called out. “Good morning, Alpha, Luna,” she said, bowing her head with an excited grin. “Good morning, Millie,” replied Alpha Lorenzo. He could sense her excitement, making him smile warmly in return. “You don’t have to call me Luna,” replied Arla, feeling embarrassed that this wonderful woman who had treated her like a daughter all these years was bowing to her. “Oh, don’t spoil my fun, I want to,” she said, giddy, reaching out and pulling Arla in tightly for a hug. “Congratulations darling, you will be a wonderful Luna.” Arla was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. She had been so overwhelmed since she arrived back home, and then caught up in her bubble of love, th
Lorenzo opened his eyes slowly. His entire body felt stiff and sore, as though he hadn’t moved a muscle in quite a while. The early morning sun was streaming through the curtains, casting an orange glow over the room. Isn’t it night time? He thought, confusion clouding his brain as he tried to recall what had happened. Arla! He turned his heavy head to see her platinum waves fanning over his chest, and wiggled his fingers, feeling her small hand in his. He sighed with contentment and smiled to himself, the delicate sparks dancing on his skin where she lay. Fuck, he suddenly thought.