Arla walked back through the boundary and into the coven with a spring in her step. She knew she had missed them, but didn’t realise just how much until they were standing there in front of her.
She was still slightly embarrassed at the way she’d thrown herself into their arms, but they were both there in the alley on the worst day of her life, and had been looking out for her ever since in their own ways.
It was comforting to get confirmation, finally, that it was them watching her at the farm, too. It made her feel cared for to know that even after a year here at the coven, her Alpha and Beta still thought of her as part of their pack and wanted to know she was safe.
Later that evening, Arla sat with her friends in the main house and filled them in on her training session. Sadie and Sebastian listened in
Arla and Victor hastily jumped to their feet, peering into the darkness trying to gauge who, or what, these people were and how many of them were here. They were already breathing heavily from their previous activities and now their hearts were racing, too. “Who are you?” shouted Victor, pulling Arla closer to him. “Don’t be scared, we are friendly,” replied the female figure closest to them, her dark cloak billowing in the breeze. Victor couldn’t smell them, but with Arla’s werewolf nose, she certainly could. She realised she must have been completely lost in the moment with Victor to not smell this stench before now. She’d heard that rogues smelled like rotten garbage, but she didn’t get the feeling that these were wolves. The only way she could think of to describe the fragrance was damp, mouldy carpet.
Arla woke to find herself in her bedroom on the bottom bunk, with Sadie’s worried face staring at her. “Oh my gosh, you’re awake. Are you ok?” “Uh, I think so,” replied Arla, confused. She tried to sit up, but Sadie had already rushed to her side, propping her pillow up behind her and helping her to sit. Suddenly, her memories came flooding back all at once. “Sadie. Victor. Is he ok?” “Victor’s fine, don’t worry. He’s pretty sore and feeling sorry for himself, but no major injuries. He’s been waiting for you to wake up.” “How long have I been out for?” “Not even twenty-four hours. Julian brought you home late last night, and you slept all day today. It’s three o’clock in the afternoon now. Julian said you used so much po
The months continued to speed by rapidly. As she crept closer to sixteen, she began to sense a presence in her mind, like an itching sensation that she couldn’t reach to scratch, and knew instinctively that it was her wolf lurking in the background, waiting for her time to come forward. Her wolf was most noticeable when she was training with Alpha Lorenzo. He had come to train with her once a month for the last two years, and they were always her favourite sessions. If she was being honest, she didn’t exactly work hard when the Alpha came. He always went easy on her if she complained, but it meant they got to talk and joke. Although she would never admit it to anyone but Sadie, she was fairly sure she was developing a schoolgirl crush on him. Arla wasn’t
“Arla, I said left. Left! What’s gotten into you today?” barked Eli. Eli pushed Arla the hardest out of everyone who came to train her, and she usually loved testing her limits, but was struggling today. “Sorry. I’m not with it today,” replied Arla, trying to recover her breath. “Are you ok?” asked Alpha Lorenzo, moving towards her. “If you need to stop, we can.” “We’re not stopping,” snapped Eli. “Get yourself together and keep moving, Arla.” Alpha Lorenzo growled at Eli, who immediately lowered his head in submission. “Ok, fine, we’ll take a break,” he conceded, although clearly irritated. “What’s wrong with you?” “It’s my wolf,” she replied, shaking her head.
The six friends sat in the living room in Lydia’s cottage, playing a board game, while Sadie read one of Arla’s werewolf textbooks for the five hundredth time. She let out a long, dramatic sigh, causing the rest of them to look in her direction, noticing the wistful look on her face. “Uh, are you ok, Sadie?” asked Sebastian, a little warily. “What? Oh, yeah, sorry,” she replied. “I just get caught up in the romance every time I read about werewolf mates.” “Is it different from the way witches choose partners?” questioned Sebastian. He’d never really taken much interest in Arla’s background before. “Oh, yes! Very different,” replied Sadie, eager to share her knowledge. “Werewolves don’t get to choose their mates.” “What?”
Arla tossed and turned all night long, alternating between tears and rage over Victor’s betrayal, sadness at how much she was going to miss her friends and her life at the coven, and excitement to be returning to the pack she considered home. All of her emotions battled with each other for supremacy, leaving her exhausted and emotionally drained come morning. She was up and out of bed before Sadie had even begun to stir, finding a note under the door from Elder Laurel asking to meet her in her office. “The potion is much more complex than it appeared at first glance last night,” said Elder Laurel. “I am fairly certain I know who crafted it, and if I wasn’t so disgusted with him, I would be exceptionally complimentary of his ability.” “What kind of potion is it
The walk to the car was a lot less scary than the one she’d taken three years prior. Being able to light the way with magic certainly helped. “You going to tell me what’s wrong?” asked Drew with a nudge to her arm after their initial chatter had died down. “I can tell it’s more than just feeling sad about leaving.” She wondered how he always knew when there was something wrong. “Victor...” was all she got out before her voice cracked and she began to blubber. “You’ll still be able to see lover boy,” he replied. He knew that as much as Lorenzo hated the idea of her being with him - hell, Drew hated the idea just as much - neither of them would stop her from living her life. “I don’t want to,” she replied, wiping her eyes
Despite her late night, Arla woke early as the first streaks of sunlight made their way through the curtains. She lay there stretching her arms and legs out, her brain unfogging from sleep, before she sat bolt upright as she remembered meeting her wolf. “Woah, settle down girl, you’re going to give yourself whiplash,” teased Maeve. “Oh my Goddess, Maeve! I was worried I’d fallen asleep and you were just a dream.” “Oh no, I’m here to stay,” replied Maeve, smiling. “Happy Birthday, again.” “Thank you. I’m so glad to have you Maeve.” “You’ll never be alone again, Arla.” Hearing her words, Arla felt a peace envelop her. For the first time in a long while, she had someone whose m
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.