BenjaminAs Ben followed the Principal into the cafeteria, he could barely hold in his irritation. When he was sent on this mission by the Alpha King himself, Ben pleaded to be allowed to join this territories version of post school Warrior training. Instead, in his infinite wisdom, the Alpha King decided that joining High School would be a better fit.True, he had just recently turned 16 and acquired his wolf, and had been a Junior back home, but as a visiting dignitary, he would’ve been allowed to pretty much do as he pleased. And since his whole backstory for being here revolved around seeing firsthand how strong the Blade’s Edge Pack was, it totally made sense why he should’ve skipped the whole school bit.Ben couldn’t be too angry, though, as the Luna Queen made it clear that she didn’t want him to fall behind in his studies just because he was picked for this mission. His first mission, to be clear, as most Warriors in the Briar Kingdom wouldn’t be eligible until they came of ag
Ben“I didn’t realize your sister was the same age as us,” Ben asked as they stood up. “I would’ve thought she was much younger.”“Adopted sister,” Misty corrected as she hooked his arm again. “And she’s only a freshman, but since she has no friends, all she does is study. I was against her taking advanced classes with us, but grandfather put his foot down. The senile old fool.”“He’s not senile,” Chris argued back as they made their way outside for Clubs. Ben had learned throughout the day that this territory saved their specialized classes for after school clubs. It was a good idea, he thought, and would see if his Alpha King would want to adopt a similar structure back home. “At least most of the time.”Alpha Lord Roland, as they called their Kings here in this territory, was a legend, even back in the Briar Kingdom. The Thunder Pack, who used to rule this territory, were among the most elite anywhere, and were undefeated in battle throughout their history. And yet, they were wiped
AylaEveryone was there when I entered the dining room.Alpha Lord Grizzle was siting in his usual spot at the head of the table with Luna Lannie sitting to his left. Misty was sitting next to her, and Chris was sitting on his father’s right. Two other servants were standing against the wall, ready to serve as needed. The smells from the kitchen had been taunting me for the past hour, and standing here now, seeing all the delicious foods spread over the table, made my mouth water.I stood at the opposite end of the table from Lord Grizzle, my hands held against my lower back, and my head down. This wasn’t the first time was called in during family dinner time, and I like last time, Luna Lannie seemed to want to make me wait. She no doubt hoped that the food in front of me would weaken my resolve.And she wasn’t wrong.It took fifteen minutes of waiting before their conversations came to a halt and all eyes were on me as the Luna finally spoke.“Tomorrow night we will be hosting the ne
I turned and fled from the room without a word, heading straight for the basement. Most of it was furnished into a large game room, complete with couches, tv’s, a large bar, and every kind of tabletop game there was. What most people didn’t know was that there was a secret door hidden behind the bar that led to the utility area for the Manor. And located there was a closet where my bedroom was, a very old set of washer and dryers, and a little bathroom.Taking all of my clothes off, and cursing myself for not remembering to grab my bag after working with the Beginner Club, I put everything in the washer and set it to do a quick wash. After that, I padded to the concrete shower area and braced myself as cold water sprayed out. The shower wasn’t attached to the hot water heater, which meant cold was my only option. Being sneaky when I was little, I did tap into the line and ran a pipe to the shower, but the punishment I received when it was discovered was so bad that I never tried it ag
Waking up after falling asleep as a wolf always sucked.For starters, staying in wolf form for so long took a lot of energy out of us. Most people only stayed in it when needed, and they always made sure to load up on calories beforehand. For me, it felt like I didn’t sleep at all, and I was even hungrier than when I went to bed.Secondly, and more pressing at the moment, was the fact that I always ended up shifting back to my human form at some point while still asleep. Which meant I was naked and freezing when the alarm eventually went off.“This s-sucks,” I complained, shivering so bad that it was a wonder I could dress again. When I finally managed it, I sprinted back to the little gate under the house and went inside. After brushing my teeth and removing all the leaves and twigs out of my hair, I dressed and packed some spare cloths in a plastic bag since my backpack was still at school somewhere.Luna Lannie was in the dining room eating breakfast when I reported for inspection.
The school wasn’t very far from the Manor, only about a fifteen-minute walk.Both Chris and Misty received brand new cars when they turned sixteen, and they drove themselves and their friends too and from school every day. I would’ve preferred to take the shortcut through the forest to reach the school, but Misty forbid me from doing so once she started driving. Just so she and her friends could drive past me and laugh every morning.If I was lucky.If I wasn’t, then they would try to throw something at me instead. More than once I was burned by hot coffee, or bruised from being hit by some fruit or vegetable that came with their breakfast. One time I was hit by an apple, and it hit me just right to sprout a gash on the top of my head. I needed stitches for that one, just to stop the bleeding long enough for my slower than normal healing to kick in.Today was worse than all of those combined.“Looking good, clown,” Lacy called out from the front seat of Misty’s convertible, causing th
Duncan and the other cubs were really sweet when I arrived.Not only did Duncan apologize again for hitting me, but they also showed me where they hid my backpack so no one would steal it until I came back for it. They were also really eager to start Club, and didn’t even complain this time when we started with the, boring, warm-ups and stretches. I would have to thank Mr. Davidson later, since it was clear he must’ve given them a stern talking to about behaving.Today, once some of the cubs showed they were ready for the next step, I had them pair off with each other and take turns practicing the moves we’d been practicing on a living target. Those I selected were overjoyed, and the ones I didn’t think were ready yet worked twice as hard so as not to be left behind. By the time it was over, I found it difficult to leave.Knowing what was waiting for me in a few hours scared the hell out of me, but I also knew I couldn’t hide with the cubs much longer either. We already extended our t
It took my entire three-hour shift to carry everything to where it needed to go.Since our Pack’s main source of income was in mercenary work, selling our Warriors to the highest bidders amongst other Packs and even to the humans, our Clinic always needed to be well stocked. Therefore, there was never a shortage of hard manual labor needed to keep things organized and stocked. However, I did take a small break to visit the Long Term Ward, where those with the more serious injuries were housed.I helped the nurses there for a while, doing what little I could, because I knew exactly how they must’ve felt. It was only a matter of time before I ended up in a place like this someday, thanks to my illness, and by helping them it helped me come to terms with my future. It also helped that they were always in high spirits, and could always make me laugh by the time I had to go. There was even two new members today, both injured in the final battle against the Bloodmoon Vampires just a few day
“Hold still, or I’ll really give you something to cry about,” Luna Lannie seethed, crashing her aura into me. Biting my lip to keep from crying out, feeling lightheaded already, I braced as Margret tightened my corset even more.Ben, Maize, and their friends left school as soon as they recieved the call that their parents had arrived, leaving me alone with Misty and her friends. However, instead of resorting back to the their usual bullying, they continued on as they had this morning, talking about guys in the lewdest way possible. I learned more about my male classmates than I ever wanted too, and all the tips they were giving me to make sure Ben stuck around were still making my ears steam.Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when we returned home. As soon as I was through the door, Margaret stormed up and dragged me away to change. Practically screaming at me and whacking me with her stick for hours as I helped to clean the house and prepare for the dinner. I was a mess
This was by far the best day of school I’d ever had.Instead of classes, we had a pep rally followed by a series of games and competitions. Every year before this, ever since I first came to live in this Pack, I wasn’t allowed to participate. Instead, I was shuttled off to the lodge to begin cleaning and setting up for the weekend festivities.“Come on, I’ll race you to the top,” Ben challenged all of us when we reached the rock-climbing pillars. Ten in total, standing side by side in a row, they were one of the many pieces of equipment brought over from the Warrior Training facility for the day. And once school ended, they would be trasnported over to the lodge for the remainder of the weekend. “Loser pays the next diner bill.”“Your on,” Chris and Dillan say in unison and the other guys are right there behind them. Misty and her friends excused themselves, but Maize seemed even more excited then the guys. She was one very competitive chick.My back was throbbing with each step at th
“Why is she in here?”“And why is she naked?”“She must’ve been punished again, those bandages look fresh.”My eyes shot open to the sound of laugher, and they nearly popped out of my head when I looked over my shoulder to see Lacy, Evelyn, and Bethany standing over me. Scrambling away from them on instinct, I felt the wounds on my back tear. Then, just to prove that the Goddess hated me, I ended up tipping backwards off of bed, slamming into the ground with a solid thud.They exploded into laughter, leaving me to groan in both pain and embarrassment. After much struggling, I got onto my knees and slowly peeked over the edge of the bed. I quickly realized that I was in Misty’s room, and a few faint memories from a couple hours ago flooded into my head. After Rosie applied the silver and treated my back, Misty carried me up here and we took a bath together. I was so weak by that point that I couldn’t even lift my arms, let alone clean myself, so she had to do all the work. Even now, my
I was just so tired.I’d somehow fallen asleep at the diner, the extra shake I was given seemed to push me over the edge. The shot Rosie gave me this morning had started to fade after Clubs, and without it, I could barely stay awake while Misty and Maize took me shopping. It was a dream come true of mine, to be able to go into a store and spend hours trying on new things. Instead, I was angry with myself for spending the entire time in a daze.“Good night,” I said through a yawn as I hugged Maize.“And a good night to you too, Ayla,” Maize said back, hugging me tight. She also kissed me on the cheek, but unlike the confused flutters I got when Misty did that, this one left a warm tingle in my stomach. “Make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight since you didn't get any yesterday. A girl needs her beauty rest.”“I will, mom,” I teased, earning me a ruffled head. Then my breath was taken away when Ben moved up and, before I knew it, had his lips pressed against mine.Delirious already, I
Misty“I wanted to apologize again for my behavior up till now,” she said to Maize as they waited outside the changing room for Ayla. “I’m sure you know how overbearing parents can be, especially hot-headed Alpha’s. He might come off as uncaring and cruel, but he’s only doing it because he loves Ayla.”“How do you mean,” Maize asked, giving her a strange look. Misty knew in that moment that she had her counterpart from the Briar Kingdom in the palm of her hand.“Our ways might seem harsh to outsiders,” Misty explained, feigning sadness. “Our weaker elements are sent off to the smaller and more rural Pack's in our territory. Only the strongest are permitted to live here, to go to school here, and to train here. We are like the Spartans of old. Therefore, Ayla never should’ve been allowed to stay here. But father refused to let my sister be forced out. As a compromise, he told the Pack to toughen her up as best they could.”Maizie sighed after a time. “I guess I can understand that. My
Only it never came.Peaking out from behind my backpack, I was met with numerous confused faced. One of the mother’s laughed when she figured out what was going on.“I’m sorry, Ayla,” she said, stepping forward before squatting down a few feet in front of me. Her hands were up, showing she didn’t mean me any harm. “I guess I can’t blame you for reacting this way after yesterday. What with us rushing over here like that?”The other parents started to laugh too and one of the fathers came forward next to the first woman. It took me a moment to regconzine them.“Mr. and Mrs. Lecter,” I said, still hiding behind my bag. They were Duncan’s parents. As if to further prove it, Duncan barged through the crowd to stand between his parents and me.“I won’t let you hurt our Luna again,” he shouted, glaring at them.I groaned. “Duncan, you can’t call me that outside of the cage. You shouldn’t even call me that inside either.”His mother and several others chuckled as his antics. He wasn’t backing
It was strange having Misty and the others pretending to be nice to me all day, baffling many of our classmates and teachers.“What’s going on anyway,” Mr. Davidson asked as he walked me over to the Middle School after the final bell rang. He told Chris and Misty to take charge of warmups until he returned. “I thought I was seeing things when Dillian ran in before fourth period to bring you your crutches. I knew for a fact that they had disappeared yesterday before I could collect them. I requested a set to be brought over from the clinic, but the Principal shot that down. But just now, did I really see Misty showing some affection towards you?”My face heated up, hating that he noticed. Ever since lunch, Misty had been acting like the perfect big sister, not even threatening me or putting pressure on my back. Hugs, compliments, and more pain free physical contact than I’d ever really known. She even had me sit in her lap before Mr. Davidson’s last class started so she could massage m
“Ayla, could you stick around for a minute,” Mr. Davidson asked at the end of fourth period. “We need to discuss your behavior at Club yesterday.”Several of my classmates snickered as they left to go to lunch, everyone in the entire Pack already seemed to know that I pissed off Cythia somehow yesterday. I waited in my seat until the room was empty, then made my way up front as Mr. Davidson shut the door.“Mrs. Louis mentioned that you were looking for me yesterday,” he began, leaning against his desk.I held up my right arm. “I got burned again before school and was hoping to ask if you had anymore of that medicine.”“And how did you get burned this time,” he asked, his voice hard, causing me to keep my eyes on his shoes.“I can’t tell you that, sir,” I said softly.He sighed. “And I suppose you can’t tell me what happened last night between you and Rosie? She called me this morning with some bull about seeing to your treatment.”“That’s what she was doing, sir,” I answered truthfull
“Ayla, are you alright,” Maize said urgently the moment I reached the parking lot later that morning. “Why did you leave in the middle of the night? I’m sorry for falling asleep like that?”She wrapped me in a tight hug as soon as she reached me and my vision blurred when she touched the fresh wounds on my back. I must’ve made a sound because she pulled away quickly, leaning down till her eyes were level with mine.“I’m fine, really,” I said, forcing a smile. Rosie gave me another shot when I woke up, once again making it feel like I’d gotten a full night’s rest. She wasn’t allowed to give me anything for the pain, however, so every time I moved was a struggle. It was also why I carried my backpack in my hands, rather than on my back.“Why did you leave,” Maize asked, her voice getting a bit angrier.“I needed to go home for my medicine and treatment,” I answered truthfully. “I need to take my medicine every morning, and I was due for a treatment last night. That was why Rosie was esc