the dreaded return

SIX MONTHS EARLIER

CHARLOTTE

8:34 am.

Goddess save my soul.

Like I need any more reasons to be laughed at and treated like a pariah at Lupin Prep, my alarm chooses today of all days to not go off at the set time.

I shove my cell phone in my backpack, adjusting my uniform as best as I can without a mirror in sight as I race down the empty halls of the main building.

There isn't a single person in sight.

Expected.

Since the first assembly of second semester started thirty minutes ago.

My heart pounds in my chest the closer I get to the auditorium doors.

In this school, I could be matching every other student in a sea of black clothes and still stand out like a goddessdamned neon sign. That’s just how it is. How it has been for the last two years I’ve been schooling in the playground of the elites.

The turf of the best of the best.

The royalty.

The rich.

And the famous.

If you don’t fit into those three categories, then you just don’t belong.

Unfortunately, I fit into neither. And even thought it took me the entirety of sophomore year to really let it sink in, I’m the only one here who doesn’t fit into either of those categories.

The black sheep of the royal elites.

The scholarship stag, as they so kindly like to put it.

Early fall last year, somehow, by the miraculous grace of the moon goddess herself, I was transferred to the school of my dreams on a full ride. Naturally, any born wolf with an ambitious heart wants to score a position at the best college in the entire realm, but hard pressed as I was to get in, I knew it would take nothing short of a miracle to land a seat at their elite table.

Normal wolves like me just don’t get these kind of opportunities. Or the chance to exist among the children of the main power holders in the realm.

It’s the kind of thing you wish upon a shooting star for mediocres like me. Omega, working class, low ranked breeds who’d be lucky to go to school at all talk less of make it into an A-list college.

Much less a college like this one.

It’s stands tall admist the greatest educational bodies we have to offer, it’s just different.

Maybe it’s because of the exceptional success track record, or the fact that it’s top contributor happens to be none other than Auric Soloh, Alpha King of the entire realm.

The most powerful placeholder of the current generation.

My mood sours like old wine at the thought of the man. Not because of him in particular, no. But because of the devil spawns he popped out three too many times.

The alpha princes.

Caeson.

Taide.

And Reigh.

Each one of them has the potential to become the next King of the realm, in the exact same way they have the potential to be the cause of my death.

If there’s anyone in this school who’s made it their life's work to end my education here right in it’s tracks, the award goes to those brothers.

Identical triplets.

Worshiped by everyone they stride across, with their cocky grins and heart melting hotness. Over here, they’re more revered than the King himself.

They run the show.

Along with their little group of havoc makers, the Deviltree.

The banes of my existence.

And the irony of it all doesn’t escape me. Because the only reason I made it into this school was because of the once in a lifetime opportunity King Auric chose to extend to one lucky student. A full ride for the rest of their college session.

I’d already made it through freshman year in a C-tier college before I’d heard about the news. Back then, the thought of even being considered would have made my world. And months later, when I’d gotten the call that I’d be the lucky choice, words couldn't describe the feeling.

I knew it would be the best following three years of my entire life.

But from the first day of sophomore year, those three brothers swore an oath to make me regret ever accepting their fathers offer.

They sought out my tears. My blood. And I’ve grown to resent each one of them for it.

But most especially, Caeson.

He’s the oldest of the three. The smartest too. Caeson happens to be the most intelligent and calculative bastard I’ve ever come across. Unlike Taide, he isn’t a fan of brute force, rather, he’ll use the advantage he has over everyone else. His genius.

It’s a scary combination when paired with the fact that Caeson is a literal psychopath.

Rumor has it that he’s been clinically diagnosed.

I’ve never seen him smile, not even when he’s wrecking through the morals of this school along with his brothers like it’s a blank canvas and they’re the most vibrant shade of acrylic paint. And the students here welcome it.

Hell, they dare not.

Like a fortress of menacing stone, the Soloh brothers don’t give a damn about any rules or the consequences, because in their world, there are none.

And like they keep telling me, I’m nothing but a little bug shying right by. One they intend to catch and crush under their expensive leather boots.

The anxiety pools in my stomach till I’m unsteady on my feet. The last six months have been nothing but a dream, almost the elite Lupin Prep experience I’d imagined to get initially. And that’s only because last semester I was free of them. The brothers spent the entire semester out of school, on what I heard was a rigorous program for their succession.

But now they’re back.

I’m yet to see them, but goddess knows I will in the next couple of minutes. Of course, their father’s giving the welcome back memorandum for the beginning of the new school term.

Like he always does.

And best believe his children will be standing right behind him up on the dais for all to see.

Nothing can prepare me for facing them again. But that’s a fact I’ll never let any of them know.

The last thing I wanted was to show up late for the assembly today, but last night it felt like I was hungover, my body aching like I’d run a marathon too. And when my alarm didn’t go off, I knew I’d be fucked.

With a hand on the doorknob, I take in a the deepest breath of all breaths. Trying to quell the nausea brewing in my gut.

Something smells sweet. Husky and masculine. It’s not something I think I’ve ever smelled before, but somehow the addictive scent feels… familiar.

The moment I slide the door open tentatively, the strong scent slaps me in the goddessdamned face. Making my ears ring and my mouth water.

I try to sneak into the large crowd, hoping to dodge the stares of any of the higher ups so I don’t get in trouble for my tardiness.

“-will come up and share something important with the crowd.” King Auric finishes, “Caeson?”

Something pulls my attention with a magnetic force, halting me right in place as my gaze shifts to the stage.

Caeson steps up to the microphone, every inch of his tall frame screaming control and thinly concealed power. His dark hair is gelled back, his face clean shaven. He runs a hand across his jaw before placing them both at the edge of the podium. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out.

His eyes move along the crowd till his gaze lands right on mine, frosty blue depths instantly narrowing at the edges.

It’s the same pair of eyes that have tormented me my entire time here. Cold and unflinching.

But there’s something different about them today.

Something intense enough to steal my breath away.

A slithering feeling travels down my spine, spreading out all over my body till it feels like I’m over heating.

This isn’t normal.

A couple heads follow his line of sight, turning to stare at me at the back of the auditorium. But it feels like we’re the only ones in the room.

All… four of us.

Taide and Reigh stand just a couple paces behind their brother, but just like Caeson, I’m the sole focus of their attention.

Taide’s jaw tightens, and I see the bite in his stare even at this distance.

He’s angry.

And I’m… loosing my fucking mind. Because there’s no way in hell this is possible. There’s no way the goddess would make such a mistake.

I can see it as Caeson’s eyebrows pull together, his mouth twisting slightly on a dark grimace.

But the animosity bleeding from them isn’t enough to stub the intensity coursing through me. Nor the want or fascination. My heart pounds in my chest, as something rises delicately in my subconscious.

19 years and she’s evaded me for so long. But I feel it right then as my wolf rises to the surface, with the sole intention of staking her claim.

Goddess, no.

But there’s no amount of pleading to get me through the next moments of my life, no amount of anger or disapproval wafting off the boys in heavy waves can eradicate the single thought before it echoes in my mind.

Mates.

Plural.