CHAPTER 2

After entering my room, I kicked off my shoes and looked around the familiar sight that has been my room for as long as I can remember. It's nothing special but I've put my own style on it over the years. I have a large bed and all the furniture in my room is a darker color. There's a nice sized closet with all my clothes and an en suite bathroom as well. I prefer function over having anything too fancy. My room is the only sanctuary I have indoors and I want it to be soothing, not overwhelming. I have a few sparse decorations, pictures of my family and friends and some posters I collected when I was younger to keep me focused on my goals.

Lucy's room is next door of course. I can distinctly hear her snoring through the wall. She is not the same early riser that I am. I'll have to go wake her up soon. She won't appreciate not having enough time to perfect her look before what could be our last day of school.

I wonder what my morning runs will be like after I finally get my wolf tomorrow night. It isn't the most perfect scenario with my eighteenth birthday being on the first night of the mating ball. I'll have to leave early in order to complete my first shift. The royal council granted me permission to attend the first day despite the fact that I'm technically still seventeen. My dad is highly regarded in the werewolf community and our pack ranks pretty high among the others. That level of respect allows us some leeway. I figure I'll just pass the time Friday night until my first shift and if my mate is there, he can find me the next day.

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It's 6:30. I have an hour to get ready for school, more than enough time. Before starting my routine, I went across the hall to Lucy's room. As I suspected, she is rolled up in a ball with her sheets all over the place, drooling into her silk pillow. She would be horrified if anyone knew what she looked like in the morning.

"Lucy. GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP." I yelled as I unraveled her from the sheets.

"mmmph...what time is it?""Six thirty" I replied.

That got her moving. She jumped up and gave me a quick hug before recoiling.

"Warn me before you let me hug your disgusting, sweaty body next time. Gross." She grimaced while walking towards her own bathroom.

"See ya in a few girlie!" I yelled on my way back to my room.

I walked to the bathroom and took down my hair from its high ponytail. My hair is one of my favorite attributes. It's long, silky, and chestnut brown. It's also incredibly straight. Whenever I try a new style on it, it always falls out within the hour. I've learned to embrace the fact that it's going to be straight no matter what.

My other favorite attribute is my eyes. I have light blue eyes with a bit of dark blue lining the outside. I got my eyes from my mother. From my father I got my high cheekbones and chubby cheeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm not overweight by any means, but not matter what I do, I have these chubby cheeks that everyone thinks are so adorable. I don't mind them. It's just another part of me. They don't help me look my age though.

As I step away from the mirror, I turn on the shower and peel off my sweaty workout clothes. I step into the scalding hot shower and let out a deep sigh. I'd rather almost burn my skin off in the shower than be even remotely cold. After a few minutes of enjoying the warmth against my skin, I began my routine. When I'm fully washed and conditioned, I turn off the shower and step out into the bathroom.

I wrap my oversized fluffy towel around my body and another towel around my hair. I checked the time and it was only 7am. I still had another half hour before Lucy and I left for school. I could hear her next door rummaging through her closet like a crazy person. Lucy has a great sense of style and always looks her best wherever she goes but her room is like a disaster zone 24/7. No one would ever believe that the same girl who always looks so put together lives such a messy life.

Lucky for me with such a fashionable friend, I have a well-stocked closet. Lucy would help me on our utterly exhausting shopping trips to find the perfect clothes. Over the years I've learned how to put together a few acceptable outfits but nothing like Lucy does. She's on a whole different level.

As I carefully search through the racks of clothes, my hand falls on the dress I will be wearing tomorrow. It's emerald green and incredibly soft and silky feeling. I suddenly become extremely nervous and shove it to the side. It's not that I don't want to meet my mate, it's just that I have a great life here at my pack and I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave it. There are people here who need me...and I need them too.

After another minute in my closet I settled on a white lace crop tank top and jean shorts. I grabbed my sandals from the shoe rack and made my way back into the room. Once I was dressed, I checked my appearance in the mirror. My hair was brushed out and air drying, and my outfit looked great for a warm spring day.

.I didn't bother switching up my jewelry as I wore the same every day. They're all my mother's. I wear a heart shaped locket where I keep a picture of the two of us and her favorite diamond earrings. I don't need anything else as they always make me feel closer to her. Despite the fact that it's been twelve years, I can still smell her scent around me and sense that she is with me. This helps my father and I know that she is still out there fighting to get back to us. We surely haven't given up either.

Checking the clock one more time I see it's 7:15, just enough time for some breakfast. I love to eat. No matter how much I eat, I am constantly the same size with how much I train. I've got a flat stomach with some definition but no six pack. Not everyone is made to have one and I'm perfectly fine with that. I definitely look strong though. No one would look at me and think I was some dainty little shewolf they could take advantage of. I'm about 5'8" and I've got some muscle tone all over my body. I love feeling strong.

As I descend the stairs all I can smell is the sweet sweet smell of bacon. I LOVE bacon. I would eat bacon on anything. Probably even on ice cream. Scratch that...definitely on ice cream.

I walk into the dining room and see that there are already other wolves at the table and the platters in the middle of the table are piled high with various breakfast items. I sit at an empty seat and begin to fill my plate. Once I have my bacon, eggs, and French toast, Lucy saunters into the room and plops herself on the seat beside me. She yawns lazily and I start to laugh. Lucy cannot do the whole morning thing. I push a mug of coffee in her direction and she smiles at me.

"You will forever be my favorite, Amoret ."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Lucy . Now drink up so we can get this school day over with."

She takes a long sip of the black coffee and then begins to fill her plate as well. I'm halfway through mine and Lucy is on her second cup of coffee by the time she finally wakes up. We finish our meal, taking our plates to the kitchen to be cleaned, grab our bags, and we're

out the door.

This is Lucy 's week to drive so we make our way to the garage where her "baby" is. She has a beautiful bright blue BMW that her parents bought for her sixteenth birthday a little over two years ago. I swear her mate will have competition once she finds him. She loves this car more than life itself. We toss our bags into the back seat and jump in. She starts up the engine and we are on our way. Possibly our last full day together. I don't want to think about that now though. High school," here we come.