Chapter 1

LYRA

Quietly humming to myself, I separate the broccoli from the chicken on my plate, trying to drown out the conversation my dad is having with my older brother, Chase. Father always chooses dinner time to bring up pack politics, trying to educate Chase before he takes over the pack in a few years. “Nothing is more boring than pack politics,” my wolf River says in my mind. I let out a loud snort gathering my father’s attention. He clears his throat just as I pop a piece of broccoli into my mouth.

“Lyra,” he says breaking me from my inner thoughts.

I quickly chew the broccoli in my mouth and spread an innocent grin across my face. “Yes, Father?”

“Were you even paying attention to the conversation?”

“Ummmm…” I stutter as blush creeps across my face.

Frustration spreads across his face. “I was saying that tomorrow Alpha Andrew visits to discuss the treaty between our two packs. I do not trust his intentions. Once you come home from school, Cain will be your personal bodyguard until the Alpha leaves.”

I can’t help but let out a frustrated groan. Cain is the son of my Father’s Beta, and he is insufferable. He is positive that when we both turn 18 we will discover that we are mates, and frankly, I would rather die an old maid. Being fated to someone as arrogant as him would be a curse. “I think I can handle myself. It is not necessary for Cain to watch over me like I am a child. Plus I was planning on heading to the stables right after school since it is the last day.”

A snort leaves Chase’s nose as he chokes on his drink. “Only you would rather ride a horse than shift into your wolf.”

I glare at him from across the table and toss a piece of chicken in his direction. Shifting into my wolf was not something that came easy to me. I have constantly been trained by the best warriors in our pack, but my wolf does not listen to direction well. She is a bit of a free spirit. My father clears his throat loudly before Chase and I can continue to argue. “You will come home directly after school and meet Alpha Andrew, then you are free to do as you wish as long as you take Cain with you.”

“Of course, Father,” I say knowing this is a battle I will not win. The thought of spending the afternoon with Cain tomorrow has made me lose my appetite. “May I please be excused?”

My father nods and continues his conversation with my brother. I stand and take my dishes to the kitchen and when I pass back through the dining room I catch part of their conversation. “Alpha Andrew challenged his uncle for the title. I am really unsure if he will want to continue to the treaty between our packs. We will need a miracle or prepare for war.”

My heart starts pounding in my chest at the sound of my father’s words. I suddenly wish that I would have paid more attention to his conversation with Chase. River’s voice sounds off in my head, “Alpha will come up with a solution. He always does.”

“I really hope so,” I respond silently.

The halls of the school the next day are more quiet than usual. As I approach my desk for first period, I look around the classroom and notice that it was empty. I quietly take my seat and wait for the bell to ring. My teacher, Mr. Grayson, is leaning back in his chair with his feet propped on his desk reading the paper. He does not seem to notice that I have entered the classroom, that the classroom is empty, or that the bell has rang. Clearing my throat loudly to get his attention, he peeks over the top of his paper and looks surprised to see me.

“Lyra,” he says as he pulls his feet down from his desk. “It’s Senior skip day. No Senior has ever showed up on the last day of school… ever.”

“And yet, here I am.” I chuckle embarrassed.

Mr. Grayson rubs his temples, possibly out of frustration. “But why are you here?”

Why am I here? The question sounds off in my head. “I suppose because my father would not be pleased if I were to skip school. Even if it were Senior skip day.”

Getting up from his desk, Mr. Grayson approaches the desk beside me and takes a seat. “Chase did not show on Senior skip day, what makes you so different from your brother?”

“His blatant disregard for the rules.” Mr. Grayson laughs loudly at my response.

“Lyra… I have never seen you break a rule. I have never seen you speak out of turn. I have never even seen you with a boyfriend. Do you not ever get tired of following the rules?”

If only he knew, if only everyone knew how tired I was of being the picture-perfect daughter of the Alpha. I never dated because that would lead to temptation and saving myself for my future mate was all I was ever taught. I never spoke out of turn or broke rules because my father always dictated every moment of my life and if he found out I would have been punished. I went through the motions of life but never actually lived it.

“Pretty soon you will find your mate and as much as that is a wonderful thing, it will be another thing to tie you down. Don’t you want to live a little before you do?” A sly grin was pulling at the corners of Mr. Grayson’s mouth. “Go… skip school. Break the rules, even if it is just this once.”

My body did not give my mind a second to think about what I was about to do. Jumping from my desk, I throw my backpack over my shoulder, and run for the door. Before I leave the classroom I turn and give Mr. Grayson a huge grin before I flee from the school.

With both hands I throw open the front doors to the school and a breath of fresh air hits my face. Is this what it feels like to be free? My wolf is pacing back and forth in my mind with excitement. “What should we do?” I ask River.

“Anything!” She screams loudly in my head.

Chuckling aloud at her response, I let my feet carry me, not thinking about where I am headed. It was nice to be alone outside of the packhouse. There was always someone with me, but right now I was alone, free to do what I wanted. There was no guard following my footsteps. There was no Cain talking about how we would be the perfect mates. It was just me and River, alone with our thoughts.

Lost in my thoughts as I walked I was surprised when I looked up and saw that my feet had carried me all the way to the stables. The place where I always felt the freest. I swing the doors to the stables open and let the musty smell of hay fill my senses. I step inside and make my way to my mare’s stall. Snowflake greets me with her usual grunts and neighs and nuzzles her nose into my hair making me giggle. I grab her brush and comb and begin working the knots out of her silky white mane. I am consumed with my work at hand when my wolf perks up inside my mind, trying to push me from the stall.

“River, what…”

“Can’t you feel it?” She whispers inside my mind.

“Feel what?” But before she can answer there is a knock at the stable doors.

Who knocks on a stable door? I peek around the entrance to Snowflake’s stall and see the most gorgeous man I have ever seen in my life standing in the entrance to the stables. I can see his piercing emerald green eyes from where I am standing. He looks at me as if I am his prey and the thought excites me. His dark brown hair is slightly longer on the top and messy. It looks like he has been running his fingers through it in frustration. I find my fingers twitching at my sides, longing to run my fingers through his dark hair. I can feel my face heat at the thought of touching him, and I tear my eyes away from his face. I slowly take in the rest of his form. His navy-blue button up appears to be struggling against the muscles underneath it. He has the sleeves rolled up and I can see the hit of a tattoo starting at his left elbow and disappearing under his shirt. The sound of his voice breaks me from the thoughts that are consuming my mind about how he would look without his shirt on.

“Excuse me? I saw the doors open and I was wondering if you could help me?” He makes his way towards Snowflake’s stall as he speaks to me, and my heart begins to pound loudly in my chest. “I am supposed to be part of a meeting in the packhouse, and I seem to have lost my way.”

River is losing her mind in my head. She is jumping up and down at the sight of this man and is practically purring and drooling all over herself. I attempt to push her back so I can clear my mind to think. Stepping from Snowflake’s stall, I gently close the door behind me. “You must be Alpha Andrew. I am Lyra, Alpha Jason’s daughter.” Looking down at my hands I notice they are covered in dirt. I wipe the dirt on my jeans before offering my hand for him to shake.

Alpha Andrew takes my hand in his and slowly raises it to his lips and places a gentle kiss on my knuckles that sends a shiver of sparks cascading through my body. A small gasp leaves my lips, but Alpha Andrew does not seem to notice. “Please, call me Andrew. There is no need for formalities while it is just the two of us.” Blushing, I pull my hand back from his, trying to reign in my unsteady breathing. “It is interesting,” he continues, “that you are out here on your own. It is common knowledge that your father keeps you under lock and key.”

Embarrassment courses through my body at his words. Would he tell my father that he saw me today? “Ummm…” I look down at the ground and shuffle my feet back and forth. “Well. It is Senior skip day and one of my teachers convinced me to break the rules, just this one time. So, my father does not know that I am here.” I look into Andrew’s green eyes, silently pleading for him to keep my secret before looking back down at my feet.

“I’ll keep your secret, Little Wolf.” Andrew uses his finger to tip my face up to look at him. He green eyes suddenly swirl to black, and I know that his wolf is pushing forward. He drops his hand and pulls a piece of straw from my hair. “But you may want to neaten yourself before you head home.”

I use my fingers to quickly brush out my golden blonde hair, and quickly pull it into a high ponytail. “Thank you,” I whisper not daring to look back into his beautiful emerald eyes. “To get to the packhouse you just need to follow this road for about a mile, and you cannot miss it.”

Andrew tucks a stray hair behind my ear and leans in so closely that I can feel his breath on my skin. “It was a pleasure, Little Wolf, I do hope we can do this again some time.”

Goosebumps explode all over my skin as I feel his hot breath on the side of my neck and then suddenly he is gone. I lean back against the door of the stall trying to steady my breath.

“What was that?” I silently ask River.

“I don’t know. But I cannot wait until it happens again.”