The day seemed to go down hill from the moment that Colt blew me off. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to happen soon, and that it probably wasn’t going to be good. Not for me anyway. Following the last class, I found myself wandering around the college campus, my mind afloat with frustrations and confusion concerning this thing with Colter Sloan.My phone rang, and I immediately knew that it was my mother checking in on me again. There wasn’t much to talk about on the phone. Her conversation consisted entirely of how I’d been taking care of myself. She was a worry wart, my mother. I loved her for it, but truth be told, I just didn’t have it in me to talk right now.Politely, I decided to end the conversation early.“Okay, mom, I gotta go, but I’ll talk to you later. I love you too.” We exchanged, and then I headed to my dorm.“Hey Aure!” Madison greeted me from her desk as I came into our shared dorm.“Hey, Mads.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t return Mad’s gre
-Colter-The tension between Aurelia and I was palpable, thick in the air like a fog. Josephine's arrival had thrown everything into even more disarray than what was already evident before. Had I known that Madison would pull a stunt, inviting Aurelia, I would have never done the same with Josephine.“Hello, everyone.” Josephine greeted everyone in a sing-song voice that made me swoon almost every single time. I was forced to restrain myself at this moment, however.“Jose,” I said with a small smile. “I’m glad you made it here safely.”“So am I,” Josephine replied. “Though it is hard not to arrive anywhere safely with the detail that I have.” she attempted at a joke but everyone was too tense to chuckle.I forced one out, ignoring the curious glare of my best friend. I also noticed something else. Josephine’s gaze was set one on one particular individual at the table, and it was not me.Her eyes had been on Aurelia almost since her arrival at the table. There was almost a spark of rec
-Colter-The meeting ran long and frustration set in as this constant waiting only allowed for further anxiety to set in. What was she going to say about the situation I’d found myself in? Would he consider me irresponsible? Probably.Not like I handled that situation at the bar that night the greatest. “Hey, kid,” I looked up, Kenneth standing there at the door of my father’s office, his officers, and more prominent pack members lining out.“The old man’s ready for you.” I stood up from where I sat, nervously scratching my nose. “Are you coming in?” I asked.I tried to seem nonchalant about it, but my uncle knew me well enough to know that I was not nonchalant at all. That I had hoped deep down that he’d go in with me. I was not looking forward to this conversation. It was also quite clear that dad probably knew just as much as Kenneth did.“I think this conversation is better suited to be between you and your father, nephew. But I won’t be far away if you need me.” He then tu
-Aure-Following that horrific night at the bar, things in my stomach couldn’t settle.I wasn’t sure if it was simple anxiety, stress, or that I just never fully recovered from that mysterious bout of illness that I had suffered through a few nights prior.It didn’t matter one way or another. The only thing that did matter was the humiliation that hovered over me like a dark cloud that night at the bar with Madi, Colter Sloan and his mysterious, beautiful, and insufferably condescending girlfriend.I wasn’t aware of most of what the girl was talking about which only served to make me feel even more inadequate than I had already felt being there.Madison and Colter seemed like laid back
-Colter-Three Years Later….Sex.The one thing that we were never lacking in, and the one thing that we seemed unable to get enough of.I laid there in bed, next to my Josephine, her face emitting the dewey glow one would have after three hours of rough passion. The corner of her light eyes wrinkled with satisfaction as she laid there across from me, staring.“You never disappoint, alpha.” she grinned.I smiled. “If I did, I’d never hear the end of it,” I teased. And then turned on my side, back facing her as I started to drift off.“Wait, baby,” she said with her subtle Moors accent. “I want to talk a little more.” I knew what she wanted to talk about and to be honest, I wasn’t in the mood too.“And I’m listening, sweetheart.”“Okay, well,” she took a deep breath and then asked. “How are you feeling? About the ceremony?”I rolled my eyes. “Fine, Jose, but I’ve told you this.”“Have you gotten a speech ready? This…this is a big deal, Colter. You don’t want to embarrass anyone.”“The
-Aure-Central Washington University. This was the college that I was meant to go to. Was it the best college or worst? To be honest, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t care. Although the place looked positively expensive. Then again, what college or university didn’t?None of that mattered to me, truth be told. I no longer even wanted to attend any university. Not since dad. Nevertheless, this wasn’t just about what I wanted. It was about starting over. Me and mom.I was trying to be as agreeable as I possibly could. After all, I wasn’t the only one that was grieving. I wasn’t the only one who had to readjust to life. I just wanted to be agreeable. For mom. But….it wasn’t easy.My stomach churned with anxiety I got this nagging sense; a sense of something almost calling to me. I was feeling retraction and attraction to that building at the same time. Frustrating? the word didn’t cover how I was feeling.‘He’s here…’Now I was talking to myself, hallucinating random words. He’s here? What does th
-Colter-A human?!This can’t be! Her?! My mate?! No! No, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not!She wasn’t a bad looking human girl. She was pretty? I guess? She had a pair of mesmerizing eyes-even for a human; it was that heterochromic thing that some humans were born with. Hers wasn’t extremely noticeable, but if you looked long enough you could see that, while both eyes were a rich whiskey brown, one had hints of green in them. Her even richer latte brown skin, seemed to make her eyes even more noticeable.Still, despite all of these positive physical aspects I could sense her insecurity. She had no confidence, at all, judging by her baggy, faded T-shirt, and those hideous, distressed bell bottom jeans. Her hair was in a haphazard bun at the top of her head. I loved women with messy buns, but something about the way that she wore it…The girl wasn’t taking care of herself, that much was for sure. She had a clean face and she smelled really good, but…her scent…. her mating scent was hardly
-Aure-“Who are you?”Who was I? As I recalled the conversation that I had earlier with that nameless, mysterious and ridiculously handsome guy, I couldn’t believe how he so blatantly asked me that. But even more than that I couldn’t believe that I actually answered him.“Aurelia…Aurelia Smith,” I had said to him and without hesitation.Why didn’t I hesitate? Hesitation was always my MO when it came to engaging others. But I didn’t.His momentary bouts of silence were frightening, as despite the comfort that he somehow provoked from me, in the back of my mind, I kept the common sense that I did not know him and that he had me locked in the boys’ bathroom with him.Still, in his silence, I could tell that there was a reason for it. He obviously was feeling a confusion akin to my own. And maybe a sense of intrigue. Just as I did.I usually was never one to carry on a conversation with anyone. In past situations, I made it a point to end the conversation and leave the situation as fast as
-Colter-Three Years Later….Sex.The one thing that we were never lacking in, and the one thing that we seemed unable to get enough of.I laid there in bed, next to my Josephine, her face emitting the dewey glow one would have after three hours of rough passion. The corner of her light eyes wrinkled with satisfaction as she laid there across from me, staring.“You never disappoint, alpha.” she grinned.I smiled. “If I did, I’d never hear the end of it,” I teased. And then turned on my side, back facing her as I started to drift off.“Wait, baby,” she said with her subtle Moors accent. “I want to talk a little more.” I knew what she wanted to talk about and to be honest, I wasn’t in the mood too.“And I’m listening, sweetheart.”“Okay, well,” she took a deep breath and then asked. “How are you feeling? About the ceremony?”I rolled my eyes. “Fine, Jose, but I’ve told you this.”“Have you gotten a speech ready? This…this is a big deal, Colter. You don’t want to embarrass anyone.”“The
-Aure-Following that horrific night at the bar, things in my stomach couldn’t settle.I wasn’t sure if it was simple anxiety, stress, or that I just never fully recovered from that mysterious bout of illness that I had suffered through a few nights prior.It didn’t matter one way or another. The only thing that did matter was the humiliation that hovered over me like a dark cloud that night at the bar with Madi, Colter Sloan and his mysterious, beautiful, and insufferably condescending girlfriend.I wasn’t aware of most of what the girl was talking about which only served to make me feel even more inadequate than I had already felt being there.Madison and Colter seemed like laid back
-Colter-The meeting ran long and frustration set in as this constant waiting only allowed for further anxiety to set in. What was she going to say about the situation I’d found myself in? Would he consider me irresponsible? Probably.Not like I handled that situation at the bar that night the greatest. “Hey, kid,” I looked up, Kenneth standing there at the door of my father’s office, his officers, and more prominent pack members lining out.“The old man’s ready for you.” I stood up from where I sat, nervously scratching my nose. “Are you coming in?” I asked.I tried to seem nonchalant about it, but my uncle knew me well enough to know that I was not nonchalant at all. That I had hoped deep down that he’d go in with me. I was not looking forward to this conversation. It was also quite clear that dad probably knew just as much as Kenneth did.“I think this conversation is better suited to be between you and your father, nephew. But I won’t be far away if you need me.” He then tu
-Colter-The tension between Aurelia and I was palpable, thick in the air like a fog. Josephine's arrival had thrown everything into even more disarray than what was already evident before. Had I known that Madison would pull a stunt, inviting Aurelia, I would have never done the same with Josephine.“Hello, everyone.” Josephine greeted everyone in a sing-song voice that made me swoon almost every single time. I was forced to restrain myself at this moment, however.“Jose,” I said with a small smile. “I’m glad you made it here safely.”“So am I,” Josephine replied. “Though it is hard not to arrive anywhere safely with the detail that I have.” she attempted at a joke but everyone was too tense to chuckle.I forced one out, ignoring the curious glare of my best friend. I also noticed something else. Josephine’s gaze was set one on one particular individual at the table, and it was not me.Her eyes had been on Aurelia almost since her arrival at the table. There was almost a spark of rec
The day seemed to go down hill from the moment that Colt blew me off. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to happen soon, and that it probably wasn’t going to be good. Not for me anyway. Following the last class, I found myself wandering around the college campus, my mind afloat with frustrations and confusion concerning this thing with Colter Sloan.My phone rang, and I immediately knew that it was my mother checking in on me again. There wasn’t much to talk about on the phone. Her conversation consisted entirely of how I’d been taking care of myself. She was a worry wart, my mother. I loved her for it, but truth be told, I just didn’t have it in me to talk right now.Politely, I decided to end the conversation early.“Okay, mom, I gotta go, but I’ll talk to you later. I love you too.” We exchanged, and then I headed to my dorm.“Hey Aure!” Madison greeted me from her desk as I came into our shared dorm.“Hey, Mads.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t return Mad’s gre
-Aurelia-Hours had come and gone of us talking and learning about one another. Colter Sloan I had learned, was not as surly, and easily aggravated as I initially thought him to be. I guess first impressions aren’t everything.The statuesquely handsome young man was far more charming than I had ever imagined he could be. He was patient, and very considerate of this inexplicable pain that I’d been wrought with over the last couple of days. He was attentive to me and even concerned. Odd, considering he hardly knows me well enough to call me by my first name. As we studied each other throughout the night, I also couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a pang of guilt in his eyes. Almost as if he had something to hide from me. When I began to think along those lines, I was forced to ask myself what on earth he could be hiding from me in the first place? He neither knew me nor owed me anything enough to have secrets from me. And still….I could not shake that feeling that some part of
-Colter-Monday had come and gone into Tuesday, and still the Moorlands still lingered in my mind. A vivid tapestry of rolling hills, ancient forests, beautiful bodies of water, and the haunting beauty of the Moor wolves; it was like living in another world.Then there was Josephine, with her mesmerizing and hazy yellow-green eyes, who had captured me in ways that I could never have imagined. Our time together had been a whirlwind of passion and excitement that I didn’t expect when agreeing to this trip to the Moors.Even with this past extraordinary weekend, the weight of my obligations to Aurelia and what to do with her started to settle on me. She was my mate, after all. I promised myself that I would figure out what I should do about our mating bond before making any decisions going forward. Yet, Josephine had tempted me; the she-wolf had completely swept me away in a tide of excitement and desire. As I walked away from the classroom, I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t even r
-Aure-I’d been on the phone with Mom for what felt like hours, my mind wandering as she talked about her day at the office. The usual stuff: a particularly difficult client, a coworker who’d spilled coffee on her new blouse. I tried to focus, to sound engaged, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Colter and Madison, my new roommate. It had been three days since I’d seen Madi and even longer since I’d heard any sign of the mystery man that I could not seem to get off of my mind. What was worse was the fact that despite me not knowing them nearly well enough to feel like this, I couldn’t shake the loneliness that came with their absence.“Have you made any friends yet? Met any guys that you’re interested in?” Mom asked, pulling me out of my reverie. I could hear the hopeful anticipation in her voice.“Mom, I’ve not been here long enough to-”“You’ve been there for well over a week now, dear. Surely, you’ve met someone in that amount of time.” She was right, of course, I had met someo
“Jose!” he said. “This is the great alpha Sloan’s son! And his future commanders. Promising young bunch, I must say. Young alpha, this is my daughter, and heir of the Moorlands, Josephine.”She stepped forward, and I was taken by her beauty; her skin flawlessly brown, her hair long and pin straight in its jet black hue. Her eyes were serene in color. She was petite and simply astonishing to look at.“It is a real pleasure, Josephine.” I found myself smiling, probably wider than I should have. She chuckled timidly. “The pleasure is all mine, alpha.” We went our separate ways, a pack member leading us to our sleeping quarters for the time being of our stay, while another, along with Nathan, went to the pack members waiting outside to allow them entry.So far, this trip was doing wonders to alleviate my concerns. Well, at least one part of this trip was.“Right up the hill,” the pack member directed us and then departed. Madison and I took the rest of the way up alone.Josephine seeme