“Pup?” Loki’s voice was icy as he stared up at me. “What happened to your face? Who did that to you?”“You did.” I felt my face swell as blood trickled from my eye and nose. “What?” His voice flashed, and he shook his head. “What’s happening?”“I would also like to know what the hell is happening. Why was your dad attacking you for Aurora?” Ronnie dropped into a chair and I let my father up. “I came to see my dad about something I can’t even remember what now, but I heard him talking to someone.” I rubbed my healing face and wiped the blood off. “Then I heard him asking what she was doing, and she said bonding, and something inside me screamed. So I kicked in the door and she was pouring something into his mouth. Then I tackled her and attacked.” “And then?” Ronnie pointed to my dad, and I nodded. “He attacked you?” Loki asked.“Yes.” I nodded again.“What the hell is going on?”“Loki, I need the book of shadows.” “Okay. Give me a moment.” Loki got up and left the room. I looked
“Tell me.” She grabbed for my hands but remembered she couldn’t touch me, so she ended up hovering over where my hands were.“He attacked me.” And I watched her eyes widen.“Start from the beginning.”“When I got here, he was fine, at first. Then Aurora started to show up around him and whenever I said her name or she came around, his eyes would grow hazy.”“Hazy?” “Like he was confused or distracted. Not focused. And his voice became soft and confused. Aurora kept saying that she would be the next luna. No one was taking it seriously, but anytime she was around, he would seem to be considering it. Now today, I was waiting outside the office and I heard her say she was bonding with him.”“She said bonding with him? Exactly that.”“Yes.” “What happened next?”“I busted in the door and she was pouring something into his mouth and I attacked. But he ripped me off of her and screamed that she will be luna. He nearly strangled me to death.” I touched my throat and her eyes zeroed in on t
I sat in my father’s chair as Ronnie picked up the phone. “Amy, are you sure? You don’t have to do this.”“I am and I do. This can’t be allowed to go on. I’ll take the responsibility.”“Amy!” “Uncle Ronnie.” I cut my eyes to him and leaned back in the chair. “She has poisoned the Alpha of this pack. She has tried to brainwash him into making her kuna and betraying his true mate. She has gone against the Moon Goddess and everything we believe in by using magic to take over a pack as an unranked wolf. She has colluded with others to bully, demean, and abuse lower wolves.” I rubbed the pinch that formed between my eyebrows. “If it was just one, or maybe two, of the things I listed, then it would be easier to let her go. But it isn’t, and this is my father. She almost had him killing his pup. Even if that wasn’t me, which it is, it would be punishable by death. This is going to happen, whether or not you are behind me. I am saving this pack and if the council doesn’t agree, I will still
“What?” My brain froze for a moment. What the fuck did he mean he was the king?His chuckle was deep, and my body responded, clenching my lower body. “I am the king pup. Go save your father. Once it’s done, tell him I will head there soon.” His voice took a dark turn, and I felt there was an edge to it.“Okay… I will.”“Oh, and Amy?”“Yes?”“Tell Ronnie he should have called the regular number instead of my cell phone. There are channels that you usually have to go through for this normally. But I’ll let this one time slide because it’s an emergency.”“Will do, your majesty.”His laugh was loud and instant. “You don’t have to call me that little wolf. But have Ronnie give you my cell number. I like all my alphas having my number in case things like this happen.”“I’m not one of the alpha’s…”“You might not run a pack, but you are an alpha.” His voice still held a bit of amusement. “Okay.” I felt uncertain. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to call you.”“Rowan. You can call me Rowan.”“K
I walked into the room and dumped everything on to the table. I organized everything in a way I liked, insuring it is visible from the chair and then covered turned to Ronnie. “Is there anything I can use to cover this with?”“Here.” He walked around the corner and pressed a panel in, causing it to pop out. Hiden behind was a cabinet filled with cleaning supplies and towels. I raised my eyebrow, and he shrugged. “What? It gets messy here.”I laughed and grabbed the towel that he was handing over and covered my tools. “Have Beck meet you at her cell and bring her down here.” I walked with him out of the room. “I’ll wait out of sight until you mind-link me. Then I will come in.”“Why do it like that?” Ronnie closed the door behind me and I walked around another corner, leaning against the wall to wait.“Because. I want her to think she has a chance, and then to have it ripped from her.”“But why?” Ronnie kept pushing it until I gave an answer.“Because the faster she loses hope, the les
She shifted, fur sprouting on her arm with claws slashing through the binding on her hand. But I grabbed her hand and slammed in back down to the arm of the chair and tsked again. “And where do you think you are going?” “Let me go!” She screamed in my face, trying to shift completely. “Well, that isn’t going to work for me.” I stood and slammed her struggling arm back on to the arm and unraveled the rope in my hands. “I was trying to give you an out, Aurora. I really, truly hoped you would have been smart enough to take it. But I guess you want to see how long you will keep up the act.” I wrapped her in the silvered rope, her skin hissing and bubbling from the contact as I wound it around her arm and the chair. She started to scream, and I hushed her. “Stop. Goddess, stop. You can’t do this to me.”“Oh, but you are wrong there. You poisoned the alpha of this pack, and that made you a traitor. Once my father has a clear mind, you will be banished, and if he never recovers, then this
I jerked to face her and the glow was gone, but as soon as I turned my head and faced Ronnie, I could see a faint glow around a chain on her neck. I pulled the pliers, and she screamed and passed out. Ronnie rushed over, but I slapped a hand over my mouth. “What’s wrong?” Ronnie started to hover, and I doubled over and started howling in laughter. “What?”“Is she really insane?” Beck whispered to Ronnie, which just made me laugh harder. Tears were streaming down my face when I looked up at Ronnie, who was still hovering over me and Aurora. “Amy, talk to me.” Ronnie knelt and grabbed my face, but I was still trying to catch my breath. “She.” I started, but I coughed as more laughter bubbled up. “She fainted.”“We see that. Most she-wolves can’t stand torture Amy.” Ronnie grimaced.“She probably passed out because of the pain of you ripping out her nail.” Beck tossed out.“But I didn’t.” I raised the empty pliers and her untouched hand. “She just fainted. From fear.” Both men froze
“Give it back.” She screamed and leaned in trying to bite me since her hands were tied. But I just pulled my hand back. “Why would I do that?” I flipped it around in my hand. “It’s beautiful, honestly. Where did you get it?”“I got it from my mom.” “Really? Why was she sorry?”“What?” Aurora looked confused and shook her head. “She wasn’t. She got it for my birthday this year. Give it back.”“When is your birthday?”“What?” Aurora shook her head. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?” “Her birthday is December.” Beck answered me and I tilted my head. “I’m a gamma. My primary job is to protect the luna. Since we don’t have a luna, I keep track of the wolves trying to become the luna. That includes their birthdays.”“Why?” Ronnie looked back at Beck and he shrugged.“I want to be a few steps ahead with the next luna.”Ronnie faced him fully. “Beck, you know he won’t be with any obe else.” The man just shrugged.“Just in case.”Ronnie shook his head and turned back to me.
I jolted back, and he raised his hands. “Sorry. What did you say?”“The included basic food plan was removed ten years ago.” I said it again. “Why are you confused? You work here.”“I don’t, actually. I volunteer here. Like I said, this is my hobby, and I enjoy this kind of thing. And it’s not like I have a pack or anyone other than the council to worry about.” He tossed out the words so carelessly, and I winced. “Does it bother you?” I asked, but he brushed me off. “I’m not privy to the interworkings of the school, so I didn’t know.” His eyes flashed, like his wolf was fighting for control. But I couldn’t make out the colour before it was gone. His human eyes were a stormy gray, and I felt my lower body clench. Nix was panting in my mind, and Megan, my sweet girl, was sitting back and watching the show. You two are foolish. Her words were quiet, but there was a tiny bite to them. That cooled my thoughts of the king. Megan lost her mate before she could enjoy the feelings, and that
I shut my computer and packed it away. Everyone else was doing the same. “Amy, can you hang back a minute?” Rowan called and I wanted to groan, but I just nodded and stayed in my seat. Everyone walked by me, and a few stopped by the side of my desk. “Amy?”I looked up and met the gamma from the beginning of the class, Steve. “Yeah?”“We just wanted to apologize for earlier today.” I was shocked. “What?”Steve just laughed. “We aren’t stupid enough to not realize that we spoke without knowing the full story. We judged you without knowing what you had to go through, or the decisions you had to make. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions and calling you those names.”The other two nodded. “We are sorry, too. We don’t honestly know what going into running a pack, but we know our alpha keeps us as safe as possible. And probably had to make some of the same decisions you have had to make, and we wouldn’t want anyone judging him.”I sat back and stuck out my hand. “I appreciate it.” They sh
Rowan shook his head and made his way to the back of the class. “This isn’t my typical first class, but I feel like we have certain things that we should go over.” He slid on to his desk. “We as wolves have a hierarchy for a very simple reason. The strong protects the weak. The high rank you have, the more people you have to worry about.” He wiped his face. “Alphas have to know that there are better ways to get information, though.” A man named Steven chimed in. I snorted. “Okay. Tell me how you would have done it.”“What?” Steven turned to face me. “You said we have to know there are better ways. How would you have done it then? The alpha was in danger. We didn’t know how deep the betrayal went. Within a day, we had a rogue attack that was organized, that multiple rogues were working together like they were in a pack. Without the information I could gather, my father would have been dead, the pack over run and demoralized. As the attack targeted women and children. So what would y
He stared at me as he smirked. “I can only assume some of you have put it together. Yes, I am that Rowan. And yes, I am the king. But no, you don’t have to call me King. I would honestly prefer if you didn’t. In class, anyways.” He winked and turned to his computer. He turned on the projector, linked it and then turned back to us while everything finished starting up. “But there is one thing I have to do.” He released his aura, and it slammed into us. It was the first time I actually felt someone’s power enough that I had to fight to stay standing. He watched everyone drop to their knees, except me. I stood a fraction of a second too long. His eyes widened, and he pushed more power at me. I just winked back and got to my knees to keep up appearances. He gave a tiny nod in appreciation and walked the front of the classroom. “Since I am here for this class only. I do not want it to be known that I am here. For one thing, I do not want females throwing themselves at me, and second, I do
He stumbled over his feet. “What?” He gave me a side look.“You act like I shouldn’t have noticed. We are wolves. We live through our nose,” Nix scoffed. “You are right, but no one has ever asked me directly.” “Why not?” We stopped and looked at him. “Why has no one ever questioned why a wolf has no scent?”He sat down and looked at me. “Probably because of my rank, or my size.”“What’s your rank?”He tilted his head. “I’m an alpha.”I nodded. “Alphas don’t scare me.”“I see that.” He huffed out a laugh. “But most people are. The sane ones, at least.” “Are you saying that I’m not sane?”His eyes widened a bit. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He started, but we just laughed. “Sure.” Nix looked up to the sky. “I have to go.”“Why?” He stepped in front of us, but we just walked around him.“I have to get back to class. I ran out of my last class rather quickly.” We started running, and Erubus ran after us. It turned into a game. We ran together, nipping and diving for each other. He t
She called back, taunting the giant male, and I just groaned. Nix, why are you doing this?“Because if he wants my name, he has to prove he’s worthy of it.” She chuffed out a laugh. “Any man that wants anything from me from now on has to work for it.” Thoughts of everything from my previous life flashed through my mind. Nix was right. I gave everything to Brandon, forgave everything, and he killed me and our baby.You’re right. Nix huffed another laugh. “I know.” We were distracted and the grey wolf dove out of the bushes for us. Nix rolled out of the way and was back up on her feet, sprinting away. She looked back and howled before rushing down the banks of a small river. She splashed across the water and was up over the other bank. She rushed through a lot of underbrush before diving under the roots of a tree. She huddled there, waiting. What are you doing?I’m waiting to see if this male is smart. If he is, he will find me. If not, he isn’t worth my time. Why?Because any male
“May I speak with you Alpha Amy?” The class just ended, and I was struggling to hold on to Nix. She wanted to shift, and holding her back was almost impossible. I turned to Gamma Charles and sighed.“Of course.” I made my way to his desk as the rest of the men filed out of the room. Once I tucked my power away, Charles did his best to refocus the class and start on the material, but you could feel everyone was on edge. “I’m sorry.” He started, but I raised a hand, stopping him.“I am not foolish enough to believe that it was intentional. I assume in your teaching career you have had quite a few individuals who had tried to pretend to be a rank they weren’t. I also understand the female alphas are very rare. I don’t take it to heart.”I watched as he breathed in a sigh of relief. “I am still sorry. I know I put you in an awkward position today, and probably for the rest of the semester. But I will go to the rest of your teachers and let them know so you don’t have to do this kind of d
I looked over the room and every one of these men on their bellies. “What the fuck?” I heard a whisper, but I growled. These fucking men pushed me to the point of losing my control. Now they had to deal with the repercussions. “Alpha Amy…” Gamma Charles started, but I turned on him and stomped to the front. I wasn’t even using all of my power. And I was making sure they weren’t in any pain, but I was almost past caring.“Gamma Charles, I’m going to need you to be quiet for a minute. Please and thank you.” I pulled back my power enough that everyone could sit back on their heels. “Now.” I turned to face the class like I was the teacher. I leaned against the table and clenched my fists. “I was trying to be nice. But you pushed it too far.”One guy stammered out an apology. “Please forgive us.” But I just shook my head. “We are past that now, Greg.” I finally turned to Caleb, who was glaring at me. “Have something to say, Caleb?”“No.” He bit out. I could see his ego was hurt. I was tr
“No fucking way.” One guy called out. I hid my smile behind my coffee cup. Gamma Charles pushed up from the desk. “Amy, while I can understand that, what I said might have appeared dismissive. But lying about rank is prohibited here.”“I understand Gamma Charles.” I placed my cup down and leaned back in my seat. Caleb, the poor man, was floundering. His mouth was opening and shutting without a sound.“So, what is your actual rank?” An unranked man, Adrian, I believed, asked me.I just raised my eyebrows and purse my lips. “Alpha.”“You have got to be shitting me.” Another man called out. “Alpha females are rare. Like super rare. Most Luna’s are betas, or gammas that mated an alpha and rank up. But a natural female alpha is basically unheard of.”“Now, now.” The gamma raised his hands. “Amy, I have to urge you to reconsider your answer. If you continue to push that you are an alpha, then I will either have to command you to tell the truth or call the dean.”“Okay.” I just nodded. “Eit