“You can’t go in there,” Debby said quietly and started wring her hands together. Judy gave her a nasty look and pulled her hand off me, standing between her and me. I chuckled, it was nice but unnecessary. I put my hand on Judy’s shoulder and moved to stand next to her, crossing my arms and standing up straighter. “And why is that? Trying to protect your precious queen bitch.” Judy asked in a sarcastic tone and the girl blushed, shaking her head no very quickly. She bounced on her feet nervously and looked around as she spoke. The rest of the crowd was gone at this point, either confident enough to follow Rebecca or too scared to stay. I saw the students who didn’t want to follow Rebecca taking out their phones to dial in for elimination. I groaned in frustration. Judy and I were some of the fastest competitors, but this was a waste of time. “No, no,” Debby started meekly. “It’s not that, it’s just that, um, we’re currently at the edge of the central area. Inside, there is this hu
Rebecca looked shocked, her red-haired wolf took a few steps back as I shifted. As I did, the all-encompassing and powerful feeling overtook me. Arna awoke within me and then overtook me. The people watching us let out gasps as my wolf appeared. My white fur shifted in the breeze as I bared my teeth at Rebecca. Her wolf was smaller than mine and more lithe, but I knew I was more acrobatic and skilled than her. Now that I could shift, this fight seemed easier than ever. I had already defeated her wolf-less. Rebecca’s followers looked scared and moved out of the way, and Judy started cheering me on. I lunged out at Rebecca with all the fury and anger I had been holding in these last few weeks. My experience at the academy had been hard and almost deadly, because of her. I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just let things be. Why did we have to start this feud up again at the academy? It was supposed to be a fresh start.She had gone out of her way to humiliate me and thought she was
*Atlas*I sat in my office with a small manilla envelope in front of me, Valerie had brought it in the day after I asked for dirt on Rebecca so she would be expelled. There was a large ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ in red lettering on the front. I opened it and shook the papers out of it. They were the chat records between Rebecca and Scott, looked like they were sent from burner phones. I scanned the conversation and felt a wave of anger filled my body. I slammed my fist on the table and let out a large sigh. I can’t believe I had allowed my mate to be around these two. The first thing it confirmed was that Scott and Rebecca had planned to trick Aria. But more than that…Scott was reluctant at first, but it wasn’t hard for Rebecca to convince him, offering him sexual favors. She was shameless to offer and he was way too quick to accept. He was happy to do it after that, I scowled at his spineless behavior. Rebecca says she needs Scott to get Aria to the coastal cliffs but she didn’t say what she
*Aria* Atlas had distracted me, he always looked handsome but this was different. The mate pull felt so strong now that I was in my wolf form. Arna wanted to be with his wolf more than anything. I couldn’t wait to be alone with him again, but I had to focus. The principal welcomed us, and I looked around at everyone else in the arena. This arena was smaller and more claustrophobic than the first we had come from. Much less natural as well. It was clear to me that we were going to be forced to fight. There was no hiding or avoiding conflict, you either eliminated yourself, were defeated, or were the winner… I was determined to be the winner of this trial. I knew I could do it. Especially with Atlas watching. I knew Arthur was next to me, I felt his shark gaze on me, and the two more injured-looking wolves were Rebecca and Scott. The pair looked better off than they were before, but still weren’t at full power. The only person here who would pose a challenge for me was Arthur. My
*Aria*! felt the heat of my opponent's stare from across the arena. It was just the two of us left now. I probably should have been nervous, but somehow, I felt empowered. An electrical charge ran through me, and I knew that it was Arna, letting me know that she was ready for the final battle. "Who do you think you are, little wolf?" Arthur growled, baring his teeth in an ugly snarl, "Just because you finally figured out how to shift doesn't mean that you are a match for me! You should just give up now, while you still have some dignity left!" For a moment, I questioned myself. What he had said was at least partially true. I had only just gotten my wolf. The others had much more time to practice fighting in their other form. I was sure that Arthur had spent plenty of time-fighting after he had shifted. Was he right? Was I making a mistake? That's when Arna answered for me. I could feel her bristling with rage at the idea that she wasn't strong enough to conquer his wolf
*Aria* Atlas beckoned to me with a wolfish grin, and I found myself following him into the tiny room. It appeared to be a study. Bookshelves lined the walls, and an ornately carved cherrywood desk stood sentry on the opposite side of the room. That was pretty much all I had the chance to observe, as Atlas shut the door behind us and pushed me against the wall, covering his body with mine. I couldn't think of anything but the feel of his hands on me, his mouth on me. Fire pulsed through my veins as he kissed me again and again. I had never felt this way about anyone before. While of course, I'd had boyfriends, it wasn't anywhere near the same. Atlas made my heart pound in a way that drove all other thoughts completely out of my mind. And it wasn't just physical. Atlas was kind and thoughtful, and somehow understood me without having to explain myself. I hated to admit it, but thoughts of him invaded my mind constantly. No matter what I was doing, I couldn't help thinking
*Aria* I woke up and sighed in contentment, stretching luxuriously. I sat up, realizing I was alone for the moment, and cast a glance around the room. I was still in Atlas's house, and now I was curious about my surroundings. I hadn't had time to notice them before, and remembering the reasons for my pleasant distraction made me blush. The room was sparsely furnished. While the king-sized bed was massive, not to mention incredibly comfortable with the robin's egg blue, Egyptian cotton sheets, it took up nearly the entirety of the room. The only other furnishings were an ornately carved chest of drawers across from the bed and gilded a full-length mirror mounted on the wall. Both pieces of furniture were decorated in a grapevine motif that matched the headboard and were lovely in their own right. However, it seemed strange that there wasn't anything more personal about my surroundings. It didn't seem as if the room's occupant lived there full-time or for very long. There wer
*Aria* I woke up and groaned when my alarm went off the next morning. I'd arrived at the academy late the previous evening, and it felt as if I'd only just gotten to bed. I glanced at my alarm clock, hoping that somehow it had gone off early, leaving me time to get just a bit more sleep. But It was five in the morning, time to get ready to go to class again. I started the coffeemaker in my room, wondering if anything would change now that I had won the championship. I had no idea if Rebecca would leave me alone or not. And what about Arthur? His very public defeat couldn't have made him happy. As I sipped the fragrant brew, I thought about Atlas. His handsome smile. His hands on me, his mouth on my body. The way he always understood me without saying a word. The way he made me feel as if there was nothing I couldn't do. There was no doubt in my mind that he was my true mate, and the thought of it made me smile. However, I frowned as I contemplated the danger inherent in