*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
*Atlas* I eyed my mate with a smirk, I attempted to hold in a laugh at the way she looked. There was a simmering anger in her dark brown eyes and tension in her frown, she was obviously jealous. It wasn’t the same anger and fierceness she showed while fighting. That was very sexy, this was more cute. My mate was adorable when she was trying to act like she was not jealous. Aria shifted on her feet and then looked away with a huff. “I want to keep my distance from you,” Aria said and then looked down with a frown. “Is that actually what you want?” I asked softly and went to put my hand on her cheek, grazing it lightly. She leaned into the touch slightly before looking back up, her eyes getting heated again before she stepped back. I knew deep down this wasn’t what she wanted. Our mate pull was so strong, that it’s almost like I could feel her emotions myself. “Yes, it is,” Aria said firmly, and then her face softened. “It’s… inconvenient for you to be my professor and my ma
*Aria*I was restless, my leg bouncing under my desk as I tried to stay focused on the history lesson in front of us. The professor droned on and on about the history of the royal packs. I eyed Rebecca looking very proud in the front row and rolled my eyes. It was the third day of not seeing Atlas anywhere on campus and I was on edge. This was the second time this had happened and he had returned before, but after everything we talked about it made me angry that he would disappear now. The class was dismissed and I walked to the lunch hall with Judy in a daze, it was hard to focus on anything but Atlas being gone. The blonde girl was talking about something, another friend of hers it seemed, and I just hummed and nodded along. I was trying to distract myself from the feeling but I couldn’t avoid it; I was sad. All this week I had attempted to keep away from the way I felt by hanging out with Judy, studying whenever I had a free moment, practicing sparring - but it was
A slap rang out in the bar, which quickly fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Judy and Arthur, the hushed whisper of gossip filling the space. I looked around and then made eye contact with the girl Arthur had brought, who quickly looked down with an intense blush on her face. “Shut up, you weasel.” Judy spat out at Arthur and the lanky man seethed, narrowing his eyes at her as they stood face to face. “I am a Jackson, and you will accept my rejection.” The hushed gossiping around the bar got louder and people had formed a circle around the event. Some people had taken out their phones to snap pictures or take videos. Arthur started to look a little worried and his date looked completely mortified at this point. She stepped back and then ran out of the circle. The voices of people got louder, the lanky man groaned out and then slapped his hand on a table. The bar got quiet again. “I’ll accept your rejection…” Arthur started and then got a sinister smile o