Chapter Two

In an instant, they were rolling around the floor tickling each other and it was easy for him to flick her onto her back and sit astride her, she shrieked as he tickled her relentlessly,

‘Stopitstopitstopit.’

The words ran into each other as she laughed and hit her small fists on his back at the same time, he stopped because he knew she hated being tickled and he only did it to show he was stronger than her. They lay on their backs looking up at the sky and he longed to ask her why he had felt so strange sitting astride her. He had wanted to keep her there she had felt so good beneath his young hands normally they talked about anything and everything but not this somehow he knew not this. He stood and held out his hand pulling her to her feet,

‘Come on, we need to get to class or we’ll get detention.’

 Mr Lagon watched the children coming into his classroom smiling as they chattered their way to their seats, he adored teaching, especially this age group, the young pups grew so fast maturing much quicker than their human counterparts. This age group were the equivalent of human children aged between five and seven years but in the year they were with him they would mature into teenagers ready to graduate and move on to college.

‘Okay kids, I want you to settle down quickly but only take out your pencils and pens we are going to have a maths test.’

Groans reverbrated around the room and  his eyes flicked to his two-star students, Tegan and Caspian, after handing out the papers to the rest of the students he walked over to them,

‘I’m not giving you two the same paper as the others, it would be far too easy for you. I want to push you a little harder to see what you are capable of so I’d like you to do this senior paper.’

He saw the excited look they gave each other, they loved to be challenged and they loved to be pitted against each other,

‘You have the same amount of time as the rest of the class please begin everyone.’

He watched as they began to write he knew those who would struggle, those who would do just enough and those who would try their best, then there was Tegan and Caspian. Both worked hard he could see them working things out and writing quickly their eagerness to beat each other made them work harder and harder. Tegan's eyes danced across the pages this work was easy, her fast analytical brain processed the information and gave out the answers almost like a computer. She had all but finished the paper when she heard a frustrated huff from beside her looking under her lashes she could see Caspian was not keeping up with her. She stilled her pen and held her breath in an instant she realised this had been what the Alpha wanted, he knew she would never allow her best friend to get hurt because of her. Tears stung her eyes but she bit them back and slowed her progress keeping an eye on Caspian under her lashes she did not see Mr Lagon frown as he watched her deliberately stop working. He sighed quietly and reproached himself for not catching on sooner, there was no way on earth that little girl was going to get her friend into trouble. That damn Alpha had won again Caspian would now continue to come top of the class while she would be second even though she was much more intelligent than he was.

Later that night as he marked their papers he saw that she had a perfect one-hundred per cent score only trouble was she had crossed out two of her answers and written in the wrong answer to allow the young heir to come first. He felt angry on her behalf, he wanted to challenge the Alpha and tell him he was wrong to teach his son he could win no matter the cost to others but he wasn’t stupid. If he dared to say anything he would lose his job and probably his life, he hoped that Caspian would catch on quickly to what was going on and appreciate the sacrifice his friend was making for him.

Unfortunately, Caspian only proved he was his father's son when he discovered he had beaten Tegan by one mark on the test he could not wait to crow about his victory. Jumping up and down he shouted in delight,

‘I won. I won. I knew it. I knew I was the clever one.’

He did not see the look of disappointment in Tegan’s eyes or the look of sympathy his teacher gave her acknowledging that he knew what she had done. Caspian knew he was not cleverer than Tegan and when he beat her in every subsequent test he understood what she was doing for him and he was going to acknowledge it. He actually told his father after coming home with another test result putting him ahead of her and was shocked when his father rounded on him.

‘Don’t ever let me hear you praising that fucking hybrid bitch. She is nothing, a useless foundling so don’t think I’m not watching you. If you want to fuck her when you are old enough then go ahead she’s a pretty little thing I’ll grant you that but she is not and never will be anything but a whore for this Pack. Do you understand me, boy? If you have any ideas about making her your Luna then forget them, use her any way you like then pass her over to the guards.’

He had beaten Caspian so hard afterwards the boy had vowed as soon as he had grown bigger and stronger than his father he would kill him because if he wanted to take Tegan as his Luna there would be no one to stop him if his father was dead.