Six

      I had stormed out of Nate’s office, livid with his stupid Royal ass. Who did he think he was? He has my god damn birthday tattooed to his wrist and he won’t even tell me why. I swear the man has lost his mind.

      There is just no arguing with him, regardless of what you say he just doesn’t see reason. Don’t even get me started on the fact that he kept calling me his! I belong to no one but myself. Part of me wondered if he meant I was his mate but again, I thought if that was the case he would just tell me.

      He probably just wants to claim me as another one of his sexual conquests and nothing more. Well it’s my birthday tomorrow and we’ll soon see what the deal is. If I had a wolf, which my father insisted I did, then tomorrow would tell me who Nate was to me. My King or my mate.

      “Ugh!” I aggressively pushed open the front door to the academy. Stupid men and their stupid ways. I refused to let him make me a sexual pet. Yes he was gorgeous and yes my heart felt pain from not being near him, but I’m not 19 yet so I can’t feel the mate bond. It must just be an overdeveloped crush

      However I knew there were things he wasn’t telling me. Things which effected my life. I always had a really good gut feeling about things and my gut was never wrong. Call it extra good intuition.

      How can I hate someone so much but want to jump on them as equally badly?

      I needed to go for a walk and clear my mind. Nate told me to go and get changed but as I already told him, I wouldn’t listen to his demands.

      I walked down the drive of the academy, heading towards the gate. Most students were in classes now so I wouldn’t be hassled by anyone. I just needed to get out of these grounds and as far away from Nate as I possibly could.

      As I reached the gate, Archie was stood by the gate with two other males. His hazel eyes reached out to me, instantly knowing I was pissed off.

      “How was it with the King?” Archie asked whilst wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

      “That man is the most annoying person I have ever met” I huffed in response.

      “And the sexiest man I’ve ever met” Archie winked. I rolled my eyes and laughed. 

      “I need to go for a walk, clear my head and blow off some steam” I told Archie whilst heading towards the gates “can you buzz me out?”

      “I’m not sure that’s a good idea Serena, you aren’t protected out there without a wolf” Archie’s eyes filled with worry, uncertain on whether to allow me out.

      “Archie, sweetheart, I’m a big girl I can handle myself. I’ll be back before dinner, I just can’t stay in the same proximity as him right now”. I raised my eyebrows in hope and prayed my friend would let me out. 

      Archie walked over to the gates security  post and unlocked the pedestrian gate. 

      “You’ll be back before dinner? And you’ll stay local so I can hear any danger?” Archie asked. Werewolves had super hearing  and could hear their pack within a 5 mile range.

      “I promise”. I kissed Archie on the cheek and walked out of the academy grounds. Looking either side of me, I decided to turn right and follow the road ahead.

      There wasn’t much to look at on my journey except a load of naked land. But the smell of freshly cut grass always warmed my heart. I didn’t know why but I always felt calm when in nature, it soothed me. Admiring the daisies lined up along the path, I felt my mind relax and my anger was relieved.

      What the hell was I going to do with his royal pain back at the academy? After tomorrow came and I could be sure he wasn’t my mate, I was going to tell him this ridiculous possessive game we were playing was over and he should focus on the women he entertained before I arrived.

      Around 2 miles from the academy, I followed a path through the woods which led to the most beautiful lagoon I had ever seen.

      I walked towards the edge of the lagoon, taking in my surroundings. The water was as clear as the Maldives ocean and was boarded with rustic old bricks, keeping the water in place. The lagoon was surrounded by more daisies and a bridge which turned into steps, which led into the lagoon. Behind the lagoon was a large cliff, embodied with flowers and weeds. Coming off the cliff was a waterfall, the water peacefully crashed into the lagoon creating bubbles.

      I sat by the edge of the lagoon, enjoying the peace and quiet. The more I relaxed, the sleepier I got and I laid down beside the water drifting off.

      An hour later I was suddenly awoken by a loud growl. I shot up and came head on with a brown wolf, screaming from the unexpected wake up call. The wolf didn’t have Amaris crescent symbol patterned behind its ear, so I knew it wasn’t from our pack but instead was a rogue. 

      The rogue bared it’s teeth at me, as drool dribbled out of its mouth. It’s eyes were black and it was clearly preparing for a hunt, with me being the prey.

      I wasn’t prepared for this, I had only attended two weeks of combat training and I hadn’t been doing very well due to my laziness and lack of effort.

      The wolf stroked his paw against the ground like a bull in a fight. It was preparing to come for me. I may not be good at fighting but I wasn’t going to shy away either. I would give it my best shot.

      The wolf charged towards me and I slid underneath it, whilst twisting myself on top of him. In combat training they has told us the best way to fight a wolf in human form was to snap its neck from being on his back.

      I wrapped my arms around his neck but I didn’t apply pressure to the right place and soon the wolf had shook me off it’s back, throwing me into a nearby tree. 

      I felt immediate pain as my back slammed against the trunk of the tree. I heard a crack as I landed and I was certain I had broken a rib.

      Still in excruciating pain, I stood back up and faced the rogue. I was wobbly on my feet but I watched it charge towards me once more. 

      Again I slid under the wolf and rid his back but because I was in so much pain, I wasn’t able to apply much force and he shook me off again. This time, I land on the stones by the lagoon and hit my head on the rocks with serious force. My head started spinning and my vision became blurry as I was losing consciousness.

      Suddenly my leg felt like it was on fire as I realised the rogue had bitten my leg. The feeling of flesh being broken consumed me and I realised I was about to die.

      As I wait for the last few seconds of my life to be over, a loud growl erupts from the trees I had once walked through. The rogue turned its head to see a huge black wolf, with the Amaris symbol behind his ear, leap towards it and knocking it off its paws.

      The black wolf snarled at the rogue and they began circling each other. The large wolf was the most beautiful wolf I had ever seen as I watched him leap onto the rogue, taking a chunk out of the rogues fur.

      The rogue whimpered and returned to all fours. They began circling each other again as the large black wolf let out a dangerously scary growl.

      Serena, touch the water. A voice spoke to me. Who the hell was that?

      Come into the water, Serena. The voice spoke again. I didn’t have time to question it as I rolled over and fell into the lagoon, making a large splash.

      I suddenly regretted my decision as I realised I was in no position to swim. But before I could panic, the water started spiralling around me. I found myself being consumed into a whirlpool, as the water tunnelled round my broken and deflated body.

      A warm tingle began to appear in my feet, working it’s way up my body. Every part of my body began to heal as the feeling took control of me. I had no idea what was happening but I knew I felt safe and protected as the water continued swirling around me.

      The warm tingle reached my head and I no longer felt any pain from the hit of the stones, as the wound began to close.

      The water started calming and I found myself peacefully floating on my back. This was the most relaxed I had felt in a long time and I was certain I was in heaven. Immediately, my eyes opened as I remember my surroundings and the situation at hand.

      I stood up and saw the large black wolf running towards me, jumping into the lagoon to reach me.

      I saw the symbol behind his right ear and a calming wave came over me. He felt familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. As he came closer to me, the smell of vanilla overwhelmed me and my heart skipped a beat. It was Nate, he was here.

      I wasn’t sure how he knew where I was, but I was thankful for him to have found me at that moment. I wasn’t one to rely on men and I usually could look after myself, but the rogue has the upper hand and I would have soon met my death if Nate hadn’t arrived. 

      I ran my fingers through the black wolfs fur, as he nudged me to get on his back. I climbed on top of him and held on tight, still relishing in his scent, as Nate climbed out of the lagoon.

      I looked ahead and saw the rogue was starting to find its balance once again. It seemed as though it had tunnel vision and was focusing on Nate. Fear ran through my body like never before as the rogue charged towards Nate, who had realised a moment too late.

      The thought of Nate getting hurt fuelled the fear and anger in my body. I had to protect him, I just didn’t know how. I jumped off his back so he was able to defend himself without the worry of me on his shoulders.

      Focus Serena. The voice I previously heard called out to me once more.

      What?

      Focus on what you want. What I wanted? I wanted Nate to fight this rogue off.

      Serena, breathe! Focus on what you want! The voice shouted at me.

      I didn’t understand, I shook my head feeling helpless. I looked at Nate and tears began to stream down my face at the thought of him being injured. My heart ached at the possibility.

      I looked ahead at the rogue and anger filled my body. I watched him charge towards us, with clear intent on going for Nate. Nate began to run head on to the rouge. 

      NO, my head shouted. I would not let him be hurt.

      My attention and anger redirected back to the rogue. Not a second later, the tingling I felt in the lagoon once again consumed my body as I stared at the rouge, dead in the eye.

      Water from the lagoon rose up and formed into a whirlpool in the sky, growing larger and large as the seconds passed. 

      Nate’s and the rouges attention turned to the whirlpool.

      I focused all my energy on the water and stopping the rogue attacking Nate. When a loud scream escaped my lips from giving up all my strength, the whirlpool darted towards the rogue and swept him up. The rogue span round and round the whirlpool, before passing out from the pressure.

      The water fell back into the lagoon and the rogue floated in the now calm water.

      My attention turned to the black wolf, who had now shifted back to Nate. I let out a sigh of relief and my eyes scanned his naked body. He ran towards me with fear in his eyes and just as I felt his arms around me, my mind started to spin and I fell into his arms.

      Seconds later, everything went black.