Perrin
Charlie dropped me off at the front of the packhouse an hour later.
Walking inside, I decided to stop by and grab a plate of leftovers from the feast. I know Dina would have a few plates set aside for the Night Guard in the pack kitchen. Fortunately nobody at the welcome ceremony had noticed that practically half the Alpha Guard was on duty tonight… just in case.
But with all the new wolves and visiting packs, nobody really knew each other so it was easy not to realize, especially when only the challengers were wearing our special coats.
I made my way down to the kitchens and Dina was finishing clean up with a few other of the pack cooks. She ushered them to other duties as she saw my face at the door.
“I didn’t mean to d
PerrinI woke to the sound of my phone alarm pounding murderously close to my face.“ARGGGG!”Today was the first day of training, and I didn’t want to be late. I set a few extra alarms last night just in case.I hear a rustle of a blanket somewhere across the room. Kira’s head popped out from behind the arm of the chair.“Dude… you really have to turn that off.” Thrashing in my pillow until I found it, I silenced it.“Dude… you should have gone back to your room last night.”Without a word, a pillow launches itself across the room and hits me square in the face.
LeilaI dreamed all night of wolves with golden eyes.It was terrible, so after a restless night’s sleep, I wasn’t much in the mood for training. But I didn’t have many friends here and I didn’t want to ditch Jasmine on our second day.Dina was quite a dependable cook. She had prepared a small egg and bacon breakfast wrap for me and left it with a to-go cup of creamer on the island of the kitchen. Bless that she-wolf. I snatched it up and headed for the door.Now that I knew where I was going, it didn’t take me long to reach the training facility again. I was still in awe of it. They had made so many upgrades since I had been here as a kid. And now I was even big en
LeilaI could get used to breakfasts like these.I’m a creature of habit. So a good, hard workout followed by Dina’s magic and I’m a happy camper.My training session with Jasmine this morning kicked my ass. My wolfy appetite is roaring to go.I’m almost done with my second plate of eggs when I see the gorgeous blonde she-wolf from last night enter the kitchen. She was so nice to help me! But before I can say anything to her, Dina’s there.“Good morning!” Dina greets her as she takes a seat down the counter from me.Dina’s wide smile and cheery disposition are no match for the joy that her breakfast frittata brings to anyone nearby. She plops a fat
KiraFull of breakfast, I dash out to meet my mother. We’re on clean-up duty after the feast last night.Sure, there are tons of pack members to help out, but I like cleaning. It’s… soothing. Sometimes doing good old domestic stuff just helps calm my mind.And after last night, my mind is anything but calm. I take a turn into the great hall.“Good morning sweetie.”“Hey, mom.” I give her a quizzical look. Shehas bags under her eyes, but her voice is cheerful. She hasn’t slept much since Ethan’s… accident? I don’t even know what to call it. But she hasn’t so much as had a normal conversation with me since it happened. I carefully test the waters. “How are you feeling?&r
The training facilityPerrinIt was unusual to see so many of us training at one time. So many pack warriors--of course from all different packs, but--it was incredibly nonetheless.By the time I had put on my gear, there were guys on the obstacle courses, countless others doing weights and sparring--and outside on the far side of the facility, some of the challengers had shifted into their wolves and were training for the phased part of the challenge.The Sacred Call had two physical challenges. The first, was in human-form. Both Beta and Alpha challengers had to beat their opponents in hand-to-hand combat. It runs as a tournament with timed rounds. Kind of like boxing, but you get points for each time you land a hit on your opponent, and likewise if you can defend yourself. When th
Leila After what happened last night, and after talking to my father, there’s really only one place I’d like to be right now. I take a long shower, still furious with myself that I hadn’t recognized Kira. Missing both twins in one night. That’s gotta be a record. Well, might as well try and figure this all out. LO: Hey, can I borrow your car? DAD: That depends. LO: On what? DAD: Did you make time to introduce yourself to our visiting packs last night? LO: What does that have to do with borrowing the car?
LeilaI’m not really sure I’m ready to see Ethan based on what my Dad said, so I brace myself.I walk in and take a seat.I’m feeling a lot of emotions. But looking at Ethan--the real Ethan, this time--I can’t believe I had ever mistaken Jack for my childhood friend.His silver hair is matted against his forehead. It’s slightly greasy and flecked with dried blood, but it’s Ethan’s hair to be sure. His eyes are closed--I’m not sure if he’s sleeping or in a coma, but there’s a large eye patch covering one eye. While his face is serene, there’s a hint of that devilish smile I remember from when we were kids.I take a step out of the nostalgia for a better look.
PerrinI was careful to get all the blood out of my nose and my eyebrow after my shower. I didn’t realize how bad Justin had really got my side. It ached with a bruise and is starting to turn purple. I eye my torso through the steam of the bathroom.I’ve got to take a bath later. Maybe get rid of some of this stiffness.I put on a turquoise button-down and dark denim jeans--both Jaz’s favorite. I knew I had to score some major brownie points tonight. I wasn’t taking any chances.I had made a last-minute reservation at Corbellas on the way back from training. They were a great, classy restaurant and usually booked out a few weeks in advance.Being Alpha Dauphin had its advantages.
EPILOGUEMarge shuffled through the archive, her shoes making the only sound in the quiet stone building, echoing all the same through the high vaulted ceiling of the church building above. She raised a gnarled hand to the shelf and deposited the book after two tries, her hands shaking slightly with the cold. There were only a few books to return tonight. Far fewer than there had been when Leila had been here.So why had she waited until this late in the evening to do it? She just shrugged and pushed on, the slow creaking of the cart’s wheels punctuating the silence, her old watch on her pale wrist noting the time; 1:45 a.m.She really had no business being there so late. But she had gotten caught up in one of her research projects, spread out across her circulation desk and totally lost in thought until the rumble of her empty sto
Perrin“How long is it going to take?”I sat on Lo’s bed as she shoved clothes into her suitcase. “Maybe a week? I’m not sure.”“Why don’t you just leave all of that stuff here?” I pointed at the suitcase. “It’s not like you’re not going to bring it back.”She heaved a heavy sigh, full of fake exasperation. “I still have to pack it to move it down the hall. It’s just easier if I do it all at once.”“Nah. Let’s just throw it all in some garbage bags and unpack later.”She laughed. “Hand me those shoes?”I strode over and picked a pair
Perrin “Because I never want to create a monster like my father.” Silence hung in the room. I digested each word, the implications of it. “But you’re not…” I said, more for myself than for her. “No, I’m not. He never got his hands on me. My little brother made sure of that.” And even though she spoke in a viscous, quipping way; there was a hint of something grateful in her tone. “So he won’t be anything like him!” I said, assuring myself more than anything. “Does it matter?” She snapped, regaining her typical composure. “If my father’s insane lust for power is hereditary, then it’s best that the blood line ends with me. At least my brother won’t be breeding any offspring considering he’s gay–” sh
Perrin I glanced at my phone, then at Lo. We had made love for several hours, refusing to stop until we had our fill of each other. But each time hadn’t felt like enough, leaving us drained and happy but wanting more. After one particularly hot session in the middle of my bed involving whipped cream, I pulled her close to me, blissfully peaceful with her cradled in my arms. I felt her stomach growl against my hands. And apparently hungry. I swept my mouth to her ear and felt her shiver against me, goosebumps appearing up and down her body. I fought the impulse to warm her with every inch of mine. “Do you want me to get you a snack?” I said, and waved the small can of whipped cream in front of her face so she could see. She hummed lazily in my
PerrinAnd it had happened like that.I recalled the broad strokes for my friends.“You what?” Ethan said, shocked and nearly angry. “You can’t make that kind of promise!”Justin shook his head sagely. “That’s free reign, Perrin. And a dangerous move, backing out of every challenge. It puts you at a huge disadvantage if anyone trespasses on your territory.”“Or attacks on your land,” Ethan said.“Or poses a border dispute,” said Kira.“How will you expand?” Ethan asked, c
PerrinI tried to cover the nail marks she had left on my shoulder with a spare set of scrubs from Deidre’s office. It was no use. The scrubs were too small, tugging comically at my shoulders and Lo’s pink cheeks and ruffled hair couldn’t be fixed.We had retreated long enough to ourselves, and I pulled us back into the world of the living and down the hall, walking hand in hand as we rejoined our friends.Ethan smirked when he saw us. “Nice.”Kira rolled her eyes, glancing at her imaginary watch. “Couldn’t you two wait?”“At least get a shirt,” Ethan added, eyeing my bare chest. I had ditched the scrubs, unable to get them over my chest.
PerrinWe didn’t talk as much, even though that had been the plan.I had taken one of the chairs opposite Deidre’s desk, hoping to keep my brain thinking platonically for as long as possible. But part of me was still in shock. I could smell the smell of her coconut shampoo. See the glimmer of her earrings in the desk lap. And I had felt the tips of her fingernails as I held her hand; the short ones that she chewed on when she was reading and lost in thought.But I knew it was definitely her the moment I felt my head slightly dizzy with the draft of warm honeysuckle, intoxicatingly perfect.I wasn’t shy, needing to have her by my side. I pulled her easily into my lap, and she didn’t protest, as if still quite unsure that all of this was really happening either. She swun
PerrinAs soon as Mark dismissed the crowd, the crowd had begun to descend from the stands in droves. It hadn’t taken long for Lo to find me, fighting the current and pushing her way against the flow of teaming bodies and up to the platform.I sensed her, long before she ran up the platform stairs, Justin hot on her heels. I dove past my father, darted behind Mark and ran to meet her, not caring for any protocol or public indecency. I needed her.Her scent hit me first. It made my blood sing and my heart beat so fast I thought it would stop.And then there she was. The sight of my home and my heart, running and slipping across the wet platform towards me.My weight almost buckled beneath me, the unexpected reality of seeing her here st
Justin The arena was packed. I could hear an excited roar from the crowd from behind the Lodge, drifting over the top of the massive building and floating through the chill evening air. Lo parked illegally in front of the entrance to the building. Now was not the time to point it out. A series of battered and limp-hanging banners and signs showed the way around to the back. It had rained today, apparently, and we made progress towards the arena as quickly as we could, sludging through mud and the trampled pathway. A stadium had been erected, filled to the brim with stands of onlookers, cheering and applauding in a range of darkened colors, soaked from the rain. Despite the bad weather, it hadn’t dampened their spirits. The crowd had been here all night, awaiting the results. Colored tents for each challenging pack were spaced ou