Slamming my locker shut, I glared at my best friend, Krista. “What do you want?”
“Maybe…it would be your face on Friday?”
“Absolutely not.” I walked past her.
Krista had been by my side since we were eleven. Her family had been part of the Moon Shadow pack before it was absorbed into our pack. They weren’t leadership but they were one of the original founding families. Alpha Damian, and his father before him, made sure that when the packs were combined that many of the families were given similar status.
She transferred into our school when we started Middle School and somehow I became her best friend. I had no control over it and I still didn’t. Krista was the one person who I could rely on no matter what and sometimes that got her in trouble. She’d run her mouth a little much and we’d both end up in deep shit.
“But Winter, come on. Hunky Jackson is having a party at his house. Everyone is going. Everyone. And you can’t say everyone if you’re not going. I need my wingman! Wingwoman. Whatever. I need you. I am going to finally get my claws into Jackson.”
I rolled my eyes. Krista really didn’t even need to try. She was effortlessly beautiful. As she said, she was black, bold, and beautiful. Once a boy fell in love with her, they were hooked for life. Her confidence was always admirable. I loved her as I would a sister; a relationship that didn’t exist between Rebecca and I.
Speaking of, I pushed my backpack into Krista’s arms before storming over to Rebecca. She had one of the Freshman cornered between the wall and lockers. He looked absolutely terrified in the face of her and her cronies.
“Becca, leave the poor kid alone.”
No one else would have the audacity to touch her. Other than me. I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. She stumbled a little since she wasn’t expecting anything to come between her and her latest victim.
“You okay?”
I stepped between them and squatted down, grabbing up the books that had fallen on the floor. Handing it to him, he gave me a shaky smile, his eyes still darting over my shoulder. Giving him a soft smile back, I rose up. He nodded quickly once he realized that Rebecca wasn’t coming at him again.
“Alright. How about you head off to your class? You don’t want to be late.”
The boy slipped out between the wall and where I was standing, racing down the hall. My sister behind me growled and spun me around.
“What the hell do you think you were doing?”
“I was saving a Freshman from being traumatized.” I shook my head at her. “Stop trying to get other people to do your work. If you just did it to begin with, you wouldn’t be having this problem.”
I held my ground as her hand connected with my cheek. It was so expected that I managed to not even move my head. She just hit my face without it moving, like slapping a wall. Her eyes started to darken with her wolf and I gave her a fake smile.
“Careful, Becca. Principal Miles already warned you that if your wolf came forward again, you’d be kicked out. Not even Dad can save you if the Alpha steps in. It’s the one thing he doesn’t tolerate.”
Her chest rose and fell before she shifted her claws, tearing four marks into the front of my sweatshirt, before storming off. Goddess above, she was childish. If the Alpha did choose her to be the next Beta, we were going to be in trouble.
Krista came up next to me, handing me my backpack. “The hell was that about?”
“She’s failing too many classes.”
“But it’s not even October! We are two months in!”
I chuckled, swinging my backpack over my shoulder. “I know. Dad was pissed yesterday when he got the news.”
Krista took my face in her hands. “Are you okay? He took it out on you, huh? That…that…”
“Krista.” I gave her a hard look, cutting her off. “I’m fine. Alpha has been running him around and he is coming home more tired than I’ve ever seen. I think his age is finally catching up to him.”
“Alpha Damian is technically the next generation. How old is your dad now?”
I hummed, thinking as we walked to our biology class. “This year he will be forty-four.”
“Damn. That’s…”
“Retirement age? Yeah. I mean, technically, once we turn eighteen we would start to step in as Beta. Or rather, Rebecca would. Since she is his choice as successor.”
Krista fake gagged as we opened up the door to biology class. Mrs. Finch wasn’t here yet but there were still a few of my classmates sitting down at their assigned tables. Krista and I had one on the far right. It was a long high table with two stools that we each took a seat on.
“I am abandoning the pack if Rebecca becomes Beta. I’m sorry, but she can’t even get through a day without making a scene. She’s supposed to run the pack while the Alpha is busy? This pack is going to burn to the ground.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Maybe she will get a rude awakening? Or, you know, her mate ends up being from somewhere else?”
“True. One can hope. We have the Summer Festival that has a bunch of other packs coming in. Maybe she will find her mate if she doesn’t find one within the pack. That will take her far away and be someone else’s problem.”
Mrs. Finch stepped in and clapped the class to attention. She started to pass out papers for the next month’s section on werewolf anatomy, specifically while shifting. I found it fascinating how our biology allowed us to shift from human to wolf and back. It was the section I was most looking forward to. Krista looked about as excited as she ever was for Biology.
“Please open your books to section three. We are going to go over the specific differences between wolves and werewolves before we delve into the bone structure and how they adjust.”
Daniel, one of the smarter jocks, raised his hand. “Mrs. Finch?”
“Yes, Mr. Harper?”
“Will you be shifting in class to demonstrate the process?”
Mrs. Finch narrowed her eyes, probably wondering where the question was coming from. Yes, Mrs. Finch was younger but she had a mate and two kids. There were definitely other teachers who the guys tended to get a little too horny for but I didn’t think Mrs. Finch was one of them. Daniel might have specific tastes though. She decided to take the question at face value.
“No, I will not. There will be a day of demonstration. However, the Alpha will be coming in to do that. He does it every year so that you may decipher between an Alpha wolf and any other wolf.”
He didn’t look disappointed, the exact opposite actually.
“Some of you may be shifting this year, since many of you are turning eighteen. Miss Winter, you have already shifted, correct?”
My eyes widened as the whole class turned to me. “Y-yes, Mrs. Finch. However, I do not have my wolf.”
“Such a shame. Still though, you are ahead of the curve. If you have any questions about the first shift or what it’s like, I’m sure Miss Winter would be happy to answer your questions.”
I forced a smile. It would not be my pleasure. I would do it, of course. I did my best to keep my head down though. Part of me wanted to say that Rebecca could shift as well but then if anyone went to her for questions I would be scared of the answer she would give them.
“Now, let’s go ahead and start at the first paragraph. Mr. Adler, please start to read and then I will have someone else swap with you.”
Flipping my notebook open, I took out my pen and highlighter. Krista rolled her eyes as she scribbled in her own notebook. I kicked her leg and she wrinkled her nose. She did swap over to taking notes rather than scribbling that she loved Jackson in the corner of her page.
Her obsession with him I found silly but I knew better than to say anything. One, it was cute to see her fawn over someone. Secondly, there could always be something to it. Sometimes our hearts and souls knew before we did who our mates were. Our wolves were born within us; as were the ones chosen to be our mates. Even if they hadn’t come along yet. So this could be a simple matter of an early sign.
The only problem was that Jackson was completely wrapped up in his rugby games. He zero time for anything outside of that. Girls have been, literally, stripping for him since he hit puberty and he never gave a single one a glance. My sister tried for about three months before writing him off. She told everyone it was just because she deserved someone better. Everyone knew the actual reason was because he didn’t give her the time of day.
“Miss Winter, please read the next paragraph.”
I nodded and picked up the fifth paragraph, putting my pen down. “While some wolves can be found to have very close anatomy to werewolves, their inability to shift leaves them less mobile and less flexible. Werewolves have the ability to partially shift. It points to the ancestral trait of the original lycanthropy where the shift resulted in a hybrid state between wolf and human. Most werewolves don’t have much link to original lycanthropy gene but it is said that those who are considered ‘Alphas’ have a stronger connection to their ‘lycan’ side and therefore are stronger, smarter, faster, and have larger wolves than others.”
“Thank you, Miss Winter. Now, I will dive into the history of lycanthropy and where it lands within our timeline and explain why we are getting a history lesson in Biology.”
Mrs. Cross’ desk had a ton of flowers and gifts on it. I smiled and pulled out a small little box from my backpack. Krista lugged in a box of diapers and slammed it down on her chair. Our last class of the day was Latin. Luckily, it wasn’t a block but it really wasn’t going to be a regular day anyways.When our teacher stepped into the class from the bathroom, her eyes were all puffy. Today was going to be her last day. Mrs. Cross said that it was just going to be for a little while and she would be back teaching but most of us knew better.“Mrs. Cross, where do we put gifts?” Lauren had a gift on her table as well.“Oh my, you guys…you didn’t have to. Really!”Krista snorted. “Too bad! Where do you want them?”The class laughed, except for Rebecca and her cronies in the corner of the classroom. Of course they didn’t bring anything but then you’d actually have to show up to class to get to know a teacher. Mrs. Cross had actually moved up with us over the years. She decided to finally t
I sat next to Krista in the high school office. She was smirking, her arms crossed over her chest, and her head leaned back against the wall behind us. Another one of our classmates came out of the office and winked at us before heading out. Principal Miles stood outside his door and motioned me in. Sighing, I got up and walked over to his office.“Well, this is the first time this year I’ve had you in my office.” Principal Miles sat down behind his desk. “I’d hope we didn’t need to do this until the official meeting at the end of the year.”Chuckling, I sat down across from him. “I mean, you know I love this office.”It was true. He’d turned his office into a bit of a dark academia vibe. The walls were painted a dark blue with gold accents everywhere. There were black bookshelves lining two of the four walls and most were filled with leather bound editions. He’d added in a few more mystical pieces to complete the look. Plus, his desk was a huge dark wood centerpiece that was intricate
My eyes fluttered open and I shivered. It was cold. Not freezing cold but way too cold to be wearing just a shirt. Slowly, I pushed myself off the floor of the shed. Everything protested the movement. All my muscles were locked up and I felt sore everywhere. It was still dark outside and I couldn’t hear anything but the wind whistling through the trees.Pushing on the door, it was still locked. It was probably too early for the door to be opened or my dad intended on leaving me in here all day. Not that it would be a first but I really didn’t want to miss an entire day of school.Grabbing one of the thin sheets of metal that had been used to patch the roof of the shed, I stuck it right under the lock. It wasn’t a key lock but a latch that swung into a latch to lock it in place. With some effort and enough finagling, I managed to tap it so it swung up and around. The door opened and the cold wind sent goosebumps rushing over my body.They did say a storm was going to roll in today. It d
My alarm went off and I groaned. Getting up, I hit the alarm and rubbed my eyes. I sat up from the chase lounge and stretched. For some reason, I felt even more locked up and in pain than before. I grabbed my backup backpack and everything I needed for the day. It was a serious debate whether or not I wanted to just sleep in and not show up to Statistics.In seventh grade, one of the times it got particularly bad, the older librarian who worked here gave me a key to an unused office. It had some old books that were needing to get donated but other than that, the space wasn’t used. Over the years, I made it into a mini version of Principal Miles office. A safe haven away from my house.The walls were a dark green with silver accents. My bookshelves were also black but these shelves held my own collection of books. After I brought home books and woke up the next day to them being trashed or burned, I stopped bringing home anything other than textbooks. Instead, I filled my little office.
*** Caspian’s POV *** The marker squeaked against the board a little louder than I meant it to. I frowned, looking at the words I was writing. Was I seriously just called a bleeding heart by a teenager? Part of me wanted to take it as an insult, which it seemed like in this case, it was meant to be. Being called a bleeding heart was definitely a first for me.Taking a deep breath, I put the marker down and turned around to the class with a smile plastered on my face. “Good Afternoon! I am Mr. Penn and I will be Mrs. Cross’ replacement for Latin.” Walking around the desk, I leaned against it. “A little about me if that I have a Masters degree in Linguistics and I’m currently working on my PHD. So you could say I’m a bit of a nerd for languages.”As with every class, the majority of the girls laughed while the rest just rolled their eyes. Crossing my arms over my chest, this was my only Latin 3 class. The other two were Latin 1. Which meant that their teacher before me was with them thr
I grabbed the three notebooks from Delilah over the three different classes. There were also the two textbooks, my own notes for the day, and then I grabbed a couple extra notebooks that were empty. With everything that I gathered today, I could easily set up a lesson plan for each class now. While I wasn’t quite comfortable being in an official teaching position, if I looked at it that I was only teaching someone a language, it lessened the feeling of imposter syndrome.‘You’re coming over for dinner.’Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my leather messenger bag that had somehow survived all of my college years with me. ‘I have work I need to do.’‘You little…you’re coming over for dinner. You didn’t even stop by when you came in last night!’Closing the door and locking it, I headed down the stairs and to the office. ‘I got in late. I needed to be up early. I wasn’t going to wake you or Ember up. You’re too old to be missing that kind of sleep.’I held back my laugh as my brother yelled in my
“Em, we’ve talked on the phone and through texts. It’s not like you haven’t talked to me all this time.”She frowned. “Cas, that doesn’t count. Those are just words. I want to really know how you are. You okay coming back? Is the apartment okay?” Reaching out, she rubbed my arm. “Are you taking care of yourself? Are you sleeping well? You might have grown into a towering monster but you’re thin too.”This is who Ember really was. Something that kicked in the moment we found out my parents were dead. She was a nurturer. A mother at heart. I couldn’t understand why, after all these years, they hadn’t had pups but Ember stepped up into the mother role for me even though she was only twenty. At the time, I was nine and rebelled against her something fierce but she never gave up. Not even after I left the pack.“I’m okay. Really. I am really happy where I am. I’ve found something I love and pursuing it has been the best and most fulfilling thing I’ve done. There are times where I miss havin
‘It was not that bad.’I sighed and flicked on the lights of the apartment I was staying in. Onan wasn’t wrong. I was expecting it to be worse. Damian was still Damian. Even after all these years. Though, a little more grown up. He’d weathered some storms and it settled him down to an extent. He always had a bubbly personality and was a complete extrovert. He just fit the Alpha role now.Placing my bag on the smaller kitchen island, I looked around the room. This seemed so different than Ember’s usual style. This was far more modern of a place than I expected but she also was only investing, not actually living in it. It was above a shopping center on the West side of town. It had its own little community feel and there were two stories of apartments above all the stores.There were massive windows and a balcony but I’d found out today that the windows were one way. It felt a little more private and I didn’t feel the need to always be closing the blinds now. I would have been fine with
I wondered how long I could get away with ignoring Damian’s shouting in my head. We had another half hour or so to the end of the pack territory. If I could make it that long, then I would be fine.‘ANSWER ME! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?’This time I winced. Onan growled, it echoing just as loud for him. Winter must have caught my flinch since she looked over at me. I gave her smile, but winced again when Damian mind linked me again.‘YOU DID NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO TAKE HER! DO NOT MAKE ME REPORT YOU FOR KIDNAPPING, CASPIAN!’“Alpha, I’m assuming?” She looked back to see if the car was still following us.Nodding, I looked in the mirror as well. They hadn’t stopped, but they had backed off quite a bit. I wondered what Damian was thinking. It didn’t make sense to pull them only to yell at me. Not to mention that his accusation of kidnapping would be on shaky ground. At least within the pack laws.“I’m wondering if I can just ignore him until we get to the border. His mind
‘Just go in, Caspian. No one is going to think it’s weird you’re there.’ Onan was at his limit with me and I could feel his irritation at my hesitation.“I can’t just…go in. One, I’m not a teacher anymore. Two, I’d be picking up Winter. Which would end up raising flags.”He let off an annoyed sigh. ‘Outside the fact that she is our mate and it’s not weird. You are now Caspian Herne. The wolfs out of the bag. You can’t hide anymore that you are the Alpha’s brother. Both good and bad.’Rubbing my face, I let out a more exasperated sigh. Damian and Ember had been using that to their advantage. Every time I went into town, went shopping, or even at home, they had a wolf watching me. I didn’t know what they expected me to do, but apparently, it was something.Whether or not I wanted to let them be at the mercy of the Council, I worried that Winter would end up in the crosshairs. I worried that I would lose her simply because I wanted to spite my brother and didn’t wait to think about how I
The kitchen was quiet for a moment. My brother and I stared at each other. Ember was looking at me as well, but she turned to her mate. He didn’t look at her. His focus was on me and I wondered if it was because he was still deciding if giving me the truth was worth it. My hand curled into a fist.“Yes, we made the decision to lock Winter’s wolf away!” Ember was the one who answered, the words tumbling out of her mouth.My eyes continued to watch my brother as he sighed and rubbed his eyes, his back falling against the wall. He pulled his leg up and frowned. Damian looked exhausted, but not from the blooming bruise on the side of his face.“We…we made the decision. A choice. To protect her and the pack. Especially after Linny passed…” Ember sat back on her knees, looking up at me. “Yes, we made the choice. I’m sorry, Cas.”“Why? Why would you do that? What could a young wolf do to pose such a threat that you brought in magic, forbidden magic I might add, to seal away her wolf? You can’
*** Caspian’s POV ***I tried to be as normal as possible for Winter. She was already nervous going with Maddox and I to the diner. It was funny because we definitely turned a few heads. However, once we sat down, she relaxed a little. Not as much as I wished though.This had broken her. She spoke about not having her wolf but the fact that it had been taken from her. Not that she wasn’t supposed to have one, didn’t just devastate her. I was gutted. It wouldn’t change how I felt about having her as a mate. My acceptance of her wouldn’t change. This just felt so raw.I’d had Onan with me years before most wolves did. We were a team. Albeit a weird team. We didn’t think or work together like other wolves but he was the other part of my soul. My grouchy old man part of my soul.‘Hey.’I chortled. “Tell me I’m wrong.”Onan huffed. ‘Whatever.&
I curled up tighter, not wanting to hear whatever was going on downstairs. There was yelling, that was for sure. It got louder for a second before I realized it was because someone was opening my door. The yelling mellowed down to a murmur again. Someone touched my shoulder and I jumped.“Winter…”Tears that I thought were done filled my eyes and I curled up tighter, trying to get away from the voice. I knew it. It was the voice I wanted to avoid like the plague. Who would want a wolf-less mate? Who would accept anyone like that? And an Alpha at that?“Talk to me, Winter. Please.” His hand brushed my arm, but I tried to scoot as far away as I could. “Look at me at least.”Squeezing my eyes shut, I lifted my head. Slowly, I peeled them open. Caspian was sitting on the bench in front of me. His face reflected the worry I heard in his tone. My tears fell and I started to shake my head.“Oh, little wolf.
Caleb slammed the door behind him as he got out of the car. He didn’t wait for me or even help me. He just walked into the house. Stepping out gingerly to the driveway, I slung my bag over my shoulder before slowly making my way into the house.Closing the door behind me, I was surprised to find Caleb with a beer in hand, leaning against the kitchen counter. I didn’t even know we had beer, let alone that Caleb drank it. He shook his head as he looked up at me.“You ruined years of mentoring and work.”I frowned. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”“Galen Rue, you stupid girl. I have been mentoring him and pushing him to take over for Alpha Damian. It’s time that Damian step down. He has no children and I don’t think he ever will. Galen was the obvious choice and only needed a little help.”For a moment, I stared at Caleb. I hoped he was joking. It didn’t look like h
Collapsing against the bed, I shook my head. For the most part, my throat had healed. My voice was still a bit soft but it didn’t feel straining to use it anymore. The issue now was walking. I’d been so weak from two weeks in bed that it was like I was trying to learn to walk again. It frustrated me that I would get so tired simply from walking down the hall and back.“You did good, Winter. Better than last time. You’re getting stronger. That’s progress.”I gave the nurse a deadpanned look and she laughed.“I mean it. Two weeks in a coma might not seem like a lot but it is.”“Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.”She laughed again but it was cut off by some commotion outside the door. It sounded like chaos until a voice rose above all the noise. A voice I knew well but I never thought I would hear in the hospital. The nurse, also confused, stepped out from the room to see what was going on.
There something about being held by Caspian. I’d felt it when he carried me to the hospital. I felt it last night and now tonight. It felt like home. A feeling I had been working toward, but thought it would only be when I finally kicked my family out. Feeling it now, I wondered if I had it wrong all this time. That I would have been disappointed the moment I made the house mine but never really had that sense of home from it. No matter how much remodeling I did.“I want you to move in with me.”The words tumbled out awkwardly and Caspian pulled back, shock written all over his face. “What?”My face turned bright red and I stammered. “I…that’s not…I mean…shit.” Rubbing my eyes, I dragged my fingers down my face. “I just…I’ve been working towards getting the house from Caleb. And on my birthday, I’m going to kick him out. With the lawyer and everything. I just&h
Krista squealed as I gave her a rundown of what I spoke about with Caspian, and also how I felt after. When I was done, I buried my face in my hands. She sat up, straddling my legs as she faced me.“You can’t be embarrassed, Winny! He’s your mate!”“Yeah but…like…this is all…I’ve never…” I could feel my ears getting red.Krista laughed. “Oh you sweet summer child.”“Winter. Winter child.”She laughed again. “Winter, you don’t need to worry about that right now. I think he will have enough sense not to push you into anything. Usually, even if mates do mate right away, there is a period of transition. They still ease into the processes. It’s not something that wham! All of a sudden you’re moved in, having kids, and showering together.” Humming, I watched her wrinkle her nose. “I guess some do. But it&rsqu