Juniper
11:59pm. That was the time on my phone. Exactly 24 hours had passed since I had turned 19, and nothing that had happened had turned out the way I had expected.
I set my phone down with a sigh, my eyes scanning the stars above me, waiting and hoping to see a shooting star, or a comet, or… something… I could make a wish on, something that I could pin my hopes on for the coming year.
I still had so many questions, so many thoughts running through my head after the events of today. When would I get to meet my birth parents? Where were they that they couldn’t raise me? How would I be able to rule a kingdom that I knew nothing about? When would they expect me to take over?
And of course, the biggest question of all: who would be my mate, and when would I finally meet him?
Juniper **********Dream********** The sun was bright; the light burning through my closed eyelids. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a bright environment, filled with colorful flowers and dense plant life. The vivid colors around me were unlike anything that I had ever seen on our packlands, completely taking my breath away with the overwhelming beauty that surrounded me. I found myself drawn to the flora, my bare feet moving me through the soft grass to examine everything before I could even think about what I was doing. Upon closer inspection, the wildlife seems to be a mix of plants that I am familiar with, having seen them on our packlands or studied them in my advanced botany classes at school, and plants that I had never encountered before in my
Lukas My head was pounding, the feeling completely overwhelming and unbearable, the light from a giant window causing me to squint my eyes closed in pain. I groaned, hauling my body over as I rolled and tried to sit up unsuccessfully, only causing me more discomfort. The pulsing in my forehead was incessant, growing louder and stronger every time I made even the slightest movement. “Hey there, easy now,” a male’s voice sounded from nearby. I felt a bottle of some sort of liquid being handed to me, and I grabbed it wordlessly. “Here, drink this,” the voice told me. I finally sat up, eyeing the bottle of water in my hand warily before turning to look for the source of the voice, every movement causing a bigger pulse of pain in my brain. My eyes
Lukas I blinked, because I wasn’t expecting that question at all. “I’ve never really thought about it, but Drew isn’t a full wolf. You know that,” I reminded him. “I’m not opposed to it, and I know the pack will be fine with it. I want someone who is a hard worker and who I can trust and rely on. Being a wolf doesn’t automatically make them those things,” I said. “Still, how would that work? Would they be able to join the pack, be part of the pack link?” Phil smiled knowingly. “It can be done, yes. It will have to be done under the radar, since King Tobias likely won’t approve, but there are ways around that.” He stood, and I stood with him, following him out of his office and through the front doors of the building, towards the training yard. “The elite class is training right now. That’s where you’ll find the people I have in mind for you.” He glanced back at me as he continued to speak. “You’ve already met a few of them, actually.” “Finn?” I asked, and he nodded. “And who else?
Lukas “Birthday boy! Hey, birthday boy! Wake up!” Chloe’s voice bellowed at me through the closed door of my bedroom in my suite in the guest hall, but I just rolled over, shoving my head under the pillow to block out her voice and the sunlight. I had planned on spending the day alone in my bed, letting my misery wash over me as the memories of my birthday two years ago played repeatedly in my head. It sounded like the perfect way for me to spend my birthday this year, since I wouldn’t be celebrating it with my mate or my pack or my family. Chloe had other ideas, however, and before I knew it, my door was slamming open and Chloe was marching into my room like hell on wheels. “Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with you?” she yelled as she saw
Lukas I sat for a moment in my car after I parked, staring at the windows and the signs of the shop, mustering up my courage to go through with what I had planned. I had done nothing like this before. The people I knew who had said it hurt like a bitch even with our shifter healing. Still, I knew this was what I wanted. I knew this was one way to have June’s “mark” on me before we could actually be together. I finally exited my car and walked the few steps to the door, yanking it open and setting off a chime that alerted the employees that a potential customer had entered. I glanced around the shop, taking in the interior. Artwork littered the walls, mainly sketches from the employees that worked there, I assumed. The walls themselves were a dark hunter green, and there was a matching green couch in the lobby, with a table in front of
Finn This fucker is taking too long, I grumbled in my mind as I waited in the lobby of Hank’s shop. My beast was restless. The trip here was not enough to settle his restlessness. He’d been on edge ever since Lukas arrived. Not that we had anything against Lukas himself. He was great. Almost perfect, which was frankly annoying. My beast respected him to where he almost even liked him, which meant a lot for him. He was ready to follow Luke when he finally went back to his pack, and I thought that was the best idea for both of us. No, Lukas wasn’t at all what had us both on edge. I glanced at my watch again and leaned forward with a sigh, resting my elbows on my knees, when Hank finally walked out of the back. I glanced up at him, and he eyed me quizzically. “What’s eating you?” he grunted. I huffed in response. “The same old shit,” I muttered under my breath, standing up. “Well, take care of it,” he scolded me with rolled eyes. I whipped my head at him and narrowed my eyes; I
Chloe I stood with my hands on my hips and wiped a stray hair out of my face as I surveyed my apartment’s kitchen and dining room, checking to make sure it would pass my dad’s scrutinizing inspection. It wouldn’t, because he was a drill sergeant with unrealistically high expectations, but I tried anyway. Tonight was our weekly father-daughter dinner, and it was my turn to play hostess, while my dad would cook us dinner. And by cook, I meant he would order pizza or Chinese food and have it delivered to the academy, since the only food he could actually “cook” was cereal. With no milk. I checked my watch and blew out a frustrated breath. He was running late, which was unusual for him. He had a background in the Royal Werewolf Army, and he was always, always
Chloe “Finn?” I inquired, and he turned his ear slightly towards me. My eyes were getting watery, blurring his massive form from my vision. “Are you making me dinner, or…” My voice quivered, my nerves and my self-doubts coming back and getting the best of me. “Or are you… are you… providing for me as… as…” I choked on a sob and covered my mouth with my shaking hand, turning my face away. I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t get the words out. I was too afraid that I would say it and he would deny it, or reject me, or walk out on me. I had lived every day since he arrived knowing that he was mine, but he didn’t want me. But if I actually heard him say the words, I knew that would be the end of me. My heart squeezed in my chest, the pain a mixture of my hope of acceptance and my fear of rejection. There was a clatter of a dropped pan, and Finn’s heavy footfalls echoed through the kitchen as he strode purposefully over to me, his firm hands a gentle caress on my cheeks as he turned my face t