It was late afternoon by the time they arrived back at the packhouse, Arla and Chloe chatting animatedly the entire way. As they pulled up in the driveway and began taking bags out of the boot, Beta Drew and Eli stepped out of the front door on their way out.
“Wow, someone’s been busy today,” Eli commented, stepping forward to help carry the bags.
“I’m so tired,” complained Arla. “Who knew how exhausting shopping could be?”
“Are you sure you’re going to make it up the stairs?” laughed Beta Drew, also picking up some shopping bags.
“I think I’ll manage...just,” she replied overdramatically, eliciting louder laughter from Drew.
“Drew and I have got these, Millie. We’ll take them up to Arla’s room. Head home and enjoy the r
Another fitful night of sleep ensued, with images of both her parents’ deaths haunting her dreams, along with the unsettling feeling of being watched when she woke. She kept her new mermaid lamp on all night, and she could have sworn that every time she looked at the mirror upon waking, an image would dart away quickly, as though it didn’t want to be seen. I’m not going crazy, she thought. I’ve actually lost my mind. For the second night in a row, Granny Elsie was there for her, wiping the sweat from her brow and comforting her during the night as she cried with sadness and shook with fear. Arla woke in the morning, still absolutely exhausted. Millie was pulling open the cur
Arla’s thirteenth birthday came and went, and she had settled in and started to feel at home. The nightmares began to ease, which meant not only was she getting more sleep, so was Granny Elsie and unbeknownst to Arla, Alpha Lorenzo, also. Arla, Chloe and Felix became firm friends, and the two newcomers joined Chloe’s posse of friends, sharing break times at school together. Arla and Felix, however, were almost inseparable. Wherever one went, the other was not far away. Felix’s dad, Dustin, was a surgeon in the human world before finding his werewolf mate, and was now training at the pack hospital, learning everything he could about applying his existing knowledge to healing wolves. He worked shifts, so on the days he was sleeping, Felix would have dinner at the packhouse with Arla, and the days
“Let’s just ignore them and get home,” instructed Arla, noticing the panic-stricken look on her friend’s face. Felix stood frozen in fear, and Arla had to grab his hand and pull him along to get him to keep walking. She knew that if they reached the packhouse grounds, Violet would have no choice but to back off. She was nasty, but she wasn’t stupid enough to break the rules while on the Alpha’s own residence. Violet’s taunts from behind them edged closer, until Felix was yanked backwards by his backpack and landed on his bottom with a thud, and Violet and her crew were standing in front of them both. “What do you want, Violet?” asked Arla angrily. “I want this human out of our pack,” Violet spat back with venom, emphasising the word human with distaste.
“Stop! Stop!” Granny shouted as she rushed over. As she got closer, she realised the first pup she had seen was Felix, and the girl on the floor was Violet Langford. Little shit, she thought. She didn’t need to ask any questions to know that Violet was the instigator, and Arla had retaliated in defence. Two warriors that had been patrolling the packhouse grounds had heard Granny Elsie’s shouts and rushed over. “Mrs Montana, is everything all right?” asked one warrior. “You three,” she said, pointing at Jared, Rocco, and Cynthia, who were still standing, shell-shocked at what they’d just witnessed. “Go home, now, before I tell the Alpha about your involvement.” They didn’t nee
“What’s going on, Granny?” Lorenzo asked, leading his grandmother into his office, and taking a seat behind his large wooden desk topped with grey marble. Granny sat across from him in one of the oversized cream coloured guest chairs. “Arla walked home with Felix and when they got to the meadow, they ran into Violet Langford and several of her friends. Violet and her group were verbally and physically abusive to Felix…” “Drew warned that pup to stay away from Felix,” interrupted Lorenzo. “Yes, well, it doesn’t appear to have gotten through to her,” replied Granny. “Felix was kicked and punched, as was Arla.” “I’m calling her parents right now, there will be consequences for this kind of behaviour,” growled Lorenzo. “Arla
The three of them followed Arla’s scent, which led them out the back door of the packhouse, and Lorenzo mind-linked the patrol team to keep an eye out for her. As they neared the forest line, they heard the sound of raised voices and shouting coming from the front of the packhouse. “Alpha?” Eli mind-linked. “Yes, Eli, go ahead.” “Have you heard of the term ‘angry mob’?” “Yeah...” “Uh, well, we kind of have one here.” “What kind of angry mob?” he asked warily. “Alan and Marie Langford are pissed off. Apparently, something happened with their pup today and they’re accusing Arla of witchcraft. I don’t know what the fuck is going on
“She tried to kill me!” shrieked Violet. Any remorse Arla felt at hurting her immediately vanished. “You will all stand down immediately,” boomed Drew in his Beta tone, causing the crowd to bow their heads slightly in acknowledgement of his rank and request. “Alpha,” shouted Alan, seeing Lorenzo emerge from the forest line. “What punishment will the witch face for her crime?” “As I said earlier, all the pups involved will receive their punishments in due course, Alan,” Alpha Lorenzo replied calmly. “How can you assure us this won’t happen again?” asked a woman at the back of the crowd. “Yes, exactly,” echoed Marie Langford, glaring at Arla. “How can we be sure that our pups are safe at school with this witch around?”
Drew and Granny Elsie followed Lorenzo to Arla’s room and watched as he sat on the bed, gently placing Arla next to him. “I don’t want to go, Alpha,” she whispered, her dark brown eyes still shining with tears. Lorenzo felt like his heart was about to rip in half. “I can’t keep you safe if you stay here, Arla,” he replied quietly. “Not without sacrificing a lot of your freedoms.” “But you’re the Alpha!” she exclaimed, trying to wipe her wet cheeks with the sleeve of her jumper. “I know, but there’s a lot more to being Alpha than just telling people what to do.” He reached over to the bedside table and handed her a tissue. “They fear what you can do, Arla, and when people get scared, they do stupid things. I promised your mum I would take care of you, and at the momen