“Drew, can I ask you a favour?” she said, looking up at him.
“For you, little lady, anything.”
“Can you look after Felix for me? Please?” she asked, her big brown eyes pleading. “Well, maybe not you, I know Betas are important, but can you get someone else to do it? He’s a human, he can’t defend himself from Violet and the others.”
“You’re right, I have worked too hard and am far too important to babysit Felix Thompson,” he teased. “But you don’t have to worry, I will make sure he’s looked after.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Thanks Drew,” she said as tears of gratitude filled her eyes.
She pulled on the front of his shirt and
“I, uh, I didn’t understand any of that, sorry,” said Arla, as she stretched and began climbing down from the top bunk to get a better look at her roommates. “Who are you?” asked the tallest girl Arla had ever seen. She was almost the same size as a full-grown Alpha werewolf, towering over Arla and the other two girls in the room. She had deep olive coloured skin, hair the colour of mud, and eyes that matched. It looked like she spent all her free time outdoors under the sun. “How do you fit in the bed?” asked Arla incredulously, before she gasped and her hand flew to her mouth to cover it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude.” The three girls chuckled. “It’s ok,” replied the tall girl. “To answer your question, I don’t fit, it’s very uncomfortable.”
Stepping out onto the cobbled street, Arla got her first look at her new community in the daylight, and was instantly enchanted by it. It felt like she had stepped back in time, into a quaint village she’d only ever seen in movies, yet it had a familiarity that made her instantly relax. The smell of chimney smoke hung in the air, and although it aggravated her nose with her heightened sense of smell, she knew she’d adapt quickly. The girls walked to the end of the main street, in the opposite direction Arla had arrived the night before. Another wider section of the lake came into view, and it was breathtaking. It was completely still and looked like glass with the sunlight bouncing off it. They veered to the left and stopped in a wide open paddock. The training area appeared to be broken into various zones; there was a section with a garden, anoth
“I’m sorry,” she said, trembling as tears streamed down her face. “Was that? Did she?” Julian rambled, leaving his students and rushing over from the lake. “Yes!” replied Carmen, slowly regaining her composure. “Pure magic. White.” “Wow!” was all Julian could say as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “We need to inform the Elders.” “No! Please don’t!” begged Arla, the feeling of déjà vu was overwhelming. “I’ve already had to leave two packs because of my magic. I won’t have anywhere to go if the Elders kick me out too.” Julian and Carmen exchanged confused glances. “You don’t seriously t
“I hope I’m not interrupting, I just wanted to come and introduce myself to Arla. I’m Victor. You made quite a debut this morning,” he said with a lopsided grin, extending his hand for Arla to shake. Arla felt her cheeks heat embarrassingly, taking in his compliment as she returned his handshake. “Uh, um, thank you, I think,” she replied, nervous under his intense gaze. “I hope we have a class together soon. I’ll see you around, Arla,” he said as he returned to his own table. Meredith’s laughter broke the three other girls out of their trance-like state. “You should see the look on your faces right now,” she teased. “A good-looking boy comes along and you all turn beet red.” “He’s divine though,” sighed Lydia hopelessly,
Arla enjoyed the early morning sunshine as she walked to Harriet’s farm. The village seemed so peaceful, and as she crossed the bridge, the lake was flat and calm. Birds chirped happily, and she stopped for a moment to take in the view. It was all so new to her, yet warm and somehow familiar, and despite missing her pack and her friends, she had started to view it as home. She had written letters to Felix and Chloe which Elder Laurel had promised to send for her, and now she was impatiently waiting for replies. Elder Laurel had also offered to have mirrors delivered to them so they could communicate more regularly. As she watched the small fish in the water, she wondered what her friends were doing now. She wanted to know if Felix’s ribs were healing and smirked, imagining how Violet and Rocco’s first week of cleaning duty had gone. It was a great
Alpha Lorenzo lay in bed early on Sunday morning, not entirely sure if he’d even slept. The past week since he’d had to send Arla away had been impossibly hard for him. Marcel was still ignoring him most of the time, and when he wasn’t, he had a terrible attitude, which in turn made Lorenzo short-tempered and grumpy with everyone around him. He tried to hide it as much as he could, but it was exhausting. He distracted himself during the day by throwing himself into his work with the pack and businesses, but at night when he lay in bed, all he could do was worry about Arla. Was she ok? Was she being treated well? Was she happy? Did she hate him for doing this? As he lay there staring at the ceiling, he felt it. A tug on the mate-bond with Arla that was so faint he would have missed it had he been busy. He flew out of bed, throwing on some sweatpants and
Arla was a dirty, sweaty mess by lunch time. The girls, along with Victor, stopped and ate the food that Astrid had packed, and Arla asked Harriet about what it was like growing up as a witch. In return, Harriet asked a million questions about life as a werewolf, and Arla described her pack and her friends as both Harriet and Victor listened with interest. Harriet was easy to talk to and easy to like, and Arla was surprised to find herself warming up to Victor as well. The conversation flowed freely between the three of them for the remainder of the afternoon as they worked. Harriet’s initial flustered demeanour regulated itself once she realised he only had eyes for Arla. She had now mastered the blooming process, and Harriet had moved on to teaching soil enrichment, seedling growth and harvesting. Arla was a natural at all of it.
The weeks turned into months, and before long Arla had turned fourteen and was positively thriving at the coven. She commanded an aura of respect and power that came from the confidence in the strength of her abilities. They widely respected her for her talent as well as her caring nature, and as she took on more responsibility helping the teachers train the younger witches, she was looked up to as a mentor. She struggled to believe that she had only known she was a witch for less than a year. As the rumours of a new white witch had circulated, more and more witches had requested the Elders allow them to visit, to meet Arla in person. She had become somewhat of a celebrity within magical circles and the Elders tried to limit her exposure, concerned about the intentions of some in the community. Meredith had