Tree branches tore through my hair as I ran, my wolf refusing to come forward. I was in danger. The sound of paws thundered behind me and I pushed myself to run faster. I found myself suddenly in the clearing with nothing to provide cover. Not that it would have helped anyway, the wolf would sniff me out. My only chance was to reach the water. I tripped over a protruding root as I moved towards the stream. Before I could stand, the wolf was flying through the sky at me, shifting into human form as he sliced through the air.
“HANNAH! COME ON, WE’RE GOING TO MISS BREAKFAST.” An irritated voice yelled through the door, waking me from my nightmare.
“I’m coming!” I called back, untangling myself from my sweat filled sheets.
The previous nights encounter had rattled me. My wolf was on edge, angry that I had ran from our mate. I was more concerned that he had wanted to rip our throat out. We were pack-less after all, and that made us a rogue threat. I would have to find Barb after school today and let her know about the incident. I dressed quickly and after brushing my teeth and tossing my hair in a messy bun, I headed to the orphanage's cafeteria with my backpack slung across my shoulder.
“Hey, Hannah! Saved you a seat.” Called Toby. He had been here longer than me and aged out in a week. We had become close friends during our time here.
I grabbed my breakfast and sat beside him, eating quietly. The nightmare was still replaying in my mind. Part of me wondered if I would have seen my mate's human form if I hadn’t been woken up. I listened to Toby rattle on about a job he had found at the local movie theater and his small studio apartment. He couldn’t sign the lease on his own until he was eighteen, but Barb had made arrangements so that he would be able to move in the same day, preventing him from being homeless for a few days.
I was excited for him. It was difficult for orphans to find a place of their own in our area once they aged out. Most of them left the area in search of other relatives to help them out. A handful ended up in the local homeless shelter. None of them had the added complication of being a werewolf with Alpha blood, though.
The school day flew by in a blur. We were in finals week, so there wasn’t much happening other than testing and graduation prep. I was exhausted from the run and my nightmare and spent most of the time napping in my classes. I knew the material like the back of my hand, so there wasn’t much point in prepping. The counselor had called me to her office to discuss my college applications. She had given me a lecture on wasting my potential by not applying anywhere. I couldn’t exactly tell her that it was dangerous for me to go anywhere since I wasn’t a member of any pack.
I was relieved to get back to the orphanage. Tossing my bag in my room, I went to find Barb. I found her in her office on the phone, a concerned look on her face. She waved me in and signaled for me to sit and be quiet while she wrapped up the conversation. Finally, she sighed and hung up the phone. ‘Alpha Tristan’ displayed on the screen before her phone went to sleep.
“So, you had quite the adventure last night.” She said, folding her fingers together under her chin.
I raised my eyebrow in confusion. There was no way that she already knew I ran into another wolf last night.
“That was Alpha Tristan. He apparently scented a wolf in the woods last night and followed it here.”
“Alpha Tristan?” I stammered.
“Yes, dear. Now, would you like to tell me what happened? You’re the only wolf in this orphanage aside from myself, and I didn’t come back here. I returned to my pack after my run.” She chuckled.
I didn’t know where to start. I knew Alpha Tristan wasn’t her pack's alpha. Her pack’s alpha was named Bruce. I had met him once before when I expressed interest in joining their pack. I wasn’t sure which of the other packs in the area belonged to the alpha she had been speaking to on the phone. I sighed and decided I would just start with leaving for my run.
“I knew it!” She squealed after I finished telling her the whole story. “I knew he was hiding something. He wouldn’t have called me over just any wolf.”
“But I’m still technically a rogue.” I stammered my face flushing at her reaction.
“Oh, sweet girl, you’re his mate.” She chided. “If it were just because of a rogue wolf, he would have contacted Alpha Bruce from my pack. Besides, you’re only rogue for another month when the state finally gets out of your business, and you can join the pack.”
Her excitement was making me giddy. I had been terrified to face him last night, afraid that my rogue status marked me as a threat no matter how loud my wolf screamed mate. I tried to calm myself as she prattled on about wolves usually finding their mate much earlier than seventeen. I probably would have found him when my wolf first emerged if my pack hadn’t been wiped out, leaving me in a human orphanage.
“Wait, isn’t he kind of old to be my mate?” I blurted out as the thought crossed my mind. “I mean, aren’t all alpha’s old like Bruce?”
Barb chuckled. “Oh, sweetie, Tristan is only nineteen. Not all alphas are as old as Bruce, who is only fifty-two, by the way. Each pack has its own guidelines on when and how to pass the mantle to the next alpha. Bruce’s son, maybe even his grandson, will take over when he’s ready to retire. If I’m not mistaken, the Iron Hide pack passes their mantle as soon as their new Alpha turns eighteen.”
I felt the heat rising in my face as she corrected my assumptions. I was starting to realize just how little I knew about being in a pack. Barb mistook my embarrassment over not knowing about the laws governing different packs as excitement that my newly discovered mate wasn’t inappropriately older than me. Her assertion that it was perfectly natural to have naughty thoughts about one’s mate only deepening my blush. I excused myself and left her giggling at my predicament.
“Woah! Watch it, Han.” Toby grunted as I ran into him in the hall.
Great, now I would have a second person to explain my blushing face too, except Toby was human, and I couldn’t tell him about mates. Before I could say anything, I caught sight of a bag slung over his shoulder.
“Where are you going?” I inquired.
“Barb got everything greenlit for me to go ahead and move into my apartment. I’m taking my stuff over there now. Wanna help? There’s more bags in my room.”
I nodded and quickly grabbed a trash bag full of more of his belongings. I couldn’t tell him what was up, but getting away from Barb for a while would bring some relief. The last thing I wanted was more of her teasing me, no matter how well-intended. I couldn’t flex my wolf muscles again, but I could at least wear out my human body enough helping Toby move that I wouldn’t have to think about anything that had happened since last night.
Thirteen years later. I watched as Dylan and Oliver sparred against Jax. They had really come into themselves as they grew closer to coming of age. Dylan reminded me so much of his father, while Oliver took after me in more ways than I liked to admit. I knew Tristan would be proud of our sons, they truly were future Alpha’s. My mind drifted back to that fateful day in the palace. My friends had sedated me and worked with Ivy to heal my mind. I hadn’t realized it until I had been pieced back together, but I had gone insane over the loss of my mate. I still missed him, especially in the moments that Dylan’s sheepish grin matched his own, but I was content with spending my days focusing on our children. I would see him out of the corner of my eye from time to time, watching us with love across his face before
I felt drowsy all the sudden, almost as if my food had been drugged. I squinted in confusion as I looked around the table. I had eaten from the same pan as Toby and Tyler, but they seemed fine. I stood, swaying as I moved from the chair, everything around me blurring together. “I think I need to lay down.” I slurred. Toby glanced up at me with a concerned look painted on his face. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the couch across t
Taylor glared at the wolves blocking out passage into the palace. We had announced ourselves to them as friends of Hannah’s and were waiting for them to confirm. We needed her to accept our visit to be able to get to Liam and fill him in on the plan. He was an integral component, bring the only one with access to the substances that could subdue her. I wondered, briefly, how Pyotr was faring. His distaste for witches had been evident when he spoke of finding one to help heal Hannah’s fractured mind. He would do anything for Hannah though, so I had no doubts if there were witches to be found, he would come through.&nbs
When I heard the first rumblings that my little wolf had declared war on the witches, I was thrilled. I hated witches, even centuries later, for what they had done to my family. If they hadn’t threatened to curse my father, I wouldn’t have been turned and killed them. My kind in general didn’t have an issue with witches, often they worked together to subdue their prey, so it wasn’t surprising to me that many had worked to protect them from the little wolf’s wrath. It wasn’t until the shifter community began reporting missing shifters, that I became alarmed at her actions. The wolv
The old crone’s statement that I wasn’t a rogue became clear the moment I saw Liam. I felt the pack connection click into place and recalled that he had sworn an oath to me as Alpha. Excitement rushed through me as I realized I had an ally in the palace. I rushed to embrace the physician barely able to contain myself. “Liam!” I squealed. “What are you doing here?” “I’ve actually come to resume my position as roy
“I haven’t been able to get an audience with the King.” Judencia said. “Though I did get confirmation that Hannah is in the palace. The advisor said the King and Queen were reacquainting themselves with their granddaughter and would not be receiving petitioners until she was situated.” “So, what do we do then?” I asked. “Pyotr was pretty sure she had a vendetta against the King. Not that I give two shits what happens to a werewolf king, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be good for Hannah if she kills him.”