1. Alpha Queen's Freedom

(Quinn's POV)

Pulling the blanket over my naked torso, I glance through the bars of the cage at the clock on the wall. Fuck. I should have known it was going to be a bad day. It usually is, and now I am late for class again! I have labs this morning with Ms Meera, the queen bitch of all my tutors here at Oak Park University. She doesn't like me, and now she is going to kill me.

If by some sheer stroke of luck I make it through the lesson, I will probably end up wishing that she had. 

Today is the last mock practical assessment before my final exam. I am nowhere near ready because I have been partying all week instead of studying. Last night was a full moon, so technically that one isn’t my fault. I rarely hit the clubs so hard, but we are going home at the end of the term, and I am doing everything in my power to get everything out of my system. When we get home, I need to be the women that the pack needs. Which is anyone but the real me.

I groan and turn to grab my clothes from the floor. Climbing over the sleeping bodies of Emmerson and Piper as I try to put on my trousers. “Wake up,” I yell. Laughing as my friend’s grumble. I could have been nice about it. The thing is that I'm not in the mood to play nice. Mostly because the full moon screws with my hormones. If I am going to be pissed off, they should be too. Especially as their only job is to keep me out of trouble. 

“Next full moon, we are not doing shots before we shift,” Piper moans, holding her head. 

“What time is it?” Emmerson asks rubbing her eyes, before she puts on the top I toss at her. 

“Nine forty,” I reply, putting on my shirt. 

“For god’s sake, Quinn, why didn't you wake us?” Piper whines, and gives me her best glare. She has several, but this one says I’m pissed off and I want you to know that.  

“I’ve only just got up myself,” I reply. “Now I’m leaving because I am so late. If I don’t get to class in the next ten minutes, I’m going to fail without even trying!” 

Emmerson frowns at my outfit choice, “you can’t go to class dressed like that.” I love my friend, but she is way too obsessed with fashion for my liking. I am only going to class and the labs can get messy. Especially for someone like me. 

“It’s not like I have much choice,” I call as I unlock the cage door. “In case you didn’t hear me the first time, I'm late, and so are you.” I grin, knowing how anal Emmerson can be about punctuality. Most of the time I'm not this much of a bitch, but my friend has annoyed me. I am a grown woman, and totally capable of dressing myself. At least that is what I am telling myself. 

“I’m skipping class this morning.” Piper mutters as she moves to the darkest corner of the room. If I didn’t need to pass this test, to qualify for the exam. I would have gone back to our room and had a few more hours’ sleep. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have that luxury. 

I sprint across campus to Spruce Hall, dodging the other students, who are also running late. It is like a walk of shame, only quicker and less fun. I just need to make it to the lab before the bell. Then they can't stop me taking the assessment. As I open the glass door, I glimpse at my reflection. Heavy black eye bags check, bed head check, and for my final most humiliating part of today’s ensemble, dirty grey joggers and a crop top that shows way too much under boob for class. I skid along the corridor and grab onto the door of my classroom to stop myself from going straight past it. 

Stumbling through the door, “shit”, I curse loudly. Why can’t I be the type of shifter who is agile and stunning without trying? Instead, I am a hot mess with the social graces of an elephant doing ballet! I blame my mother for this complete mess. She had insisted on home schooling me for most of my life. So it is her fault that I am incapable of being anything other than awkward. The only time I feel beautiful, is when I go to a club. The girls always make me look and feel like a runway model, and it's helped me a lot with my confidence. When we were out, I became a totally different person. 

I grab a spare lab coat and goggles on my way to my seat. As I get to my table, my stomach growls loudly, and everyone stares. Taking my seat, ignoring the disgusted looks I am getting from the other students and the glares from my teacher. I put on my coat and glasses and mix the chemicals that are on my desk. While I wait for the chemical reaction to occur, I pull my jacket closed, because Liam is staring at my tits. Nothing happens, I know I did the experiment right, I have no idea what went wrong. I get up and tip the mixture down the waste sink, and try again, I have to get this right. My entire grade is riding on this. The second time around, it goes better and the liquid fizzes and turns from clear to turquoise blue. I glance around at the other student’s flasks, relieved to see that theirs look identical to mine. I fist pump the air and my teacher tuts at me. 

What started off as a bad day is turning around. I decide to carry on my day grubby, sweatpants and all. Right now they are my good luck charm. I don’t want to jinx the rest of my day. I only have a couple of classes and I don’t have the time or the energy to walk across campus to my dorm right now. I head to the cafeteria to get something covered in sugar to get me through the rest of my day. 

***

Emmerson and Piper are sitting in our dorm talking animatedly when I get back. I can tell that they are in a better mood than they were this morning. Thank God because I didn’t really fancy refereeing an argument between the girls. People say that woman are evil during the time of the month. In my experience, there is nothing worse than a she-wolf during the full moon. We are like menopausal women on steroids. 

“Are you sure we should go out tonight?” Emmerson asks. She looks exhausted and in need of an early night, but I need this. We all do. 

“Yes,” Piper and I scream at the same time. Emmerson always wants to chill out in our dorm eating ice cream the day after a full moon. While Piper and I need to blow off some steam. 

“There isn't much time left until we have to go home. Then we have to live our lives according to the pack. I want to make the most of it before I have to make my decision.” Turning to Emmerson I flash her my best puppy dog eyes and tilt my head to the side.

“Fine,” Emmerson sighs. “Just promise me one thing.” She looks at me, and I can tell that whatever she is thinking, I will not like it. 

“What?” I ask, frowning. I cross my fingers behind my back. Hoping that she will not say what I think she is going to.

“No boys,” she replies. I knew that was what was coming and I instantly regret asking. “Can we just have a girl’s night?” She stands up and moves to the wardrobe to select our outfits.

“I’ll try,” I reply, but I can’t promise her that. I need to release my pent-up hormones somehow. There is no better way to do that than a workout between the sheets. At least that is what I tell myself, the morning after when I am trying to justify my promiscuous behaviour to my friends. Sure, my number is high, but I am young and having fun, and it doesn't really matter in terms of any long-lasting serious relationship I might have. Seeing as how I have been promised to the son of the pack leader. 

There lies my dilemma and the real reason behind my desire to have the full student experience. I have to choose between two of my best male friends growing up. Landon, and Logan Woulfe. The twins. The problem isn’t that they are ugly, there is nothing wrong with either of them. They are perfect male specimens. I just don't see them as anything other than my childhood friends. 

If only my parents hadn’t promised me to the alpha when I was born. I wouldn’t be in this position right now. I hate that the future of the pack depends on me. Whatever decision I made, someone is going to get hurt. Whichever of the boys I chose would lead the pack and become the next alpha, the other brother would become the beta. Both boys want to lead. They both have the alpha gene. Neither one of them wants to obey the other forever. That is what makes a hard decision impossible. 

I sit at the dressing table lost in my thoughts as Piper did my makeup, while Emmerson choses our outfits for the night. I'm glad that I chose the girls to come with me to university. Without them I wouldn’t be having as much fun. They are my closest friends, but the fact remains that they are here to protect and guide me. I am the future queen and that means I am the one that will ensure the royal bloodline continues. If anything happens to me, the pack will fracture, and no one wants to be an omega. 

It's a lot of pressure for a girl like me. Especially when I didn’t ask for any of this. There are plenty of other girls my age in the pack. What makes me so special? The boys can have anyone they want. All the other girls drool over them. I guess my problem is that when I am forced into doing something; I run in the opposite direction. Point in case my addiction to one-night stands. Unlike my life, they are uncomplicated. We both know what we want, and when we got it, we go our separate ways. The girls don’t understand it, but they promised not to tell anyone about my less than virtuous behaviour while we were here. 

The boy's are partying just as much as I am. I honestly believe that they are as unhappy with this arranged union as me. It is kind of hard to keep track of their actions though, because they are staying in a house on campus with Emmerson’s brother Aaron and Piper’s cousin Finnegan. Both of whom are massive man whores, and whenever we see them, they are with a different girl. I had heard the rumours about their house being like a frat hall. We all have, but I choose to ignore it. I just hope the twins are having as much fun as me. 

To say I'm not looking forward to going home is a colossal understatement. If there was any way to stay in the city, get a job, and live a normal life, I would be happy. The only thing stopping me, is my family. Magnus would kick my mom out of the pack. She isn’t like me, and could never be a lone wolf. It would kill her. As much as I want to punish her, I can’t do that. 

“There all done,” Piper announces as she applies my lip gloss. She steps away from the mirror to admire her handy work, and I have to admit I looked hot. I step out of the chair, and Emmerson takes my seat, while I pick up the short grey dress, black boots, and leather jacket that Emmie had picked out for me. 

I step into the dress not wanting to ruin Piper’s masterpiece, and it is a bit of a struggle to get the tight material over my large breasts, but after wriggling around a little and making a few adjustments, I finally squeeze into the dress. Sweating, I sit on the bed to put on my boots. Finally, I tip my head upside down while spraying my long blonde wavy hair with a lot of hairspray to give me some volume. I hold myself in that position for a few minutes while I let the spray dry. When I flip my head back, the blood rushes from my head and makes me feel a little dizzy. 

Piper is wearing a pair of black shorts, and a silver sequin top with thin ribbons holding the tiny triangle of fabric in position, while Emmerson is wearing a grey mini skirt and black bralette. I loved how she always coordinated our outfits. It made me feel like I was one of the girl's. It wasn't like that back home. None of the other girls like me. They either want to be me, or rip out my heart and stand it on a spike for being the ‘chosen one’. That’s what makes Piper and Emmerson so special. They're not into the twins. All the girls back home teased them growing up about them being lesbians. As soon as we got to London they told me they were gay. They are dreading going back home too. Our pack only acknowledges heterosexual relationships, because in the elders minds that is how we survive. My first act as Luna is going to be controversial. I don't care. My friends will never have to hide who they are or their love. Whoever doesn’t accept it would be out of the pack, no questions asked.