I shut my computer and packed it away. Everyone else was doing the same. “Amy, can you hang back a minute?” Rowan called and I wanted to groan, but I just nodded and stayed in my seat. Everyone walked by me, and a few stopped by the side of my desk. “Amy?”I looked up and met the gamma from the beginning of the class, Steve. “Yeah?”“We just wanted to apologize for earlier today.” I was shocked. “What?”Steve just laughed. “We aren’t stupid enough to not realize that we spoke without knowing the full story. We judged you without knowing what you had to go through, or the decisions you had to make. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions and calling you those names.”The other two nodded. “We are sorry, too. We don’t honestly know what going into running a pack, but we know our alpha keeps us as safe as possible. And probably had to make some of the same decisions you have had to make, and we wouldn’t want anyone judging him.”I sat back and stuck out my hand. “I appreciate it.” They sh
I jolted back, and he raised his hands. “Sorry. What did you say?”“The included basic food plan was removed ten years ago.” I said it again. “Why are you confused? You work here.”“I don’t, actually. I volunteer here. Like I said, this is my hobby, and I enjoy this kind of thing. And it’s not like I have a pack or anyone other than the council to worry about.” He tossed out the words so carelessly, and I winced. “Does it bother you?” I asked, but he brushed me off. “I’m not privy to the interworkings of the school, so I didn’t know.” His eyes flashed, like his wolf was fighting for control. But I couldn’t make out the colour before it was gone. His human eyes were a stormy gray, and I felt my lower body clench. Nix was panting in my mind, and Megan, my sweet girl, was sitting back and watching the show. You two are foolish. Her words were quiet, but there was a tiny bite to them. That cooled my thoughts of the king. Megan lost her mate before she could enjoy the feelings, and that
I walked into the main cafeteria that doubled as a store and grabbed a basket. I took my time going through the store first. The mini fridge I brought should be down to temperature and needed to be stocked. I grabbed an array of drinks, water, sodas, chocolate milk. Then I moved on to snacks. I had already decided to turn the top shelf of my desk into a small pantry for shelf snacks. I grabbed crackers, chips, sweet cakes, and a few apples and bananas. I moved onto the cafeteria portion for food. I saw something that caught my eye and I rushed over. They had small refrigerated dinner boxes. Sushi and teriyaki chicken that looks absolutely delicious. I grabbed a few boxes. Some for tomorrow and a few for dinner tonight. I was starving. Shifting takes a lot of calories to do, and Nix is on edge. Protein would help with that. Once I was full, I headed to the cashier. I stood behind a few people and zoned out until something caught my ear. “I can’t believe you gave us ten thousand dolla
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Nina stepped closer to me. “Who are you to talk down to me?” She snarled in my face, but I couldn’t help the laugh.I raised my hands again with my basket hanging from one. “Listen, who I am isn’t your concern. But it just seems very convenient that you are taking credit for something that was supposed to be anonymous.”Nina stepped closer. “Just because Professor R stood up for you doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you. Professor R is a man. And like any man, his attention will drift, but let me make myself very clear, he’s mine. He might support you now, but he will come back to me.”I looked up, met her glare, and started laughing. “What the fuck does he have to do with you claiming to donate money?”She stepped closer. “I just want you to know that just because he stood up for you today doesn’t mean he will cover for you now.”I had to bend over; I was laughing so hard. “He knows who donated the money. As does Alpha Vince and Mrs. Sandlewood. Somethin
I turned to look back at the white faced Nina and the screeching pack of girls around her. She was trying to battle back, but you could tell she had lost steam. Suddenly, there was a loud beep that went through the air. Everyone froze, and I turned back to Wendy and she mouthed the word, ‘Announcements’. I just nodded and turned back to the line to wait my turn to pay. “Good evening students.” Alpha Vince’s voice came over the speakers, and I had to stop my eyes from rolling. “It has come to my attention that there are a lot of students claiming that they were the ones that donated the money to the student body. I wanted to clear up some facts, so that there were no more infighting.” I turned wide eyes to Wendy, and she winced. “He wouldn’t.” I whispered, but knowing him, he would. He would one hundred percent claim the donation for Brandon or himself. “Let me be very clear about this. The person who donated the money wanted to stay anonymous. And anyone that has made the claim tha
I made it back to my room, and I wanted to collapse. I dropped my bags at the door, and took off my shoes. I grabbed the bags and put everything away. I left the sushi to have for dinner and put the rest into the fridge. I grabbed my laptop out of my bag and set it up to watch a show while I ate dinner. Once I was finished eating, I took a quick shower and had crawled into bed when I remembered I had to call the king. I groaned as I pulled myself out of the bed to the safe. I punched in the code and unlocked the lockbox inside, and grabbed the phone. I crawled back into bed with both of my phones. Ronnie had saved his number into my main phone, so I had to get the number off one for the other. I saved the number under King Rowan, pulled my main phone in, and then dialed.I was hoping he wouldn’t pick up. I checked the time, as the phone rang for a third time and realized it was nearly midnight. I winced as the phone call connected and a deep voice, rough with sleep, answered. “Hello?
The next few weeks flew by. With classes, training and the calls with everyone, I was insanely busy. Most nights, I did my homework, ate a quick dinner, and crawled into my bed. The calls between Rowan and I became a weekly event. Usually, on the day of class, we would talk about what was going on in the packs. He told me about the unrest. More and more packs were being targeted for some unknown reason. But my father’s pack was targeted the most. One Friday, I got a call from Cass. “Hey! How’s mated life treating you?”“Honestly, it’s been amazing. Greyson has been so supportive.”“I’m so happy for you.” I truly was. “You deserve the world.”“Thanks, but I didn’t call to catch up.” Cass’s voice dropped low. “I was told not to call at all, but since I wasn’t commanded, I think Ronnie understood was I was going to do.”“What’s wrong?” My stomach dropped. “We have been attacked three times since you left, Amy. All rogues, all knowing our old security runs. Ronnie, Greyson and you dad h
I scoffed when I turned away from the door and walked back to my bed. “What did he just say?” Rowan asked again. “He said that he wanted to be with me and dating and fucking my sister was a mistake. The romantic of the year here.” I plopped down on my bed and steered the conversation back to the problem at hand. “Anyway, I think I know why the attacks amped up.”“We are going to revisit this declaration of this boy. But why?” I could hear him settled back into a chair. He must have stood up at some point. “Because the shaman and his newly awakened daughter, just fled to my father’s pack.” I whispered it. I knew my magic was still in effect because I could feel it, but I still felt the need to whisper it. I could hear the groan of wood on his end of the call. “Please tell me you are lying.”“I wish I could.”“The shaman had a child?” “A five-year-old daughter.” I bit my lip.“She’s too young.” His voice held disbelief.“Yet, I held her as she had her first vision before I left Vinc
I opened myself up as I sat down and sent out a call. “Sorry it took so long.” I sighed as I sat down next to her. “You were busy.” Carl’s voice was sad, and as I looked over, both he and my grandmother looked worried. “But you are here now.”“I didn’t expect both of you.” I sighed.“Daddy.” Carly called as she jumped up, but I grabbed her. “He’s not really here, baby, remember? You can’t touch him.” She trembled and then she sat back down. They settled across from us with the grave between us. “I forgot.” She looked at him. “I miss you, daddy.”“And I miss you too, baby.” He leaned over, then need to touch his daughter too much. “I heard every time you prayed to me.” His eyes softened. “And I want you to know, baby. That if you want to call Amy mom, or if at any time Amy gets a mate and you want to call him dad, your mother and I won’t mind. We will always be your mommy and daddy.” The tears in his eyes were full of love.Carly looked at me and I smiled down at her. “You don’t hav
I pulled into the house a little earlier than I expected. The grocery store was pretty empty. I only saw two workers. I grabbed my groceries and was out of the door before anyone said hello to me, which was fine. I needed a shower, and to see my girl. I brought everything inside and put it next to the closet. I left the door locked until I was ready to go over. I would do everything I needed to first because I knew if I went to the cabin, I was going to get an earful. I hopped in the shower and groaned. It felt amazing to have my shower again. I had bought new shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I had a brilliant idea as I was shopping. One that was sure to make Brandon go slightly insane. I smirked as I sniffed the strawberry scent I had missed the last few years. Nix and Megan both sniffed the air and sighed. I missed this smell. Nix purred in my mind.Megan nodded. It makes me feel at home. I finished my shower and got out, covering myself in more strawberry scented product. My
I ran past my house, and I wanted to turn in, to check in on everyone. But I had to run back and pretend I just got back in. I ran past guards and patrols, gaining speed. When Nix got tired, Megan took over. I kept feeding magic into our feet, and after a few hours of running back and forth, weaving through the groups of wolves, I was finally off pack lands. Nix? I turned back to my exhausted wolf.Yeah? She rolled over to look at me. Use the vacuum. She furrowed her brow. What the hell are you talking about?Remember when we were learning to change our scent? The candle changed it and the vacuum…Made it disappear completely. I nodded. Exactly. I don’t want anyone following our trail. She nodded and hopped up. I watched as she dragged herself to the clearing and I summoned the vacuum. Itg was funny to watch her blow out the candle and then turned on the vacuum. She got the switch on the third attempt with her claws. She grabbed the hose with her teeth and sat down with it pointe
I heard Vince call out behind us, but I pushed Megan to run fast. I felt the first trap try to pull strength from us, and I realized I hadn’t carved the rune onto Megan yet.Fuck. I pushed forward, shoving my wolves back. The instincts were telling us to run, to flee, but I needed to get the rune on to her skin or else we wouldn’t make it very far. Amy, we have to run. Nix screamed from behind me, but I still forced Megan’s body to freeze. I stretched out our leg and used a claw to cut into the skin. I could hear the footsteps coming behind me. Amy! There is more the Vince chasing after us. We have to go. She tried to push, but I held her back. Trust me, we need this or else we are cooked. I looked behind us as Vince pushed through the last trees, blocking our view. His face broke into a smile, but then he faltered as he saw what I was doing.“Hey, what are you doing?” Vince stepped closer and the smell of blood hit his nostrils. His eyes snapped to my leg. “If you wanted to die, yo
The guard was pacing, nervous. He kept glancing back at me and muttering to himself. That put me on edge. Why does he keep looking back here? Nix stood and started to pace. I don’t know. But it’s not good. I moved to the clearing, checking on my magic. I had been funneling all of mine and Nix’s extra energy into our well. Building it until our flame turned into a giant bonfire. The magic was burning bright, and it took effort to keep it contained, my like my aura. How are you doing? Megan called back to me. We are ready. I shot back. I had been studying the book for days until I figured I could use a reversal rune to block the drain of our power. It will actually pull power from those chasing us and feed it into our bodies until we remove the rune. I had carved the rune into Nix and myself. Megan, I left for last. The door slammed open and Brandon strolled in. I wanted to recoil from the look on his face; it was so vicious. But I would never hide or cower from this man. “Looky l
But Megan ignored him. He stood and crowded the bars, drawing in more air and her scent. “Fuck.” Then he turned and spun away. “I’ll be back with your next meal.” He walked to the door, grabbed a tray he had left there, and came back. He pushed the food through the tray slot at the bottom of the door. Megan popped up. She walked over slowly, watching Vince. She stopped short of his hands. Then she pawed the food tray the rest of the way to her. We walked Vince’s eyes almost completely disappear into his pupils before his wolf took over. His eyes flashed to a soft chocolate brown, and there was a deep rumbling in his chest. “You smell good.”Megan rolled her eyes and sniffed the food. Each item had to be sniffed, tasted and then we had to wait for any reactions. But as soon as Megan sniffed the meat, she pulled back and swatted the tray against the bars. Vince’s wolf watched her, and then he smirked. “Smart girl. Most don’t notice the silver.” Megan let out a low growl before she tu
There was a bang, and a door slammed open. “Alpha.” The guard at the door called, and instantly we were all on guard. “Leave us.” He motioned for the wolf to leave, and he strolled down to my cell. “Hello.” He watched me with hooded eyes. “Still vicious?” Megan growled, causing Vince to chuckle. “I find it interesting that you aren’t afraid of me.” We barked out a laugh. “Why would I be afraid of you?”Vince froze. “You speak?” Megan rolled her eyes and turned out back on him. “Stupid male.” She tossed her head, glaring at him over her back. He chuckled, then turned back to the door. He grabbed the chair there and pulled it over in front of my cell. “Well, you kept your mouth shut the first day we met. I assumed you were mute.” I huffed out a sigh. “I nearly bit half of your face off. My mouth was very much open.”He threw his head back and started laughed. “You did. I will give you that.” Vince leaned closer to the bars and Megan lifted her lip. “You don’t like me, do you?”“Sho
“You are going to let me die here?” Megan let her words sound incredulous. Rick walked to the bars. “I don’t want you to die. But I have no way of getting you out of here without being seen or found out. If I could save you and only lose my own life, I would do it. You don’t deserve to be here…”“But?” Megan cut in. “But I have a pup and a mate who would be executed if I went against Vince.” He grabbed the bar and I heard the sizzle of his skin against the silver. “I can’t risk them. I hope you and Amy will understand that.” He pulled back and turned away. “Wait!” Megan called after him.He turned. “The guard is coming back in a minute. Be quick.”“Will you come back to speak with me?” She tried to get close. “I have so many questions.”Rick looked back to the door. “I can try. But Rick doesn’t like random people coming in here.”“Then why did you come in now?” Megan pushed. “Because…” His shoulders sagged. “Because I felt like a monster and I felt like I neede3d to explain. If I
He knows. Nix’s words were soft, her eyes fully focused on the man in front of us. What are you talking about? Megan turned back to us. He’s scum.Nix shook her head. Look at him, Megan. Truly look, and push away your hatred towards Brandon, Vince, and well, all the male population. Megan snorted but turned back.What am I looking for? Megan sighed, but focused. I stepped closer, trying to see what she was seeing.Nix was focused on Rick. Look at his skin. He is sweating, he’s pale, but his eyes are focused. His hand… She trailed off.He’s clutching at his neck. Megan tensed beside me. “What happened first, Rick?”He turned his haunted eyes back to us. “What?”Megan sighed as she crept closer. “What came first? You working with Vince? Or Abby getting branded?”“Does it matter?” He slammed back against the wall and dropped to his ass. “It changes nothing.”“It matters.” She growled. “It matters to me, and I know it will matter to Amy.” “Why?” He dropped his head into his hands. “It