KEENA
Looking up at the huge building before me I take a deep breath. I watch as students file into the school and from the outside it would appear that this is a college like any other. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Every student in this school is a lycan or a werewolf. That is every student but me. I was born without a lycan or a wolf but that didn’t stop my father, the Lycan King, from enrolling me in the same schools as my twin brother. Deep down I believe that he always thought I would be a late bloomer and I would eventually shift. But that day never came. Now I am an outcast even though I am a princess. I should be the most popular girl in school, but I am not. My brother has made sure of that. He and the rest of my tormentors do a great job of keeping me on the outskirts of popularity.
All of the students rush into the building as if it is any other day. But it isn’t just any other day for me. No, today is going to be different. “Today is going to be a good day,” I whisper to myself as I stand outside of Lycan City College. Nothing can bring me down today. Not my stupid brother, Faris, or his stupid friends that like to bully me at every corner. Not these stupid exams that I am sure I will never pass. Nothing. Not only am I the Princess of this city, today is my eighteenth birthday, and I just know that things have to start looking up.
Taking a deep breath I walk into the school with my head held high. Taking careful deliberate steps so I don’t fall, like I always do. I manage to make it into the school without falling flat on my face. Point for Keena, I think silently to myself as I make my way to my locker.
“Look who it is,” I hear one of my brother’s cronies yell from behind me. “The wolfless klutz.”
Today is the day you defend yourself, Keena, I silently remind myself. Today is the day you won’t back down. I grab my books from my locker and slam the door shut. Spinning on my heels I turn to put these assholes in their place when the scent of sandalwood hits my senses, and I am stopped in my tracks. There appears to be a new member of the tormentors led by my brother and he is nothing less than godlike standing before me.
The new member of my brother’s crew sniffs the air slightly so no one notices, and I can see something click in his mind. My bright green eyes meet his hazel ones and I swear I see him mouth the word ‘mate,’ but without a wolf of my own I cannot be sure.
Continuing to stare at me, the new guy doesn’t break his gaze until Chad, one of my tormentors nudges him with his elbow. “Sure, she looks fuckable,” Chad says with a sneer on his face, “but who would want a bitch without a wolf.”
The new guy’s face falls at Chad’s words. Looking back to me he says, “why would they even let filth like that in this school?”
I don’t know why but his words cut like a dagger through my heart and tears begin to prickle at the corners of my eyes. Before anyone can answer the new guy’s question the clock on the wall chimes and everyone scatters off to class. Everyone but myself and the new guy. We stand staring at one another for several seconds until he reaches out and runs his finger across my bare arm. Electrifying tingles spread throughout my body confirming what my heart already knows, he is my mate.
“Hi, I am…” I begin but he holds his hands to my lips, and I immediately stop talking.
“You are nothing, and you are no one. I will never have a human as a mate. I Jarek Hudson reject you as my mate and my future Luna,” he says to me with no emotion. “Now accept it,” he demands.
His words cut me like hot fire through my soul. The pain is unbearable and brings me to my knees. “I won’t,” I say as my tears stream down my cheeks.
“Why? I don’t want you,” he asks cruelly.
“You are my other half. You are my fated mate,” I plead with him. “If I reject you I might not get another.”
“You are nothing but a filthy human,” Jarek hisses at me. “You don’t deserve a fated mate.”
I hold my head high and pull my shoulders back. “I will not reject you.”
“You will,” Jarek spits back at me before turning on his heels and heading to his first period class.
Instead of going to class I lean back against the lockers and try to pull myself together. When I was born without a wolf I always knew that it would be a possibility that I would be rejected by my own kind because of it. I just never thought that I would be rejected by my mate. The mate bond is something that is sacred among werewolves and lycans. Your mate is supposed to be your other half. The person that was put on this earth to complete you. It is rare for someone to deny the mate bond, but it isn’t unheard of. So, here I sit, the daughter of the Lycan King, rejected and tossed aside like a piece of trash.
The main doors to the school burst open as I sit on the hall floor sobbing. My best friend Kayla comes rushing into the school late as usual. She runs past me before skidding to a stop, almost toppling over as she tries to run back to me. “Keena,” she says with a concerned look on her face. “What… what are you doing on the floor? Crying?”
“My mate…” I sob, unable to speak clearly. “My mate d-doesn’t w-want me.”
“Wait… what?” Kayla says with confusion written all over her face. “You found your mate and he had the balls to reject the Princess of Lycan City.”
I sniff as I nod my head. “Because I don’t have a wolf. He didn’t even want to know my name.”
“Come on,” Kayla says as she pulls me to my feet. “Get up. You aren’t spending your birthday on the floor crying over some asshole. He is going to feel stupid when he realizes that he rejected the Princess.”
I let Kayla pull me to my feet and let her drag me into the bathroom. Once inside she cleaned up the make-up that is smudged and running down my face. Thrusting her make-up bag in my hands I began to dig through it looking for her eyeliner and mascara. Leaning in close to the mirror I reapplied my makeup and decided that I would make Jarek sorry for rejecting me.
KEENAAfter fixing my make-up in the bathroom I hurry to my first period class. As quietly as I can I slip through the door only to be greeted with every pair of eyes in the classroom focused on me. Everyone is whispering to their neighbor and I am almost positive that it is about me. "How nice of you to join us, Miss Lyall," the professor's voice is dripping with sarcasm. Quickly I shuffle to my desk and get out my notebook and pencil for the day. "I am sorry," I mumble under my breath to the professor. "What was that?" The professor says loudly. "Princesses should not mumble, or did your parents not teach you as such." Lifting my head towards the teacher, I can feel my face heat with blush. "I said I apologize for being late, Sir," I say loudly but firmly. "I can assure you that it will not happen again." "Very well," the professor sighs heavily and continues on with his lesson. As I am trying to pay attention to the class and take notes, the smell of sandalwood inv
JAREKWhen I saw the Princess this morning and the smell of roses encompassed my senses I almost dropped to my knees and worshiped the ground that she walked on right then and there. Her bright, emerald, green eyes shone bright against her pale skin and her dark black hair. I watched her from a distance as she bent over to pull the books out of her locker and had to fight back the groan that threatened to escape my lips at the sight of her round ass up in the air. But then the other shoe dropped and I realized she was too good to be true. Wolfless. My mate is wolfless. She might be the Princess of the werewolf world but how can I bring a mere human home to the pack. I would be made the laughing stock of Alphas. Sure there are some within the werewolf community that accept their human mates but not in the Red Moon Pack. We are determined to keep our bloodlines pure. While I am sitting at the lunch table between Chad and a few of his friends, I can smell her scent as soon as
KEENASitting in my bedroom, I stare in the mirror at my vanity. Kayla is standing behind me curling my hair section by section. "I don't think I am going to go to the party," I say quietly. "What?!" Kayla screams out loudly. "You have to go. It is your party." I shake my head back and forth and Kayla holds my head still with her hands. "Everyone would have a much better time if I didn't go." "I wouldn't," Kayla professes and I cannot help but roll my eyes at her. "Everyone else is here to see Faris," I tell her. "You are the only one that cares about me." "If you don't go to the party then I am not going either," Kayla crosses her arms across her chest and pushes her bottom lip out in a little pout. "Faris will be disappointed if you don't show up," I tell her with a little smirk on my lips. Kayla brushes her hair behind her shoulder and rolls her eyes at me. "I don't know what you are talking about," she tries to keep a straight face but a small smile plays on he
KEENAKayla presses the cup to my lips and says, "bottoms up," as she tips the bottom of my drink. A little bit of the fruity drink dribbles down my chin and Kayla busts out laughing. As Kayla lets go of the cup, I turn the cup the rest of the way up and gulp down the fruity drink. My head starts to spin slightly as the alcohol reaches my system. Unlike a werewolf or a lycan I have to be careful of how much alcohol that I drink. Since I am no more than a human, I can get drunk like one too. But tonight I don't care. I plan on having a good time. Once the first drink hits my blood stream I feel loose and happy. Kayla downs two more drinks while I wait for her at the bar and then grabs my hand and drags me out onto the dance floor. So far no one has noticed that I am even there. Everyone's eyes are on Faris and his group of friends. As Kayla and I dance on the floor, I let my eyes wander over to the corner where my brother and his friends are standing. I see that Jarek ha
KEENAHolding me in her arms, my mother and I cry tears of both shock and joy. "You are a witch," my mother says with tears streaming down her face. Looking around the wreckage that I caused I stare wide eyed at the mess around me. The kitchen is completely wrecked. The walls are covered in burn marks and all of the pots and pans are scattered throughout the kitchen. Suddenly the shuffling of feet catches my attention and everyone at the party is staring at me with wide eyes. Kayla's bright blue eyes are shining with tears among the crowd. She tries to make her way over to me but my father blocks her way. "The party is over," my father's voice booms over the murmurs and whispers that are spreading through the party attendees. There are a couple of groans among the party goers but the majority of them rush out as fast as they possibly can. My father uses his huge body to block my body from the view of everyone that is casting me a final look before they leave the mansion
KEENA"Princess... Princess..." A panicked voice calls out. My eyes flutter open and I see the same hazel eyes staring at me that I saw right before I passed out. I expect the eyes to belong to Jarek but they don’t. They belong to a warrior that is standing half naked in front of me. "Princess," the warrior with hazel eyes says more gently now that my eyes are open. "I am going to move you away from..." he clears his throat awkwardly. "Away from the mess." Scooping me into his arms I breathe in heavily and let his peppermint scent wash over me. It isn't as enticing as Jarek's sandalwood scent but it is still alluring. My body is stiff and awkward as he holds me in his arms. Carefully the warrior steps over the body of the rogue that he saved me from and walks me into the living room of the pack house."Thank you for saving me," I whisper. "It was an honor," the warrior looks at me with a sheepish smile on his face. "Shouldn't you go back out to the fight?" I ask him
KEENAKayla lays on my bed and flips through the messages on her phone. "Are you even listening to me?" I fuss at her as I flop down beside her on the bed. "Oh yes," Kayla pretends to whine. "Poor Keena has a hot bodyguard." "Would you keep your voice down?" I hiss at her. "He is in the room right next door." Flipping over on her stomach, Kayla wags her eyebrows up and down at me. "Do you even realize the position that you have been put in?" I stare at her blankly because I have no idea what she is talking about. "Mister Handsome Hot Bodyguard," Kayla begins. "By all means..." I roll my eyes at her. "Please call him by his full name." Kayla cackles with laughter as she rolls over closer to me. "Don't you see," she says loudly. "He is perfect to make Jarek jealous." I prop myself up onto my elbows and continue to stare at her blankly. "I don't understand." "Do I have to spell everything out for you," Kayla says as she gets off the bed and stands in front of m
KEENAOrange flames begin to burst from my fingertips. My eyes flicker over to Kayla helplessly. I don't know how to control my magic and I don't want her to get hurt. "Run," I command them both but my voice does not sound like my own. Faris grabs Kayla by the arm and drags her from my bedroom just before the orange flames engulf my hands. Tears begin to stream down my face as the flames begin to travel up my arms. "She needs help," I hear Kayla say from behind my brother. I watch helplessly as Faris holds Kayla back from trying to run back into the bedroom. "Someone help her," she screams at the top of her lungs. Just as the flames begin to engulf my bed, Ward rushes in my room with a stunned look on his face. "Why is she on fire?" Ward asks my brother and I can hear the panic in his voice. He tries to take a step in my direction but I shake my head and move farther back on the bed. "Don't come any closer," I yell as I close my eyes and try to focus on the flames th