Boys and Bras

June’s Perspective

I hurry into my first class, organic chemistry, cradling my notebook against my chest as if it were a shield. After the strange, intense encounters this morning, I am anxious not to draw any more attention to myself.

I slide into my usual seat next to my friend and lab partner, Jason. He isn’t a bad-looking guy, don't get me wrong, but I definitely only consider him a friend. He turns to greet me with a warm smile, but suddenly freezes. His eyes drop, drawn uncontrollably to my chest. In my rush this morning, I hadn't realized how cold the lecture hall was, and the thin fabric of my top is doing a terrible job of hiding my visibly peaked nipples.

Jason gulps audibly, his face flushing as he shifts awkwardly in his seat and quickly adjusts his pants. I tilt my head in confusion, sensing his sudden, spiking anxiety.

"Jason, what's wrong?" I whisper.

Just as he opens his mouth to answer, Silas, the teaching assistant and the imposing guy I always see hanging around Fenris, walks in. Silas stops dead in his tracks, looking suddenly startled. His nose lifts slightly, his nostrils flaring as he subtly tests the air. He raises his eyebrows, his sharp gaze sweeping methodically over the tiered rows of students.

Finding nothing, he scratches the back of his neck, takes his place at the front of the room, and starts setting up the computer so the professor can begin the lecture.

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Silas’s Perspective

The moment I step into the organic chemistry lecture hall, it hits me.

Beneath the sterile smell of whiteboard markers and the stale coffee of a hundred exhausted college students, I catch the distinct, faint scent of an unknown wolf. Perplexed, I run my eyes over the classroom. Everyone looks familiar. It’s mostly humans, standard undergrads.

I reach the podium, pull up the class roster on the computer, and cross-reference the registered names. I verify that all the students in the seats match their ID pictures. I guess that rules out a newly awakened or transferred, weak wolf hiding in my class. It must be a lingering scent. This lecture hall is used on the weekends for public events, so maybe a transient from outside the territory attended something.

Still, I haven't heard a whisper of an outsider visiting our borders. International pack protocol mandates prior authorization and formal announcements of any visiting wolves to prevent misunderstandings or territorial attacks.

Since Fenris and Valerius are currently sitting in their Ancient Warfare lecture, I don't want to distract them with a sudden mind-link. Instead, as the professor starts drawing complex organic reactions on the board behind me, I pull out my phone and open our secure group chat.

***************** SMS Fenris, Valerius and Silas**********************

Silas: Hey guys, do either of you know about an outside wolf visiting the pack recently? I'm picking up the very faint scent of an unfamiliar werewolf in the chem hall. Checked the roster, no new students.

Valerius: No pack visitation requests. No alerts at or near the border to indicate breaches, either.

Fenris: Weird. I caught the scent of an unknown wolf this morning in the quad. It was faint; I figured a someone was just passing by at the edge of my senses. I'll verify with my father that no formal requests came in and see what he knows.

Silas: Sounds good. Let us know.

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Fenris's Perspective

Sitting in the back of my Ancient Warfare class, I close my eyes and reach out to my father, Orion Dawnstar, the pack Alpha, through our private mind-link.

'Hey Dad, are you available?'

My father is the Alpha of the entire city, which means the University falls squarely under his territorial control. However, the school isn't just an educational institution for us; it’s a proving ground. When the future Alpha of the Rising Star Pack turns eighteen, they must apply, get accepted, and enroll at City University, the first true test of their worth.

Although our pack has members planted in various administrative departments, the admissions committee is heavily populated by unknowing humans. This ensures the future Alpha can't simply rely on his title; he has to actually put in the work and earn his place. Once enrolled, the future Alpha, along with his future Beta and Gamma, become the de facto leadership for all werewolf students on campus. We handle the university pack dynamics under the guidance of my father. It's an open-border pact, allowing members from allied packs to enroll here too, which often helps young wolves find their mates.

'Yeah, Fen. What's up?' my father’s deep, resonant voice echoes in my mind.

'Have there been any outside werewolf visitors in the pack territory over the past few days? I caught the faint scent of an unfamiliar wolf this morning in the quad, and Silas just messaged saying he picked up a similar scent in the class he TAs for.'

There is a long pause. I can practically feel him checking the pack's logistical networks.

After a few minutes, my father responds. 

'No. I just double-checked with the current Gamma and Beta. No visitors, no incursions, no border anomalies. It's entirely possible the offspring of a werewolf and a human just came into their wolf without knowing what they are, but late awakenings like that are highly unlikely. I will keep you apprised. Keep your senses sharp, Fenris.'

'Thank you. Understood, Dad.' I drop the link with my father and immediately open a three-way mind-link with Silas and Valerius, updating them on the Alpha's report.

'No registered visitors and no border breaches,' I relay to them. 

'Keep your eyes open. We’ll discuss this further at dinner tonight.'