Juniper came into her room later and sat down next to her. She sighed loudly and looked at Adara. “Oh, Adara. What have you done?”Adara felt tears well up in her eyes. How could she be that way? Didn’t she care about her at all?“Ramos told them that we suspect you’re doing drugs and that you’re constantly in trouble with the police for shoplifting. I think they believed him.” She had said it in such a way that made it sound like a good thing.Tears rolled down Adara’s face, she shouldn’t even care about all that. They always did that. It hurt to know that everything people knew of her was a lie. What possible future did she have in this world? She felt so lost and lonely, wondering if her own mother ever loved her.“Ramos will take care of that nosy teacher tonight,” Juniper said.“What do you mean?” Adara asked but Juniper put a finger to her lips instead.“The school will have more pressing matters to deal with than a teacher worried about a student.” Juniper smiled at her.“Mom,

School would start soon, and I wasn’t prepared to face everyone. The rumors had taken on a life of its own. Did Sarah kill herself because I dumped her? Was it because Jasmine had kissed me? Nobody thought of pregnancy. Sarah wasn’t thought of as cheap or easy, and she hadn’t been. Our relationship had been one of mutual love.I hadn’t seen any of my school friends, except for James. I didn’t take their calls and after two weeks they stopped calling. I was in my own emotional hell and I hadn’t switched my emotions on since the funeral. No good would come of that as I soon spiraled out of control.The newspaper published nothing more about Sarah. Just the lonely caption, ‘Local Teen Takes Her Own Life,’ with a picture of Sarah smiling. My name wasn’t mentioned in the article, and I had to wonder if that was because of Malachi or because of her parents.A week into the summer holidays, we traveled to inner Alaska and Canada to visit other packs. Malachi knew a lot of people and he held

In the reception area, the secretary nodded her head at a chair and I sat down and waited. After what felt like half an hour, the secretary cleared her throat. “Mr. Rush will see you now, Kiran.” I knocked on his office door and entered.“Kiran, please, sit down.” Mr. Rush remained sitting behind his desk and I sat down and looked him straight in the eye. An Alpha never looked down, it wasn’t in me, even if I hadn’t been a wolf, I still wouldn’t look down.“How are you doing, Kiran?”“I’m doing just fine, Mr. Rush.” It was the truth. Ever since I’d let go of Sarah’s memories, I was simply fine. It was a benefit of being a wolf.“I know you and Sarah broke up quite some time before she …er… the incident.” He looked uncomfortable as he searched for the correct words. “I hope you don’t blame yourself for what she did.”“It’s extremely sad that she did this. I’m sad that she couldn’t talk to someone, anyone, about what she was going through. I feel sad for her parents, but I don’t blame m

I walked through the foliage and undergrowth behind our house and took the path that led toward the mountains. I love the quiet here and I was a regular visitor because nobody else ever came here except me.I had to stop walking as the physical pain of someone’s emotions overwhelmed me. I breathed in deeply through my nose and I heard the muffled cries. I’d felt her emotions before I’d heard or seen her.I walked further into the woods and then I caught her scent. She was sitting on a rocky outcrop with her head buried in her hands. Her aura was also rapidly changing with her emotions and it made me feel lightheaded.“Hey,” I said and sat down next to her.“Oh, Kiran.” Her face was streaked with tears and then she pressed herself against me, her body shaking with sadness.“What happened?” I wished I could read minds and realizing what she was doing, Shoran shifted away from me and wiped the tears from her face. “Is it James?” I felt worried suddenly, because why else would she be alon

Two days later, Malachi convened a pack meeting at the den. I was allowed to sit in but had no vote because I wasn’t eighteen yet. The pack formed a circle, and James and Shoran stood in the middle. Malachi stood up and started the meeting.“Welcome everyone,” Malachi said in his business-like tone of voice, and his face gave nothing away, just a stern look as he addressed us all.“Our newest member, Shoran Mitchells, finds herself with child. Your future Beta, James Thomas, has admitted to fathering the child.” He made it sound like a crime had been committed and I wished I had a voice at this meeting.“There are two options open to you, Shoran. First, you can choose to keep the child or you can choose to terminate your pregnancy. Your choice will be made here and the pack will vote on whether they accept your decision or to cast you out,” Malachi said.My gaze went to James because I hadn’t expected this. Never before had our pack voted to cast someone out and my heart was racing. I