All Chapters of The Alpha’s Puck Bunny: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

AvaDear Moon Goddess,I have a question.Do you ever regret assigning wolves to people?Not in general. I’m sure the whole mystical-bond-between-human-and-animal thing sounded wonderful when you first came up with it. Powerful. Sacred. Maybe even poetic.I’m asking whether you’ve ever looked down at a particular person and thought, Actually, no. That one was a mistake.Because I’m beginning to suspect that’s what happened with me.Perhaps you had a wolf prepared and then misplaced her. Maybe there was a clerical error. Maybe she took one look at the family you’d chosen for her and decided she preferred the celestial waiting room.I wouldn’t blame her.Being the Headmaster’s daughter was difficult enough without also being the only eighteen-year-old at Blackwood Alpha Academy who still hadn’t awakened her wolf.There were freshmen who had shifted before me.Freshmen.Tiny fourteen-year-olds who still got lost trying to find the west stairwell could turn into full-grown wolves while I

Ava Combat Training was the one class at Blackwood Alpha Academy I dreaded every single week. English couldn’t bruise me. History never left me sore for days. Combat Training had managed to do both to my body and my pride more times than I cared to count. The worst part wasn’t getting knocked down. It was hearing the whispers every time I got back up. “She doesn’t belong here.” “Why is she even taking this class?” “She’s basically human.” I tightened the straps around my wrists as I stood near the edge of the training floor, pretending I couldn’t hear them. If I acknowledged every cruel comment people made about me, I’d never have time to do anything else. “Ava.” Sara bumped my shoulder gently. “You’ve got that look again.” “What look?” “The one where you’re trying to convince yourself this is going to be a wonderful experience.” I laughed. “I’ve never once thought Combat Training was a wonderful experience.” “No.” She smiled sympathetically. “But every Wednesday

AvaDear Moon Goddess,I’m beginning to think You have a strange sense of humor.Out of every student at Blackwood Alpha Academy…You somehow convinced Mrs. Donnelly that I should tutor Jace Walker.Really?The same Jace Walker who’s been calling me “Puck Bunny” since sophomore year?The same hockey captain who somehow manages to be both unbelievably talented and unbelievably irritating?The same future Alpha who earned a sixty-two in English?I don’t know if this is one of those mysterious lessons adults are always talking about…Or if You’re simply entertaining Yourself.Either way, I have a feeling this is going to end with one of us needing a lot more help than an English tutor can provide.Please let it be him.Love,Ava⸻I carefully closed my journal before sliding it into my backpack, smiling despite myself. Writing to the Moon Goddess had become my favorite part of every morning. I wasn’t sure if She ever read my ramblings, but somehow putting my thoughts onto paper always ma

AvaDear Moon Goddess,Do You ever wonder if people get tired?Not the kind of tired that sleeping fixes.The kind that comes from pretending everything is okay.Because I think I’m starting to understand that kind.The bruises are fading.At least the ones everyone can see.The others…I’m not so sure.Dad keeps looking at me like he’s waiting for me to change my mind about Combat Training.Mom keeps pretending not to notice every time I wince.And me?I’m trying really hard to convince everyone—including myself—that yesterday didn’t bother me.Some moments I even believe it.Other moments…Not so much.Love,Ava⸻The first thing I noticed when I walked through the front door was the smell of Mom’s pot roast.The second was that I was definitely going to regret taking my backpack off.I stood in the foyer for a second, staring at the strap over my shoulder like it had personally betrayed me. Maybe if I left it there forever, I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain waiting underneath.

AvaI woke up fully expecting yesterday to follow me into today.After what happened in Combat Training, I had convinced myself Blackwood would have a field day with it. Someone would make a comment in the hallway. Lacey would probably have another sarcastic remark waiting for me. Maybe people would laugh about how the wolfless girl had been thrown across the mat by an Alpha’s daughter and still needed a trainer afterward. Whatever form it took, I spent most of the morning preparing myself for it.By the time I left the house, I had already practiced at least six possible responses in my head.Most of them were sarcastic.Two of them would have gotten me detention.One of them probably would have gotten Sara detention too, and she had not even been there when I thought of it.But when I reached the academy, nothing happened.No whispers followed me through the courtyard. No laughter suddenly stopped when I passed. Nobody pointed toward the fading bruise near my collarbone or asked whe