Chapter 2 #2
“Without it, you’ll fail,” I point out, and when his eye twitches, my lips split apart. “The sciences just aren’t for you, especially this one, and that’s okay.” I lean in with all the sincerity I can muster. “Bury your pride and ask nicely, and I might actually do it for you.”
The pencil in Julian’s hand snaps.
A few students glance over, but none linger. Julian glowers at me with eyes that glow brightly behind their lenses as the tips of his canines begin to peek over his lip.
“Calm down, Jewels,” I warn in a whisper as my smile spreads. “Someone might see you.”
Julian immediately covers his mouth and draws back with palpable alarm.
It’s rewarding, as always, to watch him fray behind that perfect mask.
Eyes clasped shut, he works desperately to calm down until his canines retract and that cold, impassive expression returns.
But it’s too late. I’ve shaken him, and we both know it.
“I wish you’d just die,” Julian grumbles under his breath.
“Kind of a waste of a wish. We’ll all die one day,” I remind him. “I wish your mate would reject you on Friday. Fingers crossed!”
With a final glare, Julian pours himself into his work, leaving me to wonder why in Goddess’s name he’d waste time on schoolwork, especially now.
While I’d been integrated to learn the humans’ ways of life for years now, Julian had only left his packlands after his brother died, and he was named the next alpha in line. If anyone should be looking forward to returning home for good, it’s him.
But whatever. I have bigger concerns than Julian Heil’s inevitable failure.
“Where’s Aiden? Where is he?”
Both my wrestling partner and I freeze at the shrill voice sailing over the training fields.
I release the man beneath me and nod towards the others to make themselves scarce before they get caught in the crossfire. They scatter with grateful smiles while I stand and ready myself to face my mother’s wrath.
A couple of hurried murmurs lead the pack’s luna straight to me, and I watch as my mother glances all around before her enraged brown eyes settle on me.
“Aiden,” she snaps, “you’re missing the rehearsal!”
I bite back my laughter as I scoop up my water from the ground. “Yeah, I don’t think I need to learn how to walk onto a stage.”
There was probably more to it, but seeing as I’d be sharing my coronation with Julian Heil, it was already ruined.
In a matter of hours, I’ll be the alpha of a pack nearly one thousand wolves strong, when you count the representatives and scouts spread beyond these lands. That power shift is bound to be rocky, which makes solidifying my bonds within the pack a priority.
Sparring’s an easy way to do that. It’s a safe way for my packmates to show their strength while being reassured of my own. They get to have fun with their alpha, see that I can hold my own and beyond that, that I give a damn.
“One thing,” Ma grinds out, stepping close. “We ask you to do one thing, and you cause trouble with even this.”
“It’s a r—”
“No.” Her almond eyes narrow to slits. “The Heils are present—all of them—and it’s embarrassing that you are not.”
If she’s trying to get me to go, reminding me that Julian is there is not the way to do it.
“Gather some semblance of the common courtesy we instilled in you and clean yourself up,” she snaps as her gaze razes over me. “I want you in the hall within the next five minutes, or I swear to our Goddess above Aiden, you will not like the outcome.”
Max paces uncomfortably, not at all fond of being threatened in front of our packmates, but I settle him down with a nudge.
She might be a headcase, but she’s still my mother, and I would not disrespect her.
I nod.
Ma’s glower disappears as if she hadn’t been a hornet’s nest of anger a moment ago. A peachy smile replaces it as she turns and swiftly makes her way back to the Hall.
Two more days, Max murmurs the quiet mantra we’ve clung to. Two more days, then what we say goes.
With that in mind, I bottle my annoyance and head home to grab a way-too-fast shower before making for the Black Moon Pack’s Hall.
There was no way I could’ve made it in five minutes, even with how close our packlands are. But that doesn’t stop Ma from hurling invisible daggers at me when I eventually stride into the open building.
Pretending not to notice, I make my way to the stage where a mix of both packs’ elders stand waiting, along with my parents and the vermin himself.
The second our eyes meet, any warmth in Julian’s blue eyes freezes over, and his jaw locks like mine.
“Nice of you to join us, Aiden,” my father quips light-heartedly, despite his bitter gaze.
I plaster on my award-winning smile. “Sorry, there was traffic.”
Eyes flare all around, but nobody bothers to play as they all face the elders, who quickly pick up where they’d left off.
“Once the processions from both packs are complete, we will sanctify the space, and share our blessings for both new alphas,” one explains, gesturing to my father and Julian’s while I climb onto the platform with the lot of them.
“You, alphas, will then take the stage to perform the transaction of power.”
While the elders go on about which sides they’ll enter from, I take in the decor around the Hall for the first time.
I usually don’t care about stuff like this, but even I can admit that the place looks pretty good.
Instead of splitting things down the middle as I expected, they’d elected to mix our packs’ traditional garbs and colours throughout the Hall.
Our burgundy tones intertwine nicely with their golds, making the place look regal.
The open foundations allow flowering vines to spiral up the columns, climbing all the way to the large glass ceiling.
The setting sun breaks through to fill the Hall, bathing it in a gentle red glow.
It’s beautiful, but it’ll be even better on the full moon when the large, circular panel at the top is opened, and Goddess shines her light down on us.
“…Aiden and Julian will follow.”
I force my attention back at the mention of my name and spot Julian following one of his elders to where he’s supposed to emerge. I find my own and take my position on the opposite side of the stage.
“You’ll meet each of your alphas for the transfer,” they continue as they walk us to our positions.
They could’ve put a piece of red tape on the ground, and I would’ve figured it out on the day, but I keep those thoughts to myself as they walk us through the entire process.
It’s long and tedious, but I’m unbothered until they bring me and Julian face to face, and ask us to clutch one another’s arms.
“No,” I dismiss as I step back. “What the hell is that for?” Other than to taint a respectful gesture by making me share it with Julian.
“A show of mutual trust,” the mutt opposite me answers before the elders can. “Were you not paying attention?”
I glare at the fucker, but that only makes the corner of his lips tilt upwards.
“I’d trust a witch before I trust you,” I sneer, which causes an overly dramatic elder to suck in a breath.
“I don’t necessarily make it a habit to trust simpletons either, but it’s required by Council law because of our pack’s proximity,” Julian replies with that infuriatingly calm tone that makes me want to punch him, if only to force him to anger. “Is there anything that you do know?”
“I know that you’re a substitute for the real thing.”
Julian’s eyes flare, his usual blue igniting to a white-hot core before he lunges, claws out. I catch his wrists before he can sink them into my eye sockets, and free my canines with a growl. Julian snarls right in my face as he brings his freed hand dangerously close to my neck.
“What was it you said today?” he sneers as he leans in.
“That I better watch my back once you’re in charge?
” His smile is a wicked, hateful thing over his snarl.
“I suggest you heed your own words, Aiden, because I intend to put you in the ground.” He presses forward until our breaths mix.
“And real thing or not, we both know my wolf is stronger than yours.”
Max growls at the challenge, and I free it as I return his leer. “Is that a promise?”
“Enough of this!” The boom of Julian’s father breaks our standstill, before hands grab us both and tear us apart. Despite the infuriating grip on my neck, I keep my eyes locked on Julian’s as his father drags him back, same as mine.
Only once I’m hauled outside and a physical wall separates us do I rip the hand from my neck and whip around to my father, who glares right back at me.
“What in Goddess’s name is wrong with you?” he shouts before he reins it into a violent hiss. “Fighting like a child when you’re about to become an alpha!”
“I’ve held back more than he deserves. He deserves to be skinned alive,” I growl through my still-bared canines. I shove away from him, pacing so I don’t go back in there and finish this.
“That’s enough,” he scolds, his temper flaring. “Julian has been through a lot.”
I see red as I stop and tear my shades free so he can see it for himself. “We’ve both been through a lot!”
The reminder forces my father’s gaze to the floor. As always, he can’t bring himself to look at me or what I am now. His rage dissipates, and mine follows, because I still haven’t figured out how to hold anger and disappointment at the same time.
“I’m not asking you to be friends,” he starts quietly. “I’m asking you to be cordial.”
I release a dry laugh as I start pacing again.
Easy for him to say—he’s not the one who had to grow up with Julian Heil, the golden child.
Always well-behaved, always polite, always respectful.
Always fucking perfect. And as if that wasn’t enough, he’d presented as a white wolf after his first shift.
A fucking white wolf.
Yeah, wolves have evolved a long way since the Great War, but some things haven’t changed, including the power granted to those rare few who present with a white coat.
When shifted, they’re the best of our kind—stronger, faster, superior in every way.
And Julian took advantage of that strength the moment he got it.
I can still see my art room up in flames. My sole way to cope turned to ash within minutes. It was far worse than what I’d done to him. His hair grew back. My art couldn’t.
Not to mention, we gave it to Locks of Love, Max points out in a flagrant attempt to ease the mood. We made a cancer patient very happy.
It works. Even though it shouldn’t, it loosens my tightly clenched fists.
“Our packs are too close to entertain you and Julian’s rivalry,” my dad continues when he senses the tension leaving me. “A show of mutual trust is a promise not to attack each other and keep to our own lands.”
I know exactly what it means, that doesn’t mean I want to uphold it. The first thing I want to do as alpha is kill the one next door. But despite my never-ending hatred for Julian, I care about my pack. No matter what I snarl at Julian, I won’t let any of them get hurt if I can prevent it.
“Aiden.” My dad draws near, rubbing a hand over his beard with a poorly hidden grimace. I push my shades back into place, letting him breathe easier as he looks into the pitch-black lenses instead of at me.
“I can’t force you to like one another, but you need to let this hatred go,” he says as he peers at me. “I don’t want you to spend a lifetime hating one person. You already have … so much rage …” he whispers carefully. “Don’t let it lead you down an unrecognisable path.”
That same rage tries to spark, to come out in a roar and remind him why I have to deal with such things, but I keep it buried as always.
“Yes, Dr. Phil,” I reply instead, and he jumps on the out.
Lips splitting into a smile, he drops his hand on my shoulder, and squeezes. “Take a moment, and get back in there when you’re ready to finish this without another fight, okay?”
I force a nod and watch him go, focusing on his retreating back until I’m alone. That’s when I let myself truly relax. I suck in a deep breath as I look up to the skies in a bid to claim some of the calm up there.
I’m suddenly desperate to shift and run until the energy winding me up is all gone and I’m left boneless, but I can’t. So, I play my mantra over, reminding myself of what’s to come once this is all over.
My parents aren’t likely to stick around after the coronation. They’ll take some time to enjoy their new retirement, which means I’ll be free to do what I do best without their interference.
We have a lot of work to do if we’re going to be as strong as I know we can be, and I can’t wait to set those plans into motion. It’ll be tough, but I have Emitt, and the rest of it I can shoulder on my own … unless I find my mate.
That’s unlikely, though. Yeah, sure, when I turn eighteen, that splintered section of our souls, reserved solely for our mate, would awaken—and I’d be able to sense mine. But only if they were close.
With my luck and the life Goddess has given me, the odds were zilch.
You will be mated, Max declares readily. With each day, I feel their presence a little more. They are near, and we shall find them when the time is right.
I chuckle, trying to adopt some of Max’s confidence, but it falls flat.
You will meet them, he insists, now with a grain of offence. Have I ever steered you wrong?
No, I admit, and his pride swells between us.
So then? he prompts, pulling a smile from my lips as I close my eyes.
Then, I suppose I can’t wait to meet the beauty.
Max’s delighted howl echoes in my head, making me laugh as I stare up at the sky.
Just two more days.