2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
HARRISON
“I appreciate your concerns, Alpha Michael, but I assure you there is no reason to worry.” Principal Miller turns back to his work, dismissing my father without another word.
Dad is having none of it. “And I think you’re severely underestimating the issue.
The altercations between the Lupine River warriors and the warriors of the other three packs have increased in frequency and severity over the past weeks.
Tensions are high among all pack members.
We cannot risk the possibility of a fight breaking out here at the school—a fight that could expose werewolves to the humans—because you think it will all blow over. ”
Principal Miller sighs. He removes his glasses, tossing them onto a yellow legal pad, and rubs his eyes. I’ve always wondered if he’s one of those humans who truly needs glasses or if he only wears them so you think he’s smarter than he actually is.
“Circumstances are already difficult enough for the transfers from Lupine River. We’ll make everything worse if we single them out and change all their schedules just to keep them separate from the other three packs.”
“But in the long run—”
“Alpha Michael.” Principal Miller rises to his feet. His fingertips press into the smooth, polished desk surface, and his voice drops several decibels. “You forget that you are not in charge here.”
My dad’s jaw works. No doubt he wishes to say more on the subject.
Alphas are stubborn, prideful beings. They don’t take kindly to their authority being questioned.
Backing down is a sign of weakness. But Principal Miller isn’t another alpha.
He isn’t even a werewolf. As much as it may hurt Dad’s pride, he knows this isn’t the time to push.
“Fine.” He may have decided to walk away from this conversation, but he’s clearly determined to be the one to have the last word. “Don’t come crying to me for help when this all explodes in your face because you didn’t take my advice.”
Dad turns on his heel and storms out of the office. I walk with him, keeping back several paces to avoid the oppressive aura rippling off him in pulsing waves.
Brad Thomas—my best friend and my future beta—falls into step beside me as we follow my dad through the school and out the front doors, wisely keeping his words to our mindlink. “That bad, huh?”
“Humans don’t understand how quickly things can get out of hand when dealing with pack rivalries like this.”
It’s one reason my dad pushed to have Principal Miller replaced by a werewolf, especially with the Lupine River students joining the student body this year.
A werewolf would understand the risks and would do whatever was needed to mitigate them.
None of the other board members agreed though, and Principal Miller—one of the few humans who know of our existence—kept his position for another year.
“But if someone gets hurt—”
“Not if, Brad. When.”
That’s why Dad and I are here today. Dad comes on the first day of school every year to wish the students from Crescent Lake good luck.
Since I graduated last year, and am one step closer to taking over as the pack’s alpha, he wants me to shadow him more often, to get a better feel for the role I’ll step into once I find my fated mate.
But this year, with the shutdown of Lupine River’s on-site high school, Dad’s visit serves a dual purpose: wishing them luck and ensuring their safety.
Unfortunately, Principal Miller is too stubborn—too na?ve—to see the damage likely to occur because of his refusal to act now.
“Harrison.” My dad waits for me to acknowledge him before continuing. “Stay in the area. I have too many things on my plate to stay myself, but I need someone here in case—”
“I’ll stay within mindlink range so any Crescent Lake member can reach me if needed.”
“Good.” He turns to leave but pauses once more. “And make sure Brad actually goes to class.”
Brad’s noise of disappointment echoes off the doors behind us. “Damn it!”
A flicker of amusement flashes across Dad’s face, easing some of the tension in his body. It’s not enough to pull him completely out of his rage, but it’s enough to lighten his mood for his drive back to Crescent Lake.
“Do you think he meant it?” Brad asks as we head back inside the school.
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t an alpha command though.”
“Maybe not, but do you want to risk doing extra laps or getting assigned extra chores this week?” I can already sense him conceding, but I use the ace hiding up my sleeve anyway. “Besides, I heard Stephanie Davis is in all the same classes as you this year.”
The panicked expression on his face is comical. “Could you be any louder?!”
I force myself to keep a straight face as I inhale and prepare to repeat myself. “I heard—”
He sputters and slams his hands over my mouth to shush me, blond brow arching in warning. “You need to keep that to yourself. I have a reputation to uphold.”
“A reputation.”
“As a single male.”
“So you don’t want everyone to know you and Stephanie spent every night of summer break making out behind the shed?”
He scowls, shifting his backpack strap higher on his shoulder. “We weren’t making out. We were gardening.”
“Gardening?”
“Planting flowers.”
A slow smile stretches across my face. “I’m sure you were.”
“Fuck off.”
He shoves me halfheartedly. A group of students—human students—passes us in the hallway. Brad’s expression turns inward as we wait for them to move out of hearing range. I’m curious about what has him so twisted up, but I let him gather his thoughts instead of switching to the mindlink.
Some conversations are best had out loud.
“We kissed—we kissed a lot—but that’s it,” Brad admits, all his bravado gone. “Nothing else happened. She wants her mate.”
“Most shifters do.”
“I want her.”
That gives me pause. It’s not the words themselves, but the tone with which he speaks them. His voice is full of certainty and ownership, as if he and his wolf are already staking their claim on her.
“It’s still three years until both of you are old enough to know if you are mates,” I remind him.
He groans. “I know. And even though she agrees we have something, even though she enjoyed our… moments… together over the summer, she wants to focus on school and training this year. She’s aiming for valedictorian and a warrior position in the pack.”
Brad leans against the lockers, and I join him, hands in my pockets.
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“I don’t want to be pining for her for three years if we’re not mates, but I also don’t want to do something that pushes her away or destroys our bond before it even has a chance if we are mates.
So, I’m going the aloof route until we’re old enough to know for sure.
Single—available—but disinterested in everyone. ”
“You really think that will keep the females from fawning all over you?”
“It works for you.”
He’s not wrong. My apparent disinterest in the females at school kept me safe from their advances for my entire high school stint.
Not that I’ve never met anyone who stirred desire within me.
There were plenty of females I found myself attracted to over the years.
But I have no intention of finding my luna and bringing her into a situation where she’s comparing herself to everyone who came before her.
Like Brad said, I don’t want to destroy my mate bond before it even blossoms.
“True. But I’ve always been this way.”
As if to prove my point, a trio of females passes us. They glance at me briefly, but when they spot my future beta, their eyes all light up, and their lips tilt into soft smiles.
“Hi Brad,” the redhead says, wiggling her fingertips at him in a little wave.
The old Brad would have winked at her or blown her a kiss or tossed her a cheeky smile. But today, he doesn’t acknowledge her or any of them. He unzips his backpack and pulls out his schedule, pretending to check where his first class is.
Redhead is undeterred. “Do you have a date for the football game this Friday?”
“No.” Brad folds his schedule in half, and his light-blue eyes peek at her over the top of it. “I haven’t decided if I’m going yet.”
Her smile drops. “Oh.”
The trio meanders away. Brad returns his schedule to his backpack with a rough shove.
I chuckle. “It’s not like Stephanie asked you to save yourself for her.”
“But that’s just it!” His head slams back against the locker. “I know I could easily distract myself with any number of willing females from this school or the packs, but I don’t even want anyone else. No one compares to her.” He pouts and makes a noise I can only classify as a whimper.
My face twists into a grimace as I keep myself from laughing harder. “I thought you weren’t going to pine?”
“Clearly, I’m failing.”
The bell rings, and I clap him on the shoulder. “You’ll survive.”
“Will I? Because I’m not so sure.”
He takes off towards his first class before I can reply.