Arla was a dirty, sweaty mess by lunch time. The girls, along with Victor, stopped and ate the food that Astrid had packed, and Arla asked Harriet about what it was like growing up as a witch. In return, Harriet asked a million questions about life as a werewolf, and Arla described her pack and her friends as both Harriet and Victor listened with interest.
Harriet was easy to talk to and easy to like, and Arla was surprised to find herself warming up to Victor as well. The conversation flowed freely between the three of them for the remainder of the afternoon as they worked. Harriet’s initial flustered demeanour regulated itself once she realised he only had eyes for Arla.
She had now mastered the blooming process, and Harriet had moved on to teaching soil enrichment, seedling growth and harvesting. Arla was a natural at all of it.
The weeks turned into months, and before long Arla had turned fourteen and was positively thriving at the coven. She commanded an aura of respect and power that came from the confidence in the strength of her abilities. They widely respected her for her talent as well as her caring nature, and as she took on more responsibility helping the teachers train the younger witches, she was looked up to as a mentor. She struggled to believe that she had only known she was a witch for less than a year. As the rumours of a new white witch had circulated, more and more witches had requested the Elders allow them to visit, to meet Arla in person. She had become somewhat of a celebrity within magical circles and the Elders tried to limit her exposure, concerned about the intentions of some in the community. Meredith had
She felt the magical barrier let her through and passed a few more trees before they finally came into view. She was smiling like a fool as she kept running, and as they noticed her, they broke into tremendous grins of their own. Lorenzo knew he would never forget her smile in that moment, and how thrilled she looked to see them. Without thinking, she ran and launched herself into Drew’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug and her legs around his waist. He laughed and spun her around before a low and possessive growl sounded next to them. He placed her quickly back on her feet and took a step back, bowing his head to his Alpha. Arla was mortified when she realised she had broken protocol by addressing the Beta first, and bowed her head to Alpha Lorenzo as well. “I’m sorry for not acknowle
Cadet training was all about the basics of building physical fitness, strength, and stamina in human form. The stronger the human body is, the stronger the wolf. Once a pup’s wolf has awoken, they can then begin combat and self-defence training with a solid foundation already formed. Arla’s lungs were burning by the end of the session and she was hunched over with her hands on her knees, trying desperately to suck in air and slow down her breathing. She was strong, thanks to her weekends working in the garden, but she’d underestimated just how unfit she actually was. “It’s a shame you can’t use your magic to run for you,” joked Drew, noticing how much she was struggling. Arla smirked to herself before vanishing, then reappearing behind Drew in the blink of an eye, and tapping him on the shoulder. He spun around w
Arla walked back through the boundary and into the coven with a spring in her step. She knew she had missed them, but didn’t realise just how much until they were standing there in front of her. She was still slightly embarrassed at the way she’d thrown herself into their arms, but they were both there in the alley on the worst day of her life, and had been looking out for her ever since in their own ways. It was comforting to get confirmation, finally, that it was them watching her at the farm, too. It made her feel cared for to know that even after a year here at the coven, her Alpha and Beta still thought of her as part of their pack and wanted to know she was safe. Later that evening, Arla sat with her friends in the main house and filled them in on her training session. Sadie and Sebastian listened in
Arla and Victor hastily jumped to their feet, peering into the darkness trying to gauge who, or what, these people were and how many of them were here. They were already breathing heavily from their previous activities and now their hearts were racing, too. “Who are you?” shouted Victor, pulling Arla closer to him. “Don’t be scared, we are friendly,” replied the female figure closest to them, her dark cloak billowing in the breeze. Victor couldn’t smell them, but with Arla’s werewolf nose, she certainly could. She realised she must have been completely lost in the moment with Victor to not smell this stench before now. She’d heard that rogues smelled like rotten garbage, but she didn’t get the feeling that these were wolves. The only way she could think of to describe the fragrance was damp, mouldy carpet.
Arla woke to find herself in her bedroom on the bottom bunk, with Sadie’s worried face staring at her. “Oh my gosh, you’re awake. Are you ok?” “Uh, I think so,” replied Arla, confused. She tried to sit up, but Sadie had already rushed to her side, propping her pillow up behind her and helping her to sit. Suddenly, her memories came flooding back all at once. “Sadie. Victor. Is he ok?” “Victor’s fine, don’t worry. He’s pretty sore and feeling sorry for himself, but no major injuries. He’s been waiting for you to wake up.” “How long have I been out for?” “Not even twenty-four hours. Julian brought you home late last night, and you slept all day today. It’s three o’clock in the afternoon now. Julian said you used so much po
The months continued to speed by rapidly. As she crept closer to sixteen, she began to sense a presence in her mind, like an itching sensation that she couldn’t reach to scratch, and knew instinctively that it was her wolf lurking in the background, waiting for her time to come forward. Her wolf was most noticeable when she was training with Alpha Lorenzo. He had come to train with her once a month for the last two years, and they were always her favourite sessions. If she was being honest, she didn’t exactly work hard when the Alpha came. He always went easy on her if she complained, but it meant they got to talk and joke. Although she would never admit it to anyone but Sadie, she was fairly sure she was developing a schoolgirl crush on him. Arla wasn’t
“Arla, I said left. Left! What’s gotten into you today?” barked Eli. Eli pushed Arla the hardest out of everyone who came to train her, and she usually loved testing her limits, but was struggling today. “Sorry. I’m not with it today,” replied Arla, trying to recover her breath. “Are you ok?” asked Alpha Lorenzo, moving towards her. “If you need to stop, we can.” “We’re not stopping,” snapped Eli. “Get yourself together and keep moving, Arla.” Alpha Lorenzo growled at Eli, who immediately lowered his head in submission. “Ok, fine, we’ll take a break,” he conceded, although clearly irritated. “What’s wrong with you?” “It’s my wolf,” she replied, shaking her head.