Chapter 2

“It’s a bigger pack” my mom said again as we drove to the nearest airport, “respect the alpha and don’t give your aunt too much trouble, she’s doing us a huge favor getting you in on such short notice”

“And stay away from boys, especially the bad boy type” she looked back at me, my brother cackled from the seat next to me and I elbowed him.

“I’m not interested, especially in boys with an affinity for trouble” I said as I rolled my eyes. “I’m gonna focus on training, I won’t put a toe out of line, pups honor” I said raising my hand and she seemed satisfied for the 10th time that day.

I watched the clouds in the window and the cars speeding by, my thoughts on Jensen and how I didn’t even pluck up the courage to tell him I was leaving.. would we ever be friends again? My heart clenched as the feeling of doubt flooded me, but I would move forward, someday he would find his mate and maybe he’d forgive me.. Maybe then he would understand.

I watched the mountains beneath the planes wings as we left my home behind, my chest was tight with nerves and sadness, but a new pack, new forests, and maybe even new friends would be good for me. I ached for my best friend, but I was too much of a coward to face him.. I was too mentally weak to try to mend what was broken.

The first week had been hard, my aunt wasted no time in attempting to get me caught up in training, but I was by far the weakest pup in the pack. I’d earned a bottom slot as a weak submissive runt, some things never change I guess. But instead of hiding from the challenge, I pushed myself to meet it. I trained during the day with my aunt, and ran as my wolf by night to practice hunting and increase my agility and stamina.

I was just returning home from a long run, it was later than I had planned and the porch light flickered. I didn’t have a curfew, my aunt seemed to trust me. She was a feisty older woman, my moms older sister by 10 years, she never met her mate, but had spent her life training and traveling, finally coming to terms with being alone, settling into this pack. She was a kind woman, but very brutish, lacked all things feminine and didn’t have much humor.

She was already asleep when I let myself in, I pulled my robe tied as I stepped through the door, I kept it hanging on a tree near the edge of her property so I wouldn’t need to creep through the yard naked. I locked the door behind me and took the stairs two at a time, eager to crawl into bed, but dreading the first day of school and the first real training day tomorrow.

My room had its own bathroom, and I stepped into it, turning on the shower and gazing into the mirror. My black hair hung straight and flat, brushing my shoulders, my pale blue eyes staring back at me. I didn’t find I was all that pretty, I still carried a bit of pudge, just ever so soft around the edges. It was probably from my wolf being so late to show up, but I could already see some of my weight shifting to muscle in just the week I’ve been here. I stepped into the shower and let the water run over me, psyching myself up for tomorrow.. being terrified of a new school, without my best friend. I would get stronger, mentally and physically, then I could face him and apologize for being such a coward.