ALEJANDRA.
Today feels like a monumental day. Like something big is going to happen. Something that will change my life. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I can’t shake the feeling. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s strange.
Katherine is going out tonight with a guy from our school. He texted her earlier and asked if she wanted to go eat dinner and get a movie. She doesn’t like the guy, but she said she never turns down free dinner and a free movie. I don’t understand why she would go out with a guy she doesn’t really like, but I don’t question her. I’m actually kind of glad she’s going out because I want to spend some time alone tonight.
Getting up from my desk, I head downstairs. I tell myself I’m just going on a walk, but I know it’s more than that. I know exactly where my walk is going to lead.
When I let my mom know I’m going for a walk, she’s so upset about Zaire leaving yesterday that she doesn’t even complain about it.
Once I get outside, I see the almost full moon in the sky and it brings me peace. The moon will be full tomorrow. I don’t know how I know that, I just do. I never look up moon cycles, but I can sense them.
The quarter mile walk to the beach goes by quickly, and I enjoy the solitude. A pang of disappointment shoots through me when I get there and neither Forrest nor Desmond is there. Still, I decide to enjoy the peace. I take a seat on the ground, not caring that my butt will be covered in wet sand when I leave here, and I lean back on my hand and stare up at the sky.
Since it’s so bright, you can see many stars. I’ve always wished that I lived in a small beach town so I can see the stars above the ocean. I think it would be beautiful—and the full moon… I can’t even imagine how bright it would be. Someday, I’ll live in a place like that.
I’m not surprised when I feel the tingle on the back of my neck. I am startled, however, when the tingle moves from the back of my neck and spreads all over my body. I turn around and see four boys walking toward me. Forrest and Desmond are headed my way, but there are two other boys with them. Maybe I should be worried, but I’m not. I know deep in my soul that they won’t hurt me.
How do I know that though? How can I feel so certain about that when I don’t even know them?
“Hey, Alejandra,” Desmond calls out.
Desmond has a kind smile. I think that’s what I like the most about him. Even though he was saying crazy things the night we met, I still wanted to sit there and talk with him. I didn’t have the strength to walk away, even if I wanted to.
“Hey, Desmond,” I say, then nod at Forrest. “Forrest.”
“These are our friends.” Desmond nods toward one of the guys. “Phoenix.” Desmond then motions to the other boy. “And Puma.”
Phoenix is the second tallest of the guys. Forrest is taller than him by maybe an inch. Phoenix also has a face that screams “don’t mess with me.” Even though he’s smiling at me, I can see something in his eyes. Something I can’t explain. Part of me wants to reach out and touch him—to know instantly what his story is. I want to know who hurt him.
Phoenix has dark brown eyes. They’re so dark that they’re almost black. Whenever the moon hits them just right, they glow slightly. I’m beginning to think that either I’m crazy too, or that wolf shifters really do exist.
His dark brown hair is longer than the rest of the guys’, but it still only goes slightly over his ears. I’m thinking, like Desmond, he just hasn’t had time to cut it, or maybe he can’t be bothered.
Phoenix holds out his hand to shake mine and I quickly back away from him, not wanting to accidentally touch him. I almost regret it when I see the hurt expression on his face, but he doesn’t understand what will happen if we touch.
Desmond speaks up. “She doesn’t like to be touched.”
He remembered.
I stand up now and look at the other boy.
Puma has a gleam in his green eyes and a smirk on his face.
Wait… are his eyes green?
It’s then that I notice that one of Puma’s eyes is green and the other is blue. I find it fascinating as I look back and forth between the two.
“Cool eyes,” he says, with an upward head nod.
He thinks I have cool eyes?
“Yours are two different colors,” I point out. “That’s awesome.”
Puma blinks as he looks at me. “Did her eyes just… change colors?”
“They do that.” Forrest straightens up and smiles big, like he’s proud he knows something that the other boys don’t.
“I think they’re blue when she’s happy,” Desmond pipes in.
“They’re black when she’s angry,” Forrest adds. “I can’t figure out what pink means yet… but sometimes they change to pink.”
“And you still don’t know what she is?” Phoenix’s jaw is clenched, and I wonder if he’s still angry that I wouldn’t shake his hand. My heart aches at the thought that I hurt this fragile boy.
“Her eyes are gray now,” Puma says.
“Gray is… sad.” Desmond cants his head to the side and studies me. “Are you sad?”
“What? No.”
“They’re purple again,” Forrest observes.
“Oh, my gosh, can you guys stop starting at my eyes. It’s creeping me out,” I huff.
I resist the urge to lower my eyes so they can’t see them. I refuse to hide from them.
“Sorry,” the four of them say in unison, looking away from my eyes.
“Who are the humans you stay with?” Phoenix asks.
“The… humans?” I shake my head and sigh. They’re seriously keeping up with the whole wolf shifters story? “I am human. And they are my family.”
“Your adopted family?”
His comment hits me hard because it’s something I’ve been wondering my whole life—if my parents have lied to me about being their kid. Even kids at school or random people will ask if I’m adopted.
“No, they’re my birth family.” I cross my arms and tilt my head up, holding their gazes.
The four boys share a look between each other that I can’t quite read. Someday I’ll be able to read their looks.
Wait.
Did I seriously just think that?
These boys are crazy. I’m not going to know them in the future.
Mine, the voice inside insists again.
As if two boys weren’t enough, now my inner voice wants four? I can’t even manage to get one boyfriend. How the heck am I supposed to get four?
“Alejandra, I don’t know how to tell you this,” Desmond says, his voice soft.
“You’re not human,” Phoenix adds.
All the guys jerk their heads toward Phoenix, narrowing their eyes.
“I’m not a wolf.” I jut my chin out and cross my arms over my chest.
“We know,” Forrest agrees.
“How do you know?”
“You don’t smell like a wolf,” Puma answers. “You smell…”
“Like sunshine,” Desmond suggests. “Like a field of flowers.”
Huh.
I suppose that isn’t so bad.
At least I don’t smell like garbage or something equally horrible.
“Okay. Well, that doesn’t mean I’m not human,” I point out.
“Can you do things that normal people can’t?” Phoenix takes a step closer to me. He doesn’t touch me, but he gets uncomfortably close. “Maybe you’ve questioned whether it’s real, and you’re too scared to tell anybody about it.”
I swallow hard, but I don’t answer him.
He’s right.
The whole touching people and knowing their every thought isn’t normal. Not at all. I’ve always known this, but who would I tell? Who would believe me? It’s a big burden to carry alone, but I have no choice.
“I don’t believe in supernaturals,” I say.
Phoenix smirks and takes a step back. He pulls his shirt off and starts to undo his pants.
“What are you doing?” I yell.
“I’m going to shift so I can prove what we are.” He moves his hand to his boxers.
“Don’t take them off!”
He shrugs. “Your choice.”
I stand there, watching him. I don’t believe that he’s going to turn into a wolf, but I’m curious to see what he’s going to do. I watch as his body starts to morph. Within seconds, Phoenix is gone and in his place is a wolf.
My heart pounds fast and I turn, prepared to run, but the wolf just sits down on the sand.
“He won’t hurt you.” Desmond attempts to reassure me, his voice softer than normal.
I think he’s scared I’m going to run.
“Your eyes are black when you’re scared too. Interesting,” Forrest says.
I lean forward to touch the wolf… Phoenix? At the last second, I pull my hand back. I can’t touch him. Not without his permission. I refuse to do that to any of them until they have a chance to know the truth about me.
Will I tell them?
I want to. They’ve told me the truth.
“You can touch him.” Puma nods his head toward the wolf. “He won’t bite.”
“I don’t like touching people.” I wrap my arms around myself and take a calming breath.
The guys all share another look, and I’m so curious as to what it means. They’re not easy to read.
While I’m watching the three of them, Phoenix shifts back into a human and…
He’s naked.
Completely naked.
I cover my eyes with my hands.
“A little warning would be nice,” I mumble, my face growing warm.
The boys all snicker.
“We don’t really care a lot about modesty,” Forrest says. “Being a shifter, you kind of have to get used to it.”
“I’m not a shifter, am I?” I ask, still keeping my eyes covered.
Do I really believe this now? I mean, a boy just changed into a wolf right in front of me. I don’t think I have a choice.
“We don’t think so,” Forrest answers.
Why am I even asking?
I’m a human.
“You can look now,” Phoenix calls out.
I uncover my eyes, but I don’t look at him. I’m sure my face is bright red.
“You have to come with us.” Forrest takes a step forward, his voice urgent.
“Come with you where?”
“To our school,” he answers. “Shifter Academy.”
“But I’m not a shifter.”
“No, but you are a supernatural. Until we figure out what you are and make sure you aren’t going to expose us all to the humans, we have to keep an eye on you,” Forrest says. “At school, we can figure out your lineage and what you are.”
“No.” I straighten to my full height and give him a pointed look.
“Excuse me?” He returns my intense gaze, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No, I am not coming with you. Are you psycho?” I take a step forward to show him that I’m not scared—even if he is a foot and a half taller than me. I refuse to be intimidated by him.
“I am your alpha,” he grits out between clenched teeth. “You don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, I do.” I raise my chin and glare at him.
I turn around quickly. My hair slaps him on the chest, which is very satisfying, and I storm off in the direction of my house.
Nobody tells me what to do.
I hear footsteps behind me, but I don’t give them the satisfaction of looking back.
FORREST.
Maybe sedating the girl wasn’t the best decision ever, but what else was I supposed to do? Let my mate leave? Let her go back to her human world and go to school without her? Even if I wanted that, which I don’t, I can’t do that. We can’t just leave a supernatural out there without proper training. The last thing we need is to be exposed to the humans.
We didn’t have a choice.
Desmond is glaring at me from the backseat. He has made it very clear that he disapproves of this plan, but he has yet to offer up another solution.
This is what we have to do.
I put my eyes forward, watching the road.
Alejandra is going to be pissed when she wakes up, but I can’t bring myself to regret what I’ve done. I just did what had to be done.
“She’s got a lot of spirit,” Phoenix murmurs.
I nod.
She certainly does.
Nobody stands up to an alpha unless they have a death wish. She didn’t back down either. She stood her ground when she told me no. I was impressed but also scared. What if she does the same thing to another alpha?
I grip the steering wheel tighter.
“We have to protect her,” I say. “She’s so…” I took in the rear-view mirror at her sleeping form.
“Tiny,” Phoenix finishes. “She really is.”
“It’s our job to protect her.”
“We will.”
“I don’t know why she has four mates. It’s unheard of.” I’m worried about what it means. “I have a feeling it’s because she is going to need the protection.”
“This won’t be easy.” Phoenix sighs.
“Nothing worthwhile ever is.”
Alejandra is worth it.
She is everything.
DESMOND.
I’m so mad at my alpha for kidnapping Alejandra.
It feels… wrong.
I know that we didn’t have another choice, but we could’ve at least waited. Maybe we could’ve called Forrest’s dad and explained the situation.
I think about Alpha Romano finding out about Alejandra. He would’ve made a big deal out of it. His only son, the only heir to his throne, found his mate. Half the shifter community would have come, and it would’ve been chaos.
As angry as I am, Forrest was right to do it. That is why he is alpha. He makes the hard decisions that the rest of us can’t.
I look over at Alejandra. She’s asleep against the seat. She looks so… peaceful.
Beautiful.
I’ve never met a girl as beautiful as Alejandra. She absolutely takes my breath away. I would feel this way even if she weren’t my mate. There’s something about her light skin and dark hair. There’s something about her eyes and the way they change colors—exactly like a mood ring. And there is something about how short she is. Short, yet so fierce. She stood up to Forrest when she didn’t like what he said. She’s done what the rest of us would be way too scared to do.
And she is mine.
I am hers.
My mate.
So perfect.
ALEJANDRA. I hear the ocean in my dream. There are soft waves crashing and… A rocking motion? Why am I rocking? And why do I feel like I got the best sleep of my life? I stretch my arms and legs out. I can literally smell the salt water in the air, like I’m sleeping on the beach or something. Wait a minute. My eyes open abruptly, and I find myself in an unfamiliar room. The rocking sensation wasn’t just in my dreams. Something is rocking gently. I am in a small bed in the corner of a room. I sit up and look around, seeing nothing familiar. There is a small window with a curtain covering it, so I get up and walk over to look outside. When I look out, I see nothing but water. Oh, my gosh. I’ve been kidnapped. My heart is racing, and my entire body feels heavy. Think, Alejandra. What’s the last think you remember? Forrest. Phoenix. Desmond. Puma. I hate how just thinking their names makes my heart race for an entirely different reason than fear. Why are they the last thin
ALEJANDRA.Desmond thinks he’s my “mate.” Mate as in soulmate.He thinks we’re meant to be together.I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but how can we be meant to be when I literally just met him? I don’t know him well enough to be together with him.Plus, the fact that whatever I feel for him, whatever connection we have, I also have that same connection with the other three guys. I try to keep that out of my mind, but it’s impossible. I cringe, thinking about him listening in on my private thoughts. He’s talking with Forrest at the moment. He’s on the other side of the deck, but I know he can hear me.I groan.Great.Now my “mate” knows that I also have feelings for his three best friends. This thing is turning out great so far.I’m also worried about my family. Forrest told me I can call them once I arrive at the school, as long as I promise not to talk about the fact that I’m at a school for werewolves.They don’t like being called werewolves. They say they’re wolf shifters and th
ALEJANDRA.People are staring at me.Do I call them people? Well, I guess they’re technically people, but they’re more than human. They’re shifters. Shifters that could probably rip me to shreds in two seconds flat if I pissed them off.Still, they’re staring at me. They’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. That is a question I wish I knew the answer to myself. Yet, here I am, in a castle where I’m about to attend school.“Do the stairs change positions?” I whisper to Forrest, since he is the closest to me.He raises an eyebrow. “Why would they do that?” “Never mind,” I mumble.Right.I forgot.They don’t even know what Harry Potter is.“Explain yourself,” he demands, not leaving me room to argue.I roll my eyes.Forrest truly is the “alpha.”“It’s from this movie,” I say, waving my hand. Though, it’s much more than just a movie. It’s easier to explain it this way though.“We will watch this movie with you.” It’s not a question.Great. Glad we settled that.When you first walk i
ALEJANDRA.Forrest comes back into the oval office to get the rest of us after he’s done talking to his dad.Oval office.I giggle.We’re halfway down the stairs when I bump into the back of Forrest. He and Desmond have both stopped and they’re looking at me. I look behind me and see that Puma and Phoenix are also staring at me.“What?” I ask.“We’ve never heard you laugh before,” Puma says, voice filled with something I can’t describe.“Oh.” I drop my gaze, uncomfortable with them all looking at me right now. Forrest and Desmond start walking again, so I follow behind them.I’m honestly kind of worried about falling down these stairs. They’re so tall, I’d probably fall forever.“Don’t worry, I’d catch you,” Forrest is quick to assure me.Ah, right.Forrest is in my head now.Or has he always been?“You guys have a lot of things you need to tell me.”“We will. Soon,” he promises. “We just need to get through the next few hours first.” The next few hours.I can do that.“Why did you te
ALEJANDRA.The guys are acting weird—tense. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Forrest’s dad is coming. He’s the alpha, which I think means he’s like the president of the wolf shifters. I don’t exactly understand the leadership system just yet. All I know is that he’s alpha and that someday, Forrest will be alpha too.Forrest acts like an alpha. The guys always do what he says, and he expects me to do the same.Ha.Me? Listen to his commands? That’s not going to happen.One thing I know for sure is that I’m not a wolf shifter. So, technically, he’s not my boss, even if he is my mate.I’m a little confused by the term mate. I thought it meant soulmate. But if I’m both Desmond and Forrest’s mate then I must have heard something wrong. Or maybe wolves have more than one mate. That would be weird, especially when I introduce them to my parents.How could I explain to my human parents that I have four werewolf boyfriends?Wolf shifters, I correct myself. They’re not werew
ALEJANDRA.My head is swimming by the time we leave the meeting with Alpha Romano. I have so many questions, yet the second I get alone with the guys I can’t think of one. I think my brain is just exhausted from the long day.It has been such a long day.Was it just this morning that I woke up on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?Yeah, I guess it was.Now, it’s the afternoon as we’re leaving the castle. The guys say we’re going to our off-campus dorm, which I find incredibly confusing because weren’t there boys and girls dorms in the castle? Or maybe the seniors stay somewhere else.Tomorrow I guess we will go to class. I don’t even have a schedule, and I have no idea where I’ll be going or what classes I’ll be taking. I don’t even know if Margot Westwood got my transcript from my last school.“Don’t worry. Everything is settled.” Desmond speaks up, answering my unasked question.But how is it settled?I’m just so confused.I’ll also never get used to having somebody else in
ALEJANDRA.“Was that room meant for me?”I can’t believe that is the first question I’m asking, but I’ll go with it.If I’m being honest, I’m a little scared to ask what I really want to know.“It was technically meant for Forrest and his mate,” Puma answers.“And the clothes that happen to be my size?”Forrest clears his throat, obviously uncomfortable with my question. “I had them ordered when I met you and knew that you were my mate. I knew we’d eventually end up here, and I wanted you to have plenty of clothes.” Ah, I guess that makes sense.“I have plenty of clothes,” I say, giving him a pointed look before continuing. “At home.”“I just figured it would be easier for you to have stuff here and there so you don’t always have to pack.” Right.Because packing it hard?Or maybe that’s just because he’s the alpha’s son, which means something. What, I’m not sure.“What does alpha mean?” I ask.“It means leader,” Forrest answers.“Leader?”“He’s being modest,” Phoenix interjects. “Forr
ALEJANDRA.Everything in the closet is my size, down to the shoes. And it’s all adorable—things I would actually buy and wear myself. I’ll have to figure out who Forrest got to buy all the clothes and thank them.I don’t like the idea that Forrest bought all these clothes for me. I have plenty at home.At least I don’t have to worry about my sisters borrowing my clothes. Mine are all too small for them. I’ve always been envious of the fact that my mom and sisters all share clothes with each other.I wonder if there is anything specific we have to wear to school.Nope. Wear whatever you want.Puma is the one who answers.I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them being in my head. It’s like the universe is paying me back for always being in other people’s heads my whole life. It’s not like I’ve wanted to listen though. I just can’t stop it.It’s hot outside, so I just put on a white sundress. It has spaghetti straps and flares out a Little Aast my waist. It fits perfectly too and isn’t t