Chapter Four

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Birds were singing at the window, sunlight streamed in from over the ocean horizon. A peaceful picture, isn’t it? Nothing like the dream I had when I got to bed last night. It was about that wolf from the woods. His hair, a mix of black and gold, almost falling over his eyes. The way his smile formed little dimples in his cheeks. It was kind of cute, the way he tripped over his words. The memory makes my cheeks heat up again. Only to be shattered by crying pups. I swear, I just wanted to sleep in. I was having such a good dream, too! After hunting and catching that wild ram last night, Nyx made me walk with her to deliver it to some secret spot. It took so long to get there that by the time I got back, both Clara and Kaylum were asleep. At least the room was clean on Kaylum’s side.

But now as I tried to burrow back under my blankets, they were pulled back roughly.

“Wakey wakey, Sunshine!” Clara chirped. “Time to get up.”

I groaned in protest.

“What time did you get in last night?”

“Late,” I mumbled.

“That’s not like you, where’d you go?”

I am not in the mood for answering questions, thanks. A quick peek out and around the room shows minimal damage.

“You didn’t practice yesterday?” I ask.

Clara shook her head. “I needed a break. You can take a few days off from classes if you want, I’ll be helping Anka with the pups.”

“No!” I will my limbs to move so I can get up, but end up just rolling over and falling to the floor upside down. That hurt. I quickly stand. “You can’t do that, I’ll do it!”

“No, I already said I would.”

“You don’t understand.” I gripped Clara’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “It has to be me. Several of them have already imprinted on me, they will shut down if someone takes my place.”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

I nod in earnest. “Please.”

She seems to consider for a moment. “No.” She turned and reached for the door handle.

Panic rushed through me. She will not undo the work I’ve done. Before she gets downstairs, I am dressed and climbing out the window. She sees me from the porch and I book it. Straight for the schoolhouse. I arrive before Clara and enter the classroom. It’s empty for now, as it’s only just after dawn. There’s at least an hour until classes actually start.

I know I said I wanted a break, but I can’t let anyone else look after the pups, unless it’s their parents. Even then, it’s not a guarantee. During practice on the beach, I overheard some of the grown coral-swimmers raising their voices. When I turned around to look, I was shocked to see three adults talking down at Pike. I wanted to do something, to go over and give them a piece of my mind. But if I did that, what would it do? The family is from a different pack, or pod. It’s an unspoken courtesy to avoid meddling other pack’s internal affairs, in case there’s a misunderstanding. Which I’m fairly sure there wasn’t this time around, even from where I was standing, I could see Pike’s little shoulders shaking. The adults were probably his parents, and he told them about his accident. What a disproportionate response. It’s called an accident for a reason. If I’d spoken up, I would have been in trouble with both Alpha Will and Alpha Nera. I’d honestly rather be untrained and pitted against a vampire than be at Alpha Nera’s mercy. I mean, how good could she be if her own daughter doesn’t want to live with her?

Maybe a good use of the next hour would be cleaning up a little. Yeah, I’ll do that. To start, I look over the desks for anything that shouldn’t be there. Aside from the odd stylus and drop of glue, there’s not much. A damp vinegar cloth makes quick work of this. There was a reading group yesterday afternoon, so I collect the books that have been scattered around the room. As I sort the books back into their shelves in the reading corner, I hear the door open. Someone shuffles in quietly and carefully shuts the door. Part of me wants to stand up and see who it is. The other part doesn’t want to scare them. So I stay where I am, working quietly. The pup takes a seat at a desk and I can hear them cry in silence. I can’t take it anymore, no pup under my care is allowed to be unnecessarily sad.

I poke my head over the shelf. Oh, this is not good.

“Pike?” I stand quietly and cross the distance to his desk in three strides. He hasn’t acknowledged me in any way other than trying to stop crying.

“Pike, can you look at me?” I crouched beside him with my hand on his back. He just shook his head and moved away.

“That’s okay. You don’t need to. If you need me, I’ll be by the books, alright?”

Pike nodded, and I went back to re-shelving. It’s not more than a few minutes before he settles into one of the beanbags.

“You alright, sweetheart?”

“My parents don’t love me…”

Oh boy, here we go. I take a spot next to him, but not so close that he might feel crowded.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Pike just shook his head and reached for me with grabby hands. I let him curl up in my lap. We stayed like this for a moment while I gave him head pats. He’s still in Kaylum’s old clothes. I know what I saw yesterday afternoon, but I’m scared to ask.

“Ellie?” He sounds smaller than he really is.

“Yes?”

“What are your parents like?”

I should probably ask Anka about getting paid for this.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “I was found by my pack when I was just a little younger than you.”

“Did your parents leave you?”

“I don’t think so, maybe I wandered away from them.”

“Wouldn’t they have gone looking for you?”

I don’t like the thought. “Maybe they did, and I got lost. Why do you ask?”

“My parents don’t love me…”

Yes, you’ve said that. “How do you know that?”

“Because,” he sniffed. “They’re never nice to me the way you are. I wanna stay with you.”

My heart clenched.

“I would love nothing more, but I don’t know if I can help with that.” I pulled him closer. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he sighed.

“I will see what I can do though, okay?”

Pike nodded as he nuzzled. I will protect this child with my life, as far as I can.

The bell rang, and Pike started to sit up.

“Hey,” I speak softly. “If you ever want someone to talk to, just look for me either on the beach, or ask Miss to bring you to me. Okay?”

Pike nodded, and moved to his desk as other students filed in. I feel like this is going to be a long morning.

I was right. We had some pups from the wolf pack join the class, and things started going wrong. All I know, is the scent of the wolves affected most of the merrows in a bad way. The pups came in, and one particularly nasty merrow by the name of Leona kept harassing one of the quieter pups.

“Leona,” I said. “Please leave Anna alone.”

“Why? She smells funny.”

Little Anna pouted.

“Leona, you are being very mean.”

“And?”

“A word, if you don’t mind?”

She followed me outside the class and folded her arms.

“Now. Why were you picking on Anna?” I ask.

“Because,” spat Leona. “She’s a wolf. Just a few steps short of being a dog.”

Deep breaths, Ellie. Deep breaths. Okay. So the problem here is xenophobia. Gods give me strength…

“Okay. Leona? How would you feel if a stranger made fun of you for being, ‘just a few steps short of being a fish?’”

“Hey!” She squealed indignantly and stomped her foot. “You can’t talk to me like that!”

Oh no, she’s about to have a tantrum…

“Leona, listen to me. I only said to you what you said to Anna, as an example. If you don’t like someone else saying certain things to you, then don’t say the same thing to others. Okay?”

The little girl looked at me with murder in her eyes, her breathing getting faster and deeper. Oh no, please, not now…why me?

Her eyes screwed shut, she threw her head back and released a scream so high-pitched and blood-curling I nearly mistook her for a banshee. I had to cover my ears and pray to the gods that the pups in the classroom couldn’t hear her. An image entered my mind, of Pike hiding under his desk and Tara crying. That is the last straw.

“Leona!” I grabbed her arms. “Stop that and listen to me!”

She kept screaming and started kicking, so I put my hand over her mouth and lifted her up a little bit as my vision turned slightly yellow.

“Listen!” I growled. “I will not stand for my pups being made to feel unsafe, or unloved. You are scaring them-”

A strong hand yanks me to my feet and I drop the merrow.

“Daddy!”

‘Daddy?’ Oh, no…

“Just what do you think you were doing to my daughter?”

“Daddy!” Suddenly, Leona has tears streaming down her face. “This girl said I’m not allowed to make friends!”

Liar.

“Is this true, pup? Answer me!”

“No sir,” I stutter. Alpha voice. Nice move, dickhead. “It is not true.”

“Really?” Oh, boy. “Because here’s what I saw.” Now I’m in for it. “Face me when I address you!”

I turn around and look up at all 7 feet of him. For reference, I am 5 foot. I am intimidated.

“Here is what I saw. A tiny omega with such little status in her pack that she is the assigned baby-sitter, handling my child and making her cry.” He stooped down to pick Leona up. “Do you know who I am?”

I shake my head. If I say the wrong thing, I could get into so much trouble.

“I am Nera’s mate.”

Oh shit.

“Now, if you will come with me.”

“No.”

He stopped and looked at me. “’No?’ How dare you?”

“Sir.” I met his eyes and steady my voice. “I have other pups to take care of. The teacher hasn’t arrived yet, and Leona has been bullying one of the wolves. So, if you don’t mind, I will be settling my class.” With that, I go back into the classroom and shut the door in his face.

If I die from this, I want Jax and Kaylum to plan my memorial.

“Let me see if I’ve got this right.” Alpha Will paces his office. “A wolf pup is getting bullied, so you take the bully out of the classroom and threaten her?”

I study my veins as they make an interesting pattern on my skin.

“Ellie, why would you think that was a good idea?”

“She was being rude! She called Anna a dog in front of everyone. She was number one in making fun of Pike yesterday, as well. And I didn’t threaten her, I was just trying to-”

“No.”

I stop talking.

“You’re not getting out of this. You know the rules, girl. No handling of other children. You broke one of the major gathering rules. I’ll talk to Anka about it, and hold a meeting with the other alphas. You will be there, and we can decide your punishment. Understood?”

I nod. “Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. You are relieved of your duties indefinitely, effective immediately. You will go to your room, and you are not to leave until you are sent for. Am I being clear?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. Off you go.”

It’s been two days. Clara’s been working with the pups, and coming back in the afternoons exhausted. There’s not much for me to do except sit around and mope, while Clara complains about the pups being difficult. They’re not being difficult. It’s like I told her. They’re used to me, they know me, I know them, and now there’s a stranger in their class. She came back today with paint in her hair and a bad attitude.

“That Pike is a whiny little brat.”

I throw my book at her, daring her to repeat herself.

“Hey!”

“Watch how you talk about my class,” I warn her.

“They’re not your class anymore, remember?” She rubbed her head. “You forfeited that right.”

“Clara, come on. What was I supposed to do? Let Anna get bullied?”

“Handling a pup from another pack is akin to breaking a law.”

“I am aware, your highness,” I hiss. “You cannot tell me, with how poorly you’re handling your new position that you haven’t thought of throwing at least one of them.”

Clara opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.

“You haven’t stopped complaining since you started. They’re pups, not robots. Treat them more like people and less like carbon copies, and you might start getting better results.”

I pull the curtain around my bed, a signal that I wished to be alone.

Why couldn’t I find a better way to handle the situation? Now I’ve gone and made a mess of things, and the pups are being punished for my mistake. It’s never happening again. I swear to myself, to Anka and all the pups.

It’s an entire week after the incident before I get called into Alpha Will’s office. I just know this is not going to go well.

When I open the door, I look over those assembled. Alpha Will, as it’s his pack I’m in. Alpha Nera, because apparently Leona is her daughter. I can see why Nyx would want to leave, I would too if I had an entitled brat for a sibling. The third alpha catches me by surprise. It’s Carter. Why is he here?

He looks up when I enter and meets my eyes.

“Ellie?” His smile is like sunshine. “What are you doing here?”

Alpha Will speaks for me.

“Alpha Brooks. Ellie is the reason I called this meeting.”

I cast my eyes to the floor so I don’t have to look at Carter. I knew he’s an alpha, but I didn’t think he’d be a Pack Alpha. He seems a bit young for the job. Alpha Will is 315, Alpha Nera about 430-something. Carter- I mean, Alpha Brooks, couldn’t be much older than 20.

“Oh?” I can hear the lilt of curiosity in his voice. “Remind me what the charges were?”

Charges?!

“I think she can answer that herself,” Alpha Will replies.

I really don’t want to.

“Ellie.”

I look up when Alpha Will addresses me.

“Tell him what happened. Go on.”

I shook my head as my throat closed up. I can’t.

Alpha Will sighs in disappointment, and speaks for me.

“Ellie was caught threatening Alpha Nera’s younger daughter outside the classroom, while the other young ones were inside.”

I can feel all three pairs of eyes on me. This is not going to end in my favour. I know this from the way Alpha Will embellishes and paints me as the villain.

“Hold up a minute,” Alpha Brooks holds up his hand. “Did you say ‘Anna?’”

“I did,” Alpha Will replies. “Does it matter?”

I took a step back. Alpha Will just said something he shouldn’t have.

“Anna is my niece, my brother’s kid.” Any pebble-weight of a good feeling Alpha Brooks might have had was replaced by a stone-cold razor edge in his voice.

Anna’s his niece? If I had known, I would’ve brought her out with Leona.

“You must forgive me, Brooks,” Alpha Will tried to smooth over his mistake. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Ellie laid her hands on another student.”

“Wouldn’t you too, if a brat wouldn’t stop screaming?”

Is he challenging the host alpha?

“Brooks, I am trying to remain civil-”

“Bullshit.”

“But you are making it very difficult,” Alpha Will finishes through gritted teeth.

“Am I? Am I making it difficult?”

My limbs begin to shake as Alpha Nera chimes in. “We called you here as a neutral party, to help us decide a suitable punishment.”

“Fuck off,” Alpha Brooks growled. “She’s not going to be punished. She looked after my niece, and you’re a bitch who needs to a better job raising her kid!”

I stopped breathing not long ago, and my body reminds me of this with a black-out.

When I wake up, I’m in the infirmary. That much is obvious from the smell of a variety of herbs. I can hear voices by the door. Something about stress is all I can gather, and an apology. The door closes and someone sits in the chair next to the bed. Alpha Brooks.

“Ellie?”

Please pretend I don’t exist.

“I know you’re awake.

Foiled, I open my eyes. This close, he’s somehow very attractive.

“I heard my name?” I smile innocently, attempting to lighten the mood.

“You okay? You hit your head pretty hard during your fall, so your prick of an alpha had you brought here to rest. What do you remember?”

I look away. Why is he being so nice to me, but insulting Alpha Will?

“Doesn’t matter,” I reply. “You were there, you heard the story.”

“I want to hear it from you. I need to hear it from you.”

“Leona called Anna a dog in front of the class. I took her into the hallway and asked how she would feel if someone called her a fish, and she started screaming.”

“Thank you.”

Sir, I don’t like how cold your voice is right now.

“I managed to convince them you didn’t need a severe punishment, but you’re ‘under detainment’ until the ball.” Alpha Brooks leans back in his chair and folds his arms. “It’s bullshit. You’re in charge of helping raise and educate the pups, right? Tell me if I got it wrong.”

“No, you got it right.”

“Yeah, so why are you in trouble for doing your job?”

I shrug. What can I say? Some days are better than others.

“Did Alpha Will tell you if I’d be able to go to the ball?”

“You’ll need to ask him, because I stopped listening toward the end,” he chuckled.

That is a nice sound. I like that sound. Why is he looking at me?

“Do you ever smile?” He asked.

“Of course I do,” I reply. “Just not when I’m stressed, and rarely when I’m nervous.”

“Are you nervous right now?”

“No,” I admit. “Just on edge.”

“Can I help you take that edge of?”

I look him in the eyes. Why are they yellow? They’re almost gold. It’s so beautiful…

“Tell me a story? Please?”

He blinks in surprise. Please don’t think I’m weird, please don’t think I’m weird…wait, why do I care?

“Uh, sure,” he answers after a moment. “What kind of story did you want?”

“Do you know any about the gods?”

Alpha Brooks shook his head.

“Over on that table is a communicator,” I tell him, gesturing to the table in question. “If you could pass it to me, I can get one of my roommates to bring down the book.”

Before I can blink, the communicator is in my hand. Did the man even move? It didn’t look like it. Anyway. I send Kaylum a text, asking him to bring down the book. It arrives in a few minutes, which were spent in awkward silence, only to be broken by Kaylum knocking on the door. Alpha Brooks opens the door. Sure enough, Kaylum has the book in hand. He looks Alpha Brooks up and down.

“Who are you?”

Oh no…

“Kaylum.” I clear my throat. “This is Alpha Brooks. Alpha, Kaylum.

The two alphas nod at each other in acknowledgement, and Kaylum hands over the book. I think he whispered something to Alpha Brooks, but I’m not sure. The door is shut, and Alpha Brooks sits back in the chair.

“This, uh…This is a pretty book…”

Why is he hesitating?

“Thanks, my teacher gave it to me.”

Alpha Brooks nods, stroking the cover. Hmm, I wonder.

“You can’t read,” I say. “Can you?”

He stops dead still and doesn’t look up.

I’m confused. He’s a grown alpha, in charge of 50+ wolves. How can he not read? Also, if he couldn’t read, why did he say he would?

“It’s okay if you can’t,” I tell him.

“I can! Just…not very well.”

“If you want, I could ask my teacher to help you,” I offered.

Alpha Brooks shook his head. “Everyone’s gonna laugh at me…”

I’m sorry, what was that? Sir, I barely know you. Please do not be vulnerable with me.

“What about night-learning?”

He looks up at me. I have his attention, this is good progress.

“Yeah, just tell Anka what you want to learn, and she’ll make a time at night to help you with it.”

“You think she could help me with something else, too?”

“Depends what it is.”

“I’d rather not say.”

Fair enough.

“So if you can’t read, would you like me to do it?”

He perked up immediately. “Would you?”

I smile as I slowly sit up. “Sure. Why not?”

He passes me the book, and I am alerted to a soft thumping sound. It’s…his tail? Mostly black, flecked with gold. A certified pretty boy.

I shake the thoughts out of my head and open the book to one of Eira’s epics.