“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” I said, “Just catching my breath. But you said his name was
Griffin?”
She stared at me with raised eyebrows, but nodded. “Yeah, Prince Griffin. You didn’t know that?”
“You know me,” I grinned, “I don’t exactly keep up with all the werewolf gossip.”
“Right,” Kara rolled her eyes, “I’ve heard that he’s really hot but he still hasn’t found his mate. He’s been looking for, like, nine years. Can you imagine? It’s been two years for me, and I already feel like I’m going stir-crazy without my mate. I can’t imagine having to spend an entire decade mateless.”
Although I had never felt the pull myself, I knew that werewolves were able to recognize their mates on sight at sixteen. Most of them found their mates within two to three years – it was rare for a wolf to go much longer than that without. finding their mate.
“He must be desperate,” I said, “Especially if he’s making the King gather all the Alpha daughters in the same place.”
“Do you think it’ll work?” Kara asked, and then her eyes widened, “What if he finds his mate? Wait! What if Lily is his mate?”
“I mean -“
“It’s possible!” Kara continued, “Your sister does have Alpha blood, and so does.
Prince Griffin. They’re both powerful. Your sister would be the literal queen.”
I tried to picture Lily sitting on the throne, a crown perched on her head, but the thought felt wrong to me. It left a sour taste in my mouth, although I wasn’t sure why.
“Maybe, who knows?” I shrugged, and I tried to push the image out of my head.
“Ladies! What’s with the chit-chat? You’re supposed to be running laps, not having a gossip session!” From several feet away, our teacher, Beta Jones, pointed at Kara and I. He was a middle-aged man with short, buzzed hair and a long scar running across his face. O
“Sorry, Beta!” Kara called back, “Clark was having trouble breathing, so we were just resting for a minute.”
Even from a distance, I could see the scowl on Beta Jones’ face. “I’ve been teaching you for more than three years, Clark,” he sighed, “And you’re just as out-of-shape as the first day.” O
His voice was loud, and a couple of the other students laughed.
I couldn’t stop the blush from spreading across my face, but I didn’t reply to Beta Jones.
Although nob*dy bullied me directly I was still the Alpha’s daughter – I knew most of my peers felt one of two ways about me: either they found it funny that my human b*dy struggled so hard just to keep up with them or they pitied me.
I wasn’t sure which one was more embarrassing.
“Alright, everyone,” Beta Jones clapped his hands, “Find a partner, we’re going to spar.”
Several of my classmates cheered at his words, and I held back a groan beside Kara. Hand-to-hand combat might’ve been fun for werewolves, but for me, it just meant. I was going to get my a*s kicked.
“Hey, partner,” Kara grinned, grabbing my arm. “You want the last mat?”
“Yes, please.”
We walked to one of the large assembled mats at the end of the field. Kara was definitely about to kick my a*s, but at least the mat would break my fall.
Everyone else paired up, and Beta Jones stood in the center of the field. “Today, we’re doing to hand-to-hand combat in our human forms,” he said, “There may be times when you’re not able to shift, and it’s important to know how to defend yourself. Now, does anyone know the quickest way to kill a werewolf when they’re in their human form?”
Kara’s hand shot up instantly.
Of course, Miss-Know-It-All has the answer, I’d expect nothing less.
“Yes, Kara?”
“You need a silver knife or sword to injure a werewolf in their human form,” she explained, “If you try to stab or hurt them with a regular knife, they’ll just heal. But silver weakens us, it’s the only thing that’ll actually kill us.”
“Yes,” Beta Jones agreed and he turned to the rest of the class. “It’s important to remember that. It doesn’t matter how good of a fighter you are. If you don’t have some sort of silver blade on you, you’re not going to be able to kill your opponent. Now, as I said, we’re focusing on hand-to-hand combat today. First one to knock your partner off their feet wins.”
I turned to Kara, who was grinning at me.
“I don’t suppose you’ll go easy on a weak, little human?” I teased, positioning myself into a fighting form.
“Sorry, Clark,” she smirked, “You know I love you, but I’m still going to kick your a*s.”
My a*s was flat on the mat only seconds after she finished the sentence.
“No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.”
Bob Dylan
When I finally made it home after school, my b*dy was still bruised from warrior training. The house was quiet when I walked in, but that wasn’t unusual. My dad and Sebastian were mostly likely handling some sort of pack business, and Grace liked to spend her afternoons helping in the pack nursery.
That was fine by me my b*d was calling. I desperately needed an afternoon nap after the a*s-kicking from this morning.
“Clark?”
Just as I was about to ascend the stairs, a voice stopped me in my tracks.
I turned around to see Sebastian standing in the living room, looking even more serious than usual. I was surprised to see him here. In the year since he’d graduated high school, Sebastian had been spending less and less time at the house. My dad was grooming him to take over the Alpha position, and that meant keeping Sebastian glued to his side.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Can we talk?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
As he’d gotten older, it seemed that Sebastian’s face was permanently stuck in the same serious, concerned expression. I’m not sure if it came from the responsibility of being the next Alpha or just the firstborn son in a werewolf family.
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