New Moon (Alpha Wolf Academy)

by JJ King

  “Alright,” Xavier’s rumbling voice interrupted my thoughts as I poured my deepest insecurities into my writing, revealing more about myself in the short essay than I’d ever want any of the snobs here at AWA to know. “Finish up and pass them in before you go. I look forward to seeing what you’ve written.”

  I blinked a few times, forcefully pushing back the emotion that wet my eyes, and quickly finished the concluding paragraph I’d been working on. I flipped through the five pages I’d hand written, seeing my fear of failure, my heartbreak at leaving home, family, and friends, and my doubt I was good enough for this opportunity on the loose leaf. I gathered my things, waited in line to use the stapler, then dropped it atop the pile and raised my head to meet Xavier’s focused gaze. His piercing blue eyes seemed to assess me in an instant before flitting away. I walked away with a renewed twist in my stomach. I wasn’t quite sure he’d been impressed by what he’d seen.

  I was pushed along out of the classroom by the rush of students, all eager to change into regular clothes so they could meet for supper in the cafeteria. My kind were always game to eat as our metabolism ran higher than humans. Just the thought of food made my stomach growl. I turned towards my dorm and stopped dead as the perfect blonde from Daniella’s bitch pack stepped right in front of me and arched a pretty eyebrow.

  “Oops,” her mouth formed a perfect “O” as she feigned innocence. “Am I in your way?”

  I licked my lips and wondered how I’d managed to meet the single most annoying group of girls on campus so early in my stay. Unwilling to start something that might make my life worse or potentially get me kicked out of AWA, I stepped to the side to go around the girl, whose name I remembered was Seraphina. It was a pretty name, I thought wryly, wondering how her parents felt about spawning such a hateful child.

  Seraphina side stepped, putting herself directly in my path again, making the group of girls behind her giggle with glee. A sinking feeling, swirling with growing anger, filled my veins as I realized that there would be no way to avoid this confrontation. I lifted my chin and let my lips turn up ever so slightly. I might not want to stir up trouble, but I wouldn’t back down from it either. People like Seraphina thought they were tough shit because of their name and wealth, not because of what really mattered, the strength of their wolf.

  “Seraphina, was it?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “I was just going over my schedule and saw the academy run is planned for this Friday.” I paused and took a step closer, positioning my body within a breath’s distance from my tormentor. “I’d love to run with you and your friends,” I cocked my head slightly to the side and drew in the scent of Seraphina’s annoyance and growing unease. “See what you’ve got.”

  Seraphina opened her mouth to speak but the words she was about to say caught in her throat. With a sharp inhale, she pulled back, away from me. I hadn’t wanted to engage, but I’d needed to stand up for myself. The scent wafting through Seraphina’s expensive perfume proved me right.

  I side stepped around the flustered girl, past the pack, and strode away. I’d made it less than ten feet when I heard Seraphina begin reciting statistics, personal statistics… my statistics.

  “Elenora Jensen, born 1997 in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada.” Seraphina looked up with a wolfish grin when I spun around and gaped at the sight of my new nemesis holding my confidential file. Seraphina scoffed at the information. “Really, Elenora?” she said my name as if it were laughable. “And Newfoundland? Are you trying to win the hick Olympics or something?” She tittered and flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder, obviously back to her former level of confidence.

  Heat suffused my cheeks and my hands balled into fists. “Give that to me, right now,” I growled, pitching my voice low as my wolf surged to the surface, called by my rising fury. I strode forward, hand outstretched to grab the file and was blocked instantly by Seraphina’s friends who grinned as they enjoyed my humiliation.

  “What?” Seraphina feigned innocence. “This?” She waved the file in the air and laughed, obviously delighted with herself. “Why would I do that when it’s such a scintillating read?” She ran a coral tipped fingernail down the page, skimming over some details until her eyes lit up. “Well, isn’t this interesting.” She cocked her head to the side and studied me as I tried in vain to get around the bitch pack. “It looks like our girl Elenora is here on scholarship.” She turned her lips down prettily and made big sad eyes at me. “Are your parents poor, Elly? Is your dad like a fisherman or something? Does your mom clean other people’s houses to pay the bills?” Her derisive tone sparked both fury and twisted embarrassment in my gut, making my guilt come back to life.

  “Seraphina,” a male voice I would have recognized anywhere spoke from just over my shoulder with a sharp snap. “You have no business with that.” Bash walked around the bitch pack and grabbed the file from Seraphina’s hands with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes. “How did you even get this?”

  Seraphina pouted for a moment then lifted her lips and smiled up at Bash. “It wasn’t that hard, when you know the right people.” She shrugged and tilted her chin toward me where I stood, frozen to the spot in mortification. “Besides, she’s a liar. She’s been acting as if she belongs here and she clearly doesn’t.” Another sneer marred her perfect face for an instant before she wiped it clear when she saw Bash was still watching her with a look of disgust.

  “It’s none of your business, Seraphina. Or yours,” he said in a clipped tone, looking past me to where the bitch squad were busy examining their nails and stepping out of my way. His gaze was hard and locked, I realized a moment later, not on the silly girls but past them and me. I twisted my head to look and saw Daniella watching the scene unfold with smugness glinting in her emerald eyes.

  My nails dug into my palms, drawing blood. My instincts had been right. This wasn’t Seraphina’s doing, this was all Daniella’s. It was classic entitled bitch behavior, the only question was why someone like Daniella would be so threatened that she’d go through all this to humiliate me.

  The answer came as Bash stalked up to me holding the file, stopping so close that I could instantly smell the anger and protectiveness on his skin, seeping from his pores. He wanted to protect me, to keep me safe… like a mate.

  I forgot about everyone else and lifted my head to stare up at him as he glared at his sister. His height made me feel petite, something I’d never experienced in my life, even with the jocks at my high school. They’d been taller than me, but they’d never made me feel like a woman. I frowned.

  I’d spent my entire life sure of one thing, my strength. I was fast, smart, and hardworking when others leaned a little too heavily on their laurels, in my opinion.

  Would giving into this attraction to Bash strip me of the strength I’d fought so long to maintain?

  Bash’s attention shifted away from his sister to me, and with it came the heat of the midday sun. I felt it run like fire through my veins and fought the urge to just say “fuck it” and give in. I wrapped my arms around my chest and squeezed, then tore my gaze from his. The loss was immediate but necessary.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, not wanting to look up into his gorgeous eyes in case I got caught in their pull again. “But I can handle my own battles.”

  I felt his body stiffen and pull away. “Right,” Bash said with obvious confusion. “Then I’ll just see you later. Bye.” His footsteps echoed in my head as he walked away.

  I clenched my jaw and gripped the file tighter, then forced myself to be selfish and think about my future rather than the fact that I seemed to have hurt the feelings of the guy I was dangerously attracted to. My top concern right now, I reasoned, was figuring out how the hell I was going to get my file back to where it belonged without jeopardizing my future at AWA. I shrugged my backpack higher, lifted my chin, and skirted around the bitch pack, giving Daniella a wide berth in case she felt like causing more trouble.

  I felt my patience running incredibly thi
n and wondered if I should just tell the Headmistress everything and get Daniella expelled. The moment I thought it, I dismissed the plan. First of all, I wasn’t a snitch and second of all, girls like Daniella never got the consequences they deserved.

  “Stay away from him,” Daniella’s words barely met my ears, they were so low, but the second I heard them, I spun around, tired to death of the pretentious twat.

  “Is that a threat?” I demanded, drawing the attention of the bitch pack and every other group of students within earshot.

  Daniella turned gracefully, as if she were attending a royal function. The look on her face was social gold, all politeness and wit, but in her eyes, I saw a fierceness that appeared to be bone deep.

  She stepped forward, almost gliding across the wooden floor, and, as she sailed past me, her head held high, she whispered, “Absolutely.”

  Chapter 4

  I pulled my t-shirt over my head and rotated my neck, enjoying the crack of my spine under the radiant glow of the full moon. We would run tonight and I couldn’t think of anything in the world I wanted or needed more in this moment.

  I’d had a week from Hell.

  I’d had several run-ins with the bitch squad since Daniella had orchestrated the theft of my confidential file, none of which had gone well. It seems Seraphina and the others had looked through my file before pretending to read it for the first time and knew all kinds of secrets about me. They’d also read my senior paper, which they’d been reciting back to me at every opportunity, even typing up portions to post around school, especially the vulnerable parts. I’d tried avoiding them but it seemed like they were everywhere, except in my creative writing class.

  I’d gone to today’s class filled with hope, knowing that at the very least I had my favorite professor on my side and wouldn’t see a bitchy face for the next hour.

  I’d been wrong, on both counts.

  The bitchy face I’d been presented with had been my favorite professor’s. Xavier had shuffled around the room with heavy steps and a heavy face, handing out essays as if he were passing out funeral brochures. Still, I’d reached for mine eagerly, sure I’d find a kind word to lift my spirits. What I’d gotten was a 78% written in jarring red ink with critical notes scribbled in the margins.

  Try to avoid generalities. They’re sloppy.

  This needs to be rewritten.

  I expect more from you.

  My heart had sunk to my toes as I’d flipped through the pages and seen more of the same criticisms. He hated my work. I’d bit back an unexpected wave of emotion that had threatened to embarrass the hell out of me.

  I’d sat through the class, taking notes, listening with half a heart as Xavier expounded the benefits of train-of-thought exercises. He’d concluded class with an assignment to choose a single idea and follow it to the bitter end and had set the due date for Tuesday. I’d slipped from class without ever looking up and had rushed off, just glad to have avoided another confrontation with the bitches.

  The moon’s light felt like a soothing balm on my bare skin. I folded my clothes, one piece at a time, and placed them in the small locker I’d been assigned for this very purpose. Every student in the school had one, which is why they stretched along the entire length of the gymnasium, the furthest building out from center campus. I undid the clasp of my necklace and tucked it inside a zippered pocket for safe keeping then turned towards the forest.

  Hundreds of naked bodies stood, chatting casually or gazing up at the bright moon, all with smiles stretching their mouths. The full moon was a celebration of life for my kind, a chance to reconnect with the elemental and the primal. My skin began to tingle under the power of its light, pushing all my stress aside. I stepped forward, toward the tree line, and called to my wolf.

  She came immediately.

  A twinge of pain coursed through my body, but I barely felt it. For me, that pain had always bordered on exquisite pleasure, as my body embraced its true form, as I left the human world behind and entered nature.

  My bones shifted, moving swiftly from bipedal to all fours. My body flowed with the change, moving naturally from one state to the next, gliding so seamlessly that it felt like magic. One moment I was a girl, then next I was a magnificent wolf with thick russet fur. I grinned and gazed up at the moon, then leapt forward and broke into a run.

  There were no rules to the run. Students were told only to stick to campus property, which was easy as there was a rather impressive privacy fence around its entire perimeter. Added to that simple measure of security were night vision cameras, proximity sensors, and guards placed at regular intervals who made sure the students were safe during their monthly runs. From what I’d read in the security brochure, the space above the campus was also a no-fly zone, which was strictly enforced and patrolled by campus drones. Although it hadn’t said specifically, I assumed government contracts protected their location from satellite recordings, as well. Not that I’d spent much time thinking about such things.

  I darted into the forest, glad to be away from the throng of students, most of whom didn’t seem to be in the same rush as me to run free. It was a perfect night, warm with a soft breeze that still smelled of ripe blackberries and overgrown foliage. Soon the air would carry a crispness that would mean sweaters, hot cocoa, and boots. I loved autumn and couldn’t wait to run over crackling leaves.

  I raced through the undergrowth, leaping over fallen logs and splashing through the small streams that ran through the property. The academy owned over a thousand acres of land and kept it as clean and healthy as possible, which meant there was plenty of room to run and play. I almost felt as if I weren’t caged in out here, a feeling I’d been overwhelmed with since I’d stepped foot on campus.

  Back home I’d had endless forests and bogs to run through. Newfoundland was a huge island with a small population and the west coast, where I’d been raised, boasted amazing views of mountains and ocean. Since wolves were supposed to be extinct in the province, my people had to be careful about being seen, but that was easy enough with our heightened senses and ability to shift back to human form. I’d had clothes stashed all over the woods, just in case.

  I’d also had friends and family to run with at home, I thought, feeling the loss of them as a weight on my soul. I slowed down as I approached a larger body of water and dipped my head for a drink. My reflection in the still water, alone under the full moon, broke my heart.

  A slight movement in the pool of water caught my attention. I saw another wolf, a male, I thought, watching me from a small hill to my left. I turned toward him and lifted my head to take in his scent.

  Bash.

  My heart skipped a beat then sped up, thundering in my chest. I watched him move through the night, taking in his gorgeous black fur and piercing green eyes, and felt my stomach twist with desire.

  After I’d stood my ground against Seraphina and Daniella, I’d barely seen him. I had assumed he was ignoring me after I’d snapped at him, but he wasn’t ignoring me now. And, if the pheromones seeping from his pores was proof, he still wanted me. I pictured Daniella’s face when she’d warned me to stay away from her brother and wondered if he was worth all the trouble.

  Bash leaped down from the rock ledge, landing with gentle grace no more than ten feet away from me and stalked closer, his gaze never leaving mine. I shivered despite the warmth of the night as he slid past me, pressing his thick fur against mine, lighting my nerves on fire.

  Old Ones, yes, I moaned inside my head, he was worth the trouble.

  Bash walked around me, moving slowly, pressing against my fur until I practically panted for him. When his tongue licked out to taste me, I nipped at him and darted away.

  There would be hundreds of other students and professors running this land tonight. So, as much as I wanted him, as much as I craved his touch and taste, as much as I would give anything to shift back to my human body so I could touch, lick, and bite him until he was branded with my scent, I couldn’t give in toni
ght. Not out here, anyway.

  So, instead, I ran.

  I put every ounce of speed into the race and grinned as I heard Bash following on my heels. I was quick, faster than almost every wolf I’d ever known, but Bash was proving to be a formidable opponent. He moved like the night, skirting obstacles I didn’t know were there until the last moment. Pure joy flowed through my veins as my legs pumped harder and edged me further ahead.

  I ran an entire minute before realizing that Bash was no longer tailing me. I glanced sideways, searching for him in the shadows, and saw nothing but the trees and foliage. My ears strained to hear him, but the sounds of the night and our fellow students in the distance were the only things to reach my ears. My gait faltered and I slowed.

  Bash surged back onto the almost non-existent path a foot ahead of me, grinning like the wolf he was, and cast a glance over his shoulder before taking off. I snapped at him and darted forward on his heels, impressed by his tactics.

  He was fast, and cunning, but I was faster. I leaped forward on strong hind legs and tackled him, hitting him hard. We rolled to the ground and off the path, careening down a slight grassy slope that came to a stop near a stream that gurgled with a joy that echoed my own.

  When we stopped rolling, Bash was on top, his larger muscled body hovering above me. His face would have disappeared in the darkness of the night, I mused, if the moon hadn’t illuminated him from behind.

  He was gorgeous. There was no denying the fact that he was, or the fact that one look from his emerald eyes made my stomach flutter with excitement. I leaned up and nuzzled his neck.