Iliana
The last two weeks of school are a joke. Other than final exams, there isn't much else going on except for everyone making summer plans.
My summer plans are simple: keep growing stronger and healthier until I feel a little less like I'm dying every day. Too bad I can't share that with any of my friends.
"Hey, Iliana," Cinda comes up to me as I leave my last Geography class and tosses her arms around my shoulders. "What are you doing after school today?"
Well, I had awful nightmares last night, so I was hoping for a nap. I don't tell Cinda that, though. "Nothing much."
"Are you going to training later?" she asks me with a note of hesitation. I haven't trained in two years. My 'illness' has excused me from everything physical, even gym class, and most wolves take it for two periods a day.
"I wasn't planning on it," I say slowly.
"You can come watch, right? Teddy is entering the assessment competitions this evening, at like seven."
"Maybe," I hedge. I don't want to see Sean. At all.
We walk out of the school arm-in-arm, giggling at Mr. Tennison's holey pants. Now there's a male who needs a mate.
I feel his presence before I see him. Speak of the devil. He's here. Ugh. Did I not just say I don't want to see him? Silently, to myself, but geesh. And, no, my she-wolf did not just wag her tail at the intense look of concern and interest our ex-mate... no... our never-mate flashed toward us as we walked out of school.
"Isn't that Alpha Conner's luna?" Cinda grabs my arm excitedly.
What? I yank my gaze away from Sean's dark, hooded eyes to see the adorable human luna standing beside him, bouncing in place excitedly. I didn't even see her at first. I was too hung up on the male I swore I wouldn't think about anymore.
"It is," I reply belatedly, but Cinda is already dragging me across the Quad to the pickup truck parked in the pick-up lane.
"Luna," I greet her respectfully while disrespecting Sean by not even looking his way. Hopefully, the luna doesn't know any better. Sean, of course, understands the blatant disregard if the narrowing of his eyes is any indication.
"You're Cinda and Iliana right?" the luna bounces again, her curls bobbing with her. She looks like she was molded into this tiny, perfect figurine of a fifties pin-up girl. Gorgeous from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Her skin is absolutely flawless. She has a slight dusting of freckles on her smooth, unblemished face that actually makes her look just that much more unique and I am so jealous. Everything about me is bland and boring in comparison.
"Yes! You know us!" Cinda squeals next to me. "She knows our names!" Cinda whispers hoarsely in my ear in a tone that I instinctively know is audible even to human ears.
I wince a little. Luna Bailey is supposed to be wicked smart. A verifiable genius. Cinda and I were both featured at the mating celebration a week ago. It's safe to assume that Luna Bailey remembers us both.
Cinda is super-sweet, but not the brightest bulb in the box. It's too easy for other females to be cruel to Cinda. It's why I was so happy that she ended up mated to Teddy, who is one of the most mellow, laid-back males I've ever met.
My she-wolf and I are on-edge, waiting for our new, human luna to be disparaging or dismissive to our friend. The strain of loyalty between a friend or the female who is our alphason's saving grace might just rip my she-wolf and me in two.
"Great!" Luna Bailey pushes her glasses up a little higher. She makes glasses look cute. "I heard you were good at decorating and party planning?" she asks Cinda.
"I love it," Cinda breathes.
"Oh, that's such a relief. I know you're probably busy with finishing school and these he-man boys club competitions that Conner claims are super-important, but Mina told me that you could help prepare for my announcement ceremony? I'm truly awful at party-prep. I don't even know where to start."
Cinda has tears of thankful joy in her eyes as she gushes her 'yes.' I feel like crying, too, as my she-wolf slumps over in relief. Our new luna is as sweet as she looks.
At the same time, I'm worried now for a different reason. Luna Bailey should have multiple she-wolves tripping over themselves to help her. She's the next luna, for goddess' sake. Just Alphason Conner's family is like... a hundred and forty-seven wolves. Is she being ostracized? Why did she reach out to Cinda?
I dart a quick glance a Sean. Did he suggest coming here? I would ask him, but that would require speaking to the jerk.
Luna Bailey climbs back into the pickup truck... and I mean actually climbs, boosting herself in as Sean silently hovers to catch her in case she slips. Cinda opens the back, chattering away excitedly. I take a step toward home, perfectly willing to walk alone when Luna Bailey turns. "You're coming, aren't you, Iliana?"
She looks so worried, but goddess, I don't want to be in such close proximity to Sean. He smells so good. It's a reminder that he was supposed to be ours.
It's impossible to say 'no' to this human female. Besides, my heart warms a little when she looks so worried about not including me. My wolf tastes the air in front of our future luna. Her tail twitches and her ears perk. She's cautiously optimistic. The human luna radiates comfort and serenity in direct contrast to my she-wolf's scarred emotions.
I'm going with them. It's not even a question, even though I hate party-planning. I can stick close to Luna Bailey and see for myself if she's being bullied.
Georgina was always more than happy to plan and I've never had any talent for it. Not to mention, it was the only thing that she and mom really connected with.
Sean opens the door for me. He stands close as I walk past him to step up. So close that I can feel his warmth and smell the faint scent of... bleach and blood.
I side-eye him as I take my seat behind Bailey, making Cinda move over so that she would be closer to Sean.
"She's a real sweetheart," Sean says under his breath to me. "Thank you for coming with her. She's worried the females will hate her for being human."
He just confirmed some of my worries. I have to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out that I hate Sean and he's not human. My she-wolf's fur is standing on end, her eyes watching Sean as if he's going to hurt us. We expect it from this male.
He sees it. When he steps back and closes the truck's door his eyes are blank and shuttered.
---
Sean
I force myself to back away a step and give Lili space. Fuck, I'm tired. The latest murdered female was just like the one uncovered months ago. We've lost key players in the fertility fiasco at Honeiker labs, including the good doctor himself, and with them go any good leads in this new crime.
It's terrifying to think that Lili could be a target of this group. She's still living with her parents, so maybe the killers, whoever they are, won't target her because she's not alone. But, now that she's officially announced herself as MateLess will they somehow know she's vulnerable? We have no fucking clue who is behind the scenes pulling strings.
After I drop the females off at the packhouse I have to drive to RedMoon territory. We're all desperately seeking new information. A young female lost her life, and that means that other females are at risk. We were hoping that this would die with Honeiker.
I'm quiet on the way. It's hard to keep from blurting out all of my apologies to Lili. It's not the time when she's relaxing with her friends. Thankfully, Cinda keeps up with an endless stream of nonsense about color schemes and flowers, so it's easy to stay quiet.
When I drop the females off I lean in and softly whisper, "you look very nice today, Lili."
She stiffens. Her body is suddenly so brittle that I think if I even breathe on her she'll shatter. Goddess, she's so dainty and delicate. She does look nice, dressed in a flattering color with her hair pulled back from her face in a fancy twist. She smells faintly like cherries, but her scent is slightly sour. It makes my stomach lurch a little and I don't understand why.
I force myself to step back and walk away. As I leave I can hear her low, raspy voice join in the conversation. She always had a deeper voice than most females her age. Georgina used to tease her about it.
I swallow down more guilt and self-disgust as I leap back into my pickup truck. Conner wanted me to rest before driving to Denver to coordinate the latest efforts with his uncle, Devel, but I can't sleep. I don't deserve to sleep.
My phone starts dinging with messages when I'm about an hour from ClearHowl. I don't check them. Conner and Sarj have special ringtones. Everyone else can wait.
When I pull over to fill up on gas, I look and see that Georgina has been texting me. The latest notification is still scrawled over my home screen and it makes my breath seize.
Georgie - Guess what? I get to go to the ceremony with you!
---
Braxton
"Hi ladies!" I bounce on the sofa in between Bailey and Ili, grinning when they all shriek in protest as their ribbons and magazines and other girlie shit go flying.
"You're an ass, Braxton," Ili says grumpily.
I grin and wink at her. Bailey tosses me a mild scowl and quickly rescues some of the fallen magazines. The third female, Cinda, I don't know very well. She was always too cheerful for me, even before my life went to hell. Sitting across the table from us, Cinda won't look at me, but I can tell she's upset with my joke, so I help them re-stack their... girlie shit.
"What the fuck is all this?" I ask, holding up a piece of white cardboard with lime green and white ribbons glued to it.
"It's a sample board, cretin," Ili says calmly, without any heat, as she takes it out of my hands and places it next to two other 'sample boards' that resemble kindergarten projects to my eyes. Uncle Alex usually hires professional companies for parties. This move of bringing Ili and Cinda here is... I eye up Bailey... all her. Hiding my grin, I wink at Bailey. She hides her smile, too, as she toys with her pretend decorations.
"Are we crafting? I enjoy crafting, but Ili? Ili loves it, Bailey," I tell my future luna.
Bailey gives me a stern look that clearly says 'don't give the game away, Jackass.'
"She doesn't, but at least she doesn't clomp around and spill everything onto the floor. We're getting ready for this announcement party. Alpha Alex insists," Bailey says calmly.
"Sounds like him," I muse thoughtfully. "He wants to make sure Conner locks you down."
"I'm pregnant," Bailey reminds me wryly. "And I'm starving all the time. And I want to eat animals. I'm vegetarian, but apparently, she's not." Bailey points to her stomach.
I send her a smirk, hiding the absolute joy I feel thinking about my niece, before I stand abruptly, sending a few more things to the ground. I hear Cinda huff quietly and hide my grin. "What do you girls like to drink? Eat? You know, other than fuzzy, helpless animals."
"We have snacks, thank you," Cinda says with polite softness. I think I intimidate her.
"More soda. Not cherry, Braxton. A few more bags of chips? And can you make a chili-cheese dip? It's meat that maybe you can disguise a little," she tells Bailey. "And some brownies? Do you like brownies, luna?" Ili says sweetly. Bailey is openly laughing at me now. "Actually, make two kinds of brownies, with nuts and without. And vanilla ice cream on top."
I lean over and kiss Ili's cheek. "Of course, doll. Anything else?" I look at the other two females. Cinda is open-mouthed with pleased surprise, while Bailey is staring at me as if she's ready to dissect me right on top of the table filled with girlie shit just to see what makes me tick.
"That's um... that's it," Ili says, clearly flustered. She picks up a board with dark green and muted grey offset with white.
"I like that one," I tell her. "You were always good with colors and pretty shit."
Ili rolls her eyes at me, but I can tell the compliment pleased her by the soft blush on her cheeks.
Whistling, I head toward the kitchen to grab my girl and her friends some food. It's all easy stuff, right? It can't be too difficult to whip up some brownies.
Five minutes later, I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring at a pantry filled to the brim with basic ingredients. There isn't a Betty Crocker box in sight. Shit. I don't know how to bake.
A cold sweat breaks out. My wolf circles, whining. We need to take care of Ili. Feeding our intended mate is instinctive. We need to woo her and what better way than with food? Most importantly, Ili is fucking starving. She needs to eat. Not to mention Bailey and my niece. I'm a little surprised that Bailey wasn't already inundated with food as soon as she walked through the doors.
I yank out my cell phone and call Auntie Cass.
---
Iliana
Eating three brownies may have been a bad idea. A really bad idea. Braxton kept putting them on my plate and I have to say, the male makes a mean brownie. He tempted me with junk food (that I asked for) and then he left with Luna Bailey to go to the training assessment early. Jerk.
Cinda's car rumbles over the road on the way to the training grounds and every bump makes the brownies slosh around in my stomach. I groan, regretting my life.
It's a relief when we pull up to the massive, 20,000 square foot building. I heard that Caluna University doesn't even have a training facility like this place. I've always been a little envious of the older wolves who use it. It has five weight rooms, a gymnastics and dance studio, a huge space with cardio equipment, a pool, and, of course, the military-style obstacle course smack dab in an outdoor stadium. The adult males train out there, with only a few females who make the cut, joining them.
I'm only here because Braxton let it slip that Sean was out of town tonight, making tonight perfect to rejoin some of the pack activities without running into him. Alphason Conner, Braxton's older brother, is going to run the assessment tonight.
I catch some looks as we walk from the parking lot to the outdoor course with the rest of the milling crowd. I ignore it as best I can, but glad that I braved coming here. Let everyone get used to me again.
"C'mon, I see Freda!" Cinda, clutching my arm, pulls me through the crowd to a small section of stadium bleachers near the middle of the course. I sit in the first row, smiling at our good luck in scoring these seats.
Teddy jogs across the field to us, a big, goofy grin stretched across his face. "Hi, honey," he coos at Cinda, who exuberantly kisses her male. "Hi, Ili, Freda" he says as an afterthought.
"Hi, Teddy. Good luck," I say to him.
He rubs his hands together, nodding. "Yeah. It's going to be crazy. Alphason Conner hasn't attended one of these in a year. He and Brax are going to spar today!" he tells us excitedly.
Teddy jogs off as I survey the stadium. I suck in a soft breath. No wonder the entire pack seems to be here. Tonight is a big deal.
I look for Sean, worried that he'll be here, but there's no sign of my never-mate. Caddy-corner from my seat, however, I spot a head of platinum blonde hair. Georgina.
She's wearing the requisite red and black training clothes and with a sinking heart, I realize that she's being assessed tonight, too.
The noise of the stadium fades around me. All I hear is a faint buzzing as my she-wolf and I intently watch our backstabbing enemy warm up. Misogyny is alive and well in wolf packs, so the females are only sparring with each other and they are going first.
Bitterness swells and swells as Georgina wins her first bout. Then the next. There are only five females competing compared to around thirty males, so it only takes three fights for Georgina to 'win.'
I stare at her gloating, hideous face as Alphason Conner congratulates her for graduating to the next level of training.
"Ili? Are you OK?" Cinda gently shakes my shoulder.
"Brownies," I offer lamely.
She nods, smiling. "I don't regret it," she says firmly, "he baked it with fudge and nuts." I choke out a laugh, and we ignore the applause and cheers as Georgina accepts her congratulations and the first males take the field. Cinda knows I don't get along with my sister. She doesn't know the worst, but she knows enough.
Suddenly, the energy in the crowd surges. My attention swings back to the field, where I see Alphason Conner take off his shirt and walk to the center of the ring. A fresh tattoo is scrawled across his chest over his heart, reading 'Honeygirl.' It must be for Luna Bailey. Inside, my she-wolf and I melt. The swooning over Alphason Conner's love for his mate and luna ends abruptly when I see the male he's sparring with.
"I guess they want to go first so they can concentrate on the assessments," Cinda offers.
I think I answer. I'm not completely sure if I spoke or just made an inarticulate noise. I think I swallowed my tongue. Immediately I start to sweat. For goddess's sake, this is not the time for my body to start buzzing with life again after two years of feeling nothing. I'm literally surrounded by...
Females who all stink of lust.
Well, OK, then. I just blend right in. My she-wolf barks, a high-pitched warning that is most likely being echoed in all the young, unmated she-wolf brains right now.
Braxton looks delicious. I could eat him. Better yet, I could eat off of those washboard abs, preferably while wrapped in those arms. I fan my face, feeling my pale, lackluster skin grow hotter as Alphason Conner and Braxton jokingly try to smack each other around before the whistle blows to officially begin the match.
When they start to battle, their muscles straining, sweat dripping down their bodies, faces locked in concentration, my long-dormant ovaries burst into life. I gasp out loud at the sensation of my she-wolf tossing her fur as she joins me in waking up. For two years we have been locked into our own shock and grief. One wrestling match between two sex gods and our hiatus is over.
The two males put on a good show in more ways than one. Their skill is magnificent. Often their movements are so fast they blur. By the time they call the match (Alphason Conner winning, of course), the odd surge of lust and adrenaline has left my body.
I'm exhausted and cold despite the warm evening. Blinking, I sink back down on the bench, feeling my legs shake like a newborn calf. I yawn so wide that my jaw cracks. I feel so lethargic that I think I should make my excuses to Cinda and leave, but the crowd has only grown in size and I promised that I would watch Teddy's match with her.
"Hey, sweetheart." An arm slides around my shoulder. I inhale Braxton's scent of bacon and curl closer. He's put his shirt back on and it's sweaty and damp. "Sleep, my Ili-girl," he murmurs into my ear.
I want to protest, but he arranges me on his chest so that my head is pillowed on those hunky arms of his. In the distance, I can hear the pack cheering on the latest fighters.
"Sleep. I've got you."
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