Chapter 1
Thirteen years later...................
“Good morning.” Adam looked up and smiled at his mother. Her soft smoky grey eyes were such a welcome sight after waking up day after day to the sound of his roommates snores. He had spent the last five years at a boarding school in Switzerland and after a whole lot of begging and pleading his case, he convinced his parents to let him spend his last year of high school back at home so he could start to assimilate with the pack. In just a few years he would be expected to take over the lead and he didn’t want to come in as a complete stranger to his own pack. He wanted to know his fellow people and he wanted them to know him as well. He couldn't very well expect them to allow an unknown wolf to step into leadership.
Adam dipped his spoon into his cornflakes, stood up and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Good morning mother,” he smiled again. Her familiar scent of lilacs and fresh rain engulfed him. As a little boy, it was always his one true comfort. “It feels so good to be back home.”
“It’s good to have you back at home.” Tayla patted her son’s cheek unable to come up with the right words to express to him exactly how glad she was that he was finally home. He had been gone for so long it seemed and without his laughter in the home, it always felt so lonely. She hadn’t agreed with Rafe when he first sent their son so far away for his education but his father had insisted. He argued that studying abroad would make him a better Alpha in the long run. She didn’t really believe that but she put her selfish pride aside and blindly trusted in her husband, hoping that he was right.
Adam sat back down and picked up his spoon again. Tayla moved to the counter to start the coffee carafe. “So,” she started and cleared her throat. “Are you ready for your first day of school?”
He jammed a spoonful of cereal in his mouth and slowly chewed. Talya turned around and leaned her back against the counter, content to just watch her son. So many days that she missed, just watching him grow up. Now that he was back, he was already full grown and she would never be able to get those days back.
When he finished chewing, he put the spoon back down by this bowl. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he answered her. “Logan came by last night and we talked for a good hour. He brought me up to speed on who’s who and what’s what. To tell you the truth, I’m actually a little excited; especially since I don’t have to wear a uniform.”
Tayla laughed and Adam thought the sound of her laughter was simply sweet music to his ears. It had been so long since he last heard his mother laugh that it was no wonder he hadn’t forgotten what it had sounded like. Even when he came home for holidays, everything always seemed so strained around the house, between him and his parents, and before he knew it, he found himself on a plane heading back to school. “Logan. He’s Bud and Shannon’s son, right? He used to be the runt of the pack. If I remember correctly, back in preschool, some of the other pups were picking on him and you took up for him. From that point on, the two were attached at the hip. At least until you went off to school.”
“Yeah,” Adam agreed and chuckled. “That’s the one, but I wouldn’t call him a runt anymore. The guy is almost as big as me, if not as big. He’s come a long way in five years.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad that you two reconnected so quickly. He comes from a good family line and would be a fine candidate for your beta.” The coffee perked and Tayla turned back around, busying herself with fixing her a cup.
Adam turned back to his cereal. “I’ve already thought of that,” he mentioned just before shoveling another large bite in his mouth. Tayla picked up her coffee cup and joined him at the table. After yet another bite, he put the spoon down and pushed the bowl away. “Guys like Logan are few and far between. I can read him and I like that. With Logan, you get what you see. With the guys back in Switzerland, I felt like everyone put on a facade with me. They all knew I was a soon-to-be Alpha so they put on an act, wanting to get close to me. It was a real pain in my ass.”
“Adam,” Tayla frowned. “Language please. It’s one thing to curse with your buddies, but I expect a little more respect around me. ”
“Sorry,” he sheepishly apologized. “It just slipped; I won’t let it happen again.”
Her lips curved up with a wayward tilt. “Good, just be sure that it doesn’t. That is one thing that I will not tolerate in my presence.”
Adam glanced at his watch and went to stand. “I guess I better get going, I want to walk my schedule before school starts so that I know where all my classes are.”
Tayla nodded and brought her coffee cup up to her mouth for a sip. “Alright. Are you coming straight home afterwards?”
He picked up his bowl and walked it over to the sink. “I guess. I really hadn’t thought about it and the only person I’ve seen or spoke to is Logan. Why?” He turned back around after rinsing out his bowl and was towel drying his hands. “Do you need me to come home for something?”
“Your father has invited several people from the pack over.” She turned around and looked at her son. “Several that have daughters your age that he thinks have the possibility of making good alpha females.”
Adam tossed the towel on the sink. “Aw man, I’ve been home what? Twenty four hours and he’s already pushing for me to choose a mate? Can’t I at least have this year? That’s all I asked for, one year and then I’ll find a mate.”
Tayla sighed. She could already see it. Rafe and Adam were going to bump heads like crazy on this. She agreed with her son. She thought he deserved this year to sow his oats before making that life time commitment, but her husband had it in his mind that he needed to go ahead and find his mate. “Look,” she said, crossing her hands in her lap. “You show up here after school since everyone is already invited and tonight, I’ll talk to your dad about backing off a bit. How’s that sound.”
Adam walked over to his mother and bent down, wrapping his arms around her neck. “That sounds like a plan mom. Thank you.” He kissed her cheek and stood back up. “In the meantime, I’m off to school. Wish me luck.”
"You’ll do just fine,” she assured him. “You don’t need luck, just be yourself and you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hands.”
“Wow, mom.” He grabbed his book bag and keys off of the counter. “Way to boost my ego.”
“You don’t need me to boost your ego Adam. You're a natural born leader. All a person has to do is meet you to see that. Get on out of here and have a good day. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
Adam’s face softened and then he turned to leave before he did something wimpy and got all emotional. It really was great to be back at home. “Love you mom,” he shot back over his shoulder already heading for the door.
“Love you too,” Tayla replied back and smiled once more. Her son was home, after so many lonely days and nights; life was finally going to get back to normal around here.
**********
“Hi mom. Hi dad. Bye mom.” Dava stopped long enough to grab a piece of toast and kiss her mom's cheek. “Bye dad.”
"Hey, where’s my kiss?” Jared asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Both Samantha and he were seated at the kitchen table, sipping their coffee when Dava came flying down the steps, running late as usual.
She giggled and ran over to his side, kissing his cheek too. “Right there,” she poked the same place on his cheek that she had just kissed. “I’m late, gotta go.”
“You stayed up again didn’t you?” her dad accused.
Dava shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Maybe,” and quickly grabbed her bag and keys.
“Dava,” Jared warned, “You can’t do this again this year. You have to sleep at night, not during your classes. Those romance books of yours aren’t going to get you to graduation.”
She flashed her father her best Emmy award winning smile. And just like every other time, it worked perfectly. “I know dad. Last time, I promise. I just had to read on until I found out if the Viscount was going to follow his heart and marry the pauper or follow society and marry the arrogant Duchess.”
Jared leaned forward on the table, resting his chin in his hands. “What did he do?”
Dava grinned. “He chose true love of course and married the pauper.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course, and everyone gets their happily ever after, right? Isn’t that how they all end?”
Samantha elbowed her mate. “What?” he asked, trying hard not to smile. “Am I right or not?”
“Alright dad your right, as always and I’m still going to be late if I don’t go.”
“Get,” Samantha shooed her daughter. “Have fun today.”
“It’s school mom. Fun is not part of the equation.”
“As long as you learn something, then that’s all that matters,” Jared insisted. “Personally, I’m glad that Dava hasn’t bothered with dating and other stuff that some of the other kids have recently taken an interest in. Less faces for me to pound and less guys that I have to neuter.” He shook his head. “Messy business that neutering is.”
“Alright, that is my cue to leave,” Dava almost yelled. Listening to her dad talk about neutering guys was not something that she cared to partake in.
“You are so bad,” Samantha told her mate.
His grin only widened. He hollered out to Dava when he heard the sound of the front door opening. “Love you sweetie.”
“Love you dad and love you mom,” Dava hollered back as she slipped out the front door and made her way to her car.
Today was her first day of her senior year of high school. She wasn’t a bad student but she wasn’t necessarily a good one either. Dava Morale was more of a dreamer than anything else. She lived to get lost in one of her many romance books and wished life could always have happy endings like her books did. But she knew that real life was far different from her books. Explicitly happy endings were meant solely for fairy tales. The best she could hope for was simple. She had simple now and as long as her life stayed simple, then she would be satisfied enough.
Pulling into the school parking lot, Dava had to hunt for a parking spot. Students were still milling around outside so she knew the bell hadn’t rung yet. She wasn't that late, thank God. Finally, at the very back of the parking lot, she found one open spot and pulled her car into it. She cut the car off, grabbed her bag and stepped out into the morning sun. The humidity smacked her in the face the second that she stepped out of the car. The summer heat still lingered which in a school with no air conditioning, was really going to suck big time. It was already seventy degrees outside and it was just a little after eight in the morning. By afternoon, she would be ready to strip down to her bare necessities.
Knowing there was nothing she could do about it, she started to fast walking towards the school. Dava hoped that maybe she could find her locker before having to go to homeroom. She knew where the rest of her classes were and was looking down, trying to work out the logistics of her day when she stepped into the commons area and ran head on into what felt like a solid brick wall.
Taken by surprise, Dava stumbled backwards and fell to the floor in a very ungraceful heap. “Ow,” she winced, feeling the throb in her derriere.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about that. I shouldn’t have been standing in front of the door. You're Dava right? Let me help you up.”
Dava lifted her head and suddenly wished the floor would open up right now and swallow her whole. Logan Wright. Of all people that she could run into first thing in the morning; it just had to be Logan Wright. To say that she was embarrassed was putting it mildly. “I’m fine,” she swatted at his hand and stood up. It was her pride that hurt more than anything right now.
Logan reached for her arm to steady her and she quickly pulled away from. “I said I’m fine,” she snapped.
“Feisty one, aren’t we?” She turned to the side to see Jason Loy standing there with his skin tight jeans and leather jacket, smirking at her. He winked and she turned away.
“Excuse me,” she pushed through the group of boys, needing to get away from them. They were all born wolves, higher up in the hierarchy than she was. It wasn’t right for her to associate with them, which was a hard lesson that she learned a long time ago. Turned wolves didn’t mix with the originals. To do so was pretty much social suicide for the original.
The further that she got from them, she felt her heart slow down. Wonderful, she thought to herself. She just made a complete fool of herself in front of the most important people in the school. Her day was already starting off on the wrong foot. She glanced at her watch as she turned down the first corridor that she came to, and sighed. Only eight and a half more hours to go.
Adam lifted his nose in the air when Logan turned around to help up a girl that hadn’t been paying attention to where she was walking and ran right into him. The sweetest scent that he had ever smelt tickled his nose. Orange blossoms and sunshine. It was a heady scent that drove his wolf wild. He felt his heart rate increase and his breathing literally stop when she spoke. He had always thought of his mother's voice as being musical but this girls voice, it wasn’t just musical, it was the sound of an angel.
She brushed by him and he felt the heat of her touch though the cotton of his shirt. For the longest, all he could do was stare at her retreating back, entranced by the hypnotic sway of her ass. When she finally disappeared, he spun around and looked at his friend. “Who was that?”
Logan stared down the hall, watching the exact same path that Dava had just taken and wrinkled his brow. “Who? Dava Morale?”
“Dava,” he repeated her name, lovin' the way that it rolled off of his tongue.
“Oh no,” Logan said, seeing hungry the look in Adam's eyes. “That,” he waved down the hall, “is a definite no-no. Dava is not a girl to be toyed with. Her father is Jared Morale, the toughest and best known enforcer of the pack. So as long as you value your family jewels, you’d better get her out of your head right now. Besides, she’s a turned. Your father would never go for it.”
“A turned?” Adam glanced back at Logan. “But you said that Jared was her father. He’s an original.”
“You don’t remember much from the old days, do you?”
Adam scratched his head. He didn’t understand what his friend meant.
“She’s adopted,” Logan clarified for him and then the bell for homeroom rung, interrupting them. “It's a long story that will have to be told at some other time,” he grinned and slapped his friend on the back. “All you need to know for now is that she is off limits. Anyhow, you ready for your first day big man?”
“Um,” Adam twisted his head and gazed back at the now empty hallway, unable to get Dava’s scent out of his nostrils. “Yeah, I suppose.”
“Alright then,” Logan said eagerly. “Let’s get this party started.”
“Yeah,” he said, automatically following Logan down the hallway to homeroom. His body moved in step but his thoughts were full of the slender blond that had eyes of shiny emeralds and lips the shade of ripened strawberries. “Let’s.”