Hi all! Thanks for all the support! I hope you enjoy this chapter and get to see a fun side of all the characters.
We make our way down the gravel road, choosing to walk to our packs event center. It holds a nice ballroom, perfect for typical gatherings and ceremonies such as this. My parents opted to drive, passing us a few minutes ago.
"So, Hunter," I say, trailing off, not sure what to say. Although we are mates, we did just meet and know nothing about each other.
"So Savannah," he mimics me, grinning at me.
"I'm sorry, big events make me nervous," I reply suddenly, not sure why I'm telling him this. He grabs my hand in his and a calm washes over me. "Wow, that's interesting."
"One of the perks of mates, I'm surprised you don't know that already though."
"My parents didn't tell me much growing up actually," I reply.
"Really, my parents wanted to tell me everything to prepare me. So you can ask me anything you like," he states with a smile, but I could tell he was trying to hide the shock of me not knowing anything about being a white wolf.
"The only thing I know anything about is the mating process," I whisper, not wanting Naomi and Nathan to hear our conversation. I blush slightly and pull my hand away from him.
He pulls my hand back and pulls me to a stop, "Listen, I don't want to rush anything. I'm sorry for the kiss in your bedroom earlier today. I think we should wait for awhile before we mate because there's lots of things we need to know about each other first. Have you trained at all?" he asks as we start walking again. I smile at his urge to wait. The one thing I know about the prophecy is that it eventually becomes impossible for the two to wait.
"I haven't trained much, no. I've mostly devoted my time to my studies and made sure to especially study battle strategies and creating alliances," I say, letting him know the fact I've spent most of my time in advanced classes made for those of strong bloodlines.
"Training will start right away then. I'll train you myself since I've surpassed many of my own trainers, if you don't mind?"
"Not at all, I'm sure you're plenty capable of training me. I do like to run though, even in my human form. I find it very freeing. Why don't we go for a run tomorrow morning?" I ask, suddenly eager to run.
"Sounds great to me," he states as we walk up to the event center and make our way to the back. "We can even talk more tomorrow morning then, since it's time to start the festivities," he smiles at me after he says that and we make our way inside, ready for what lies next as a team.
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"Savannah is escorted by Hunter, from the nearby pack," my father announces as we make our way to the top of the stairs where everyone can see us. "We are not only celebrating Savannah's birthday tonight, but also a union with Hunter's pack. Savannah and Hunter are mates," he states as a lot of gasps sound around the room. "As they train and learn to work together, we will start the process of forming officially." We make our way down the stairs as people whisper about us.
"I could've sworn we were meant to be," Chris, one of my friends states. He always tried to hit on me, not understanding that we weren't meant to be. Hunter puts a protective arm around me, his inner wolf probably urging him to be protective. "Just kidding," he says, Hunter's thick physique making him sweat. Chris was good looking, but nothing compared to Hunter. He lacked the thick muscles, but was lean and tall with a dark head of hair. "Congrats guys," he says and walks away after a say thanks. Hunter leads me to the food table after hearing my stomach growl.
"These all look so good," I say, filling my plate full of veggies, fruits and a ton of appetizers with Hunter doing the same but his being more meat than anything else. We find a seat and continue small talk with Naomi and Nathan.
"You two ready for the party tonight?" Naomi asks, looking more excited than I was about my own party. Her white teeth glistened in the light with excitement as well as her silver eyeshadow, making her seem even more excited. I shrugged my shoulders and took a small sip of the punch that was in front of me. I finished it and Hunter went to go grab me some more.
"So, you two seemed to be talking about mating pretty quick," Naomi winked at me, and Nathan rolled his eyes at how intrusive she was, even though she was always that way and he was used to it.
"You could hear us?" I asked, my mouth agape.
"Yeah, we tried not to, or at least I did," Nathan stated, rolling his eyes again at Naomi who liked to eavesdrop often on people's conversations.
"Of course they could, just like I could hear them prying into information that isn't theirs to know right now," Hunter said as he came back to the table with our drinks in his hands.
"Hey man, that's just my girl there, not me," Nathan defends himself, holding up his hands.
"Trust me, I've started to learn the personality of Naomi a little bit, I know it's mostly her. Anyways, are you both seniors as well?"
"Yes, but we aren't in the advanced placement like Savannah here, she's the smartest in our class," Naomi states, smiling proudly.
"That may be true, but you excel in combat far more than I do," I reply.
"It's been years since you've been in a combat class, so how do you even know?" Nathan asks, eating more food.
"Years?" Hunter asks, concern etched on his handsome face that a shadow of a beard has now appeared on.
"Yep! She started out as small for her age and didn't really mature until after she shifted for the first time. She couldn't really keep up with the rest of us at a young age. She hasn't tried any combat classes since, so who knows if she's good or not," Naomi explains and finishes her plate of food.
"Huh, well that will change this year," Hunter states with a look that says he'll explain later.
I was going to ask anyways but my mother started to talk on the microphone, "Attention everyone it's time end this short gathering with a special present for Savannah, so if you will please come over here," she states by the entrance of the building. I make my way over to my parents who hand me over a small box and I open it as slowly as I opened the gift from Hunter.
"Mom, dad you really shouldn't have," I say as I pull out keys to a Cadillac.
"You deserve it hunny," my dad says and my mom beams at me with her warm smile. Hunter comes up beside me and we walk out to see the brand new vehicle that happens to be a brand new Cadillac XT4 Crossover. It is really shiny and has a giant bow on top that only happens in movies. I run back to my parents and hug them in the doorway before I run back to check out the entire thing. They decked it out fully, which was surprising, yet something I knew that might do. Hunter quickly pulls the keychain he got me off of my purse and swiftly attaches my brand new car keys to it. Naomi and Nathan run out to check it out. I look in the trunk and notice all our changes of clothing are already stashed in the back. I jump in the driver seat with everybody else climbing in as well. Hunter in the front seat while the other to cuddle in the back on the way to the house party. The pack house is where the house party will be held for tonight and I'm not surprised when we roll up and park that it's already going. We make our way inside and take turns changing into our more party like dresses and the boys in their dressy shirts and slacks.
"I'll run these outside quick," Hunter states, turning towards the exit and I try to ignore the stares of the girls who weren't at the event center earlier. They would have no idea that Hunter was my mate and apparently news doesn't travel as fast as normal.
"Thanks," I say to Naomi as she hands me a red plastic cup, and almost gag at the burn of the drink she handed me. I drink it anyways, knowing it usually takes a lot for us to even get buzzed. I wasn't sure how that worked for someone who didn't drink often except for a glass of champagne during the holidays. I turned towards the exit, waiting for Hunter to come back in, only to realize he was surrounded by girls. I swallowed the rest of the drink before I went over to where Hunter was.
"Let me introduce you all to my mate from our neighboring back," Hunter states as soon as I walk over, pulling me close and wrapping his arm around me, holding me at the waist. I lean into him as all the girls give me glares as we walk away. "Sorry, I tried to get away, thanks for saving me," he states, kissing me on the cheek and I blush slightly, still not used to the affection.
"You're welcome, I hate to admit I was slightly jealous, " I reply, looking back at the girls who now fawned over Chris when he came in.
"I felt the same when you talked to Chris earlier, don't worry. It's natural for the mate bond to make these feelings show through," he states as we make our way over to Naomi and Nathan at the drink table. Naomi hands me a refill and I notice that Hunter is drinking a bottle of water while we are three talk and sip on our drinks from our red cups.
"You don't want a drink?" I ask, waiting for Naomi to refill all of our drinks. I notice at first she kept making them stronger each time, but they tasted less like alcohol the more we drank. I finished my 7th one and pulled Hunter onto the dance floor with me, my senses dulled slightly as we danced to the beat of the music. After awhile I started to get warm and we headed back to the drinks and snacks and hung out some more with Nathan and Naomi.
"Aren't you excited for our final year?" Naomi asked suddenly, after taking a large gulp of her drink.
"I guess, not really. For you it means you get to choose where you be. You don't know the stress of having a position assigned since the moment you were born," I reply, downing another drink but pausing when I start to feel lightheaded.
"Maybe we should call it quits on the drink," Hunter says, handing me a bottle of water instead, but I decide against it and drink another one instead. I can tell he's irritated, but not enough to stop.
"Come on Hunter, I never get to let loose, just his once?" I ask, looking up at him with soft eyes and I can tell I've broken him down slightly.
"One more," he replies, giving me a stern look. I nod and finish my last drink of the night.
"Savannah, I hear we have a new teacher this year for combat. Maybe you can redeem yourself after all," Nathan states.
"Yeah, maybe," I reply, knowing I don't want to take a combat class still.
"Okay, I'm beat, Savannah we should head out," Naomi states as we start walking towards the exit and I stumble towards the exit since it's the first time I've moved since my last few drinks. "Are you okay?" she asks.
"I don't really dr..drink that often," I reply, noticing my slight slur of my words. "Where are my keys?" I ask suddenly, searching my purse all over.
"I have them," Hunter replies as he guides me to the passenger seat and helps me in and walks briskly to the driver side. I close my eyes, realizing just how dizzy I truly am and try to block out the sounds. I vaguely hear Naomi guide Hunter to to her house and notice Nathan must be staying over at her house. Hunter then continues to drive to his pack grounds and I notice he pulls into what looks like a small house next to a bigger one. I try to get out of the vehicle myself but start to fall when Hunter catches me and I feel myself start to sway. I then realize he's carrying me to the small house. He unlocks it with a key while still managing to hang on to me and he sets me on the bed. I lay down on my side and close my eyes as he rummages through his dresser and comes back shortly and slightly shakes me awake and sits me up.
"Can you go to the bathroom and change?" he asks and I nod slightly and notice he's wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. I change and use the bathroom as quickly as possible, without feeling dizzy. I walk outside of the bathroom to see Hunter standing right outside so he can help me into bed. I fall asleep quickly once I'm in his bed and enveloped in his scent. I barely sense him nuzzling his face into my neck and pulling me close as I drift off to sleep.
********
I groan as I try to move in the morning but something heavy is keeping me down. I open eyes and notice my surroundings and realize I'm in Hunter's bedroom and he's the one pinning me down with his arm over me and his leg as well. I relax back into him, not wanting to quite get up yet.
"Good morning," he says sleepily, his breath tickling my neck.
"You're awake?" I ask as he pulls away slightly.
"Yes, how are you feeling?" He asks, pulling away completely and sitting up and so do I.
"Honestly, a lot better than I should," I say, reaching for the water bottle on the nightstand next to me.
"Perks of drinking as a werewolf, hangover arrives while asleep and disappears by the time you're awake," he replies. "Listen, I need to tell you and ask you something," he states, looking nervous.
"What's that?" I ask.
"First, here's a house key that I want you to put on your keychain because we might have trouble sleeping separately." I nod and put the key on the same keychain he gave me. "Second, the new teacher at your school is me," he says.
"The combat teacher?"
"Yes, and besides just private lessons, I want you to be in my combat class. I need you to focus your training and really develop the last missing piece as Luna. I am required to teach this class as the last bit of my training, then we can take our place as rightful Alpha and Luna right after your graduation," he explains, and I try not to fume. I never wanted to take a combat class, and now I don't have a choice. Will I ever have a choice in this prophecy filled life?
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