My parents were thrilled when I told them that I had gotten invited to a party on my very first day at the new school. Of course, I didn’t tell them any other details - like the fact that no actual students at Ponderosa High seemed to want me there, or that I was only going because the pack Alpha, who was a year or so older than me, had told me to come.When my dad drops me off, I make sure he leaves me at the bottom of the road. I’ll hike up to Badger Lodge myself. The last thing I need is everyone seeing my lame Omega parents taking me to a party. I start walking up the long drive, keeping my eyes on the twinkling lights up ahead. The Badger Lodge is high up on a mountainside overlooking the town, and it’s a nice enough walk through the tall pine trees.I’m halfway up the drive when I hear the sound of a car behind me. It’s not the first time a car full of shifter kids has passed me on their way up to the lodge, laughing and yelling. Most of them didn’t even notice me. I
I slip out of the lodge through a side door, letting the noise and chaos of the party disappear into the background as I find a quiet place in the woods to take the phone call.“Hi, Mom.”“Hello, sweetheart! Do you know what time it is?”I check my watch. It’s 11:56. I’ll turn eighteen in exactly four minutes. “Almost midnight,” I answer.“I bet you’re excited,” my mom says. “I know how badly you’ve been waiting for your first shift.”Most shifters have their first shift before their eighteenth birthday, but if it doesn’t happen naturally before then, we shift as soon as we turn eighteen. My mom isn’t wrong - I’ve been desperate to find my wolf and get to know her - but if she’s weak enough that she couldn’t even reveal herself without being forced, I’m not getting my hopes up.“Yeah,” I say. “But also nervous.”“That’s normal,” my mom reassures me. “I was terrified for my first shift. I could hardly sleep the night before I turned eighteen, I was so anxious.”
I consider just leaving entirely, but something pulls me back to the party. If I’m honest with myself, it’s because I want to see Caleb.Even if he can’t possibly be my mate. Even if he’s likely to be just as disgusted with me as everyone else. He’ll regret the kiss, deny me, kick me out of the pack - everything an Alpha is supposed to do in this situation.Still. This might be my last chance to see him. I need to.So I push the doors open to the Badger Lodge, only to face a wall of jeering, mocking faces.“Useless!”“Pathetic!”“I heard she can’t even shift!”“Worse than a regular Omega.”“Why did they even send her?”Tears well in my eyes as I shrink away from the attention, trying to find Caleb in the crowd. But someone grabs the back of my shirt and yanks me into the center of a circle, where Malcolm and Miranda and all their friends poke and prod me.“Not even a fang? A claw? A whisker?”“Nothing. Basically a human.”“Gross!”Malcolm puts his
Caleb helps me up off the mattress and pulls a key from his pocket, unlocking the door.Silently, we slip out through the back door of the pack house, into a misty early morning. I shiver, and he takes off his coat, wrapping it around my shoulders.He leads me away from the pack house and away from town, deeper into the woods, along narrow and overgrown trails that he seems to know very well. The whole time, he holds my hand, his grip sure and strong.“Where are we going?” I ask as the sun begins to rise and the pack house has disappeared behind us.“My dad’s old cabin,” Caleb explains. “The pack doesn’t know about it. It’s just for the Alpha and his family. A hideaway.”“If it’s only for Alphas and their families, then why are you taking me there?”Caleb stops, turning toward me and holding my face in his warm hands. “Because you’re my family,” he says. “You’re my mate.”“But -”“I know, I know.” Caleb’s silver eyes are tinged with sadness. “You’re an Omega, an
I see relief and happiness on Caleb’s face when I tell him I want to stay at the cabin. “I just want you to be safe,” he says, smiling.I know he’ll keep me safe. He’s the Alpha, after all. And he’s my mate.Together, we cuddle up under the warm quilt, listening to the fire crackle and nibbling on the snacks he laid out for us. I find myself wrapped up in his arms, my head resting on his chest, his fingers carding lazily through my hair.“You’re amazing,” Caleb says.I laugh. “I’m an Omega who can’t shift. I got sent away from one pack only to get banished from another one. I’m anything but amazing.”“Don’t talk like that.” Caleb’s voice sounds stern. He’s a true Alpha. “No one insults my Luna and gets away with it.”My cheeks burn, hearing him refer to be that way. “I’m not a Luna yet,” I remind him. “Not until we made.”“I know, I know.” He dips his head down to kiss my neck, right where he would mark me if we mated. “Soon. But in my heart, you’re already my
“Sarah? Are you okay?”Caleb pushes open the door to the cabin and I sigh in relief. I run to him, jumping into his arms as he embraces me and nuzzles into my hair. “I missed you,” he says. “I’m so glad you’re still safe.”“Did you see my parents?”He nods. “They know you’ve been banished, but that you’re okay. I was going to send them away too, for their own safety, but Malcolm wants them to stay at the pack house. I guess he thinks we ought to keep an eye on them.”“You’re the Alpha, though,” I point out.“I know. But Malcolm has a lot of support among the other pack members, and it’s not the time to pick a fight with him. At least with them in the pack house, I can look out for them too.”“Thank you.” I rest my head against his shoulder. Then I notice he’s brought a large bag with him. “What’s that? Are you staying here with me?”He smiles, kissing me on the forehead. “For a little while, at least. I brought you some clothes, and books, and a few surprises.”
“Miranda, no! Stop!” Caleb shouts at her, racing after her, but she’s disappeared into the woods, leaving us alone again. “She’s going back to the pack house,” I say. “She’ll tell everyone that I didn’t follow the rules of banishment.”“I’m the Alpha,” Caleb growls. “She can’t to this to you. To me. To us.”“I should go,” I mumble, bending down to clean up the picnic supplies. “You can tell them that I tried to trick you into letting me come back, that you were just taking advantage -”“No.” Rage flares in Caleb’s grey eyes. “You’re my mate. I love you. This can’t happen. Let’s go.”“But,” I protest, “I’m banished.”Caleb isn’t taking no for an answer, though. He shifts into wolf form, his jet black fur rippling in the forest breeze. He tosses his head, gesturing for me to climb on top of him, and I grip his thick fur in each fist, sticking close to his muscled back as he rushes through the woods. His paws take each twist and turn of the forest path perfectly, and so
My jaw falls open. Caleb has just reversed my banishment, using his powers as the Alpha to undo what the pack just did.Chaos erupts in the pack house, snarls and shouts and arguments, and I shrink close to Caleb’s side, worried that a fight will break out any minute.“Quiet!” A loud, gravelly voice silences everyone. I see that the man who was speaking up on my behalf has stepped into the center of the room. He’s really old, with a reddish beard and thick, square glasses. “Caleb,” he says, “you know that I was close with your father. I’ve been with this pack since long before your dad was a little cub, and I have always helped to advise Alphas. You have a lot of power here, but according to pack laws, an Alpha cannot simply reverse a banishment.”“I know, Arnold,” Caleb says. “I looked it up.”“Ah.” The older wolf raises one bushy eyebrow. “I had noticed that some of my older books on ancient pack laws were missing. I wondered whether our young Alpha was seeking to