A New Dawn

Chapter 1

The rays of sunlight that were reflected in the room put this special day into a whole new perspective for Aiden Lockhart. Today was the day of his college graduation, and he was ready to get the ceremonies over with. Once he officially obtained his degree, within the next two weeks, he would take over his rightful position as Alpha for the New Dawn Pack.

Despite repeated checks in the mirror, Aiden's short brown hair refused to cooperate, causing him to groan in frustration.. He made numerous attempts to adjust his spikes just right, but they kept flopping down in his face instead. Finally, he got his hair the way he wanted it and moved on to putting on his suit. The navy blue suit lay on the bed and he looked over it to ensure there were no wrinkles. One by one, he put the uncomfortable clothing on, buttoned up his white dress shirt, and tied the navy blue tie he had picked out for this occasion. Thoughts filled his head on his post-graduation evening and he smiled widely.

It’s going to be a fun night tonight!

Aiden thought to himself as he admired how the white shirt clung to his muscled arms. He grabbed the black bag he had previously hung on his closet door at the beginning of the week, unzipped it, and removed his graduation gown. With a broad smile, Aiden wrapped the gown around his body and zipped it up. He stared at his reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that he looked good. The gown’s color brought out the blue in his blue-green eyes, and the length of the gown enhanced his six-foot height. He smiled at the thought that women would be throwing themselves at him at the after-party.

“Lock, are you ready?” His soon-to-be Beta’s voice echoed down the hallway and into his room. Suddenly, David Monroe, his best friend since childhood, stuck his head in the doorway and sent him a smile. “You look good, Romeo; let’s go before we are late for our own graduation!”

Aiden rolled his eyes at his friend, grabbed his wallet and phone, then left the dorm room. David and Aiden walked with their heads held high toward the theater where the graduation was scheduled to take place. As they walked across the campus, they noticed other graduates excitedly skipping and running toward the theater to say goodbye to those they had spent the last four years with.

The theater was set up traditionally, with graduating students in the front on the left, the teachers and faculty in the front on the right, and the guests filling out the back. The main walkway was decorated with navy and gold bows, streamers, and balloons to show graduates where to sit. At the front of the room was the main stage where they would obtain their diplomas. Sitting proudly across the center of the stage were the presenting faculty and the visiting speakers.

As he walked deeper into the theater, Aiden passed a group of girls who he noticed were checking him out. He smiled broadly at them and chuckled at their giggles. He knew that he would miss the attention, but it was time to grow up and find his mate. With a quick wink, he walked to his seat past the swooning girls. The ceremony started with a long speech from the Dean, who spoke about the graduates and their future.

Aiden couldn’t help but be bored as he sat there until he felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned and noticed David smiling mischievously at him, and leaned closer to his friend.

“Hey, Lock, are we heading to Whipperwhill after this?”

Aiden nodded in confirmation as he felt the excitement bubble up in his gut. Whipperwhill was a local bar where the two of them had spent many nights drinking, picking up women, and solving life’s problems. That bar would be the only thing he would miss about his four years in this place. The memories flooded through his brain when suddenly his nostalgia was broken by the sound of his name being called. Aiden stood to his feet, proudly walked up to the stage, and accepted the degree in Business Administration he earned from the Dean. After he gave the Dean a firm shake and a proud smile, he exited the stage.

The walk back to his seat was filled with pride as he checked out the crowd. When he looked over, he noticed a pair of brown eyes that were staring at him in admiration. He stopped in his tracks and locked eyes with this girl until the person behind him whispered to him to keep moving. Aiden quickly regained his composure and reached his seat, where he looked back toward his eyes but could not locate them again.

The ceremony finally ended, and Aiden jumped up in anticipation and excitement about the evening and his future. However, those brown eyes he saw earlier continued to cloud his thoughts and enticed Aiden to continue to look for them. Something about them appealed to Aiden; he wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew he had to find her. Finally, his frantic search was broken by his mother as she wrapped him in a hug, and his father reached out his hand in pride. “Congratulations, Aiden. We are proud of you,” his father said as they shook hands.

“Thanks, Dad,” Aiden replied with a smile.

“You go out and enjoy your night with your friends; we will have a party for you on Friday. Please be home by then,” his mother whispered as she hugged him again.

Aiden nodded, hugged his parents, and walked to David. “You ready?” David questioned with a sly grin.

“I was born ready,” Aiden said as he gave the room one last scan for the source of the mysterious brown eyes. However, they were nowhere to be found; Aiden sighed and followed David out of the theater and to his car. The drive to Whipperwhill was full of conversation as the men began to plan what they would do once they were named Alpha and Beta. When they pulled into the parking lot; they looked around at the cars, then at each other with a huge smile. The place was packed, which meant that they would have a ton of girls to flirt with and possibly take home this evening.

“Let’s go take in the scenery,” Aiden said as they exited the car. They walked up to the line that was formed at the entrance and gasped at the length of it; they never expected it to be this long. They both groaned in impatience at how long it would take them to get in when they heard Aiden’s name being yelled through the crowd. Both men looked up and noticed that the bouncer was waving them at the front of the line. With a nod of approval, Aiden tapped David on the shoulder and motioned to follow. They reached the bouncers and high-fived them as the bouncers waved them in.

The door opened to loud music, dimly lit lights, and flashing strobe lights on the dance floor, giving the place a rave-like look.. They packed the dance floor with dancers who swayed to the beat and men trying to ogle the women as they danced. Aiden forced his way through the dancers to the bar, waved over the bartender, and quickly ordered them two shots of tequila and two beers. He grabbed the shots and drinks, tipped the bartender a five, and handed the drinks to David.

They grabbed their shots, looked at each other, and smiled. “To the future.” they toasted as they clinked their glasses and licked the salt rim. They quickly downed their shot and threw the lime in their mouths. Once the lime was removed, they shook their heads to help the burning sensation of the liquor as it descended their throat. They then smiled widely as they quickly downed their beers. David ordered the second round of beers, and they found a place at the bar perfect for people-watching and took a seat.