My Teacher is My Mate

The Merge - Briar

Briar's day had started out s**t, and rapidly gotten worse.

It began by being woken up several hours before her alarm was set to go off. The boys had gotten up early to go for a run and made such a ruckus that she couldn't sleep through it. Even once they left and the house was quiet again, she couldn't seem to get back to sleep, so she decided to go for a run herself. She walked out into the woods near the pack house and stripped down before shifting into her wolf form.

The chilly Autumn morning air nipped at her skin as she ran, but there was nothing more soothing than feeling the breeze ripple through her fur as she made her way up the mountain. She could almost forget the bad mood she had been in when she first woke up.

However, when she got back and went to shift, her clothes had gone missing from the spot she left them hidden behind a tree. She growled and looked back at the house, knowing that one of the boys must have found them on their way back and taken them for a joke. The Alpha had a strict rule against wolves inside the house. Not willing to let herself be baited by them, she shifted back and walked right into the kitchen stark naked.

A few of them had the decency to go red and look away, a few snickered, and the few who hadn't been in on the prank didn't even bat an eyelid. It wasn't uncommon for people to return to the house without clothes on -- accidents happened, sometimes people shifted without changing first.

"Alright assholes, give them back. They were my nice silk pajamas."

One of the guys to her right snorted, running a hand through his inky black hair, "What makes you think we took them?"

Briar marched right over to her brother, grabbing a hold of his ear hard enough to make him whimper. The other guys chuckled at him. "Cause who else would've bothered to find my clothes and take them up here in the mountain, smartass? Now give them back before I actually have to beat your ass."

"They're in Ashton's room," one of the others said, smirking at her, "though I wouldn't mind if you stayed like that for a bit longer."

"Check out someone your own level, Callan," Briar stuck her tongue out at him before walking down the hall to her brother's room. Sure enough, her clothes were there on his bed in a pile, and she slipped them back on.

"Dad wants to see you, by the way," Ash said, appearing in the doorway. "Said it was urgent."

"In his office I suppose?"

"Yep. Didn't sound too good either."

Briar sighed and made her way upstairs, standing in front of a pair of large oak doors that led to the main study of the pack house. She gave a sharp knock and waited to be given permission to enter, then stepped inside and bowed her head respectfully.

"You wanted to see me, Alpha?"

Her father looked up at her, black eyes warming in greeting. "Had an adventure this morning, did we?"

"Yes, and I quite enjoyed my run until your brat of a son decided to steal my clothes," Briar scoffed, taking a seat opposite him. "He said you wanted to see me? Pack business?"

Gabriel nodded thoughtfully, "Sort of. You know things have been hard on our pack the last few years since your mother died, harder on me still. You have been a huge help stepping up into her old role, but I can't keep demanding that of you when you're about to enter your final year of high school."

"I don't mind," she inturrupted him. "I can keep on top of my study and help run the pack too. One day I will be Alpha and--"

"But you aren't yet," he said sharply. "You are still young, Briar. I don't want you to be burdened so much. You might be aware that our neighbouring pack has also been struggling the last few months after they lost their Alpha. Their Luna, Aylin, has stepped up into the Alpha role for now, as their son didn't want to take the title just yet, but they aren't doing so well on their own."

"What are you saying?" Briar watched her father carefully.

"We have decided that she will become the new Luna of our pack, and I the Alpha of hers. We will merge our packs to strengthen our numbers and make it easier for the both of us to continue leading."

She was shocked into silence, jaw gaping.

"Also, to ensure our peace, we agreed that if you and her son have not found your mates within the next few months, you will be betrothed to unite our two packs completely. Aylin will be coming here this afternoon with her pack to announce our decision."

And just like that, her entire world fell apart.