A Witch’s Promise

Chapter 1: Everything Changes

Naomi hated running. Which was unfortunate considering she spent most of her life doing it. Wolves were surprisingly agile. Unsurprisingly strong. And she….was not.

“Move your ass, Naomi!”

Elijah turned back and slowed to her pace. As the Gamma’s son and her best friend, Elijah had to make sure she kept in top shape. Even if she was barely faster than an Omega.

As the only human in the pack, Naomi knew she was at a huge disadvantage. She was slower than most and barely had the strength of a pre-teen wolf. Most wolves shifted on their 16 birthday and immediately began training. Naomi had been training and learning self-defense since age 12 but with the supernatural advantage, her efforts didn’t mean much.

“Jah, I’m a liability. Face it. I am a walking target.”

At 17 years old, Naomi stood at 5’3. Her mahogany skin was drenched in sweat. Her curls were wild and sticking to the back of her neck as she brushed a loose tendril behind her ear. Elijah huffed and laughed under his breath,

"a walking target....never. Maybe a dart board."

“Hey!” Naomi shoved the dark-haired boy lightly into his shoulder.

Stumbling, Elijah called out “You can’t do that! I am a fragile, delicate flower.”

The two erupted in laughter as heavy footsteps pounded the running track behind them.

Future Alpha Chris Steele and his future Beta Xane came to a halt directly in front of the pair as Chris roughly bumped Naomi to the ground.

“Some of us are actually taking training seriously,” Chris admonished coldly. “Some of us understand duty and loyalty to the pack. We aren’t just here mooching off pack resources while contributing absolutely nothing in return.”

Naomi pushed herself up slowly, dirt sticking to her palms.

Chris Steele had always been intimidating.

At eighteen years old, the future Alpha already looked fully grown and battle hardened. He stood at a towering 6’5 with a broad muscular frame built entirely from years of combat training. Every inch of him looked dangerous. His olive toned skin stretched tightly over powerful arms and a sharply defined chest. Veins lined his forearms from exertion while old faded scars littered his tan skin beneath his sleeveless training shirt.

Long chestnut-brown hair brushed just past his shoulders, usually tied loosely at the nape of his neck during training. Combined with his sharp jawline, heavy brows, and piercing silver-brown eyes, Chris looked less like an eighteen-year-old and more like a warrior carved straight from stone.

And unfortunately for Naomi, he hated her.

Or at least, that’s how it always felt.

Chris had spent years reminding Naomi that she didn’t belong in the pack. Sometimes it was subtle comments during training. Other times it was outright humiliation.

“You run like a wounded deer,” he would sneer whenever she fell behind.

“Careful. A strong gust of wind might snap the human in half.”

“She smells like absolutely nothing. Creepy.”

When they were younger, Naomi used to cry over it. Now she just clenched her jaw and pretended it didn’t bother her. Most pack members followed Chris’s lead. If the future Alpha treated Naomi like an outsider, why wouldn’t everyone else?

“Chris, that’s too far and you know it,” Elijah warned. “If my dad heard you talking like that, you’d be stuck doing double combat drills for a month.”

Chris scoffed.

“I’m saying what everyone else is thinking.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Naomi whispered. With her last burst of energy, Naomi shook her head and took off again running toward the finish line. The warm August sun beamed from above as she puffed out shallow breaths and pumped her legs. Chris sprinted past Naomi barely even sparing her a glance as he nimbly ran.

“Is he a wolf or a greyhound. Long legged bastard. Sorry about him. He’s my brother but, what can you do? Cocky bastard.”

Naomi chuckled and smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She’d always felt out of place, like she didn’t belong. Even with the alpha’s backing as his ward, life had always been difficult. While Luna Sarai treated Naomi well enough, she made it clear that Naomi was not her daughter and she would never be her mother. The alpha himself seemed to be the only person, other than Elijah, of course, who really wanted her around.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter now. In two weeks, Naomi would be packed up and sent to the East Coast to study at NYU. It was no secret; this had always been the plan. Naomi was under the protection of the pack until she turned 18. After, she would be reintroduced to the human world with a small sum of cash. Whatever happened to her after that was no longer the Blood Howler pack’s problem.

Naomi really needed to be using this time to try and figure out her life. She had always hoped her mate would be in this pack. While extremely rare, the moon goddess would sometimes provide a human mate for a wolf. Usually, they were omegas and only added to the pack for genetic diversity but who cares right? A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

As it stood, Naomi had not felt even an inkling of a connection with anyone here. In all likelihood, she would probably be forced to leave. Going out on her own was terrifying. Even with the indifference, this pack was all she knew. No pack. No friends. Did they seriously expect her to survive?

Surprisingly, Elijah decided he wanted to come to New York too. He said he wanted to study management, communications, and strategy to prepare for eventual Gamma duties but Naomi wasn’t sure she believed him. I mean, what could he learn that he couldn’t learn from the pack?

It is not like the pack members didn’t go to college. They did. The pack has a Mult billion-dollar tech and real estate empire. The Howler Pack also invests in several clean energy startups which are doing incredibly well. Educated people are desired for many of the leadership positions there. And, of course, all pack doctors are board certified surgeons in multiples specialties. It's just that Betas, Gammas, and Alphas typically do more hands-on management training. And, if they did go to college, it was usually near the pack.

“You coming to the bonfire tonight?” Elijah asked bringing Naomi out of her thoughts.

“Sorry. I can’t. I have to work.”

“At the nursery again? Why?”

“It’s the only place where my weaknesses don’t matter. Where I can contribute without being a burden. Babies don’t care that they can’t smell a wolf scent on me. They only care about where that next hug is coming from.”

Elijah looked down at Naomi and sighed. Even with his 6’3 frame, he really did remind her of a flower. Elijah was lean and thin but with a bit of muscle packed in. The way his body always seemed to be in constant motion, constantly being pulled by the wind reminded her of a flower in spring being caressed in a meadow.

“At least think about it.” Elijah offered. “Maybe, you could come after your shift?”

Naomi smiled softly, “I’ll think about it.”

The smile quickly faded. That strange feeling was back. Again.

For the last several weeks, she’d felt as though something was watching her. Not in a creepy horror movie kind of way. More like…. Waiting. For what, Naomi wasn’t sure. It almost felt like she had forgotten something. Forgotten something important.

Naomi rubbed the back of her neck. “Weird.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

As suddenly as it came, the feeling was gone. Just like always.