The Fated

Chapter Four

BLAIR

I make it home in record time, not even winded from the run. As soon as I got far enough from school property, I ripped my shirt off and tied it to my belt loop as I ran back to pack land. Skipping the last day of school seemed fitting for me seeing as I skipped nearly every other day of “human high” for the past four years. Most people would call me a bad kid, but I think I’m still too tame to be considered a troubled teen. Plus, I hardly ever get caught.

At eighteen years old, werewolves all look closer to twenty. That’s one of the many benefits to my age group as a werewolf, humans see us as “old enough not to need parenting” but also “attractive enough to not be questioned”. Being attractive to the human eye is what allowed werewolves to exist in those early days and also what allowed us to evolve during all these years. We can sweet talk the humans into pretty much anything.

Another benefit of looking older than I am? Three simple words, baby: weed, booze and women. I started physical training at the age of twelve, a few years earlier than most of the other wolves in Beach Moon do. Being the Gammas’ child, training at a younger age along with all the kids who have Warrior parents was encouraged. This made me, at the ripe age of eighteen, extremely fit. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love my body. Call me cocky, call me arrogant, but the Moon Goddess has been generous to me and I want to show her and everyone else how much I appreciate it.

Tall, dark and handsome, that’s how most would describe me. During my run, not one but two cars filled with girls from the local college honked and catcalled me as they drove past. I loved every second of it. I made a big show of stopping at one of the crosswalks and stretching my arms for a bit while a mom and her daughter practically drooled inside their Hummer, they even missed the light turning green before the guy in the car behind them honked.

Now, as I approach the parking garage at the western point of our land, my cockiness fades and I slip my shirt back on and evaluate the area. I know that Alpha Oren always has a minimum twenty-five guards on rotation around our pack border at all times, some solo and some in pairs. I passed three already and have yet to be spotted. I just need to make it across the twenty or so meters that separates me from the garden shed behind the garage. That’s where my weed is hidden, inside an empty clay pot.

Ironic? Yes, indeed. I loved the irony. Spotting a patrol, I crouch down. Soon after, a second follows him out of the tree line. I see them chatting and laughing, so I know I haven’t blown my cover. It looks like they've finished their shift and are walking back to meet their replacements for a briefing. I see them walk across the field and into the parking garage. This is my chance. I dash across the lawn to the garden shed and swoop inside. I pause and listen, no one hollers or calls out at me and I don’t hear footsteps approaching.

Boom. Coast is clear.

I rifle through all the stacked empty pots to get to mine on the bottom shelf behind two large planters filled with soil. As soon as I pull the little glass jar out that contains my stash, I pack it into my pipe, light it and take a huge puff. My eyes close as I hold my breath then exhale all the smoke. I’m immediately relaxed and I find myself smiling a little. I take another drag while I thumbing my passcode into my phone and scroll through my music. A split second before I press play, I hear footsteps approaching the shed.

Sh*t! I know immediately that I’m busted. Do I panic and try to get out of this, or do I take another puff before I meet my demise? The latter seems like the better option. With my mouth full of smoke, the shed door flies open, and who is it other than the Gamma of Beach Moon himself, Blake Stormis A.K.A., my dad.

***

We’re inside the training center. I’m sitting my sorry a** on one of the benches along the eastern wall while my father stands in front of me, arms crossed, calmly staring down at me with a frown.

I can’t take it any longer.

“Aren’t you going to yell at me or something? Why is this taking so long? Are you waiting for Mom or something?” I’m normally so composed when faced with confrontation, but his eerie silence is getting to me. It’s been ten minutes since he found me in the shed.

“Why would I yell? It’s a bit of pot. Not the end of the world. Am I pissed? Yes, you skipped school to get high, you wanker. I’m not about to start yelling at you, though,” Dad answers.

I sigh in relief, not realizing I was holding my breath.

“That’s surprising. How did you even find me?” I’m curious to know how my cover was blown.

“You think you can fool the Alpha, Beta and Gamma of one of the strongest packs in the country? You really are dumber than you look. We’ve all known about your little hiding spot for a year now. You’re not a stoner, that much is obvious, so we never bothered to give you s**t. It’s a natural plant that the Moon Goddess blessed us with on this Earth, as long as you’re not abusing it, we don’t care. But being a sketchy little weasel and skipping your last day of school to come smoke pot? No way, kid. Also, Maverick got here about twenty minutes before you did so Alpha Oren gave me a heads up that you probably wouldn’t be far behind, when the first guard spotted you I told him not to intervene -- just to tell me where you ended up.” Dad explains.

First he ditches me, then he gets us caught? That f*cker! I shake my head and sigh again. Oh Maverick, never known for his subtlety. As for that guard, he followed his Gamma’s orders very obediently. I genuinely believed I had made it in undetected. I should have known better.

“I mean, really kid, it’s like you wanted to get caught,” Dad chuckles lightly. I roll my eyes.

“I was really expecting some more theatrics, maybe a grounding.”

Dad shakes the laughter off. “No, buddy, you’re definitely not off the hook. You have to meet with Mr. Fernley at the packhouse school tomorrow morning at eight-thirty for one last day of school. You don’t get off that easy.” Dad walks out of the training center, leaving me alone to sulk. I have to admit, though, that was a much tamer punishment than I expected.

**

The buzz from earlier hadn't even gotten the chance to sink in before it was chased away by the adrenaline of being busted. Screw it, I decide. I'm going for a swim. I had over to the packs pool house next to the training center to go swim laps. I always keep a pair of swim trunks in a locker I've claimed as my own since I was a kid. Swimming is my escape, it's exercise without really realizing it.

After changing and diving in, I start to get lost in my thoughts as I swim. Now that I'm in my "thinking place", I start to wonder what tonight will hold. I'm man enough to admit: I'm scared as h*ll. I'm not well liked by many my age. I'm either being completely lusted over or entirely ignored out of spite by the women around me. No one ever bothers to get to know me fully before deciding they have an opinion of me already. What if I find my mate and she rejects me? What kind of Gamma would I be without a Gamma Female by my side? Would I be stripped from my rank?

Do I deserve a loving supportive mate?

I haven't necessarily abstained from women. I'm a virgin like almost every teenage wolf, but I've definitely done more than kiss a few ladies. Humans can't get enough of me...

It's obvious to me that Maverick and Nova will mate, and after today, it seems like they'll maybe even mate each other, but me? Maybe the Moon Goddess doesn't consider me worthy enough.

I break my head from the surface of the water for some air. Leaning on the edge of the pool, I catch my breath.

I need to get out of this pool before I get too emotional. Maybe I'll go back to the garden shed...