Chapter 2: The Alpha Heir
878 Words
Aria Vale
I make it through my morning classes without any further incidents, which is about as good as my days get at Shadowmere. History of Pack Law passes in a blur of dates and territorial agreements that I'll probably never need to know. Combat Training is worse. I spend an hour getting thrown to the mat by Alphas who barely break a sweat while I struggle to catch my breath.
By lunch, every muscle in my body aches.
Sierra saves me a seat in our usual corner, far from the Alpha tables. She's already eating, her nose buried in a thick book with a cracked leather cover.
"What's that?" I ask, sliding onto the bench beside her.
"Something I found in the restricted section of the library." She doesn't look up, her eyes scanning the yellowed pages. "Did you know that the pack hierarchy wasn't always like this?"
I pick at my sandwich. Stale bread and some kind of mystery meat. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Alphas weren't always at the top. There used to be other bloodlines. Older ones. More powerful." She finally looks at me, her green eyes bright with excitement. "But they were wiped out centuries ago."
"Why?"
She shrugs. "The book doesn't say. But I think it had something to do with power. Maybe these old bloodlines were too strong, and the Alphas saw them as a threat."
I take a bite of my sandwich, not really tasting it. "Why does it matter? They're gone now."
"Are they though?" Sierra leans closer, lowering her voice. "What if some survived? What if their descendants are still out there, hiding?"
"Then they're smart," I say. "If the Alphas wanted them dead badly enough to erase entire bloodlines, anyone left would be crazy to reveal themselves."
Sierra opens her mouth to respond, but the words die on her lips. Her eyes go wide, focused on something behind me.
My stomach drops.
I know that look. It means trouble.
"Well, well." The voice makes my skin crawl. Vivienne Sterling. "If it isn't the academy's most pathetic Beta and her little bookworm friend."
I don't turn around. Maybe if I ignore her, she'll get bored and leave.
"I'm talking to you, Vale." A hand grabs my shoulder, nails digging in through my thin shirt. Vivienne spins me around on the bench, forcing me to face her.
She's beautiful in the way that Alphas always are. Perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect everything. Her blue eyes look down at me with undisguised disgust.
"You made quite a scene this morning," she says. "Throwing yourself at Lucian's feet like that."
"I tripped."
"Did you?" She tilts her head, examining me like I'm something she found on the bottom of her shoe. "Or were you trying to get his attention? Everyone knows you have a pathetic little crush on him."
Heat floods my face. "I don't."
"Please." Vivienne laughs, and her friends, clustered behind her like well dressed vultures, laugh too. "It's written all over your face every time you look at him. It's honestly sad. Do you really think someone like Lucian Blackwood would ever want someone like you?"
My hands clench into fists under the table. I want to tell her she's wrong. I want to tell her that I hate Lucian, that the last thing I feel for him is attraction. But my voice won't work.
"Lucian is mine," Vivienne continues. "We're going to be matched after graduation. Our families have already agreed. So whatever little fantasy you have playing in your head, forget it. You're nothing. You'll always be nothing."
She releases my shoulder with a shove that nearly sends me off the bench. Sierra catches my arm, steadying me.
"Let's go," she whispers. "She's not worth it."
But Vivienne isn't done. "Oh, and Vale? Stay away from Lucian. If I catch you anywhere near him again, tripping or otherwise, you'll regret it."
She walks away, her entourage following. The dining hall slowly returns to normal, conversations resuming, though I can feel eyes on me. Judging. Pitying.
"Are you okay?" Sierra asks.
"Fine." I'm not fine. I'm never fine. But what else can I say?
"She's lying, you know. About Lucian being hers."
"I don't care."
"Aria."
"I don't," I insist. "Let her have him. They deserve each other."
Sierra doesn't look convinced, but she lets it drop. She goes back to her book while I push my sandwich away, my appetite gone.
The rest of lunch passes quietly. When the bell rings, I gather my things and head to my next class. Advanced Wolf Studies. It's taught by Professor Thornberg, one of the few teachers who doesn't openly favor the Alphas.
I'm almost in the classroom when I see him.
Lucian.
He's leaning against the wall outside the door, talking to Damien Cross. They're both dressed in the academy uniform, but somehow Lucian makes it look like haute couture while I look like I'm wearing a potato sack.
I slow my steps, hoping to slip past unnoticed.
"Vale."
Too late.
I stop, keeping my eyes on the floor. "Yes?"
"Look at me when I'm talking to you."
I force myself to raise my head. To meet those silver eyes that seem to see right through me.
- Writer
