The Alpha Trio’s Human Mate

Chapter One: Initiation

I looked over at Jackson beside me, and I couldn't help but smile—at the way his biceps flexed as he turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition. The way his brown hair fell over his brow, and he ran a hand through it, pushing it back from his face, before meeting my eyes with his, and smiling in return.

"You ready, babe?' His blue eyes twinkled, and he grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze.

"As I'll ever be," I squeezed it back, before letting go and turning to exit the passenger seat. I crossed my arms when I stepped out of the car, rubbing my hands over my bare skin to warm myself against the chilled air.

"I don't know why, but I feel like something great is about to happen. This is going to be so good for both of us, Emmarie." Jackson wrapped his arm around me, helping rub my shoulders to warm me up. I had a jacket in the back, but I didn't feel like digging it out of the suitcase. My navy blue sleeveless dress fluttered in the breeze, and my wedge heels thumped on the ground with every excited step I took toward the building. This was it. The Academy.

The human world, which Jackson's kind were once a part of, hidden among them, had collapsed decades ago. A virus wiped almost every single human out of existence--almost. Now part of a post-modern society, werewolf-kind, among other supernatural creatures, had been at war. When three-quarters of the world's population vanished, so, too, did infrastructure. Resources. Utilities, agriculture, vehicle maintenance, healthcare...it was all gone. Factions now warred with one another for resources and survival, and any humans who had survived the virus were free to choose a faction to join. If I proved myself, I'd have the chance to be turned--via werewolf bite from an Alpha. Jackson's pack had taken my family in, and took care of me even after my parents' deaths. I had never been more excited for anything in my life. I'd get a chance to prove myself, become one of them, and give back to them for everything they'd done for me.

"I feel that way, too," I smiled at Jackson as we entered the building, which was blissfully warm in contrast to the chilly spring air. The Academy was a training facility for the largest faction of creatures--the Berserkers. Made up of a coalition of eight packs, the Academy trained its warriors, hoping to gain control in the world that was ever at war, and rebuild society. It was a cause that I couldn't wait to join, and with Jackson by my side, I felt like I could do anything.

"I'm going to go find my assigned seat. I'll find you after, okay babe?" Jackson kissed me on the forehead, and I hugged him tightly before going to find my own seat.

It was a huge auditorium. The Academy used to be a college, back before the collapse, and the Berserkers had restored it to its former glory. The university used to be huge on renewable resources and environmental science, and thanks to the intelligent leaders who stepped up after the collapse, they were able to take over their solar energy and agricultural sciences facilities. If the rest of the world would spend less time on degeneracy and power struggles, we could share it with them. Expand resources, take over more old industrial parks and universities, build up a large-scale system for food production...but first, we had to take power out of the hands of those who would rather live in the dark ages. As I found my seat in the massive auditorium, indicated by a card with my name on it, I just kept smiling.

"Admiring the architecture?" I blinked, pulling my eyes away from the ornate ceiling, and to the girl who had taken her seat next to me.

"I guess I am," I laughed, studying her. Blue eyes, blonde hair just past her shoulders, and a smirk. Sira Melvin, I read, from her place card sitting in her lap.

"Well, don't get too used to it. The dorms and the training facilities aren't nearly as impressive. Sira," she stuck her hand out to me in greeting, and I eyed it for a moment before shaking it. I had never really had any girlfriends, back in the pack territory. The girls my age were always busy training, and as a human, well, I couldn't keep up very well. I preferred to spend my time cooking, and working on other useful tasks, such as coding. It had also been decades without many software engineers, and technology was just as important as brute strength.

"I'm Emmarie," I returned her smile. "Nice to meet you." As I shook her hand, my eyes drifted over to where Jackson was sitting, and my heart stopped. Still holding Sira's hand, I squeezed tightly as I watched a horrifying sight unfold in front of me.

"For a human, you have one hell of a grip, Emmarie--" she followed my eyes, to where Jackson was liplocked with a redhead next to him. Bile crept up my throat.

"That's my boyfriend," I whispered, my eyes stinging with the threat of tears. My voice sounded distant, and my heart pounded in my ears.

"Looks like he found his mate. Happens often at the Academy, all these young wolves meeting hundreds of others just like them for the first time. I'm sorry, girl. That sucks."

"Can I even be mad at him?" My bottom lip wobbled. My first instinct wasn't to shout, or to threaten violence, but to wallow in despair. It wasn't his fault he'd found his mate. It wasn't his fault that the one person I had been close to all my life had suddenly found his fated love, and I couldn't compare to her. There was always the risk, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I mean, yes? A wolf doesn't have to accept their fated mate. He could reject her for you, if he really wanted to," Sira gave me an awkward pat on the shoulder. A fat tear tickled my cheek as it fell, and I quickly wiped it away.

"Well, I guess it's better now than later. If it was going to happen eventually, at least the Band-aid is just ripped off. There's no going back." I nodded to myself, sincerely believing my own words. I would be lonely. Jackson would probably not remain friends with me. It was just the way it was. He wasn't the first person I'd ever lost, and it was okay. I'd survive.

"That's the spirit!" Sira clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll meet another boy here and forget all about him. And look, the ceremony is starting. You're here to prove yourself, not just for him. So be proud, and just focus on you."

Thunderous applause erupted as Commander Jacobs, second-in-command of the Berserkers, appeared on the stage before us. I tried to fight the inward spiral of my emotions, and listen. Like Sira said--as a human in this world, I had to find a way to be useful. I could have chosen a quiet life doing domestic work for the pack, but I didn't. I chose to come to the Academy for me, not just for Jackson. I wanted a chance for my existence to mean something. What was the purpose of my parents being born, giving birth to me, only to die, and leave me behind? There had to be something more for me, and that's why I was here. For something more.

"Welcome, Academy candidates. First, I'd like to thank all of the parents and leaders here today." My heart squeezed in my chest at Commander Jacobs' mention of parents. I hope I'm making you proud, mom and dad. "It is through your protection and guidance that this group of candidates sits before us today. I am excited to announce that this is the largest class we've had at the Academy in the twenty-eight years since we opened our doors."

More applause, and a twinge of hope this time. I was part of something important. I was part of the future.

"Candidates--you may not survive your time here, or in the world after you've graduated. That is the risk you each take in choosing this path for yourself. It is an honorable one. We want to create a better world than the dystopia we were handed, and bring everyone back into the fold of civilization. There are those out there today that need our help, that suffer under the unjust rule of enemy faction leaders. It is our mission to liberate them. For the humans who join us today, we look forward to seeing you prove yourselves worthy, and welcoming you officially into our packs and organization as a wolf who is made, rather than born, if you survive the challenges. For the wolves, please be accepting of our human brothers and sisters. We once existed in secret to protect them from exactly the kinds of creatures who now run the enemy factions, and it is an honor to work with them instead of just in service to them."

I caught Sira glancing at me as Commander Jacobs spoke on the acceptance of humans at the Academy, and I was happy to find that she was smiling at me. Maybe I've made a friend, I thought. I sure hoped that I had. Without Jackson, the thing I feared most about the Academy was loneliness. I didn't want to be an outcast. I wanted to be someone important. I wanted to be someone who not only survived, but thrived.

"Emmarie Mellora." I stood proud and tall when Commander Jacobs called my name, and to my delight, Sira cheered loudly for me. When I walked onstage to receive my patch--the patch that marked me as an official inititate of the Academy--I glanced at Jackson in the rows of other initiates in front of me. I felt grief, but I also felt free. Free to define myself without any attachments now. I couldn't help but feel that more than a few pairs of discerning eyes were turned on me as I exited the stage and returned to my seat, but I couldn't make anyone out in the crowd. I only hoped that whoever was watching did so with curosity rather than malcontent. I didn't want to make any enemies here.