His Spitfire Mate

Just a LittleWalk

We enter a beautiful sitting room set up with small snacks and desserts. I eye the desserts, trying to imagine the taste, since there's no chance of my mother allowing me to try one. However, Luna Celeste catches me staring and says, "Please take a treat."

Before I have a chance to respond, my mom cuts in, "Long drives unsettle her stomach, she will just get sick if she eats it."

Luna Celeste, ever the kind host, comes and puts her arm around my shoulders, "You poor thing, how about you go for a nice walk then?"

She gestures to a maid who leaves the room immediately, but my mom says, "She can just go to our rooms to rest. We don't want her to be a bother to you."

My mom's attempts to keep me isolated, for once, don't work.

"Not to worry, my son is already on his way!" Luna Celeste replies excitedly, not knowing that this is less than helpful for my mother. I know her rules, so I'm not sure why she's worried. I never break her rules.

I move to stand by the windows and a few minutes later, the youngest of the Luna's four sons comes jogging up the front steps.

"Here he is," Luna Celeste sing-songs, "Elliot, come meet Josephine."

He comes over to meet me with wind-swept hair and flushed cheeks from running and a pleasant smile, "Hey, I hear you need a little fresh air."

Before I can respond, my mom says, "Just around the building should be fine."

"Of course," he responds, he gestures to the door for us to head outside.

Once we're out of ear shot, Elliot starts the conversation, "So the infamous Josephine, nice to meet you!" he says, leaving me confused.

"What do you mean by 'infamous'?"

"Your brothers have been here for a while, and they talk about you but no one's ever seen you. We were starting to think they made you up!" he says excitedly. "I can't wait to get you to the training yards."

"I thought we were just taking a quick walk?" I say, knowing my mother expects me back soon.

"You nervous to meet a bunch of boys?" he gently teases.

"No, but I thought families couldn't enter school grounds during the semester," I say, trying another tactic to stick close to the pack house. Meeting a bunch of boys wasn't the problem, my mother was. She was scarier than a hundred boys combined.

"Those rules don't count during the celebrations," he confirms. "Are you going to keep stalling or can we go now?"

"Nope, we can go," I respond, with no more excuses I can think of, "I just hope I'm not keeping you from your training."

We walk along a path through a beautiful, well-manicured garden. Moonstone pack is located south of our pack, and it's September, so everything is still blooming here.

I loved gardening. Gardening is an activity that can easily be done solo and an activity I could sell to my parents as something a docile and submissive Luna would do. They only ever let me do activities that would make me look better to future Alphas, so it was great when I found one I liked.

We exit the garden and I can see a large expanse of perfectly cut grass with intersecting paths going in various directions.

"This is the center of the royal grounds. From here you can go to the infirmary, libraries, barracks, law and government buildings and, of course, the Academy," Elliot says as he vaguely points in various directions that I know I won't remember. The only direction that is important to me anyway is the Academy, so I follow along and commit it to memory.

"So will you be coming to the Academy soon?" he asks, looking me up and down. "You look about old enough."

"Are you trying to ask if I'm 18?" I ask with a chuckle.

"I'm about to take you to a training yard filled with unmated males and I need to know if it's a bad idea, so yes. I can always bring your brothers out here. It would be hard to explain how I brought you back from a walk around the building mated."

I throw my head back with a laugh. He has no idea how much trouble I would be in, but I find myself wishing I was 18 so I could accidentally come across my mate. Clearly, the idea that I am almost 18 and may be potentially free of them soon has me flaunting the rules already with this walk.

"I'm 17."

"So you'll be coming to the Academy soon," he confirms with confidence.

Normally, students are enrolled a month or two before their 18th birthday, since mated wolves are not allowed, though some go as early as fourteen. Little does he know, my parents have no intention of sending me to the Academy.

The Academy is surrounded by high walls; it's like a city within a city. I love architecture and its role in structuring society, so I've read a book or two about the Academy.

The school is made of two distinct sides to keep males and females apart. For the 3 to 7 years of study, they are expected to completely devote themselves to their studies. The main reason they remain on campus with no visits is so that no one accidentally meets their mate.

During short visits home, there is a shot that can be taken to suppress a werewolf's natural scent and avoid the chance of finding a mate, but it's not a guarantee. If you find your mate, you're no longer welcome at the Academy. No mated wolf would be able to go back to the Academy anyway. It would be really hard to stay away from your mate for the necessary amount of time.

In essence, there are basically two schools. There are two sets of dorms, cafeterias, lecture halls, training grounds and so on. The infirmary is the closest the male and female students will ever get because there is only one doctor on staff. Between the male and female sides are the staff area and offices.

Most staff members who work at the school, whether as admin, lecturers, trainers or maintenance workers, can live on the school grounds with their families. All staff are mated. The staff homes are built into the wall surrounding the school, so there is a door to exit to the outside of the school for any unmated children and staff can exit to the interior for work. The sheer scale of the campus is massive, and the floor plan has me drooling anytime I get a new copy with new details.

I try to keep my excitement contained as best as I can as we approach the front gates of the Academy. I never thought I would get to see this place. I know Elliot is breaking the rules to let me in, but my need to see my brothers is big enough to eclipse the guilt I feel for not reminding him of the rules.