Page 6 of Alpha's Choice
Kylie gave me a grateful look at my redirection. “The Luna is the Alpha’s mate. She helps him lead and is kind of like the pack’s mother.”
“The pack doesn’t have a Luna right now?”
“The old Luna, Alpha Tobias’s mother, is still doing the job until he finds his mate. Lisa thinks because her brother is the Beta, it’ll be her.”
“What if his mate is human? It took Greg over a decade to find my mom.”
Kylie’s response was quick and matter of fact. “Alphas don’t have human mates. And I can’t imagine how a human could help lead a wolf pack. No offense.”
I shrugged, dipping a fry in ketchup. “None taken. I’ve just arrived, but I can already tell how different things are. I took so many notes in my wolf studies class this morning, my hand almost cramped up.”
Everyone laughed and moved on to point out the other groups in the cafeteria. There were less than fifty students in the summer program, but the groups still covered the usual gamut of brains, artsy kids, and jocks, who usually became pack warriors.
“Why do you need warriors? That sounds a little scary.”
“It’s just the traditional name for the job. It’s pack security, like my brother, Roger, who you met at the gate yesterday.”
“Everyone has to train to learn how to defend themselves and the pack, but warrior training is more intense.” Kelly wrinkled her nose. “I hate training. I wish they’d do away with it. It’s so not necessary anymore.”
Elliot spoke up. “Better to be safe than sorry. Just because the Council has managed to maintain peace doesn’t mean it will continue. All it takes is one power-hungry alpha and the entire system could collapse.”
“You play too many video games,” Mike said. “Odds are we’ll never see a pack war. The Council makes sure of that.”
“My dad said some packs aren’t happy with the Council.” Elliot shot back. “It could happen. I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to be trained.”
The argument between the two moved into political things I couldn’t follow. I hoped part of my wolf studies covered the political structure of the packs and the Werewolf Council because it was unlike anything I knew from the human world.
Kylie rolled her eyes at the two boys and leaned closer to me. “Elliot is likely to become a warrior, while Mike is interested in working with the Council. They seldom agree on these things.”
“Why doesn’t Elliot hang with the jocks?”
“Some can be a little judgy. Elliot won’t be looking for a female mate when he turns eighteen next Monday.”
“Shouldn’t wolves be less judgy than humans, with the whole mate thing?” I was quiet, but with his werewolf hearing, Elliot still heard me.
“You’d think. But some wolves claim same-sex couples are lying about being Goddess-gifted mates.” He sounded bitter, not that I could blame him. “This pack isn’t too bad, but in some it’s actively discouraged, despite the Council protecting our rights to claim our mates.”
The bell rang, and we headed to the gym. My nerves returned. “What’s the physical training like? I know little about fighting.”
Kylie gave me a look of sympathy. “Beta Matthew won’t make you do anything where you could get hurt. Wolves are stronger and faster, so most humans in the pack train together.”
“Not making me feel a whole lot better. I’m the only human in the program.” I tried to think as positively as possible. “Maybe it’ll just be push-ups and stuff? It wouldn’t be fun, but I think I can handle that.”
The others laughed as we approached the locker rooms. Mike shook his head. “Don’t say that out loud. Beta Matthew might consider it a challenge. His workout routines will wipe you out faster than sparring.”
My attempt at positivity was failing fast as I followed the girls into the changing room. Gym class was not my favorite. I had taken a few dance classes when I was younger and had decent coordination, but I suspected it was nowhere on the same level as a werewolf, especially ones who had been training their whole lives.
Distracted, I bumped into a tall, slim blonde girl, who I recognized from the cool kids’ table.
“Watch where you’re going, human.” The girl glared at me with a depth of contempt I wasn’t used to encountering. “You should be respectful of your betters.”
“Cool it, Lisa.” Kylie stepped between us. “Just because she’s human doesn’t make her less than you.”
“I’m going to be Luna. That makes you all less than me.” Lisa smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Especially some human who isn’t even mated to a wolf. She only exists because her mother got with someone other than her mate. The Goddess never meant for her to be born.”
“Or she did, and that’s why Greg found my mom so late.” I shot back, letting the sting of her comment roll off my back.
Lisa growled. “Don’t speak back to me. Did you hear me when I said I was going to be Luna? I’ll be able to banish you from this pack. You had better treat me with respect.”
