Verdant II

One

Grace's POV

I was volunteering at the pack hospital today. I loved spending time there, learning from my aunt Kassidy. It was the thought that kept me sane as my twin siblings were running around the kitchen island locked in an epic nerf gun battle. 

A stray nerf bullet zinged past me and hit my youngest brother Sky in the back of the head. I sighted on the inside as he immediately began to cry. Joy and Jack put down their guns and apologized to Sky, and I finally convinced them to get out of the kitchen and ready for school. 

I loved my siblings, don't get me wrong, but our parents had left us alone for one week while they went to visit a neighbour pack and I was about ready to pull my hair out if they didn't come home soon.

Sky helped me with the dishes, and I managed to get the twins out the door and walk the three of them to the elementary school. I gave Sky a big hug and made his siblings promise to look after him. Sky was in the first grade (7 years old) while the twins were in the fifth grade (11 years old). After that was done, I made my way to the high school, where I was in grade twelve (17 years old). 

My best friends Stella and Maggie were waiting for me at my locker. "Parents still gone huh?" Maggie asked as she pulled a nerf bullet out of my hair. I put it in my pocket and grabbed my textbooks. "They are never allowed to leave again" I exasperated and Stella laughed. 

Our school was located on pack ground, but it was a good mix of human and werewolf students. I had mostly wolf friends, and since my parents were the alpha and luna I was very well treated for a girl who liked books and being outdoors more than pack gossip and swooning over the football team. I was Grace Adams. I did not swoon.

The three of us walked to our first class, English, and sat down in the centre of the room. Lizzie, a pack member, turned around and greeted me. I smiled at her. Stella huffed, she was mad that Lizzie didn't say hi to her. I'm pretty sure she had a crush on her, but she hadn't said anything about it so I didn't want to push. Maggie asked me if I was nervous about my upcoming 18th birthday. I scoffed and said of course not, but secretly I was worried. I had no idea if my mate was someone I had already met, or if I would spend a long time finding them. There was some discussion among the elder about if the pack could be inherited by a girl, which I found incredibly offensive, but at the same time did I want to take over after dad?

Part of me said hell yes; prove those old assholes wrong! Anything a man could do a girl could do better. 

Another part of me wanted to escape to Yellowknife where I had lived for six years, in a town surrounded by wild nature and silence. Whenever I felt overwhelmed or anxious, I tended to close my eyes and bring up memories of my time there. The yellow house, the endless sunshine in summer and the northern lights in the winter. I could never admit to anyone how much I missed that place. 

I was dragged out of my thoughts as the English teacher announced a new student. He came in, and most girls and probably even some of the guys held their breaths as they took in this guy. Seriously he was breathtakingly gorgeous, with intense green eyes and dark curly hair. I swooned (internally of course).

He was human.

The teacher introduced us to Silas Montgomery, who kept his head down as he blushed slightly, then went to sit down in the only open chair, behind me to the left. Silas shuffled his way there and sat down with a huff. He kept his eyes down for the rest of the class. 

After the teacher dismissed us, I turned around and introduced myself and my friends to the newcomer. He seemed shy and didn't say much. I asked if I could show him to his next class, and I was impressed when he told me he was in AP calculus, I could barely handle the intro calculus class.

As we walked to his next class, I tried to learn more about Silas. He answered every question I asked very politely, but never met my eyes or said more than five words. After making my way to my next class, French, I sat down next to Maggie. She began questioning me about my interest in the new kid, and I answered her by saying I was just trying to be nice. 

Maggie scrutinized me and shook her head. "Gracie, he's human, why does it matter?" I thought about her question for a minute before answering back "He looked like he needed a friend."

At lunch, I sat outside at our usual table. It was only pack members out here, there were about fifty of us total in this school. Knox, the goofball of the group, turned to me. "Princess Grace, wanna trade your fries for my onion rings?" he wagged his eyebrows and smirked. "Gotta learn how to negotiate and trade with allies and foes before daddy hands you the keys to the kingdom." Knox was in the tenth grade and trying to impress the older kids. It worked, the table erupted in laughter. 

I cringed inwardly. I hated that nickname. 

Being the alpha's and luna's child meant a permanent spotlight was on me, there was always someone watching. It was also assumed that I would take over the pack one day, so a lot of wolves tried to butter me up and stay in my good graces. Pun intended. I agreed to the trade, and Knox smiled triumphantly.

At the end of a long school day, I finally made my way to the pack hospital. My aunt Mallory was watching the twins and Sky while I was here, so there was no rush to go back home anytime soon.

I said hello to aunt Kassidy as I came in and dropped off my backpack and jacket. She came up to me and picked up my jacket to sniff at the arm. "You had an interesting day today," she said cryptically, before handing me a white apron. I put it on and washed my hands. "What do you mean aunt Kassie?" I asked warily. Aunt Kassidy had a pension for knowing everything about everyone, often before they knew it herself. She said it was her gift.

"You met your mate today"