The Heir

eight

JACE 

Lion snapped his fingers in my face, expelling me from the spell of my mate. "Are you good, man? You zoned out. The bell just rung; we have to get to first period."

I broke eye contact with my mate and left with Lion to go to physics class, the only class we share together this semester. I was walking beside him, my mind in another place. What was she going to think? How do I explain to her that I'm not actually a lone wolf? I can't tell her my pack because it could jeopardize my family.

First period in physics dragged on and so did the second and third period. Before I knew it, it was lunch time. I was standing in line for food when I saw her again. She went out the back doors to where the quad is and sat down under a tree, a book now resting on her lap. I zoned everyone out and put my tray back down, walking out of line and forgetting about food.

I walked outside and to the tree that she sat under. How do I still not know her name? "Hi."

She jumped, looking a little startled and closed her book frantically. "What are you doing here? I thought I saw you earlier by the school busses."

"I could ask you the same thing. Who transfers in the middle of their school year?"

"What lone wolf goes to school?" She asked me, her eyebrows raised.

I sat down beside her, my arm brushing lightly up against hers. "What's your name?"

"Isabella," She said, her name rolling off her tongue.

"I'm Jace."

She hummed and reopened her book. "Wuthering Heights? Classic book."

She looked up at me, stunned. "You know this book"

"I may be a jock but I do know how to read. I have a vast collection at home."

Isabella smirked. "At home? I thought lone wolves don't have homes?"

"It seems as though we both have some secrets we don't feel like sharing."

"I'll get your pack out of you"

I laughed. "You wish. Everything about my life is going to be a secret until I know that I can trust you. As for now, you're simply just the hunter's daughter and nothing more."

I know my words might have seemed harsh but it's true. She might be my mate but she is also the hunter's daughter. I can't trust her at all. She could have spies all around us or planning when to attack my pack. The whole thing about not wanting to kill anyone could've been fake. Maybe she has killed wolves in the past but just wanted my sympathy. She also has a boyfriend, which is a problem Luckily for me, I don't care, but my wolf does and he isn't happy.

***

After school, Lion and I raced home. My feet were hitting the ground hard, leaving footprints behind us. He was howling loudly with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. Lion's wolf was golden and tall. I was kind of short for a wolf but my wolf was also very muscular from all the training we have done together.

When we got to the boarder of my pack and Uncle Brandon's, we shifted. I took the clothes I was wearing earlier out of my backpack and put them on, Lion doing the same.

"See you tomorrow?"

I nodded and we fist bumped. I jogged over to Ryan, my dad's beta. "Why are you patrolling right now?"

Ryan smiled. "I'm not. I was just waiting for you. Are you ready for your training?"

I nodded and followed Ryan to the warrior's building. It was a large building opposite of my house. It stood tall. Today we were fighting in our human form with bows and swords and armor, basically some bad ass shit.

Ryan handed me a safety vest and some armored pants, that felt heavy on my legs. "You have to get used to stuff like this. There are times where we don't fight in our wolf form. If our wolves are sick, we won't shift. If we are too close to civilization, we don't shift. You have to know how to fight in human form just as well as you do in wolf."

I nodded and grabbed my bow and arrow from my locker. Ryan grabbed his and we walked over to the shooting range. Some wolves were shooting guns, others were shootings arrows, and some where fighting hand to hand. Wolf fighting happened below, where there was more space.

"Now, do you remember what we practiced the other night?"

I lined my body up perpendicular to the target that was in front of me. I stood up right, my feet shoulder-width apart. I pointed my bow down a little bit and attached the arrow to the string. I used my three fingers to secure the arrow on the string lightly. I pointed my bow at the target, pulled the drawstring back toward my face, aimed again and released the arrow. The arrow shot across the room and hit the bullseye in the middle.

Ryan clapped my on the back. "That was fantastic! You really are catching on to this quite fast. Usually the younger wolves have a harder time with shooting arrows but you're a natural. I can't wait to tell your father about this. He was a little nervous because he sucked at this when he was younger."

"Really?" I asked shocked. My dad was actually bad at things?

Ryan nodded. "Oh yeah. He was horrible with this stuff. He could never hold a sword right either. It's a good thing he was the heir to being Alpha or else he'd be stuck in the kitchens or something."

I chuckled slightly and took another arrow from Ryan and did the exact thing as before. I was a little off the middle this time but still very close. I did this until all the arrows in the bag were out and eighty percent of them were in the middle of the board.

"You really are a natural Jace. When you turn eighteen, you're going to be a great addition to our team."

I smiled at what Ryan said but my smile was wiped clean. If we didn't find Jamie, I would have to become the Alpha. If I become the Alpha, I can't become a warrior. If I don't become a warrior, I will be miserable for the rest of my life.

***

Later that night, after soaking in an ice bath to help sooth my sore muscles, I heard my phone ring. For a split second, I thought it was Jamie and my heart skipped a beat. I would do anything to hear her voice or have her home again. Lily doesn't really understand what is happening but Ben does and he's upset because she never said goodbye to him. She never said goodbye to any of us.

I frowned at the message that was on my phone:

Unknown Number:

I know what you are. We know what you are. Be careful because they are coming