So much for meeting my mate, I think bitterly as I slam down the stack of papers I have to file away for archiving not-so-quietly. The loud sound echoes throughout the Silent Section of the library. Florentine, the cranky old she-wolf who frequents the Archives almost every morning, promptly shushes me with a large frown. I whisper a quick sorry and plaster a sheepish smile on my face to appease her. She glares at me for a moment longer before going back to reading whatever novel she has propped open for today. I wander away with the papers towards the front desk.
The pit of anxiety that has been sitting in my stomach since this morning begins twisting ferociously as I make my way to file the papers. The filing cabinet I need to get to is the one filing cabinet that just happens to be in the section my mate is sitting in.
Two hours. It's been two freaking hours since my mate left with my sister, and he hasn't come to speak with me even once! Even worse, my wolf, Yara, is absolutely losing her shit in my head, whining for our mate. And nothing I say to her can calm her down.
My feet slow down as I reach the front desk. I sit the papers edge-side-up against the flat surface and begin tapping them in an attempt to create an even neater pile.
These could use some paper clips, I think. I trail around the front to behind the desk to grab some.
I don't actually need paper clips. Paper clips won't do shit for a huge stack like this.
Yup, I'm stalling.
Nonetheless, I start rummaging through the drawers of the large semi-circle desk anyway because maybe, paper clips will make me feel better. That's right. Maybe, paper clips will get rid of this terrible dread I feel. I just need some paper clips. You know what? I love paper clips. They are fantastic. A complete work of art!
I can't help the groan that escapes my mouth as I sink to my knees on the floor.
I couldn't give less of a shit about paper clips. But I just need time. Time to think about why my mate isn't reacting to me as a mate should. Why wasn't he happy to see me? Why wasn't he talking to me?
If I need to rummage through random drawers and obsess over paper clips to sort out my thoughts before I see him, so fucking be it. This is self-preservation. This is self-care!
Finally, I locate my prized clips and snag a handful of them. Still on my knees, another befuddled groan escapes my lips as I lean my forehead against the desk.
I'm being pathetic.
This is my mate, for crying out loud! I shouldn't be anxious to speak to my mate! I toss my head back and slam it against the side of the desk again. And again.
I'll just talk to him, I realize. Communication is key. That's what everyone says. I can do this. I can definitely do this.
I fist the paper clips tightly and bump my forehead against its newfound bestfriend, the desk. One time. Two times. Three times. Maybe I'll do it a couple more times for good measure?
Once I finish up with the desk and paperclips, I'll just go and talk to him, I plan. I just need to sit here, on the floor, with a handful of paperclips a little longer. It'll be fine. It will be just dandy. Just absolutely fucking dand-
"Excuse me?"
Shit.
I slowly rise from the ground to look at the wolf who interrupted my very important anxiety session with the floor, desk, and paperclips.
Turns out, it isn't a wolf at all. The soft voice belongs to none other than Sabrina, the lycan. I've never seen her in the Archives before, but of fucking course, the one time this powerful and dangerous being decides to show up at the Archives is today.
"Hi!" I reply with my best customer service voice with a newfound smile plastered on my face, as if this beautiful she-lycan hadn't just seen me bang my head against the front desk while muttering to myself about paperclips like a lunatic. "How can I help you?"
Thankfully, she pretends to have not noticed my little mental break.
"It's our first time here, and I..." she trails off tentatively. She seems almost shy as she twirls a dark brown lock around her dainty fingers.
"Oh! Welcome to the Archives!" I can't help but respond in a giddy manner, my previous embarrassment long forgotten. Coming to the Archives for the first time is an amazing experience. And I'm not just saying that because I work here. Okay, maybe I am a little biased but I really love the Archives! I give her a broad smile.
"I'm so glad you decided to stop by! What are you looking for exactly?"
She perks up at my giddy tone and returns my smile with a show of dazzling white teeth. Wolf-shifters tend to be attractive, but Lycans, our more powerful, upgraded counterpart, break that scale by a mile. Sabrina is gorgeous. I can't help but gawk as she shakes her head, her silky dark brown hair trailing the movement.
"Nothing in particular."
I launch into my well-practiced speech detailing the layout of the four floors of the Archives for new patrons. I make sure to emphasize the difference between the Study Section, where patrons go to hang out and work together, and the Silent Section, which is, well, silent. She nods along to what I'm saying, so I finish with, "If you need anything, please let me know!"
Her dark blue eyes brighten considerably at this, which makes her even more striking. I finally take her in. She has pale skin that is absolutely blemish-free apart from the faint red blush on her cheeks, giving her the look of a porcelain doll. Her slim and lithe body is clad in a simple beige sweater dress accompanied by small gold hoops and a simple teardrop diamond necklace. But her gorgeous looks aren't the only thing that gives her away as a lycan. No, it's her aura. All lycans have a powerful and dominant aura that even humans can detect.
Wolf-shifters are strong creatures, don't get me wrong. Nothing screams strong, like being able to shift into a freaking wolf. But lycans are on another level. Truth be told, I don't know much about them. They're a mystery, even to a well-studied Archivist like me. But history says that before the Moon Goddess created wolf-shifters, she created the lycans. They ruled the earth with their unmatched speed, stamina, and strength. But with heightened physical abilities came heightened emotions and struggles as well. Soon, after their inception, lycans began warring within themselves for power. So, the Moon Goddess created the wolf shifters, slightly lesser beings that lycans could rule over. Later, faeries, vampires, and all other sorts of creatures came around too. And humans as well, they practically took over the earth. But this gave the lycans a sense of control over others, something they couldn't find within their power struggles.
Now, lycans are like royalty within wolf-shifter society. We live in human society in secret. But we have our own establishments thanks to lycan connections with human governments. That's not to say that lycans associate themselves with wolf-shifters. They absolutely do not. Alphas, Betas, and Thetas keep order in wolf packs. But the lycans rules over us at the Lycan Palace in Greece.
For the past week or so, a small lycan pack has taken residence in Rolling Woods. No one really knows why they're here, but no one can exactly force them to leave either. Sabrina is part of that pack, along with Allistar, Corban, Cora, and Kairos. Corban and Cora are rumored to be related to the king, but I'm not entirely sure. I get all my pack gossip from Florentine, my cranky patron in the Silent Section. She's never done me wrong but you can never be too sure with lycans!Besides, I've never even spoken to one!
Well, I guess I have now. And turns out, it's not as bad as I thought it would be.
Sabrina shoots me another dazzling smile.
"I'll definitely let you know. Thank you."
"No problem!" I return.
I realize I might be upping my lycans-spoken-to count to two when another joins Sabrina at the front of the desk. He has tussled bright red hair that slightly curls at the end, accompanied by piercing forest green eyes. Sabrina is a bit taller than me, so I have to angle my head to look at her, but I definitely have to lift my eyes to stare at him. He's wearing a simple black tee and forest green pants that match his eyes, but I can tell his broad 6'3 stature is pure muscle.
Corban. Rumored royalty.
His aura is even more powerful than Sabrina's, and it comes off of him in pulsing waves. I unconsciously feel my back bend the slightest, so my posture hunches in his presence. My wolf, I realize, is feeling extremely intimidated by these lycans. He seems to catch this, though, and it feels like he reigns in his aura because the pulsing subsides.
"Did you find a place to sit?" He asks his companion.
Sabrina also catches my slight change in posture because she nods in my direction.
"Yes! Hazel said there's an area in the Study Section. She was very helpful!"
Turns out, lycans are kind of nice.
Corban turns me to now with the same smile he gave Sabrina. His eyes trail down my arm.
"Lots of paper clips," he nods at my hand, which is still holding a fistful of stationery. I can feel my brain shortcircuit as I search for an appropriate reply as to why I'm holding an obscene amount of clips.
"Comes with the job," I reply solemnly. He raises an eyebrow at this.
Seriously, Hazel? They're going to think you're some freaky paperclip obsessed Archivist!
"I'm sure it does," he chuckles good-naturedly. Sabrina rolls her eyes at him.
"Thanks again, Hazel. See you later!" She waves at me as she walks away with Corban, which I return.
A small smile graces my lips. They were nice. Not at all the intimidating, dangerous, and aloof creatures wolf-shifters make them out to be. I finally drop the paper clips into their drawer and grab the stack of papers I was originally carrying. My smile stills as my hands falter, and I whip my head to look at their retreating backs.
How does she know my name?
Sabrina and Corban are walking towards the Study Section, but their three other pack mates have joined them. All of their backs are turned to me except one. I catch a pair of stormy gray eyes that pierce through what feels like my entire being, and I shiver. As quickly as he looks at me, he turns around again. Kairos.
I've only seen him once since they moved here. I was eating lunch at the nature conservatory next door when I spotted him leaving the area. It was only for a couple of seconds, but our eyes met. He looked at me with the same burning gaze he gave me just now. I'm unsure if I imagined it, but his eyes widened, and he looked almost taken aback at seeing me. Like he couldn't believe I was there.
Or it could've been the fact that I looked absolutely ghastly that day, running on two hours of sleep, with my curly hair out of its usual braid, looking positively like a rat nest.
It definitely had to be that. Why else would a lycan look at me? And not just any lycan.
A lycan as beautiful as Kairos. He looked of Egyptian descent, as his name suggested, with dark wavy hair and dark tan skin. He exuded power.
Before I can think about him any longer, he and his packmates turn the corner to the Study Section out of my line of sight.
I shake my head to get rid of my lycan-filled thoughts. I have to speak to my mate. In the Study Section. Maxton and Kairos are in the Study Section. But why do I feel like I'd rather choose to talk to the dangerous lycan instead of my mate right now? What could a wolf Archivist have to say to a beautiful lycan?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Get yourself together, Hazel! I scold. I leave the papers on the desk and square my shoulders. I'll file those away later. It's time to face the music.
Word Count: 2156
Lycans O_O That's all I got.
Jk. I'm so scared for Hazel! Are the Archives what you imagined?
Please comment and vote! What do you think will happen next? Are you enjoying the story so far?
I hope you have a wonderful day <3
Love, libahrary