Flowers

EVERETT

My hands press down hard against the solid wooden surface of my desk.

I wanted a voice to represent a portion of my people who felt underrepresented, not a political antagonist.

Amber is looking at me with a smug grin. I can already picture her disagreeing with every idea I come up with.

She’s the very definition of a contrarian.

With her on the council, nothing will get done!

“What’s that old saying?” Amber says. “Last one fired, first rehired?”

I can’t believe that Amber, the wolf I kicked off my council, and whose mate I killed, is the wolf the Red Moon Pack has voted to be their representative.

I can’t believe I have no choice but to welcome her back onto my council.

I grind my teeth together and try to compose myself.

~“Kill her! Tear her throat out!”~ Chaos barks in the back of my mind.

“What’s the matter, Alpha? You don’t look very happy.”

I force a smile.

Thoughts are running through my mind faster than a bullet train.

~Can I tell the Red Moon Pack to choose another representative?~

~Can I tell them that Amber, being a former Shadow Moon wolf, doesn’t have the depth of knowledge another wolf from their pack might have?~

~Can I claim she is ineligible for attempting to mind-control humans?~

~Or will that only anger the Red Moon wolves further?~

~Would my rejection of their candidate, the person they’ve voted for, be seen as a slight against them?~

I can’t cause any more unrest between the two packs.

Amber is staring at me, looking way too pleased with herself. She’s enjoying watching me struggle.

“I’d be happy to welcome you back onto my council,” I say, forcing the words out.

I’ll be damned if I’m going to give her the satisfaction of seeing my displeasure.

If Amber is the person these wolves want representing them, then so be it. At least we all know where we stand now.

They’ve made their choice and I need to respect that. However, if they think choosing Amber is going to rattle me, they have another thing coming.

“As you know, the council meets every weekday at one.”

“Of course,” she says, turning to leave. “Some things never change. Do they, Alpha?”

She winks before sauntering out the way she came.

I lean back in my chair, slamming the lid of my laptop.

Work is going to have to wait until I’ve cooled off.

***

I’m sitting on the edge of our bed, thinking over the events of today when Aurora arrives home.

I look up, happy to see her, but I can’t quite shake the cloud that’s been hovering over me since my meeting with Amber.

There’s a definite bounce in Aurora’s step as she crosses the room with a bouquet in her hand.

“Hi,” she says, gleaming as she plants a tender kiss on my cheek.

“Hi,” I say, unable to match her cheery tone.

She leans back, pouting with a furrowed brow. “What’s wrong?”

I clench my jaw and her expression grows even more concerned.

“Everett, tell me what’s happened.”

Aurora sits beside me on the bed and wraps her hand around my wrist.

“The Red Moon Pack chose their representative for the council today.”

“Who did they pick? It isn’t Mia, is it?”

I shake my head, a little confused.

“No, baby. It’s Amber.”

“What?!” Aurora jumps to her feet. “She’s barely even part of their pack.”

“I know.”

I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger.

“What were they thinking?”

Calming back down, Aurora joins me on the bed once more.

“Maybe they thought they needed someone who wouldn’t be scared to oppose me. Or maybe they just wanted to catch me off guard to weaken my defenses.”

Aurora takes a deep breath and chews her bottom lip as if she’s thinking about something.

“Well, you’ll just have to show them how little you care,” she says. “So what if that human-hating bitch is back on the council. You’re still the alpha. And you care more about the pack than she ever did.”

I sit with Aurora’s words for a moment. She’s right.

Amber has only joined the council to spite me, whether the rest of her pack knows that or not.

But she doesn’t want what’s best for them. She only wants what’s worst for me.

And that’s where I have her beat.

The Red Moon Pack will quickly see who is looking out for their best interests.

“Thank you, little mate,” I say as I wrap an arm around Aurora. “You’re very perceptive. That college education is already paying off.”

She shrugs. “Meh, I’ve been dealing with egotistical bullies my whole life.”

“So tell me,” I say, turning to face her properly. “How was your first day?”

Her eyes light up instantly.

“It was really amazing. Professor Xander is such an inspiration. He doesn’t even have a connection to the spirit realm and he can do all this stuff with energy that I never even thought was possible.”

~Wow, she really likes this guy.~

“I haven’t managed to do anything yet, not even reanimate a fly, but he thinks that with his experience and my connection to the plane of the dead, that it shouldn’t take too long.”

Chaos, who has been quiet all afternoon, suddenly raises his head. I sense him becoming aware of something.

~“Threat!”~ he barks. ~“Wants our mate!”~

~He can’t be right, can he?~

I’m used to my wolf being ultra-territorial; he’s suspicious of any male that even looks at Aurora.

But then I notice the flowers Aurora is still holding.

“Where did those come from?” I ask, eyeing the bouquet.

“Oh these,” Aurora says, sounding perfectly innocent. “Can you believe they were dead and Professor Xander brought them back to life? Aren’t they beautiful? They even smell good.”

She shoves the flowers in my face and I’m hit with an overwhelming wave of floral scents.

~Why is her professor giving her flowers?~

That doesn’t seem like something a teacher should be doing.

~“Kill him!”~ Chaos barks.

And for a second I want to. I want to tear his throat out.

I can’t stop myself from growling.

“Everett, are you okay?” Aurora asks, leaning away from me.

“Why is your professor giving you flowers?” I mutter, unable to control myself. Chaos won’t stop yelping in my mind.

Aurora shakes her head as if she’s finally figured out the reason I’m upset.

“Everett, they were just a gift. He used them to show me what he could do. You have to believe me.”

My lip curls back.

“He’s a good man. He’s my teacher and I’m his student. Believe me, you have nothing to worry about.”

I can hear the truth in her voice and try to steady my breathing. Aurora’s little face has turned red, and I hate that there’s fear in her eyes.

Maybe I’m overreacting. I should know better than to listen to Chaos.

“I’m sorry, little mate. My bad mood must be clouding my judgment.”

Aurora drops the flowers on the floor and wraps her thin arms around me.

“You never have anything to worry about,” she says, resting her head against my bicep.

“I know,” I say, trying to convince myself as much as her.

***

RORY

“Ugh, I’ll never get it,” I say, leaning over a dead fly.

Professor Xander has been trying to get me to reanimate this dumb bug all week, and so far I haven’t even been able to make it flap a wing.

Outside it’s overcast, and the lab feels dim today, like any hope of me making any progress has been snuffed out.

“Keep trying,” he says. He’s leaning on the lab bench, watching me closely. “And don’t forget to picture the energy source you want to tap.”

“Okay,” I say, closing my eyes and picturing the electric bulb in the light fixture hanging in the center of the room.

“Pull that energy toward yourself,” Professor Xander says, his voice calm and soft in my ear.

I do as he says, trying to gather energy from the lightbulb and draw it to me. It appears in my mind like a golden wisp. Cotton candy being pulled from the bulb.

But it’s slippery and hard to grasp. It wants to stay where it is—to remain in the lightbulb.

It resists my mental tugging.

I focus harder, biting down on my bottom lip and pressing my hands onto the cool work surface.

~Come on!~

I pull at the energy source once more, dragging a wisp of golden energy. I can sense it moving toward me, and I try to channel it toward the fly carcass.

I’m almost there, but the further I pull, the more resistance there is.

Before I can link the fly and the strand of energy, it pulls away, snapping back and disappearing.

I open my eyes and gasp for breath.

My forehead is slick with sweat.

“That was a good try,” Xander says.

I shake my head in response.

~It wasn’t good enough.~

I wipe my hand across my forehead. My body is heavy—I feel as if I’ve just run a marathon.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Professor Xander says.

I shake my head.

“No, I want to keep trying.”

The whole week I’ve been extra determined. Not just because I want to help my pack, but because of the way Everett looked at me that night after my first day.

Like he was unhappy about me spending time with Professor Xander.

I’ve come in here every morning determined to prove to him that I was coming to these classes for one reason and one reason only.

But I can’t do that if I return home with nothing to show for all these hours of studying.

So far... I’m failing at this.

But I have to get good. I have to learn how to channel energy.

Because it’s pulling me away from Everett and from my luna duties.

I can’t let those aspects of my life suffer.

So I have to try harder, because if I ~do~ fail... none of this will have been worth it.