?Cyra

"What do you mean you've been accepted at the Warrior Academy?" my father, Alpha Arden, demands.

Behind him, leaning against the wall, his face set in an unemotional mask, is my intended mate, Alpha Stellan. I found out nearly six months ago that my father created what is called an Alliance Bond with Alpha Stellan's father. In order to solidify the alliance between our two packs, they wrote up an agreement dictating that I would be mated to Alpha Stellan and become his Luna.

Because our packs have been in an alliance, I've known Alpha Stellan for years. It's not that he's not a nice man or a good man, I'm sure he is. But when I turned eighteen last week, I realized that he also isn't my fated mate. That would have made things simpler. But I wasn't surprised. Stellan is nice enough, I've just never been enamored with him the way other women are. I don't care that he's an Alpha, probably because I'm one too. What I do care about is that my choice to find my fated mate has been taken away from me by my own father, no less.

So, in an act of rebellion, I applied to the Warrior Academy six months ago. I didn't expect to be accepted. Only twenty wolves are accepted each year, and this year, I am one of them.

"It's simple, father. I applied to the Academy, and I was accepted," I say patiently.

"You don't need to be a strong warrior. You have Stellan for that. You just need to be a good Luna and give him heirs."

"Yes, because that's all a mate bond is to you, isn't it father? Having an obedient Luna who pushes out babies!" I say getting angry.

"Having the right Luna is the most important thing for an Alpha," he growls.

"Then perhaps Stellan should look for his fated mate since we all know I'm not her!" I say, getting to my feet and shouting back at my father.

"Let her go," Stellan says quietly.

"What?" I say, turning toward him.

He pushes off the wall with the elegance of an Alpha. There's really nothing wrong with him. He's attractive, as all Alphas are, with blond hair and green eyes. He's just ... bland. He's boring. I need excitement in my life. I expect that, like my father, Stellan will want a quiet Luna who gives him an heir. After that, I'm pretty sure that he'll just ignore me.

I'm confident that's what my father would have done with my mother if she hadn't died in childbirth.

"Everyone knows that the Warrior Academy is elite simply because they only let a handful of students in every year. You have to have the right credentials, the right background, the ability to show that you can maintain your position among the other elites in the packs, and you also have to show that you're an intelligent thinker. The few warriors I know that have come out of the Academy are some of the strongest, smartest fighters I've ever met. Even the ones who aren't Alphas fight like they are. You going to the Academy will only make our pack stronger when you return. I had hoped that we could complete our marking and mating ceremony this weekend, but if you're leaving, our wolves would struggle to be apart for so long," Stellan says.

'I wouldn't struggle,' Rina, my wolf, says. She's not any happier about this arranged mate bond than I am. She, like me, has always wanted her fated mate. My parents weren't fated mates and from everything I've heard about them, there was no love between them. I sometimes wonder if my mother died just so she could get out of her crummy life.

Stellan walks over and strokes his fingers down my cheek. I force myself to hold still and not yank away from his touch.

"Thank you, Stellan. I know you didn't ask for this mate bond any more than I did, but I also know that taking your place as Alpha is important to you. It's only one year. Many Alphas wait longer than that to find their fated mate. I'm sure one year will only make our bond stronger," I say.

'Or at least give us time to figure out what we can do to get out of this mess,' Rina says in our mind space.

'Maybe he'll find his fated mate while we're away,' I tell her.

'Do you think he'd accept her?' she says, doubtfully.

'Probably not,' I sigh, fighting to hold still as Stellan leans in for a kiss. He presses his lips to mine but there's nothing - no spark, no excitement, no love ... just dewy lips pressing against mine.

"When do you leave?" he asks when he pulls back.

"Two weeks."

"Then we can spend some time together before you go. I'll return home today as planned, but I'll come back this weekend and we can spend time together before you leave."

"Thank you for understanding," I tell him.

"It's a good thing one of us does," my father growls. "One year, Cyra, that's it."

I hold his gaze while both men walk out of the room, then I let my shoulders slump.

'You heard him, Rina. One year. We have one year to figure out what the hell we're going to do!'

I avoid my father over the next two weeks as much as possible, spending my time packing to be gone for a year and seeing Stellan on the weekends.

He tried to convince me to at least seal our bond with sex, but I declined, saying that Rina would struggle with the distance if we did. In reality, the thought of sleeping with Stellan doesn't excite me any more than his chaste kisses do. I imagine that we'll take off our own clothes, climb into bed, he'll roll on top of me, slide it in, pump a few times, then roll off me and fall asleep.

What I need is a man who will press me against the wall, nip at my lip and demand entrance to my mouth. A man who will fight for dominance and win. A man who will bend me over a desk and take me from behind because he can't go another minute without being inside me. A man who will take me outside, covering my mouth with his hand while he thrusts into me so he can muffle my cries of pleasure because we're close enough for others to hear us.

Rina begins purring in my mind. 'Yes, that's EXACTLY what we need.'

When it's finally time for me to leave, I say goodbye to my father, who at least made sure to pay for the Academy for the year and put enough money in my account to ensure that I wouldn't want for anything this year.

Stellan gave me another one of his chaste kisses, telling me he'd come visit me once I was settled at the Academy and then I got in my car, waving as I drove off.

It wasn't until I left our pack lands that I felt like I could finally breathe for the first time since I found out that I was basically being gifted to Alpha Stellan as his Luna.

I rolled down my windows, turned up the radio, and let my new-found, if temporary, freedom roll over me.

Hours later, I arrive at the Academy in a rush of excitement. There are people EVERYWHERE! Or at least it feels like they're everywhere. People are in various stages of checking in and unloading their cars. There are people standing around guiding newbies like me to find where we're supposed to be. It's organized chaos.

I pull up and give the person directing cars my name.

"Alpha Cyra, your check in station is right over there. Park anywhere you can find a spot, check in, get unpacked, then go park your car in the designated area. Your check in person will tell you where that is," he says, marking me off on his tablet and walking to the car behind me.

I find a spot and park, going to the check in table I was directed to. I get my room assignment, key, parking spot, syllabus, class schedule, and a map of the campus. It's a small campus with only three buildings; dormitories, workout room and sparring center, and classrooms.

Here, being an Alpha doesn't give you any special privileges, other than probably being prioritized on the entrance list. All underclassmen are on the first floor. I go back to my car and grab as many bags as I can carry before walking inside the dormitories. There's no differentiation between males and females at the Academy. They don't admit based on gender at all. It's solely based on your essay, your educational scores, your experience, and your future goals. I lied a bit about my future goals, but no one here needs to know that.

The moment I step foot inside the dormitories, my heart drops. Rina stands up in my head, instantly alert.

Oh no. What are the fucking odds?

I breathe in a deep breath of his fresh, clean, bamboo scent.

When I open my eyes, I see him standing in the hallway. I don't know how I know it's him, other than the intensity of his gaze on mine.

He growls possessively and in three steps, he has me pressed against the wall of the dormitory, his mouth taking mine in the most dominant, possessive kiss I've ever experienced in my life.

Yorick

I smelled her exotic scent. Or more accurately, Thad had smelled her and nearly threw me to the floor trying to get out of our room to find her. She has a rich, earthy scent with hints of leather and smoke that should smell masculine, but on her, it smells exotic, almost like amber or musk.

When I finally see her, she looks just as exotic as she smells. She has long auburn-colored hair and blue-grey eyes. And under her enticing, exotic scent, is the scent of Alpha. She's perfect.

Thad hadn't given me a moment to even say hi before he had her pressed against the wall, kissing her and demanding that she give him what he wanted. Her.

I'll admit, I got lost in the kiss. Her scent, her taste, the feel of her arms sliding around my body all made it impossible for me to pull away. Until she pushed me away.

I stepped back, panting as people moved around us, giving us looks like we are acting crazy on the first day, and it doesn't bode well for us.

"I'm sorry. I lost control of Thad. I didn't even introduce myself,' I say to her.

"It's fine. That's fine," she says, pulling her bags over her shoulder and moving to step around me.

"I'll help you," I say, grabbing the bags off one of her shoulders.

"That's not necessary," she says, trying to tug her bags back.

I growl softly at her. "And yet, I will carry them for you. I'm Yorick, by the way."

"Alas, poor Yorick. Are you a man of infinite jest?" she asks me, loosely quoting Shakespeare.

"You know your literature," I say, smiling. I love an intelligent woman. My family is filled with them. "I believe you'll find me to be a fellow of most excellent fancy," I say, continuing the quote. "And what is your name, mate?"

"Cyra," she says simply.

"Cyra. What an unusual, beautiful name," I say. "It means noblewoman, right?" I ask her.

"I prefer the easier translation of throne. I don't sit on it, I AM the throne," she says, making me smile.

"And what does a throne hope to achieve here in the Warrior Academy," I ask.

She stops at a door and turns to face me. "To become the best, the highest-ranking warrior in the werewolf community."

"That's a very aggressive statement considering how elite this school is," I say.

She shrugs, reaching out to take her bags from me.

"And yet, that is my goal. It was nice to meet you Yorick. I'm sure I'll see you around. Hopefully you won't end up six feet under as your namesake implies," she says, opening her door and stepping in.

Before she can close the door in my face, I put my foot in the doorway.

"Are you really just going to walk away from me?" I ask her, feeling hurt that she's not as excited by our mate bond as I am.

She sighs, as if I'm asking a lot of her to give me her time.

"No, you're right. We should get this over with now. Do come in," she says, opening the door.

Get this over with? If she thinks I'm going to rush our marking and mating, she is sorely mistaken.

I step into the room, and she drops her bags on the bed then turns to me, pushing her hair out of her face.

"I, Alpha Cyra Teymoori, reject you, Alpha Yorick ... what's your last name?"

"Hill," I growl. Thad is howling in my head at her instant rejection of us.

"I, Alpha Cyra Teymoori, reject you, Alpha Yorick Hill as my mate and Alpha," she says, looking at me expectantly, as if she didn't just rip my heart out of my chest and stomp on it while I stood by helplessly.

I step up to her, taking her chin in my hand.

"I, Alpha Yorick Hill, reject your ridiculous rejection. But I do want to know why? Why would you reject me when you don't even know me?" I growl.

She looks shocked, like she thought that I would accept her rejection when she hasn't even given me or our mate bond a chance.

She pulls her face out of my hand. "We cannot be mated," she says, not looking at me.

"And yet we are. Do you really think you know better than the Moon Goddess herself," I growl.

I watch as sadness flashes across her face and just as quickly, she schools her features into a mask of indifference.

"It isn't about the Moon Goddess," she says.

"Then please, do tell me, what is it about?" I ask, still hurt enough to let my anger bleed into my tone.

She looks away, taking a deep breath, then turns back to me.

"My father entered into an alliance bond one year ago."

I begin shaking my head. I know exactly what an alliance bond is, and I also know that if she's here as a first year, that she was underage when the deal was made, meaning that her father was never willing to give her a chance to find her fated mate, to find me.

"I should have already been marked and mated, but I applied here instead. You need to accept my rejection. There is no future for me except the one that my father created. Without it, the packs will go to war..."

"I don't fucking care! Your father had no right..." I yell. Thad is snarling in my head, ready to go kill her father and her betrothed so he can have her.

"In that, we agree, but it doesn't change anything. I have been promised to another Alpha. You need to accept my rejection and give yourself a chance to find a second chance mate."

"I don't want a second chance mate. I want you! I refuse to walk away from this. There has to be a solution, one that you and I can agree on," I say.

"There isn't, Yorick. In one year, I will be mated to another Alpha. And if you don't accept my rejection before then, you will feel pain much worse than you would feel now, if you would just accept this," she says, her eyes filling with tears.

She's breaking my heart. I'm furious with her father. So incredibly angry that he did this to her and to me, but more than that, I can see that she doesn't want this. She doesn't want the arranged bond that her father has created for her.

I step up to her, sliding my hand into her hair. My hand lights up with the most incredible tingling feeling, and it spreads up my arm and into my heart.

"You're right about one thing. We have one year. We have one year to figure this out. Don't reject me yet. Get to know me. Let's talk about our options. We'll find a way. I come from a family that believes in the mate bond above all things. You are the woman for me. No other woman will ever be enough for me, because she'll never be you," I tell her honestly, swiping a tear that falls from her eyes.

"Give me the year," I say, putting my forehead against hers. "Please."

"Yorick..." she pleads, the tears beginning to fall freely.

"Please, Cyra, give me the year," I whisper.

She nods in agreement, and I lean forward, taking her mouth in a much gentler, but no less dominant, kiss.

Cyra

Yorick kisses me the way I've always wanted to be kissed, like he's a drowning man and I'm the air he needs to breathe to survive. Even his gentle kiss is dominant, demanding that I give in to him. And how can I not? He's perfect. He's so incredibly perfect for me.

"You know this is a terrible idea, right?" I ask when he pulls back, leaning his forehead against mine again.

"Not nearly as terrible as you rejecting me and leaving me. I'll think of something, Cyra. The Moon Goddess gifted you to me and I intend to accept that gift," he says.

I chuckle and pull back.

"So, where's your room?" I ask him.

"Right next door to yours," he says, waggling his eyebrows at me and making me laugh.

I wipe away my tears and finally look around my room. "This isn't terrible," I say.

"Believe me when I tell you that it just got a whole lot better," he says. When I look at him, his heated gaze is on me. The intensity of it makes my heart stutter.

"Look here, Alpha. I'm here to learn and to become the best possible ..." I yip as he pulls me to him, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. The heat of his body immediately begins to soak into mine.

"We're both here for the same reason, Cyra. I have no intention of ruining that for either of us. I'm the second son of an Alpha. I refused to accept my brother's offer to take a role in the pack. I won't take his handout. I want to make my way in this world too. I need to. I have to, even more now that I've found you. But that doesn't mean that this year isn't going to be a lot more enjoyable with you in it," he says.

"Are you always this charming?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Do you find me charming?" he asks. His grey-green eyes are making it hard for me to breathe. The man is ridiculously attractive. Where Stellan has the good looks that his Alpha genes offer him, Yorick is utterly gorgeous. He exudes confidence and strength and pure masculinity.

He smiles and I realize that I've been staring at him.

"You're welcome to kiss me any time the urge strikes you," he murmurs, his deep voice sending shock waves of heat straight to my core. "I would love it if you'd offer the same to me."

I shake my head and pull out of his arms, poking my finger into his chest. "If I made that same offer to you, you'd probably be glued to my face like a suckerfish, so no. I will not be making the same offer."

"You seemed to like my kisses," he purrs. Damn the man.

"I need to unpack, and I need to look over the course schedule, get my books, look around the campus, and find the cafeteria so I can get some food."

"Did you know that I need to do all those things as well? Well, except for the unpacking. I already did that. Or at least I started to until I smelled your intoxicating scent," he says. "I say we work together and discover every little secret this Academy has for us."

"I doubt there are any secrets here," I tell him.

"Depends on what you consider a secret. We could call it a quest. A quest for knowledge," he says excitedly.

His excitement is contagious, and I find myself wanting to go on whatever quest Yorick wants to take me on.

"Fine. Let me unpack and we'll go on a quest," I tell him.

When I begin to unpack, he plops on my bed, laying on his side with his head propped in his hand. "So, tell me about yourself, about your family. You have an evil father, what about your mother?"

"She died in childbirth when I was very young," I tell him.

"I'm so sorry. I thought this would be an easy opening."

"It's okay. Tell me about your family," I say.

"Well, for starters, my parents have seven children," he says.

"SEVEN!" I exclaim.

"But four of them are twins. They started with twins, my older brother and my older sister, and then they ended with twins. In between are me and my two sisters."

"That's a LOT of kids."

"Oh, that's nothing. My sister, my older sister, had quads during her first pregnancy. I thought Quirin, her mate, was going to die. I was sure of it when my mother told them they were all girls."

"Four girls? Did he freak out?"

"Oh yeah, but not because they were girls. Mostly it was because he went from just having him and my sister, Kennedy, to having a family of six in one day."

He smiles, chuckling as he remembers something. "Then, Kennedy got pregnant with twins and guess what?" he looks at me, his eyes twinkling.

"Girls again?" I ask.

He laughs. The sound is so rich, so happy, that it makes me desperate to hear more of it.

"Girls again. Then, FINALLY, Kennedy had one child. A boy."

"I'm sure he was happy to finally have a son, an heir," I say.

"Yeah, but honestly, and he'd probably punch me if he heard me say this, he's a great girl dad. I would never have thought so in all the years that we knew him before he was mated to my sister, but he's really great with them. He's the strongest fighter I know, which is saying something since my family is well known for their strength. It's a long story, but Quirin lost his father in his early teen years. He was adopted by a neighboring Alpha, but lost his mother a few years later, leaving him alone. He had to take over the pack his father left him which had basically become a wasteland. Then he rebuilt it from the ground up. He was the only one who really understood my need to come here and make my own way."

"He sounds very interesting," I tell him.

"He is. I can't wait for you to meet him. I can't wait for you to meet all of them," he says.

"Yorick ..." I warn.

"You live with your fantasy, and I'll plan our reality. I wasn't kidding about the strength of my brother's pack, Quirin's, or even Henry's. He's our other ally. I may not be willing to accept a handout from my brother, but I'd be happy to accept his help if it meant keeping you safe and in my arms. I know that all of them would agree."

I sigh. But rather than argue, I finish putting my things away and look at him.

"Tell me about your family," he says.

"There isn't much to tell. My mother and father were in an alliance bond ..."

"That explains a lot," he says and I nod.

"So, I'd hoped that one day I would gain my freedom and could live my life, but my father had other plans for me."

"What about your brother? Has he found his mate, does his have kids?"

"No," I say, keeping my answer simple. "Ready for our quest?"

He leaps off the bed and takes my hand.

"I was born ready," he says, stealing a kiss and grinning like the damn Cheshire Cat before leading me out of my room.