Author's note: this is from Luca's point of view

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We are here, under Fynn's protection, for more than three years, and I have a good understanding of every werewolf who stays in this place.

There are duties that need to be fulfilled and as long as that's done, the rest of the time is ours to manage.

Most of the people here mind their own business and spend their free time with various hobbies. Horace is building an engine from scratch, Martine knits, Tessa is into origami... people keep busy.

Unfortunately, the Ari-Bia pair of sisters fulfills their boredom by meddling with others. They live for stirring up trouble and they are quite possessive of Fynn who doesn't care much about them unless he has a hard-on that needs tending to.

Ari is a jealous bitch who uses every opportunity to provoke us. It started because Fynn was drooling over Serina, so Ari was releasing her frustration on us, but later I realized that Ari doesn't like anyone who gets close to Fynn, as she sees us as competition for Fynn's attention. She is delusional.

Bia might seem to be the more reasonable one between the two, but the truth is that they are the same, with the only difference that Bia is more subtle about it.

Bia pretends to be virtuous, but she makes sure everyone knows that extra duties are because OUR Seraphina is coming (and here, 'our' applies to Zoe, Ash, and me), and that makes other werewolves give us the stink eye.

Other than that, Bia is behind many other plots that got us in trouble. She messes up things after we completed our tasks, or she doesn't tell us that our duties changed but in front of Fynn and Otto she swears that she did.

In a place where seniority and strength must be respected, the three of us are stuck to suck it up or to be accused of disrupting the order. Well, Ash is not here for the last few weeks, so now it's Zoe and me.

Fortunately for us, Bia and Ari are not the sharpest tools in the shed, and their provocations are not more than what a ten years-old would come up with.

At most, their ploys earned us some scolding from Fynn and extra laps from Bert who think that we are skimming on work. Luckily, they never punished us severely, probably because they fear what Serina would say if she finds out about it.

However, the lenient punishments are only making Bia and Ari more zealous about messing with us.

I have good attention to detail, and Shadow is amplifying my senses to the point of spotting the smallest of movements, so I'm aware of their schemes, and we avoid most of their traps. But no matter how harmless their ploys are, they still keep us on the edge, and we can't relax.

Zoe, Ash, and I agreed not to tell Serina about this. It's just two petty she-wolves and we don't want Serina to worry or to think that we can't handle it. How are we going to qualify as Serina's protectors if we run to her for help because of Bia and Ari?

Serina is nice, and she treats us well.

Our lives improved by leaps and bounds since we got here.

Other than the education and a lifestyle that doesn't include us fearing for our safety, Serina often brings us presents, and she even gives us monthly allowance so that we can buy things for ourselves without the need to ask for handouts.

The presents Serina gives us are nothing too fancy, mostly clothes and various things we could use for our education. Occasionally she takes us out for a meal or shopping where we get to pick our stuff. Those are moments when we can truly relax, probably because we ascertained that Serina has no malicious intentions.

Alas, all those things we get from Serina which bring us joy, also put a target on our backs because no one else has them, and that includes shoes, cell phones, and tablets.

Horace looked greedily at my backpack, and I was like, "Dude! It's only 18 euros. Buy yourself one!"

The backpack is nothing fancy, but it's waterproof, and it has a generously sized handle, so I use it when I go to patrol in my wolf form.

Since I successfully shifted into my wolf form, Fynn said that I need to join existing patrols, for practice. I follow them around for several hours every other night, and it's mostly for me to learn. After I become of age and pass all the physical and combat requirements, I would become qualified to join patrols as a member.

Normally, whenever I join the patrol, I would stash my clothes in some place from where I will get them when I shift back into my human form, just like everyone else, but more than once, my clothes went missing. At first, I thought that someone took them by mistake, but later I found them in a pile of rags, torn. Someone did this on purpose and I couldn't find who it was because many scents mixed.

If I went to Fynn about this, I would just appear like a sissy who is telling on others, and that's not the way of werewolves.

It's not like they are designer clothes, but those are items I personally picked for myself, and I would like to keep them. That's why I put my clothes in the backpack and I carry it in my mouth so that I don't need to return naked or wearing some of those sweatpants everyone is sharing.

I bought a matching backpack for Zoe also, and I'm waiting for her to shift before I gift it to her. I'm sure she will love it.

Ari and Bia are relatively open about disliking us, but other Omegas also are giving us strange looks, so we can't lower our guards fully.

I feel relatively safe here, but Ari's words hit a nerve.

Will other guys start trying to get into Zoe's pants after her eighteenth birthday? I found that thought extremely unsettling. There are too many grownup werewolves that are unmated, and if they try something forceful, I fear that I won't be able to protect her.

Images from our childhood at the Dark Walkers pack flashed in my mind, lecherous gazes directed at Zoe who was barely fourteen years old at that time, and Shadow became restless again.

Sure, we are here for more than three years, and no one has tried anything, but still… I hate that Ari's words created knots in my stomach.

To be honest, I can't wait to leave this place, but I worry that Zoe and I will separate.

Ash left on his own and it doesn't seem that he will return.

Zoe already mentioned a few times going to London, and as much as I want to be close to her, I don't want to be the third wheel.

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