Braxton - I have died. Please forward all correspondence to my older brother. Let him know that I want him to give my eulogy as I'm sure our parents will be shattered beyond comprehension to lose their favorite pup.

Ili - Awe. Is training hard? Poor baby-pup. I can send you some band-aids and a stuffie to snuggle your boo-boos.

Braxton - I can hear your sarcasm. Not nice. Love you anyway. Anything you want to give me, give me, beautiful. I'd prefer a kiss from you over the stuffie.

Ili - nope

Braxton - You wound me and I have to return to hell now. Talk to you soon, my gorgeous girl.

I blush as I read his text. He's been sending me pictures and texts ever since he arrived in Canada. I tried to ignore him at first. I'm still salty about his 'presumptive misogyny' as Bailey put it. I forgave him a little after I saw how hard he's working to apologize. Yesterday he mailed me a package of maple sugar candy that he swore was the best he'd ever had. I'm not a fan. I think the box ended up in Phoebe's room.

Braxton sends me a picture of a mud pit with the caption 'it rained last night.' 'The hole' is enormous, judging by the wolves littering the inside. They may actually be killing him with training up there. Sighing, I toss the covers off of my body and sit up, wriggling my toes until they're warmed up a little.

This is the first day of summer school. Exciting! Fabulous! Wonderful!

At least it will be, damnit. It will be great because Luna Bailey is attending classes this summer. It's part of training. Not physical, of course, but all of the necessary information about wolves that a human luna should know.

Usually, it's as boring as watching paint dry. This year, because Luna Bailey will be there, every eligible wolf between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two has tried to get into classes.

Too bad for all the slowpokes. Should have signed up months ago. I did. I didn't want to, I'll admit, but I'm still too weak to sign up for the physical training, so I thought I could double down on my pack courses.

It's also a good distraction from... everything. Braxton (and how easily I'm ready to forgive him). I swear I can smell Sean in my house and the feeling it gives me isn't comforting. Is he sneaking in to see Georgina again? I cut him loose, so if he wants to he can hook up with other females, even my sister.

School. School. School. Think about school.

The first day of summer classes is always the most interesting. We never know who will be teaching the classes, or what will be taught. Alpha Alex changes up the courses every so often based on what he thinks we need the most.

Last year I almost failed my pack courses. This summer I need to do really well so that I can go to college with Luna Bailey. She's transferred to Caluna, according to Georgina's bragging last night. Georgina told mom and dad that Sean thinks she and Luna Bailey will be good friends. Apparently, Luna Bailey is shy, but Georgina thinks that she will open up to her soon. Gag. Sean told Georgina. She's had weeks to ingratiate herself with our future luna thanks to my never-mate. I'm behind in this contest.

My phone beeps. It's a text from Bailey. My she-wolf perks up, her head twisting around as if Luna Bailey will pop through our door at any second.

Luna B - Are you coming to class this morning?

Ili - Yes! What classes are you in?

Luna B - I have B schedule and Conner won't tell me what that means!

B Schedule?

Ili - I have no idea what it means, either???

There's a long pause, then Luna Bailey responds.

Luna B - Conner says there are three different schedules this year to accommodate all of the wolves. We are both on B schedule.

Ili - Thank the dear goddess.

I couldn't imagine not having the same schedule as Luna Bailey, but now I want to know where all of my other friends will be. Damnit, now this really is like the first day of school.

"Ili, breakfast!" Mom shouts out.

I walk out of my bedroom after checking my appearance. Over the last year it's been all baggy clothes and hoodies. This summer I'm starting off with skinny jeans and a fitted red shirt that shows off the tiny bit of curve I have left. I even brush my hair and put on some lip gloss and mascara. It's time that I let my friends know that I am done with fading away and being miserable. Pack class, here I come.

As I walk down the hallway, I open our group chat as I absently I avoid Phoebe's nerf guns scattered in the hallway,

"It's good to brush up on everything before you head off to Caluna," I hear Mom say as I walk into the kitchen. She's bustling around, preparing breakfast, so she doesn't see me grind to a halt in the doorway at first.

Georgina is going to Caluna? Since when?

"Well, as alpha female, I need to be where the Luna is," Georgina says with a smug smirk.

Oh for fuck's sake. Of course, she does. What a bitch. She's twenty-three and has never, not once, expressed any interest in leaving the pack to attend school. Not even when Sean went to Caluna and they were dating.

I swallow down the vomit welling in my throat at the thought.

Mom and Dad are over the moon that she is showing such promise. It's almost too enthusiastic, their support. It makes my skin crawl, but not from jealousy. I can't really complain about the attention. Mom and I spent the equivalent of years at the rink or traveling to and from the rink. I don't lack attention.

"Ili! Here, have some eggs and toast," Mom's eyes light up when she catches me hovering in the doorway.

I sit at the table and pick up my fork. I have no appetite as usual, but Mom just looks so damn hopeful. I take the smallest bite of eggs and just let them sit in my mouth, figuring that maybe Georgina will say something nasty and give me an excuse to spit them out all over her.

"Thank you, beautiful," Dad brings his and Mom's plate to the table then busses Georgina on her cheek and me on the top of my head. I grimace, slightly, at the thought of Dad spreading Georgie's germs to me, but I don't say anything.

Dad pauses, hovering over me oddly. I look up, confused, but he clears his throat and goes to help Mom dish up his food.

"Ili!" Phoebe races into the room, her hair a disarrayed mess. "Braid my hair!" she demands.

"Not at the table, girls," Mom says quickly. I scoot back to the wall and start to braid her hair quickly as my phone keeps dinging with messages.

"What's with all the messages, Ili?" Dad asks me as he sits.

"We're all trying to figure out our schedules," I tell him. I add Luna B to a group chat and text her to open it so she can talk to all of us.

"Ah, Alpha did say he had to add courses," Dad's eye twinkles.

I look at his suspicious face for a moment before it occurs to me, "you're teaching a class!" I say, surprised. I tie off Phoebe's hair and scoot back to the table.

Dad grins, "I am. Safety and Security."

"Cool," I smile at Dad. An injury forced him into semi-retirement a few years ago and he's bored as can be. He's been going back in more often lately, but it's still not the same.

Georgina huffs slightly, "well, I have to go. Sean is picking me up in five." She stands up and stalks out of the kitchen. I ignore it, supergluing my eyes to the screen of my phone as the chats come pouring in. Half of my friends have no clue what classes they are taking. Multiple schedules have confused everyone, it seems. I guess they decided to open the summer courses to everyone who applied.

I will not think about Georgina and Sean. My she-wolf is not whimpering as she gnaws on her front left paw until the pad begins to bleed. I shake out my left hand as the mental pain echoes in my physical reality.

It's fine, I silently remind both my wolf and myself. I can't hear Georgina sauntering down the hallway to the front door in her heels, each footstep mocking me. I can't see the Gucci purse slung over her shoulder instead of a backpack, or the midlength skirt and sheer blouse that puts my 'pretty' outfit to shame.

My phone dings with a text from an unknown number.

Unknown - Ready to head out?

My heart skips when, for just a moment, I think it's Braxton picking me up. My she-wolf wags her tail, but after just a beat we both remember he's not here.

Ili - Who is this?

Unknown - Sean, Babydaisy. I'm almost at your house.

Color me confused. I hurry to text back - This isn't Georgina's phone, even though he called me babydaisy so I know he's talking to me. He doesn't respond. Curious and not just a little nervous, I stand up, thanking Mom for the two bites of breakfast I ate, and head towards the front door.

"Ili! Here," Mom shoves an apple in my hand. I take it without thinking, focused on our front door as if it's a looming abyss about to offer up one of those human devil monsters. My wolf curls her lip back, leaving her bleeding paw alone so she can better threaten the 'unknown.'

The knock on the door makes my stomach dip a little. Georgina pats down her sleek, shiny blonde hair and swings open the door. "Hi baby!" she enthuses. Barf. She goes in to kiss him on the cheek, but he dodges her.

"Enough, Georgina. That is inappropriate," Sean responds in a chilly tone.

She isn't fazed at all. "I'm ready for class. You're teaching some of the training courses, right?"

Sean looks past her shoulder to me. I watch his dark brown eyes crinkle and soften when our eyes meet. "I am," he confirms belatedly. "You ready, Ili?" he asks me, smiling softly in my direction.

Georgina stiffens while I watch the byplay between ex-lovers in fascination. I take a bite of the apple absentmindedly and watch as Sean beams in approval at me while Georgina's cheeks turn red and splotchy with anger.

Oh, the petty, bitter part of me is squealing in joy. I try to knock it down as I chew my apple and take another small bite. My feet wander closer to the couple. My she-wolf's ears are pricked forward, straining to hear every tiny bit of minutiae in the exchange between my older sister and her lover.

"Sean, Ili likes to walk," Georgina smiles, sickeningly sweet. Sean tosses her a hard stare, but other than that one look doesn't respond. "Don't you Iliana?" Georgina says to me. Her cold blue eyes fix on my face. Normally I would agree, not just to avoid Georgie, but also because it's true, I do like to walk.

"It may rain," I say blandly.

"It's not," Georgina scoffs.

"But it could," I point out.

"It's not going to rain, Iliana," Georgina snaps.

"Maybe," I murmur, looking outside at the bright, beautiful morning with nary a cloud in sight.

Pettiness is winning, when Sean finally interjects, "Ili, what have you eaten this morning?"

I tell him, still lost in fascination, "eggs and this," I hold up my apple.

"How many eggs?" he asks.

"Two bites!" Mom bustles into the hallway, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Her eyes go to the apple in my hand and she frowns. Sean is also glaring at the apple. I guess it's pissed him off somehow. Georgina is glaring at me.

Suddenly, this isn't as much fun as it was moments ago. I freeze in consternation, wondering if I should take another bite or hide the apple behind my back?

"Ili, you can't exercise until you're cleared by the clinic," Sean says. "No walking to class."

"What?!" Both Georgina and I exclaim in disbelief. Jinx. Ew.

Sean smiles and greets Mom, "Hello Mrs. Thomas." His dark gaze finds me again. "I'll drive you to class while you finish breakfast. At two today you have a visit with the nutritionist. If she clears you for exercise we can arrange something, but I doubt it will be walking to class alone."

The high-handedness stuns me into temporary complacency. Sean closes the distance between us with a couple of large steps and starts to guide me to the door with his hand resting on my back. "I what?" I ask him, stunned.

A smile flirts around the corners of Sean's mouth. "Yeah, orders," he shrugs one shoulder as if it's not his fault.

I stew in silence for another moment as my mind races. Dad was on the phone for hours the other day after the swimming incident. This could be a command from the alpha or beta. I have been ordered into the clinic quite often, but there was only so much they could do to help me when I kept mum on what was really wrong with me. Still, there's something telling me that this appointment is all Sean's idea.

"Up you go," Sean lifts me into his truck as if I'm a helpless pup. I glare at him wordlessly, but he just smirks. He walks around to the driver's seat and hops in and turns the ignition. As the truck roars to life, he meets my eyes again. "It's for your health."

"Fine," I settle back into my seat, crossing my arms. "I'll go see the nutritionist, then I'll walk tomorrow." I really do need to fix my diet. I need more muscle if I'm going to start training.

"We'll see," he says firmly, looking over at me as we drive closer to the training grounds. "Did you walk to school every day?"

"Yes," I reply. It's healthy, a subtle way to increase my stamina.

"I'll take you from now on."

"No, thanks."

"Ili, it was not a request," he warns me quietly. "You may be allowed to continue swimming, but the walking everywhere has not been approved. Again, you need supervision to exercise-"

"-You can't do that!" I snarl. "I'm not a helpless pup!"

"I can do it," he says calmly. "You are severely underweight and missing key nutrients. If you don't increase your weight then you won't be allowed to swim, either."

Rage blinds me. My she-wolf snarls, snapping and howling. "And who's fault is that!" I shout before throwing myself from the truck. Thankfully Sean was driving slowly, but my ankles still feel the impact.

"Iliana!" Sean roars from behind me. I take off into the woods. There's a path, a shortcut that leads directly to the class fields. Sean can kiss my ass if he thinks that-

"Fuck, Lili!" he snarls right in my ear. Huge hands grab my shoulders and I twist away at his sudden aggression, my heart hammering. My she-wolf snaps futilely at our never-mate, but the male is completely implacable.

Sean drives me backward off the path and towards the dense underbrush. Our bodies are twisting and turning, my hands and feet trying to find purchase to fend him off. The lessons that Dad used to teach me before I shifted kick in. Feint, hit, turn, hit again, but nothing I do stops my stumbling retreat from him. He is much more highly trained than I am, older, more experienced, and outweighs me with at least a hundred pounds of muscle.

We move deeper into the woods, grappling with each other. I desperately try to hide how exhausted I am after only a few minutes of fighting. The sparks aren't helping, my wolf yearning for our mate to keep touching us even as she bares her teeth and growls at him. I toss his grip off of my hip and arm, only to have his hands move, stealthy and fast, to grab other pieces of me. I can't keep up, can't even understand how he's so fast.

A shriek of defiance builds in my throat when he gets a good hold on my body, but I'm so out-of-breath that I can't summon any noise. Instinctively I know he has me if I don't do something drastic. Letting my knees buckle I swoop low to the ground to try to throw him off-balance. Females have a lower center of gravity than males. Maybe I can get an advantage over him this way. Shifting to my wolf won't help me, his wolf has even more of an advantage over my own and I'm not sure if I have the energy to shift right now, anyway.

He brings our battle to an abrupt halt when he successfully hooks his leg around mine and gets purchase on both my wrists, stretching my arms above my head and body slamming me into the ground. He keeps most of his weight off of me, but I still can't breathe. I try, desperately, to suck in enough oxygen to keep from passing out. Black spots dance in my vision.

"Easy, Babydaisy. Shh, breathe nice and slow. That's it, in, hold it, now out. Again. Good girl, baby. Again, slow, in and out," Sean murmurs, coaching me through until I can finally yell at him.

He has me pinned, immobile under him. I let out a raspy sob, "get off!"

"No," he murmurs. He isn't even out of breath. Despairingly I realize just how out-of-shape I still am. "You feeling better?" he asks softly as if he knows exactly what I am thinking about.

"No!" I snarl at him. "I'm not weak!" I sob embarrassingly. I feel weak. I feel ridiculous.

He smiles, but there's no humor in it. "Babydaisy, I'm five years older than you, male, with alpha blood. This is why you need to go to the nutritionist and doctor with me and for fuck's sake, baby, listen to what they have to say."

"Stop calling me stupid petnames, Beta," I gasp out through burning lungs. I hate him so much.

"I'll call my mate whatever I want," he warns. He moves so that he is staring into my eyes, our position intimate and way too close. "And you are my mate, Iliana. Loathe me, hit me, kick me, call me names... No past mistakes will change who your mate is."

"Alphason Conner did." I glare into his dark eyes.

His face darkens. "Is that it?" his voice is frozen. "Do you have me replaced? I won't hesitate to Challenge any male, wolf or human, who tries to take you from me, Ili. Braxton-fucking-Grim won't win against me."

I glare at him. What is his problem? "I am not the one who replaced their mate. You did that."

His expression shifts into frustration and guilt. "I know. I fucked up, Ili. I know that and I know it's fucking unforgivable. I've apologized and I know it's not enough. It will never be enough, but I'm done with this shit. I saw your medical records, baby. I will live with what I did to you for the rest of my life, but I'm not watching you suffer anymore in some misbegotten bid to recover independently. This is your warning, Ili. You are my mate. I will treat you as mine. No one, including you, will stop me from taking care of you."

I feel tears prick my eyes. "I can't do this. You nearly killed me, literally, and now you want to be cozy? You fucked my sister." My she-wolf howls, miserable.

His eyes soften on me. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Lee," he says softly. "I can't explain what I was thinking. I honestly don't know if I was thinking."

"Maybe with your dick," I snap.

He surprises me by laughing. "You're right," he admits. "I was a cocky little prick who felt disappointed that my mate was a pre-shifted child with a reputation for being a bully."

I wince at his honesty, "I'm not," I whisper. My heart is breaking again. See, Iliana? No males, remember?

"Shh," his lips feather over my cheek. I growl, wriggling futilely for a second before realizing that gentle or not, Sean hasn't loosened his grip on me at all. "I was a dumbass and I'm sorry that you heard me say those things. I'm sorry I thought those things. I'm sorry that I dated your sister even though I knew it would hurt you. I'm sorry that you suffered," he gulped, his voice going hoarse with emotion, "with your shift." He stops talking and buries his head in my hair, just holding still and breathing deeply.