CHAPTER 5
1632 Words
**FOUR YEARS LATER**
I’m fourteen now. Jesse is fourteen too, and Jax is sixteen. We still go to the same school, though now it was the high school for our pack. The hallways were bigger, the classrooms louder, and the air smelled like wet earth and fur from too many wolves crammed together.
There were kids from other packs now. Our school was the largest in this part of the country, and families sent their pups here so they could get a better education. Everyone knew everyone’s business, and everyone knew the hierarchy.
I didn’t fit in.
I had never fit in.
People whispered about me constantly. They pointed when I walked past. Some laughed behind their paws. Some made faces when I entered the classroom. Some even avoided me entirely, like I was contagious.
They called me the Wolfless Wonder.
No one knew the truth.
They didn’t know that I had been shifting in secret since I was a child. Only Jax knew.
And he had never told a soul.
Jax had grown taller, broader. His hair was darker and longer, brushing his ears. His face was sharp now, with a jaw that looked like it could make people listen when he wanted them to. And the girls… there were always girls around him. Some giggled when he walked by. Some flipped their hair and whispered to each other. Some of them came from other packs and had no real reason to be interested, except that he was the future Alpha.
It didn’t matter.
He still stuck by me.
Jesse still made my life miserable. He had gotten older, quieter, more cunning. He still tried to bully me, but now he did it with words, smirks, and small jabs. Every day, he tested how far he could push me without getting caught. Sometimes he succeeded. Sometimes Jax stepped in and defended me.
After school on this particular dat, Jax was pulled away by a group of popular kids. He looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t argue.
I stood by the gate, watching him leave, feeling a small hollow in my chest. The hallways and streets were emptier without him. I didn’t want to go home yet. Not like this.
Instead, I turned toward the hill.
The hill was ours. Mine and Jax’s. We found it when we were kids. From the top, you could see the entire pack. The houses. The training grounds. The river shining silver in the sunlight. The forest beyond, thick and green. Nobody else came up here. This was ours.
I climbed slowly, hands brushing against the grass, my wolf stirring beneath my skin. When I reached the top, I sank to the ground, pulling my knees to my chest.
The wind was cool on my face, and the sky was streaked with orange and pink from the setting sun. I could see the packhouse below, its windows glowing like small lanterns. Everything looked calm, peaceful.
And yet… I didn’t feel calm.
There was a strange prickle at the back of my neck. A feeling of eyes on me. Someone watching.
I looked around. The trees swayed gently in the evening breeze. Nothing moved. No one was there.
My wolf growled softly inside me, restless.
I shivered.
Then I heard footsteps.
My heart jumped.
Jax.
He appeared at the top of the hill, jogging up toward me, hair messy and jacket half-zipped.
“Hey.” He said when he got close. “Mom called me. Said you weren’t home yet.”
I looked down at the grass. “I didn’t want to go home yet.”
He sat beside me. “Sorry about earlier.” He said quietly. “They pulled me away. I couldn’t say no without making a scene.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.” He said, turning to face me. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
I shook my head. “You’re allowed to have a life, Jax. You don’t need to stick with me all the time. I’m not your responsibility.”
“I don’t need a life with them.” He said simply.
“Who?” I asked.
“The kids at school. The ones who only care about me because of who I am.”
I frowned. “So… you don’t want a life?”
“I have a life.” He said, looking away at the horizon. “Just… not with them.”
I turned my head and said softly, “You should stop. You can’t keep hanging out with the Wolfless Wonder forever. Eventually you’ll… move on. You’ll want friends who are normal, people who…”
“Stop.”
“What?”
“Stop saying that.” He said firmly, reaching for my hand. “You’re my best friend. That’s never going to change. No matter what anyone else thinks.”
I blinked. His eyes were serious, steady. The wind blew my hair across my face, and I felt something inside me shift — relief, fear, trust, all at once.
“I… thank you.” I whispered.
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “You don’t need to thank me. You’re stuck with me.”
I smiled faintly, feeling warmth spread through my chest.
We started walking down the hill together. Slowly. Neither of us spoke. The sunset painted the sky red and gold, the shadows of the trees stretching long and dark across the ground.
As we approached the packhouse, we heard shouting.
Elsie.
Her voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet evening.
“You’re not taking her anywhere!”
A deep male voice answered. “It is in the contract. You have no right to keep her.”
Elsie’s voice rose even louder. “I will not deliver a child to a monster! Not after the things I’ve heard from her home pack!”
Another voice, older, female, said, “You knew the rules from the start. You cannot stop us. You have no authority here.”
I froze. My stomach twisted. Jax stiffened beside me.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
“I… don’t know.” Jax said. His hand brushed mine. “Let’s see.”
We walked to the porch and peeked inside.
The living room was crowded, tense.
Elsie stood in front of the fireplace, hands clenched at her sides, her face pale with fury. Alpha Joseph was next to her, arms crossed, jaw tight. Their voices had stopped when they saw us.
Across the room stood an older couple.
The man had silver hair and sharp eyes. His face was lined but powerful. His shoulders are straight and strong. He looked… dangerous. But not like Alpha Joseph. Like someone who had been in charge for decades, someone used to being obeyed.
The woman’s hair was white, braided down her back. Her eyes softened when they landed on me.
I didn’t know them.
The woman spoke first. Her voice was soft, but firm. “We have come for our granddaughter. It is time.”
I blinked.
Elsie’s eyes narrowed. “She is not going anywhere!”
The man’s voice boomed. “You cannot stop us. The contract is clear. She belongs to us.”
Jax and I exchanged a glance.
I didn’t understand.
Elsie’s voice rose again. “I will not deliver her to a monster. Not after everything I’ve heard. She will stay here. She is safe here.”
The woman stepped forward. “We are her family. You cannot change that.”
Jax’s hand brushed mine again. I squeezed it, trying to ground myself. My stomach churned.
I opened my mouth. “I… I don’t understand.” I whispered.
The man’s eyes softened slightly. “You will, child. You will.”
Then the older woman smiled at me. A sad, soft smile.
“You’ve grown so much.” She said. “We’ve heard about you. We’ve waited a long time.”
My heart raced.
I swallowed. “I… I don’t remember you.”
She nodded. “We know. That’s why we came.”
The room went quiet. Jax stayed close to me, his hand brushing mine. He glanced at me with wide, questioning eyes.
I whispered again. “Grandparents?”
The older couple nodded.
I felt my chest tighten. I didn’t remember them. I didn’t know them. And yet, something in the pit of my stomach told me that everything about me — my past, my future — was about to change.
The room stayed still.
“The contract says that you can take her at 18. Not before then. She’s only 14 so she is staying. That’s the contract that we signed.” Alpha Joseph roared, showing them a signed contract.
My grandparents huffed, knowing that they couldn’t disobey that contract that was right in front of them.
“Well, we will meet again soon, Sage. It was so good to see you.” Grandmother said.
They both left the house and I watched them walk out before I turned back to Elsie and Joseph.
“What the hell was that about?” Jax snapped.
“Jax. I changed my mind. Sage is going to start training. She’s not allowed to and that’s a long story that we’re not prepared to explain right now. But no one can know that she’s training. You train her yourself in the gym in the packhouse. Do not let anyone else see you. Do you understand?” Joseph asked, demanding and firm.
“Yes, sir.” Jax said.
He looked at me with a mixture of confusion and worry and I’m pretty sure I had the same look on my face.
But we knew Elsie and Joseph weren’t going to give us any answers. So Jax held my hand tighter and he pulled me from the room.
- Writer
