Chapter 1 New Way of Life
Jason's POV
I honestly never expected to end up in this position. Who the hell would'a thought I, the Beta of my former pack, would be hanging out with bear shifters, cats, foxes, and owls? Not me! I'm pretty sure a couple years ago I would'a called myself a traitor... But I'm not.
For one thing, I'm living in a Colony now, and not my pack. And while there is a family aspect to the pack life, our Colony is a very tight-knit group. I know I can ask anyone for anything, and they'd have my back. I could go right now to Jericho and say, hey man, I need to take the night off, and he'd be cool with it!
I never thought of myself as a deserter. Actually, I was the future Beta of the Forest Ridge Pack. My best friend Eli, is next in line for the Alpha, and my whole growing up we had planned what we would do when we finally took over our parents places. We worked so well together, we were like brothers. He was literally my best friend, and sometimes it hurts to think of him.
I guess technically I am the traitor. I left. But it wasn't because I wanted to. I left because I was given no choice if I wanted to keep my treasure. I could not give up my morals because my Alpha was a bastard.
We were going to take the werewolf kingdom by storm, keep our pack safe from the rogues, and keep peace between our packs. The job of protecting families and pack members rested on our shoulders, and we were more than ready to take on the challenge. Everyone would look at us and see us as the best Alpha and Beta duo to ever exist.
I had believed it, until the day Eli turned 18 and found his mate. Cora was a sweet little omega working at the pack house. And yet, he was disgusted by her and broke her heart right there in front of everyone at his birthday party. I hurt for her. I was embarrassed for Eli. What the hell had he been thinking?! She was perfect, and I would've guessed she would make a prefect Luna! Luna's are supposed to be kind and a mother figure to all in the pack... She fit the description to a T!
While I was angry about it, I wasn't going to defy my Alpha. It wasn't like I could go up and yell at my Alpha in front of the whole damn pack and ask what the hell he was thinking! I would'a got my ass kicked!
He told me he didn't want a weak mate as his Luna. I guess I never knew he was such an elitist prick, but he was still my best friend and my Alpha. It really had nothing to do with me. I know he was looking for a strong mate, and I guess he was disappointed when he discovered his mate was an omega. I wish I could've done something to help Cora, but what the hell was I supposed to do?
However, everything changed a month later when I turned 18 and found my mate, Lily. She was the head warrior's daughter, and she was gorgeous. I couldn't believe how blessed I'd been. I wanted to mark her the moment I found her! I was so damn happy! I was going to introduce her to my parents right then... But my Alpha stopped me.
Apparently Eli didn't think I should be blessed with her as my goddess given mate, and he tried to convince me to reject her as my mate. Turns out he wanted her instead. What a bastard! I never expected him to try to steal my girl from me. I thought our bond was stronger than that!
I talked to Lily about it. I didn't want to reject our bond, but if she wanted Eli instead of me, I would do it. It would've practically killed me, but I wanted her to be happy. Who am I kidding? I'd never reject her no matter what she wanted! I'm selfish like that and I didn't give a damn what Eli wanted!
Turns out Lily didn't want anything to do with Eli. He'd been harassing her for years and she couldn't stand him. She couldn't exactly tell people that the future Alpha had been stalking her without getting shunned by the pack members, so she kept her mouth shut.
I confronted him about it. He said his dad, Alpha Dominic was placing a new policy. None of the ranked wolves get to keep their mates if they are not strong enough to support their mates... I guess it's because Alpha Dominic's mate, Luna Gemma, was an omega and she died giving birth to Eli, so he decided we should only take mates befitting our station, and Eli needed a strong Luna. And everyone knew Lily was the strongest female wolf in the pack.
But that did not mean I was giving up my mate. She was mine and she wanted me too! I did introduce Lily to Mom and Dad, and they were so proud of me. I told them about what was going on with Eli and Alpha Dominic, and they told me to keep my mouth shut about it. I didn't like this one bit, but what else could I do?
Turns out, my buddies Leo and Ian had issues with Eli and Alpha Dominic's new policy too. Their mates Eve and Maddy were Deltas, and while they are stronger than omegas, it wasn't much of a step up, and they would have to give up their mates. There was no way they were ditching their girls!
Seeing as none of us were willing to give up our girls, we left our pack and ended up in a high school filled with both shifters and humans. It came as a shock to us, but we kept everything low key. We mostly kept to ourselves for the first couple weeks. Technically we didn't need to go to high school, but we wanted to blend in, not stick out like sore thumbs.
Nichole found us first.
I don't know how she knew, but she knew what we were. She also knew that we had ditched our pack. how the hell she figured out we had a been part of the Forest Ridge Pack, I have no idea. The chick was human! The most annoying human I've ever known... But if we didn't do what she told us to do, she would turn us over to our Alpha. And if I wanted to keep my mate, I couldn't let that happen.
I'd seen Jericho with her, and I knew he was a shifter, but I couldn't tell what he was. I'd never known his scent before. But the aura pouring off him told me not to mess with the dude.
I tried to stay out of his way. I didn't want any trouble. I was just trying to keep me and my friends safe. We were really all we had, and I couldn't let us down. I was our leader, so to speak. I'm definitely not an Alpha, but I am still Beta blood.
One day Nichole cornered me and forced me to take Heidi away. I didn't see anything wrong with it, until I realized Heidi was his mate, and he happened to be a dragon.
I was not cool with that. I hate the idea of separating mates from each other. It's a cruel and unusual punishment. I didn't understand Nichole's obsession with Jericho! She should've just left him to his mate! But I wanted to protect Lily, so I did what she said.
I didn't hurt her. I didn't have a death wish! I took her out to a cave and let her sleep. I swear, all I did was put her down and let her sleep. She was already weak, I had no intention of hurting her beyond taking her away from Jericho.
I smile as I remember my first real conversation with our queen.
“Jason… What are you doing here?” Heidi had asked, completely confused by the whole situation. I wasn't surprised she knew my name. She had me in a couple classes, but we never interacted.
“I’m sorry, Heidi. But I can’t let you go, or Nichole will kill me. And if you get hurt, your mate will kill me too… I had no idea you would turn out to be a dragon’s mate!” I chuckled, thinking this whole damn situation was just bad news. "I didn’t even know there were any left! How the hell was I supposed to know?”
“Mate?” She was so cute and confused. I wanted to pat her head like a little lost puppy. However, I would never do that! I did not want to touch a dragon's mate any more than I had to!
“Yeah, I’m not surprised you wouldn’t know what it means. You are just human, after all…” I wasn't really sure how to explain all of this to her. She really needed to talk to Jericho, and unfortunately it was my job to keep her away from him.
“What are you talking about? Are- are you a dragon too?” I almost laughed at that! Not because she was confused, but my build, while pretty big, was nothing close to Jericho's! The dude is huge!
“No, I’m a werewolf. As far as mates are concerned… I guess you would call them your soul mate? He is your other half,” I tried to explain the best I could.
I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She had questions, and the least I could do was help the poor girl out and answer them for her. I was the one keeping her from her mate, after all.
“How- how do you know when…” she trailed off, looking embarrassed about asking the question.
This, at least, would be easy for me to explain to her... At least I hoped it worked the same way with dragons as it did werewolves.
“Let me ask you something. Do you feel safe around Jericho?” I asked.
“Yeah… I’ve never felt so safe in my life!” She smiled dreamily. She really was adorable, not that I'd try to steal her from her mate. I have my own, after all. She just looked like a little girl needing direction.
“Do you feel a pull to him? Like you don’t ever want to be away from him?” I continued to ask her questions, helping her connect the dots. These were really the very basic answers for a mate bond. There are obviously other things that can get really deep, but she didn't need to worry about that stuff yet.
The blush on her face and her slow nod was all the confirmation I needed.
“And when he kissed you… Did you feel sparks, like electricity running through your body?" I smirked, thinking about the sparks I get from my own mate, Lily.
“That- that means he-he’s my soul mate?” Her face was completely elated and shocked at the same time. It was really cute.
“Yeah, and it gets better… Or it would if Nichole doesn’t destroy your dragon boy,” I said sadly. The thought tore at me. It really wasn't fair to Heidi or Jericho what Nichole had been doing. In fact it was stupid! You don't mess with a dragon and his mate!
“You are sad?” she asked.
“Yeah, actually. If you were just boyfriend and girlfriend, it would be different. But mates- their souls are meant to be together, and if you take them from each other, they will go crazy from the separation. I know, I’ve got a mate too. And when I can’t see her, it physically hurts me. And if dragons are anything like wolves, your boy is in pain right now,” I admitted.
“Can’t you just let me go?” she asked.
“I really am sorry Heidi. I never did understand why Nichole had it out for you. But if I let you go, she will go after my family,” I tried to explain why I couldn't just let her leave.
Then the sky shook, and I knew I was in trouble!
I chuckle as I remember I almost wet myself. Jericho is much more forgiving than I am. The next time I saw the happy couple, they had moved to the Colony, and me and a few of my friends decided to follow them and offer them our services. I can't believe that was 9 months ago! Man, time seems to have flown.
Which brings me up to now. I growl as I catch the scent of an unfamiliar wolf linger somewhere out there. I swear they are getting bold. This is not the first time I've noticed this scent this week. But it's got my hackles up. This is not good!
I link up with Ian and Leo. "Hey, guys? Have you found tha wolf's scent out there too?"
"Yeah, I have. I was just checking it out," Leo admitted.
"I haven't found one out here on the North side," Ian informs us.
I growl. "So it's just the West and North they are hitting," I grumble. This is the third time this week. "We need to talk to Jericho," I determine.
"Let's tell him at the council meeting tonight," Ian suggests.
"Let's call it a night, guys. We'll have to regroup and figure out what's going on with Jericho. Maybe Noah and Wren know what's going on," I suggest.
"Well, we'll find out soon," agrees Ian.
I have a really bad feeling about this. I am hoping this has nothing to do with our old pack, but if it does... does that mean they found us? What do they want?
If someone is out here trying to get into our Colony, they will have to go through me. No one is going to take my mate and pup from me.
