Page 2 of True North

I smile and nod, desperately trying to hide the excruciating pain reverberating through my skull. Because the thing is, Jade doesn’t know that tomorrow is about more than reaching the threshold to adulthood.

Tomorrow will also mark my first shift.

* * *

Morgan plants herself beside me as we walk into school for our official last day. It’s just a technicality really, we’re just here to pick up final transcripts, pack up our lockers, and do a ceremonial hand-off of the school to the junior class.

Jade’s not with us because she left Morgan’s early to come do a final breakfast with her yearbook friends. I’m grateful for that because it means she’s not here to see the stares I get as we head for our lockers.

“No one stared at you like this,” I mutter under my breath.

She glances at me with sympathetic eyes, but I can tell by the way she worriedly bites her lip that she wants to say something.

“What?” I nudge her with my elbow.

“You smell,” she says hesitantly, the words making me recoil.

My head rears back, and then I try desperately to get a whiff of myself. I know I skipped showering this morning because of the lingering migraine I have, but I would think my best friends would have thrown me into the shower themselves if it was reallythatbad.

“Not bad,” she hurriedly corrects herself. “But it’s… strong.”

“Well, that’s just fucking great.” I scuff my sneakers along the linoleum flooring. Maybe I should have let Morgan’s mom call me in sick after all. I’ve spent the last four years being pretty much the textbook definition of a wallflower, so it’s not exactly shocking that all of the sudden attention makes me self-conscious.

After tomorrow, and my first shift, I’m sure the pack will go back to ignoring me.

It’s my size—my height, to be specific—that helps me fade so easily into the background. I’m barely five-foot, maybe five-foot-three if I wear the one pair of heels I own, courtesy of Morgan buying them for me last year for Christmas.

“What if your mate is tall? You should practice walking in heels, just in case.”

Her concern had stuck with me. Now I can walk in heels better than anyone I know, better than Morgan even, whose closet is filled with designer shoes. I’ll be devastated if my mate turns out to be too close in height to me.

In less than twenty-four hours, I’ll find out either way.

But first, I have to survive the last day of high school. I can see the humans’ interest start to spark as they notice the attention I’m getting from some of our classmates. The humans—Jade included—don’t know about the North Summit Pack that lives among them.

Our pack is relatively small, though thanks to an inexplicable baby boom the year I was born, there’s an abnormal number of us in high school together at the moment.Lucky me.

Morgan helps me skate through the crowd as seamlessly as possible. We’re only a few feet away from our lockers when Warner Overstreet plants himself in front of me.

“Tabitha,” he says smoothly, his eyes giving me a long once-over that makes me feel slimy.

It takes me a second to realize he’s talking to me. “Uh, my name is Tess.” Which he should know since we’ve been going to school together our whole lives.

“Ah, well. As the future Alpha of the North Summit Pack, I’m sure you realize I can’t be expected to remember the name of every pack member.” He smirks as if the reminder should make me throw my panties at him or something. All I can think about is the fact that his father—the current Alpha—has never once forgotten my name.

“What do you want, Warner?” Morgan asks, rolling her eyes blatantly at him.

Since the day she discovered she doesn’t have a mate in the North Summit Pack, she’s been outwardly hostile to him. It’s only a matter of time before she meets her mate and joins their pack instead. Still, Warner narrows his eyes at her insubordination.

“Did you need something?” I ask, my voice high and nervous. Today is making me anxious enough without adding a confrontation to the mix.

Warner runs a hand over his gelled back hair. “Just following where my nose leads, Tess.” He leans toward me and takes a long inhale. “Your birthday is tomorrow, isn’t it?” I nod reluctantly. “You know, I haven’t found my mate yet. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” He shoots me an ugly wink, his mouth half-opening and face twitching in an entirely unattractive way.

“Probably not.” I laugh nervously.

The idea of being Warner’s Luna makes my whole body shudder, a gesture he unfortunately seems to notice. His eyes narrow, a low growl rumbling from his throat. Morgan’s eyes widen as she jerks me by the wrist to put some distance between him and me.

“We should go before we’re late,” she chirps, tugging me away before Warner can get another word in.

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