I just wanted to look at the plants.Andre repeated this to himself even as his pursuers howled and growled behind him, taunting as five rowdy teenagers looking for a victim to beat on chased their prey through the soggy vegetation of the forest. Coming out here all alone was already a bad idea, already knowing in the back of his dark brown-haired head that they would follow him, but he couldn’t be afraid forever.Plus, as long as he was compliant, they never went too far with extracting their jollies from the eventual thrashing.“Ye aren't aff tae git far, bleeder!”That heavy Scottish inflection belonged to Jarekid Fenrisulfur. Son of the alpha of the Graybite Tribe and Andre’s longtime tormentor. It was almost like an obsession the way the burly eleven-year-old went after his nine-year-old tribemate. Of course, he sounded way closer than the others.Still, the younger boy galloped on all fours, hurriedly weaving through the famous twisting trees and curling shrubs. The edges of Gra

The Graybite Tribe.Also known as the most powerful and dangerous tribe in all of werewolf history. The Northern Claw Nation, which included Graybite and the eleven other tribes in the vicinity, was formidable as a whole, but Graybite reigned at the top in terms of its military prowess and the ability to enforce the will of the Majestic Moon Monarchy, the royal court that ruled over all of wolf-kind.In the Canadian Rockies was the notorious Graveltara Woods, where the Graybite Tribe prospered. There existed the largest bristlecone pine trees known to man and magi, the spiral of each bole twisting high into the sky until they burst into branches that imitated strikes of lightning. Even as Rafe rode upon Beau, who was currently loping in his humongous, maroon-colored wolf form, he could see buildings and homes that looked like a bunch of bungalow birdhouses crammed together. And each tree had that same crowded layout. It was nearly impossible to tell which was a house and which was a s

“Inbred…?” Andre’s brows raised in puzzlement, but then lowered in recognition when he saw the approaching trio. “Oh, you mean Axel.”Rafe gave the omé a stern look. “Don’t tell me he harasses you, too?”“No. Well, um, if passing comments don’t count.”Silver eyes narrowed further. “And?”Andre’s shoulders sagged, suddenly exhausted. “A slap or shove here or there.”Rafe had an inkling his friend was treated worse than he was letting on. It was like these groups of egotistical assholes designated him as the tribe punching bag. Somehow, the superhuman was going to have to teach the omega how to throw a punch. But for now, Rafe turned to the three incoming gammas, pounding his fist into his palm.“Looks like we’re ordering takeout on the way.”“Maybe we should just-”“I knew it!” Axel glowered at Rafe. “I knew you weren’t just any random monkey!”The human rolled his eyes, fed up with the accusations the idiot seemed to pull out of his ass. “The hell are you going on about now?”Instea

Another week elapsed before their scheduled orientation day arrived.“Rise and shine, boyos! It’s school time!”Both Rafe and Andre shot right up beside each other as the bed they both slept in next to each other jostled and swayed, their heads nearly colliding with one another.“Hey!” Rafe barked at Beau, who stood at the end with a smug grin on his bearded face. His large hands didn’t even look like they were moving as they lay atop the mattress to make it tremble.Andre blew out a tired breath, eyes half-lidded as his leg bent back until his foot reached his head, his toes subconsciously scratching at his tousled, brown hair.“Come on! Get those asses up ‘cause it’s orientation day!” the lycan rattled the bed again.Rafe grabbed the pillow under him and tossed it at the older male. There was a slight whistling sound before it slapped Beau in the face, and the thing burst into tiny patches of stuffing. When it hunkered down to the floor, the lycan was still smiling playfully.“Alrig

“Goddammit!”Andre pinched his lips to contain his giggle as he watched Rafe squint angrily at the bark of a tree.“Who was that?” Caster’s voice piped up from the cellphone speaker.“Sorry. That was Rafe. He’s just doing some pre-dinner workout.”Which he had been doing for the last three hours. Andre had woken up from a dreamless nap to ireful growling. At first, he panicked that it was a Graybite wolf who had come to collect on behalf of Renkin, who had changed his mind. It was a relief and quite humorous to find his only friend having an intense staring contest with a camphor tree on the outside of a wooded area that sat in the corner of Outville Piers. He decided to stay and be the great cheerleader he promised to be.A few days after the visit to Ironward, Toby had hooked them both up with phones for leisure calls and emergencies that required attention outside of the academy. Andre was eternally grateful that Beau’s mate somehow got to connect with Jan and the others back home