All characters who engage in sex are to be considered over the age of eighteen years.
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Unknown Location
The day before the current trial.
POV Shift
"Come on Savannah. We are going to be late." I heard my brother yell as he knocked rather forcefully at my bedroom door. I was still lounging in bed, not ready to get up. Dad wanted us to run as a family before he, mom, and Denver headed to the Alpha Summit meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Denver was the Beta heir and I was the spare. Denver was turning eighteen next month and would start training with dad on running a pack and supporting Max, our Alpha. This trip to the summit was to be his first meeting with all the North American packs.
"I will be down in a minute," I yelled through the door as I plugged my cellphone in to charge. I loved running with my family. I always felt so free when we ran. I hurried down the stairs of our small home.
Our pack was different from most, we didn't live in a communal home. Most members had a house or lived in a set of cabins. The pack owned a lot of land and encompassed a small town. Max lived in a larger two-story house about half a mile away. He was still looking for his mate. On the other side of his home was Josh's house, another of the pack Betas and my father's second. Josh would also attend the summit with Max.
I opened the front door, walking around the side of our house. I slipped the cherry pattern sundress off and folded it on the bench. I dropped to all four and by the time I reached the thick summer grass, I was shaking my rust-colored fur out. I joined my family in an extremely long hard run. We hunted whitetail deer, and dad let me take the kill. I shared the liver and heart with Denver.
My first kill. I had been hunting before but never actually landed the killing blow.
Best day ever!
The next morning I kissed my mom and dad goodbye and hugged my brother. They had dropped me off with Theta Darrin and his sister Millicent. We were the same age, sixteen years old. She was two days older than me and we had been best friends since we were born. Darrin had to leave for patrol and told us we could go water skiing on the lake.
Lake Eufaula, Alabama was huge and part of the pack lands bordered the South Western portion of the lake. I loved water skiing and had been doing it since I was two. Millie had been skiing since she was five. Today we were meeting Charles and Kevin. Charles had been asking me out for the last few weeks. I knew he wasn't my mate. He was eighteen and his wolf was positive we were not fated. But he still wanted to date though I wasn't old enough to date, alone. The Alpha Council laid down the law that females starting at fifteen years old could date provided there was a proper chaperone. At sixteen a female could double date, so here we were.
Millie had a huge crush on Kevin and spent most of the day chatting and flirting with him. She knew it was dangerous to be so open with her teases. Kevin was eighteen as well and my father would have his balls if he touched Millie. To me, it didn't seem like either Kevin or Millie cared. Charles was slightly less forward. I knew what he was thinking the minute his erection pressed his blue swim trunks into a pop-up tent.
I felt my cheeks flush and my body react. He was quite handsome. His near-black hair had a touch of wildness to his features. He had gray-blue eyes that were the color of a storm in the evening. He was just a little over six feet tall and 220 pounds of solid muscle. I could see why several of my pack mates were interested in him. The fact he was the son of a Beta was just a bonus.
We decided as a group to pull off the lake to one of the islands. Kevin and Charles took the cooler while Millie and I secured the boat. I grabbed two large beach blankets, and Millie grabbed several towels. I went back for our bag which held our clothes. Sarah Marie, one of the Omegas, had made us meat sandwiches and fruit for lunch. We sat and talked for a good thirty minutes about school, friends, family, and the pack.
Kevin had Millie sitting in his lap when Millie scented him. She placed her chin on his shoulder. "My wolf says you smell funny. Thank goodness you're so good-looking to offset it." Kevin rolled her on her back and started tickling her.
I had just popped a grape in my mouth and smiled at Charles. "Don't even think about it," I smirked. But it didn't do any good. Charles was fast and had me over his shoulder and headed for the water. He tossed me in. When I stood up scowling at him he laughed. Then his face twisted and he looked down at his leg. There was a dart protruding from mid-thigh. I watched as he fell face-first into the water.
I scrambled and shoved him to the mud sand shore as I felt the sting on my backside.
"We are und..."
I tried to use the pack link but I found darkness before I could finish.