Chapter 11
Isabella
Thank the Moon Goddess it was Friday because I was done with Vanessa bouncing in the seat behind me. Her warm breath was on my neck again, making me shiver.
I ignored it and gazed at my warrior notebook. All the wrestling moves, punching combinations, types of kicks that Derek and I had practiced over and over were in this journal, to be remembered forever after tonight.
When my name rolled off Roman’s lips, followed by the word “warrior” after class, I would clutch this notebook close and be thankful for it all. Even all the nights we stayed up under the moon to improve our skills and all the times old man Mr. Beck stared over Derek’s backyard fence and tried telling us about the good ole times when he was a warrior while we practiced.
My gaze lifted to Dr. Jakkobs who sat at his desk, surfing through his phone and not even bothering to teach class. Seeing that it was the last day of school, he was probably just trying to end the year peacefully—without any disturbing comments from Vanessa about wanting to get naked in front of everyone.
Derek mouthed the words, “Three minutes,” to me from his desk, running a hand over his fade, his sponge twists bouncing ever so softly.
Three minutes until school was over forever. Three minutes until we headed over to the packhouse and finally joined the warriors. Three minutes until I didn’t have to listen to Vanessa’s high-pitched, over-the-top, nagging voice every single day.
Roman would probably assign her as a nurse in the hospital, make her take care of Mr. Beck. Or maybe he’d assign her some place worse. As long as she wasn’t with warriors, I’d be fine.
The bell rang, and everyone stood up. Cheering. Laughing. Racing out of the room. I tossed my journal into my backpack, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, and walked to the door with Derek. I couldn’t wait any longer. Thirteen years had been long enough.
“Isabella!” Dr. Jakkobs said, standing. He smiled at me with his perfectly straight teeth and pushed his glasses up higher onto his face. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
After reassuring Derek that I would meet him at the packhouse, I walked over to him. My wolf was itching to get out of here as soon as possible, so we could see Roman and become one of his warriors. “Yes, Dr. Jakkobs?”
“You’ve done phenomenal this year,” he said. All of my exams were spread across his desk. One hundred percent. One hundred one percent. Ninety seven percent. Ninety eight percent.
“Thank you.”
“I think you’d be a great fit at the pack hospital.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. I should’ve known that this was what he wanted to tell me. While I worked hard for good grades in his class and while working in the hospital ran in my family, that path wasn’t for me. “Thank you for the compliment, Dr. Jakkobs. I really like anatomy, but I was born to fight.”
He smiled and nodded. “Your mother tells me all the time that being a warrior has been your goal since you were a girl, but if you figure that it isn’t for you anymore, you’re always welcome at the hospital. We could use someone like you there.” He patted me on the back, gathered my exams, and said, “Good luck at try-outs today.”
When I departed from his class, leaving the high school behind me, I took my time walking through the woods to the packhouse. Everything seemed so much better today. Blue birds chirped in the distance. Sunlight filed between the trees, creating patterns on the path in front of me. I walked with a hop in my step.
Unlike the past few days, I didn’t have that urge to rip off someone’s head. Maybe it was because today was the day I had been working towards since I was five. Maybe it was because Roman finally let me cum last night. Maybe it was because of the way Roman looked at me after he brought me home. Sitting in my driveway, even after I walked into the house and shut the door. His soft gaze remaining on my window for the briefest moments.
Green eyes soft. Hair resting against his forehead. Fingers clutching his journal as if he had something inside that he didn’t want me to see. It wasn’t a look that I had seen before. He looked almost vulnerable, not the alpha who had barged into my room and demanded I suck his dick.
Whatever was making me feel this way, I knew that nothing could dampen my mood. Today was the best day of my life.
When I arrived, Derek and the rest of the trainees were waiting in a large room in the packhouse. Pictures of our pack’s greatest warriors since the beginning of time hung on the wall, their lists of accomplishments in a frame next to them. Many battles won; too many lives lost.
There was no official practice today, so I didn’t bother changing. Instead, I grasped a Moonflower keychain and waited. Though Luna Raya was never a warrior, she always saw the strength and fight in me.
“What’d Jakkobs want?” Derek asked me.
“He thought I would be a good fit at the hospital, but I declined.”
“The hospital?” Vanessa asked, standing in front of me with her hand on her hip. I scrunched my nose, her strawberry perfume unbearably strong yet again. “Gross,” she said. “I don’t know how your Mom and Dad deal with that place all the time. There’s a bunch of smelly-ass old men and blood and...” She shuddered. “Just gross.”
Instead of getting angry at her—just because she was Vanessa—I actually smiled and kept my temper under control. Nothing would dampen my mood, not evenher.
“Sucks that you’ll probably end up there,” Derek said to her.
She arched a sharp brow. “We’ll see about that. I think I secured a position on the team.”
I nearly snorted. Secured a spot on the team? She could barely jog three miles without becoming out of breath.
