by J. L. Wilder
“Maybe I can’t fight,” Skye agreed. “But there might be something I can do. And if there is, I’m going to do it. I’ll cause a distraction if I have to, or I’ll make sure the professors are ready to intervene...”
“Please, Skye,” Grace said. “Just make sure you’re far away from me tomorrow. I won’t be able to take it if something happens to you. I’m already terrified for Jonah.”
Skye wrapped her arms around Grace. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m going to be fine. We’re all going to be fine.”
“I hope you’re right,” Grace said quietly.
“I am right. Just think—tomorrow, you and I are going to be claimed. We’re going to become alphas’ mates, and the rest of our lives will finally begin.” Skye grinned. “In twenty-four hours, all your worries will be over, Grace.”
Grace nodded. She hung the purple dress in her own closet and draped it so that it faced outward, so that she could look at it from her bed. She lay down and tried to quiet her mind, to believe the things Skye had said.
But it was a long time before sleep found her.
Chapter Sixteen
JONAH
The morning of the claiming ceremony dawned bright and clear.
“Thank God,” Alex said, holding back the blinds and peering out the window of the dining hall. “Remember two years ago, when it was pouring down rain during the ceremony?”
Jonah did. “We felt so bad for the seniors that year,” he recalled. He and Alex had spent the day of the claiming sitting by the fire in the common room of their dorm and imagining what it must be like to have to go through a claiming ceremony in the pouring rain. “I still don’t understand why they didn’t just move the damn thing inside that year.”
“They’ve got to have their traditions,” Alex said. “You know how it is.”
“Yeah, well. That’s a stupid tradition.”
“At least it’ll be nice today,” Alex said. “Are you ready for it?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Jonah said.
Alex rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’re adding a vital piece to our pack today,” he said. “Don’t let your worries ruin that moment for you.”
“Just keep yourself out of trouble,” Jonah said. “That’s all I ask. I know you want to be there, but I’m begging you to stay away from me so that you won’t get hurt if something happens.”
Alex was quiet for a moment.
“Are you ordering me?” he asked.
“You know I’m not.”
“Then I’ve got your back,” Alex said. “As long as you leave me my own free will, I’m going to fight by your side.”
Jonah sighed. “I don’t know what I was thinking, choosing you as a second,” he said. “You’re so willful.”
“You’re right. You should have chosen a total doormat,” Alex agreed. “But you didn’t, and it’s too late now.” He pointed to the uneaten toast in front of Jonah. “You should eat something,” he said. “The ceremony isn’t going to be over until mid-afternoon, and you’ll be starving by the time they bring out the banquet.”
Jonah picked at his toast. He was too nervous to have much of an appetite. “Maybe I should have forced the Prices into a confrontation earlier this week,” he said. “That way I could have faced them on my own, without anyone else around.”
“There are five of them,” Alex said. “They would have torn through you like tissue paper.”
Jonah scowled. “I am the best fighter in our year, you know,” he pointed out.
“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “But there are five of them. They would have held you down and cut you up.” He shook his head. “And without any professors to intervene, there would have been no reason for them to stop at just beating you up. You’d be six feet under right now, and Aubrey would be crying about how the alpha who loved her had met an untimely end.”
“And Grace would be alone,” Jonah said.
Alex nodded. “You really care for her, don’t you?”
“Did you doubt it?”
“I don’t know. I thought it might just be an imprint and nothing more. She is good looking. And I’m sure she’s very submissive, given the way she’s been bullied all her life.”
“I bullied her myself,” Jonah said. “When we first began spending time together. I acted like she was pathetic because she wasn’t capable of shifting at will.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking, treating her like that. Why did I need to be that way? What did it gain me?”
“Don’t give yourself a hard time about it,” Alex said. “You’re making up for it today. Claiming her. Giving her the life she deserves.”
Jonah got to his feet. “I’m not going to be able to eat any more,” he said.
Alex wrapped the toast up in a napkin and stuck it in his backpack. “In case you get hungry later,” he said.
“What are you? My mother?”
“No, I’m your second,” Alex said patiently. “And it’s literally my job to take care of the little things so that you can focus on the big ones. So quit giving me a hard time.”
Jonah socked Alex lightly on the shoulder. “Thanks for being here today,” he said. “I hate that you’re going to be in danger, but I’m glad I don’t have to do this without you.”
“Hey,” Alex said, smiling slightly. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
They went out onto the lawn of Shifter U. Betas were milling around excitedly, but the alphas stood rigidly in a line, and Jonah could see that he wasn’t the only one who was anxious about the day’s events.
At least I know my omega wants me, he thought. All too often, omegas would respond to their claiming with expressions of shock or dismay. It was hard to watch sometimes.
But Jonah could never have claimed anyone who didn’t want him. That had been the whole problem with Aubrey.
“Jonah!” a voice called out.
Jonah looked over. It was Ian Price. He stood near the front of the line of alphas, and he was waving Jonah over.
Jonah swallowed hard. “Here goes,” he said.
“I’ll see you after,” Alex said. “Don’t worry. It’s not going to be as bad as you think it is.”
Jonah sincerely hoped his friend was right about that.
He jogged over to Ian. “We’re lining up according to rank,” Ian said. “So you should stand right there. You’ll be the one to lead us onto the Omega U campus and into the ceremony.”
It was an honor. Jonah wished he could feel excited about it. But all he could think about was the fact that he was standing so close to Ian Price. The biggest and strongest of Aubrey’s brothers—the most likely to take offense—the one who would lead the attack, if there was to be one—and he was just a few feet away.
Suddenly, Jonah wished he could have walked at the end of the line.
But there was no choice. He squared his shoulders, and when the entire alpha class had assembled and the professor had given the word, he turned and led the way across the road and onto Omega U’s campus.
The campus of Omega University had been transformed. It looked as if the students had been at work for days decorating the trees with flower garlands. The girls themselves were appealingly dressed in brightly colored dresses, looking like flowers themselves. They sat in the grass, waiting to be chosen, watching as the alphas filed into the clearing.
Jonah scanned the group, looking for Grace, but he didn’t see her anywhere. He supposed that made sense—she was probably sitting at the very back, thanks to her low rank among the omegas. He wished he could look her in the eyes before the ceremony started. That would have settled his nerves, and he imagined it would probably have made her feel a little more at ease too.
The alphas lined up several yards away from the omegas, facing them. The betas came in and stood in a loose circle around the clearing, some of them clumped together in small groups so that they could discuss the proceedings as they happened.
The Dean of Shifter University stepped into the middle of th
e clearing.
“Welcome to the fourteenth annual claiming ceremony of Shifter and Omega Universities,” he said. “For those who don’t know me,” he looked at the omegas, “I am Dean Orville of Shifter University, and I will be overseeing today’s proceedings. I’d like to begin by offering my sincere congratulations to all the alphas and omegas assembled here today. By reaching this point in your education, you have proven yourselves to be worthy of the next step in your journey as shifters.”
He led a brief round of applause. The betas joined in, but not many of the alphas or omegas did. Jonah thought it might feel weird to applaud his own accomplishments, so he stood with his hands by his sides.
“Many of you have not been witness to a claiming ceremony before,” Dean Orville said, “so I’ll outline the procedure very quickly, for those who are unfamiliar.” He turned to the alphas. “Our alphas should have arranged themselves according to their class rank. If anyone is out of order, please move to the proper place in line now.”
Nobody moved. Apparently, all the alphas had anticipated this.
“Very good,” Dean Orville said. “Now, in recognition of the achievement of his rank, our top ranked alpha will have the opportunity to make the first selection.” He consulted a piece of paper in front of him. “Jonah Jackson,” he said, clearly reading Jonah’s name. “You’ll step forward and announce the name of the omega you wish to claim.”
Jonah felt a little perturbed that the dean hadn’t even known his name. So much emphasis was placed on class rank, but now it seemed as if it didn’t matter at all. Was it possible that the professors had no idea who had achieved the highest rank?
Jonah had always assumed that everyone at school was as aware of his status as he was. But maybe they weren’t. Maybe that had all been in his mind.
He thought of Grace, who had always been so sure that everyone at Omega U thought badly of her because of her class rank. Maybe it wasn’t true. Maybe she hadn’t been held in quite as low esteem as she’d always thought.
Maybe she had simply been unnoticed.
Looking out over the crowd of omegas, he couldn’t help noticing Aubrey at the front of the group. She was wearing a pure white dress that flared around her hips, making her look as if she was sitting in a pool of cream. Jonah was sure a lot of the alphas were imagining what she would look like later today when it was time for the mating ceremony. That dress rucked up around her waist, smeared with dirt and grass stains, her face contorted with pleasure...
He was gratified to realize that the image held no appeal for him. He truly didn’t want her anymore.
But God, he wished like hell that he could see Grace.
He wanted to know what she was wearing. He wanted to picture what she would look like when he took her.
Maybe it’s for the best I can’t see her. Maybe it’s for the best that there’s nothing to distract me from the matter at hand.
Aubrey was looking around at the girls sitting beside her, a smug look on her face. It had never been clearer to Jonah that she fully expected to be the first omega claimed. She didn’t anticipate having to wait.
He almost felt bad for her.
Dean Orville was still talking. “When Mr. Jackson makes his choice, the omega he claims will come forward and stand opposite him. We will then proceed down the line until every alpha has made his choice.” He stepped back from the center of the clearing and looked over at Jonah. “Go ahead when you’re ready,” he said.
Jonah took a deep breath.
This was it.
He wished, once more, that he could see her.
But I will see her. As soon as I call her name, she’ll come to me. She’ll be mine.
He stepped forward.
He could feel all the eyes in the clearing upon him. Ian’s expectant stare. Aubrey’s smug grin. Alex’s anxiety. They all seemed to swirl around him, catching him up in a whirlpool of emotions.
He cleared his throat.
“I claim Grace Foster,” he said.
For several moments, no one moved or spoke.
The expression on Aubrey’s face was a blend of horror and rage. All the color had drained from her cheeks, and she looked as if she might jump to her feet and charge across the distance between them.
Jonah braced himself. Her brothers were here. They were watching. An attack might come from any direction.
Then, at the back of the crowd of omegas, he saw her.
She rose to her feet. She was wearing a soft lavender gown that draped around the curves of her body like an embrace. As she made her way over to him, the wind caught her skirt and fluttered the hem, and Jonah had the impression that she was floating.
Grace stopped before him, close enough to reach out and touch.
“Hi,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, her expression radiant.
Jonah forgot his worries. He forgot about Aubrey and whatever outrage she might be feeling and expressing. He forgot his fears that her brothers might attack. He forgot to care about the rest of the alphas and omegas standing around them and what they might think of the choice he had just made.
All that mattered was Grace.
Finally, officially, in every possible way—she was his.
He felt as if a force within his body was reaching out for her, aching to take her right then and there, to throw her to the ground and mount her and show all the people watching how beautiful she was in the throes of ecstasy, what a magnificent woman he had claimed.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t even touch her. Not until the ceremony had reached its conclusion.
But God was it difficult to keep his hands to himself!
Beside him, he was vaguely aware of another alpha stepping up and speaking a name. Another omega—not Aubrey—got to her feet and took her place in the line.
The ceremony continued.
And nobody attacked.
Jonah’s heart raced, the combined adrenaline of the fear he had felt leading up to the claiming and the anticipation of the soon-to-come mating ceremony putting his body into overdrive. He trembled, his inner wolf feeling impossibly close to the surface. More than he could ever remember in his life, he felt as if he was truly man and animal, both aspects of his nature rising simultaneously.
He locked eyes with Grace. Her chest was heaving as she breathed as well, and Jonah could see that she was just as eager for him as he was for her. What came next would be the best afternoon of his life.
The claiming seemed as if it would never end, but finally, after what felt like forever, there was silence in the clearing. Jonah forced himself to look over Grace’s shoulder at the omegas who remained.
Aubrey wasn’t among them. She had been claimed. He hadn’t noticed it happening—he had been too preoccupied with his own omega. But he was glad to see that she hadn’t been left behind. The few omegas who had looked tearful but resigned, and Jonah thought they had probably been expecting it.
“This concludes the claiming ceremony,” Dean Orville said. “Congratulations to all our new mated pairs! You may now retire to the woods for the mating ceremony. Betas may assist in setting up the buffet.”
The rigid line of alphas began to break up as men took their new omegas into the woods for the next part of the ceremony.
Jonah held out a hand to Grace, half afraid that he would pull her close and sink his teeth into her the moment he touched her. “Shall we go?” he asked quietly.
He saw her eyes go wide with alarm a split second before a hand closed around his throat.
Chapter Seventeen
GRACE
Jonah was violently yanked away from her, almost before Grace knew what had happened. By the time she pieced together the events, he was gone.
A scream swelled in her throat. She hadn’t seen what had happened. She hadn’t seen who had done it. But she could guess. It was what they’d feared. One of Aubrey’s brothers had acted.
She looked around desperately, hoping to find help, hoping to see where they had gone
. But the professors had cleared the field, moving inside to set up the banquet hall. If she ran for them, it might be too late.
Where was Jonah?
Suddenly, there was a flash of motion by her side. A lanky brown wolf bounded past her and disappeared into the woods.
A girl Grace didn’t know came running up behind him. “Alex!”
Grace felt dizzy and frightened. “That...was that Alex? Alex Brody?”
The girl looked half-mad with fear. “His alpha was dragged into the woods. He thought something like this might happen...” She looked at Grace. “You’re Grace Foster.”
“Do I know you?”
“You know my sister. Skye.”
“You’re Heather Morales?”
The girl nodded. “Alex is my mate. I told him not to go—he’s not a fighter, he’s going to get himself hurt—”
Grace registered one fact. Alex had gone after Jonah. Which meant that Jonah had been taken this way. She knew which way she needed to go.
She started to run.
Heather Morales caught her by the arm. “What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice practically a scream. “Don’t you know they’ll kill you? That’s an alpha fight happening in there.”
Grace yanked her arm away. “I don’t care!” she said. “If Alex is your mate, how can you stand to let him face danger alone? How can you stand to let him fight, maybe die, while you sit out here and wait?”
Heather’s jaw tightened, and Grace saw that her words had had the desired effect. “Come on,” she said. “We’ll go together.”
The two girls ran into the woods.
Grace’s heart was pounding. It occurred to her only after she was well out of the clearing that she should have sought more help. She didn’t have a lot of friends at Omega U, and certainly not at Shifter U. But surely someone would have wanted to help break up the fight.
Maybe I should have run for the professors once I realized where Jonah was.
But she couldn’t regret the decision she had made. Every moment she didn’t follow him was another moment they might be hurting him. She couldn’t fight, but her presence might be enough of a distraction to allow Jonah and Alex to regroup, and maybe even to get the upper hand on their aggressors.