Sharkbait

I was tired but excited the next morning at school as I told my project advisor about the phone call last night. I couldn’t believe that people like Ocean Ramsey, Doctor Martinez, and Director Kettering not just LISTENED, but were actively encouraging me. I could see a path forward where I’d make a real difference in the world, and it felt amazing.

Amy was just as excited, and we spent lunch figuring out what we would have to do to get to Hawaii on Spring Break. It was going to be tough; we both had worked as lifeguards the previous summer, but our savings were earmarked for college. “We need to work on scholarships,” Amy said with a sigh.

“Yeah. We won’t get more than what it would cost to go to the U of M.” Of the four schools that accepted me so far, the University of Minnesota was the closest and the cheapest. Duke, Eckerd, and Oregon were private schools. For all three colleges away from home, I’d have to add a lot of money for room and board. “You know the rules. A degree in marine biology doesn’t help them, so we’re on our own.”

“I wish we lived on the ocean instead of this frozen prairie,” she said. I knew what she meant; both of us were abnormal. Where everyone else wanted mountains and woods, we wanted seawater and reefs. “What do you think Leo will say about our plans?”

I just shook my head. “He’s so… rigid about things,” I said. “I’m glad that Mom doesn’t have to go. She HATES those meetings.”

“With good reason,” Amy said. “Mom said that it isn’t bad for her, other than watching over the younger ones and the parties.” My Mom and I had traveled to an Alpha Summit when I was five, and it didn’t go well. Leo and Adrienne went on trial, Leo nearly died, and Mom and I ended up running for our lives.

I kept working on my project in the afternoon, and we did our swim practice before heading home to finish our homework and pack. We arrived at Alpha Leo and Luna Adrienne’s house just before six, well after sundown. We walked in the front door, only to have Andy yell and launch himself at me from six feet away. “VICKI!!”

I caught him and put a foot back to steady myself before he knocked me on my ass. I tossed him to Amy, who caught him and spun him around before putting him down. “Hey, Crush,” I said. I’d gotten him hooked on Finding Nemo as a kid, and if I was Sharkbait, he had to be the sea turtle.

“ANDREI MAKSIM VOLKOV, you behave! Amy and Vicki, stop encouraging him!”

“Yes, Luna,” Amy and I said in unison. We finished taking our coats and boots off and walked towards the dining room. Adrienne was finishing with setting the table, and she took a moment to hug both of us.

“Hey kids,” Leo said as he kicked open the door from the deck overlooking the patio and brought the heavy tray of meat inside. I smiled and jumped in place a little as the smell hit; Leo had made ribs on his smoker. “You don’t mind if this dinner is a little informal, do you,” he teased.

I gave him a big hug as soon as he set the tray down. “Thank you, Unky Leo,” I said. Ribs were my absolute favorite, and Leo’s were as good as any barbecue joint we’d ever visited, and we’d visited a lot.

“Sit down, I’m hungry,” he said.

“That’s MY line,” I teased. Leo brought the beans and cheesy potatoes in while Adrienne sliced the cornbread. I loved coming over here when he fired up his smoker, but that wasn’t often in winter. Luckily, today was on the warmer side, even if he had to shovel his way out to it. I only saw five place settings. “Where are Mike and Anita and their brood?” Our Betas had four children, Cole (10), Jessie (9), Sienna (7) and Delton (5).

“They took their kids over to his grandparents and are visiting for a few days. They’ll be traveling down and back with the Winona pack,” Leo replied.

“Who are we traveling with,” Amy asked as we sat down.

“Let us give thanks first,” Leo replied. We thanked the Moon Goddess for the blessings she gave, and for the food before us. There wasn’t a lot of talk at first as we filled out plates, more like platters given the full slabs of ribs. My love for them hadn’t slackened, and I could still eat myself into a meat coma. “The Summit is on private land northeast of Pensacola, bordering the Blackwater River State Park. We’re taking a charter plane out of Red Wing, so you’ll have to leave school about eleven and drive here. The four of us, along with Stillwater Alpha John and Luna Karen and their Betas, will depart at one in the afternoon. We should arrive at the Summit by six.”

“We’ll check-in, have dinner, and then Unmated Mixer begins at eight,” Adrienne said. “Do you have your dresses?”

I nodded; my Mom had insisted, saying it could double as a Prom dress if I went this year. “I have one, but what’s the point? If my mate is there, he’s probably going to rip it off of me or get blood on it when he bites my neck. If he’s not, I’m not sticking around to deal with drunk, horny males trying to sample my goodies.”

“You’re an adult now, an Alpha Mantle and Heir. Amy, you are Beta blood. The Mixer is a chance to make friends among those near your age, friends that will help once you take on greater responsibilities.”

I set down a rib bone. “Yeah, about that,” I said. “I would like you to announce at the Summit that the Miesville Pack Heir is your son Andrei.”

A spoon hit the plate as Luna Adrienne looked over at me in shock. “What?”

“It’s the right thing to do. Andrei is your blood while I am Leo’s niece.”

“My wolf adopted you when we first met,” Leo said. “You are as much my daughter as he is my son.” He looked over at his son, who was just as shocked.

“It is best for everyone, and we should be clear about it,” I said. “My taking over Miesville has never been a given. We both know that if my mate is mantled as well, I’ll have to go to his Pack. Andrei won’t have that. His mate will come here.”

“The chances of your mate being a mantled Alpha or Heir is very slim, Vicki. There are only a couple unmated males like that,” Adrienne said.

I let out a breath; they didn’t get it. “You don’t understand me, Alphas. You look at the Alpha position as your birthright, and the best part of being a werewolf. You love being the heads of our Pack, and want that for me.” Both of them nodded. “I’m not like that. I have plans for my life that cannot happen as an Alpha. My plans don’t include an arrogant, overprotective male and sitting at home barefoot and pregnant.”

“It doesn’t have to be…” Adrienne started.

I held up my hand. “I’ve seen what happens when people find their mates. It changes them. Females who want to go to college and have a career are uprooted, move across the country, and sacrifice those dreams for their mates and new Packs.”

“You know Miesville isn’t like that! We encourage our females to complete their education and have a career,” Leo said. “Your mother sat at this table after being mated, and we encouraged her to finish her education.”

I nodded. “Yes, you did. A degree in elementary education, so she could take over the Pack School. Where would you use my degree in Marine Biology to help a Pack in Minnesota? How would my dream of conducting shark research at sea mix with being an Alpha?” They didn’t say anything. “It won’t. The difference between us is that you look at me finding my mate as the beginning of a great new life, while I see it as the end of my hopes and dreams.”

No one knew what to say, so we went back to eating. It was Adrienne who broke the silence. “Amy, what do you think?”

She looked at me, then her Alphas. “Vicki and I have dreamed about going to school together and working on the ocean since we were little,” she said. “I’m more worried than she is. She has a chance to stay here in Miesville, and I know her father would like her to take over Stillwater eventually. I could end up anywhere.” As a Beta female, she would go wherever her Beta or Alpha-ranked mate lived. “I don’t know if I’m going to finish high school here, much less be able to follow my dreams.”

“Have you chosen a college,” Adrienne asked.

“We’ve narrowed them down,” I said. “Both of us have acceptance letters from the University of Minnesota and Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. I also have Duke and the University of Oregon, while Amy has North Carolina and the University of Washington. My first choice is Eckerd.”

“Mine too,” Amy said.

Leo thought about it as he ate a rib. “Minnesota is a good option if you stay. It’s not likely your mate is nearby, as the area males were at your birthday party. It’s best to delay any decisions until after the Summit,” he said.

“What happens after the Scratch ’n Sniff if we don’t have a mate,” Amy asked.

“It turns into a weekend-long social event. There are training classes, fighting tournaments, and hunts if you aren’t required to be in the meetings,” Leo said. “We’ve learned to give the young males an outlet for their frustrations if they don’t find a mate.”

“We want to go diving,” Amy said. “There are charters in Pensacola that will take us out to where the USS Essex, which was sunk as an artificial reef.”

I could tell Leo was mind-linking with his mate before he talked again. “I’ll make the two of you a deal,” he said. “IF you participate fully in the Mixer and find at least two males to join you in the dive, I’ll not just agree to your outing. I’ll pay for it,” he said.

I didn’t expect that. “Why?”

“The Summit is about making social contacts and breaking down barriers between Packs. The two of you love diving, and you can use that to make new friends. The bigger the group the better, if you are going off on your own,” he said.

“You might find people eager to hang out with you and talk sharks, especially among the Packs nearer the coast,” Adrienne said.

I looked at Amy, who nodded. “You have a deal,” I said. We finished the meal, and somehow I found room for the warm pecan pie covered with New York Vanilla ice cream for dessert. I’d run a little longer on the treadmill tomorrow to work it off.

“Luna has a plan for your life, Vicki,” Leo said as we put our coats back on at the end of the night. “Things will all work out, and what you want is bound to change as you mature.”

“I know, Unka. I just don’t want them to change right now.” He embraced me before I moved to Adrienne. “Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re welcome, Vicki. Get some sleep; it’s going to be a long weekend.

Amy didn’t say much as we drove away; we both had a lot to think about after the talk. The sword over our head was that one (or both) of us could be mated and moved out by Monday. Our friendship would continue, but nothing would ever be the same for us.

I gave her a quick hug after I unbuckled my seatbelt in my driveway. “At least we get a free scuba diving excursion out of the deal,” I said as I leaned back.

“If we’re not mated,” she said. “The odds aren’t in our favor. Most of the matings come from females that have just come of age.”

“It’s not something we can control, so let’s agree not to worry about it. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah.” I watched her drive away before I walked through the light snow that was falling to my front door.

Things would have to work out. Wouldn’t they?