One Bite

Chapter 1-7

"So..." my lips vibrated with my mumbles.

The next morning, I lifted my tired eyes to Elena. During yet another history lesson in the library, I sat through another 'Elena talked a lot and I pretended to listen' block of two hours.

"Did you not hear me?" She sighed through puffed out cheeks. "This is important. You need to determine the order you're visiting the four territories."

My fingers ribbed over my forehead. "Does it matter if I have to visit them all?"

She sat back for a moment, then her forehead creased. "Maybe. It's advantageous for whoever you visit first... Although, if you have a true mate then I suppose it doesn't matter."

'Mate.'

Lumi wasn't much help, even if she took more interest in this conversation than I did.

"Advantageous, hmm..." My index finger lowered and tapped on my lips, guessing that my father would have preferred the territory with the largest pack. From that, I went with the opposite selection. "South last then."

'Mate...'

I hear you Lumi, you want to find our mate. Still not helping.

"Alright, South last." Elena's curls brushed over her cheeks as her head shook. By the confusion in her voice, she didn't understand my decision-making process but didn't argue. "Probably for the best, they have two potential future alphas."

The information raised my eyes to hers. "There's two packs?"

Now I'm up to five bachelors?

"One pack, twin brothers," she corrected herself. "As of now, they've labeled the older one as the future alpha and the younger one future beta."

"How is one older?" My stomach twisted at the mention of twins.

Maybe I'll find my mate sooner than that, within one of the other territories.

"Difference of being born four minutes apart," Elena replied, pulling out her hand-drawn territory map and crossing through 'South.'

I stared at her, perhaps I should have put more weight to my father's words. With his ominous, 'Seconds matter,' I assumed he meant life and death situations but his words applied in this situation as well.

"Stop changing the subject, Zara." She tapped her map with the end of her pen. "Which of the North, East, or West is first?"

My eyes blinked. "Which would you choose?"

She stared at me, her tapping pen freezing mid-air. "Cole has a lot better opinion on formulating strategic tactical advantages."

"For me, then." I clarified. Having no opinion on the matter, each family and territory were mysteries to me.

"North." She looked down after expressing her opinion so candidly.

Knowing she had a reason to blurt out that territory, I pressed, "Why?"

Her eyes lifted, meeting mine. "Their females train as warriors... which would help you to learn more about fighting in wolf form. You'd be better equipped to defend yourself."

That justification perked Lumi's interest enough, distracting her from her mate obsession.

"In wolf form." I stared at Elena, my lips parting into a smile as she nodded.

Cole hadn't introduced wolf fighting into my training. I learned various forms of martial arts, knife and gun defense, solely in human form. He would never qualify my skill level above novice but I felt comfortable with the defensive moves that he focused on.