Finding My Mate

KATHERINE.

'Life goes on.'

Those were the words on my mind as the car I was in the passenger seat of moved down the road that led to the university.

They were the same words that had been on my mind as my pack's council began to prep me to take over the pack the day my parents' bodies were placed in the ground. They didn't seem to care about the fact that I had gone from 'precious daughter' to orphan overnight. All they were worried about was the pack.

And their worries were what had now separated me from Kit, my little brother… Well, their worries and the pack's seer's words.

My chest ached at the fact that I wouldn’t be seeing Kit for a while and that he was going to be devastated that I had left seeing as we just lost our parents a couple of months ago. I swallowed hard, trying to keep tears from burning my eyes, before turning my face to the right so my aunt in the driver’s seat wouldn’t be able to read the emotions on it, and I paused when I saw my reflection in the side mirror.

I looked like shit.

Eye bags were prominent under my eyes from tossing and turning every night throughout the week, trying to figure out how to make the council change their decision to send me to Blackwood University. My dirty blonde hair was messy, my silver eyes were dull and almost lifeless, and my lips were a bit chapped.

'Damn.' I began to run my fingers through my hair, slightly regretting my decision to not properly prepare myself before leaving home. Yes, I hated the fact that I had to leave but the first semester at Blackwood started two weeks ago, meaning eyes were going to be on the newcomer, and I would be having my picture taken for my student ID. I couldn’t show up there looking like this.

“You’re going to be fine, Kath,” Aunt Vivian said just before I fished my concealer and lip balm out of my bag to fix my eye bags and lips and I hemmed in response, not wanting to engage in conversation.

Minutes later, I heaved a sigh when I was done and glanced at the side mirror once more. I didn’t look amazing but I looked presentable and that was good enough.

There was nothing I could do about the lifeless look in my eyes though. They had been that way ever since my parents died.

“We’re here,” Aunt Vivian said and I returned my attention to the road to see the black gates of Blackwood University up ahead. My breath caught.

I was actually going to do this.

The giant BU letters on the gates seemed to mock me when we finally got to it and my aunt brought the car to a stop, waiting for the towering gates to open. Part of me wished it wouldn’t. That whoever was watching the gates with the cameras perched on walls would take one look at us and dismiss us as wandering humans but of course, that didn’t happen.

I swallowed as the gates opened easily and the car began to move again.

I’d be lying if I said the campus didn’t look good, it practically oozed beauty, and as we moved down the light-colored stone pathway, I couldn’t help but take in my surroundings.

Imposing buildings, some of which looked like castles, stood on the campus and each of them was connected to the pathway we were on. There were even towers and stone gargoyles and beyond all the buildings was an impenetrable forest.