"Modesty. Humility," his grandfather said. "These were the words that shaped how a good leader should act. Not just in how they dressed, but through what they said as well. And a leader that is not humble can never truly understand what their people are going through. You cannot change this pack for the better if you do not understand the issues that the people are going through."

"But what about bravery and respect?" Shiro asked. He loved these lessons, but sometimes they didn't make sense.

"Those are important traits to have, Shiro," his grandfather smiled at him. The wrinkles made his smile spread over his whole face. "But you must remember that it takes bravery to be humble. Modesty is a sign of respect."

Shiro wished that he didn't remember so vividly sometimes. Being able to remember someone who he could not see any longer gave him a pain that had not dulled since he was thirteen.

But he had to remember. For memories of a person was what kept them alive. And his grandfather would always be alive in him.

Shiro drove to school that morning by himself. He had gotten up earlier than his friends. And Geo, his Beta, was excited that he had finally gotten his own car to drive. His parents had given it to him as an early graduation present. It was also for his birthday that was coming up. Geo was the youngest out of Shiro's council. He wouldn't turn eighteen for another two weeks. Once he did, Shiro could ask his father for his rightful title.

The silence usually soothed him. It brought him peace in the calm that it had. Shiro wished he could have enjoyed it that morning. He needed some peace after the discussion that he had with his father that evening. But peace wouldn't come to him. All he could hear was the low voice that belonged to the man he was supposed to be mated with.

Those eyes. He could still feel them on him long after they had departed. It was as if they never left in the first place. All night he had been dreaming about those dark irises and the orange that surrounded them. He hadn't been able to sleep much last night because of it. The Spirit of the Moon must have been keeping him up so as to punish him for not running to accept his mate as soon as he found him.

The halls of the school were practically empty. No one got there that early, except for a few who had early morning classes. He knew a few members of his pack did. However, the off-white halls that he walked down were void of life. He wandered through them as he sorted through his thoughts. For that was its own kind of meditation.

The Spirit of the Moon must be very angry with him. For she had mated him with the most unlikely mate he could imagine. Leaders of packs never get mated to other leaders. And, as much as he could pray that his situation be better, Shiro knew that it was inevitable. It wouldn't be long before the curse would try and force them together. The longer he waited, the stronger the curse became. It was a curse that the Spirit of the Moon had put on every werewolf in these lands as a punishment for running away from their mates.

"What do you think your doing, you bitch?" a female's voice got his attention. He caught onto the scent of one of his pack members and followed it towards the sound. "You are such a slut! Trying to get my boyfriend?"

"No," a softer voice answered. Shiro recognized that voice immediately. He hurried to where the lockers were. "I wasn't trying to do anything. He just asked me if I had a pencil!"

"Pfft, yeah!" another voice came down the halls. "We all know what that means."

"If you're trying to steal my boyfriend," the first voice spoke again. This time he finally arrived to the source. There were two girls cornering one of his pack members. "You should at least admit it. Now you just showed us how much of a coward you really are."

"Is there a problem here?" Shiro went up to them. These girls were younger than him, which usually meant that they would listen to him if he told them to stop.

"Oh, hi Shiro," one of the girls batted their eyes at him. Her voice went higher when she noticed that he was there. She wore so much makeup that he could smell it over the perfume that she had on. "There wasn't a problem. We were just talking to our new friend here."

"Are you alright, Ava?" Shiro mind linked with her. The two other girls were humans, and while all the humans here knew of the werewolves, they didn't know much about the inner workings of packs and the sort.

"Yes, Master Shiro," she looked at him with nervous eyes. She looked much like her father, Nikita. She had his same blue eyes. But her hair was a light blonde rather than the brown that her father had. She was a beautiful omega. Shiro would be happy to see her find her mate and grow a family. She was a kind soul.

"Good," Shiro said out loud. "Then you wouldn't mind if I spoke with your friend for a bit?"

"Oh," the girl giggled. "Not at all, Shiro! You could always talk to us too, though."

Shiro ignored their request and motioned for Ava to follow him. As soon as they were far enough away, he heard her sigh.

"How long have they been doing that to you?" he asked her. It wasn't uncommon for bullying in any school around the world. But Shiro did his best to try and make sure that no one in his pack had to go through that at school. Education was important, no matter what your status was, and he didn't want his family to be distracted from it by the hatred of others.

"About a month now," Ava said. She spoke so softly it was barely audible. "I don't know what I did, but they think that I'm trying to steal her boyfriend. And I promise I'm not, I jus-!"

"It's alright," Shiro comforted her. "I believe you."

"You do?" her blue eyes looked shocked at him.

"Of course," he told her. "You forget that I can tell when someone is lying." That was a trait that all leaders were taught at a young age.

"I'm sorry, Alpha," she put her head down. Blonde strands were falling from the bun that she had put them in. "I didn't mean to disrespect you."

"You didn't," he assured. "From now on I need you to call for me whenever this happens, though. I may not be in this school for much longer, but we all work together to keep each other safe."

"Yes, Master Shiro," she bowed again.

He didn't get to see that much of her since she was a grade below him, but Shiro liked Ava. She was polite and always had a happy look to her. It reminded him of her father, with whom had treated him like a son. Out of respect for the man helping to raise him, Shiro vowed to help keep his daughter safe. She was like a sister to him.

"Thank you for the gift, by the way," Shiro told her. She looked up to meet his eyes. "You and your father are very skilled."

"You're welcome," Ava smiled a little at him. "It was my father who did most of the work, though. I just picked flowers and helped him crush them up."

"Still," he said. "I don't take back what I said." He had lit the candle last night. It was the only thing that helped him get at least some sleep. It reminded him of taking a nap in the sunlight in the forest. He would have to ask them to make more in the future.

The rest of the students slowly started coming in. They headed for the cafeteria to get their breakfast before the bell rang. Since Shiro had gotten up early, he had already eaten his breakfast at home. But he headed there anyway. Because as much as he always got up early, there was one person who always got up late.

"Shiro!" a girl waved over to him. "Over here!"

"You know he could just sniff us out, right?" Geo rolled his eyes at her. His closest friend was always grumpy in the morning. Shiro found it funny rather than anything else.

"You're just mad because you don't want me getting your ex's attention," Tammy said. She had been another one of his close friends. As close as a human and a werewolf could get at the time. The strawberry blonde had a white dress on today that went just below her knees. Her shoes had heels on them as well.

Shiro sighed. That only meant one thing.

He was going to have to be a third wheel again.

"Shhhh!" Geo shushed her. His light brown eyes went wide as he quickly scanned the area. Shiro sat down next to them, trying not to look amused by his friend's weariness. "Can you not scream it out to the whole world?!"

"He already knows that you're here," Tammy rolled her eyes. As soon as she saw Shiro, she hugged him. "At least there's still one calm person at this table."

Geo looked tense as he lowered his gaze to his food. His hair was much shorter than Shiro's. The beta kept it short and spiky. It looked well on him, and he got plenty of attention from both men and women due to his looks.

Shiro looked around and noticed how many of his pack had come already. There were plenty of students from the other pack as well. They all went to the same school. But there was one member in particular that was making his beta shrink to half his size.

"He's looking at you," Shiro told him. The tiny omega was desperately trying to make eye contact with him. He was a part of their pack as well. Shiro was surprised that he didn't try to mind link with Geo. They used to be such a happy couple just a few weeks ago.

"I know," Geo said. He sounded more annoyed than usual. "I can feel his eyes burning a hole into my head."

"Maybe we should eat somewhere else."

"Agreed."

"Can you guys stop having conversations without me?!" Tammy placed a hand on her hip. "You werewolves act like you're all high and mighty just because you can read minds or something."

"It's not reading minds," Geo argued. They all got up, Tammy following by example. "It's more like telepathy."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off. Even though she didn't have the ability to mind link, she knew enough about their body language to know when they were about to leave the table. As soon as they got up, she hooked her arm into Shiro's. It was common for them to walk like this. It kept the both of them safe from the prying eyes of the school as well as the packs.

"Why did you have to get his attention!" Geo snapped at her as soon as they were a safe enough distance away. Thankfully his ex didn't try to follow. "That was the whole point of me coming so late to school!"

"Oh please!" Tammy rolled her eyes. "The reason you come so late is because you don't ever wake up early. You sleep like a damn log."

"You shouldn't have gotten his attention," Shiro defended his friend. "It only brings up suspicions if everyone sees how he looks at him."

"Ugh!" Tammy groaned. "Why does this city have to be made up of such homophobic trash?!"

"Because it's dictated by a bunch of old men," Geo said. "As soon as the next generation starts to come into leadership, I'm sure they're going to see things differently."

"I think these old men just need to get a good fu-" she paused as soon as she saw Shiro's glare towards her. "-I mean, a good night's rest." She finished her sentence before giving him the most sweetest and innocent smile she could.

"It's not right to disrespect your elders," Shiro told her. Just the thought of hearing the rest of that sentence made his stomach churn. He was glad that she didn't finish what she was originally going to say.

"All I'm saying is that they need to learn to be more understanding," Tammy pouted. "Maybe a good night's rest would be good for them."

Shiro raised an eyebrow at her. Her sweet and innocent act never worked on him.

"Why did you break up with him anyway?" Tammy changed the subject. Geo was basically eating his food while they were walking. With how late it was, the bell was sure to sound off before they found another seat. "You never told us."

"Correction," he pointed at her. "I never told you."

Geo told Shiro everything. They kept their bond strong through telling each other everything. They were also the only ones that they could talk to about certain things. The secrets they shared with each other were ones that would stay with them unto death.

That reminded him. He had been so busy yesterday that he hadn't told Geo yet. Shiro wasn't looking forward to talking about his newest predicament with anyone.

"Shiro doesn't count!" Tammy stomped her foot. "I'm still mad that I'm always the last to know everything, by the way!"

"Sucks to be human," Geo teased.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Not here, Tammy!" Geo sighed. "Fuck, why do you have to be so annoying about this stuff?"

"Because I hate it when you guys keep secrets from me," she pouted. Some people walked by for a minute and she leaned her head on Shiro's shoulder and smiled. When they passed, she went back to normal. "So, when are you going to tell me?"

Before he could say anything, the bell rang.

"Woops!" Geo smirked. "Looks like you're never gonna know! See you guys around!"

Great. Now he was going to have to hear her whining all the way to their classroom. Shiro motioned for them to get going and tried to block out most of the complaints.

"I'm so gonna get him at lunch," she said.

"As long as it doesn't involve getting a certain someone's attention," he told her. "Please, Tammy."

"Oh, alright," she huffed. "So, why are you so quiet this morning?"

"I'd rather not say right now," he said. "In a quieter place, I'll go in more detail. For now, let's just say that it's been an eventful weekend."

"Oh yeah! Did you see the rednecks that were all over the place?" she asked. "They were the most obnoxious group of people I had ever seen. And boy, did they reek!" She wrinkled her nose.

"Those were hunters."

"Really? But hunters around these parts never stink that bad."

Shiro laughed at what she said. He longed to be as naïve about the supernatural dangers as most humans in the town. This was one of the reasons why he liked Tammy so much. She was a breath of fresh air when it came to all the responsibilities that he had.

"There's my Shiro," she hugged him. "By the way, I'm mad at you and you're making it up to me today."

"Making what up?" he looked at her confused.

"Not answering your phone at all yesterday!" she smacked his arm. "Do you know just how many times I was trying to wish you happy birthday?! And before you start going on about how you don't celebrate your birthday, you need a reality check. Because your eighteenth birthday is, like, the most important one - next to your twenty first, of course."

"How am I making it up to you, then?" he asked. He already knew where this was going. He was lucky that his first period was the same as hers. Trying to get her to stop talking so that he could actually make it on time to class was a game of mission impossible.

"Easy," she crossed her arms and gave him a smug smile. "You're going out with all of us to have some fun today."

"On a Monday?"

"Yes, Mr. Honor Roll Student," she rolled her eyes. "Because the next few days after this are going to be the finals and then it's going to be graduation."

"And we can't celebrate it on graduation day?"

"No!" she smacked his arm again. The teacher for the class had just handed out review packets for them to go through. Thankfully, he allowed them to talk amongst themselves while they worked or they would have already gotten yelled at. "Quit trying to celebrate everything except yourself, Shiro. Your birthday is important."

He knew that. He had known that yesterday especially. But it didn't feel like something that he should celebrate. Not with all the troubles that his birthday had caused. It was a curse all in of itself. Every time his birthday would come when he was a child, his grandfather would get into an argument with his father. They argued quite a lot when he was still alive. Much of their arguments had something to do with either him or his sister.

No. He'd much rather celebrate his graduation with his pack than his birthday. That was a much greater thing to celebrate. Education was always important.

The rest of the day went by just as the first class. Everyone was reviewing for the finals the next day. It was the last week of school for all of them. Shiro wasn't worried about it. He had studied hard his whole life. Tests were as easy as breathing for him.

As he was headed to lunch, he noticed a noise coming from the lockers again. His mind alert as he thought about Ava. He hoped those girls weren't trying to go after her again.

"What's it like being a pipsqueak like yourself?" a male voice wafted through the hall this time. It made him move faster. "You're just some omega trash from Valor, right? Heh. Pathetic."

When he finally got to where the voice came from, he saw a small boy scrunched into the very same corner that Ava was in earlier.

"I heard he's from an alpha family," one of the three boys around him said. "What a horrible thing. Your family must hate that they had a tiny omega rather than an alpha."

The poor boy looked like he had gotten bullied by them too many times. Tears were falling down his cheeks as he tried to make himself to be as small as possible.

"Aww," the head of the group said. "The poor runt is crying. Boo hoo!"

"Stop!" Shiro said. The three boys were taken by surprise. They each jumped and looked back at him.

"What do you want, Reverence pack?" the leader sneered at him. From their scents, he could tell that they were all from the Noble pack. "Why don't you do what you do best and mind your own damn business?"

"Fighting your allies makes you weaker, not stronger," Shiro told him. "Even the weakest in the pack are meaningful."

"And how is this runt meaningful, oh wise one?" his tone oozed sarcasm.

"We are all children of the moon," he answered. "She made us to be the way we are for a reason. Each member of your pack has a purpose, even if it be just to help clean. Without the small, we would never be great."

The boy looked up from the ball that he had put himself in. Curly black hair bounced on his head and orange eyes met with his. They looked just like Jett's.

So, he must be from the Valor Pack.

"I swear," the leader of the group sneered at him. "You Reverence Pack wolves are all the same. You act all high and mighty until someone actually needs your help. Then you run away with your tails between your legs."

Red flashed before his eyes for a split second. He had to control his anger, no matter how disrespectful these boys were being. He wasn't going to stoop to their level.

"You should think about who you are talking to before you speak," he told him. His tone was cold and menacing.

"Why?" he asked. "You're probably just as weak as him."

"Alright then," Shiro nodded. "Try and do what you did to him to me, then."

"Seriously?" the leader of the group asked. When he nodded his reply, the guy laughed. "Alright tough guy. Let's see what you've got."

The fist flew at him faster than the bat of an eye. These boys must be training to be warriors. They were built like them, and they were fast like them. But Shiro had trained much longer, and much harder than them. He caught the fist in his palm. As soon as it hit his hand, he closed it around the fist and squeezed.