Chapter 1
"Dilara, it's time to wake up." There were three loud knocks following the words of my mom. I am awake. I have been awake since before the sun rose. My mind is just so occupied that I can't even sleep. The thought of sleeping makes me sleepless. It's the final week for university applications. Which is why I have been staring at the computer screen that is looking excessively threatening now. All I've ever wanted was to go to university. Probably when people asked me what I wanted to be when I was younger I said: 'university student.' Obviously not really, but can you just imagine it?
Going to university is my one chance to get away and seeing any other place than here. There is nothing wrong with here. It's just that I've been here for eighteen years. It's time to be somewhere else. A new adventure with new friends. I'll never experience something new here. Here I have loving parents. A nice home, beautiful pack grounds and a friendly pack. It's exactly what everyone wants. Not me though. I want to go. As soon as my acceptance letters come in, I will choose the furthest one. Then I won't be tempted to run back home. The only problem is my parents. They don't want me to study. Not because I want to go far away or that we don't have the money. It's a lot simpler than that.
They want me to settle down. They want me to be a she wolf who meets her mate, settles down and starts to push out babies. I want to live first. I'm not against finding my mate. It's the one person that was made just for me. And I for him. He will be my perfect match in every possible way. I'm just not in a hurry to find him. I don't think it will really matter if I get into university unless it is on a full scholarship. My parents won't pay for it. Their money is one way they used to control and shelter me. That is why I wanted to apply to the werewolf university. They can't say no if I get in there. It will be prestigious. The pack will be proud of the achievement. I also need to get a scholarship just to make sure I can get there without them being able to influence me. If I let them pay, they'll make me come back here. Any benefits I get from attending there will be for nothing.
I've known this for a while, which is why I work hard so that I can meet every requirement Potentia Cogitionis have set for their applicants. I didn't really have much of a social life, clearly seen by my lack of friends. Which is odd, since a pack is like a big family. I'm not a recluse. Everyone knows about me. I'm a favorite in our community, but they don't know me. I'm Adele and Richard's perfect daughter. As for the requirements, number one is obedience. Pack obedience. Meaning that you need to be completely loyal and obedient. If the pack calls you run, if they say jump, you say how high. There can't be any complaints about you. It isn't easy. You can't make anyone angry. You must be the nicest person you can, you should always be available and, above all, you should be dependable. I've been doing all those things since I turned thirteen. That means never making plans for yourself and always putting everyone's needs above yours.
Requirement two is a recommendation letter from your pack Alpha. The letter must be personal. The Alpha must know you and know your deeds. More than that, he must take time out of his busy schedule to write it for you. You need to be important for that to happen. I've made myself important.
Requirement three is a list of all the pack activities you have been involved in. Meaning you participate, worked at, arranged or created. If you have less than ten on the list, there isn't even a point in applying. I submitted three pages in full, which is over sixty activities that I have been part of. That means participating once each month for five years.
Requirement four is to have maintained a job for three years at the least. It has to do with showing you can handle pressure. I mean there is school, pack involvement and a job. Which is why I never had time for a social life. Hopefully that changes at university. I was lucky I got a job working for our Luna as her assistant. She took me under her wing at the age of fourteen. After she saw what a hard worker I was.
Criteria five is having a GPA between 3.5 and 4.0. I had eight subjects. I got four A+, three A's and one A- that gets me a GPA of 3,96. It's a rounded off as a perfect 4.0, but I would have preferred to have gotten a 4.0 straight. If only I hadn't got that one A-. I hate chemistry. It is one of my weak points. I would have felt so much better if I had a higher GPA. With that GPA I wouldn't even be able to get into a top school, especially with my extra-curricular being non-existent, since all of them are pack related. Except for those five requirements, there is an essay about why you want to attend Potentia Cogitionis. This was the really hard part. I can't say that I want an adventure and want to be free from my restrictions. That would be like saying I'm trying to get away from my pack and they are all about loyalty to the pack. It really took me some time.
"Dilara, you have responsibilities. Get up, sweetheart." My mom said, tapping on the door as she passed again. I sighed, closed my eyes and pressed on submit. It is out in the world now. It's out of my hands. I got up to take a shower. I dried my hair, tying it in a ponytail and curling the ponytail. I got dressed in a pair of black stockings, a plaid skirt and a white-cowl-neck sweater. I tugged it into my skirt and added a black belt with a golden chain. I put on a pair of black suede boots that came just over my knees. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs.
My parents were sitting at the table in the kitchen. We only eat in the dining room when we have people over. My mother had made pancakes. There was a bunch of fruit to add some cream, honey and syrup on it.
"You are running late today. It isn't like you." My mom said as I sat down. I placed my bag on the open chair next to me.
"I just had a slow start, it must be the cold weather." I don't usually lie to my parents. I just don't want to sit through another speech about their disapproval on the matter. I've heard it too many times. They should have realized by now that me doing all this means I'm serious about it. I put a pancake on my plate with a bit of cream and some strawberries. I'm only going to eat this one. I don't have the time for more.
"What are you doing today?" My father asked. He is a man of few words. You'll never catch him in a conversation.
"I'm going to the pack house for a meeting with the Luna and Beta females. Then I'm going to go and make lunch at the orphanage. I think I'll make pancakes since this is so delicious." I ate my last bite, getting up.
"I'll see you later." I kissed my mom and dad on the cheek before rushing out of the room. I stopped to grab a jacket, just in case.
"You know she is lying. I saw a light underneath her door." I heard my mom say. I left before I heard more. This is why I don't lie. I suck at it and one leads to another and so on. If they confront me tonight, I'll just have to tell them the truth. No point in lying to cover a lie.
I got in my car. I drive a 2019 Volkswagen beetle in a blueish purple colour. I love my car. It never lets me down, so I won't ever let it down. It was a short drive to the pack house. I parked and went inside quickly. When I was younger, I used to jog and get ready here since I couldn't drive. I walked in and before I could enter the office I was grabbed around my middle and pulled into a familiar chest.
Sander Eaton. My playground crush. We do bump into each other often. He is the gamma's son, so he is around the pack house a lot. He is training to be an enforcer. It's the last thing he wants to be. Our pack is a taboo topic. Alpha Silvano only has three daughters. Which means there is no true Alpha in line. The pack will either go to one of his daughter's mates or to someone who dares to challenge him. His daughters remain unmated. They aren't actively looking for two reasons. One, they are spoiled and can't be bothered with the pack and two, we don't want to go around advertising our weakness. Alpha Silvano is getting old. He is already fifty. Alpha's usually step down at around forty. By then, their sons are usually between 18 and 21. There had always been whispers that if it came to it he would like to hand the pack over to Sander. Another reason why he is always around. He is like the Alpha's assistant, like I'm the Luna's.
"Sander, let go! I'm late!" I wiggled against his chest. It didn't feel bad...at all.
"Lara, you never have time for me." I dropped the 'Di' a long time ago. The only ones who still call me Dilara are my parents.
"You can come and help me at the orphanage this afternoon. Then I'll have time for you." I said,. He let me go.
'Fine, it's a date." I rolled my eyes at him.
'It's lunch." I walked into the office. Emilia was sitting there smiling at me all knowingly.
"Good morning, Luna." I said, taking my seat. I took out my binder from my bag. It is a monstrosity covered in sticky notes and coloured index sticky notes. It stands at least three times thicker than it should.
"I'm going to miss you. I'm honestly going to be lost without you." She said, eyeing my binder.
"I'm not going anywhere." I opened the binder on the day's date.
"They are going to accept you. You are their ideal poster child. I can't imagine anyone else fitting their criteria so perfectly...We are notified as soon as someone from the pack applies. You finally did it this morning." They must notify them when someone applies for a scholarship. If accepted, you become part of the university pack, basically to pay back the study debt.
"I probably won't get in. My GPA sucks. Now let's look at your schedule." I don't want to talk about it until I'm rejected or accepted. It's just too early to tell and I don't want to make assumptions and then have them later come back to bite me.
