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"A romantic shifter novel with a green flag male lead" - “Hey, Annie, move that hot ass aside, will you? Your dashingly handsome best friend is coming through!” Dave has the silliest grin on his face as he pushes past me, moving boxes in hand. He wiggles his butt, making me regret my decision to ask him to help me move my stuff into my new dorm room. “Told you,” Ella says from behind. “But just so we are clear, Dave, I am Annie’s best friend. Or did you think a mere human like you could be a wolf’s best friend?” These words would have sounded hurtful coming from someone else, but Ella’s voice lacks any malice. It’s the usual banter between them. “Oh, honey.” Dave winks at her. “I can be anything she wants. Well, aside from a wolf, but hey, that would just make me TOO perfect!” Ella turns to look at me. “Why did you ask him for help again?” I chuckle and shrug. “Call it a moment of weakness.” “I would do anything for my lifesaver,” Dave confesses as he drops a few boxes onto the ground. Fortunately, I am fast enough to save the one with the cups from falling. “My princess.” “I am not your lifesaver,” I point out with a sigh. “And definitely not a princess.” “Yes, you are!” he pouts. Ella nods. “You absolutely are,” she agrees. “Well, not a princess, but a lifesaver.” She smiles, accentuating the freckles around her nose. It makes her look even more endearing. Now that it’s summer, she wears her hair in a short pixie cut. Despite her height, she looks like Tinkerbell, especially with her slightly snarky attitude. But hey, that’s Ella, and I love her the way she is. Ella, Dave, and I have been best friends since high school, but I have known Ella since I started middle school. Even though she is a bit older, we started to bond when we worked on a school project together, and no one wanted to join us because Ella, the “outsider”, was in the group. As for Dave, he was the outsider. Granted, most humans don’t know about our existence, so it shouldn’t matter. Still…it does. It’s difficult enough if you are human and attend a school dominated by werewolves. It doesn’t help that he was not interested in the same stuff the other guys were. I just didn’t have it in me to let him remain an outcast. Hence, their life-saver talk. Ella always teases me about it, saying I like to collect stray puppies. She makes it sound special, while it should be normal not to bully others. Befriending a human was unusual because we like to keep to ourselves, but technically not forbidden. A gray area. Good thing I am just an Omega. No one really minds what I do, as long as Dave doesn’t step onto our pack grounds and keeps his mouth shut about our existence. “Dave,” I pause, taking the tiniest, most atrocious blue glittery top I have ever seen out of a box. “What is this!?” “I thought you could use some color.” Dave grins. “This is barely going to cover my boobs!” “Exactly.” Dave nods fiercely. “And it glitters. I will look like a Christmas ornament while wearing it!” Dave doesn’t even blink. “Great, go and get that attention.” Ella throws me a pitiful glance. “Well, maybe you could use it… one day…somewhere…?” “I can’t wait for all the parties to start,” Dave sighs dreamily, clutching his hands to his chest. “Finally, we are all living together on campus. It’s about time the both of you moved here as well! We will get drunk, fuck hot dudes, and wake up without any memory of it. Ah, I can’t wait.” I look at him, horrified while Ella grimaces. “I can absolutely wait for this to happen. Preferably for years.” “Or never,” I add. “Why is that?” He throws one arm around my shoulder, the other around Ella’s. “Your best friend Dave here is going to help both of you get hooked up. I will be your wingman. Just trust me.” “You want us to trust you to find us a man?” I can’t help but giggle. “Do I need to even mention the Edward fiasco?” “I didn’t know he was mated!” Dave protests. “What about Andy?” Ella asks with a grin. “Didn’t look underage!” “Bertram?” I continue. “I swear, he looked younger when I talked to him. No one could tell he was close to 60.” “For a moment, I was scared he would take out his dentures and devour us,” Ella points out with a frown. “Forget it, Dave. I just want my peace.” “Yes.” I nod. “I would like to have a quiet, calm, and uneventful year. Study, eat and hang out with you guys. I don’t need anything else.” ~~~ I am Annalise Preston. If I had to describe myself, I would say I am the epitome of normal. I could be fitter, and could care more about fashion. I still have some baby fat around my hips. My hair is long, brown, and slightly curled. I don’t look bad, but I confess, I’m also not a supermodel. People don’t turn around for a second glance when I walk by them. I don’t have guys flocking to me. Here and there, I had schoolmates and wolves from my pack interested in me, but it didn’t happen a lot. If I had been able to compensate for my normal looks with any talent, I might have grown up a bit more confident in who I am… but unfortunately, all the great genes went to my older sister and my younger brother. Harmony is smart, strong, and pretty, and Steve, albeit being a bit naïve and not the best student, is athletic and pretty popular within my pack. But it is what it is. I am just… Annalise. The only wolf within my family without a gift, the reason I am only an Omega, the lowest rank, although I should be Beta by birth. I consider myself lucky though, because everyone in my pack has the same rights, unlike in others. We are allowed to get a higher education, and if we have the drive and strength, we can also become pack warriors. You could even rank up in your position, no matter what you were born as. I started college a few months ago, taking the bus to campus each day until I successfully convinced my parents to let me move into the student dorm. If it were up to my dad, I would have continued living at home – the college was only a 54-minute bus ride away after all. But Harmony took it upon herself to help convince him, telling him how a little independence and freedom were important for me to grow up. Mom was on my side. Many wolves from my pack go to this college. It’s nice. I like my people. Sure, I am not particularly recognizable, so many don’t really pay attention to me; but it’s not like they bully or ignore me. I love my pack; it’s like an extended family. I can’t wait to learn, study and become a helpful member of my pack. I might not be strong enough to be a warrior, but at least I have my brain. That’s a muscle I can definitely train. ~~~ “Jeez, what’s going on here?” Dave mutters, his voice muffled as he bit into a croissant. There is a massive amount of people in the hallway for some reason, right where we have to pass to go to our statistics class. I grab my bag tighter, signaling for Dave to follow me while I try to lead us through the crowd. Dave has his half eaten croissant e in one hand and his books in the other. Of course, he had refused to use a bag - because it’s unfashionable and un-hipster. Eventually, I take pity on him. “Give me some of your stuff, Dave.” I free him of his books and steal his croissant from his mouth. “That’s mine now.” I grin. “Consider it payment.” “Just be thankful that you are cute, and I have a soft spot for you and your bubble butt, which looks absolutely stunning in those tight jeans, if I may say so. I always knew you had a nice ass. Stop hiding it,” he sighs dreamily. “But hey, keep the croissant. I need to watch my carbs anyways.” I ignore his comments about my butt, just grumbling slightly, and lead us further through the masses of students. “What’s going on here anyway?” Dave asks. “Are there free drinks? If so, let’s stand in line for some too.” “At 9:00 AM?” “What else could make a bunch of students flock together like that?” he asks in return. Not a bad question. “Strippers?” Dave grins. “I like how your mind works, honey.” “Or…” I pause, my eyes finally catching the center of everyone’s attention. “A celebrity,” I state blandly. Dave follows my gaze; he seems completely unfazed. “Who’s that?” he asks. “Anyone I should know? Pretty sure I haven’t seen him in any magazines. And I was just at the hairstylist four days ago; plenty of time to catch up on celebrity gossip.” “Not in your magazines,” I explain quietly. I throw another glance at the person who caught everyone’s attention. A tall guy with messy black hair. He is lean, not overly bulky, yet muscular enough to draw attention to his upper arms. He has styled his hair into an almost ridiculous-looking spiky hedgehog style. One of his earlobes is pierced, and I heard his tongue is pierced too. There are a few tattoos on his arms, the most prominent one being his pack’s symbol. I recognized it instantly. Any wolf here will have. “Please elaborate.” Dave eyes the guy curiously. “What’s sexy edge-boy’s name?” “You find him sexy?” I ask in disbelief. “I have a weak spot for the drama queens. You know that. And he looks dramatic as hell. A true little edge-lord,” he grins. I stare at Dave for a while. “Please,” I whisper. “Never say anything like that again when he can hear you.” “Why? So dangerous?” I shrug. Technically it’s forbidden to attack a human without good reason. They’re too easy to kill, too easy to hurt, break and bruise. But you never know when it’s wolves from a really powerful family. “So, who is he?” Dave asks again. “Later,” I tell him. “Ella will be interested in this too. But his name is Finn Alcott. He is the Iron Alpha’s third oldest son.” “I feel I should gasp and gape at that revelation,” Dave mutters. “So, I apologize for my lackluster reaction.” I chuckle softly. After all, I can’t blame him for not knowing anything about our pack’s history and politics. I throw one last glance at Finn before I tug Dave along and away from the crowd. --- Continue on Kindle or KU