The morning light shined through the window onto Blake’s face. He grimaced and tried to find a spot that didn’t have sunlight. Unfortunately, his bed stood in the way of the light each morning and even though it was Saturday he still woke up early.

Blake groaned and opened his eyes. It took a few seconds to adjust his eyes, but he soon saw clearly. He almost had a heart attack when his eyes met two fiery ones. Prince stood over him watching him sleep!

Blake let out a high-pitched scream which sends both Coney and Alex out of their bed.

“Bloody hell! Where’s the fire?” Alex exclaimed with a dazed voice. While Coney ran around in Blake’s bed yelling danger.

“Right over here, darling!” Prince said and pointed at himself. Alex rubbed his face before staring at Prince with a frown.

“Blake, is this one of many men you keep inviting to our room?”

Blake groaned at threw a pillow at Prince who just looked pleased with himself before he frowned at the rabbit.

“You shouldn’t sleep with vermin!” he said and pushed the rabbit off the bed. Coney struggled stubbornly but it was a lost cause as Prince was far too big for him.

“Words to live by,” Alex muttered with a frown. Blake could hear him sniff the air. “You new boy toy smells like ash, Blake.”

“Ala, he wishes that he could tap this, but I have a very particular taste,” Prince said and ripped off Blake’s blanket.

“Why are you bothering me in the morning, Prince?” Blake muttered and curled into a ball, refusing to get up.

“His name is Prince?” Alex asked with a snort.

“Prince of darkness to be exact but you can call me Prince.

“Like-“

“Dusox! Yes! Like whatever person, you thought of that isn’t me. Get up, Blake! I have a task for you.”

Blake groaned, “can’t it wait for a few minutes?”

“Are you sure? You will need to talk with that handsome boy, Jaxon!”

Blake almost fell off the bed when he heard the name. Alex just mumbled oh boy and curled up under his blanket.

“Who is Jaxon? The wolf?” Coney asked while he tried to jump back onto the bed only to fail and land on the floor.

“Yes,” Prince said and rolled his eyes. Like that narrowed it down.

“The blond one with a funny accent, the one colored like a tree trunk or the blue-eyed one that keeps staring at Blake’s bottom?”

Alex snorted at Coney’s question and Blake turned scarlet.

“The last one,” Prince said, amused by Blake’s reaction.

“He better not be staring! Not after what he did,” Blake mumbled and rubbed his cheeks in hope of them going back to their normal color.

“Though that sounds like a fascinating story, I would like us to focus. I need you to ask him to take you to see the wolf spirits.”

Alex reacted and sat up, “the Price families wolves? Only those who wish to be chosen by a wolf will be taken to their sanctum. What are you playing at?”

“No wolf will enter my protégé, but he will need to train how to summon and communicate with spirits.”

Blake frowned at that, “why do I need to learn that?”

“You don’t need to learn it. You already know how to do it. It’s a rare, inborn ability some have but it can be dangerous. You will need to get used to it before you accidentally meet a malevolent spirit. I would rather not spend all my time expelling shades from your body. We can run around and hope to meet a spirit, but I presume it would be easier to merely go to a place filled with spirits hence going to the Price Sanctum. The boy, Jaxon, should be able to convince Elliott to open their sanctum for you.”

Blake felt a wince of pain going through his body at the thought of Jaxon but he was interested in learning to speak with spirits. “Aren’t you and Coney spirits?”

Coney finally succeeded in jumping up into Blake’s bed and crawled up into his arms. “No, I’m from the Astral plane. That’s were all Astral spirits are. The spirits the evil being talks about are the ones on Hereafter. The plane between the living and the dead.”

“The little rodent is correct. The Hereafter, or afterlife, whatever you prefer. It is a plane that the soul of the dead go through before they go wherever someone who dies goes. The soul leaves behind a part of itself in the Hereafter which takes a similar form to what the soul had when it had a physical form. It becomes a spirit. Or a shade if what the soul left was corrupted by malice. Mediums keep seeing them and believing they are the true dead but they are just residue from the souls. Wishes of the dead which they could not abandon.”

“Oh god… This is… How many planes are there?”

“Too many. Not even I can tell you that,” Prince said, while Blake got dressed.

“So, Astral plane, Otherworld and Hereafter. Any more planes I should know off?”

“Otherworld is just a word for all other planes. The Astral Plane and Hereafter belong to the Otherworld. The Fae, demons, devils, and angels live in the Netherworld. Gods live in the Higher Plane. Some mortals in ancient times keep confusing higher plane with heaven and Netherworld with hell.”

“Seriously? No, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know that six in the morning,” Blake scratched his head before brushing it.

“Does it have to be Jaxon?”

“I doubt that roaring boar you call coach would give you permission. You can go to Elliott directly, maybe put some guilt into him for the wolf attacks, but I do think that it would be better if a wolf asked for you and Jaxon is his brother. Not to mention an Alpha. Alpha has some pulls in the pack,” Prince said with a nonchalant shrug.

“I agree with him. Jaxon is your best bet. Though, you can try Hadrien as well. He is an Alpha too but too new to have any real power in the pack so it would be a gamble,” Alex said from under the blanket.

Blake sighed and put the brush away. It seemed like he had no other choice. He really didn’t want to talk to Jaxon. The pain was still too close to his heart for comfort and he wanted to put some distance between them. But maybe Jaxon was the best bet to get into the secretive sanctum of the Price family. With a determined look on his face, he walked out of the door and hoped that Jaxon’s rugby training had ended.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

The locker-room echoed of lockers closing and open as the rugby team loudly showered. Jaxon stood by Aeron and joked about the training when he noticed Hadrien walking past with a clear challenging glare. Jaxon grimaced before turning towards him.

“What’s your deal?”

“Jaxon, come on. Ignored the newbie. He has just got his wolf. He cannot control himself,” Aeron said with a pat on his back.

“He can control himself with everyone except me. The asshole is challenging me in every turn. He doesn’t listen to me on the field and he keeps getting distracted by the spectators.”

“By a spectator. Hadrien wants to get himself some blond ass!” Mark hollered and several started to whistle at Hadrien who just ignored them along with Jaxon.

“Keep your trap shut!” Jaxon sizzled but Mark just grinned.

“And it seems that Jaxon wants some too!”

Jaxon tried to choke the guy in a blind rage, but Aeron just held him back. He was pulled out of it when Hadrien slammed his locker shut. “calme-toi, imbécile!”

“Speak in English!” Jaxon roared while Aeron rolled his eyes. “Even I know what he said…”

“Calm yourself…” Hadrien turned toward the entrance with a rather serene look and Jaxon frowned and followed his gaze. Most of the room went quiet and they could all hear it now.

“No. Why can’t we wait outside?” Blake was pushed inside.

He looked around the half-naked guys and went bright red and tried to run away only to be pushed back inside by a pale man with black clothes and bright, burning eyes. The man smelled of ash but looked like a god.

Every lad in the room straightens themselves in order to look a bit more appealing. The man didn’t seem to mind and looked with open appreciation at the guys before pushing Blake in the direction of Jaxon. Jaxon was just about to receive Blake who was about to fall into his arms when Hadrien intercepted him.

Jaxon stared at Blake in Hadrien’s arms and held back the burning desire to push Hadrien away to get a hold of Blake. He could hear Blake mumble a thank you to Hadrien before glaring at the ash smelling man who had proceeded to flirt with the boys. Hadrien brushed off Blake and seem to search for injuries and it suddenly hit him. How had Hadrien detected Blake before any of them? That wasn’t normal, was it?

His thought process was interrupted by Blake’s smile directed at Hadrien. A growl escaped Jaxon’s throat as Nightmane raged at the scene. Jaxon answered by slamming his head into the locker. Everyone stared at him while he tried to look casual about it.

“So, Blake, what are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you.”

Up yours, Hadrien! Jaxon almost laughed out loud while Aeron pointed at him. “Him?”

Blake nodded with a questioning frown. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course! He’s sure, Aeron!” Jaxon grinned and walked closer to Blake while Hadrien growled warningly at him while putting his arms around Blake.

“It’s okay, Hadrien!” Blake said and patted Hadrien’s arm. Jaxon frowned at the scene. Hadrien perused Blake before backing away.

Several of the others seemed puzzled by it as well.

“Aren’t you whipped, Hadrien?” Mark laughed but he looked uncertain.

Few beings are able to command an Alpha. Hadrien didn’t look bothered by it but he did seem at guard. He didn’t let Jaxon go with his eyes and clearly looked for a sign of hostility. Like a guard dog! Jaxon wanted to laugh at the situation, but he was rattled while he felt Nightmane admiring Blake. How the hell did a rabbit command a wolf?

Speaking of rabbits, Blake’s little rabbit skipped directly to Blake’s feet and seemed to inspect his surroundings.

“Danger, Blake! You are surrounded by bare, male wolves in human form that smells of hormones. It must be the mating season!”

Jaxon could hear a bunch of the other guys' squeak as the rabbit talked. Several of them climbed the benches to protect themselves. Aeron merely stared at the rabbit. “Well, he is not wrong.”

“It’s okay, Coney! I want to be here.”

The little rabbit looked up at Blake and twitched its ears before turning his gaze towards the boys. “I see! Then I suggest you choose someone with a lot of stamina for mating. Size matters but only if he has the stamina to-“

“I’m not here to mate! I’m just asking some questions.”

The rabbit looked surprised. “Really? But you smell-“

“Anyway, I need to ask a favor of you, Jaxon.”

Jaxon looked startled before his facial expression turned smug. “What? Oh, so the other day you were angry at me and now you want a favor do you?”

Blake’s face turned stone cold. Fuck! Nightmane was ready to throw itself at Blake’s feet and beg for forgiveness but Jaxon refused to do so. Even if he almost hit himself when the words left his mouth.

Blake seemed to calm down with a few deep breaths and Jaxon relaxed for a bit though he sensed that the danger was not entirely gone. Hadrien looks ready to pounce at any minute.

“I would like to get access to the wolf spirits of the Price family.”

That sends a wave of protest through the room. “A fucking witch demands access to our spirits! Want to get burned on the stake?” some of them roared. Jaxon could feel his insides go cold. This was not good. The attention of Blake’s strange abilities seems to have slipped his brother's mind but if Blake would ask for access…

“Why would you want to meet the spirits?” Hadrien asked. He was the only one that didn’t seem to be bothered by the request, but he seemed curious.

“I need to train in communicating with spirits from the Hereafter. I can run around trying to find one, preferably a nice one, but it seemed easier to just communicate with animal spirits like your Ironmaw, Hadrien. That way I can train my ability and avoid getting possessed by bad spirits in the future.”

Hadrien nodded at that. ”The wolf spirits wouldn’t mind helping you train.”

“How would you know that, Hadrien?” Jaxon hissed but Hadrien looked unbothered by it.

“Ironmaw told me. If you actually cared to listen to your wolf, then he would most certainly tell you the same.”

Jaxon grimaced when he heard Nightmane agreeing with Hadrien. His wolf was certainly no help.

“It doesn’t matter what your reason is, witch. You won’t get access to our sanctum,” Dale had entered the conversation.

He sized Blake up with his eyes before giving him a grin. He clearly wasn’t impressed by Blake. Dale turned to Hadrien with a cute pout but Hadrien ignored him which turned Dale sour. He glared at Blake who seemed confused by it.

“I wanted Jaxon to help me ask Principal Price for permission. I didn’t know that I needed, whoever you are, permission as well. Are you an Alpha?”

Several people snorted at that and Dale was furious. “Do I look like an Alpha?”

“I don’t know. How does an Alpha look like?”

“He’s not an Alpha. Dale is a Delta,” Hadrien said and got dressed. He was rather quiet throughout the conversation but seemed to listen.

“Delta?”

“The bitches of the pack!” the man with burning eyes shimmed in and chuckled could be heard around the room. Not really a nice description but an accurate one. Either way, Blake just shook his head in confusion.

“Either way, it doesn’t interest me. I merely asking if you can go with me to ask your brother to-“

“No.” Several people looked surprised by Jaxon clear determination. Aeron even frowned at him before leaning in.

“Are you sure? I mean, a witch shouldn’t be in the Sanctum, but you can earn some few points with the lad by going to Elliott and let him turn down the lad.”

“Or I get some points from the pack for denying him myself,” Jaxon mumbled back. Aeron shrugged at that. It was clear that he wasn’t going to intervene if Jaxon wanted to dig his own grave. Blake looked at Jaxon with an expression he couldn’t decipher before Jaxon was startled by a smile.

“Okay!” Blake turned towards Hadrien who had finished getting ready. “Hadrien, will you help me ask Elliott for access to the wolf spirits?”

Jaxon gawked at the sudden turn of event. He could hear Aeron mumble that he told him so. Jaxon was just about to object when Hadrien answered, “bien sûr, after you.”

They both went out of the locker- room with the rabbit on their heel. The man who smelled of ash followed them but turned around before exiting.

“Maybe you shouldn’t put yourself on such a high pedestal when there are other Alphas in the house, Pup!”

With those last words, he left them in silence. Jaxon could feel his confusion vanishing into a rage when he once again slammed his fist into the poor locker which had just been fixed by his brother.