The worst thing about being a wolf was the feeling like you had more than two parents. If your mom said no, you just went to your father, but in the wolf universe, you needed your alpha's approval as well. And that was exactly what Evan needed right now.

"I'm going to alpha Lucas's," he shouted at the top of his lungs, so his parents could hear him. As a part of the plan, he was already standing by the open door, so they wouldn't try to stop him. The thing was – if he could get Lucas to say yes, his parents would totally agree too. At least, that's what he thought. After all, his parents wouldn't go against their alpha's wishes, or in this case, his consent.

"What?" He heard his mom's confused voice, but he was already closing the door behind him. She had the wolf hearing, she had to hear him. The fact that she didn't have time to understand what he said was another matter. Evan wasn't going to linger on unnecessary explanations.

He was ready. Maybe more physically than mentally, but he certainly wasn't going to let his shy nature get in his way.

The walk to the official packhouse wasn't long. In his wolf's form, it would last about 10 minutes, but since he didn't want to bring spare clothes, he decided just to go on foot. After all, it was nice outside, so why not.

Evan waved to some pack members he met on his way, passed the old lady's grocery shop (he still couldn't remember her name), and before he knew it, he was in front of the biggest house in the whole territory. An outsider would easily mistake it for a family home. At least according to the vibe it gave off. Otherwise, it was large enough to accommodate several families. In this case, the family of alpha, beta, and the other people who needed it at that moment.

The packhouse was located in the middle of Hills, which was part of the town where most of the wolves were living – Evan's family included. The house had two floors. Oak wood was used across the doors and walls, with the light brown hue of the wood adding warmth to the house, so it felt like home to forest creatures. The natural feeling was preserved inside as well. Inside, from slab stone flooring to rustic wooden furniture, natural materials created an organic feel. It was a house literally made for wolves in human forms. That was a part of the wolf world that even Evan couldn't dislike. Love for nature flowed through his veins and occupied almost as much of his body as the caffeine he was able to consume daily.

Most of the time, two wolves were guarding the house. Today was no different. Evan came to Maya, the smaller one of them, and nodded his head. She looked at him from head to toe and moved from the door, indicating that he could come in, so he did. He entered the house and immediately headed towards alpha's office. He knew he couldn't waste any time. Who knew if his mom wouldn’t change her mind and burst through the same door he just entered.

Alpha's office used to be the busiest place in the neighbourhood. Normally there would be at least five people waiting in a small waiting room to meet him, but today he got lucky cause there was only one wolf except for him.

"Hey," Evan silently greeted him and sat down on a couch. The unknown boy looked in his direction, and his face changed to a frown. Evan had no idea what he had done that could have bothered the boy.

"Asshole," he murmured under his breath. Only then he realized that the boy definitely must heard him – wolf hearing and all. Sometimes Evan simply forgot that werewolves had better hearing, even though he was one himself. He didn't spend much time with the wolves except for Angie and his parents. But even with that realization, Evan wasn't going to apologize.

"I heard you, idiot," the boy said in a surly tone indicating his annoyance. With his head down, Evan didn't have to worry about the boy seeing him roll his eyes.

"I don't care, asshole." He shrugged without looking at him. From a side look, he saw how the boy's brows raised. He suppressed a chuckle. He wasn't always this brave when it came to talking to people, but right now, the adrenaline was pumping through him, and the poor boy was getting a taste of it.

The door of the office opened, and alpha's assistant showed up. She was a blond woman of mature age and short stature in a white blouse and black pencil skirt that indicated her boring office job.

"Hunter, come on in." She nodded her head at the boy next to him. So, his name was Hunter, huh? Evan thought that was quite an ironic name for a wolf boy.

Hunter stood up and followed Mary inside. His eyes finally met Evan's, and since Mary wasn't looking, he showed him a middle finger. Of course, Evan responded the same way. His opinion was definitely confirmed in his head – the boy was an asshole.

Hunter wasn't inside for long. After ten minutes, he walked past him, and now it was Evan's turn to go in. As in Hunter's case, Mary walked out the door and motioned for him to go in.

"Good morning," he greeted politely and stood in front of Lucas's desk. For a second, he looked into his eyes but quickly dodged his gaze since he couldn't stand his eyes for long. Alphas were generally scary and admirable, but their eyes were something else. While looking into the alpha's eyes not only wolves but also humans had this desperate need to submit, almost as if they didn't have their own will, which in Evan's opinion was the worst possible scenario. But in the werewolf world, it was necessary. Wolves sometimes needed to be guided and other times even to be torn away from other wolves to avoid killing them or being killed.

"Morning, Evan. Sit down, please." Evan promptly obeyed and sat down on a chair in front of him.

"How can I help you today?" Alpha smiled at him, but even when he was smiling, his eyes remained icy blue. As said before, Evan wasn't beta nor gamma, or at least someone who was supposed to become one of the guards, so he could never compete with him, and he was fully aware of that. Looking into his eyes felt almost like a punishment. If he was in wolf form, he would probably curl up in a ball.

"I was hoping, I could get your approval, alpha," he began cautiously. Alpha on the other side of the table nodded his head, waiting for his next words, so he continued: "As you know, I'm starting high school soon, and I was wondering if there was a chance, I could attend Marwell High School instead of North Hallson's." Although Evan appeared calm at first glance, inside he was shaking like a newborn kitten.

Alpha Lucas was silent for a moment before he finally spoke up.

"You're not the first one asking me this. It makes me wonder why young wolves want to leave so desperately. I must ask - are you having some problems in the pack?" Evan knew that young wolves in the translation meant mainly him and Angie and therefore his answer had to be good enough to not disappoint his best friend.

Before taking a deep breath, he made sure in his mind that he could do it and carefully began to explain, picking out one word at a time. "It's not that I'm not happy here." Alpha's gaze softened, and Evan knew he was on the right track, so he continued. "I just want to see the world outside our pack. I know every pack member here, and since I don't have a mate yet, I think I have the perfect opportunity to try being on my own without always counting on other wolves. I mean, I certainly still be able to attend all the meetings and events, it would be just school I would be switching. If you approve, of course."

Evan nervously scratched his hands under the table. It was something he did when he felt anxious and afraid of other people's reactions.

Alpha Lucas was silent for a while until he finally spoke. Evan thought his head was going to explode from holding his breath in anticipation.

"Alright." What? Did he hear right? Evan suppressed a big smile creeping on his face. He knew that showing joy at leaving the pack, even temporarily, wasn't the best idea. He had to hold back his joy until he was safe at home.

"Does it mean...?" he wanted to be sure. No, he needed to be sure and hear it directly from him.

"Yes, you can attend Marwell High School," the big bad alpha said and nodded his head to reaffirm his words. Evan couldn't hold in his excitement anymore and a huge grin formed on his face.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

And just like that, the hardest part was behind him. There was only one conversation left.

---

He wanted to change his statement. That wasn't the hard one.

"I'm literally just gonna be 20 minutes away." He swore that he just rolled his eyes so hard that he saw his own brain. Of course, so that his mother wouldn’t see it. He didn't want to hear his death sentence.

"Still. My baby in a big city." And the sentiment was here. No matter what happened, he was always a small child in his mother's eyes. Moreover, from a certain point on, big cities represented places full of humans and therefore also potential threats to his family.

"Mom, it's not even a city. It literally has a population of 100 000," he tried again, but he knew it wasn't enough for her. Marwell was a big city in her mother's opinion, and not having its official pack, it was like a city in hellfire in the eyes of a saint. In other words, a place where you would definitely not send your own children. That is if you really cared about them.

"It's more than what we have here!" she protested immediately. Yeah, because they barely had 10 000 inhabitants, 200 of which were wolves. Evan thought to himself.

"Mom, I am not even going to be alone. Angie's coming too. I'm gonna be fine." he reassured her again. He knew that for wolves the most important argument was quantity, as they saw strength in it.

"But the wolf should be with his pack," his mom reasoned once again. Evan hated that statement. Wolf and his pack, two inseparable words. Not for him, but for everyone else in his pack.

"And I'm gonna be, every day after school. I'm not going to live there, just go to school," he promised, even though he knew it wasn't true. He wasn't going to get more involved than he had been, and his interest in the pack was already at freezing point.

"What about your mate? What if she's here and you won't meet her in the local school because you won't be there." First of all, it didn’t have to be she, he wanted to say but of course, didn’t. Mates were the next thing on the list that his parents were most interested in. And of course, his mate was always referred to in the feminine gender.

"I'm still not gonna know it's them until I'm 18, so it doesn't really matter." And it was true. Even when wolves could see through their mates’ eyes, they wouldn’t know it was them until they were 18 (as their smell has changed) or until they kissed, but Evan was certain he wasn’t about to do that. Why would he just throw away the freedom he was fighting so fiercely for right now?

"You've always been headstrong. You used to like to test my limits when you were a little kid." Tears sparkled in his mom’s eyes. She could really get emotional sometimes and Evan, although with remorse, decided to take advantage of it.

"Mom, I really didn't wanna hear that. I just like to think for myself, that's all," he tried to explain his choice again. He just wanted something for himself for once – not for the pack, not for his mate, but for himself.

"You are still a little pup in my eyes, honey. I just get emotional, I guess."

"I'm not just a wolf, you know. My wolf might still be small, but I'm almost adult." He wanted to prove to her that he was able to take care of himself. Because he was a wolf, he was raised to believe that in unity, there was strength. He got it, he really did, but he didn't want to be just part of something. He wanted to be his own person. In order to be happy with his future mate, he first had to be happy with himself.

"I still have to wake you up every morning, so you won't miss school," she pointed out. Okay, he wasn't that mature, but he wasn't a little kid either.

"I am an adult who likes his beauty sleep."

She finally laughed, and he knew in his heart that he had won. His mom believed in him and that meant his dad would too.

Marwell High School be ready! This wolf was coming.