The Wolf Inside Me

Dylan's POV - Friday September 30th 2022:

It had been a couple weeks since I had gotten to do anything besides homework with Alex, Aria and Ivy. School had started to get busy not giving me as much free time. Even with the school work the four of us always studied together so we had an excuse to see one another. Over the last couple weeks we had gotten so close that we were practically inseparable when we weren't in classes. I also finally had the chance to introduce Wilder to Aria and Ivy. Wilder had taken a special interest in Aria since she played football just like Wilder and I. It helped even more that she happened to be the co-captain of our new team.

Today was the first day of football practice and to say I was nervous was an understatement. For some reason I had uncontrollable nerves about today. Which was odd for me, football was the one thing that didn't make me nervous. I was confident in myself when it came to the sport. Coach Anderson had been talking me up to the whole team for weeks and part of me wondered if that was causing my anxiety. The only other thing making me slightly nervous was getting to see Aria. She always seemed to have that effect on me, as much as I tried to hide it. With the amount of time we had recently been spending together, it had become easier controlling my nerves around her and Ivy.

As I walked towards the football field I took in my surroundings. The summer weather was starting to fade and it was starting to become a little cooler. Which made me happy I was always a sucker for sweater weather. It was probably my favorite time of year. People were scattered across the campus, some playing sports, others just hanging out. The longer I was on campus the more it started to feel like home. However seeing werewolves from different packs intermingle was still odd to see. Usually werewolves didn't hangout with other wolves who weren't from their packs. Unless their pack had an alliance with another pack. Everest Heights seemed to be the exception to that rule. The grounds of the school were considered a neutral territory which prevented anyone from starting any drama. This also made it perfect for Alex, Wilder and myself since we had no pack. Our families were considered rogues, making us targets for other packs. The topic of packs had been in the back of my mind since meeting Aria and Ivy. I was somewhat nervous to tell them that we weren't part of a pack. Rogues were considered dangerous and were typically killed on sight.

As I approached the group of football players I caught a glimpse of silver hair in the middle of the group. The sight made my heart start to beat a little faster. She bounced around in an animated way with a smile plastered to her face. I could tell by her energy that football was her happy place. She came alive anytime we would toss the ball around together. Getting to play next to her was both exciting and intimidating. Since getting to know her I learned that she was a very skilled football player. She was also extremely competitive, although that competitive edge never seemed to be directed at me.

"Dylan!" Aria shouted and waved as she saw me approach the group.

She ran towards me, flinging her arms around my neck. Her scent immediately enveloping me, she smelled of cinnamon and fresh pine. One of three scent combinations that would cause my member to pulse gently. "These women are going to be the death of me." I thought as I wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her in closer. Her body relaxed as I held her closely. Without thinking I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. My fingers lingered on her face for a moment. Aria leaned into the touch resting her face against my hand. A cough in the background had me pulling away from her.

"You know you were almost late." She chuckled as she lightly pushed my chest.

"Key word being almost." I said with a wink. A slight blush started to spread across her cheeks causing me to smile even more.

"Not going to say hi to me?" The familiar voice caused me to jump.

"I literally just got here." I said playfully punching Wilder in the arm.