The character of Cora is expanded on with Permission from Rachelle, and is written for the pleasure of the International Wildflower Pack, the WhiskeyQueenn fandom. #WildflowersUnited #iwp

Part 2

:::special thanks to  for the permission to trespass

in her amazing world and use her characters:::

Living in Urban

Cora's POV

Cora stood across the kitchen over her crepe pan, troweling the batter over the barely buttered surface. Azure eyes met emerald ones in challenge, she winked at him and smooched her lips, blowing him a kiss. Jamison's eyes darkened slightly, he was a wolf. They were the only two remained cooking in the perfect crepe challenge for who would get this bi-weekly's charity catering. Every other week Chef Gerard gave a skills challenge, the winner chose the venue and the students would cook for a charity, to raise funds or awareness, there was so much need in the cities that COra had never been aware of. She heard Jamison swear as she plated number 42. As she spread another to cook, Liza and Phil giggled. They were her human friends.

"He's done," Lon's deep voice rumbled softly, he was a wolf also.

She didn't have to look up to know he was smirking. Jamison and Lon were both the younger sons of Alphas and hated each other with the barely contained violence only wolves could manage. She plated number 43 as Chef Gerard sauntered over, he inspected each one of her crepes, nodding happily.

"My cousin trained you well, mon petite loup," he murmured so softly only wolf ears could hear. Loudly he said, "We have a winner, congratulations to Cora. I will expect you all at the 17th Street Community Kitchen at 8 AM Saturday morning, wear comfortable shoes."

"Thank you chef," she smiled. Jamison walked over with his arrogant swagger, her wolf rolled her eyes. "Sorry Jamie, guess I won't be needing that cocktail dress after all," she teased. They shook hands.

His green eyes glittered at her challenging playful tone, and he answered, half-smiling, "One of these days, Cora, one of these days..." before walking out followed by his entourage of devoted little females.

"That man is a dog," Liza huffed, twisting her studded neck collar. Her heavily lined eyes glare at his back and his little harem with disdain, deep ruby lips twisting in stark contrast to her pale skin.

"You have no idea," Lon said, and Cora burst out laughing at them. 

The Emo and the Wolf, they could be one of the story couples she reads about online. Her wolf perks her head, she enjoys werewolf stories too much. Some are really good, and Cora suspects wolves are writing them, but some... Her wolf likes those, the worse they are, the more she loves them. 'We should write that,'  her wolf suggest, but Cora just gives her the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes.

"Come on, we have a class to teach at the community center," Phil reminds, he is all about the clock. Part of his scholarship is community service, and we are glad to help him with it. I love it, I love teaching. If I didn't have to return to Adams someday I would stay here and become and instructor, open a school for those who don't have the opportunities that I have been blessed with.

~

Urban background

Jamison was the third son of an urban Alpha and he had set his eyes on Cora their first day of class. Their competition bets had escalated from a coffee delivered to the winner next class to washing the other's dishes daily to finally a date. But in the six months of the date bet, she had not lost. She enjoyed his family and pack, but she was not going to date this wolf, he wasn't her mate. Urban wolves lived so differently from pack wolves. Choice mates were common but moon mates were a solid requirement, if you met your moon mate, all choice matings were off. Unless the rejecting party was rich. Rejection was punishable by death, or the requirement of a single successful mating and pup, a two year commitment, and a payment of one tenth of your family's wealth. If you didn't want your mate, you had to replace yourself with your child, your time, and a payment determined by your entire family's total value. In 100 years, only one pair had chosen to separate after the time allotted, payment made, and pup's birth. 

Another thing different about the urban packs, was who had the status as Alpha. In the rural packs, the most powerful wolf or most skilled warrior or born leader was the Alpha, but in the Urban packs all that was trumped by a very human influence – wealth. Simply, the most wealthy wolf with the the most financial influence was the Alpha. In some urban packs, the leadership changed every few years. In others, the established wealth of the Alpha family stabilized the leadership for generations. Notorious crime families, banking elite, and industrialist dynasties ruled the cities. Power of the pack was measured in dollar signs, not numbers. And instead of hundreds to millions of acres of land, pack territories were compressed into a few city blocks reaching into the sky above and country estates beyond the urban sprawl. All very human, very structured, very not wolf. 

However, the cities also offered the runaway, rogue, and packless wolf a place to hide in plain sight, sometimes for generations. Neighborhoods or family groups of wolves lived 'off-grid' in the wolf world, completely hidden from the werewolf packs beyond. Some communities of generationally packless wolves existed in every city, but most were small groups of unrelated wolves that had come together in their natural instinct to be with other wolves. These 'packs' had no alphas to lead them or warriors to protect them or healers to help them. They had only each other and their human neighbors, as they struggle against the very human problems of addiction, violence, gangs, and poverty.

Sadly, they and their children were losing the ability to be wolves, without open space to run, to hunt, to shift, they were losing all that made them what they were born to be. Even the higher wolves of wealth rarely shifted, it was a novelty for time spent on their country or sea-side estates. Instead of fields and forest, their wolves ran on machines when the urge arose.

The rules were simple, bother no other wolf, and the have-nots are not to trespass into the realms of the haves. A wholly different form of elitist prejudice poisoned the urban wolves. Cora hated it... She tried slowly to make changes in the two years two years, she had been at school. But she had only made only baby steps.

~

Cora's POV

I knelt in the dirt of the my apartment building's rooftop gardens, the weather was muggy. I loved the growing season that lasted for 9-10 months, sometimes year around if the winter was mild. Trayanna and Trevon dug potatoes from the shaded part of the garden. The southern sun was not kind to some plants and cooked them in the ground. My first year had been an unexpected lesson in gardening in hot climates. By year two, our garden had been so successful several of the buildings around adopted my gardening model. Wolves needed healthy, fresh foods ie. NOT mass produced canned crap that passed as vegetables in the city. My little group had created a a demand for fresh produce and I had found a local farmer, also a wolf, who helped sponsor a farmers market bringing much needed revenue into the small wolf community hidden only a dozen blocks from the towers of the wealthy wolves of this city's Urban pack. I didn't need to live here, I could easily afford to live in the towers and luxury apartments of the pack if I wanted, I didn't want.

I wanted to be near grass and trees, even if they were withered and neglected. It had taken me three weekends to clean the park of trash and drug paraphernalia. Jorge had noticed me first, he and his mate ran a food truck, their son had never shifted. He is two years older than me, and I am honored to have helped him through his first shift at 20. 

I began teaching the young, unpacked wolves of the 17th Street community how to be wolves. Mr Mose of Sandhill Farm offered to let me bring them out to learn to hunt rabbits. It was a disaster, it was hysterical, it was the most fun I had ever had. I cut pounds of fresh herbs for tomorrow's market. My culinary class would be cooking for the local soup kitchen fundraiser to coincide with the farmers market. It would be a huge boost for the collection of humans and wolves living in the impoverished area.

"Do you always have to dig in the dirt?" Jamison's amused voice echoes across the roof. My wolf groans, but I am actually kind of happy to see him. He is sweet, always attentive, even though he seemed to be struggling to respect my choice to just be friends. In his hand, my favorite coffee. This wolf just won't take no for an answer, my wolf huffs.

"I am not digging in the dirt, I am harvesting dill, rosemary, basil, cilantro, and oregano for the farmer's market tomorrow." He glances around at the baskets I have set by the raised beds. All are full of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and spices. Bounty of the earth grown in our concrete jungle.

"This is amazing, you grow all of this up here?" He looks so surprised. He's never seen my garden.

I smile, "Yep, with my little friends. Trayanna and Trevon, come here. Come meet Alpha Jamison." I hold out my hands to them and they come forward timidly, heads down. The 8 year old twins have never met an Alpha, or Gamma until they met me.

"Hello, Alpha Jamison," Mariselle says with a smile, she bows her head to us.

We carry the baskets down to she and her husband's flower shop, putting the produce in the cooler. Even though he isn't their Alpha, he is the son of the closest Alpha. He helps in their community, it makes a difference. Upstairs, he helps me water the gardens. The sky is painted a dozen colors of roses, irises, and marigolds. We stand on the roof watching the lights of the city twinkle on under the darkening sky. He puts his arms around me from behind and hugs me. He feels very good and his shirt is very soft, it probably cost more than I pay in rent for a month.

"I never thought I would find the city beautiful," I confess.

He laughs softly into my hair, leaning over my shoulder, he rubs his cheek against mine. We take in each others scent, he desires more than I am willing to give him... yet. My wolf doesn't trust him, she will take some convincing. 'As if, I could take a nap while he shifts.' Okay, a lot of convincing.

"You belong here, Cora. You belong in this city, making a difference for all these struggling wolves, teaching us our way back to what we've lost," Jamison murmurs as his breath warms my neck in the cooling night. I shiver. He turns me into his arms, his emerald eyes hold my azure ones, they are beautiful like emeralds in the sunlit window of a jeweler's shop. He steals his first kiss and I let him. He sighs so softly, whispering against my lips, "Be my Luna, Cora."

My wolf snorts in disgust, she only wants our mate and is unimpressed with this wolf. But we are 20, and I am so lonely. I wouldn't mind being able to love and be loved in return while we wait. To appease her and him, and buy myself a little more time, I give the safe answer. 

"We still have 3 more semesters of school, Alpha. Ask me again in a year." 

Laughing, he smiles like he was expecting that answer, "Mother said you would not surrender your dreams so easily or your duty to lesser wolves." I raise an eyebrow at him, he had spoken to his mother, Luna Elizabeth about this. We hadn't even been on a proper date. "I will ask you in a year Cora, you will not get away. You belong here with me as my Luna."

I hate to admit, but I am afraid, after watching what Clayton put Rya through, I don't want to be Jamison's Kennedy. I don't want to do that to another she-wolf or to my own mate. If I make a promise to this wolf and his pack, I would have to go back on my word and my duty. Rya... I couldn't bring her here, she wouldn't survive.

"What about your mate? She's still out there," I ask hesitantly.

He shrugs. "We have the process for that and I will gladly pay the choice mate price, for both of us. I have made my own fortune and have searched too long for someone worthy to be my Luna. I never knew I would find her at the culinary college where I took a course just to help me run my restaurants," he says.

"You weren't a transfer student chef?" This surprises me. I thought he was just another freshman student.

"I own a half-dozen restaurants and three clubs. I was taking an advanced restaurant management course when I saw you on campus. So confident, so beautiful, my mother was walking with you. I had heard we had a Gamma she-wolf from Noble pack living here. I am glad it was you. I applied for every class you were in just to be close to you. It has taken me a year to get this close to you, Cora. I can't tell you how much I want you, I will do anything you ask. Just ask." His voice is so sincere, his eyes make promises to mine. I press my lips against his again. The kiss is intoxicating. 

I tip my head back and smile up at him, "I believe, Jamison, we have never had a proper date. Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"

He laughs again, I like the sound, "When is sometime?"

"Whenever you can beat me in one of the skills tests," I challenge, my eyes flash mischievously. Pushing myself out of his arms, I walk away, "See you in the morning, Alpha."

He smirks handsomely. "Soon, mon petite loup." I hear him say as the door closes behind me.

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9.2018 - CLAYTON is published!!!

Clayton (The Wildflower Series) by Rachelle Mills https://www.amazon.com/dp/164034487X/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_S8sbDbB084P46 via @amazon

2.2019- DALLAS is published!!!

Dallas (The Wildflower Series Book 2) by Rachelle Mills https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MXRVB7M/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_o9sbDbPFY61NH via @amazon
Find them on Amazon

::Thank you to Rachelle for allowing this CLAYTON Fanfiction to be published.::