Chapter 1

Depression
It’s a conflicting emotion. It sends even the most happy-go-lucky person into its deep pits of hell. Nobody ever seems to come out from its never ending hole. Only the lucky ones ever do. I guess I’m just one of those unlucky ones. Depression seemed to have its large muscular arm trapped around me, and it didn’t seem like it was letting go anytime soon.
“Ari, it’s time to go,” a soft voice spoke. Turning around, I spotted my older brother, hands in his pockets, looking at me. Ethan, my older brother, the one I loved so much before, the one I always pulled pranks on, was now just a name in my life, with a body to match. I felt bad for barely speaking to him. After all, he did help me whenever I was beaten senseless by my father. I guess you could say I’ve had a rough life. Who could blame you? Everyone noticed my depression, but none of them cared. I felt utterly and completely alone. Nobody knew the empty feeling inside of me that grew into a permanent scar nestled into my soul.
Ethan was holding my little brother, Sam’s, hand in his. I used to love them both so much. Don’t get me wrong, I still do. But with the death of my mother, my life has never felt so cold and emotionless. Happiness isn’t a feeling in my life anymore, much less love. I guess the same applies for my father. He lost his mate, his one true love. Losing his love for his wife meant losing his love for his children. Poor Sam doesn’t get a chance to see his mom and dad happy together. Unlike Ethan and me, Sam is only 6 years old. Ethan was a sophomore in college, and I, a senior in high school. We could handle growing up without parents, but Sam was still a child. I feared for his future constantly, hoping with mine and Ethan's love, he would grow up to be a bright man.
“Okay,” I mumbled, getting up off the grass in front of my mother’s grave. I looked back one last time before following my brothers.
Ethan climbed into the driver’s seat while I buckled Sam into the car seat in the back. Sighing, I sat down in the passenger seat. Ethan gave me a quick smile of reassurance, but I could tell it was forced. The smile didn’t reach up to his eyes. Mom’s death took a toll on all of us, but it seemed to affect me the most. Oh, and of course, my dad.
With my slightly wavy brown hair and striking grey-brown eyes, I looked too much like my mother. This brought out my dad’s anger. I never hated him though. It was the alcohol that affected him. When he’s sober-which is rarely-he seems to treat us like we really are his kids, but that never usually lasts too long. I guess our werewolf status does help me heal rather quickly, but I can’t remove the emotional scars that he’s been creating in my head. If only my mother hadn’t died...
But that was years ago.
My mom died when I was 14, but I never fully got over it. Neither did my father. I was 17 now, on to be 18 in a few weeks. It was the one thing I was looking forward too. I would finally get to meet my mate, to have someone hold me and care for me when I’m upset, someone to wipe my tears away and smile at me, someone who would hug and kiss me senseless till I was happy again.
A horn blared, waking me out of my daydream. Looking around, I realized we were home. Well, the pack house at least. The large front exterior of the three story mansion, with its intricate brick walls and large 5 car garage, a huge porch surrounded by acres of land looked quite massive, but it was my home. I shuffled out quickly, carrying a now sleeping Sammy with me in my arms. I smiled. It was one of these moments that I was glad to have my brothers. No matter how upset I got, either Sam or Ethan would be there to cheer me back up.
Ethan was well aware of the situation with my father, and he readily wanted to adopt me and Sam, but unfortunately, Dad wouldn’t give him custody. Besides him, our soon-to-be alpha, Drew Blake denied us exile out of the pack. As much as the pack hated me, they needed me to cook, clean, and do every little thing for them. Yes, you heard me right; I was the freaking maid of the place.
Maybe now it’s clear as to why I am so upset all the time. Why I’m almost near depression, not quite there, but close enough that people truly believed I was.
Walking into the house quickly yet quietly, I snuck by the loud group of teens in the den area. Exploding objects and gunshots filled the air.
‘Stupid boys and their obsession with videogames’ I thought sneaking past the loud noises quickly, hoping they wouldn’t wake up Sam.
I went over to Sam’s room and placed him gently on the bed. He shared the room with Ethan, considering it was his before he went off to college. He visits sometimes, like now. However, he usually lives in an apartment with his mate Olivia. She was such a sweet girl. I was glad he found her. They’d met on campus at his school, and were inseparable since. I sighed; at least my brother got his dream girl. Now, I was just waiting for my dream guy.
Tucking the covers up and giving Sam a small kiss on the cheek, I walked out of the room, only to bump into a hard chest.
“Oof,” I muttered, rubbing my forehead from the impact.
“Watch where you’re going, freak!” swirly dark blue and grey eyes darkened as they stared at me. Looking down from my alpha, Drew's, eyes, I mustered up enough courage to apologize. “S-sorry,” I mumbled pathetically before running away from him and up to my room.
Heartbeat thrumming in my ears, I blew out a deep breath. I quickly composed myself and speed walked all the way to my room. It wasn't the fact that Alpha Drew was that scary, in fact, I found him pretty handsome, but our differences were clearly visible, considering how he looked upon me. Nonetheless, I felt something different when I was around him.
I sighed, leaning against the door to my bedroom-well if you could call it a bedroom. Ever since my mom’s accident, everyone blamed me for making it out alive instead of my mother. You see, my family is the beta family of the pack. And everyone loved the betas, especially my mom. She was always homey and sweet, a mother to all the pack children. She was best friends with Drew’s mom, the Luna of the pack. I guess Drew thought of her as a second mom which is why he mostly treats me like shit. I guess I do deserve it. I should’ve been the one to die, not my mom. Nobody liked me, they never did.
Well, back to my boring old room. Long story short, everyone hates me, I get a crappy room and crappy things, all while having to do all the chores of the pack.
“Yay me,” I muttered sarcastically. I sighed for the umpteenth time today before getting out my homework.
‘Guess I’ll have to stay up all night finishing this’ I said quietly, allowing myself to get comfortable on my thick, hard mattress. I wish my life was easier.
‘Well, who ever said life was fair?’

Chapter 2

The chirping of birds awoke me from my peaceful slumber. I didn’t need an alarm clock when the sheer terror of being unprotected from my other pack members allowed me to become such a light sleeper. Who knows what they would do to me when I was sleeping and unarmed?
‘Nice thoughts in the morning, Arianna’ I grumbled to myself. Dashing into the bathroom, I took a quick shower before throwing on a pair of grey sweats and a purple sweatshirt. I combed my fingers through my hair and grabbed my bag.
Walking downstairs as quietly as I could in a packhouse full of wolves, I retreated to the kitchen to make them breakfast.
I set the huge platter of pancakes, syrup, waffles, bacon, sausage, toast, cereal, and morning smoothies-for the anorexic sluts, of course-and orange juice onto the dining table. In my opinion, they were more pig-like than wolf with all the food they ate. But I was truly envious. All I ate for breakfast was a piece of fruit and a glass of water.
I was washing my hands in the sink when I heard the all-too familiar sound of heavy footsteps approaching the kitchen. Shutting the water off, I tip toed quietly towards the corner and stood there.
‘The kitchen is clean, food is cooked, and everyone’s things are all ready to go in the front foyer’ I said to myself, imaginarily checking off each one on my mental to do list.
Soon, my father came into view, and it took all my willpower not to cringe at him as a reflex. Just his presence set my wolf on edge. He grabbed an aspirin from the medicine cabinet and a glass of water before retreating back the way he came. I sighed inwardly; he didn’t notice me this time. I didn’t want to be the first one he saw after waking up from a hangover.
Glancing at the stairs one more time, I went back towards the kitchen counter, cleaning up the mess he made. Suddenly, the loud voices of my fellow pack mates floated to my ears. Scurrying back towards the corner once more, I stood still, eyes to the floor and hands clasped behind my back. I could feel their presence as they sat in the dining room, feeding off the breakfast I made them.
“Eww! What the HELL is this crap!?” Dana, the main pack slut-and alpha Drew’s girlfriend-screeched. ‘Uh oh,’ I gulped, ‘what did I do wrong? Oh god, I’m so dead,’
All too soon, I felt a large hand swipe across my face, throwing it towards the right. I looked down, biting my lip and holding back tears that were threatening to spill out.
“What the fuck is this crap?!? I want breakfast for my girlfriend, not garbage! Now go make her something else you useless bitch!” Drew screamed, causing my wolf to whimper in pain.
‘Huh, why would my wolf be so upset? It’s not like this hasn’t happened before,’
I nodded mutely at him. My cheek burned from the impact, probably leaving a bruise there. At least my werewolf healing would help with it.
I quickly made a substitute fat free smoothie for Dana before heading out the door after the pack. They all got into their expensive cars, leaving me to walk to school. Of course they would. They couldn’t be burdened with having me flaw their perfect reputation.
I was the freak at school, the loner. I was always like this, even before mom’s death. People thought it was weird that I barely talked, so they avoided me. To be honest, I was just a shy kid, but people were always quick to judge. Then, following the death of my mom gave them another reason to justify their stereotype of me. I almost never talked anymore. I just went through class like a mindless zombie.
The leaves stirred, flowing with the cool breeze. It was a cloudy morning, but not the kind that said it would rain any second. More like the calm clouds that were covering the sky while the breeze whipped around. I loved this kind of weather, it was calming. The clouds were just slightly grey, the breeze slightly cool, and the temperature slightly warm. It was a comforting autumn day. I breathed in the smell. The musk scent of woods, leaves, fresh dew, and human civilization floated up my nose. Before I knew it, the school came into view. I’d almost lost myself in the breathtaking scenery. Shaking my head, I entered the school hallways.
The school was quiet nice for a high school. The hallways weren’t too murky and bland. Looking down the hallway, I could already see the popular group sitting by the main stairs. They mostly consisted of my pack, and some humans. In the center of it stood Drew, with his arm draped around Dana, while she sat in his lap. She was wearing his varsity jacket.
‘At least it covered her scantily clad clothing,’ I thought, dropping my gaze and walking towards my locker. Grabbing my books, I walked off towards my calculus class. Fortunately, Dana or her so called “friends” weren’t in this class. Partly the reason why I took advanced classes, no Dana in any of my classes. Unfortunately, that meant all star quarterback, straight A student, Drew Blake had to be in all of my classes.


I was the first one in class. I walked towards the window, seating myself furthest away from the desks where Drew and his group sat. Mr. Gregory was busy writing on the board, barely acknowledging me as I walked in. Not that it mattered, this was my usual routine: get into class before the others to avoid any bullying they would do to me. Well, either way they were gonna bully me, but at least it wasn’t early in the morning.
Glancing at the clock, it read 7:25. 5 more minutes till class started.
Sighing, I got out my calculus book and started reading the chapter. Yes, I know, how nerdy to be reading the chapter before it’s even taught. But that’s me. I want to escape this hell hole I call my life, and if I was going to do that, I’d need to be smart enough to get into a top tier university. Then I could move thousands of miles away from this place. I’d take Sammy with me, and I’d visit Ethan and Olivia at their apartment every month. Just the thought of those ideas put a smile on my face. But just as quickly as it got there, it wiped off. The sounds of laughter and gossip grew louder as students filled their way into the classroom.
Turning back towards my book, I waited for the class to fill in. Mr. Gregory began his lesson, talking about formulas and graphs. I mindlessly took notes, trying to pay attention as my mind was having an internal battle with itself. The rational side wanted me to pay attention, but this other side-my teenage girl side?-was daydreaming about Drew. What the hell? Since when did I care about that jerk player? I took in a deep breath, trying to channel all my energy into paying attention to class. I looked back up to the board and began taking notes again. Today just didn’t seem to be my day.
*********
Finally, the last bell rang for school to end. I waited till everyone ran out of class before gently picking up my belongings. My sides still hurt from getting kicked in the ribs a couple days ago. Thanks to my in-famous father dearest. Wincing slightly at the pain, I grabbed my things and shuffled out of class. I always stayed behind for 10 or so minutes. I didn’t want to arrive at the same time as the others in the pack.
Making sure the coast was clear; I walked out towards the main doors. I turned a corner, only to bump into a wall-a human wall to be exact. I braced myself to hit the ground, but it never came. Instead, warm arms encircled my petite waist. I looked up to my savior.
His aqua blue eyes shone with amusement, yet they felt warm and inviting. His beautiful face was angular and masculine. His luscious black hair was gelled up in a messy style. The large arms encircling me felt strong, and muscular. It was then, that I realized how we probably looked.
I blushed, stepping away from his grasp. He frowned, something that didn’t look right on his perfect face, before smiling sheepishly.
“I-I’m sorry,” I whispered, averting my eyes to the tiled floor beneath me. I hugged my books tightly to my chest, almost like a shield. I half expected this stranger to look at me disgustingly; to hurt me, but nothing came.
I looked back up to his face. His eyes held curiosity and a little bit of-confusion?
“It’s alright. I’m Jake, Jake Donovan. And what might a pretty lady like you be doing after school this late?” his strong, masculine voice replied.
Wait, did he say late? I thought it was only 3? He must have noticed my shocked expression because he chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s almost 4,” he laughed. My eyes widened in disbelief. Oh no! I know I get home later than the others, but not this late! They’re going to flip! I’m going to be their entertainment tonight, as their freaking human punching bag! Yet again, he noticed my agitated state. This guy was like some mind reader!
“I’m guessing you’re not supposed to be here too late. I can drop you off if you’d like? But for that, I would like to know your name...?” he chuckled.
“Um, yeah sorry. I’m Arianna Mitchell. And if you don’t mind...” I trailed off.
“Of course not! It’s not every day that you get to drop off such a beautiful looking girl. I’m sure all the guys would be jealous,” he grinned at me, guiding us towards the parking lot.
He was quite the character. Smart, funny, charming. But why would he be talking to me? Oh, he must be new. No wonder I don’t recognize him. Too bad I don’t have any classes with him.
“So, are you new?” I said, politely making small talk.
“Yeah, I’m starting tomorrow. I just registered. What about you? What grade you in?

“I’m a senior,”
“Wow, me too! Maybe I’ll have a few classes together with you! But I don’t know, I don’t want to distract you from class, with a sexy hunk like me sitting there,” he smirked, waggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.
I laughed. Wow, how long has it been since I’ve actually laughed. Today has seriously been a strange day.
“So, I was wondering, if you could take me to your alpha. I’m a new werewolf here, and I need to join the pack. So if you don’t mind...?” he questioned me.
Oh, I’m so stupid! How could I not smell his werewolf scent!? I smiled back, before replying.
“Sure. I live in the pack house. I’ll take you to him,”
“Great!” he replied.
And that’s how the ride went. Him and I talking easily back and forth, chit chatting about nothing. It was nice to talk to someone who didn’t judge me, or look at me with pity. Sooner than I wanted, we arrived at the pack house. I led him through the house, glad that nobody noticed that I was missing.
‘Why would they?’ I snorted.
‘I know, they’re just a bunch of stuck up losers. Don’t worry, we’re better than that!’ replied my wolf.
She was such a sweetheart to talk to. She helped me through my pain and suffering, yet still remained strong. Must be the beta blood, I always told myself.
We finally reached the large French doors of Drew’s room. I hesitated, before knocking the door. I could feel Jake behind me. He was standing awfully close, that it brought a slight tinge to my cheeks.
The doors opened, revealing a sexy looking Drew. Woah, sexy!? What the hell is going on with me! Since when did alpha Drew look sexy to me? I mean, yeah he was attractive, but nothing more.
‘It’s probably my teenage hormones. And the fact that I’m a werewolf enhances them,’ I told myself mentally.
“What?!” Alpha Drew spit out, teeth clenched.
“A-alpha D-Drew, this man w-wants to j-join our pack. H-he wants to talk to you,”
Drew’s eyes softened as he noticed Jake behind me. Jake’s eyes, however, seemed to harden.
“Thanks Arianna,” Jake smiled at me before walking into the room behind Drew.
Drew shot me a look once more, before slamming the door in my face. Tears pooled in my eyes, but I held them back. I was used to this lack of respect, but why was it affecting me now?
Sighing heavily, I retreated up to my room. At least here I was safe. After changing out of my clothes into a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, I headed over to Sammy’s room.
Sam was playing with some of the other kids of the pack. They were all gathered around on the floor, playing with toy cars. I chuckled.
“Hey little guy, what’s up?”
“Ari!” Sam cried, before jumping up and wrapping his tiny arms around me. His head hit my stomach, while I rubbed his back. Bending down to his level, I chuckled before kissing him on his forehead.
“Glad to see you to buddy,” I smiled at him.
“Ari, can you play cars with me, Todd, and Chase! Please, please Ari??” my brother begged with his puppy dog eyes. Darn, I could never say no to those eyes.
“Alright Sammy, but only for a bit, okay? Ari needs to make dinner for you after,” I stated, tickling his tummy. He squirmed and giggled before grabbing my hand and leading me towards his friends.

Chapter 3

I flopped down onto my hard mattress. I was unbelievably exhausted. After playing with Sam for an hour, I had to cook and clean before doing my homework. I was hoping to let sleep overtake me, but I guess I was wrong.
Someone knocked on my door, making me jump up into position. I walked towards the door cautiously. When I opened it, Ethan was standing there smiling.
I arched an eyebrow at him, confused. Why was he all happy?
“Ari, I know how tired you are right now but I need to tell you something important,”
“Sure Ethan, what’s up?” I sat down on my bed, patting the side next to me for him to sit on.
“Okay,” he stated, settling down next to me, “so you know how I was gone all day?”
I nodded my head, lying down on the bed, my feet still hanging off the side. Ethan mirrored my move.
“Well, I went to check on Olivia, and guess what, she’s pregnant!” I shot upright, looking at Ethan for any sign that admitted he was joking. His face was serious and his grin stretched to either side of his face.
“Ethan I’m so happy for you guys! I can’t believe I’m gonna be an aunt!” I smiled at him. He stood up, grabbing my hands and circling them around his waist. He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my forehead.
This was one of the reasons why I was glad my brother didn’t treat me badly like the rest of my pack. Sam and Ethan were all I had left. I hugged him back, inhaling his masculine smell with a mix of light cologne and Olivia’s perfume.
“Hey you two,” a soft feminine voice interrupted us.
I looked towards the door. There stood Olivia with her arms outstretched. I ran towards her, greedily accepting the hug.
“Congratulations, Olivia. I’m so happy for you two,” I told her. She smiled back at me and kissed my forehead.
“Thanks Ari. You look tired. Ethan and I are just going to head up to our apartment. Goodnight sweetie,” she said kissing my forehead lightly and hugging me.
“Night,” I whispered as they headed out the door.
Walking back towards my bed, I snuggled into the thin sheets. I just lay there, thinking about life.
How could Ethan and I be remotely related? Here he was, total jock, handsome, smart, caring, funny, protective and most of all, he had a mate that he loved. They were going to be a family soon and live happily ever after. Me, well...I guess fate has never sided with me.
I began to drift off to sleep when I heard the door open a crack. A blonde head of hair stuck in.
“Ari,” Sam’s blubbery voice said.
I rushed over to the door and held him. I let him cry on my shoulder, wetting the t-shirt I was wearing.
“Shhh, it’s okay Sammy. I’m right here. Shhh, it’s alright. Do you wanna sleep here tonight?” I murmured into his ear.
He nodded, gripping his teddy bear tightly. I picked him up and carried him over to my bed. Laying him down softly, I planted a kiss on his cheek before snuggling in myself. Wrapping a protective arm around him, I snuggled him closer to me. I knew it was one of Sammy’s bad dreams about mom and dad. He always had them. I’m surprised he still remembers the death all these years, considering he was only 2 when mom died.
I drew in a breath, inhaling Sam’s scent. It immediately calmed me, helping me fall into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 4

Walking aimlessly to my locker, I was side tackled by none other than, Melanie. Melanie was my only friend. We both had been social outcasts. However, I could never understand why Melanie was one. She had light blonde hair that fit her perfectly shaped face. Beautiful blue eyes and a toned slim figure were striking aspects about her. If Melanie had grown up normally, she probably would have been quite popular. The thought saddened me. I’m glad she was the way she was. I felt kind of guilty for being glad that Melanie was a shy orphan, but without her, I don’t know how long I could have survived my depression.
“So guess what?!” she giggled in my ear.
“What?” I smiled at her. Leave it to Melanie to make my usual depressing day into a bright one.
“Well, since it’s my birthday on Friday, I thought we could go to our favorite spot and hang out?” she asked, biting her lip.
“Of course Mel! It’s your birthday. We’ll go, I promise,” Her face morphed from nervous to happy. Soon I was smiling; her smile was too contagious. She squealed before linking arms with me and pulling me to class. I sighed. Best friends, can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.
*********
The day was going endlessly slow. I was walking over to English when I saw Mel. She smiled at me and stepped beside me. Walking in sync with each other, we chatted about nothing before reaching our class. Melanie seemed slightly agitated, which confused me.
We got in and sat at our usual seats, but Melanie kept glancing around, trying to spot something. I looked at her confused, until I saw Jake walk into the doorway. He was looking handsome as ever, with a grey long sleeve shirt- highlighting his abs I must add-and some casual black skinny jeans. This hair was messy like before, but it looked sexy on him, not as sexy as Drew though-wait woah? Drew again? What is wrong with me?!?
Melanie must have noticed me looking up, because when she did, she just stared at Jake. He was looking right at her with the same look on his face. Both of them seemed to be in some trance. I was about to tap Mel when the teacher walked in, silencing the class. The girls began giggling flirtatiously at Jake, which seemed to anger Mel. I had an idea about what was going on, but I wasn’t exactly sure. I’m guessing they were...
“Mate” both Jake and Mel said, when Jake walked towards them and sat in the seat next to Mel. I smiled, happy for them. Jake grinned, ear to ear, while looking at Mel lovingly. I couldn’t help but giggle quietly at the two lovebirds.
“Erhm,” I said, clearing my throat, “Mel, this is Jake, Jake, this is Melanie, my best friend,”
“You two know each other?” Mel asked me.
“Yeah, I kinda bumped into him yesterday-literally,” I laughed.
“Melanie, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” he said to Mel, making heat rise quickly to her cheeks. I smiled at them before looking away at their intimate moment. I longed for that so much.
Just as I looked up, I met the familiar eyes of Drew, standing at the doorway. Oh shit, I just looked him in the eyes! I was never supposed to do that! He’s probably going to beat me after school! I shivered at the thought, but somehow didn’t feel scared that he would hurt me.
I looked back up to see him still standing there, staring at me with a loving look in his eyes. Wait, loving!? No that can’t possibly be it. Just as soon as it was there, it was gone, the familiar grey blue eyes staring at me with disgust. I looked away, tears brimming at my eyes. Why was he making me feel so heartbroken? I’d never acted this way before, why now?
“Hey Ari, you okay?” Mel said quietly, her hand on my arm as she looked at me with concern.
“I'm fine,” I whispered, knowing clear and well that she heard me. We were werewolves after all.
She nodded hesitantly, yet giving me a knowing look that meant ‘we’ll talk later’. I nodded back before staring at the teacher, trying to drown myself in class and avoid the unnecessary thoughts that plagued my mind.
*********
English had gone by extremely long and uncomfortable. I could feel Drew watching me the entire time, but I never looked his way. It was nerve wrecking. Trudging my way to lunch, I spotted Drew leaning against Dana in the hall. They were doing some x-rated kissing. Normally, I would’ve looked disgusted and walked away, but today, I stood there watching them. My anger was boiling and all I could do was stare. Before they noticed, I shook my head and walked into the cafeteria, ignoring the tugging pull at my heart for leaving Drew behind with that skank.
I spotted Mel sitting on Jake’s lap. They were eating and Mel was blushing, while Jake smirked at her. I stifled a laugh. They were too cute of a couple.
Jake noticed me first and waved. I waved back before walking towards them and sitting across from them. Mel noticed me and grinned mischievously. My eyes widened. Mel was planning something, and it wasn’t going to be good. Before she could say anything though, I was roughly pushed into the table, the edge digging into my already hurt ribs. I bit my lip, holding in a scream. Jake seemed to reach out towards me, while Mel growled lowly at the guy that pushed me. I gave them a small smile, although it was hard to considering I was still biting my lip, but I managed to show them that I was alright. Jake and Mel were still a bit skeptical, so I just shrugged at them.
“It’s okay guys, not like it hasn’t happened before. I’m just gonna go to the bathroom okay?” I stated, getting up to go check on my bruises.
“I’ll come with you!” Mel said, abruptly standing up. She wobbled a bit, before Jake grabbed her waist, steadying her.
“N-no, it’s fine. I’ll be back in a bit,” I said in a rush. I walked towards the cafeteria doors and stepped into the hallway.
Letting a breath out, I closed my eyes, steadying myself before walking to the bathroom.
The mirror greeted me to a small girl, whose eyes were glistening with tears. I shook my head at my reflection. Sighing, I pulled my shirt up a bit, checking on the bruises. I was glad nobody else was in the bathroom. Evidently, I spoke too soon.
Slam! The door banged. I turned around trying to spot who it was. Before I could, I was slammed against the wall, a muscled body pressed right up against me. Tingles and sparks lit my skin like a lick of fire. I was mesmerized, until I remembered the compromising position I was in with some stranger. I looked up, gasping in shock at who it was.

Chapter 5

Drew’s eyes bore into mine, making me shiver and look down. I finally realized we were against the bathroom wall. The door was closed again, and by the looks of it, seemed locked. Damn, my escape plans just went down the toilet. I laughed inwardly at how ironic that thought was, after all, we were in a bathroom.
“W-what are y-you d-d-doing?” I stammered, mentally cursing myself.
His gaze softened as he looked at me. Before I could comprehend, he had his face buried in my neck, inhaling my scent. I bit back a moan. But all too soon, it ended. He stepped back quickly, and I’m sure the look on my face easily showed that I was hurt. I looked back down, before shuffling towards the door.
His arm grabbed mine, sending small tingles everywhere. I ignored them, focusing on him.
“Look,’ he frustratedly ran a hand through his hair, “ don’t tell anyone we’re mates! I don’t want you. I never did, and I never will,” My heart leapt in my throat. I looked up at him surprised, he didn’t want me. Even if he didn’t say those words, his face wrote it like a book. I was crushed, no-beyond crushed, I was completely broken. Even the thought of my dad beating me senseless sounded less painful than this rejection. I wanted to cry, to scream at him, but I kept my expression blank.
“Now tell me who caused those bruises!” He whispered harshly. I sighed before replying.
“I-I tripped on t-the s-stairs,” I stuttered again, lying to him.
“Don’t lie to me Arianna!” his voice bellowed, but all I could focus on was the way he said my name. Dirty thoughts instantly rushed into my head, making my face heat up.
“M-my d-dad kicked me d-down t-the stairs. T-the p-pack also t-thought it was f-fun to h-hurt me s-so they did,” I whispered, not looking at him in the eyes. I heard a low grumble before I was backed up against the wall again, but not as hard as before. Drew was being gentle with me, which surprised me the most.
“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you,” he whispered softly, noticing how I shrunk away from him. I gaped at him. He was saying sorry, to me! Flipping me! This had to be unreal.
He chuckled, probably noticing my expression.
“What? Can’t a guy say sorry without looking like you’ve just seen an alien?” he smirked at me. I looked back down shyly. He lifted my chin, making me meet his gaze. I saw his eyes flicker down to my lips before looking back up to my eyes once again. He seemed to be contemplating on what do to.
Finally, he sighed, pulling us away from the wall.
“We should probably head back to lunch,” Just as he said so, the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. He looked back over at me and gave me a small smile before running out the door. I watched his figure retreat before replaying the whole scene in my head. It was completely unreal.
Taking one last look at the bathroom, I followed his path out the door and towards my next class. Evidently, I was also sharing this class with him.
Not even before I could take a step inside, Mel jumped at me. Startled, I stumbled back only to be caught by an amused looking Jake. I frowned at him before turning my attention to Mel.
“That’s not really a nice way to greet someone ya know,” I mumbled.
“Hehe, sorry Ari,” she smiled sheepishly before continuing, “what took you so long? I was about to come in there and find you!”
“Oh, uh, I was feeling kinda sick so I stayed in the bathroom in case I threw up,” I lied, looking anywhere but her face. Sadly, I’m a terrible liar. But I’ve never been one to care for so it was easy to lie to the few people that cared to notice my limp or my sharp inhales of breath whenever I was in pain. Luckily for me, Mel didn’t push it, which I appreciated greatly.
We walked inside the class, and I saw Drew look up at me. I avoided his eyes and sat down in the back by the window, far from where he was. He glanced over at me subtly.
That’s how the entire class went, and the next, and the next: Drew staring at me while I paid attention in class. Soon, I was out the door, walking to the packhouse. The sky was greying and I knew it would rain soon. I pulled up my hood up, and listened to the soft sounds coming from the forest. I hadn’t shifted in a while, and my wolf was aching for a release. Before I could decipher what was going on, I was running into the forest, dropping my bag and stripping my clothes before transforming into my white wolf. I trotted over to my favorite place in the forest, the waterbed creek.
It was such a beautiful sight. A slow, transparent crystal watered creek flowed from a small waterfall that emptied into a shallow pond underneath it. The weeping willows hung lazily around the field, sheltering it from the outside. The soft grass was bright green and lively. Purple, pink, orange wildflowers danced with the wind. Cool crisp air as fresh as the crystal water from the creek flowed around, wrapping me in a light cool embrace. It traveled lightly through my fur, soothing my skin.
Unaware of my surroundings, I heard a rustle of leaves. My ears perked, pointing towards the sound. A large black wolf came out into the clearing, its familiar grey-blue eyes staring at me. My heart leapt into my throat.
Drew.
I never really got to see Drew as a wolf, mostly because I was left out of the pack runs we had occasionally. He was a gorgeous midnight color, with a single white streak along his side, disappearing under his belly.

'Shift'

His voice echoed into my head through mind link. I looked at him with wide eyes. I was naked! How could I shift?! But I can’t defy my alpha! He seemed to notice my hesitation and ran behind a tree, coming out shirtless with only a pair of low slung shorts on. I stared at his gorgeous abs flexing. An eight pack. That was hot. His too low shorts showed the v line towards his-stop! Ari what the hell are you thinking!? I mentally shook my head and looked back at his face.
He was holding his shirt in his hands, and tossed it over to me. I grabbed it in my jaws and ran behind a tree before shifting and putting it on. His warm scent of the woods mixed with the soft sweet of cologne embraced me. I walked out behind the tree shyly, afraid to look at Drew again. He was shirtless and obviously, with my reaction before, I could hardly trust myself with not throwing myself at him like some desperate slut.
I jumped a little when I heard him growl, although it sounded more like a growl of approval. I looked up to see him standing there, eyes filled with lust and love as he raked his eyes over my body. I shivered involuntarily and watched as he inched closer, his eyes hungrily looking at my body that was covered with his shirt. Unfortunately-well for me, I’m not so sure about Drew-it only reached mid-thigh.
He flung us into a tree, my back pressing up against the rough bark. He loomed over me again before snuggling his head into my neck, laying soft kisses all over it. I was captivated by his touch, his skin tingling with fire against mine. But that’s when I remembered who he was, what he’s done. I pushed him back away from me, turning away and crossing my arms.
He growled lowly. I looked up again to see pain, hurt, and anger flash in his eyes.
“I-I’m sorry, it’s just, I-I can’t trust you just yet,” I whispered.
He walked away, leaving me upset and hurt. I followed after him, grabbing my things before walking back towards the house.

Chapter 6

Arriving back to the packhouse, in my clothes of course, I headed straight towards the kitchen to make dinner. Once done, I trudged upstairs to my room to finish all my homework.
“Hey you,” a voice called out. Turning my head, I looked to see Olivia standing there with a smile on her face.
“Liv,” I smiled at her using my nickname for her.
“Whatcha doin?”
“Homework,” I mumbled quietly. She patted my head and giggled while I rolled my eyes at her.
“Arianna!” a voice bellowed out from downstairs, obviously picked up by my werewolf hearing.
I jumped, while Olivia looked at me with sympathy. She knew the treatment they gave me here, but she couldn’t do anything about it, mainly because I wouldn’t let her, and secondly because she would get hurt if she did.
I gave her a reassuring smile before running downstairs to see what the problem was.
I found Drew standing there with arms crossed with Dana beside him smirking at me. Uh-oh, this was bad.
“W-what’s wrong A-alpha Drew?” I questioned meekly.
“The guys decided to throw a party tomorrow and you need to get everything for it, and you have to clean up afterwards. That’s all, you’re dismissed,” I nodded before heading back up the stairs. I heard the sounds of Drew and Dana making out downstairs as I left them, feeling my heart shatter in a million pieces. My fragile heart, which was already covered in cuts and bruises, barely held together with small bandages, was breaking. Stupid mate bond! Why did I have to be stuck with a selfish, arrogant, player like Drew?
By now, small tears were spilling out of my eyes. I hugged myself with my arms, going up the agonizing stairs with my already worn out feet.
Smack!
“Stop crying you worthless slut! You’re nothing but a useless whore! Now get out of my sight!” My father said evilly from where he was standing on the stairs. He was holding a bottle of vodka in his hand and had a look of disgust covering his face. I cringed, barely noticing the burning sensation coming from the cheek were he smacked me. I picked myself up from the floor where I’d fallen from his slap and stumbled back towards my room.
“Ari?” a soft voice spoke.
I was surrounded by warm arms that engulfed me into a hug. I immediately recognized my brother’s scent. I snuggled into him before letting my sobs out. They wracked my body, making it heave. Finally, after my long waterworks, I pulled away and looked up at Ethan.
“Who did this to you?” his voice eerily low as his eyes focused on my already bruising cheek. It didn’t take a genius to know that he already knew it was our dad that hurt me.
I gave him a small smile, telling him it was alright. But Ethan, being the stubborn one he is, stormed out of my room. I sighed, before walking towards my bed when another voice spoke out, sending chills down my spine.
“Well that bruise doesn’t look very good on your pretty face, now does it?”
I froze, not wanting to acknowledge that Drew, of all people, was in my room. I turned hesitantly towards him. He was standing by the door, leaning on the frame with his arms crossed over his broad chest. His eyes showed amusement but a flicker of hurt and anger passed. I blinked, almost like I didn’t believe he could care.
I lowered my head and stared at the ground before speaking up.
“I don’t have a pretty face, alpha,”
Before I could process what was going on, I was forcefully slammed into the wall with a very pissed looking Drew pressed against me. Our sudden position reminded me of this morning at school and I blushed involuntarily.
“Don’t ever say that,” his voice hissed, cutting through the air like a knife.
“B-but you said-“I was cut off by his lips pressing against mine. The sparks that ignited were breathtaking. Little bursts of flames that burned between us as our lips collided. My stomach was doing summersaults inside at the close proximity, yet I felt so complete, so whole, so loved, that I forgot everything around me and delved myself further into the kiss. That was, until I finally came back to my senses. I broke the kiss first, pushing myself away from him.
“A-alpha!?” I whispered.
He growled lowly before attacking me with his lips once more. He bit my bottom lip, making me gasp and pushed his tongue further, prodding around my mouth. He tasted like sweet honey and vanilla making me ache for more. All too soon, the kiss ended.
“Don’t call me alpha! I’m your mate!” he growled grabbing my waist and pulling me closer to him. I gulped before looking back at his eyes, which were a darker blue-grey and staring at me with lust and love. I was completely confused with his bipolar emotions. On one side he treated me like shit; on the other, he loved me like a true mate would.
“S-sorry, D-drew,” I whispered again, looking back down and away from his hypnotizing eyes.
He lifted my chin up and planted a soft kiss on my lips. It wasn’t like the other one, hungry and possessive. This one was sweet and inviting, like a normal boyfriend would give to his girlfriend.
“I’m sleeping in your room tonight. Everyone from the pack is gone tonight. I sent them all away,” he ordered.
“W-what about Sam?” I asked.
“All the kids are with the older wolves, I told them it was important that they stayed there tonight,” he answered nonchalantly, like it was the most normal thing to do.
I sighed, knowing there was no way I could defy the alpha.
“A-are you sure you want to s-sleep h-here? M-my b-bed is kinda s-small and u-uncomfortable,” I knew I had to tell him the truth about my bed, and I was kinda hoping he wouldn’t want to stay. Yet the last part did send a pang through my heart. I repeat, stupid mate bond.
He smirked before grabbing my hips and pressing me closer to him.
“This isn’t some way of getting rid of me, now is it?” I was seriously tempted to wipe that smirk off his face.
He grabbed me, pulling me over his shoulder and walked over to my bed. Dropping me to the bed, he climbed on top of me and leant down, kissing my lips yet again.
He pulled back, his infamous smirk plastered onto his handsome face as he rolled over to the side and propped himself up with an elbow. I got up and turned off the lights, knowing that he was watching my every move the entire time. I got into my bed, and pulled up the covers.
I gasped when an arm shot out and wrapped around my waist, pulling me to a muscled chest-a naked muscled chest at that! I tried squirming away but he just pulled me back and blew hot breath in my ear.
“Now, now, kitten, I don’t think you should do that,” he smirked against my neck. I shivered at the touch. Damn him and his effect on me!
Sighing, I gave up the fight and let sleep succumb to me.
********
I woke up to the sound of rustling. Turning my head slightly, I realized I was alone in my room yet again. I sighed, content, yet somehow felt upset that he left me.
Looking at the clock, I realized it was 5 am. Just my luck. I got out of bed, fully awake now and ventured into the bathroom.
I opened the door to find a wet looking Drew with a towel wrapped dangerously low around his hips and wet beads of water trickling down his sculpted body. I found myself staring until I heard a chuckle. I blushed crimson before turning around and running the hell outta there.
He walked out again, still wrapped only in a towel and smirked at me.
“Like what you see, babe?”
I scoffed at him, but soon realized what I did and prepared for a slap, but nothing came. I opened my eyes, one at a time, to find Drew looking at me with sadness and guilt. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“Did you think I was gonna hurt you?” he asked so softly that I almost doubted myself for hearing it.
“N-no,” I said quietly, looking away to the ground. Again, my lack of lying skills was so evident that I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t believe me.
“Ari, stop lying, you were scared that I would hit you. I’m so sorry for whatever I’ve done. Please forgive me. I feel like a jerk for what I’ve done to you. Please, please forgive me baby,” he whispered, coming closer and eventually wrapping me in his arms. I forgot the fact that he was half naked, but instead, enjoyed the warmth of his body on my arms, how I molded into his body perfectly. I was enjoying his embrace until he pressed us closer together. I fought the urge to scream as he pressed tightly against my bruises on my stomach and ribs. Sadly, I still let out a muffled yelp, which Drew had heard.
“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry!” he rushed out, inspecting me for any signs of hurt. I just shook my head no, but I was already too late. He pulled up my shirt and stood staring at my bruises. His face contorted to one of rage and he dropped my shirt before charging out of the room. I stood there confused at his actions yet again. This boy was clearly deranged.
************
School was yet again, boring. I listened animatedly to Melanie go on and on about how her date with Jake was absolutely wonderful. I felt like the worst friend at the moment, but my thoughts were too preoccupied with Drew. Why on earth would he outright make fun of me and hurt me like usual, then act like nothing happened and we were the loving mates that everyone admired? What was his deal?
I tried to avoid him like the plague. Hallways, class, even the lunchroom were spent finding escape routes so he wouldn’t see or hear me.
I was walking out the school doors, preparing myself for a walk home when Drew’s sleek Lamborghini Gallardo ran by me. The window slid down, revealing a smirking Drew and an evil looking Dana. I sighed, rolling my eyes, before continuing my walk quietly on the sidewalk.
“Hey freak! Make sure you walk a little extra today! You could lose the extra weight!” Dana shrieked at me, laughing along with Drew. The thought of him laughing at me sent my heart reeling in pain, but I said nothing. If I did, I’d probably get beaten yet again. Drew leaned over on Dana’s side and looked at me with an amused expression.
“Oh and don’t get wet!” he laughed, before speeding off his Lamborghini, effectively getting me wet by the water that splashed off his tires. I grimaced at my wet clothes, and decided a little shifting wouldn’t hurt.
I snuck into the woods, stripped off my nasty, wet clothes and shifted. The open feeling felt wonderful on my caged in wolf.
Before I knew it, the time had flown by, and I was facing the packhouse yet again. I let out a long, exasperated sigh before walking in.
Sadly, I wished I didn’t.

Chapter 7

There, sprawled out on the lavishing couch was a heavenly sight.
Drew was hovering over Dana, spreading kisses on her neck, while she moaned and rubbed herself all over Drew’s lower body. I grimaced, before tears pooled my eyes and I wished they would retract. I wouldn’t let Drew see me so weak. He’d enjoy making me suffer. The damn bipolar jerk. His behavior wasn’t even close to what was appropriate of an alpha, but I guess it was reasonable. He was a guy, a werewolf guy nonetheless. Of course they were going to be horny dogs. But the fact that here he was, screwing over the slut of the pack, when he’d already found a mate, made my wolf howl in agony.
I just walked away from them-barely acknowledging the dry humping they were doing-and headed off towards the kitchen.
After making a quick snack for the others, I retreated to Sammy’s room to check on him. He was, as expected, playing with his toys.
“Aribear!” he yelled, throwing his arms around me.
“Hey little man,” I chuckled, running my hand through his soft honey colored locks.
“Aribear why you crying?” he whispered, pointing at my face that was still drenched in tears.
“Oh nothing sweetheart. Now tell me, what did you do at school today?”
His eyes gleamed with happiness.
“Ari, today a girl was being picked on, and I helped her and told everyone to leave her alone!” he huffed proudly. I ruffled his hair again before smiling at him.
“That’s my little hero,” I laughed.
The sound of deep chuckling flooded my ears as I shot up straight. I turned around, finding Drew standing there. I stood in front of Sam protectively, shielding him from any abuse he might see.
Drew looked pained and hurt for a moment before he covered it off with his usual smirk. I frowned, backing up slowly, while making Sammy follow closely behind me. We walked backwards, bit by bit, till I made sure he was a safe distance from Drew.
“Hey Sam, I bought you a cool new bike! Want me to show it to you?” Drew crouched down, outstretching his hand. I gripped Sam’s arm firmly yet soft. I didn’t trust my voice at the moment to say no, so I just went with holding Sam back.
Drew studied me a moment before sighing.
“Your sister can come too,” he smiled at Sammy.
“Come on, Ari can we go, pretty please?” Sam whined, making me smile.
“Okay, but you have to finish your homework too buddy!” I playfully scolded him. He nodded before running past Drew. I looked at Drew again, almost getting caught up in his icy blue grey eyes. I shook my head of those thoughts and followed after Sam.
We walked towards the garage, with Sammy running in front of me, while I took quick and quiet steps behind him. I felt Drew’s presence right behind me. So close, in fact, that I could feel his body heat sparking with my own, making me shiver.
I scowled, clenching my fists at my side. I didn’t like his effect on me. I didn’t want this. Any of this. It was all a mistake by the Gods! Why on earth would I be compatible with this walking, talking human devil?
My wolf growled softly, probably upset that I insulted our mate. But too bad, he didn’t deserve any of my kind words.
Arriving to the garage, I opened it up to find a brand new bike. It was a shiny blue with silver and grey streaks spiraling around the body. Sam’s eyes lit up at the sight of it. He ran over to the bike, completely engrossed by it.
“Y-you didn’t have to buy this,” I mumbled to Drew.
“Of course I did,” he faced me, smiling a smile that made my stomach flutter. I looked away from him, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Sam, let’s go upstairs,” I said curtly. The sooner I got out of the 5 foot radius around Drew, the better I would be.
Sam whined about, but finally gave in, letting me drag him to his room.
I sighed, collapsing onto his bed while Sammy sat beside me with his homework, as I went through my usual routine of helping him. Soon, I got myself lost in the alphabet jumble that was Sam’s so called homework.
**********
The night sky shone brightly. The stars were dim, illuminating a soft glow around the forest. It almost beckoned me, luring me into its grasp. Oh how I wanted to let my wolf out and relax.
Just 5 minutes, I thought to myself. I jumped off the windowsill, and ran downstairs as quietly as I could. Once reaching downstairs, I bolted for the forest Laying my clothes in a nearby tree stump, I beckoned my wolf. Soon, the familiar feeling of paws on the soft dirt floor encompassed me.
I trotted lazily over to the small pond in the forest. The moon’s reflection was clear as day in the shimmering water. I studied my reflection: soft white/gray fur matching with my brownish-gray eyes. My ears lazily flat against my head, and my posture relaxed and comfy.
The sound of rustling interrupted me from my reverie. I looked back to see the huge wolf of Zane, a close friend of Alpha Drew’s. He wasn’t as bad as the others. Never had he physically or mentally hurt me, however, he didn’t ever stand up for me, which was why I avoided them all.
“W-what are you doing here?” I said through mindlink, submitting towards him with my head down.
“I have a proposition for you,” he smirked at me-well, as much as a smirk would look like on a wolf. Running behind a tree, he shifted and emerged fully clothed. I mirrored him, and we both moved towards the edge of the lake, overlooking the horizon. I decided to speak up again.
“What d-do you mean?” I stuttered confused.
“I know that you and Drew are mates, but him being the dick he is, won’t let go of his player ways so...” he trailed off, looking at me expectantly. I gasped, looking shocked that he’d known. He gave me an understanding smile back, which assured me somewhat.
“So...?” I questioned back, utterly confused.
“So, we both have a fake relationship. It’s simple: you and I act all lovey dovey. Some hugs and kisses here and there, and he’ll be putty in your hands,” he grinned.
“But why? I mean, why would you help me?” I stated, looking down at my hands in shame.
“Because I’m tired of everyone treating you badly, and I’m tired of Drew’s selfish player ways. Unlike him, I’m waiting for my mate like a gentlemen, while he’s off screwing girls left and right. Now I know you might be surprised on why I hang out with a guy like him, but it’s not that complicated. On other terms, we’re like brothers, but when it comes to girls, I have decency, while Drew, well...you catch my drift,” he shrugged.
“B-but...”
“No buts Arianna. Please! If not for yourself, do it for all the girls Drew hurts by having one night stands! One of those girls could be a loving mate, tricked by Drew’s selfish ways. Sometimes I’m afraid that it might be my mate one day. I would not hesitate to kick his ass if that ever happened. And besides, I’ve always looked at you like a sister, with Ethan and I being close as kids. He was my mentor on how to be popular, until I met Drew, and he took me under his wing. But it was your brother that taught me to be a good guy, and not a horny wolf. That’s why I feel like it’s my job to help you get Drew on track. So please, Ari, do this for me?” he was using the ultimate weakness: puppy dog eyes.
“Alright!” I huffed, giving into his cute little face. He grinned like a maniac at my giving in.
We walked back together, and I found myself strangely at peace with the strange boy next to me. Sadly, my life just didn’t always work that way.

Chapter 8

I had to admit, Zane’s idea did make me curious. Would it actually work? Could Drew accept me? But this was reality. Yeah, maybe it would work for a normal girl with a loving family, and best friends, but it was me here. I had no parents, a brother who wasn’t always around, and another to take care of. Plus the fact that I was the pack’s little mutt pet. There was no possibility that me and Zane could go out, not even hypothetically. Even if Zane wasn’t as popular as Drew, he was still part of their ‘it’ group. Besides, Zane was pretty hot, and then there’s me.
“Boo!” Zane popped up from behind the breakfast bar, scaring the crap out of me.
“Zane, go now,” I muttered, keeping my eyes fixated on the bowl of eggs I was whipping for breakfast. I couldn’t let him, a well-liked pack member, hanging out with the “girl in rags”. Honestly, Cinderella and I could’ve been best friends.
He sighed, before tipping my chin up. I was met with his beautiful brown eyes, concern and sadness filling them.
“Zane, please, I-I just don’t want you getting hurt because of me. I’ve caused a lot of pain to a lot of people, and I don’t want to add you to the list,” I whispered, tears blurring my vision.
He stood there, dumbfounded, before the spark of determination lit up in his eyes. ‘Uh-oh,’ I gulped. ‘Male wolves and their stupid sense of pride,’
“Hey! I heard that!” Zane pouted, crossing his arms. Oops, I guess I forgot to put up my mental wall. He must’ve overheard my thoughts. Stupid mindlink.
I just shook my head at him, grinning. He looked like a quiet one, but he was a talkative and good natured guy. Almost like a lost puppy, he would trail after me everywhere, whining and begging at me for attention. The thought of him actually getting up on his knees and begging me like the dog he was made me laugh inwardly.
“Zane, just go to the dining room and eat. We’ll talk later.” Scolding him, I grabbed the food and walked into the dining area. Zane trailed behind me, yet again, and stuffed his face instantly. I smiled, he reminded me so much of Sam. With his playful banter and puppy dog eyes, they were like mirror images, except that Zane was a tall, muscled, 18 year old boy.
Who knew one of Drew’s guys would be so caring yet mischievous?
I was brought out of my assessment by the heavy thud of footsteps. My throat gulped nervously. Dad. Instinct made me cower in the corner like always, but I guess today just wasn’t his day.
“Hey bitch, where are you?! Get out here right now!” He whisper/yelled at me.
I gulped once again, and scrambled out to meet his ferocious green eyes blazing right at me. Mentally, I tried to recall anything that I might have made him upset for, but I came up blank. I’d already made him (and the others) breakfast, did his laundry, made his bed, cleaned his room, everything. So why was he mad?
“Why the fuck did I hear you laughing this morning? Stupid piece of shit, you don’t deserve to be happy!” His voice laced with venom directed towards me.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. Why, oh why does my life have to suck? Before I could comprehend, I was lifted from the ground. His burly hand wrapped around my slender neck and pushed me against the wall.
“Now you listen here bitch, if I hear so much as a whisper come from your mouth, I will personally rip you to shreds,” he spat, dropping me to the ground and kicking me repeatedly. His kicks targeted my already bruised stomach and ribs. He gripped my arms so hard I was sure purple splotches would be showing up soon, and threw me against the wall. My head throbbed with aching pain, as my lungs scrambled for any last breaths of air. Air was all around me, yet unfortunately, my windpipe couldn’t exactly reach it all. I gasped again as pain shot from my abdomen; where I glanced down to see my father throw one last kick at me.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how I must’ve looked at that moment. My usual messy bun was rattled into different directions, hair slipping out. The old ratty t-shirt I wore was crumpled around me, seeping blood through. I tried to sigh, but it only hurt my stomach even more. Grudgingly against my body, I hoisted myself off the floor and cleaned up any mess of blood that I may have left behind. The walk up the stairs was just as eventful as walking to my room. Every little body part screamed for release, to just collapse on the bed and sleep away my life. Honestly, I don’t know why I hadn’t ended my life yet, but I already knew the reason: Mom. Because of mom. I promised her, when we were near death in that accident. That stupid accident sealed my fate, as well as my mom’s. If that accident hadn’t happened, I would be hugging my dad, instead of protecting myself against him. Ethan, and I would be making disgusted faces as my parents kissed each other affectionately, while Sam would be hoisted onto dad’s shoulders, laughing. The picture perfect family. Ruined because of me. Just before dying, my mom promised me, that if she were gone, I would take care of the family.

Flashback
“Mom, oh god, mom please say something!” I screamed frantically, shaking my mom.
Her lips parted, as a low groan emitted from her mouth. I stopped my frantic screaming and helped my mom. We were upside down in the car, and my mom’s head was slouched over on my seat. Blood poured from the long gash on her forehead, where she hit the steering wheel. Glass shards were littered all over my arms, but at that moment, I didn’t care. All I cared about was saving my mom.
“Mom, please, please, wake up! We have to get out of here!” I patted her cheek softly. She lifted her eyes open a fraction, and whispered lowly.
“Sweety, if I don’t make it out, I want you to run out of here. I want you to promise me, you’ll take over my position and be the mom of the family. Please sweetheart, just listen. I don’t have much time, just get out of here and take care of your family.”
Tears scrambled out of my eyes, making her image become fuzzy. I tried to say something, anything, but I couldn’t. I wanted to protest, I wanted to beg, to plead, for her to stop talking and try getting out of the car, but I couldn’t. Her lips curved into a small smile, as her eyes trailed over my face, taking in every feature. I couldn’t let her do this. I wouldn’t let her do this.
“Mom, no, everything’s going to be fine, you’ll be fine. Come on mom, Ethan, Sam, and dad are waiting for us at home! Everything’s going to be just fine, I-“ she cut me off, planting a kiss on my knuckles, before she lay limp in my arms.
Her eyes glazed over, no raw emotion in them, just blank. Time stopped. I couldn’t acknowledge the sounds of distant sirens, the screeching of car tires. I couldn’t see the trees around us, the forest ground, the dirt hill we had rolled down a few seconds ago. Nothing was seen. It was like a soft focus photograph. Everything around was a blur, and the center, crisp and sharp, was me looking down at my mother in my arms. I cried silently. The tears flowed down to my chin, and dropped onto her face. I wiped them off of her and closed her eyes. I wept silently, as a police officer grabbed me out. I continued to weep, as the last image I saw was my mother sprawled on the ceiling of the flipped over car. Her arms outstretched, as if reaching for me, as if calling me back, but I couldn’t. I’d lost her forever, and it was my entire fault.
Flashback End

No, I could not fail my mom. She was my role model, my best friend, my protector. I missed the stories we used to tell each other, or how we would watch TV and my mother would point out all the hot guys, while I blushed. I loved how we used to bake cookies together every weekend, or how we used to take long walks down to the park. I missed her sparkling brown eyes, her beautiful brown hair flowing around her face. Her eyes lighten with amusement as she played a prank on us, or made a joke. She made our lives complete. Without her, I felt so empty, so heartbroken, and it was truly my fault for not saving her in time.
I turned my head to the side, looking at the clock. It was way past time to leave for school. I would surely be late if I left now. But at that moment, I really didn’t care. Waking up the dormant thoughts of my mom left me so vulnerable right now, I just didn’t have the heart to face school.
Grabbing a new t-shirt, a worn out black sweatshirt, and my backpack, I ran out the door.
The cool morning air felt good against my aching body. I wish I had taken a shower after the beating, but sadly I couldn’t. I was still surprised that everyone ate and left without hearing my father beat me. But honestly, I doubt they would care.
Shoving my hands into my sweatshirt, I took in the view. The October sky was lit with warm hues of orange and yellow, as the sun slowly crept its way onto the cloudless blue sky. The houses around me were surrounded by trees, as I got closer to the forest.
The familiar dirt trail greeted me as I ventured inside the forest, taking in the scenery. The dirt was slightly moist and patches of grass were light with dew drops. Gnarly tree branches reached out towards the eminent sky, blocking the view. I was in serenity. All I needed was a few supplies, and I could seriously enjoy living out here. I chuckled at that quietly, but not before looking around frantically. I half expected my dad to jump out from behind the trees and beat the crap out of me again for laughing. I think he was just getting edgy because it was almost my eighteenth birthday. A week had flown by since I found out Drew was my mate, leaving my birthday only two days away. It was one of those rare moments when I wished my dad didn’t know what day my birthday was, because he treated me worse then.
A tear slipped from my eyes and I wiped it away hastily. No need for crying when I can relax in the forest. I walked further in, until I stepped into a wide clearing. The giant trees gave enough shade, and the grass was not as damp. I sat down and pulled a sketchbook from my backpack. I sketched the scenery before me, adding detail and shading wherever needed. To be honest, I was a pretty good artist, not incredibly great, but slightly well nonetheless. For some reason, I felt like someone was watching me. I couldn’t smell or hear anything, but that may have been because my wolf was trying to mend my injuries. Suddenly, the scent of evergreens and musk cologne floated into my nose. I embraced the scent, feeling it swirl around me protectively. Only one person I knew had that scent.
Drew’s ebony colored wolf stalked out of the trees, looking at me with curiosity in his eyes. I dropped my head down to my drawing. He barked menacingly and I jumped at the sudden noise.
I scrambled to my feet, and stood awkwardly stiff. His wolf ran behind the trees, and he came back dressed in a V-neck and jeans.
“Sorry for skipping alpha, I, uh, just didn’t feel too good,” I whispered quietly without eye contact.
“Look at me when you speak! I’m your alpha!” he boomed back. I suddenly felt angry. If he was the damn alpha, why the hell wasn’t he acting like one? Screwing around with Dana when he knew he had a mate was freaking low. I clenched my hands into fists, creating nail marks in my skin. I shut my eyes, willing them not to turn dark brown-grey as I felt my wolf itching to take over.
‘Sweetie, just let me take over, this no good mate needs to learn a lesson,’ my wolf growled.
‘I know he does, but he’s our alpha too. I can’t let you hurt him, not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because he would win against us any day,’ I replied.
I looked back towards him, my usual soft brown eyes almost black and glared. I was done with his shit, I was done with all the crap I was given, but mostly, I was done with my mate.
“Why? Why in the HELL would I need to look at you? So I could see the mistake I’m stuck with? So I could see the betrayal I’m forced to live with? I’ve been through so much pain, that if I looked you in the eyes, you wouldn’t be able to take it. You just don’t understand do you? Everything is always handed to you, your alpha title, the girls, the popularity, the money, the fame, everything. But, for once, what if all those things in life were just objects that mocked you day by day? Try walking down a hallway, only to get shoved because your of so little importance that even the weakest kid thinks you’re weaker! Try being the only wolf that is hated in her pack, the place where everyone belongs! Try being the child of an abusive father!” I screamed at him. Shock and disbelief covered his face, as he judged my eyes for any signs of a lie. He obviously found none, because next thing I know, Drew’s back in his wolf form.
He growled menacingly towards me, but it wasn’t directed at me. I stood there, dumbfounded, before I felt him take a step towards me. For some unknown reason-maybe, an anger high?-I shifted into my wolf and lunged back at him. A low growl emitted from him as we both stood guarded, hackles raised, ready for combat. He ran at me full speed, but I dodged just in time. He bucked his head against my body, sending me flying. I fell to the ground, but quickly stood up and charged at him. I did a fake, and maneuvered around him, but not before biting his hind leg. He let out a yelp and turned around, facing me. His eyes gleamed power, but still held pride in them. What, pride? I growled back at him, but in a quick second, I was underneath him, his wolf pinning mine down.
This position clearly wasn’t good at all.
‘Hmm, actually, I quite like this position,’ Drew whispered huskily through mind link. If I were a human right now, I would’ve blushed 10 shades of red.
We both shifted back, but not before I realized I was stark naked underneath my mate. This was not good! I desperately tried to cover myself, as Drew’s eyes raked up and down my body, but not before I heard a rumbling growl from him. The vibrations passed from his body onto mine, and it felt incredibly sexy. As much as I hated Drew’s alpha tone, his angry demeanor was really turning me on. I blushed at the dirty thoughts, but it didn’t seem Drew had caught it. He was too busy glaring at my stomach. I looked down, only to notice my bruises and bloody bandaging.
“Your father did this?!” His voice all but shook the ground.
“N-no, I’m just kind of a klutz,” I laughed humorously, but I could tell Drew wasn’t buying it.
“Fucking prick! I will beat the shit out of him when I see his fucking ass! Damn idiot!” Drew raked a hand through his brown locks, some falling back into his eyes.
“I will get that son of a bitch, and when I’m done with him, no one will hurt you Arianna, I promise,” I looked at him with awe, pride, and a bit of distrust. What if he just wound up hurting me again? I really couldn’t risk it, being hurt all over again. But as I gazed into his determined eyes, I felt like I could trust him this time, fully and with all my heart.
“O-okay,” I whispered back. He leaned in ever so slightly, and kissed my lips hungrily. I slid my hands up his toned torso, taking in every sculpted plane and crevice. My arms eventually found his neck, where I tugged at his luscious hair. Our mouths connected with one another, each time I moved, he moved to fill up the empty space. It was like a jigsaw puzzle, and we were the two pieces that matched to finish the whole thing. We parted, and he continued kissing my face, down my jaw, and onto my neck. He kissed my collar bone and went lower, kissing my upper chest.
“You’re mine, Arianna Mitchell. Every damn inch of you is mine, all mine, and I will promise to keep it that way,” he smiled at me before crashing his lips onto mine yet again. I felt like we were in a bubble, protected and loved. It felt as if I was travelling with the wind in this bubble, light as air, yet sturdy. Our relationship was indeed crazy, and I still couldn’t trust him much, but I could see it in his eyes, how much he regretted his actions. I just hoped he lived up to his promise.

Chapter 9

*********
My heart beat faster as I pounded my legs against the dirt floor. The wind whipped my hair in all directions, partly covering my view of the illuminated forest before me. The tall trees loomed over, shading me from the iridescent glow of the moon. My paws thumped against the ground as I willed myself to push faster and faster. I couldn’t let him see me. I couldn’t let him get me. My fur stood on end, the wind passing through it easily. Musky odors of the leaves infiltrated my snout. Suddenly, the soft floor underneath me turned hard, my paws hitting concrete instead of dirt. I was no longer on all fours. Looking down, the familiarity of my black converse greeted me. My furry paws were now my flesh filled arms, swinging back and forth as I willed myself to run faster. How had I suddenly become human? I didn’t feel the change? But it didn’t matter. I could sense someone running behind me. The dark seemed to mock me with his affluent smirk. Shivers shot up my spine, his cackling laughter filled the air, my breath falling in short pants out of my lungs. I missed the earthly glow of the forest, instead of the long endless hallway I was running in. Wait, a hallway? My eyes trained once more around me. The darkness that loomed before was now replaced with dim lighting. The loud pounding of my feet against concrete once again shifted to echo-like muffles. I stared down at the ground once more. My now barefoot feet thudded on a rubbery, yet hard, floor. The walls around me felt like they were caving in, as the menacing cackle stopped. I willed myself to keep running, albeit not hearing his menacing noise again. The hallway abruptly stopped, after what seemed like centuries. I stood still, confused, the only sound greeting me was the piercing scream of silence. Instantly, the sound of a menacing howl chilled my bones. I spun around, but all I could see was the fading of the hallway into tangible darkness.
“You can’t run from me forever Arianna...” a voice whispered out, its familiarity ringing in my ears. I turned ever so slowly once again, facing the end of the hall. The face burned unfortunate memories into my mind. The face brought forth its evil taunting smile. The face mocked me. The face shook me to my core. It was my nightmare, my fear, my worst enemy. Him.

**********
My eyes shot open, as sweat trickled down my brow. The loose tank top I was wearing stuck to me, completely drenched. My hands flew to my hair, pulling it all back with my fingers as I tried to interpret the nightmare I just had.

It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. These dreams-or nightmares-haunted my existence. Him, the reason behind my broken family, the reason behind my constant suffering, the reason behind my mother’s death.
Nobody knew of the deep secret I was harboring. Nobody knew of the wicked man behind my own mother’s existence. I couldn’t ask anyone for help. My mother died, trying to save our family from it. And now, with these reoccurring dreams, it was happening to me.
The terror of the dream, as well as my frazzled nerves, led me downstairs. I tiptoed quietly and skillfully-especially with all my experiences of dodging any attacks from my father or any other pack member-and reached the back patio. I stood quietly, observing the serene brush behind the pack house. It’s familiar green dulled by the shadows cast from the moonlight. For some reason unknown (my terrifying, hair-behind-your-neck-standing nightmare occurring?) led me back towards the kitchen, where I warmed myself a quick cup of coffee. Lucky for me, the microwave where I warmed my slightly bitter coffee was hum and silent-thanks to the easily woken pack members for choosing it. I rummaged around for some creamer, when I felt someone behind me. I froze, not moving a muscle, and shut my eyes. Praying seemed the only option at that moment, and I gladly took it, saying silent amends that the person behind me wouldn’t hurt me. But I felt the sizzling cackle in the air. Almost like the air was electrocuted, each tiny chemically composed particle attracting electrons and buzzing to life.
“You shouldn’t be here alone, you know,” he wore his infamous smirk as I spun around to face him. I averted my eyes to the floor once more. I found myself in surprise and awe, when he lifted me off the ground and placed me on the island counter, stepping between my legs, all in one swift motion. I braced my hands on his shoulders, steadying myself. He was gazing at me intently, and although I didn’t look up, I could feel it penetrating my outermost shell.
“Um, sorry?” I smiled sheepishly at him, despite my heart accelerating so fast it could beat any car at a NASCAR race.
“Wanna tell me why you’re here?” he brushed back a strand behind my ear, leaving little tingles both on my skin, and in my stomach.
“Well, uh, I...” I trailed off, but noticed he was laughing quietly.
“What?” I questioned defensively. Mostly, I was surprised. I couldn’t believe I was talking to a guy-much less the freaking ALPHA of my pack-so casually. Where the hell did all this self-confidence come from anyway?
“You’re so cute when you blush,” he smirked once again, tracing my cheek ever so softly with his warm, calloused hand.
I blushed scarlet red once again, although I was surprised he could tell I was blushing in the dark.
He leaned closer, his breath fanning my face. I wanted to reach out and touch his face, but I held back. I couldn’t, no, I wouldn’t surrender myself to him. He was just going to hurt me, like all the other times.
But, strangely, I found myself brushing stray hair out of his eyes, before staring into their depths. We both stood there, unmoving, our breaths, our minds, our hearts in complete sync. It was beautiful, really, to feel so connected towards another. This handsome man in front of me, built for me to have. Not once in my 17, almost 18, years of existence, have I ever felt the slightest bit of possessiveness over something other than family, as much as I did right now. All those stories about mates flashed through my head, and I felt my heart pound with a newfound incentive: to be his, and for him, to be mine.
I forgot the world around me, the people upstairs, the past, the present, hell even the future, and focused solely on him. Some magnetic power drove me towards him like no other, and I didn’t hesitate once our lips collided. They moved gracefully with one another, like professional ice skating partners. Sensations of love and lust filled the air.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, while he cradled my waist in his hands. He stepped closer, drawing me closer to him as well. Not one inch of space was between us as I drew myself closer to him. One of his hands left my waist, and rested on my cheek, cupping my chin. We pulled away, breathless, by such an intimate, yet needy kiss. Unlike the others, this one was slow and thrilling, like the climb up on a rollercoaster track, before the big drop. Instead of the usual lust in his smoky grey eyes, there was undeniable love and need.
We both stood there, shocked at my attempt to make the first move. I slid my eyes downward and began pulling my arms back.
“No, sweetheart, keep them there. You have the right to kiss me just as I have the right to kiss you,” he stated, after placing my arms around his neck once again. I smiled at him, and he smiled back-a genuine smile.
“You should smile more, I like it.” Stupid me, always blurting out random things! I wanted to slap myself at the moment.
He chuckled quietly, before turning his head up to me again.
“Only if you promise to smile more too,” he kissed my forehead, then my nose, before planting a soft kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes, reminiscing in the effect of his warm kisses on my skin.
Thunder crackled outside suddenly, and rain began to pour.
“Um, maybe we should go back to our rooms?” I suggested, noticing the time. 2 in the morning for a make out session with Drew seemed totally worth it, but it was still really late at night. Frowning slightly, I slid off the counter, and faced him.
"I should head back up," I whispered. Walking around him, I headed towards the stairs. I hadn't even moved two steps when a hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping me.
"Arianna, you can't."
Still facing away, my heart hammored in my chest. Did he know? Could he smell my fear and anxiety?
"You're afraid, Arianna. I know you couldn't sleep," He walked around, still grasping my wrist in his hand, while using the other to lift my chin up. I met his eyes, completely engrossed by the sincerity in them.
"Please, stay with me?" He whispered. Coming closer, he wrapped his arms around my waist, and leaned his forehead against mine.
"Please?"
Smiling lightly, I ducked my head down, before replying with a small nod.
With a grin of his own, he let go of me and grabbed my hand. We headed up the stairs, with him leading me.
Clutching the doorknob, I opened the door to his room slowly. This was the first time I'd ever been in his room. I wondered what it was like. The smell was the first thing that hit me. His scent warmed my body, as I opened the door farther.
Drew’s room was something I expected a teenage boy’s room to be, not something out of MTV’s cribs! His room was enormous, that it put most hotel suites to shame. One wall faced out, covered in floor to ceiling glass windows that led to a balcony overlooking the forest. The remaining three blue walls were covered with grey sections around the top. A bed lay in the center, covering some of the laminate wood flooring. His bedroom was loft style, with a small section leading towards comfy white sofas, a flush grey rug, and a large flat screen TV (of course, equipped with any and every game console alive).
“Wow,” was all I could breathe out. However, the most enticing part of the room wasn’t in the physical features, but the musky smell of woods, fresh pine, and enticing male cologne. Drew picked me up from behind, bridal style, and lay me down in his sheets. I almost melted into them, the softness so comforting after all those years of lying on a hard, uncomfortable mattress. My eyelids grew heavy, as the musk smell of Drew comforted me. I snuggled into the sheets, inhaling his scent once more. Drew slid in beside me, wrapping his hand around my waist, and pulling me close to him. I breathed in his scent once more, much more evident on his chest, and curled up next to him. His heartbeat echoed in my mind, as its steady beat helped my own breathing fall and sleep envelop me.

Chapter 10

I sat there in English, wondering where Drew was. After waking up this morning in his bed, I found it empty. Although the sudden absence of Drew, I just continued with my usual routine and went to school. However, I did earn a few snide remarks and evil glares for smelling like Drew. Well what did I expect? People were still going to treat me like shit no matter what.
“Hello, earth to Ari!” Melanie’s voice rang out from my sudden flashback.
“Huh? Oh yeah sorry,” I smiled sheepishly at her.
“Okay, so I have some great news! Jake and I got approved to move into the packhouse with you! Now we can live together like sisters! Isn’t that great?!” she beamed one of her million watt smiles, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Really? That’s great!” I was happy for her, but the truth was, I didn’t want her knowing about real reason why I was bullied so much at school. All she ever knew was that people just thought I was some quiet nerd girl, but in reality, all my pack members hated me because of the accident and turned even the humans against me. With Mel moving in, I wouldn’t be able to hide the abuse anymore.
Just then, Drew walked into the classroom. But that wasn’t the only thing I noticed. He reeked of cheap perfume and a mixture of other scents, which I recognized were Dana’s. His lips were swollen, and his clothes ruffled. My heart broke at the idea of him being with Dana. After all he promised me.
Melanie noticed my sad expression and gave me a curious glance. I think she knew we were mates, but at that moment, I didn’t care. All I cared about was how bad he was treating me. It was always such a rollercoaster with him. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he was always messing with my heart; crushing my feelings till they were mere powdered dust, forgotten and unimportant.
No. No more of this crap. I was just some ugly, quiet, pathetic, nerd to him, someone he didn’t need, not before, not now, and not in the future. Well, if that’s how he wants, it, fine. Mr. Alpha, I’m going to play dirty back.
*************
The last bell rang, dismissing us from school. I flew out of my seat, before Drew could catch up. This had been going on all day. He would try to talk to me, to explain about what happened this morning, but I wasn’t going to give him any sympathy. He should have thought about the consequences before practically having sex with her in the hallway. Screw him.
I was about to walk home, when Zane stopped me.
“Hey Ari! Need a ride?” Zane asked, offering me a ride in his white Audi TT convertible.
“Sure, nice ride by the way,” I ogled at his car. I seriously wished I had a car like that.
“Thanks,” he replied with a chuckle, “now hop in!” He swung his arm around my shoulders, and opened the passenger door for me. I stepped in, ignoring the now fuming Drew standing on the steps of the school.
Zane jogged over to the driver’s side, and pulled the car into gear. We drove down the road, laughing and talking about random things.
We pulled up in the pack house driveway, and I turned over in the seat, facing Zane.
“Zane, you know how you offered me help with Drew?” I started.
“Yeah...” Zane looked at me with curiosity in his eyes.
“Well, how about we get the big bad alpha a little jealous?” I grinned mischievously. Zane reciprocated my grin with one of his own.
This was gonna be good.

Chapter 11

Zane and I walked into the pack house, hand in hand. I was incredibly nervous to how the others would treat me. Even though Zane was a respected member of the pack, I wasn’t, and I was afraid that if they saw us together, the members would have a fit.
He lifted his hand out of mine, and replaced it on the small of my back, leading me up the stairs. We entered the hallway, only to abruptly stop when my dad came into view.
“What the fu-oh hello Zane,” My dad covered up quickly when he saw Zane. I smiled inwardly. Zane was absolutely amazing. He was able to keep my pain away, both physically (from my father) and emotionally (from Drew).
“Hello, Mr. Mitchell” Zane replied, his voice gruff with traces of venom. He practically spat out the words to my father. Even though I still loved my father, it felt nice to know that someone cared enough to understand my situation and stick up for me.
Something Drew should’ve done, but instead, Zane was doing.
We walked into his room, and set the bags on his bed. I looked up in awe. Did everyone’s rooms look like palaces? The room had more of a cozy vibe. It was covered in wood, from the laminate wood flooring to the wooden beams on the ceiling. The window overlooked the forest behind, making it feel even more cottage-like. A small fireplace mounted into the wall gave off a warm glow. I breathed in the musky, yet masculine smell of Zane and old spice cologne.
“I knew you would like it,” he grinned beside me.
I smiled back up to him, and felt my heart skip a beat. Gosh, why couldn’t Zane be my mate? He was so kind and caring, unlike Drew. Zane noticed me before he got to know me. Drew, instead, only learned of my existence when he found out we were mates.
I jumped onto his bed, reveling in the soft sheets. Zane just chuckled, before climbing in beside me.
“Ari, wanna play COD instead of doing homework? Pretty please?”
“Damn it Zane, stop using that puppy dog face! You know I’ll always give in when you use it!” I pouted.
He grinned back at me.
“That’s exactly why I use it,” and in the blink of an eye, Zane had scooped me up off the bed to the front of a large plasma screen TV. He shoved a controller into my hand and started up the game. I just laughed at him before delving into it myself. Instantly, we both got comfortable, lying down on the thick white wool rug.
We were halfway through the game, laughing and bumping each other’s shoulders every time we killed someone. Apparently, we got into a heated wrestling match when Zane thought it was funny to steal my controller. Both of us ended up sprawled on the ground, me on the top and him on the bottom, when the door to the room burst open. I glanced over my shoulder, to see a very pissed off looking Drew standing there.
His eyes were no longer their misty blue grey. Instead, they were dark grey, with faded traces of blue. They held jealousy and possessiveness in them. His hands were clenched into fists. A power of dominance radiated from him so strong, it almost knocked the wind out of me.
I looked down at Zane, then back up at Drew again. Our position really wasn’t helping the situation, especially since we were lying on the floor. I could already tell Drew’s wolf was aching to take care of Zane, but I couldn’t let him do that. I knew he would tear Zane limb from limb for touching his mate. Drew wasn’t even hiding how jealous and possessive he felt, and it was literally rolling off of him in waves.
Shit, I really screwed up this time. I could tell Zane was thinking the same thing, but I knew we had to do this if we wanted Drew to stop his player ways. Looking back at Drew’s face again, I prepared myself to face the consequences.
I gulped nervously. Oh shit.

Chapter 12

You know that feeling, when something you least expect happens? When you feel so dumbfounded, you can’t even blink your eyes because of how shocked you are? Even medically, they call that suffering from shock. Well that’s how I felt right now, when Drew just turned around and walked out the door.
I expected him to fight for me, to tackle Zane to the wall and beat him senseless until I begged him to calm down and stop. I expected him to grab me by the waist, and pull me close to him, before growling ‘she’s mine’ to Zane. What I didn’t expect, was for him to bluntly walk away, like it didn’t even matter that his mate was in some other guy’s room, wrestling on top of him.
I needed to blink back to reality. Oh god, reality. This was real, it just happened! I scrambled off of Zane and looked back at the door, hoping, with any last shred of dignity that I had left, that Drew would come back and do the things I expected him to do. But sadly, it didn’t happen. I stood there, for what seemed like hours, before Zane laid a hand on my shoulder, waking me up from my trance.
“Hey Ari, you okay?” he questioned softly.
“I don’t know Zane. I really don’t know,”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Zane grabbed my arms and pulled me into a hug. I clenched his shirt as the tears flowed freely down my face, soaking it, “Ari, don’t worry. This is all part of the plan. Look how he reacted when we were just joking around. Just imagine how he’ll react if we actually go out, or something? That’ll be hilarious!” He tried to make me laugh, but my laugh was humorless.
“So, are you asking me out?” I joked.
“Yes, m’lady” Zane bowed down like a real knight. I giggled before hugging him.
“Thanks so much Zane, for everything,” I whispered.
“No problem Ari,” he gently kissed the top of my head.
I left the room with a smile on my face. Zane truly was the best. I was walking down the hallway when I passed Drew’s room.
Stopping for a second, I contemplated on talking to him. Just as I raised my hand to knock, the sound of giggling, followed by moaning filled my ears. My body froze, standing there with one arm raised. Suddenly, the moaning stopped, followed by footsteps. I dropped my hand, and stepped back as the door opened. Drew stood there, wearing only his boxers. Tears threatened my vision, but I kept my head bowed down.
“Drew, baby, what’s wrong?” Dana’s voice purred from behind him. She was only wearing Drew’s shirt.
“Ew, what the hell do you want, bitch?” Dana spat in my direction.
I tried to quickly think of an excuse to why I came here.
“I wanted to ask about what Alpha Drew wanted for dinner,” I whispered quickly. Inwardly, I praised myself for thinking of a good answer.
“Just make something, and don’t eat tonight. I don’t want you getting any fatter than you already are,” Drew gritted in annoyance. I felt my heart crashing down in my chest. I could almost literally feel it hurting my bruised ribs.
“Yes Alpha,” I nodded, and headed off towards the kitchen. My stomach grumbled in protest to what Drew said, but I couldn’t think about that. My mind whirred, thinking about Drew. How could he cheat on me, and punish me so cruelly? I didn’t even do anything remotely wrong. Messing around with a friend was completely different than what he was doing with Dana.
Just then, the door flew open, revealing Melanie and Jake.
“Mel!” I cried out, rushing into her for a hug I so desperately needed right now. I decided then and there, that I was going to tell Mel everything about me, including Drew.
“Ari!” she hugged me back. We both jumped up and down, so glad that we would be living together. Jake stood there, looking amused before he joined in on the group hug.
“Mel, I have a lot to tell you, but first, I’ll show you guys to your room!” I grinned at them, while Mel blushed. Jake wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, making me double over in laughter. Those two were too darn adorable. I grabbed Mel’s hand with my own hand and picked up her suitcase with the other, and showed them their rooms.
Mel and Jake’s room was large, with soft crème colored walls. The double bed lay in the center, with soft crème and burgundy sheets and large plush pillows. At the foot of the bed lay a fancy beige colored bench, above a deep red rug. The wall on the left of the bed had floor to ceiling windows, while the other side was a large mosaic like wall, with three large red stripes covered in different empty picture frames. The room was astonishing. I felt envious at how many gorgeous rooms I’d seen in the very same house that held my own ugly bedroom. I sighed, before quickly walking out. Leaving them to their unpacking, I quickly made dinner and put it on the table before retiring to my room.
As I walked up the stairs, I passed an annoyed looking Drew and a bubbly Dana. She was clinging onto his arm like it was some life support, and she couldn’t breathe without it. The very scene made my heart lurch, but I ignored it.
Drew’s eye’s met mine, and I was immediately sucked into their depth. They held grief, and guilt, for what I don’t know, but it made me want to comfort him. I clenched my teeth, and turned my head away from him. He didn’t deserve the satisfaction of even looking at me. With my head held high, I walked up the steps with a little more boldness.
Reaching the top, however, it all came crashing down when my father’s figure came into my sight. He pushed me into the wall and stumbled down the stairs. I winced at the pain in my right shoulder.
I needed to get away for a while. As I contemplated on where to go, the window in the hallway, facing out towards the woods gave me my answer.
‘Everyone’s busy with their dinner, so maybe I can sneak outside. Nobody would notice if I was gone,’ I thought, a smile forming on my lips.
Sneaking down the stairs once more, I tip toed quietly to the back door. I held my breath as I inched the door open, before slipping myself through. Shutting it quietly behind me, I raced down to the forest, running so fast it made the cool air in my lungs burn. The burning only drove me further. For some reason, I didn’t feel like shifting into my wolf. I’d rather just run on my two feet, feeling the wind raise my hair in all directions. Dirt stuck to my feet, but I didn’t care. At that moment, all I cared about was getting out of there to collect my thoughts.
The sound of my favorite creek greeted me as I stopped running. I walked over to it, and gently placed my feet into the cool water. I lay down on the grassy floor, my hands behind my head and stared up at the stars. Each one twinkled with sparks of light. The ebony sky created a beautiful backdrop to the warm, glowing stars.
My thoughts drifted back to Drew. Why would he hurt me so much? I understood before, considering neither one of us knew we were mates, but now, after all that happened, I couldn’t understand why he would act so cruel.
“Arianna,”
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The voice sent tingles down my spine, waking me up from my deep thoughts.
“Yes, Alpha Drew?” I questioned back, standing up from the ground to face him.
Just then, a wave of dizziness hit me as I got up. I felt my head get 5 times heavier in a split second. My stomach grumbled in protest. ‘Stupid migraines,’ I thought silently. No food, plus all the stress I’m dealing with made my body sore. My eyes fluttered close, and I felt my body race to the ground. Warm arms engulfed me as I fell, tingles and sparks shooting up my body.
“Arianna, wake up!” muffled voices filtered my ears, as my body succumbed to darkness.

Chapter 13

Muffled voices surrounded me as I opened my eyes. I looked around the room I was in before I realized where I was: the pack house’s infirmary. What the hell was I doing here?
I looked around once more, noticing the people. Mel stood in the corner with a sad look on her face, Jake held her in his arms, brushing strands of hair away from her face. I saw my brothers, sitting on the chairs in the room. And lastly, I saw both Zane and Drew, bickering in hushed tones.
My bed creaked as I tried to sit up. Everyone’s head turned to look at me. In a flash, everyone was by my side.
“Oh Ari, please don’t scare me like that ever again!” Ethan cried out as he engulfed me in a hug. I hugged him back, but I kept wondering what he meant by scaring him. What happened? Why am I here? Why is everyone so worried? All those questions swarmed my mind as I tried recalling the events that happened.
Suddenly, everything came back in a flash. The wrestling match with Zane, the angry Drew, Drew sleeping with Dana, sneaking outside, and then fainting. Why the hell did I faint?
Ethan let go of me and placed a kiss on my forehead.
“Aribear!” cried Sammy, as he hugged me with his tiny little arms. I pulled him to my lap and placed a kiss on his cheek.
The door opened, revealing Dr. Murray, the pack doctor. Her face held a mask of emotions, ranging from fear, to anxiety, to confusion, to sympathy. She walked over to my bed, looking at Sammy in my lap then back to me.
“Sammy, can you please get off your sister? I need to check to see if she’s okay. Can you do that for me sweetie?” Sammy got off of me, and ran into Ethan’s open arms. He lifted him up and faced me once again. I looked back at Dr. Murray, afraid of what was coming.
“Arianna, I have some alarming news. Firstly, you fainted because of the lack of food that you ate today. You’re very malnourished and I’m putting you on a strict diet plan to help you gain more weight,” she breathed in a heavy breath before continuing, “Now, the thing I wanted to tell you was, many of your ribs are cracked or fractured. You’re right leg has a fracture that has been incorrectly healed. Also, you’re left arm is fractured as well. The problem with this is the fact that many of these injuries date back to almost 3 years. Arianna sweetie, it’s best if you tell us how you got these, and how you fixed them?”
My eyes widened completely as what she said sunk in. I had to tell her about my father’s beatings and the cruel treatment I get by the teen pack members. I couldn’t do that. Everyone would find out and everyone would hate me more.
“Um, well, uh...”
God, I couldn’t do this. Everyone’s gonna hate me for ratting them out. All the adults of the pack don’t know about any of my treatment and this will just make them punish their kids harder. Oh, god, what about my father? I know it isn’t his fault that he hurts me, it’s the alcohol’s, but he’s still my dad and I can’t just hurt him like that. I already lost one parent, I don’t need to lose another!
“Arianna, dear, please tell us. This is for your own good. Has someone been hurting you?” Dr. Murray’s voice rang out in the eerie silence room, as everyone waited for my answer.
I scanned the faces of the crowd. Drew and Zane had stopped their fighting to look at me, and both held a mixture of curiosity, horror, and sympathy for me. I looked over at Ethan, who was now accompanied by an equally worried Olivia. They both gave me sympathetic smiles, and nodded their heads, as if to say ‘go on and tell them the truth.’ My gaze drifted down to Sammy, who was looking clueless as to why the sudden tension was in the air. I pulled away from my sightseeing to look back at Dr. Murray, who smiled sympathetically and put her hand over mine, gesturing me to go forward. Just as I looked up, I realized that almost the whole pack was in here. I gulped nervously. ‘Come on Arianna, you can do this. You can finally be free of any harassment,’
Sucking in a deep breath, I recalled all of my experiences of beatings with my father since I was fourteen.
“Ever since my mother’s...death, everyone in my family has been distraught. Without my mom, my dad felt completely lost, as most mates do when the other dies. Because of my resemblance to my mom,” I took a deep breath, “my dad would constantly beat me when he was drunk. That’s why I have all these faded scars and bruises,” I lifted my shirt up a little so everyone could see them. Gasps of horror echoed throughout the room. I smiled weakly before continuing, “I would just take the beatings without fighting back, because he was my dad, he is my dad, and it isn’t his fault. It’s mine. I left my mom at the accident when I should’ve helped her. I didn’t want to listen to her and get out, but I did. I shouldn’t have done that,” I wiped a leaky tear that managed to spill out, “But anyway, um, it didn’t help much that most people in school bullied me as well. I guess they just didn’t like me or whatever because of what I did to my mom. But everyone would push or shove me in the hallways, and mock me that I became like this,” I whispered, gesturing to my body.
“But even though this happened, I don’t blame anyone because it’s my entire fault to begin with. I deserved ever slap, kick, or punch my dad gave me. I deserved every insulting word that was thrown my way. I deserved the harsh treatment, the small bedroom, the little care I was given. I really do deserve it all because I was some coward who left their mom to die,” By now, the tears were freely flowing down my face. I didn’t even make a move to wipe them.
“So, that’s how I got my injuries. But I’m fine, honestly, I can still work. Don’t worry too much about me,” I looked up to find quite a sight. All the girls were sobbing, while the guys gave me looks of sympathy and guilt. Drew’s hands were clenched to his sides, and I could see his wolf was trying to take control. Zane looked equally the same as Drew. Looking back over at Dr. Murray, I tried to wipe my tears hastily and smile, but even Dr. Murray was in quite a shock.
“Arianna, is this true?” A booming voice echoed in the room. Standing near the doorway, was both the Alphas, Drew’s parents. Alpha Blake, and Luna Blake both looked sympathetic and worried. I just nodded my head in respect, still shocked that they were here. Ever since Drew turned 18, he became the alpha, and his parents decided they wanted to travel to different packs and settle disputes within them. It was in order to keep the werewolf community safe. So it was quite a surprise seeing them here and listening to my pathetic sob story than helping out a neighboring pack.
“Why didn’t you inform us about it dear?” Drew’s mom, the luna, whispered while coming over and crushing me into a hug.
“Sorry, Luna, but I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of me,”
“Nonsense, sweetheart, you should have told us. Look at you! We should’ve been better alphas to you! This had been going on for four years and we didn’t detect the slightest problem! I’m so very sorry, in fact, we all are!” she gestured to the crowd, before hugging me again.
“Alright, um, may everyone leave please? Arianna needs all the rest she can get,” Dr. Murray ushered everyone out, but not before saying, “Alpha Drew, please stay with her. She needs you more than ever,”
My eyes widened. No, no, no, no! We just argued and I really didn’t want to deal with Drew right now! But, since luck is never on my side, Drew nodded before coming over to my side of the bed.
I looked away, avoiding his gaze. Drew’s strong hand gripped my chin up so gently, like I was some porcelain doll, before gazing into my eyes.
“I’m so sorry for everything Ari. I was a complete insensitive jerk. I wish I’d known about all of this before. Damn it, I don’t even deserve someone so beautiful, caring, and perfect like you!” Drew stood up so quickly that I flinched involuntarily.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I-“
“Drew, it’s alright,” I said resting my hand on his arm, “I’m fine, honestly,”
“Arianna, don’t lie to yourself, please. You have every right to slap me, or punch me, for being such a jerk about you,” he pulled my hand up to emphasize his point.
I just giggled at him, which made him break out into a smile.
“Ari, promise me you’ll keep laughing like that and I’ll be the happiest man alive,” he whispered before planting a kiss on my forehead. He lingered there for a bit, before pressing a kiss to either eye. He slowly went down to my nose, and pressed a quick kiss there as well. Gently, he hovered over my lips, before finally claiming them. I melted into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck and tangling them into his hair. He moaned against my mouth, and I smiled. Somehow, amidst all the kissing, Drew found his way on top of me. He rested all his weight on his forearms, just hovering there, while placing kisses up and down my neck, across my jaw, and on my lips.
All too soon, Drew moved away, but still stood hovering over me. I whimpered from the lack of his touch.
“Arianna, I can’t,” he looked away guiltily, “if I don’t stop, my wolf won’t hesitate to mark you. I can’t do that against your will,” he whispered, finally meeting my eyes.
“Well then, Mr. Blake,” I leaned in so close that our noses were almost touching, “mark me,”
Drew looked astounded. He opened his mouth to protest, but I shut it with a kiss.
“Drew, please? I can’t risk not being with you,” I whispered.
His eyes bore into mine, that I almost got lost in their deep blue grey pools.
“I love you,” he whispered. Oh my god. He just said the three most magical little words of all time, and they were directed towards me! I did a little happy dance in my head, before grinning.
“I love you too,” His smile lit up, showing his elongated canines. Lowering himself to my neck, he placed a soft kiss at the joined part of the neck and arm, and bit in.
A million sensations filled me, ranging from pain to lust, as the simmering bite mark reduced to a blissful feeling. I felt jolts of electricity travel through my veins, into each body part, and around again. He and I were now officially joined, and nothing could break us apart.
Drew kissed my mark again, sealing it. Our eyes met once more, and I leaned in to kiss him. Drew collapsed beside me, pulling me close to his warm body and began murmuring soft words into my ear. Before I knew it, I was drifting off into a blissful, Drew filled sleep.

Chapter 14

Opening my eyes, I came face to face with Drew. His eyes were shining with amusement and happiness. That’s when all the past events flooded back into my brain. I’d finally done it. I finally confessed to my problems and mated Drew. My thoughts drifted to our kiss after the mating. I was so incredibly happy to finally be connected with Drew fully.
“Babe, I’m thinking about our kiss too,” Drew whispered into my ear, sending shivers of pleasure run through my body.
Wait, how did he know that? I thought.
“Ari, we mated yesterday. I marked you, and now I can read all your dirty little thoughts about me,” Drew wiggled his eyebrows at me and smirked. Pushing him playfully, I got up and stretched, my shirt rising up to expose my flat stomach. A groan echoed to my ears, which caused me to smirk.
“Like what you see?” I suggested. Woah, since when did I become so forward and flirty?
“Every damn inch babe, and don’t worry, you can flirt with me all you want,” Drew pushed himself off the bed and wrapped his arms around my waist. I snuggled my back into him, which ended up with him groaning again. I giggled quietly, before slipping out of his arms and running into the bathroom.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My brown hair was still the usual brown, but it had more of a shine in it. My skin looked flush and healthy, and my eyes were glittering with happiness. In all my life, the only time I ever looked this happy was on my 10th birthday when my parents, Ethan, and I went to the amusement park. We’d laughed and rode tons of rides. Back then, everyone was happy. My mom and dad were completely in love, and our family was perfect. Just a year after, Sam was born, and our whole family was complete. I smiled at myself in the mirror, as a lone tear slid down my cheek. I wiped it away and smiled softly. Everything was done, everything was over now. Just because mom wasn’t here anymore didn’t mean I didn’t have love.
But something still nagged at my brain. Back in the accident, it was like my mom was expecting what had happened.
Flashback
“Mom, slow down! You’re driving too fast!” I yelled as I clutched the dashboard for dear life.
The highway trees and surrounding cars passed by in a blur as the speed limit on the car reached 100.
My eyes darted back and forth between my mom and the road. Even if I was only 14, I knew that driving on the highway at that speed was still really bad. My mom’s face was stricken with panic, while she kept throwing seemingly reassuring smiles to me. But something in my gut was telling me something was wrong.
All of a sudden, the car lurched forward. I reached out quickly, balancing myself against the dashboard. Looking over to my left, I saw my mom against the steering wheel, blood oozing from a gash on her forehead. Her eyes were closing, barely conscious.
“No, no, no. Mom, Mom please wake up!,” I pleaded, on the verge of tears. I tried to wake her up, until I realized we were slowing down. I grabbed a hold of the steering wheel, and tried turning it. All of a sudden, a blow from the left side sent my mom barreling into my arm. The force of the impact caused me to turn the steering wheel to the right. From then, everything seemed so surreal.
We began rolling down a large hill. Tumbling, and tumbling down. Glass shards from the windows pierced my skin, and loud crunches of metal greeted my ears. Almost like time in slow motion, I could see my mom being tossed around like a rag doll in the car. My eyes welled up with tears. We were going to die.
And just like that, everything stopped. I looked at myself, ignoring the injuries, and just feeling an overwhelming sense of joy that we survived. But it was short lived, when I looked back at my mom.
That’s when I realized that my mom had somehow covered me with her body, and was now limp. My mom had protected me. Because of her, I didn’t get too hurt. But looking at her, I let out a horrified gasp. The blood on her body, the glass shards in her skin, the pale lifeless form that was her: all because she tried to protect me.
****
Soft arms wrapped around me from behind. I couldn’t help but lean into them.
“Hey,” Drew turned me around in his arms to face him, “what’s wrong?” He gently kissed my tears away. I smiled at him softly, before looking up at him.
“Nothing,” suddenly, I jumped out of his arms and playfully glared at him, “Now get out of the bathroom! What if I was changing in here!?”
“Then, I wouldn’t mind one bit,” he smirked at me, before kissing my lips and quickly darting out of there. I chuckled. Smart boy.
Now, to get ready.
********
10 minutes later, I sat at the kitchen island, while Drew insisted he make me breakfast.
“Drew, it’s okay, I can make breakfast,”
“No, you need rest. I’ll make breakfast,” he pouted.
“Alright,” I giggled. He grinned, before turning around and grabbing things out of the fridge. I watched him in amusement, as he tried to make eggs.
“Drew, maybe I should make breakfast,” he smiled at me sheepishly before sitting down beside me.
I grabbed the eggs he was making and finished them up. Along with the eggs, I poured some orange juice, made toast, and cooked bacon. I could feel Drew watching me the entire time. Just out of curiosity, I decided to read his mind.
Damn, why didn’t I see how special she was before? She’s so sweet, caring, friendly, kind, and on top of that, she cooks like a chef! I’m such a jerk. I don’t deserve her at all. Stupid asshole!
I whirled around to face him, and saw him glaring at the countertop in front of him. His face looked so guilty and remorseful, that I could instantly feel it.
Walking up to him, I gently took his face into my hands, forcing him to look at me.
“Hey,” I said softly, “you’re not a jerk. You just couldn’t accept having a mate. I understand that. But that’s all behind us now, okay?” I smiled up at him, “Now smile or I’m not giving you extra bacon, and I know that’s your favorite!”
Drew grinned and swooped me up, placing me on his lap. He nuzzled my neck, smelling my hair, and I couldn’t stop the stupid grin on my face. I lifted his head off my shoulder and planted a quick kiss.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips.
He growled approvingly, before kissing me back with just as much hunger. His lips were moist and soft, his hands roaming my back and sides, while I placed my hands on his face.
“I love you too,” he whispered back to me. Sighing in content, I kissed him one last time before jumping off of his lap and returning to my cooking.
Drew and I talked animatedly after I finished cooking breakfast, with me sitting on his lap.
“Drew, I’m perfectly capable of sitting on a stool you know,” I pouted when he placed me on his lap after I tried to get off.
“Ari, just sit,” he smirked at me as I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Alpha Drew, we were just warned that there’s been a rogue on our territory. He looks to be very dangerous. The guards already contained him and moved him to the basement.” One of Drew's guards, Justin, told us after barging into the kitchen.
“Okay, I’ll be there in a second.” Drew slid me off of his lap and placed a quick kiss on my lips. “I’ll be back in a bit, I need to go take care of this,” he brushed a strand of hair back, “and then, I have a little surprise for you,” he grinned at me.
“No, let me come with you!” I begged.
“Sweetheart, please. Just stay here. I can’t let you deal with this rogue. What if he’s dangerous? I can’t risk it if the rogue has a chance of hurting you,” he replied softly. I nodded, and watched him retreat to the basement.
As I sat there, stirring around the spoon in my bowl of cereal, I felt someone behind me. Turning around, I came face to face with my father.
“D-dad?” I whispered, shrinking as much as I could into the island countertop.
My dad’s eyes softened, holding grief, regret, and sadness within them. I was surprised. My dad never showed me as much emotion as now.
“Arianna,” he whispered. I backed up into the countertop, trying to keep as much distance from him as possible.
It was truly funny, how someone so important drove me to where I was now. Scared and cowering from my own father. I remembered when he would carry me on his shoulders, call me his baby girl. I remember when Christmas came around, and I always got the perfect gifts, like the latest collection of barbie’s or a gigantic dollhouse. But now, all those memories of my father were blurred, like when you drop a camera into water and the screen is faulty. It’s there, but it’s not. That’s exactly how I felt with my father right then. All those memories just fragments that took up space in my brain, but nothing more. I wanted to show him how much he hurt me, but I knew it would be wrong. The kind of torture he put me through was just a phase, and I knew, that I’d love him always.
“I heard you confess about what I did. I know I’m not proud of what happened, but I want you to know that the pack did punish me for it. Even though I’m sure you probably wanted something much more worse. Look, I just wanna say that, I don’t deserve you as a daughter. I’m sorry for all the beatings, for the disrespect. But what I’m sorry the most, was for forgetting who you were to me. This apology can’t even measure to how sorry I really feel, but...” small drops of liquid trailed down his cheeks. The look on his face was filled with so much sorrow, as if he was recalling every beating, every harsh punishment, that he dealt out at me, and all I could do was stand there, staring at him.
Finally, the conscious part of my brain kicked in, reminding me that he was standing there, waiting for an answer. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes, and then, I just turned around and walked away. Head held high, feet moving at a smooth stride, I left him. An audible sigh was heard from behind me, and all I could think was he deserved it. Too much seemed to be on my plate right now, and I didn’t need my dad added to the list.
Walking towards my room, I passed the basement door. From inside, I could hear the guards talking to one another about the rogue. Curious, I crept inside. The rational part of my brain seemed to be malfunctioning today, with the whole dad problem, and now this. But I inched myself closer, the now audible sounds of Drew talking to the rogue. Slowly, I found myself down to the last three steps as I listened intently for what was happening.
“Look, I don’t wanna hurt you, but if you don’t answer my questions, my guards here won’t be so friendly when they address you,” Drew sighed. The creaking of a chair sounded, which I could tell, was Drew leaning back in his chair. A grunt came afterward, presumably the rogue.
Just as I was about to hightail it out of there, the rogue spoke.
“You don’t know why I’m here. But maybe you should ask your beloved mate, Arianna” he spat, his vile words forcing my limbs to freeze their ascent up the stairs.
I wasn’t so much afraid that they had caught me, because with all my expertise on sneaking around without the pack finding out, I knew they couldn’t hear me. But what did worry me, was the fact that the rogue’s voice was awfully familiar. His earth-shattering, ice cold, demonic voice that sent eerie chills up and down my spine. His so called cackling laugh echoed through the dungeon. I could feel the amusement and utter hunger in his voice. That voice. The one that shook my bones, that rattled my nerves, that collapsed my lungs. It was that very rogue.
Him.

Chapter 15

I scampered off the stairs as quietly and efficiently as I could. Somehow-maybe life decided that it liked me for once?-let me get away without warning anyone of my snooping.
Running down the hall to the vicinity of my room, I sat on my bed and dropped my head into my hands.
Just when I thought life couldn’t get any worse! I sighed, falling back onto my bed, still holding my head in my hands.
“Knock, knock,” Mel floated into the room, a bubbly smile on her face.
“So...how’s life?” she giggled again. I gave her a confused look, which probably made me look like a puppy tilting her head to the side, but I’m a werewolf, so don’t judge!
“Okay, spill. Even though you giggle like, A LOT, I know when you’ve got your ‘I’m totally and completely in love’ look. Better start explaining missy!” I scolded her, but a small smile tugged at my lips. It was like watching a toddler open the birthday gift they wanted: all twinkly eyed and grinning madly.
“Well-“ she drawled out. I gave her an over-exaggerated eye roll, but ushered her to continue.
“Jake and I-have officially mated!” she blushed, tilting her face away. My face broke out into a massive grin, as I hugged her tightly.
“Really? I’m so happy for you guys!” I grinned at her, “So, how was it, losing the v-card!?” I wiggled my eyebrows at her, which made her turn more red-if that was possible.
“Shut up, Ari!” she pushed me playfully, which made us both burst out into laughter. After wiping our tears away, we finally faced each other before laughing our asses off again.
“Okay, okay, we need to stop!” I said while wiping my eyes. “Mel, stop avoiding the subject. Really, how was it?”
“Jake was amazing! We stripped each other while making out-“
“Woah, woah, woah! I meant, how does it feel being fully mated with Jake?”
“Oh,” she replied, “well, it’s amazing. The bite mark itself felt surreal, but once we committed ourselves to one another, it was amazing. Now I can hear all his thoughts, and we share the same emotions. If I feel pain, so does he. If I feel happiness, so does he. It’s really...amazing” she stared off dreamily.
“Wow, me and drew can only read each other’s minds, that’s about it. But I do feel pretty connected with him,” I smiled.
“Just you wait,” she smirked at me “when you lose your virginity to him, then you’ll know what the true meaning of mates is!” I blushed, thinking of being that intimate with Drew.
“Hey baby, if you keep thinking those thoughts, I might not wait for your permission,” Drew said in my mind, causing me to jump 2 feet in the air.
Mel giggled, “Yeah, you better wanna block your dirty little thoughts or Drew won’t be able to contain himself,”
We ended up talking more about life, our mates, and just stuff in general. I was relieved that Mel never brought up anything about the abuse or the treatment of the pack. She always knew that sometimes not talking about it was the best therapy for me.
However, once she left, all the residing thoughts about what I heard came back with a force. How was I ever going to tell Drew this?
“Tell me what?” Drew stood at the doorway, arms crossed, with one eyebrow raised. Even standing like that, he looked sexy as hell.
“Well thanks babe, you’re looking beautiful yourself,” he smiled at me and came over to the bed. Sitting down next to me, he lifted me into his lap and began stroking my hair softly.
I sucked in a deep breath. Well, here goes.
“Drew, I-I have something important to tell you,” I said softly, “about the rogue,”
Just knowing he was a few floors down sent a shiver up my spine.
“He-“ what could I say? That he was the reason my mom died? That because of him, my family fell apart? That his very presence haunted my dreams every night? My heart was hammering in my chest like an offbeat drum. My fingers twitched slightly, shaking with anxiousness. No matter how hard I tried to form a coherent sentence about him, my mind just came up blank. Like my brain being on autopilot, it was controlling what I was trying to say. Drew deserved to know. And by judging his face, it looked like he was pretty curious about this as well. I kind of wonder why he didn’t mention to me that the rogue talked about me?
“Drew, did the rogue say anything about me?”
Drew’s face visibly paled. His eyes went downward, not meeting mine. I tilted his face up carefully, and kissed his cheek.
“It’s okay. I heard. I know you were just trying to protect me, but this fight is too dangerous for you to get into. I-I can’t explain it all just yet, but I want you to listen to me. Please don’t take what he said into heart. You’re too-“ I gulped, “important to lose, and I don’t want that happening. Please, just trust me and leave this alone. At least, until I get my facts straight,” I sighed.
Drew’s eyes were dark, his wolf seemed to be arguing with him, but he finally calmed down by my touch. I kissed his neck softly, and worked up towards his jaw. I placed a feathered kiss on his chin, then his cheeks, and finally a light brush on his lips.
He growled lowly, before kissing me back, with fiery passion. We tumbled down onto the bed, me laying on top. His kisses became more intimate, as he started kissing down my collar bone, up my neck, then down it again. I held back a moan, but it still ended up sounding like a whimper. Pulling his head back up to my lips, I kissed him passionately, his warm lips dancing with my own. For a moment, I forgot everything around us. I forgot the problems with my dad, or the evil rogue downstairs. All I thought about was Drew. The Drew I loved. The Drew that was kissing me so beautifully, so romantically, that my heart melted into a puddle of pure love for him.
I wove my hands around his neck, intensifying the kiss ten-fold. His hands grazed the bottom of my shirt, almost like asking for entrance, which I did by kissing his lips and smiling at him. His hand went up my shirt slowly, sliding across my stomach and moving upwards, towards my bra. My hands followed their own accord, slowly unbuttoning his shirt, and throwing it aside. I took a moment to admire his amazing body, tracing against the smooth planes of his abs and chest.
Soon, my shirt joined his on the floor.
“You’re absolutely beautiful,” his breath husky. My body filled with warmth, for him and for his love.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you too,” he whispered back.
We swiftly undressed, and lay there, naked. Drew kissed up my stomach, massaging my breasts, before kissing my lips. I moaned in satisfaction, his hands doing wonders on my body.
“Drew,” I breathed, huskily.
“Hmm?” he mumbled, still kissing my neck.
“Mate me, fully,” I stated. He looked at me with a smile. I kissed him swiftly, and he kissed me back.
“Of course, beautiful,”
It was then, that I forgot my worries and left my normal self behind. My mate was with me, and I wanted to be fully his, and him fully mine, hoping it was enough to help me forget about my problems temporarily. But I knew, I would have to face them soon, including, the murderer of my mom.

Chapter 16

Warm breath tickled my neck as I opened my eyes. Looking down, I noticed I was naked, with just the sheets covering me. A large arm was draped around my waist tightly, pushing me to a hard chest. Turning around, I noticed Drew’s face, only inches from mine. A small smile was displayed on his face, and his eyes were closed. Smiling softly, I brushed back some hair from his forehead and kissed him lightly on the nose.
Now, to get this arm off of me, I thought. Slowly, I inched myself further away from Drew, prying his fingers off one by one, and lifted his heavy arm off of me. I was practically out of breath by the time I was free from his hold. Grabbing Drew’s button up shirt off the ground, I slid it on and went into the bathroom.
After I cleaned myself up a bit, and fixed my rat’s nest I called hair, I walked out to see Drew getting up. Even with bed hair, he looked extremely sexy. I was glad he was at least wearing some boxers or I don’t know if I could hold myself from repeating last night’s events. My cheeks reddened at the thought. Snapping myself out of my daze, I called out to him.
“Morning,” I smiled at him.
“Morning to you too” he smiled back and walked over to me. His large arms encircled me into a hug, and he kissed my temple softly.
“Did you sleep well?” he smirked at me.
“Shut up,” I slapped his chest playfully before squirming out of his hold.
“Aw, babe don’t be like that,” he smirked at me, before grabbing me from behind and hoisting me in the air.
“Drew, put me down now!” I argued, slapping his back. Suddenly, I felt Drew slap my ass and give out a loud chuckle.
“Drew!” I screamed, which only caused him to laugh. He none too gracefully plopped me down onto the bed and pinned my arms up above my head.
Just as I was about to scream my head off at him for picking me up and slapping my ass, he clamped his lips over mine, leaving my thoughts a jumbled mess.
His kiss started slow and sensual, softly sucking on my lips. Pressing harder, he turned the kiss from passionate to evocative. My arms slid down his chest, resting on his perfect abs, as I deepened the kiss. A low growl came from Drew, as he began unbuttoning his shirt I was wearing. My hands slid lower, brushing the edge of his boxers. I felt Drew stiffen, and I smiled inwardly.
“Oh no you don’t,” Drew growled huskily, flipping us over so he was underneath. My shirt, which was now completely unbuttoned, hung limply, displaying my breasts and stomach. I blushed, quickly trying to cover myself, but Drew’s hands stopped me.
“Arianna, never hide yourself from me,” he growled, kissing down my neck, across my collar bone, and continuing downward to my breasts. He began kneading one of them, while the other he sucked on. I moaned loudly, while I felt Drew smirk against my skin.
Slowly, I pulled down his boxers and began placing kisses down his chest. Reaching all the way down, I abruptly pulled myself away and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.
Heaving heavily, I collapsed onto the bed beside Drew. After our mind blowing foreplay and another intense love making, I found myself completely content.
Curling up to Drew, I sighed, enjoying his body warmth against mine. His arm wrapped around my shoulders, playing with my hair softly.
“Arianna?”
“Hmm?” I muttered, snuggling closer to his side.
“Why?,” he whispered.
I sat up abruptly, turning my body to face him.
“Why what?”
“I know I’ve said this before, but I want to know why you would forgive me so easily? I was a jerk. I screwed up. What I did was wrong, and I wanna know why you still forgave me,” he unwrapped his arm from me and sat up as well, staring at the wall ahead.
“Because you’re my mate Drew. You may have done those things to me, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you. I know it was wrong, but people make mistakes, it’s normal. The important thing is that you said sorry, you accepted your faults. That’s all I need to know. You’re my other half, Drew, and I love you. There’s no way I can’t forgive you,” I smiled at him, intertwining our fingers. Drew’s eyes met mine, full of warmth and love, and I couldn’t help but kiss him softly.
“You don’t know how glad I am to have you, right?” he muttered, snuggling his head into my hair. I giggled softly, before pulling away and placing my hand against his cheek.
“Oh shit!” Drew cursed at the clock. I looked over and noticed the time, 12:30 P.M. We’d been up here that long? I was completely shocked.
Drew scrambled off the bed, pulling on his clothes quickly.
“Baby girl, I’m sorry. I have an important alpha meeting I need to get too soon,” he placed a quick kiss on my lips.
“Oh, almost forgot,” he grabbed a small box off the dresser.
Opening the box, I gasped at the gift. I couldn’t possibly accept this, it was too beautiful and looked just as expensive.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed out, staring at the stunning necklace. It was a pendant, shaped like a sword, with two wolves on either end facing out. It’s intricate designs, and beautiful silvery coating looked antique, almost priceless.
“This was my great grandmother’s, and was passed down all the way to me for my mate. So, I’m giving it to you,” he said, while turning me around and clasping the necklace onto my neck. Its cool exterior brushed against my skin.
Placing a soft kiss onto my shoulder, Drew turned me around to face him.
“Wear this tonight, because I’m taking you out somewhere,” he grinned, before kissing my head and leaving the room.
I was too shocked to even realize he had left. My mind was whirring at everything that had happened. How did I go from being a nobody, to getting an ancient necklace, mating with Drew, and going out with him?
Sighing, I pulled myself out of my thoughts, and dressed. If I was going on a date, I would need all the help I could get.
*******
“Aw, my little Ari’s growing up!” Mel shouted for the billionth time, as she curled my hair.
“Mel, how many times do I have to tell you, it’s just a date,” I rolled my eyes at her.
“Hey!” she pouted into the mirror, looking at my reflection, “I can’t help it if I’m so excited for my best friend to finally go on a date! At least give me some credit!” she huffed, crossing her arms.
“I know Mel, but I’m just nervous. I’ve never been on a date before, I don’t know what it’s gonna be like?” I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. Just the thought of going on date frightened me. What if I overdressed, or underdressed? What if people looked at me and wondered how I could get with a guy like Drew?
“Just relax. I already picked the perfect outfit for you, and you’re hair and makeup look great, thanks to me,” she giggled at the mirror. I couldn’t help but grin back at her.
“Mel, thanks, for everything,”
“Hey, what are friends for?” she grinned.
After finishing my hair and makeup, I pulled on my outfit. Mel had picked out a white summer dress, with lace embroidery on the skirt. The dress was a little above my knees, and was paired with a light grey blazer. I pulled on some brown wedges.
“Ari, you look amazing!” Mel giggled, satisfied with her makeover. I turned towards the mirror, and gasped at my reflection. My brown hair hung in large light curls, spilling over my shoulders. My outfit made me look like an innocent, yet beautiful girl and my eyes were framed with eyeliner and mascara, making them pop. My face looked flawless, and perfect.
Turning around, I hugged Mel tightly, thanking her over and over for helping me.
“Alright, alright. Now let go of me and go impress your man!” she beamed.
I hugged her once again and walked out of Mel’s room, heading for my own.
My anxiety kept creeping up, as I paced back and forth in my room, clutching the pendant Drew gave me in my hand. I double checked everything: breath, teeth, makeup, outfit, perfume, pendant, till I was completely satisfied. However, the nerves in my stomach were multiplying. Never in my life would I have thought I’d be nervous for a date like some giddy high school teenager, even if I was a teen myself.
A knock sounded on the door, that pulled me from my thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the door and opened it up. Standing in front of me was Drew, dressed in a light grey t-shirt, jeans, a leather jacket. I sucked in a breath, acknowledging how handsome he looked.
Drew’s eyes widened as he looked me over. I blushed, clearly happy with his response.
“You look...beautiful” he smiled at me, taking my hand.
“Well you don’t look so bad yourself,” I grinned back.
We descended the steps and out the door, jumping into Drew’s Mercedes SLS AMG. My mouth literally dropped at the sight of it.
“So, where are you taking me?” I questioned Drew. He gave me a sideways glance before answering.
“It’s a surprise,”
I wanted to pout and cross my arms like a kid. My excitement was too much, and I didn’t think I would be able to hold it in if Drew didn’t tell me where we were going.
Finally, we arrived at lake side resort. It was large building, with a beautiful lake behind it. I was at awe, the place was breathtaking.
Drew led me up the steps, and into a large restaurant. I thought we’d be dining here, but Drew led me past the room, and outside. We walked down a cobblestoned pathway, till we reached a large gazebo that overlooked the lake. Around us, brushed filled with colorful flowers warmed the air with a light scent. Inside the gazebo, a table with two chairs sat. The candles in the middle of the table lit the gazebo, making it look romantic and cozy. Just over the table was the sight of the lake. The water looked dark and pristine.
“Wow,” was all I could say.
Drew helped me into my seat before sitting himself in his own.
“Drew, this is amazing,” I exclaimed once again, looking at the scenery.
“I knew you’d like it,” he grinned.
Soon after, our food arrived and we ate and chatted.
“Thank you, Drew. For everything,” I smiled at him.
“Sweetheart, I would do anything to see you smile,” he said.
I laughed softly, “Wow, I didn’t know the big bad Alpha Drew could be so romantic,”
“Oh you have no idea babe,” he smirked at me.
After our dinner, Drew took my hand, and we strolled leisurely through the garden.
“Drew, tell me something nobody knows,” I asked.
“Well, when I was six, I would run around the house naked screaming ‘you can’t catch me’ to my parents when they tried giving me a bath,” he chuckled, while I noticed his cheeks tinge pink.
Chuckling, I kissed his cheek.
“What about you?” Drew inquired.
“What about me?” I teased.
“You know, what’s something you never told anyone?”
I thought about what I could say, my mind temporarily flashing to my mom’s murderer. Drew stopped walking, and I looked back at him, confused.
“How do you know that rogue?” Drew questioned me quietly. I was confused, at how he knew I was thinking about that, until I realized that we were fully mated, and he could probably see the image of that rogue in my mind. I needed to be more careful and put up my mental walls next time, I thought.
“He, uh,” I took a deep breath and decided to tell him everything about my past.
“My mom’s accident wasn’t an accident. The rogue you caught, he was after my mom. I don’t know why, but he was the reason she died. Just before she-“ I choked on a sob, “-died, she told me to get out of there, not because she didn’t want me to save her, but instead, to make sure that I could be safe. That’s how I know him. He’s been in my dreams lately, and i-I don’t know what to do,” I cried silently, letting tears flow down my face.
Drew wiped away the tears gently, kissing a few that still leaked out. Placing a gentle kiss on my forehead, he embraced me in a hug. I clung onto his shirt, and snuggled against him.
“Drew, I’m scared,” I whispered.
“I know baby, but trust me, I will not let him get to you, okay? Do you trust me?”
I nodded.
“Good, now let’s forget about all of this and focus on our date,” he smiled at me and wiped away a few more tears. I grinned up at him and kissed his cheek.
But throughout the walk, all I could think about was the rogue. I just hoped Drew was right.

Chapter 17

“We seriously need to go shopping!” Mel exclaimed, rummaging through my closet for who knows what, “I mean seriously, look at your clothes? Sweatshirts and sweatpants aren’t your life Arianna,” She swiveled around, holding up one of the few sweatshirts I owned.
I pouted at her, “Aw, come on Mel. I don’t need that many clothes!”
“Are you kidding me?! You barely own enough to fill a linen closet!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hands and promptly crossing them in front of her and scowling at me.
“Mel, stop that. You can’t keep using your glare to manipulate me,” I groaned, covering my eyes with my hand.
“Fine!” I huffed, grabbing a pair of Drew’s keys off the side table. “Let’s go shopping,”
Mel jumped up a foot in the air, before grabbing me and running us down to his car.
*************
“Ugh, I’m never shopping again. I don’t know how girls even like doing this!” I cried in exasperation. For the last 2 hours, we’ve been going from store to store, picking out the flashiest and priciest clothes there were. I honestly didn’t need any of these, I was perfectly fine with my own comfortable clothes.
“Don’t be such a buzz kill, Ari. Come on, let’s go to that shoe store over there!” I rolled my eyes at her about to tell her off when I noticed that she’d already ran into the store. Grudgingly I followed her in.
Walking to the store, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that someone was watching me. It had been happening all throughout the day. I tried to not let it bother me, but something in my gut was telling me I was being followed.
Walking into the store, I was still overwhelmed by that strange feeling. I just couldn’t shake it off.
‘Arianna, you need to get back home now. There’s a problem. I’m sending Justin and Elliot to come get you and Melanie, don’t go anywhere. Love you,’ Drew’s voice abruptly cut off my thoughts as he spoke through mindlink. My heart stopped. What was going on? What’s happening?
Mel appeared from behind a rack of shoes, carrying a pair in her hand.
“Hey, there you are! So I was thinking maybe these shoes would look good with-“
“Mel! There’s been an emergency at the pack house! Drew sent two of his guards to come get us. We’ve gotta go!” I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the store, racing towards the entrance of the mall. Just as we arrived, the all too familiar pack guards’ black Escalade pulled up to the entrance.
“Luna, we need to get back to the pack house immediately. Please, come,” Justin, one of the guards, ushered us both into the back of the escalade.
The entire ride, all I could think about was what was happening. Mel was equally worried. Her mate was back at the pack house as well. My thoughts immediately drifted to Drew. Was he okay? Was he hurt? If he was hurt, I would feel it. I couldn’t risk this though. I closed my eyes, trying to keep myself calm.
Opening them again, I reached over and grabbed Mel’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
“It’s gonna be okay, Mel. Don’t worry,” I smiled at her.
The tires screeched as we arrived in front of the pack house. Both Mel and I jumped out, racing inside.
We ran all the way down to Drew’s office. From outside, we could hear voices.
The door flew open abruptly as we entered the room.
“Drew, are you oka-“ I stopped midsentence, looking at Drew’s stricken eyes.
“Drew?” I breathed out
“He’s gone,” he whispered, staring down at the cloth clutched in his hand.
“Who’s gone?” I said, inching closer to him.
“Zane. He’s been kidnapped...by that rogue,”

Chapter 18

My heart stopped. Zane? No, that can’t happen. He’s like a brother to me! No.
Drew’s arms grabbed me and I collapsed in them, suddenly unable to hold my weight.
“I’m sorry Ari, I’m really sorry. Don’t worry, we’ll get this son of a bitch. I promise.”
I could only nod, too shocked to believe what just happened.
This was because of me, all because of me. I was the one the rogue wanted. I was the one that should’ve been kidnapped, not Zane.
“I’m gonna go check the last place he was seen for a scent. Ari, go rest, you look tired. Don’t worry about Zane, we’ll find him,”
“I’ll go with you-“
“No!” his voice was firm, and aggressive. I shrunk back from him, his voice causing my body to cower in fear.
His eyes softened and he leaned in, encompassing my body with his arms.
“Arianna, I’m sorry. I know you want to help, but I can’t let you. It’s unsafe. Please, for me, just stay home,” he murmured against my head.
Little drops of tears slid down my cheeks, wetting his shirt. I nodded mutely, defeated.
“Be careful,” I whispered back, wrapping my arms around him tightly before pulling away and placing a soft kiss on his lips.
“I’ll be back soon,”
I watched him walk out the door, before slumping into a seat. All I could think about was Zane.
Yeah, we hadn’t been friends for long, but we were still friends. Remembering all those times when he hung out with me, making cookies and watching reruns on TV, I couldn’t help but smile a little. He’d been the only one that stuck by my side through all the times I’d been hurt. The little things he did for me, like promising to be a couple to make Drew jealous. I couldn’t let someone like him get hurt because of me. Deep down inside though, I knew he was gonna be okay, I just knew it.
But the pack wouldn’t be if I was here. It was all my fault that the rogue was after them. He wanted me, not them, but they were suffering his punishment. That fucking prick of a wolf was seriously gonna pay for hurting the ones I loved.
Somehow I had to fix this.
*********
The wind whipped around, rustling the branches high atop the trees. My breath was labored, panting heavily for gasps of air as I came to a stop. My feet ached and my skin bit against the harsh cold. Looking around me, the moon illuminated the darkened meadow. A meadow once beautiful in the daylight looked haunting at dusk. My breathing hitched, staring into the shadows that the trees cast upon the tall grass. The frosty air swirled around, giving off its own warning to any trespassers. I squinted my eyes, looking at the darkness among the trees, as a large black wolf emerged, his blue-grey eyes staring at me. He came close, rubbing his fur against my legs. The warmth of his body helped the cold against my skin. His tail wrapped around my legs, pushing me towards him. Suddenly, he ran off, casting one last glance at me. I watched him go, yearning for him to come back.
“No, please,” I wept.
“Please don’t leave me Drew,”
“I’m sorry,” I fell to the ground, my sobs wracking my body in thrashes. I dropped my hands to the ground, when I felt something wet against the palms. Looking down at my hands, light from the milky white moon shining on them, I saw the drips of blood, running down my palms to my wrists, and slipping underneath my jacket. I stared, horrified. I looked down, noticing the blood was not only by me, but dripped in a line. My eyes followed the trail, and as I looked up, I saw Him, standing by the majestic black wolf. The wolf lay in the grass, blood oozing out of a large gash in his neck.
“No,” I whispered.
“NO!” I screamed.
He laughed, his smile taunting his handsome features.
“You shouldn’t have stayed Arianna. It’s all your fault.”
My eyes blurred his image in front of me, but his tauntingly sick smile stayed plastered in my mind.
Four little words still stuck in my head:
‘It’s all my fault,”

******************

My eyes snapped open, as I tried to calm my heart. What the hell had just happened?
My dream was so vivid, so sinister. I looked over to my left, seeing Drew’s sleeping form. His soft snore put a smile to my face. He looked so angelic, so innocent. A tear slid down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away. He didn’t deserve this, he didn’t need me. I was just complicating things.
I had to do something. I had to find a way to keep this pack safe. I was luna and this pack’s responsibility would have to come first, even before my mate. As I looked across the room to the window, I caught a glimpse of the moon, bright and taunting. My breath froze and small Goosebumps rose on my arms. His howling cackle filled my thoughts, causing a slight tremor to go through me. I glanced at Drew again, before I slid back into the bed.
I’d made my decision. I was going to protect this pack no matter what, even if it meant leaving everything behind.

Chapter 19

Pushing my food around my plate, I thought silently at the past few events that had been happening. Zane was still missing, I rarely saw Drew anymore because of his constant work at protecting the pack, and I just felt like crap. All this was my fault, no matter what Drew said.
“Hey sweetheart,” Drew kissed my head from behind and slid into the seat next to me. I smiled at him, though it was pretty forced on my account.
Drew sighed, before he grabbed my hands and forced me to face him.
“Baby, I’m really sorry for all of this. I know I’ve been neglecting you, and I should’ve at least let you stay with me. I’m so sorry, I just—“
I just smiled at him and kissed his cheek.
“It’s not your fault Drew. You’re doing the best you can,”
“But it’s not enough Ari. That bastard is still out there with Zane and I can’t even track him! And you’re his next target. If I wasn’t so stupid in focusing on my work, I would’ve remembered to protect you!”
Closing his eyes, Drew rested his head on my neck and inhaled deeply. I could see him relax visibly, his eyes now a more liquid bluish grey than a smoldering dark grey. Cupping his face in my hands, I gave him a slow kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck as he deepened it.
“Ehem, Alpha?”
Pulling away, we saw one of Drew’s enforcers, Dean, looking away with a blush on his face.
Drew grunted annoyingly, and sat back in his seat.
“Yes Dean?”
“Some of our trackers found something and they want you to look at it,”
Smiling lightly, I pushed Drew up. Go I told him through our mindlink.
You sure? He questioned back. I nodded my head.
I faced my breakfast again, but still void of any appetite, I picked it up and put my dishes away.
I walked up to mine and Drew’s room and shut the door. After everything that’s been happening, I was physically and emotionally drained. Deciding a nap would be good for me, I snuggled up into the sheets and closed my eyes.
Picking up a purple orchid, I smiled at it before skipping back to mommy.
“Mommy, mommy look at what I found!”
“It’s a beautiful flower Arianna, just like you,” she smiled at me and picked me up.
“Can I keep it mommy?”
“Of course you can sweetheart,”
Walking back towards our home, I smiled at the flower in my hand and looked back at mommy. She smiled down at me, kissing me on the cheek and tucking my hair behind my ear.
******

“Hey sweety, how you feeling?” Sitting on the edge of my bed, mommy brought in some soup and an extra blanket. I hated being sick, but mommy always took good care of me.
“I still feel a little tired,” I frowned, as another wave of coughs hit me.
“Drink this, it’ll make you feel better” Giving me a reassuring smile, she kissed my forehead and stood up.
“Mommy, I hate being sick,” My eyes welled with tears.
“Oh baby, it’s gonna be okay. I promise,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around me in a comforting hug.
Pulling away, she looked over at my window sill, where my flower sat in its pot.
“You remember this flower, don’t you?” I nodded my head.
“Well this flower is a special flower. It gives you strength,”
“Really?” I asked in wonder, staring at the blooming vibrant orchid.
“It does, and it will help you get better,” she whispered.
“Why mommy?”
“Because, the flower is like you. It’s filled with light, and no matter how bad times get, the flower is always up and standing. It’s proud, and makes you smile. Keep it with you, and you’ll always remember how strong you are. It’s your light.”
Smiling at me, she got up and walked towards the door. I snuggled into my blankets, her thoughts on my mind. My eyes grew droopy and soon I was fast asleep. Just before leaving, she stopped and turned towards me.
“Your strength is the light you shine against the dark” she whispered to the air, unbeknownst to the fact that I heard what she said.
That phrase echoed into my mind as I drifted off, her words as soothing as a blanket. But I didn’t know how important those words meant, till they were the only thing I had to hang on to.
My head pounded as I woke up from my dream. I remembered that day vividly. My mother had said those words as if she knew some kind of warning would involve me in it.
Those words, so little, yet so powerful to me. After she’d passed away, I always hung on to those words. They gave me comfort; they showed me that I could be strong if I wished. My dad, the pack, and the feeling of loneliness gave me no choice but to accept those words as a mantra.
I didn’t know why I dreamt of my mom, but this dream was so vivid to me, almost as if somebody was projecting it into my brain. I felt like I wasn’t in control, like somebody telepathically sent me it.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Sighing, I got up and answered. A guard stood there and bowed at me.
“Hello Luna, Drew has called you down to his office”
I nodded, and he gestured for me to walk ahead. I smiled politely and walked down towards his office. When I got there, there was some faint noises coming. It kinda sounded like arguing.
Knocking swiftly on the door, the guard announced our presence to the people inside.
“Come in” I head Drew’s anxious voice. Why was he so nervous?
Upon entering, I saw three men who looked like trackers.
“What’s this about?” I asked to Drew.
“Ari, our trackers found something...unusual at the edge of our territory. They want me to go verify it, but I think it’s best if you come along,”
Looking at his eyes, I could see the hopefulness in them. I was momentarily stunned. Was this the same Drew that, maybe a few days ago, would’ve practically yanked his hair out in anger at the idea of me leaving the house? What made him change his mind?
“Okay,” I said.
He nodded towards the trackers, who walked out the door to lead us.
I don’t want you moving an inch from my side. This is dangerous. Just stay by my side and don’t move anywhere unless told to.
And ladies and gentlemen, the protective mate is back. Rolling my eyes, I nodded back.
Does it look like I want to be rogue snack?
I replied back, snarkily.
I saw him flinch from my side and tense. I bit my lip. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so snappy with him. But who could blame me? This whole situation was too crazy. It was my entire damn fault and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Ignoring the jab, I walked with my eyes ahead.
We crossed the lawn, where the trackers shifted and waited for us. I was about to shift when Drew stopped me.
He shifted quickly and, with his snout, nudged my body towards his back. Rolling my eyes again, I climbed up and clutched his fur.
We ran swiftly, and in a matter of minutes, we were by the border’s edge.
The trackers changed back and dressed quickly while I averted my eyes.
Climbing off of Drew, I again looked away as he quickly pulled on a pair of shorts the tracker gave him. Looking back, I couldn’t help but blush a little. I was surrounded by 4 hot men, only in shorts. Mind you, I was a teenage girl with hormones for crying out loud!
But in an instant, everything became serious as the trackers waved a hand towards me. I walked closer towards them, but was still careful to stay by Drew’s side like he told me.
In the distance, I could see a small patch of dirt in the middle of lush grass. Hm, that was strange? Why would anybody plant something here?
Walking closer, I let out a strangled gasp as I saw what was planted there.
In the middle of the rectangular patch of dirt, was a purple orchid. Underneath were 10 words I never thought I would see ever again:
“Your strength is the light you shine against the dark”

Chapter 20

Tears sprung to my eyes. Nobody knew that quote, except for my mom. Who else would? She said those words herself!? Could it be true? Or was it a threat?
My head was spinning so fast with conclusions.
Was it possible my mom is still alive?
No! That can’t be! I saw her die with my own two eyes!
“Arianna, Arianna!” Drew shouted, waking me up from my turmoil.
I looked over at him, shock still written over my face. Drew’s face visibly paled as he ran over to me and picked me up in his arms. Tears began to dribble out onto my face and on his bare shoulder as he patted the back of my head softly.
“Hey, shh, baby it’s alright. I’m here, I’m here sweetheart,” He whispered as I cried and cried.
Was this some sick, twisted joke? Could someone pull such a nasty prank on me? Could it be...Him?!
Pulling away, I wiped my eyes quickly.
“Drew, that flower, my mom, words, she died, didn’t she? Oh god, is this true? What? I-wha..?” My shock was so bad I couldn’t even create a functionable sentence that Drew would understand.
The trackers around us looked at me worriedly. They continued to shift their eyes from me to Drew, wondering if they should do something.
“Baby, baby, tell me calmly. Do you know what this means?”
I nodded and wiped away a stray tear.
“This-this flower, I found it while I was playing outside with my mom. She told me it was my light. It was my strength. And that sentence was what she told me whenever I felt weak. She always told me that my strength was the light I shone against the dark,” I whispered, staring at the patch of dirt.
“Is your mother the only one that knows about this?” He asked me, as his eyes clouded with worry.
“Yes. She’s the only one. Nobody in my family knew. She told me the flower was our little secret,” I looked back at him as silent tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Drew...” my eyes widened in shock.
“I just had a dream about this. Just an hour ago!” I trembled slightly. Could that dream really have been a message? But from who? Could it be from my mom?
My head pounded, my legs felt weak as I collapsed onto Drew.
I found myself asleep, the last image being that dreaded flower.
************
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Drew asked as I opened my eyes.
Looking around, I saw the familiar blue walls of our room. I nodded quietly, still shaken up about the flower.
Drew gave a deep sigh. His eyes looked apologetic as he got up from beside me.
“Arianna, I hate to do this. But now that we saw that flower by our borders, we have to increase the safety of the pack. I need to go work still, make sure everyone knows what they’re doing. I’m really sorry, but-“
“It’s okay Drew. You’re an Alpha. Your pack comes first,” I gave him a smile even though it pained me for him to leave my side. I still didn’t feel completely stable, but I knew it would be selfish and irresponsible if I kept him back from protecting the pack.
“Go. I’m serious, I’m fine. I’ll spend time with Melanie if that makes you feel better, okay?” I grabbed his hand and pointed it towards the door.
“You sure?” Doubt clouded his eyes.
“I’m sure. Go worry about the pack, Alpha,” I smiled at him.
Drew gave me a long kiss before he disappeared out the door, leaving me breathless and momentarily stunned.
“Stupid mate. Why does he have to leave me all tingly with his kisses?” I grumbled.
“Heard that!” Drew shouted back, followed by a chuckle.
I giggled quietly; glad to have some form of humor after all that’s happened.
Slipping out of the sheets, I walked towards the bathroom to take a much needed shower.
I grabbed a towel and hopped in. Turning on the spray to full blast, I allowed the water to swirl away any negative thoughts. I lathered myself with peach and lavender scented soap and allowed it to cool my senses.
Finally soaped, and cleaned, I got out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel and walking towards my closet. I pulled on some comfy sweatpants and a loose one shoulder top with a tank top underneath.
Hey babe, I’m sending Melanie up to your room. Stay with her until I come to check on you at 6, understood? And if there’s anything you need, just mindlink me.
Yes boss! I saluted myself, chuckling.
Mr. Sexy, hunky, gorgeous boss to you miss! He replied back.
Mhm, whatever you say... I mocked back.
Hey babe, I love you His tone went from playful to serious, and I caught myself breathless at his words, again.
I love you too. I answered, just as serious.
Making the bed quickly, I decided to watch some movies to take my mind off. Sitting in front of the tv, I looked through Drew’s endless collection of action movies, till I found a perfect movie for a girls night. It was You Again. It wasn’t a complete chick flick, which I liked (much to Mel’s distaste, she was a sucker for those!), and it was pretty funny, especially Betty White.
I was in the middle of the scene where Marni was talking to her boss about her promotion, when Melanie came inside my room, followed by Jake.
“Sorry,” she smiled guiltily. “He’s been overprotective of me because of the rogue, so he insisted to come along,”
I smiled at her, and grabbed her in a hug.
“It’s okay Mel. We can all watch together,” I gave her a huge grin.
“What are we watching?” Mel asked as she grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him to the edge of the bed, where I’d laid out comforters, blankets, and pillows to sit on the ground with.
“You Again” I gave her a cheeky grin as she scowled at me.
“Really Ari? This movie again! We’ve watched it a billion times!” She put her hands on her hips, staring me down. I could see in her eyes though, that she didn’t mind.
I just winked at her and jumped up.
“You can restart the movie while I go get some popcorn. Be back in a bit!”
I ran downstairs, heading towards the kitchen.
Grabbing a large bowl, I microwaved three popcorn bags and filled it up. I also grabbed three bottled waters and walked back towards the stairs.
Passing by the office, I heard whispers coming from the room. Being curious, I inched closer. Not close enough that they could smell me, but close enough that I could hear.
“So what do you suggest we do?” said an unfamiliar voice. I assumed it was a tracker.
“I don’t know,” came Drew’s voice as he replied. I could imagine his running a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Alpha, is there really a chance that our former Beta could be alive?” questioned another tracker.
I froze. They were talking about my mom. Gulping, I continued to listen.
“Possibly. But we can’t take any chances. If she’s alive, Arianna’s life will be in even more danger. That bastard could use her as bait to kill Arianna!” Drew growled in anger.
“So what do you suggest we do Alpha?”
“We can’t take chances. Our best bet is to kill whoever we come in contact with and save Zane. We can’t risk putting my mate in danger. But be sure not to tell her this, she won’t allow it. So please, keep this to yourselves. Just remember, I want anyone on that side killed, even if it means losing our former Beta permanently,”
My heart stopped. How could Drew even suggest to kill my mom? After so long, I’d finally seen a glimpse of hope that maybe, just maybe she did survive. Our family could finally be perfect again! And Drew was willing to take that away?
I gained consciousness for a brief second, and decided it was my best bet to run away before anyone saw me. I leapt up the stairs and raced to my room. Standing outside the door, I willed my heart to stop beating so quickly, and gained composure. Putting on a fake smile, I walked in and placed the food down.
“What took you so long Ari? We’re already past the beginning!” Mel chuckled, while grabbing a piece of popcorn and feeding it to Jake. Jake ate it quickly before kissing Mel, who giggled back.
I suddenly grew envious of their relationship. Couldn’t Drew love me like that? Why would he even think of trying to kill my mom after what’s happened to me?
Sitting on the bed, I twisted the cap of the water bottle and took a swig, letting the cool water cool my burning throat.
How could Drew do this to me?
Looking at the screen, it was the part where Marni finds out that Joanna, the queen bee that made her life hell in high school, is marrying her brother.
Giving a humorless chuckle, I stared at Marni’s shocked face and whispered so quiet only I could hear.
“Life really fucks us, doesn’t it Marni?”

Chapter 21

My fingers brushed lightly over the frame, feeling the delicate pattern of the outside and skimming over the cool glass. Her face filled with wonder, a small twitch at the corner of her lip in an attempt to smile, as she held on tightly to a baby girl and rested another hand on her son. Her smile hinted her teeth, and her coffee colored wisps flew around her face, framing it delicately.
A large tear hit the glass, blurring the image beneath. That was when I realized I’d been crying. I wiped it away with my sleeve, sniffling and setting the picture back on top of the shelf. Looking back around the room, a cracked window allowed a small angle of sun to stream in. The room still looked musky, particles of dust floating around. I walked over to the bed and touched it softly, feeling the material against my trembling fingers. Moving back away, I turned around, surveying every inch of the room. The ceiling was high up and filled with the natural wood that she loved. I could see the light satin curtains on the wall hanging limply, unlike their usual flow. Frowning slightly, I walked over to the window and slid it open. The wind immediately rushed in and began gently stirring them back and forth. I smiled, as the room lit up, showcasing the soft crème colored walls that she was always so fond of.
“She loved this room more than anything,”
My head swiveled to the door, spotting my father standing there with a small smile. I watched him warily as he looked around the room, sucking in a shaky breath every so often as he examined it.
“What are you doing here?” My voice finally resurfaced, whilst I crossed my arms and raised my chin defiantly.
He just looked at me, studying my face. He took a step in my direction, but suddenly stopped and backed away. Angling himself away from me, he shuffled towards the shelf I’d been at just a few moments ago, and stopped in front of mom’s picture.
“She was always so beautiful, you know? She never hesitated to make anyone smile. I remember when we’d first met. I was out with a bunch of my friends at a party. Of course she was there too. She looked stunning when I’d first laid my eyes on her. The way she walked into a place like she owned it. She was so confident, but so modest, and so beautiful. Although, she was a true spitfire when she found out we were mates,” he said, shaking his head while chuckling quietly.
I still looked at him, not responding at all. Was this supposed to be a father daughter moment? I couldn’t really respond, I didn’t know how to. He was actually being genuine but he still terrified me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his body now facing me. I was too zoned out with my own thoughts to realize he was looking at me.
Meeting his eyes, I could see they were glazed over with unshed tears. My heart was beating erratically in my chest as I noticed the wrinkles on his forehead, the deep dark semicircles hugging his eyes, the way his hair faded to grey on the tips. In that moment, I noticed how much he was hurting, how-despite my pain-that hurting me was his only way of handling mom’s death. I could see the regret behind his voice. My throat itched and I had the sudden urge to scratch it back to health. Why couldn’t I just accept the apology?
Looking away, I focused on the blank wall behind him. I could practically feel the audible sigh he released. My heart sank at that sound. I knew he was trying to repair our broken relationship, but my heart just couldn’t ignore the cries of pain and the nightly bruises I had endured.
“I love you Arianna. I mean it,”
His last words came at me full force. Not once in the past four years would I have thought to hear those words from him again. So desperately I had wanted to hear those words from him, to have some hope that maybe there was still a loving father inside the same man that hurt me. So long had I wished for this moment to come. But it was nothing like I’d expected. After all these years, I gave up on that little voice in my heart that would plead he would change. And here we were, as he said the same words that I so long yearned for, and I couldn’t even feel it.
There are times in life where you question why you have your family. Even during the most difficult of times, you still remember that you love them, and they deserve your kindness not your cruelty. But at that moment, I couldn’t feel the love back for him like I used to. All I felt was this confusion. I couldn’t feel anything towards him. I couldn’t feel the happiness a girl should feel towards her father. All I could do was nod back and turn aside.
Staring hard at the ground, I heard a small sigh and his footfalls before the door clicked shut. That’s when I let the dam of tears flow, one by one, jumping over the edge of my eye, sliding down my cheek, and ending at my chin. Each one fell quietly, almost as if they had no fight in them. Each one was not a tear of frustration or anger. No, these tears were a sign of surrender. They were a sign of defeat.
Walking backwards, my legs hit the edge of the bed, where I slowly sat down. My eyes fixated on the portrait of my family, my once beautiful family.
The door squeaked open, causing my head to turn in the direction of the sound. Heaving a sigh of relief, I found myself looking at my little brother’s big blue eyes.
“Come here, Sammy,” I opened my arms up, where he greedily ran and jumped into.
Giving a soft laugh, I combed my fingers through his hair, while he rested his head in the crook of my neck.
“Was this mommy’s room?” He asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
Smiling slightly, I kissed the top of his head and rocked him gently.
“Yes, Sammy. This was our mommy’s room.” I looked back up at the room and smiled. It was true the future was uncertain. I didn’t know if she was alive or not, nor did I know if our family was going to be alright. But I did know that my heart wasn’t abandoned. I still had my brothers, I still had Drew, and that’s all that mattered.
I could, and would get through this.
“I wish she was here Ari,” He mumbled quietly.
“Me too Sammy, me too.”

Chapter 22

I plastered my face against the window, watching all the guards go by on patrol. Since Zane had been kidnapped, all the security was amped up, with little room for any more freedom. Along with the security, I hardly ever saw Drew anymore. He was always so busy trying to keep the pack safe, not that it mattered. After hearing his ultimatum about sacrificing my mom if needed, I couldn’t bear the thought of even talking to him. I felt jolts of pain from my palms, and relaxed my tense fists.

Heaving a sigh, I pulled myself away from the windows and decided to get something to eat. All this stress wasn’t good for my body, and starving myself wasn’t going to help. I walked out of my room and towards the stairs, hearing other pack members chatting downstairs. Slowly, I descended.

For some reason unknown to me, I felt nervous. I didn’t want to face them, to see their accusing stares. After all, it was all my fault that this was happening. My mother was the one who died, and my friend was the one who got kidnapped because of me. I was the sole reason this pack was in trouble. Gulping, I continued down the stairs quietly. Reaching the bottom, I ducked my head down and went into the kitchen. I could feel the stares of all the pack members on me. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea coming down here.

“What are you doing down here?” I heard a shrill voice exclaim. Immediately, my mind registered it as the all too famous Dana.

“Why are you even putting us through all this shit? Do you even understand what you’re doing? Some Luna you are, putting us all in danger and locking yourself up in your room while we danger our lives trying to protect you,” She sneered, glaring at me with such hate that I could feel her eyes slicing at me.

My stomach heaved in pain. I felt so nauseous that it was unbearable. The guilt of everything was eating me alive. How could I put everyone through this?

Blinking back tears, I ducked my head down in defeat.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, before bolting back up the stairs and away from everyone’s judging stares.

Locking my door, I collapsed onto the bed. I needed to do something before anyone else could get hurt.

No, I can’t do this anymore, I thought. It was time for me to start figuring things out so that I could save this pack from being ruined by some killer.

A sudden idea popped into my head. Running to my mother’s room, I dropped to my knees in front of the bedside drawer and opened it. Fiddling around, my fingers grasped a frayed book, bound with leather and a large brass knuckle. I pulled it out, and held it in both of my hands. Carefully, I traced the letters of my mother’s name that was stitched into the leather, each glowing as I did so. The buckle clicked, and I pulled it apart, opening the book.

I had found this years ago when I’d been snooping around in my parents’ room. At first, I was absolutely clueless on how to open it, until my mom told me that tracing over the letters is how the lock unbuckled. However, that was as far as we got in the book, because after it opened, my mom told me she would show me when I was old enough to.

I guess it was finally time to see what was inside this book, and hopefully, it would help me get closer to my mom.

I flipped open to the first page. Inside, scribbled in sharp, swift curves were notes my mother had written. They all dated back to a few years after I was born. I noticed that the writing was hastily written and deep, almost as if my mom had written quickly and angrily, the marks of her letters pressing deep into the paper. But what was it that she was so angry about?

I clutched the book in my palms and rested it onto my lap. My eyes skimmed over all the words quickly, trying to absorb as much of my mother’s thoughts.

As I neared the end of the book, a passage caught my eye.

December 12, 1996

I tried my best to follow the bastard into the forest. He took an old, rocky path towards the underbrush. I saw him open a latch that was hidden underneath a pile of leaves and dirt and climb inside. I wanted to sneak further and see where he’d gone, but I knew it would be too dangerous. Instead, I just retracted back, and memorized the address. I knew it had to be where they were staying. The location was very remote, far from any public roads. The nearest road was Blueridge lane, in the forest adjacent to it. I left scratched markings into the trees near it so that I could find my way back again, to finally expose them.  The marks were subtle enough to not be noticed by any of the men, but I would still be able to see them. I would finally get those bastards. I know where they are, and they won’t be safe for long.

I turned to the next page, but it was blank. So were the rest of them. Shaking my head, I flipped back over to the passage. Blueridge Lane was a quarter of a mile away from the pack house. I’d been over there a few times, when I wanted to get a quick run in before anyone could notice. I never went into the forest adjacent to it though, I always stayed on the left side of the road, in pack territory. The opposite side was free land.

I shut the book abruptly and placed it back into the drawer. A defiant smirk appeared on my face. I knew what I had to do. No longer would I be the defenseless little luna that would put my pack in danger. Hell no. I was going to save this pack, even if it meant risking my life. Mom would be proud.

Chapter 23

 

 

By no means was this gonna be easy, I thought, looking at the guards patrolling around the house. Along with protecting the house from intruders, the guards were also keeping people inside, including me. How was I ever going to get out?

I paced the room angrily, thinking of ways to escape without being detected.

“Wait,” I said to myself, “I’m the LUNA, I can say anything I want and the guards have to obey, right?” Smirking, I grabbed my backpack filled with a change of clothes and a survival kit. If I was going to find my mom, it would best to be prepared for anything.

I snuck down the stairs and to the door as quietly as possible. Stepping outside, I was immediately met with a pair of guards on either side of the door.

“Hi guys. I just wanted to tell you that Alpha Drew needs you to switch with the guards in the back immediately. He thinks there’s a better chance that if anyone comes to attack us, it’ll be from the forest in the backyard, since that’s where, you know, Zane disappeared. He wants his two best guards on duty back there.” I smiled at them, hoping they couldn’t detect my lie.

“Uh, are you sure Luna? Maybe I should confirm with Alpha Drew-“

“No!” I said a little too forcefully. I coughed nervously, “no, I mean, he’s very busy and really stressed right now with all this. He just told me to tell you guys to switch, no questions asked. You don’t want to upset Alpha Drew at a time like this, do you?” I prompted.

“N-no luna. Okay we’ll rotate positions, effective immediately.” He saluted me, to which I nodded and stepped back inside the door.

I watched them leave their positions by the door and walk around the house towards the backyard. When the coast seemed clear, I grabbed the backpack I’d hidden behind the plants and sprinted out the door.

When it seemed I was far enough from the house, I hid behind a tree in the forest and stripped. Transforming into my wolf, I hitched my backpack on, with much difficulty might I add, and sprinted in the direction of the woods my mom had written about.

It’d been so long since I’d transformed into my wolf. My paws padded against the forest floor, kicking back dirt with each leap. My fur could feel the wind pass through, and my body felt alive with adrenaline. This feeling was something I dearly missed ever since the whole incident and being unfortunately trapped in the house. I needed to get this all sorted out, for the sake of my Mom, Zane, and my sanity.

I slowed to a stop when I reached the street my mom had written in the book: Blue Ridge Lane. I looked across it, to the forest on the other side.

My fur stood on end as I stared at the swirls of branches, vines, and leaves. Somewhere, in that mess of the woods, could possibly hold my mother after all these years.

I decided it was best to stay in wolf form than to shift. If someone were to come out of the woods and see me there, at least my wolf would be strong enough to fight them off, not to mention the fact that I’d be able to sense them better in wolf form than to be vulnerable in human form.

Looking both ways to check for cars, I ran across the street and into the forest. I felt the bond of pack line travel across my body, almost like I was exiting out of a bubble; a bubble that could keep me safe from whatever was beyond.

I snuffed my snout, which was equivalent to me scoffing at myself if I were in human form. Now was not the time to chicken out. I was so close to finding my mom, getting Zane, and putting this dangerous business down once and for all. It really was not the time to back down.

Continuing on, I padded my paws slowly on the dirt, hoping to keep a low profile as I searched the trees for the markings my mom had put up. Smart one, she was. If it weren’t for these markings, who knows how long it would take for me to find her!

I found the first marking a little ways off from where I entered the forest. It was on a relatively old looking tree. The mark had some horizontal scratched lines with a single diagonal line slashing through. It looked a lot like a group of tally marks. Clever, since nobody would really notice a bunch of random scratches unless they looked real close. Looking further, I spotted the same marking on another tree.

Continuing forward, I passed tree by tree, all with the same markings, until I found a slightly different version of the marking. On this mark, there were two diagonal lines running through the horizontal ones. I looked around, trying to see if there were any other trees in the vicinity that had the same marks, but there were none.

This must be it, I thought. The hideout must be around here somewhere.

Taking a quick look around me, I tried to focus on any disturbed terrain. Several feet to my left, I noticed that the dirt looked more like mud, a sure sign that it’d been kicked up by the traffic of feet. Their constant movements allowed moistened, fresh dirt underneath to rise up.

I approached the area slowly, looking for a sign of a trap door or something. Getting closer, I noticed a steel handle peaking up from underneath some leaves. Luckily for me, it seemed like it wasn’t locked. I shifted back into my human form, grabbing some clothes from my backpack to clothe myself. Standing back up on two feet, I walked over to the door and reached for the handle.

With a hard yank, the entrance opened, revealing a dark, dusty hole with a ladder against one of the walls.

I turned around, and descended into the hole, dropping my right leg onto a rung, then the left, then the right again till I was down enough to grab the rungs with my hands. I continued my descent, until I hung my leg down to touch the floor rather than another rung.

I turned around, inspecting the tunnel before me. It was completely dark, so I fished out my flashlight from my backpack. The light exposed the concrete walls and an endless tunnel before me.

My footsteps echoed as they hit the concrete floor beneath me. I continued on, in search for some sort of exit.

Finally I reached a dead end, with a ladder against the wall. This must be the exit, I thought.

I turned off the flashlight and tucked it back in my bag. After climbing the ladder slowly, I reached the door above me. I opened the latch quietly, and it gave away with a click.

Pushing the door open a crack, I surveyed the surroundings. As I peeked my eyes out, I saw that I was in some clearing, with a wooden lodge several feet away from me. Nobody seemed to be outside, so I took the initiative to open the door further and climb out. I sneaked around, using trees to cover myself as I inched closer to the house.

Just as I was a few feet away, I felt the barrel of a gun against my head. My eyes went wide and my body turned stiff.

“Don’t move,” came a gravelly voice. One I recognized. One I’d grown to love.

“Zane?”

 

Chapter 24

 

 

Of all the times I’ve wanted my life to be over, this had to be the worst.

My knees were scraped up, and my ankle felt like it was twisted. My wrists were handcuffed to a steel rod of the metal cage I was in at the moment, and my head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.

I surveyed my surroundings with as much accuracy as I could, considering the only light came from a small old fashioned oil lantern that stood several feet away on a wooden crate.

The place I was in was dark and damp. There was a strong smell of earth, which confirmed my theory about this being a basement or cellar of some sort. It was relatively empty, except for the cage I was in. To my left, were a few more similar cages, though these were empty, and a shiver went up my spine. I really hoped that they were empty because of a lack of prisoners, not that they’d finished them off or something.

Gulping, I looked over to my right. I noticed a staircase a few feet away, facing towards me.

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed down them, as slowly feet emerged from my vantage point, then legs, then a torso, until a very familiar head surfaced in front of my eyes.

Zane walked down stiffly, crossing the few feet between the stairs and my cage and stopping just before me. He stood there, staring at the wall above me. I moved my eyes down his body, to his right hip – which I now noticed, was sporting a handgun nestled behind the waistband of his jeans.

“Zane,” I whispered, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. He only looked at me, his face blank before turning away. However, in the few seconds that he did look, I saw a familiar spark in his eyes. Something told me he wasn’t the bad guy I thought he was. Call me crazy, but I trusted my gut on this.

“Did they put you up to this?” I whispered, scared that someone might overhear me. That was probably unlikely though, seeing as the only people in here were me and Zane.

He looked at me again, his face softening for a second, before he snapped out of it and looked straight ahead.

“Zane,” I tried again, trying to sit up a bit. It was difficult, considering my hands were locked up, but I used them to my advantage, pulling my hands out a bit and grabbing the rod in between them as hard as I could to scoot myself up.

He glanced at me, timidly this time, before looking at the stairs. A glimmer of hope rose up in me. I just needed to break his resolve a bit more if I wanted a chance out of this hell.

“Zane, talk to me. Please!” I begged, a few tears spilling from my eyes.

He sighed, turning over to me and walking close to my cage cell.

“Arianna, I’m sorry. I have to do this. You don’t understand, they – they have my sister. “He hung his head down in shame.

I recoiled, shocked by the sudden news. Zane had a sister? And she was apparently here, being held against her will? My mind suddenly flashed back to what he’d said before the whole sister revelation, and my body froze.

“Do what Zane! Do what!?” I whispered harshly. The worst possible scenarios came into my head: me being shot, me being strangled, me being beaten up. Basically, my death. It chilled my bones.

“Are – are you going to kill me?” I wasted no time cutting to the chase. If I was gonna die, I sure as hell needed to know now, if I had any wish in figuring out a plan to get out, alive that is.

“I’m sorry,” he spoke softly, his head cocked to the side in pity. Dread filled me immediately. His apology was evidence enough. I was gonna die, and by his hand.

My resolve broke, as I slumped once more to the ground. This time, I let myself stay that way, watching as Zane looked over at her in morose.

A month or so ago, if I’d been in this exact situation, I would’ve accepted death gladly. My heart was just as torn as my family, and all I could see as an escape, was death. Albeit a selfish one, I just wanted to leave the world behind.

But now, as I looked at how much had changed since then, I wanted to cry out loud. It wasn’t fair. I escaped my horrible life and found hope in the form of Drew, and now I was being finished off after finding a glimmer of happiness.

My mind was reeling, as thoughts of Drew, my family, my baby brother filled it. I had so much to lose. A while back, I would’ve just seen my pain, but now, there was so much I needed to experience. There were people who needed me and I them. I couldn’t let this happen to me.

A twist of a doorknob interrupted my thoughts, as a heavy set of footsteps echoed down the stairs, followed by a pair of timid ones.

A man whom I didn’t recognize came down the stairs, with a young girl. His hand was wrapped roughly around her forearm, pulling her along with force.

Zane’s body shook so hard I could see it from inside the cell. Not that I was judging, considering I was at the same level as him on the nervous factor.

“Have you had enough time to think?” He laughed menacingly, smirking in Zane’s direction, before sliding his creepy eyes over to me.

“Or, do you need,” he continued, “some motivation?” He laughed again, a sinister one in which each chuckle reverberated in the dark dungeon.

He threw the girl down at Zane’s feet, watching humorously as they both hugged each other and cried.

“Zane, Zane please don’t let them hurt me!” The girl, who I assumed was his sister, cried out.

“I won’t, I promise!” He replied back, wiping her tears away and hugging her tightly.

I wanted to cry. There was no way Zane was willing to kill me. But if it meant his sister would be free, he’d do it in a heartbeat. I really had no hope left, as I watched the two siblings reconnect after what seemed like forever.

Zane’s sister looked to be around 14 or so, with the same brown hair as Zane, but was longer and straighter than his. Her eyes, however, were a light brown, almost translucent. She was a beautiful young girl, but had been through a traumatic hell.

My heart went out to the girl. She deserved to get out of this more than I did, considering I walked into my situation, but it was more than likely that she was kidnapped into hers.

Suddenly, the guy looked up, his eyes glazing over for a few minutes. I knew that look. He was talking to someone via mindlink.

Taking two strides with his ginormous legs, he grabbed the young girl by her arm, and started pulling her away.

Zane made a move to grab her, but he just looked at him with those fierce eyes and he backed off immediately.

The man walked a few steps, before his eyes glazed over again. When they focused again, he stood there, as the door to the place opened at the top of the steps.

Small footsteps echoed down, as what I presume was a woman, entered in. Her head was bent down, and her long dark hair blocked any view of her face.

She walked over to the man and stood in front of him.

“Look up,” he barked at the woman.

On command, she raised her head slowly, and my heart felt like it skipped a beat.

“Mom?”

My heart thudded in my chest so loud I’m sure everyone in the room heard it. The woman’s head snapped over to me, her light brown eyes looking at mine.

 She looked bone thin. The sorry excuse for a dress that covered her body looked like rags haphazardly sewn together and passed off as clothing. Her face was taut, and her cheeks were nonexistent, evidence of severe malnourishment. The hair I once envied now lay limp against her pale skin. She looked like a ghost of my mother, but I knew it was her, here in the flesh.

 Tears poured out of my eyes, as what I only hoped to be true had just become a reality. When I first heard that my mother might be alive, the optimistic side of me was hell bent on finding her. The other, more realistic side, knew it was a long shot.

To think that my optimistic side, for once , won was the greatest shock of my life.

 The man laughed, interrupting the shock my body was experiencing at the moment. Out of nowhere, he swung his arm, hitting my mom across the face so hard she fell onto the cement floor.

“NO!” I cried out, yanking the handcuffs so hard they were drawing blood on my wrists.

She fell to the floor hard, cupping her face where he’d hit her.

“That’ll teach you to defy my orders,” he bit out, kicking my mom for good measure.

Tears kept flowing out as my blood pressure rose. The son of a bitch had the nerve to hit my mom!?

I yanked so hard on the handcuffs that my wrists started bleeding even more profusely. An inhuman snarl raised to my throat, shaking the room with its power.

The man who’d hit my mom even seemed a bit surprised, but recovered quickly. He yanked her off the ground and stood her up. Releasing Zane’s sister, he put her in my mother’s hands and gave her a push towards the stairs.

With one smirk, the man looked back over at me and spit in my direction. The spit didn’t even land close to my cage, but I was still seeing red. My body emitted another growl, so guttural that it literally shook the place.

The man’s smirk disappeared as he gave me one last snarl before running up the stairs.

My thoughts flashed back to my mom, and how scared she must’ve felt when he hit her. The blood in my body began to boil again as I thought of the bad man’s grimy hands hurting my mother.

But despite what that horrible man did, I was still in a state of shock. My mother was actually alive! My mind didn’t want to accept it, but it was there. Plain and simple. My mother was alive! How she was, I don’t know. But the fact that she was made me so incredibly happy that I almost forgot the situation I was in.

“I’m sorry to have to do this Arianna,” Zane said quietly, breaking the silence. I wanted to lash out at him for interrupting my thoughts and reminding me of my dire situation.

I didn’t even look at him. I just stared outside the cell, my jaw clenching. This was how I was gonna die: by my friend’s hands, after just seeing my mother, and my mate not knowing a thing about it.

Drew! I had completely forgotten the fact that I could communicate with him to help me!

I tried to speak through to him via mindlink, but I couldn’t reach him.

Zane saw me trying and gave me a frown.

“It’s no use Arianna. They’ve drugged you. You can’t shift, or communicate with anyone. They did the same to me.”

I wanted to scream in frustration, but instead I just looked down at the ground.

As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, Drew had no connection to me whatsoever. A part of me hoped that Drew would notice I was gone, and try to find me. He was my only hope of getting out of this alive.

‘Drew,’ I thought silently, ‘Where are you?’

Chapter 25

 

 

Exhausted. That’s what Drew felt when he cracked his knuckles, his neck, and his back before getting up from his desk.

The entire day consisted of monitoring border patrols, checking security protocol, and dealing with alphas in neighboring territories of the danger lurking around.

He didn’t even have time to see his mate. A smile appeared on Drew’s face at the thought of snuggling against Ari as he slept.

Groaning slightly, Drew walked up the stairs, grateful to hear the silence of the pack house as everyone slept. He’d done his job, and he was ready to call it a night.

Stepping through the door of his room, he was surprised when it was found empty. He looked over to the bathroom, but it was empty also, as was the closets.

A strange feeling began to grow in his chest. Panic, he assumed, as he ran down the hallway to Ari’s best friend’s room.

Knocking loudly against the door, he waited for someone to open it, hoping Arianna was just spending some time with Melanie.

“Alpha?” A groggy looking Melanie answered.

“Melanie, have you seen Arianna?”

“What? No? Isn’t she in your room?” She seemed to wake up a little more at his question. Drew heard another pair of footsteps and soon Melanie’s mate showed up at the door as well.

“What’s wrong alpha?” Jake asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Arianna’s not here?” Drew questioned, hoping she was just somewhere in the house.

“No alpha. She’s been in your room all day,” he replied.

A sinking feeling grew in his gut, as his suspicions were confirmed.

“I need you guys to assemble everyone from the pack now! Get everyone in the main area and tell them it’s urgent!”

He left them abruptly, and raced down the stairs to his office.

Drew tried using his mindlink, but it seemed blocked, like something was preventing her from communicating.

He called the neighboring packs, hoping that someone had spotted her in their pack grounds, but nobody had seen her.

Slamming the phone down angrily, he began pacing the room, his nails extending to claws as he threatened to shift right there and tear the place apart looking for his mate.

Breathing in through his nose and exhaling, he calmed himself down slightly.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to him.

Running up the stairs, he walked into the room, hoping there was any clue that could tell him where she would’ve gone. Drew had a feeling she wasn’t kidnapped, and that maybe she was trying to find her mom. If that were the case, she would’ve left some clue behind.

He rifled through drawers, and looked through her things, but nothing seemed to jump out at him. Drew walked over to the bedside table and pulled the top drawer open: nothing. He then moved to the bottom drawer, which slid out, revealing an ancient looking book. There was no guarantee that this book would have what he was looking for, but considering the way it was hidden, it was worth a shot. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know how to open it, but he knew who did.

Drew rushed down the stairs, the book clutched in his hands.

 “Thank you all for coming at this hour. I know it’s late, but my mate is missing. She’s not anywhere in this house. If any of you have any information about where she could be, you need to tell me right now. Her life could be in serious danger!” He felt his wolf bristle, and had to take a second to calm himself down.

Turning over to his parents, who were seated on the couch, he took the book out from underneath his arm.

“Mom, Dad, do you know how to open this book? I found it hidden in our room,” he asked, praying that they knew how to unlock the damn thing.

“I know how,” a gravelly voice came out.

Looking to his left, Drew spotted Arianna’s father and a disgusted scowl appeared on his face. He knew what the man had done to Arianna, but it seemed like he was really trying to make things better between them. Drew tried his best to keep a scowl from turning up on his face, and tried to relax.

Drew sighed, knowing that his hatred of the man would have to be put aside if it meant finding Arianna.

He handed the book over to the man, who traced the words on the book, as they glowed respectively. The book’s lock clicked, and he cracked the book open.

Drew grabbed it hastily, rifling through the pages before he came upon the last entry. The address wasn’t too far from here, and if he knew Arianna, she was as stubborn as a bull. If it meant finding her mother and rescuing Zane, she would do it.

Slamming the book shut, he got up and began ordering the guards to watch the others. He then commanded a few of them to come with him.

Drew ran out of the house and shifted, leaping down on the ground and running full speed towards the destination. His nose sniffed out faint traces of Arianna’s scent, and that propelled him further. He was getting closer to his mate.

They arrived at the road, looking at the forest on the other side.

Drew shifted back, and one of the guards handed him a change of clothes.

“I want you guys to stay here. I’ll go alone, and if I don’t return in an hour, come after me,” he ordered, opening the book and studying what it said.

He had to find some markings on trees and that would lead him to these “bad guys” Arianna’s mom spoke of.

They had to be the notorious rogue gang that has been rumored to hunt lone wolves and force them into their pack. They’re notorious for keeping prisoners and kidnapping women to serve them as slaves. Nobody’s really seen them, considering whoever has are turned into prisoners or worse, killed.

Nobody knows what they really do. They seem to enjoy torturing wolves like sadists.

Brushing those thoughts aside, Drew confirmed his orders to the guards, before crossing the road to the other side of the forest.

“Damn, where are these stupid markings?” Drew cursed, looking left and right for some type of marking.

He tried to recall what the book had said, which unfortunately was left with the guards right now. His mind tried to remember any sort of drawing that was in the book but he came up blank.

Concentrating on a different goal instead, he mind linked his guards and asked them to look through it.

A reply came back quickly, as they told him about a small drawing that was etched in the beginning of the book. It looked like the tally marks when you hit five and cross one through it, except instead of 4 vertical lines and a diagonal through it, it was 4 horizontal lines with a diagonal slash through it.

He quickly thanked them and ventured forward, noticing a few trees with the same marks.

Not too long after that, he found what seemed to be the last marking, considering it had two diagonal lines through it this time, instead of one.

He looked around the ground, trying to spot the shiny metal latch door that Arianna’s mother had described.

Several feet away, he saw the distinct shine of metal reflecting the moon above him.

Drew ran toward it, yanking it up with some force before jumping inside. His long legs helped to climb down the ladder efficiently. When he reached the bottom, he saw the dimly lit hallway and ventured down it.

The entire time, Drew was mystified. These rogues were clearly a force to be reckoned with, considering they built such an elaborate scheme for their headquarters, kidnapped a pack member, his mate, and who knows who else? Fortunately, these thoughts only fueled Drew’s figurative fire, and he trenched on, his ambitions to find his mate being at the forefront of his mind.

Eventually, he reached the dead end and climbed up another ladder, which was slightly difficult, considering the light had ended down in the hallway underneath him.

Though eventually, he got to the top and cracked the door above him open slightly, surveying the surroundings. His nose smelled faint traces of his mate, and his wolf yipped inside. He was close.

Unfortunately, Drew saw a few guards patrolling a log cabin of sorts, and judging by their muscles, would not be an easy defeat.

Drew puffed in air, rising his chest. His mate was in there, and he was a damn alpha! He could defeat these clowns easily with the right motivation, and his missing Luna fits the bill.

When the guards turned to survey the outer perimeter, Drew took his chance, opening the latch as quietly as possible and climbing out, running towards a few trees nearby.

The rustle caused the guards to look over at the latch, which had unfortunately been left open.

They ran over to it, keeping a loose hold on the guns holstered on their right side.

‘Damn,’ Drew thought, as he saw the guns. ‘This is gonna be harder than I thought.’

He ignored his thoughts and analyzed the situation. If they peered into the latch, he could blindside them with ease, and use their bodies against them.

It was his safest bet, and it was one he was willing to take.

Drew ran out from behind his trees and jumped at them, using his muscular arms to knock the two men into one another. One stumbled down, his body falling into the opening with a loud thud. The other scrambled down, his body half on the ground, half hovering over the opening as well.

Drew took his vulnerability to his advantage, grabbing the gun from its holster and pointing it at the man.

“Say anything and I’ll shoot your brains out,” he seethed, gritting his teeth and clenching the gun harder in his hand.

The man nodded.

Grabbing the man’s shirt, Drew yanked him over to the ground a few feet away from the opening that he’d come from a few minutes ago. Locating a bit of rope that happened to be lying beside the cabin, he grabbed it while still pointing the gun at the man.

He quickly tied the man’s hands, which proved hard to do with a gun in his hand. But once it was accomplished, he put the gun down and dragged the man to the nearest tree, and wrapped the rest of the rope around his torso and the tree, effectively trapping him.

Drew picked up the gun again, and checked the round. A satisfied smirk appeared on his face, as 6 bullets gleamed back at him. He threw a look at the guard tied to the tree, and ran towards the log house, the gun held at his side.

He surveyed the inside of the cabin, noticing that it was strangely empty. A few laughs emerged from a place farther inside the cabin. Quickly, Drew pulled the weapon in front of him, pointing it as he traveled inside the cabin. He heard the laughter die out, as a chair scraped the floor.

Drew gulped, quickly ducking into a hallway as he heard heavy footsteps approach the front door.

A man similar to the guy outside passed him. Drew took advantage of his back to him and knocked his head with the side of his gun. The man swayed slightly, and Drew tucked his gun into the waistband of his jeans, catching him before he could make any noise of his fall.

Dragging him to the side, Drew moved inwards, and hid in another hallway.

“Reggie, where you at?” He heard an amused voice ring out.

The voice came from a dining area, which Drew could only partially see as his view was obstructed by a wall.

“Reggie?” The voice grew serious. He heard large footsteps echo out, and soon a man dressed similarly as the guy Drew’d knocked out appeared at the entrance of the dining room.

He walked closer to Drew, still unaware of his presence. Using the element of surprise, he stuck a foot out, effectively tripping the large man.

“What the fu-“the man groaned from the ground, but was interrupted by a blinding pain to his head. His moaning stopped, as he lay unconscious on the floor.

Drew stood over the man, and brushed his knuckles against his shirt. They hurt like hell connecting with the guy’s skull, but he had worse things to worry about.

Walking away swiftly, he approached another entrance, this one leading to a large living room area. There were a couple of guys sitting around there, but they seemed too entranced with a videogame they were playing on the television. A few others were sitting on the couch, a few lines of powder lying before them on the coffee table, as they rolled up dollar bills and stuck them down towards the powder. They snorted the drugs up, and exhaled pleasantly.

Drew, albeit his disgust at their behavior, presumed they were no real threat, and ducked behind a corner. Judging his next move, he decided to use his nose to direct him to Arianna.

He sniffed, locating a faint trace of Ari’s scent leading away from the living room. He followed it closely, weaving down two other hallways until he came upon a crossroads. There was a door right across from him, and the scent of Arianna grew stronger.

Before he could get inside, however, he had to break down a plan. Clearly it had to be a basement of some sort, considering he could smell earth and heavy concrete mixed with Arianna’s scent. He also detected a small hint of blood, and his own began to boil. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his nerves, hoping to think a bit clearly. At this point in the journey, he couldn’t afford to get caught. Arianna’s life was at stake, and his mate was counting on him.

Drew found it kind of surprising that the other guard wolves didn’t seem to notice him. But then again, the ones snorting crack couldn’t possibly fathom their own smells, let alone his. And the ones who were playing videogames? Yeah right. Guys don’t hear bombs going off when they’re in the middle of an intense game. For once in his life, he was glad that men were idiots.

Putting those thoughts aside, he decided that it was best to wait until he sniffed if anyone else was in there. If there wasn’t, he would go in. If there was, he’d have to wait.

The plan wasn’t bulletproof, but it was all he could come up with at the moment, and he was going with it.  Drew sniffed the air, detecting faint traces of Arianna, mixed with someone familiar, someone from the pack. He sniffed again, and his brain connected the smell immediately. It was Zane’s familiar scent. Taking another whiff, he detected lingering smells of unknown origin, most likely guards, but the smell was too light. They probably weren’t inside.

Taking a deep breath, he scanned the hallways to make sure nobody was around. Satisfied, he crossed the span of the way from his hiding place to the door and opened it.

The door was, thankfully, not squeaky, and opened smoothly. He crept inside and shut the door behind him.

Drew tried his best at tip toeing down the stairs, but it proved a little difficult, considering his weight and build. He was strong and lean, and no doubt, muscled. But for once, that didn’t help in his situation.

Still, he tried to get down as quietly as he could, in case he miscalculated and another guard was inside to finish him off the minute he got in. He was halfway down when he heard the unmistakable cry of his mate.

He heard her weep softly, and by impulse, his wolf rose to the surface. Instead of tip toeing like he was supposed to, his wolf forced on with speed, running down the stairs in a frightening pace till he was at the bottom.

A growl rose to his throat when he connected eyes with Arianna. She was trapped in a cage, locked to one of the bars with handcuffs. Her body looked dirty and her clothes were slightly tattered. Despite all that, his willpower rose when he looked into her beautiful brown eyes, so frightened, yet a sparkle bouncing to the surface when she saw him.

He ran over to her and rattled the cage with insane strength, looking everywhere to find a way to unlock it. Unfortunately, the stupid cage was too damn strong for him to rip out and the lock needed a key.

“Drew, Drew, help me please,” Ari cried out, tears spilling from her eyes as she struggled against the handcuffs.

He saw her tears and a blind rage filled him. His knuckles turned ghostly white as he gripped the bars and rattled them with a fierce strength, but they hardly budged.

Drew was too fixated on trying to rip the bars out that he didn’t see his mate’s frightened expression.

Suddenly, something pushed against his head and his rattling stopped.

“Don’t even try it,” came a voice behind him. Unfortunately, he knew this one all too well.

“What the hell are you doing Zane?” He whispered harshly as he felt the barrel of the gun dig deeper into his head. He felt a hand grip the gun that was in his waistband and pull it out. Drew’s nervousness went up twelve notches, as he realized he was now unarmed against Zane.

“Coming here was a mistake. Now I’ll have to kill both of you,” Zane growled, though Drew noticed an underlying fear in his threat.

Drew breathed slightly, calming his wolf. An idea came to his head.

“Why Zane?” Drew calmly asked. His brain went into Alpha mode, and he knew that the best way to deal with Zane now was to try and reason with him. What he’d heard when Zane had made that threat was an obvious hesitation. Something about killing him was terrifying Zane, and he was going to use his fear to his advantage.

“Shut up!” Zane roared, though his voice shook slightly. “I’m the one talking here!”

Drew felt the barrel of the gun twitch slightly against his head, and realized it was Zane’s shaky hand that was behind it.

Locking eyes with his mate, he tried to communicate an ‘it’s okay’ through his mindlink, but it didn’t seem to work. He then used his eyes, praying that it would get across.

He saw Arianna blink at him and soften her eyes, a small twitch at the end of her mouth.

That was all he needed to see. For some reason, she couldn’t hear him through mindlink, and he had a feeling that there may have been some drugging involved. Drew tried to not let that anger his wolf, but he felt his blood pressure rise nonetheless. Closing his eyes, he steadied the wolf before continuing.

“Sorry,” he murmured, trying to play victim. Drew had to make Zane let his guard down if he wanted to escape, and being submissive to him was what he had to do. However, it was proving hard to considering his alpha status. They submitted to nobody but their parents.

“Just – Just move over there,” he barked out, pushing the gun against his head.

Drew held up his hands and followed his direction, moving slightly to the right, away from Ari.

Zane pushed him with his free hand, causing Drew to bite back a growl. He was really not used to being pushed around.

Zane had led them to a rusty looking metal chair in the corner and made him sit down in it. Keeping the gun to his head, he looked up at the wall for a minute before looking down at him.

“I’ve sent some people to come watch over you,” he stated, “so don’t you dare think of moving or I’ll blow your brains out!”

“Okay, okay,” Drew complied, praying that it wouldn’t have to come to that. He glanced over at Arianna, who was sitting straight up, looking at him with a worried expression. He gave her a small smile, but it did nothing to ease her tension.

A few seconds later, he heard the distinct sound of footsteps echoing down the stairs, as a large man walked over. He glanced furtively at Arianna, before dismissing her and walking straight over to Drew.

He put a large hand on Drew’s shoulder, patting it slightly.

“Wow Mr. Alpha. You’ll get a VIP viewing of your mate’s brains being blown out, courtesy of us,” he laughed chillingly, taking his gun out of his holster and pointing it at the side of his head.

Zane walked away, sending an apologetic look over to Drew.

Drew used all his resolve not to shift into his wolf and rip Zane to shreds. Trying to get revenge on the backstabber would just result in his death and then Arianna’s.

He just sent a murderous glare back and clenched his jaw, before shifting his eyes back to his mate.

Another set of footsteps echoed around the dirty walls, as another man stepped in. He was dressed head to toe in camo, strapped with guns on both hips and a large caliber gun strap slung diagonally on his chest, the gun itself resting on his back.

His hair was trimmed to a buzz cut, and a large jagged scar rested just above his left eyebrow and traced down to his eyelid. A menacing grin stretched across his face as he stared at Arianna and then over to Drew. He noticed Zane and the guard holding the gun on his head nod their heads slightly at the man.

“Well, well, what do we have here? Romeo and Juliet, huh?” He roared with laughter, it’s chilling depth echoing off the walls and hitting Drew straight in the gut. The man was definitely the boss in charge, and he didn’t look like he was an easy one to kill.

Stepping over to the cage, he crossed his arms, his biceps bulging out of the camo shirt he was wearing. The man looked like he ate steroids for breakfast.

“I feel bad, really. You’re such a delicious piece,” he said slyly, looking Arianna up and down while he licked his lips. Drew growled ferociously, his vision turning red. The man just smirked at him, and turned his attention back to Arianna.

“Such a shame you can’t join your mother,” he continued, casting a smirk over to Arianna.

Arianna did her best not to sob at the man in front of her, but a few traitorous tears leaked out anyway. The man that she’d seen before didn’t scare her half as much as the man before her now.

“Please, you can’t do this,” she begged, her voice shaking.

“Please,” she whispered, her heart breaking as the man just stared at her, before turning away and laughing slightly.

“Let’s go Zane. Finish her off if you ever want to see your sister alive. Oh, and then get Romeo over there so we have no loose ends.” His laughter chilled Drew’s bones, as he saw Zane quiver before the man. He nodded slightly, slinking over to Arianna’s cage slowly.

‘Damn it!’ Drew thought, realizing that Zane was doing this for his estranged sister. There was no way they could get through this, not if Zane was fighting for something just as hard as he was. He felt his resolve break, as Zane pulled his gun out and held it on his side.

The room is still as Zane inches the gun up toward Arianna, who is huddled in the cage, sobbing hysterically and pleading with Zane.

Zane points his gun toward Arianna, who cries even harder than before.

BOOM!

A shot rings out, as Drew stars in horror at his mate, but he sees she’s completely unharmed.

Standing next to Zane, the ring master of the whole group of rogues clutches at his chest, a large gaping hole resting just under his shoulder.

Drew gapes for a second, until he notices that the barrel of a gun isn’t resting on his temple anymore. He realizes in a flash that the guard is probably aiming it at Zane now.

Unfortunately, it’s too late. The guard has already shot Zane.

Drew watches in horror as Zane clutches at his chest, and slowly drops to the ground.

He shifts his eyes over to the guard and does something that surprises him. Grabbing ahold of the arm that’s extended out, he pushes it down, hearing a sickening crack as he assumes the man’s shoulder dislocates.

The man drops the gun, howling in pain. Drew kicks the guy’s shin, causing him to double over. Letting his wolf rise to the surface, Drew slashes the man with his grown claws, effectively ending the guy’s life. He lets his lifeless body sink to the floor and then switches his attention to Zane.

His body is resting on the floor, but he seems to still be breathing. Blood is sputtering out of his mouth, but another issue is pressing.

Drew looks over to the leader, who’s slumped to the floor, clutching the left side of his chest with his right hand as he scrambles to try and find his gun with his left.

Letting his anger control him, Drew runs over to him, swiping the gun the guard left on the ground.

He points it at the leader, and watches the man’s eyes grow in fear.

“P-please, don’t shoot,” the man sputters, blood trickling out of his mouth slightly.

“Shut up!” Drew roars, pointing the gun straight at his head.

The man shuts his eyes, pleading over and over.

“You’re going to FUCKING PAY for what you did!” Drew’s eyes bulge, his blood pumping furiously in his veins.

He drops the gun and shifts, landing on his paws right in front of the man.

Using his jaw, he grabs the man’s leg and throws him across the room. He’s happy to hear a crunch as his body connects with a wall. Fortunately for him, the man is still breathing. Drew launches himself at him again, ripping his arms off with his jaws and finally, slicing the man’s neck just like he did with the guard’s.

With a satisfied smirk, Drew is happy to see the man’s eyes loll back in his head, as what is left of his torso bleeds out.

He shifts back, and grabs the key ring that’s hanging from the pocket of the dead man’s jeans and rushes over to the cage.

He fumbles with a few keys before he finally finds the right one, opening the cage. He sifts through more keys until he finds the one that unlocks the handcuffs and releases Arianna.

She launches herself at him, too happy to care that he’s stark naked right now.

But the pleasantries end when they rush over to Zane, who’s still sputtering and holding his chest tightly.

Arianna puts her hands on his wound, while Drew runs over to the guard, taking his pants and slipping them on. He then pulls the man’s shirt off, which is soaked with blood, proving harder to take off.

With a bit of strength, he does pull it off, and tosses it over to Arianna, who replaces her hands with it, trying to stop the bleeding.

“Oh god Drew, what do we do!? I can’t hold him like this forever!” She screams, tears falling from her eyes and onto Zane below her.

“Let me mindlink the others- “he begins, before a series of footsteps hurtle down the stairs.

“No need to,” a shaky voice rings out. Drew and Arianna whip their heads over to the figure, and their eyes widen.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, is Arianna’s mom.

Behind her, Drew’s men come down, each of them holding their guns in front of them.

Arianna’s mother runs over to them and looks down at Zane.

“We need to get him upstairs. I’ll try my best to see what I can do,” she talks hurriedly.

Drew and Arianna are too shocked to really process what’s happening, so they go just along with what she says. A few of Drew’s guys hoist Zane up and they carry him upstairs.

As they pass through the hallway, Drew is surprised by the bloody mess before him. The upstairs looks just as bad as the basement, with the guards he’d seen previously in the living room now lying lifeless on the floor, blood soaking the carpet around them.

A guard notices Drew’s glance and speaks up.

“This woman here,” he nods to Arianna’s mom, “saw us outside. We followed your orders Alpha. It had been over an hour, so we followed your scent and came here. Then she helped us inside, and we blitz attacked these guys. Then she led us over to you guys.”

“Thank you,” Drew looks at the frail woman, Arianna’s mom, and nods gratefully. She gives him a small smile, but averts her eyes quickly back to Zane.

They lay him on the dining table, and Arianna watches her mom scurry out of the room. She comes back quickly, carrying a first aid kit, a pair of tweezers, hydrogen peroxide, and a few towels with her.

Arianna is too stunned at what’s going on to really focus on the fact that her mother is actually standing before her, in the flesh.

Arianna’s mother turns to look at them all, as she puts the supplies down on the table.

“Okay, let’s save him.”

 

 

Chapter 26

 

 

 

Leaves stirred on the ground as the wind picked up its pace, wrapping itself around my body. A shiver went up my spine, and I huddled my arms closer, staring out ahead.

The trees swayed innocently, almost like a well-choreographed dance, to the approaching wind. I closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh scent of it all, and exhaled slowly.

A hand touched my shoulder lightly. Drew appeared next to me, sliding his hand down to mine and clasping it softly.

“How is he?” I spoke after a while, still staring ahead, but contentedly grasping his hand like an anchor.

“He’s doing better,” he spoke quietly, but there was a hint of doubt.

“When can I see him?” I asked, casting a glance in his direction. His once handsome face was now worn thin, and a grim line graced his lips.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea-“

“Please,” I begged, facing him fully.

“It’s my fault and you know it. I need to see him, before-“I stopped myself, as a morose silence filled the air between us.

“Fine,” he said after some time, letting my hand go.

Giving him a thankful look with my eyes, I spun on my heels and ran inside and up the stairs till I got to Zane’s bedroom.

Opening the door hesitantly, I peered in, only to see an empty bed. Confused, I entered the room and glanced around for any sign of Zane.

My thoughts jumped to the pack doctor. Maybe she wanted Zane to change his dressings or something? That’s the only reason why he would be out of his bed, unless-

“Looking for me?” a voice called out from behind.

Spinning around, I came face to face with Zane, a small smile gracing his pale face.

“Zane!?” I whispered, tears springing to my eyes.

I ran at him, launching into a hug.

“You’re awake. Oh my god you’re awake!” I murmured over and over again into his chest.

“Yeah, I am, aren’t I?” he chuckled lightly.

I pulled away from him abruptly and frowned at him.

“You shouldn’t be up Zane. You need to lie down,” I instructed, pulling his arm till we reached the bed and guiding him to sit down on the mattress.

“Fine, mom, jeez,” he rolled his eyes, but chuckled. He winced a second later, clutching at the left of his chest. Almost as if a switch turned on, the gauze on it reminded him of the previous events, and an awkward silence filled the air.

“I’m really sorry Zane. This whole thing, it was my fault. I’m sorry –“ I was about to apologize more, but Zane stopped me.

“Ari, what’s done is done. And it wasn’t your fault. It was mine. You’re just blaming yourself to cover for the crippled guy,” he gave me a half-grin, before frowning again.

“What happened there should be forgotten,” he murmured, hanging his head slightly.

I sat down on the bed next to him and grabbed his hand.

“Whatever happened there was a miracle. We shouldn’t forget anything. What you did for me – us – I’ll never be able to repay,” I whispered, glancing at the covered wound on his chest, “but we can move on. It’ll take some effort, but we can figure out everything from here.”

A small smile fell on my lips, and I hoped to god that what I was saying would come true.

It had been two weeks since the incident. After my mom had fixed Zane as best as she could, he fell into a coma from the shock and hadn’t woken up since. We found our way back to the pack house and left him in the immediate care of the pack physician here, but he still stayed in that coma. We were beginning to lose any hope of him coming back, until now.

“I want you to meet someone,” I said softly.

Through mindlink, I told them to come in, and the door to the room opened softly.

The first face to come into view was my mother. She looked much healthier now, her skin was glowing and her dirty rags were replaced with fresh, new clothing. Every time I see her, a new wave of tears washes over me, but I always hold them back. There were no need for tears now, she was back with us, where she belonged.

Behind her, my dad stepped out, clutching my mother’s hand. Ever since that talk he’d had with me in their room, he’s been doing everything he possibly can to make it up to me. Even now, he admitted everything he’d done to me to my mother, and even though she was horrified at what he’d done, I did downgrade it a bit, mainly because my family was once whole again, and I didn’t want to jeopardize it any more than it needed to be. He did agree, however, to my mother’s rules that he was to make it up to me every day for the rest of his life and beyond.

My siblings stepped out behind him, Ethan holding Olivia – his fiancée’s – hand and carrying Sam in the other.

They came in and walked towards us, gracing gentle smiles at Zane.

“You’re the woman that saved me?” Zane asked, looking at my mother.

“Well we all did,” she smiled coyly, looking at my dad as a blush crept on her face. I smiled at the gesture.

“There’s someone else you should probably see,” I chuckled, pointing at the door.

A timid teenager walked in, glancing at the crowd, before her eyes fell on Zane. Her expression lifted, and she ran over to him, launching herself into a huge hug.

Both of them cried, as Zane smoothed her hair down and whispered softly in her ear. My eyes teared up themselves, and I glanced at my brothers in gratification.

“Everyone,” Zane began as they pulled apart, “this is my little sister, Michelle.”

She waved at us, before glancing down shyly.

The group began a bit of discussion with Michelle, who seemed to be growing more comfortable with my family and started exchanging a few words herself. I turned my attention to the left, where I saw Drew standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, watching the crowd.

I got up off the bed and walked over to him, grasping his now outstretched hand and letting him wrap me in his embrace.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” I whispered into his side as I looked at the crowd before us.

“We’re family, we’ll always find a way to stick together,” he answered, pulling me tighter to his side.

I glanced up at him and felt the strongest urge to kiss the man senseless. Stretching up on my tiptoes, I placed a small kiss on lips and smiled. He was right, we were family, and we were right where we belong.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.05.2012

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