Ayla’s POV
Huddled in my coat, I wait. The rain is pouring down, threatening to soak through my only protection from the biting cold. I knew it was going to happen tonight; I could feel it. I was unsure how I knew, I just knew, or what this odd feeling was. All I knew was it was going to happen tonight.
The sun had set about an hour ago, leaving the world in that odd in-between state. Not quite yet night, yet not entirely dark. I could still see clearly with my human eyes. There was no need to call my other half forward. No one knew I could already access my enhanced wolf hearing; it was one of the little things I could already do, and I wanted to keep it to myself.
I hated waiting. It seemed to be the only thing I did lately. Everyone else around me was so busy all the time, doing everything and anything they could to keep him happy. Goddess, even thinking about him infuriated me. Mason! His only reason to be on this earth was to torment me, to make my life a living hell. Not that anyone would believe me when I complained about his constant teasing and pranks. Goddess, he was annoying.
Mason is the Alpha's son. Most would call him my brother of sorts, but he’s not, not really. The Alpha and his Luna took me in when I was a baby. I know very little about that time or why I needed to be adopted, yet I live in the pack house with my so-called family. Alpha Michael was great. He was powerful but fair and had the perfect amount of kindness and understanding, making the whole pack love him. Shame that his eldest son wasn’t cut from the same cloth.
The wind picked up and blew the hood of my coat backwards, allowing an icy chill to go down my spine. I shiver, bringing my focus back to the here and now, no longer on the annoyance of my life.
Crouching down, I creep closer. I cannot get caught snooping. If I do, then there will be hell to pay. The elders and the Alpha of the Winter Moon Pack were gathering in the clearing ahead of me. I could see Michael approach the first elder. Michael looked every bit the Alpha I knew he was. Tall, around six foot six with broad shoulders. He was perfectly toned and lean, not an ounce of fat visible on him. His black hair, dusted with natural silver accents, was pulled back out of his eyes and secured at the nape of his neck. He looked amazing! No way did he look like a man pushing fifty.
Anticipation tickled the inside of my belly; I was nervous yet excited. Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I impatiently watch the group before me. My Auburn hair kept slipping out of my hood. It never stayed where I wanted it. It was as if it had a life of its own, unruly and often in a crazy frizzy state. I pushed it back inside my hood for the fifth time! Nothing was going to distract me from what the Alpha had to say.
"Arthur, thank you for coming at such short notice" Michael shook the hand of the older man.
“Not a problem, Michael; I’m happy to be included.”.
“Once everyone arrives, we will begin the meeting!” Michael informs him
“I must ask, why are we meeting here and not at the Packhouse like usual?” Arthur questioned.
“Some things need to be a little more private old friend, that is all” Arthur nods, seeming satisfied with this answer.
I watched as more of the elders entered the clearing. I had met most of them many times. All were kind to me, even though I was not originally a member of their pack. That was except for Moira. She has always hated me. Michael says it is all in my head, that Moira loves me, that she is just a little bit rougher around the edges than most. I scoffed at that thought, almost giving myself away. Werewolves have the most impeccable hearing; I should have known better than to make any noises around this lot.
I wouldn't have to wait very long; all the other council members had arrived. All seven, including Michael, were present.
"Can we please get on with this!" a prissy-sounding woman spoke up. Of course, it was Moira addressing the others. She had a way about her, making her seem more important than she was, not that she allowed anyone to know it. She felt she deserved a higher status within the pack being the only female elder on the council.
“Yes! we can start!” Michael's voice rang out.
Silence fell when he spoke in his alpha voice. All eyes were on him. Cramp was threatening to take hold of my calves. I was crouching most uncomfortably. There was nothing I could do now; I had waited too long to miss out on what would be said.
“As you know, Ayla Is turning eighteen next week. Her wolf will be free to come forth when she goes through her first change” he paused. “We do not know what this will mean as she is not one of our own.” Michael was interrupted by tutting; he glared at the sound, and a low rumble could be heard from his chest. The atmosphere of the clearing changed instantly. Everyone felt on edge at the Alpha's anger.
“The Winter moon Pack has not seen eye to eye with The Sun Valley Pack for many generations now!” he spoke. Those words crashed into my head like a boulder smashing into a building on demolition day.
“We do not know if Ayla’s wolf will accept us or if she will reject us as her pack. She will not care that we raised Ayla from a baby. She will know we are the wrong people, not her people!” he sighed.
I knew my whole life I wasn’t from this pack originally; I stood out like a sore thumb. I took a lot of stick for it too. Firstly My unrulily Auburn hair wasn’t the only difference. I had golden-coloured eyes and a few freckles across my nose. I wasn’t as tall as the other girls my age either. They all had tall, lean frames, with perfectly straight blond or light brown hair. Whereas I barely pushed five foot three with curves all over the place. They looked like perfect pale models, whereas, with my unusual hair colour, tanned skin, and golden eyes, I just did not fit in.
Moira’s shrill voice soon snapped me out of my thoughts.
“So, what you’re saying, Alpha, and I mean no disrespect whatsoever,” she said, her voice piercing through my ears. She grates on most people, even though they wouldn’t admit it. The last person who said anything to her was worse for wear, thanks to her three massive sons. “So, we just have to allow this to happen and hope for the best?” she spoke with her hands pointedly placed on her hips and her eyebrows raised. Goddess, I hated her.
Michael sighed; he knew she would be hard work; she always was. Moira could always find faults to make herself the centre of attention in each situation.
“I am saying that we should be ready for anything. Ayla does not know who her true pack is. It was not her choice; she did not choose to be abandoned in our territory; she is not the one to blame here,” Michael answered, putting enough clout behind his words to quieten the nosey old she-wolf, even if she wasn't happy about it. “Ayla is like a daughter to me. I will not allow anything to happen to her. I need you all to be ready for her change, just in case. I’m hoping her wolf will accept us as her pack as Ayla has.
Was The Sun Valley Pack my actual Pack? I struggled to get my head around it. It made sense, I guess. I did have the proper colourings to be of their pack. Yet I couldn’t believe it. Why would I be born to that pack? The one pack, my adoptive family, had the worst of rivalries? They would rip any Sun Valley Pack member to shreds if they set foot on our territory. Why would I be abandoned here? What were my biological parents thinking?
I couldn’t take much more. I had to leave; my head was reeling. I had always hoped my situation had been the kind where I was so loved, but something happened, and I had ended up here. Something heroic or tragic. Not that I truly wanted my life to begin with tragedy, but surely? Anything would have been better than being abandoned because you were not wanted.
I edged backwards, never taking my eyes off the council members in front of me. I mustn't draw attention to myself. I just wanted to get away and escape into my room, where I could try to process all the things I had heard tonight.
The edge of the trees came into view as I crept back the way I had come. I could begin to see the lights from a few of the Packhouse windows. My jeans and converse trainers were drenched; it was bloody horrible! Squelching my way back across the grass, it was even worse when the wind decided to pick up. It was then that I felt a presence. Whipping around, I searched the shadows, looking for any sign that I was not alone. The feeling of being watched was creeping me out. The hairs on my neck prickled, and my breath became faster. I was scared, but of what? I couldn’t see anything? and there was no way I was sticking around to find out,
“Sod this,” I say out loud, breaking into a jog, covering the distance to the edge of the trees quicker. My feet pound down, and I feel that delightful squelch as my foot presses into the ground. “Great,” I mutter, “New trainers for me then!”
I had almost made it home Scott-free; I could almost breathe again.
“What are you doing?” his voice was laced with venom; Mason was standing in the doorway staring at me as I slowly walked across the lawn.
I roll my eyes, “Just what I need!” I mutter. “Nothing? Why” I shrug at him, hoping he will get bored and leave me alone, but no, why would he when I wanted him to?
“My dad told us to stay indoors tonight!” he drooled; I could see the pleasure he was getting; he knew he had me good, and he was going to do everything in his power to get me in as much trouble as he could.
“Go away! Mason, I’m sure there are loads of girls that would love your attention right now, but I’m not one of them” I pushed past him; it was like walking into a brick wall; Mason was solid. A good six foot four inches and still growing! With short dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. I had to admit he was good-looking, all the girls found him gorgeous, but I wouldn’t go that far. I knew the real Mason; his personality made him ugly a lot of the time.
“What’s wrong, Ay Ay” he sneered with a smug look plastered on his way to perfect face. I’m not too fond of that nickname; it was the one he gave me when I was little.
“Afraid I caught you up to no good!”
“Sod off, Mason, go and find someone who cares,” I snapped back as I ran up the stairs to my room.
Ayla’s POV Mason is such a jerk! My anger was insanely high when I returned to my room; my hands shook. He thinks he’s the goddess’s gift to women. I wish I could wipe that smug look off his face. Who does he think he is? Acting as if he would tell the Alpha that I was out! If he did, I’d say about when he was in his dad’s office with a she-wolf, when his dad was away on Pack business. The Alpha had been so good to me my whole life; he acted as if I was his child. The Luna, Laura, was lovely to me too, but she was more prone to siding with her obnoxious son over me on many occasions. I wasn’t going to blame her, though, he was her son after all, and frankly, he had a weird hold over every female here, except for me, and it annoyed him to no end, the sheer fact I would not bend to his charms. I can’t help but smile as a memory of pissing Mason off popped into my mind even though I paid for it later. I love my room. It isn’t anything overly special, but it was
Ayla’s POV Monday morning, again. I didn’t mind school itself, just the idiots that attended there. Mason was three years older than me, so he attended the Pack university. Unfortunately, the university was on the same campus as the high school, so I still had to see him throughout the day. Naturally, he was one of the most popular guys there, most girls wanted to be with him, and most guys wanted to be him. The only ones not interested in Mason were the already mated pairs. Mason himself was still unmated. He liked to make you believe this was because no one here was good enough for him. The moon goddess hadn’t found the perfect match for him yet, and she wasn’t going to put him with just any old Mate. I had to laugh, it was more likely no one deserved to be stuck with such an asshole, and the moon goddess was saving us all from that fate. Today was no different from any other. I arrived at school in my old Honda Civic. She had seen better days, but I loved her. She was a beauty
Austin’s POV It was almost the eighteenth anniversary of the day we prevented the prophecy, or at least we hoped we had. Things haven’t been easy since that day. I remember it as if it was yesterday. Being told repeatedly that if we continued to keep our baby girl, we would invoke the prophecy of Alune. That would not bode well for our pack, let alone our clan. Right now, we hold power for this nation. But every three hundred years, the power shifts, and you never know if it’s for the better or, the worse. It was the hardest thing for my mate and me to do. We had only just welcomed our little girl into this world. She was beyond beautiful. She had a full head of gorgeous auburn hair and stunning golden eyes. She was a masterpiece. Goddess, we loved that child with our whole beings. We weren’t the only ones to have to lose our baby that night. Five other mated couples in our clan had baby girls recently. So, the elders decided to play it safe and remove every female chi
Jaxon’s POV Storming through the door to my parents’ house, thirty minutes later than I should have been, thanks to that little red-headed bitch. “Jaxon is that you” my dad’s voice growled at me. Great, he was in a good mood! Not! “Yes, Dad, it’s me,” I quickly answer. “Come here,” he shouts. I know what’s coming; he’s mad; I got detention again. But it wasn’t my fault this time, well yeah, it was, but not really as I was stretching my leg out as well as…you know it was funny! “Explain yourself; your sister had to get a lift home with that Jacob boy; she said you had detention…AGAIN” he bellowed. I stare him in the eye; looking away would make me look guilty, and it’s all about appearance with my father. I square my shoulders, steel my resolve, and plough on; I will get myself out of this one. “Yes, I had detention, but I shouldn’t have; I was only stretching my leg, and that Smith girl tripped right over it as she w
Ayla’s POV Well, that was exhilarating and humiliating all at the same time. Not only did I stand and stare like a complete idiot, but I also did it in pink slippers, and I couldn’t even say hi to them, not even a nod or a slight indication of greeting! Five minutes earlier “This is my mate and Luna of our pack, Laura,” Michael indicated to his love. The boys greeted her respectfully; neither went to touch her, though it was not respectful to touch another’s mate, not even in greeting. “My son, Mason, who you have already met,” Michael continued. “And this,” he stopped, looking around, confused. I knew he was looking for me. “Please don’t see me,” I silently pray, taking a minor step back. “Ah, there you are,” he points right at me. “Ayla, what are you doing down there? Come over here,” he said with a smile. My stomach drops; I don’t want to go over there. It was the last thing I wanted to do. I was happy t
Axel’s POV This place suddenly looks like it will be much more fun than I initially thought. That girl was something else, even though she looked terrified of us. It’s now my mission to get to know her, get her to let us in. We have been together every day since the day we were born. So, it doesn’t surprise me that we all end up drawn to the same girl. It’s odd, though. She hasn’t reached her full wolf yet; this has never happened before, well, not that I know of anyway. Usually, you can only feel the pull of another wolf once they have shifted and gone through the change at least once, and I know she hasn’t. I can smell it. I wish she hadn’t rushed off like she had. She’s the only one I want to spend my time with now. I’m sure the rest of these people are great, but once you smell a scent like that and get dragged by the pull to another, it’s hard to wanna do anything else. That Mason guy is getting on my nerves, he’s so up himself; it’
Ayla’s POV “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you there then,” I say as I rush out the door, keys in hand; I dash to my car. As I pull out of my parking space, I see the triplets standing in the driveway, hands on their hips, watching me leave. Axel throws his hands up in the air. “Crap! Were they expecting to ride with me? I thought. Turning up my music, I let it blare out the speakers, windows down, trying to live my best life. Pushing the three-brand new distraction out of my head was more complicated than I thought. Cranking the stereo up a few more notches, I belt the lyrics out in time to the music. “WHOA, WE ARE HALF WAY THERE,” I sing along, not caring how awful I sound. Within no time, I reached school—Yay for me, another day of this hell. I park up, grab my bag and run straight inside. It had started to rain again. I was early today, so luckily, there was no Stacy yet. I was ab
Ayla’s POVWhat a day! Everywhere I went, they were there. It’s like I had my bodyguards. The only place I went alone was the bathroom, and that wasn’t without a fight.Aiden followed me when I went after third period; I had to push him back out. It was a bit funny; I had to admit.Stacy spent the day glaring at me and skulking around. Her face looked as if she was permanently sucking on a lemon. Luckily, she was only in three of my lessons today, so I have a few hours of peace from that kind of bitchiness.Axel was so chatty today too. It was as if he was determined to know everything about me all at once. The fact that I had lessons annoyed him as he had to stop talking during them.“Where to next” he bounced on the balls of his feet.“Lunch…. I guess,” I answered; it took me ages to get used to having these gorgeous men constantly around me.Aiden mainly was quiet, and Archer looked moody, but I could tell it wasn’t at me. Axel wouldn’t shut up, but he was adorable. I couldn’t ign
Laura’s POVIn an already clean house, one can only do so much cleaning. My world was all over the place. My mother might have been pleased with me for once, but I couldn’t find my husband. I hadn’t seen him since that morning. I had only just been able to wangle him back under my control this time; there was no guarantee I’ll be able to do it again. He is so strong-willed; it was kind of scary. If he found out I lied, that I had spelled him into loving me, being with me and protecting me, I don’t even want to think what he would consider doing.No one had approached me all day, not since Mason earlier this morning. He had left in such a mood, but that was nothing new. I had to focus on gaining control of Michael and Mason. When he struck me, it only proved I was slipping majorly. If I didn’t gather my family back in and get back to the level of control I had before, I would surely lose it all.Frantically pacing the kitchen, trying to keep my mind busy, was when my phone rang, and it
Stacy’s POV“Mason keeps ringing; what do I do,” I asked wide-eyed, cross-legged on Jacob’s bed; I hadn’t left yet; I had been with him all day and all last night. He was the same Jacob I knew but, at the same time, different. He was strong, confident and possessive; I loved it.“Next time, let me answer; I’ll sort this out”, He answered. Storm stared at me from behind his eyes.“It will only infuriate him, Jake; you know it will, he will go nuts; I don’t want you to get hurt”, I admitted, but Jacob just laughed, a full belly laugh.“Babe, please, have you seen me?” he laughed again “Do you honestly think he could hurt me.”“He is the Alpha’s son though” I was quiet as I didn’t know what to do.“Pfft, who cares? No one hurts my girl and gets away with it,” he declared, reaching over and kissing my jawline, sending tingles all over my body.“Look, don’t worry about Mason; I’ll handle him. It would be best if you worked out what to say to your crazy mother and her friends,” he said poin
Archer’s POVAxel spoke with Ayla; I sat silently, doing nothing. I didn’t begrudge him that; it’s just that I missed her too, and it’s my fault she is in the state she is in. I lost my wolf and my mate both at the same time. I felt less than useless right now. I couldn’t shift or mind link, I couldn’t shadow walk, and I had lost part of my strength; I was no longer a werewolf until Titan was found.“Arch, stop it; you’re not useless; I can hear you, you know”, Axel grumbled from across the room.“Great, at least you can hear me; it makes me feel so much better”, I moaned back.“I didn’t mean it like that; you know I didn’t. We will sort this; it just won’t happen overnight” he tried his best to reassure me, but he failed miserably.Ignoring my brother as I didn’t have anything to say in response, I decided to flick through my phone, looking at crap on social media from my old life. I felt so disconnected from the person I used to be. It was like looking through someone else’s memorie
Aleena’s POVThe wind howled outside as I waited for Aiden to return. He said he would track Michael down, just in case my presence still hurt him. I was a bag of nerves. I was actually going to do this; I was going to claim the man destined for me. That and saving everyone else in such a small space of time, but who’s counting?Dressed in my Michael hoody, I waited. Minutes felt like hours, which led to the discovery of me not being a patient person. I needed to distract myself so I didn’t go crazy, so braiding my floor-length hair seemed like a good idea until it wasn’t. I was so anxious that I couldn’t make my fingers do the work I needed them to do. I swear I looked like a child who had never braided before.“You need to calm the heck down, don’t be so stupid,”, I told myself sternly; I had never imagined I would find love, seeing as I no longer lived with my people. But I guess the goddess has other plans for me after all.Taking a few deep, calming breaths, I started again. I ha
Aleena’s POVThe morning had arrived by the time I found the Chase brothers. All three were in Aiden’s room, and he looked like shit. I wasn’t surprised after all he had been through. But I didn’t have time to stand here feeling sorry for him. I had to see if I could siphon the Shadows out of his body, so he could function when we needed him. Being unpredictable was not what we needed right now.“There you are, Aiden. You look like hell, but I think I can help if you let me,” I spoke quickly, hoping to get in there before they all tried speaking at once.“Oh, hey Aleena, yeah, thanks for that. I feel like hell, too,” he smiled at me, which I was shocked at. I thought he would be a massive pile of brooding mess by now.“Well, I can help get some of the darkness, if not all, out of your system, which will help in the long run if you want” I shrugged like it was nothing but knew how massive it was. I was doing everything I could to keep my mind on task and not on Michael.“Sure, let’s do
Stacy’s POVI was having the best dream, something I hadn’t been able to do lately. I was with Jacob; it was safe and warm, and I missed him. I wouldn’t admit that out loud, however. I could smell him around me and feel the comfiness of his bed. If I could stay asleep forever, I think I would.I felt something next to me, an arm snaking around my waist and warmth on my back. I froze, had I stayed at Mason’s last night? I couldn’t remember, and then it came rushing back; my eyes flew open, yet I stayed dead still.I was in Jacob’s room, in his bed. I remember coming over now and snuggling into his hoodie like an idiot. I must have fallen asleep before he had gotten out of the shower, but how did I end up in his bed?“Dear goddess, please say we didn’t do anything; Mason would kill me”, I frantically thought.I had only come here to talk; I planned to make Mason want me more, but also, partly because I missed Jacob, and he was so sweet to me. But now I’m in his bed, and I don’t know wha
Aleena’s POVWaiting to hear anything from Michael or the chase brothers was killing me. When did I suddenly become a man-obsessed person? Never before had I been this way about anyone, and not about the Alpha. I knew the Werewolf rules; I knew that once they found their mate, they were done, they wouldn’t even look in the direction of another woman, and Michael had his mate. So why was he constantly looking at me like he felt the same way I did?“What do I feel for him” I questioned myself; I wasn’t ready to face that mountain yet, but deep down, I knew; I didn’t want to say it out loud. But, of course, it’s not unheard of for different races to end up together. But a mated one, now that was unheard of.I had walked in circles around my room. I returned here once I had set Aiden on his task. There was no way I would risk being around Laura; she hated me near her man, and I don’t blame her. Even though Michael would deny that she hates me, I could feel it, and we elves had a knack for
Aiden’s POVI was sure I was dead. I had no energy to force myself up off the floor where I had landed, running from the Luna and her unsavoury friend. My body hurt, my legs felt like they were made of led, and I had been thrown into the sea and sinking fast. I was sure I’d never wake up again if I just gave in.Shadows constantly sang to me, trying to drag me back under, calling me back to their dark embrace.“No, I’m needed here; she needs me”, I mumbled in my sleepy haze. Then, finally, I had to force myself up. I don’t know how long I had lain here in the dark, my back pressed against the cold wooden door. But I didn’t care.“Aiden, where are you” Ayla’s voice tickles my mind. But could it really be her, now that Alune had control of her body? Could she still reach me if she wanted to?“Ayla, babe, is that you” I call out desperately to her, needing to know if she was there, if she was okay and how I could help.“Aiden, she’s sleeping; it’s the only time I can reach you,” she told
Stacy’s POVWalking out of Mason’s room and leaving the pack house like I did, felt fantastic, liberating in a way. My car was parked around the corner, and I couldn’t get to it fast enough.“Get the fuck off of me”, a rough voice roared across the grounds. Turning my head, I saw the three overly sexy Chase brothers in some scrap. Usually, I would stop to watch, what with all the sex appeal they have going on, and right now, they were practically bursting out of their clothes. Goddess knows why Ayla; the attention-grabbing whore was able to bag all three of them. They were the kind of guys you would get wet over just looking at them for too long, and she was nothing.“Maybe I will make them mine once I rule this place”, I muttered as I turned towards my car. Jacob was waiting for me; frankly, I couldn’t wait to get over there.Nerves were kicking in as I rounded the corner to Jacob’s street. I had been here so many times before, but this time felt like the first time all over again.