Three Years Later
Bailey… I drove the long road down to pack. I hated this drive. It was like returning to hell for me. Lotus Shadow Pack. My very own version of hell. Though, three years away, studying had been truly amazing. Transforming myself into the woman I should always have been. Confident. Self-assured. Brave. Just me. And now a fully qualified teacher. As a she-wolf, you spend so many years of your life being told your focus is finding your fated mate. Settling down with them and creating a strong matebond. A love. A family. Well, once I had come to accept that my naïve, teenage dreams would never surface, thanks to the moon goddess pairing me with a mate so incapable of loving anyone other than himself, I decided that my focus would be my career. My education had always been something I took great pride in. I loved to learn, and I had decided that I wanted to pass that gift along. I no longer cared what others thought of me. And, while at university, it felt so wonderful to be surrounded by others who felt the same way. I finally felt like I fit in somewhere. And, I believe that is what allowed me to become the person I was meant to be. However, now, I had to return to my pack, at their orders. The agreement was, once I had completed my degree, I would return home. Unless, of course, I had found my fated mate. But, I knew within my heart, that was never to happen. For, my fated mate sat at home. Lording it over our pack. Acting like he was the best thing since sliced bread. Sleeping with any she-wolf that came near him, from what I heard, having rejected me. I pulled up at our guarded pack gates. Harley, one of our pack warriors, currently on guard duty, stepped forward to my car window. “ID” he ordered. I frowned at him. I do not think I have been asked for ID before when returning home, even in all the times I have visited home, though in all fairness, those visits have been few and far between. My visits were only when they were required of me. I had grown to loathe this place, and coming back had become less of a priority for me over the time I was away... “Harley, it is me. Bailey.” I explained, trying not to smile at his mistake. Harley looked at me closer. “Shit. Sorry Bailey, didn’t really recognize you there. You changed your hair. And you aren’t wearing your glasses. You look good.” He says with a shrug, quickly looking away, clearly embarrassed by his faux-pas. I smirk at his response. Yes, my hair is somewhat tamer than it used to be. The curls straightened out, and my hair now neat and sleek down my back. My glasses I had worn for reading had been long gone. Having got my eyes fixed with laser eye surgery whilst away. Plus, I now wore a little simple make-up to accentuate my features. Nice to know somebody has noticed a difference… “No problem. You still need ID?” I asked him. He grins at me. “I think I know who you are. Nice to see you.” he nods at me in acknowledgment as the gate opens for me. “Maybe catch you around while you are back.” He adds as I begin to drive away. I smiled in response, I guess there would be nothing to stop me catching up with any guy I wanted to now. Not that I was really bothered right now... but it was not like I had a fated mate to wait for any longer. And it wasn’t like Miles was making a point of staying single. Every time I had returned home, he had had a different she-wolf on his arm. Parading them through pack like a prized possession, only to have traded her in by the time I returned on my next visit. He was turning into quite the lothario. And quite a joke in my eyes. I set off along the quiet, familiar roads of our sweet old pack. The evening sun was settling in the sky as I moved my car down the route to my family home. No doubt my Mum would be there waiting for me, perhaps my Dad, if he was in from work by now. My brother and sister, I was unsure. They still both lived at home with my parents, but were back and forth to friends' homes and my brother was looking to move into the Beta suite in the packhouse soon enough, in preparation for taking on the role from my father when the time came. Either way, they rarely bothered to rush home to see me when they knew I was returning. I don’t think seeing me was at the top of their priority list… I pulled my car up on the street in front of my familiar family home. I could not believe I was home. Stuck back here. The dread within my stomach churned heavily at the prospect of many years stuck here. Miserable and unhappy, with no way out, now my fated mate had rejected me. Not that anyone other than Miles and I knew of that. No. He had decided he would be considered weak if others knew an Alpha had gone against the powerful Moon Goddess’s choice. So, this was our secret. Or he would make me pay in ways I did not want to imagine, apparently. And, in all honesty, I did not want to think of it. He had allowed me to go away to do my degree. Doing the final bit of convincing when my Uncle, the current Alpha, and Miles’s father, along with my parents were on the fence. Or, so he said. How true that was, I would never likely know the truth, but it had been for that reason, and that alone I had chosen to do as he had asked. If he had done the things he said, then he had allowed me to fulfill my dream of gaining my degree of teaching away from pack. To allow me to be just me, not the daughter of the pack Beta. And I have thrived because of it. But, now, I had to return. Back to where I belonged. And, while I may have gained my degree, I had no real future prospects. I was likely stuck here. I stepped from the car, determined more than ever to find work, as I heard my Mum’s voice. “Bailey!” she greeted me from the porch steps, a big smile upon her face. “You look beautiful sweetheart.” I smiled back at her, as I moved toward the front door. Only to see Miles leaving the house next door to ours. The Alpha home. Could I have timed my arrival home any worse? His eyes met mine, giving me a dark stare before looking at my Mum. “Hi Aunt Brianna. You didn’t say she was home today.” Mum smiled at Miles like she thought the world of him, though most of the time she generally did. “Ah, I think it slipped my mind. Bailey is home for good now, Miles. How wonderful is that?” Once more, Miles gave me a dark stare. “Hmmm. Truly wonderful.” he said with some serious contempt in his voice. ‘You stay out of my way unless I say otherwise, you understand?’ Miles mindlinks me, as he moves toward his car. “Are you not going to speak to him Bai?” Mum tries. “He will be Alpha this time next year, you know?” “Oh it doesn’t matter, Aunt Brianna. Bailey will be excused this time. I am sure she is tired from her drive back home. But no doubt I will be seeing her around. And yes, she will have to get used to me as her senior. Her Alpha.” He says with a sneer, and at his words my stomach twists into knots. I don’t think I can stay here… I not only need to find work, I need to find work away from my pack, so I can move away to get away from my psychotic Alpha and ex-mate!Bailey… I sit out in the garden drinking my morning coffee, with my laptop open scrolling desperately through the job vacancies, when I hear a deep growl to my left, causing me to swirl my head to look. Miles was resting his head on the garden fence from next door, overlooking our back garden, to where I was sitting. Watching me intently, the look upon his face was one of sheer disgust... I had no clue how long he had been standing there, or what had angered him to the point of growling, but he had made me jump. “Fucking hell, Miles.” I snapped, giving him a dark scowl. I had done well the past week since arriving and stayed out of his way. Managing to ensure I avoided all pack events, and ensuring I dodged any places he was likely to be. Yes, it meant I spent an awful lot of time in my bedroom at home, but I would rather do that than have to deal with him. Today, the sun was glorious, and I thought it would be nice to take my breakfast outside while I looked for jobs online. Sitti
Asher… I pace the corridor of the packhouse for yet another night. Sleepless nights are becoming the most repetitive thing for me now. Almost tiresome… or they would be if I could actually fucking sleep! Nightmares plaguing my dreams were the thing stopping my sleep… making me fear sleep… visions of that night… reoccurring time and time again… the rogues invading our pack lands… us losing control… and them hurting my precious Isla. My beautiful Isla. Fate had barely brought us together before snatching us apart… life could be cruel… and it made me relive that night, time and time again through my dreams… the pain as her life ebbed away… the inability to be able to save her… the pain in her eyes… the fear… it made me hate life… hate fate. And now, now it makes me fear sleep. Which is what found me pacing these godforsaken corridors every night… “Alright Beta!” Marc, one of our young warriors, greeted me enthusiastically, telling me he had likely been out spending time with friends. E
Asher… A shower later and a couple of coffees down, and I felt slightly more human, or as human as a werewolf can feel on next to no sleep… “Right Ash, we need to sort this shit out.” Caleb’s voice was sounding more than a little stressed out, telling me I was in for more than a fun day. “What shit now?” I asked with a deflated sigh. I am sure we had dealt with everything that needed doing yesterday. “Quit sounding like you are overworked.” Caleb gave me a dirty look. “My Dad’s birthday party for a start. Plus, Eden is on my case about the teacher for school. We still need to replace Eloise.” I do recall him mentioning needing to re-advertise for a new teacher, but I had thought Eden may have dealt with that. Being Luna, and a mother, I thought she may have wanted to be involved with those sorts of tasks. Evidently I was wrong. As for his Dad’s party, I think he was more than capable of sorting out that himself, or his Mum was. Seriously, is it my job to do everything around here?
Bailey… I sat at the coffee table painting my nails when my brother Jordan came storming into the room. “What the fuck have you been doing?” he snarled at me. I glanced at him with a sideways glance. “Hi to you too big brother.” I smiled sarcastically, this being the first time seeing him since I had returned. “Do not big brother me Bailey!” he snaps, throwing himself down on the sofa next to me. “What the fuck did you do to Miles.” Was he having a laugh? What did I do to Miles? He says it like I attacked him! Or pounced on him… He is the upcoming Alpha for fucks sake! It is not like he is unable to defend himself… though I should have known he would go running to my brother to tell tales. Stir shit like he always did. Make me look like the bad one. “I didn’t do anything to Miles. Why?” I asked, my heart racing a little already, wondering why my brother was angry over this. Had Miles confided in him? Did he know more now than he previously had? The thought of him knowing I had bee
Miles… I move through the packhouse at a pace faster than I would like to at this time of the morning, but I would do anything right now to get away from my fucking father! He has not stopped wittering in my ear since the moment I stepped from my bedroom this morning. And he didn’t even give me the chance to pour myself a coffee before he told me we should come to the packhouse to continue with the training he needed to give me. Yes. I want to get this transfer of power done with. The alteration of him being Alpha to me taking my rightful position as Alpha of the pack, but shit, did he have to go on so fucking much?! I had done the necessary training away at Alpha training, so why my own Dad now needed to do his own training I did not know. But, he was adamant he would not hand this pack over to me until he felt I was ready. Personally, I think he just did not want to give up his power nor his control. “Miles. We think you need to do a tour of the packs locally at least. Find your f
These last few years, while she has been away studying, have been wonderful. I haven’t needed to see her face. Remind myself what I had done… because, like it or not, my wolf hated me for the fact I rejected our fated mate. She was the one the moon goddess selected for us. In my fucking wolf’s eyes,
I strolled the sunshine-filled footpaths of pack, having got bored with sitting around at home, it was truly not the place I wanted to be staying for long. My job searches were not proving successful whatsoever. The school here had a fully equipped teaching staff, though I am sure Miles would ensure
My Dad literally dragged me to the Alpha office, where my Uncle was sitting at his desk, but sadly for me, Miles was sitting on the sofa at the opposite end of the room, his feet propped up on the coffee table, looking more than relaxed. Doing what he did best, absolutely nothing...“Ah, hi Bailey s