Chapter One: Kendra

Kendra's POV

My nerve endings tingle with pleasures as I writhe on the bed, my hips bucking gently, hot pressure in my belly start to unfurl, burning through my vain as his fingers trace an electric path up my spine. 

“Are you sure you're ready for this?". He asks, a low growl tearing out of his throat as he rises from between my legs, lips kinked in a knowing smile. His face is cruelly handsome, his thick bright blond hair gleaming and silky under the dim light. “ If I mark you, there is no going back. You'd be mine, Kendra". 

"Yes... I want you. All of you..." This is the closest I've ever been with a man. I have waited my whole life for this moment, to be mated and marked. I was saving my virginity for him. I can't believe it's finally happening. 

His deep icy-blue eyes that looks like it could freeze me to death bores into mine as he grips my throat with only the tiniest threat of pressure. His claws slicing out to dig into my neck. I grasp the pink sheets beneath me, a desperate attempt to anchor myself as his claws cut into my flesh… “ Fuck! Yes, Chase”.

Beep.    Beep.    Beep

Bolting upright in bed, I gasp for air as I reach to turn off my alarm. “ what the hell was that?” My nerves are quivering, my skin is sweaty, my heart is trying to pound out from my chest. I can’t believe he nearly marked me. It felt so real and so good. Either I've been thinking a lot about him lately, or I really need to see a doctor for a check-up.

Coco, my cat raises a sleepy head, blinks at me, then climbs into my lap and gets comfortable. 

“ Hey, Coco,” It rolls on her stomach, and meow as if she understands my mood, but settles her head on my knee and I stroke her fluffy fur gently. “ … are you alright, Coco? Mama just had a very weird dream.” I smile as Coco pouts. “ I know girl. Too sad he will never be mine”.

“Kendra!” my Mum shout up at me. “You’re running late for school!”

Like a beached whale, I gasp. Crap! School. "I'll be down in five!" I shout down at her. "I have to get ready, Coco.” I quickly put Coco down and rush into the bathroom for a quick bath.

Once I am done having my bath, I throw on my usual outfit, a green turtle-neck long-sleeved top on a blue jeans. Checking myself in the mirror. “ same as always”.

Maybe I am an adult now but, I sure don’t look any different. Same nerd every Dick and Harry in Stormhalt Moon Pack want to take a swing at.

Taking a long deep breath, I grab the pink backpack I’ve had since I was eleven from the rack and shrug it up my shoulder. Although the leather is starting to peel, it’s difficult to let go. It was the last gift I received from my Dad before his Heroic demise. He died protecting the Alpha from an assassin suspected to be from one of the many Enemies of our pack.

I head downstairs full of feeling that my whole life is about to be different. Maybe, I get to finally find my mate and have my first kiss. I climb down the stairs to find my Mum cooking over the stove. An apron knotted around her waist as she warm some butter in a pan.

“ Oh! There’s my birthday girl. Happy eighteenth birthday Princess.” She holds my both cheeks, squeezing tenderly, she kisses the top of my head.

“ Thanks Mum”. Picking a a green apple from a mini basket on the counter, I settle down into a chair. “ What are you making for breakfast.” I bite down on the apple.

“Pancakes. Your favorite.” I watch as she concentrates, delicately drizzling toppings and then flipping each pancake. “ I will make cupcakes for your birthday, you should invite your friends.”

“ I don’t have friends, Mum.”

“What do you mean you don’t have friends? What about Anna?”

“ Today is Chase’s eighteenth birthday too and they’re throwing a party”.

“ Oh my… you should go, Kendra. I will find you a dress”

I roll my eyes inwardly and shake my head at her resolve, like I have anything appropriate in my wardrobe for High school parties. I still haven’t gotten over the humiliation I faced at Ellie’s sixteenth birthday party that Anna talked me into going with her. I was the butt of joke for being a party pooper.

She pushes a plate of pancakes and omelette forward, “ hurry up so you don’t miss the bus”. She untie the apron and walk back to hang it on the peg beside the shelves. “ you haven’t said anything about the party, Kendra.”

“ I don’t want to go, Mum.” My voice is firm and impenetrable, but trust my Mum to always be pushy.

She shoots bazooka at me, “ why? I want you to make more friends. Go out and meet the others. Learn from your sister" She hands me a glass of milk and walks off murmuring words I cannot make out but I am certain she's complaining to herself about my nonchalant behavior towards making friends, she always do.

And comparing me with my Kid sister, Cassie? That's an everyday thing. I've gotten use to it.

I frown my irritation and hold the food in my mouth for a brief moment before sipping from the glass of milk... 

"Dear mother of the moon, if it isn't too much to ask... Could you please send me a mate already? One who is loving and humble." I empty the remaining milk in the cup into my mouth and slam the cup hard on the counter as if it's the cause of my problems.

"He mustn't be rich you know and he should be able to worship the ground I walk on. I deserve to be pampered, don't you think so dear mother?" 

Laughing casually, I am interrupted by a streak of lightning, then thunder crackles through the sky causing me to jump. Should that even happen by this time of the year? Well it can rain in all four seasons. I shrug it off dismissively and plop back on the stool. 

My Mum always worry about not seeing friends around me, except for Anna my best friend of course. She is the Alpha's daughter and Chase’s kid sister. Not having too many friends in our pack is not a personality trait and sometimes I have to absorb that I am not Shackled to what my Mum sees.

She wants me to blend in, to get along with others, to party, and to always be in happy places but, i am ashamed to tell her that I get bullied in such gatherings. I understand her worries comes from a place of concern, the more antisocial I am the harder it will be for me to find my mate. 

Talking about mate, I really need to find one as soon as possible before my kid sister Cassie does, else I won't stop hearing my Mum nag all day about it. Cassie will soon turn sixteen, and she is already looking forward to her awakening ceremony. 

She is the baddy of the pack. She has tons of cool friends and she has been in more parties than me. In a quick summary, she is the opposite of me. Super cool, right?

I shove the last piece of meal into my mouth, and breeze out to the bus station.

Soon, I’m on my way to school, the only senior on a sky-blue rickety bus full of noisy freshmen and sophomores. I look at my Samsung phone that is a decade out of date, tells me that I’ve got twenty minutes to be in my first class.

The details of my dreams are fading but the physical effect still lingers. I cannot seem to stop thinking about Chase.. I mean, I've had a crush on him since we were children but the boy just never looks my way.

I'd think of him and Moon over his pictures while I touch myself at night but, the increasing desire to have him between my legs making me squirm underneath him has doubled in the last few days.

The bus stops at a red-light, I hear a deep rumble as a flamed red motorcycle pulls up in the lane. Chase! My heart skipped a beat as I see him behind the wheels looking like a demi-god in a black leather Jacket on a black jeans. His girlfriend and childhood friend, Ellie is sitting pretty behind him. Her hands circled around his waist, chin resting on the nape of his neck and her bra-length blond hair moving in tousle waves.

Chase and Ellie is in a classic High School relationship. The quarterback and the school Star athlete and his cheerleader girlfriend. One time Stormhalt High junior prom King and Queen. How dreamy?

Chase is your typical all-American teen. Popular and full of confidence, he is every high school girl’s dream, and Ellie have him wrapped around her little fingers.

Judging by the calm, assured way they're both relaxing on the motorcycle, with Ellie's body pressed against his, what was a rare, thrilling experience for me must be an everyday thing for them.

As if he can feel me staring, he meets my gaze just for a moment. My breath catches at the intensity of his gaze. His lips curl up in an arrogant smirk that says he’s a predator and me... He's fucking prey. He’s absolutely fucking gorgeous.

The traffic light turns green, and he guns off.

Get a hold of yourself, Kendra. Somethings are better left as dreams and some dreams never come true. I whoosh out a relieving breath as the bus come to a stop outside the prestigious Stormhalt High. I shuffle my way off the bus.

Students hugging, shaking hands, conversing and laughing with each other but I seem invisible as none notices me, and suddenly I’ve never felt so alone. I’m being stupid but , I just thought that if I turn eighteen, I’d be someone worth noticing. I was so wrong. Somethings just never change.