Chapter 1

My name is Alessia, but my family and friends have always called me Allie. I’ve recently become part of the Dark Moon pack, but I was originally from the Cerulean pack 6 hours away. I live with my Great Aunt Tasha, a strange woman with an uncanny ability of knowing things. My brother Austin is the alpha of the Cerulean pack with his Luna Shayla, she’s the reason I’m not there anymore. My brother and I are 18 months apart in age, the day he turned 18, he realized his Beta Ryan’s girlfriend was his mate. It stirred up some drama for a short time, Ryan eventually moved on after sleeping around quite a bit. Somehow him and my brother remained friends, but it wasn’t the same anymore, mostly because of Shayla.

            She was a jealous girl and didn’t like how close Austin and I were. Our parents died unexpectedly in a car crash when I was 12, they’d been on their way to visit the Silver Dawn pack that sat between Dark moon and Cerulean. A few months after my 17^th birthday things were arranged for me to move in with Tasha after an incident between myself and Shayla. I’d known her my entire life and she’d taken an interest in me since I was born, even being named my godmother, despite her and my mother hardly having a relationship. Now I’ve lived with her for 6 months and things have been going well, until last night anyway when we received notice that I had to start training with the rest of the pack.

            I sighed and crawled out of bed, knowing breakfast would be ready downstairs because the house smelled like bacon. Aunt Tasha didn’t cook much before I got here because it was just her, but she enjoyed having someone else to cook for. I pulled on some spandex shorts, a sports bra and put my long black hair into a ponytail as I headed downstairs.

            “Good morning Sia, are you ready for your first day of training?” Tasha asked, bright eyed as ever.

            “More ready for breakfast,” I responded as I sat down in front of the plate of eggs and bacon. “I don’t know anyone, it’s gonna be awkward. Like being the last person picked for teams in gym.”

            “I’m not sure you know how that feels,” she smirked, setting a glass of chocolate milk in front of me. “I think it’s going to be the start of something big. You will see, I’m sure you’ll make friends too.”

I finished my food and gulped down my chocolate milk as I walked to the sink to rinse my dishes, “alright, I’m leaving, wish me luck.”

            “Good luck, but you won’t need it. Kick ass.”

I walked out the door and started walking toward the center of town where the pack house, gym and training grounds were located. I hoped Aunt Tasha was right and I wouldn’t need luck. Being the children of the Alpha, we started training as warriors when we were 14 at Cerulean pack. Usually, the warriors and guardians of the pack started training at 16 after we finished our schooling, being werewolves, our school schedule wasn’t the same as humans. I passed by some of the local stores and the diner, lost in my own thoughts of the past. I missed my friends, the people I had grown up with. I talked to them every now and then, but they were all busy with their regular lives. I missed my best friend Arabella the most, we were always goofing off. We grew up together, she wasn’t the daughter of anyone important, just an omega that cooked in the Cerulean pack house. We were a few months apart in age and had always been best of friends.

I frowned thinking of my long-term boyfriend Liam. He was destined to be the pack Gamma when he turned of age. His birthday was in a few days, I wasn’t sure if I should even say anything to him, as we had broken up just before I left and hadn’t spoken since. I looked up, brushing aside my thoughts, admiring the pack house. Dark Moon was one of the largest packs in North America, ran by Alpha Azai. I’d never seen him, in the few months I’d been here but I didn’t go out much since I’d arrived, running to get groceries for Aunt Tasha every now and then or training in the forest to keep myself in shape.

The pack house was big, 4 stories above the ground, with an underground garage. It was modern looking on the outside with a gated courtyard entrance and cameras. It sat at the eastern center of town, with forest behind it and next to it was the 2-story gym and training grounds out behind the building. Here, you started training at 16, a strong body meant a strong wolf. At 14, we could start communicating with our wolf, building a relationship with them, at 16 we could shift for the first time, normally our families holding a ceremony so we could all run in the forest together. I didn’t get that, here I was 11 months past my 17^th birthday, and I’d never shifted before. Amara, my wolf, seemed like she didn’t mind but she didn’t push me because she knew I’d been going through a hard time.

As I got closer to the gym, I saw everyone walking in and put a small smile on my face. I followed the girls back into the locker room, putting my things in a locker and walking out to the gym floor to start stretching. A tan girl with deep green eyes and long blonde hair noticed me and walked over.

“Hey, I’ve never seen you around before, I’m Callie.” She flashed me a bright smile. “You must be Tasha’s niece that moved here a few months ago, I was wondering when we’d meet.”

I nodded, “great niece, but yeah that’s me. Name is Alessia. How did you know I was here?”

“Oh, my mom and Tasha are friends, they talk all the time. You’ve probably heard her talk about my mom, Cora.”

That name rang a bell, but I didn’t remember much from what Aunt Tasha said. “Yeah, I’ve heard some about her,” I replied. Geez, I really wasn’t going to have friends here, I’m so awkward. Leaving Cerulean was like leaving a giant family, being born there and the alpha’s daughter, I knew everyone.

Thankfully just then a big man walked in and the entire room quieted. He was handsome in his own way, every bit of 6 ft tall, tan with bright silver eyes and short brown hair left messy. He still had morning scruff, wore no shirt so it showed off his strong chest, abs, and heavily muscled arms. He wore loose gym pants and sneakers, looking like he would be leading the training today. His eyes scanned the room, looking for something, or someone. I internally groaned when they stopped on me, holding eye contact. He walked over, never once releasing my eyes.

I was short compared to him, only 5’2” and 120 pounds, I looked soft. “Do you need something?” I asked when he just stood there staring at me.

“I’ll assume you’re Alessia, given your standing in your previous pack, I’ll let the lack of respect slide. I’m Beta Zaine. You’ll be sparing with me today to evaluate your abilities.”

I rolled my eyes, “alright, whatever.” I could tell my attitude bothered him as he sucked in a breath between his lips. Callie was looking at me like I had a death wish. At least it would end my misery.

He spun around and walked to the center of the room, me following behind. It couldn’t be too bad, right? I used to spar with betas and my alpha brother all the time... unless they were taking it easy on me. He stopped and spaced himself from me, “Everyone get your sparring partners! Work on the defensive and offensive techniques from last week.”

He looked back to me, “well what will it be? Do you want to do offensive or defensive first?”

I didn’t have to think about it, “defensive.” I got into position, hopefully I wasn’t rusty.

Beta charged me, ready to start landing blows but my small stature worked in my favor, I was quick and could easily dodge. I was being underestimated, which would also work in my favor. Quickly dodging his attacks, I began to watch where he was leaving himself open for hits. He charged at me, I charged but dropped and slid between his open legs at the last moment catching one with my foot, throwing him off balance, as he tried to recover, I jumped on his back, my arm around his throat applying pressure. He tried his best to peel my arm from his, I’m sure I’d be sore from his grip tomorrow. He finally decided to try to roll me off, I readied myself, jumping off at the last minute. He stood up quickly but was having a coughing fit.

            I smirked and crossed my arms, “if I was a real opponent, you’d be dead.” Glancing around I realized how many had stopped their training and were watching, open mouthed.

            Beta stood up straight having recovered, “not bad, where did you learn to fight like that?”

            “My position in my last pack didn’t mean I didn’t have to train as hard as the Alpha,” I remarked, rolling my eyes. “Don’t underestimate me because I’m a girl.”

The door to the gym opened and a sudden smell hit me, a woody and earthy smell. My head turned, at the door stood a large man, his face set in stone, clean shaven, chiseled jaw. His honey-colored eyes stood out against his tanned skin and dark hair. He was taller than the Beta, more muscled, obvious even through his clothes. Something about him drew me in but there was a powerful aura about him. He looked around the room at the shocked faces, then to his Beta and last on me. He said nothing, he just walked over to Beta Zaine. I stood there, staring,

            “Alpha,” Zaine greeted him, “we’ve just finished our evaluation. As she put it, if she were a real opponent, I’d be dead.”

            Alpha Azai’s eyes darted over to me, where I stood with a face full of attitude, arms still crossed against my chest. “The small girl managed to take down my Beta. Interesting.”

            I scoffed, “if that’s the best you’ve got, I’d be worried if I was you. I thought this was supposed to be one of the toughest packs.”

Alpha’s eyes flashed black for a moment; I clearly had struck a nerve. Whoops. “You got lucky. Tomorrow, you train with me. I start before everyone else, be here at 6 AM.”

            I dropped my arms. Great, now I have to be up even earlier. I turned and went back into the locker rooms to shower and change. Why can’t I just be normal like everyone else?

            You’re hardly normal. Amara sounded in my head.

            What does that even mean? You and Aunt Tasha both are always so cryptic.

            I’m just saying you aren’t an average werewolf. You came from a long line of Alphas. You’re just as strong as them, being smaller just gives you the advantage with speed.

            I rolled my eyes, getting dressed. I checked my phone, hoping to see a message from Arabella or Austin. Nothing. I sent Austin a quick text, I miss you brother, call when you can. I doubt he’d call though. Shayla would demand all his attention.

I hadn’t been paying attention and didn’t realize the rest of the girls had come in to change too. Some of them giving me the side eye. Callie came up to me smiling, “that was crazy awesome! I’ve never seen someone defeat the Beta like that, much less a girl!”

            I smiled, “thanks, just stuff I picked up training with my brother and his beta over the years. We start younger at my old pack.”

            “Well maybe we should change up the way we do things here. Do you want to go to the diner and grab some lunch and hang out?”

            I hadn’t even realized it was nearing lunch time, “yeah that’d be great.” I smiled at her again, “let’s go.” We grabbed our stuff and started walking out of the gym, outside Alpha and Beta stood there speaking in hushed tones, Alpha Azai looked at me again, a look of curiosity; Beta realized he had stopped listening and looked to see what had caught his attention.

            I didn’t want to know what it was about, I put my head down and walked faster. Callie kept up with me and started telling me about all the places to go in town and all the people. “Don’t mind the mean girls that were giving you dirty looks earlier at training either, they’re just jealous you get to train with Alpha Azai.”

            “Why?” What was so special about the Alpha, I wondered.

            She looked shocked and stopped in her tracks for a moment, “uh probably because he hasn’t found his mate yet and he’s unbelievably hot! They all hope one of them will be his mate when they turn 18.”

            “Callie! Wait up!” A guy’s voice yelled. I looked back to see an older guy running up. “Oh hey, I’m Caleb.” He shot me a grin.

            “Alessia,” I smiled back.

            “Caleb has been like my best friend since childhood here.” Callie explained, “but he’s 2 years older so he patrols the borders from 6 AM to 10 AM. Caleb, this is Tasha’s Great Niece that moved here from Cerulean Pack.”

            “No way. Tasha is the coolest. I live a few houses down from her too. She had so many cool stories to tell when I was a kid. Why have you never visited before?”

            I looked down at the ground as we walked, “it’s complicated. My mom and her didn’t really speak much but she somehow still was named my godmother and she’s always kept close tabs on me. She came to visit a lot when I was an infant and then not until my parents died, she stayed for a few months before returning here. She wasn’t one to enjoy the big pack houses, she preferred her privacy. She always kept in touch after my parents died though, making sure she spoke to me every week. It was easier to just move here than stay at Cerulean and deal with my brother’s mate.”

            They didn’t say anything the rest of the way to the diner. When we got there, we went in and sat down ordering ourselves drinks and a plate of cheese fries to share. “So, what do you guys do for fun around here?”

            Caleb’s face lit up, “there’s this club, we actually have plans to go on Friday night, if you want to join us. It’s called Infinity. It’s my cousin’s birthday, but the bigger the party, the more the fun!”

            He made me laugh, “are you always this full of energy?”

            Caleb looked like he was thinking about it, “usually yeah, but you get used to it.”

            We went our separate ways, Callie and Caleb were going to get outfits for this weekend while I was headed home, I had enough clothes as it was and not a big enough closet. My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from Arabella. Need to come see you soon. I miss your face. It’s too quiet without you here.

I typed out a quick response, I miss you too. Wish you could just come live with me. It’s not the same without you.

            I walked into the house, tossing my bag on the floor by the door and throwing myself on the couch looking at the ceiling and the fan spinning. Tasha walked in from the kitchen, “well out with it girl, how did it go.”

            “I had to spar the Beta and I won so now I have to go train even earlier tomorrow.”

            She frowned, “why earlier if you beat the beta?”

            I sat up on my elbow looking at her with a miserable expression. “Now I have to train with the alpha.”

            Tasha pressed her lips together as she was thinking. “You came to me a few months after you turned 17, have you shifted yet?”

I shook my head, “no. Shayla did her Luna ceremony instead and said we didn’t need one for me to shift. I just never got around to it, I’d hoped Austin and I could shift together and go for a run since mom and dad weren’t with us for it.”

            “Your wolf hasn’t been pushing you to complete the bond?” I shook my head again. “No offense, Allie, but I’m a little impressed you could beat the Beta unless he was taking it easy on them. I’ve seen them train.” She paused, seemingly thinking some more, “I’ve been meaning to ask, did you ever learn our family history before your mother died?”

            “Kind of, mostly bedtime stories she said her mother passed down. She didn’t really want to talk about it much.”

            Tasha walked over to the bookshelf and pulled down an old picture album, “this is from the earlier 1900s. photos of my grandmother and her children.” She flipped through the pictures till she came across the page she was looking for. In the large photo was 4 wolves, but one of them stood out from the others. A white wolf with bright eyes. “The Celestine Wolf. It’s passed down in our family, skipping generations at a time. Their eyes glow a bright blue, each Celestine wolf chosen by the Goddess herself. My mother used to say that my grandmother could speak to the Goddess herself in her dreams. She always had the ability to calm down a room of angry people and had visions of things that would happen and uncanny intuition.”

            “You’ve always had an uncanny intuition,” I said pointedly

            She sighed, “I think that was just luck, my wolf is as plain as they come.” She closed the photo album and went to put it back on the shelf. “Your grandmother never wanted anything to do with the Celestine wolf, neither did your mother. So, they never studied it. I believe there is more information on it at the Silver Dawn pack in the private library, but there’s way for us to retrieve it.”

            I stood up, feeling uncomfortable suddenly. “You think I’m the next Celestine wolf?” There was no way, I’ve been normal my entire life.

            Tasha shrugged, “I’ve had suspicions, I suppose your mother did to since I was named your Godmother. Your mother was going to send you to live with me if that was the case when you shifted. Obviously, things changed when she died, yet here you are.” She smiled, “anyway, I’m going to finish dinner.”

            I went outside, taking in a deep breath with my eyes closed, listening to the forest that surrounded us. Trying hard as possible to tap into my wolf’s senses; birds, squirrels, water… water? I hadn’t known there was water close by. “Tasha, I’m going for a walk,” I called to her. Off I went, deeper into the forest as it became more and more dense, following the sound of water. I went down a steep hill and a small river came into view.

            I walked along it for a while until I found a rock that jutted out over the water, I sat down and looked down into it, my reflection baring staring back at me with the light of the full moon that filtered down through the trees. Could I be the Celestine Wolf? Why not Austin, he’s the first born after all, aren’t they supposed to be the special ones. My wolf, Amara, didn’t say much; I felt like other people’s wolves spoke to them more.

            Complete the bond, her voice rang in my head. I stood up, backing up from the edge of the rock, looking around to make sure no one was around. “Alright, Amara. Let’s do this,” I breathed out. Closing my eyes, I focused on that part of me that felt distant, trying hard to draw it closer to me, preparing myself for the pain that was sure to come. Bones began to dislocate, fingers turning into claws, hair sprouting all over adding itchiness to the pain. It felt like it took forever. I laid on the ground, whimpering at first, picking my head up as the pain and itching subsided. Realizing Amara was giving me control I tried to stand while shaking off the odd feeling of being in a completely different body.

            Let’s see what we look like, Amara. She walked over to the edge of the rock, looking down into the dark water. Peering back was a large white wolf with shining blue eyes.

            We are the Celestine wolf, Amara’s voice sounded in my head, now that you’ve completed the bond it will be easier for me to communicate with you. Before it was like being locked away behind a wall.