Chapter One- Disaster

“Stop it!”

A laugh bubbles out of my throat as Jax presses kisses to my neck. The ticklish fever overtakes me and I find myself pushing him back.

My boyfriend pulls back with a huge grin, his eyes dark with lust and he knows exactly what he’s doing to me.

“This is supposed to be romantic,” The man voices out to which I scoff before pecking his lips.

“You’re trying to get into my pants. That’s not romantic.”

Jax pushes himself up on his elbows as he takes in my half naked form.

This is what always happens. We plan out our day with lots of fun activities but before I know it, everything gets dropped and we’re having sex like two horny wolves during their heat. It’s happened more times than I’d like to count.

Not that I’m complaining or anything.

Jax grabs me by my waist as I try to get up and a surprised shriek leaves my lips. He kisses me once more before looking straight at me.

“You’ve been a bit distracted lately? Is something wrong?”

I chew on my lip as the events of the day catch up to me. Nothing has happened yet but it's set in stone.

It always is when Serena comes to visit.

“Serena is coming home today.”

Jax sits up in alarm.

“You mean your sister, Serena? I thought she had left the pack when she was about fourteen.”

My lips tug down into a frown as I flop back down onto the comfortable mattress.

“Yeah but she’s coming back now. She graduated from college last week. Serena’s coming back and my parents want me to throw a damn welcome back party for her.”

I hated this. I despised all of it.

I’m a damn wolf. A strong one at that. My parents are the Alpha and Luna of the Dark Moon pack. I should have all the power and control at my fingertips. I’ve seen wolves in my position being practically worshiped. Not only by their packmates but also their parents.

Nothing I ever do seems to please my parents though. That in turn sets a stigma for the other packmates. If the Alpha and Luna don’t like someone, then nobody does.

Serena is the star of the show and I can’t help the jealous streak that runs through me.

That girl had left the pack at a young age and was shipped off to study in the City. A place that is far from here and so she didn’t come back until she graduated.

Today’s the day.

My parents haven’t even spared me a glance since the news broke. They’ve been planning for days for her welcome ceremony. It’s nothing different from the usual indifference I've been dealt with but it still hurts.

Turning my gaze to Jax, I let a smile come onto my face.

“You know, I’m glad to have you in my life. Especially after the way everyone treats me.”

We may not be fated mates but we were stronger than that. We didn’t let some stupid bond decide our fate. Jax and I promised that we’d be together until the end or nothing at all.

Another pang of insecurity rises within me and I shift uncomfortably. Jax notices what’s wrong and his eyes fill with concern for me. We may not be soulmates but I can read him like a book.

“What’s wrong baby?”

“Would you leave me if I don’t turn into a wolf? My birthday is tomorrow and I’m kind of worried.”

Jax brushed the hair out of my face and pecked me gently on the forehead.

“Never in a million years would I ever leave you. It’s you and me against the world.”

*****

“Where the hell have you been, Avery?”

I wince at the harsh tone my mother uses. The woman never could talk to me gently. It was either as if she hated me ever since the day she birthed me or a condescending tone as if I wronged her in some way.

My father stares me down across from my father. He wasn’t the worst but he stood silent when my mother lashed out. The man was an Alpha but not to me. He acted weak and never stood up for me. I was target practice for his mate and he didn’t care enough to step in.

Even though I am his own flesh and blood.

“I was out with Jax.”

My mother rolls her eyes and comes to stand in front of me.

“You're selfish, you know that? Not only are you coming late but you’re prioritizing yourself by not helping us. Your sister is coming home in a while and you haven’t helped at all with the welcome ceremony.”

A scoff leaves my lips and I eye my father before staring down at my mother. The woman was practically red in the face and didn’t care about the fact that she was so close to me.

“Why should I be home all the time? I have the right to go out whenever I please. Also, I’m not your damn servant. You can’t tell me what to do constantly. It-”

The words die on my tongue as a sharp stinging pain laces through my cheek. All the anger within me dies down as surprise and anguish over takes me

Sure, the poisonous words she throws at me hurts in their ways. I’ve cried myself to sleep time and time again with the way she insulted me and looked down at me as if I was nothing to her. Physical abuse was something completely new.

The slap across my cheek throbbed painfully and yet she didn’t even react. Not even when a cry escaped my lips. She stared stony eyed at me as if I deserved all this and more.

“I-”

Once more, all the words left me as an alarm went off. I couldn’t process it. My mind focused on my mother and the way she had her fists clenched.

“There’s an attack!”

My father’s voice cuts through the intensity of the situation and I look up in surprise.

This just got a whole lot worse.