Chapter 1

MAEVE

I was rudely awoken by the sound of a fist thumping against my door and a loud voice bellowing through the gap.

"Maeve... MAEVE!! Wake up sweetheart. TODAY IS THE DAY!"

I lazily stretched out and opened my eyes trying to take in my surrounding.

My eyes rested on my photo collage board in my room, pictures of my family and friends greeted me with their warm smiles. I knew how lucky I was to live the life I did. Daughter to the Alpha, surrounded by family and friends that genuinely cared for me, I always felt safe, loved and honestly content.

The knocking on my door persisted along with a little whine of frustration. I chuckled to myself knowing that my mother had been preparing this moment in her head for years, planning out every fine detail, imagining it repeatedly to ensure everything would be perfect.

Her only child's summoning day. Summoning days were a huge deal within the packs anyway, the day a shifter found their wolf.

"I'm awake mum, you can come in."

I'm surprised she even had the patients to wait for permission.

The door burst open and there stood my beautiful mother with a huge Cheshire cat like grin on her face.

"Happy 18th Birthday my angel!" She shouted with glee.

She skipped over to my bed and proceeded to shower me in kisses all over my face.

I laughed and pretended to push her away. "Muuuum... Stopppp. I'm 18 now not a baby!"

She took a step back and looked at me with her warm Hazel eyes.

"My Angel, you will always be my baby." She responded.

She cupped my face softly in her hands.

"I'm so proud of the amazing young woman you have become, so is your dad. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better daughter."

Her words brought a tear to my eyes.

"I love and appreciate you and papa as well mum". She straightened herself up, cleared her throat and began sauntering out the room.

"Enough of this mushy stuff Angel" was her response as she stuck her tongue out at me pretending to shove her fingers down her throat making a 'sick face' "you're turning me and your dad all mushy in our old age"

I tried to stifle a laugh.

"Don't blame me you guys have always been big mush balls!"

I hopped out of bed and put my feet into my fluffy slippers. "Breakfast is ready when you are Angel" my mum's final words as she walked out of the room.

I stuck my nose up into the air and inhaled the smell of pancakes. My favourite! I hurried out of my room, down the stairs and into the kitchen where I saw my papa sitting at the breakfast bar reading a newspaper.

"Morning papa!"

He lifted his head from the paper and gave me a warm smile.

"Good morning Angel, Happy Birthday!" He rummaged around his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in blue and gold wrapping paper completed with a gold bow.

"Papa you shouldn't have. You and mum have already gone WAYYYY overboard with my summoning ceremony, I genuinely wasn't expecting anything else."

He continued to hold the box out wiling for me to take it.

"And that is exactly the reason you deserve it Maeve."

I took the box from his hand and opened the delicate bow and wrapping paper. Inside the box was a key with a silver keyring of an angel attached. My eyes widened as I took in the car key in the little box.

"It's outside angel" I heard mum respond behind me and turned round to see her hands clasped together with an excited look spread across her face.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

I shouted to them both as a ran outside the front door of our estate to see a brand-new Jaguar F-pace in matte black with custom black rims. It was my dream car. I ran over to it and pressed the key to open the doors.

They had custom made the entire thing, it had a panoramic glass room, the interior was all black to match the outside with LED lights around the seating. I was so overwhelmed I started to cry tears of pure joy.

My papa came round to the driver's door whilst I was still sat in the driver's seat wailing like a baby. "We're so glad you like it Angel"

I jumped out of the car into his arms

"like it?! I LOVE IT!!" I rejoiced.

My mum was standing near by and cleared her throat.

"Angel I really don't want to rain on your parade, but you really do need to come and start getting ready for your summoning ceremony. It starts in less that 2 hours."

I hopped out of my dad's arms and started walking back towards the estate. My perfect car and my perfect life would still be there waiting for me after the ceremony. The least I could do was get ready on time, so I was more than happy to go inside and be prodded and poked with makeup and a hairbrush for the time being.

I went back into my room closely followed by my mother and sat down at my vanity table.

"Do you have any idea how you would like me to do your hair and makeup Maeve?" She questioned.

I looked at her and laughed.

"Mum we both know you've probably had an idea in your head for months of how you want me to look, and I trust your judgement so just go for it." And I genuinely meant it. She had always been so good at choosing outfits, hair styles and makeup looks for me.

She squealed and started spraying my face with a setting spray, it was her 'top tip' for makeup that she had disclosed to me a few years ago. She had told me that by starting with the finishing spray the primer and makeup would stick better to my face. I sat and idly chatted and joked around with my mum for the next hour or so whilst she played around with my hair and face.

Once she has finished, she took a step back to look at her handy work.

"What do you think?" She question apprehensively.

I turned away from her to look in the mirror and my breath caught in my throat. She had outdone herself, I looked amazing.

My white-blonde hair had been left down in loose waves with two intricate fishtail plaits, one on either side. My makeup had been done with green and blue eyeshadow to bring out my eyes. I was born with heterochromia so had one green eye and one blue. The eye look has been completed with a soft black cat eye eyeliner and my lips had been left a nude shade to leave the focus on my eyes.

"Mum I look amazing!"

I continued to gawp at myself in the mirror.

"You always look amazing Angel. Now time for your dress" she answered before hurrying away.

She left the room returning a few moments later with a dress bag in her hand. She hooked the hangover onto the top of my wardrobe and began to unzip the bag revealing a full-length silk emerald green dress with spaghetti straps.

Once my mum had helped me into my dress I stood and looked at myself in my full-length mirror, the dress fit me like a glove. It had intentional loose material around my chest and a long slit in the material travelling up my left leg.

"Oh mum! It's perfect! I honestly think you know me better than I know myself sometimes."

She pulled me into a tight hug and whispered in my ear "time for my Angel to find her wings".

On queue my papa walked into the room told us it was time to leave.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror. I'd always had a complex about the way I looked growing up, nothing major. But some of the other kids had made comments about the colour of my hair and the fact I had different eyes.

I chuckled to myself remembering how it had all stopped, when poor little Dominic had made a comment about my eyes being stupid just as my father had walked over to pick me up from school. That unfortunate soul was made to do 20 laps, around our entire territory.