"What in hell are you doing here?" Jake shrieks as he opens the door to our house."I'll take that as in please make yourself at home," I say shoving him aside as I enter and head straight to their new couch that looks super comfortable."Lily, Darius is searching all over for you!" he runs fingers through his thick dark hair.I take my phone out and see five missed calls and two text messages from Darius:*where the hell are you??**Lila, are you alright?!?!*I type back.*at my parents' place. All good here. Talk to you soon.*I stare at my brother. "I didn't come to talk about Darius," I state. "Go get your brothers and our father. We're going to have a family meeting."I thought long and well whether I should tell my siblings the truth. I reached the conclusion that if my dad harmed Mom and the truth could only hurt them, I'd keep it to myself. But, Mom's alive. And hiding it from them could mean robbing them of a mother. I can't do that."Oh?" Jake frowns. "If this is about you g
"And then we'll sneak in to steal the ceremony jewels and get out before anyone notices we were even there," Dione said with a mischevious gleam in his dark eyes."Ahaha, that'd be freaking amazing!" I laughed as five of us were seated on a wooden bench in the woods clearing, close to its edge. It was our main meeting spot. The five of us named ourselves the 'Rebel Gang', even though everyone else called us the 'Havoc Clan'.The team was lead by me and Dione - my best friend from our pack's Delta's family. He was a true rebel at heart and a brilliant schemer. The three other members were Helena, Rachel, and Campton. We were all brilliant fighters and disliked the hierarchy instilled upon us."It's a perfect crime because no one will suspect us, since minors aren't even allowed to attend monthly gatherings," Dione wiggled his dark brows."C'mon, guys, stealing that equipment's a step too far. What if they get attacked and are left with nothing to defend themselves with?" Helena shook h
I park my car in front of the Carter house and walk inside with purpose. I go straight toward Darius' office - I know he's there because the smell leads me to it.As I approach, I hear many other voice - another pack meeting. One without their fake 'Luna' as per usual.I open the door and walk in, not paying any attention to the dozen people inside, besides my mate.He stares right back at me."Meeting's over," I say, still not parting my eyes.Darius purses his lips a little, and I can tell he's deciding whether to send me off at once and keep his word that we're done.Finally, he nods to Derek.The crowd gets up and leaves, some of them greeting me on the way out. Others ignoring me as per usual - I'm still holding a bad rep.As the door closes, I strut towards his desk, still not breaking our eye contact, then stand with legs apart, my hands in my pockets."Welcome back. Luna," he says ironically with his deep voice.I slant my lips in irritation. "Please," I blink once. "We both k
"You lost!" my wolf yelled to Simone, growling in happiness. It had only taken me 20 seconds to tackle her down."Get off of me," her wolf pleaded in irritation."Lily!" I heard Jorah's stern voice coming towards us.I knew what that meant - I immediately shifted back to human form and got up to my feet. "Sorry, Jorah," I dusted myself off and looked for a shirt to throw back on. "We were just messing around," I pull my jeans back on."Don't let it happen again," he hissed, helping his daughter back up.I contained a chuckle and ran to her house, my father standing on their porch, yet another disappointed look in his eyes. "Sorry, Alpha," he admonished. "It won't happen again. Those are the words you say, Lily."I pursed my lips in irritation and said nothing as I passed by him into the house."You're fifteen. You should know better by now," he talked to my back."I don't call Alpha someone who isn't just that," I whispered to Dione, seated at the Emerson kitchen desk. He lifted a sh
I leave the bathroom of Wolves&Beasts restaurant and walk to where my family's seated. The place is decorated with black and red balloons, confetti are lying all over the floor and there's food and drinks in each and every corner - being replenished just as fast as it disappears. We're celebrating my eldest brother's graduation.I smile walking up to them. "Hi, guys," I lay a kiss onto Jamie and Jason's cheek before they can see me."Lily!" Jamie exclaims excitedly, "Perfect. We were just discussing what we could as a prank for Jake, but we couldn't decide between-""Oh, no," I cut him off, "prank days are behind me," I jokingly raise an admonishing brow."Oh, c'mon, you're like the top prankster," he insists. "You don't have to do it with us, just give us an idea and we'll do it ourselves. No one has to know you helped us.""Alright, let me hear the idea and if it's not totally crazy or dangerous, I'll see what I can -" but my sentence breaks as I see Darius escorting a woman to a c
Darius and I sit in a restaurant nearby - Wolves' Business - sipping on red wine and eating beef stakes. It's our first date since we've gotten on good terms."What will we do about your mother's situation?" he stares at me in curiosity."I forgave her," I say. "I plan on having her in my life."He tilts his head, getting beef on his fork. "It'll be a problem for our pack. Two men died chasing vampires not long ago.""Don't you think I know that?" I frown. "It wasn't her. She never killed a werewolf," I demand. "She caused one death a long time ago. And she feels bad enough herself. How can I blame her?"I remember the last conversation we've had....She cried about Jamie not wanting to speak with her. "I wish... I wish I could see him just once. To tell him how much I regret what I've done.""I know," I laid a hand over hers. "If you did have a chance to do it all over again..." I ask silently, "what would you've done?""I would've let them join," she swallowed hard, shaking her head
Three Months LaterBruno's barking at the door wakes me up.Sleepily, I look around to check where I am. I realize I fell asleep on our living room's couch - I moved in with Darius two weeks ago.There's a knock on the door."I'm coming!" I yell and trot towards the door.As I open it, I put up a purposely false smile. "To what do I owe the displeasure?"Terry chuckles. "See, you missed having me around for your little jokes and stuff..." he finishes patronizingly.I raise an eyebrow. "The only thing little here-" I trail off as he walks in, looking around."Where's my brother?""He went to Derek's. To plan your joining ceremony.""Oof," he shakes his hand. "Must be killing you we got ours before you did.""Easy there, sugar," I meet his eyes and shove him lightly, "or I might get you the shittiest present yet."He chuckles. "I would expect nothing less from you," he winks.My phone rings then."Hi, Mom," I answer immediately."How are you Lila?""Everything's great," I smile. "Your e
I have never seen so much flower decorations before. Our yard has been transformed from a simple lawn into a fancy garden worthy of hosting a wedding. Debra has been beyond excited this past week. All she's been doing involved something to do with our joining ceremony. My mother was welcomed into her house two days prior and I can tell it hasn't been easy for either of them to start liking each other, but they played nice. Nature is weirdly strong. The instilled animosity between vampires and werewolves is not something one solves in a day. But I have hope that this bridge will be crossed. In the garden they raised a high roof tent, each of its poles decorated with red and white flowers. Inside it, there are many chairs and quite a few tables serving food and beverages.Outside, flower petals are spread across the lawn, in three circles, the final one marking a center of our joining. I wear a simple red gown, slightly v-cut, with thin straps, very fluttery, reaching to my mid calv