ONE

LIANI

‘ANOTHER ONE!’ I shout at the bartender. ‘Li, calm down. Unless you want us to get caught’ Aella says. I roll my eyes at her annoying remark. She always gets to come outside. She always gets to go wherever she wants. Unlike me, I have to ask for permission or sneak out to go places. “Maybe it's because she’s the alpha’s daughter,” my wolf says. “Iris, we’re the beta’s daughter, yet we have to ask, and we’re almost 21!” I reply while throwing back another shot. She whimpers at the thought of my father. 

I roll my eyes at her consistent whining in my head. “LETS DANCE” I yell while pulling Aella with me to the dance floor. “You’re going to regret this in the morning.” my wolf says. I ignore her and push her back to the furthest part of my mind. After about 15 minutes of dancing, Aella tells me that she's tired and ready to head back. She’s such a party pooper. I can't lie and say that a lot about me has changed since my father’s death. Although the only time I’ve gotten out has been sneaking to the club on Saturdays with Aella and Sydney, it hasn't always interested me that much until he died. I used to read and listen to Aella and Sydney tell me about their days at school since I wasn't allowed to go. I never even knew why, my parents always gave me some lame ass excuse as to why I couldn't.

My father, Jacoby, was beta to the Blue Moon Pack. He and our Alpha, Luke, were best friends growing up so it was no question that he was going to be Alpha Luke’s beta. Most of my dad’s side of the family grew up in the Blue Moon Pack. Our pack is on the smaller side, but I believe we have some of the best warriors. I may be a little biased as I’ve never met any other warriors or wolves outside of my pack. As for my mom, Maya, and her side of the family, they are almost non-existent. She doesn't communicate with any of them, and I've only ever met one person from her side. My aunt Kaya. She was my mother’s twin sister, and I hated her passionately. She’s the reason my father is dead. 

Five months ago she came to our pack in a frenzy saying ‘the elders were after her’ whatever the hell that meant. Us wolves didn't have elders, just the council that kept the wolves in mind within the lycan kingdom. My mom and dad were both on edge as she said that but they didn't tell me a thing. I remember leading her to our guest bedroom excited that she was visiting. “Tete, I'm so happy that you're here!!” I said to her excitedly. But my wolf, Iris, was on edge. She kept telling me that something wasn't right. My aunt has never been one that was super affectionate, in all honesty, she was as cold as ice. But this visit, she seemed to be trying to coax my parents into feeling for her, wanting them to help her. I would see the smile on her face drop as soon as either of my parents looked away. I wish I had said something sooner, but I just pushed those gut feelings off. Little did I know that pushing them off would result in my father’s death. 

At around 2:15 am, I woke up to my mom screaming and ran out to see my aunt laughing and my father dying on the kitchen floor. I blinked and my aunt was gone. It was as if she just disappeared, leaving behind no scent. I always found it strange that my mother didn't have a werewolf scent, but I just figured that her wolf was dormant, that maybe she couldn't handle her first shift and rejected her wolf. I never asked because I didn’t want to upset her. But I couldn't help but wonder why we couldn't smell even a trace of my aunt’s scent. No wolf scent, no human scent, nothing. At around 2:30 am my father was pronounced dead. She stabbed him and for some reason, my father’s wolf couldn't heal even though the knife wasn't coated in wolfsbane. Ever since that day, everything about me changed. I didn't care about anything. I became sneaky and disobedient. I didn't care that my aunt was still out there and might want to kill me too. I did what I wanted to do and didn't care about the repercussions of my actions. 

As for my mother, she became sad and silent. I found her picking up these old, weird-looking books. They looked as if they belong to witches, as there were a bunch of symbols on them. I tried to open one of them one time, it was as if it was glued shut. I even tried to unlock the latch and couldnt. It was weird, but then again I was drunk. So maybe that’s why I couldnt open them. 

When me and Aella got back to the pack house, my mom and Luna Alora were waiting for us in the kitchen. I could hear Aella’s heartbeat rising when she saw them, but I didnt care at all. I went straight to the fridge to get some water. “Well, hello girls.” Luna Alora said. “H-hey mom” Aella said. “Hi Luna” I said with a sly smile. “Where. The HELL. HAVE. YOU. BEEN?!”

My mother yelled with each word getting louder. I rolled my eyes and replied “out.” It was no secret that I was misplacing my anger. But then again, I didnt care. I knew that she was hiding things from me. From why I couldnt attend school growing up, why I cant leave the pack lands, and who the hell the elders were. Silence. For about 30 seconds, you could hear nothing but silence. Then, the unthinkable happened. I seen my father. 

“D-d-daddy?” I say, almost whispering as tears fill my eyes. Luna Alora and Aella were extremely confused looking between me and the invisible man standing on the other side of the island counter. I hear my mom say “Finally” as she closes her eyes with tears streaming down her face and her hands held up to her mouth. 

“Hi little one.” He replies. I step back as it feels like I was just punched in the chest. “H-how is this possible” I stutter. “Lets give them some space.” Luna Alora says dragging Aella out the kitchen. I look at my mom as she makes her way over to me. “Mom can you see him?” I whisper. I must be drunk as shit for this to be happening right now. “I can see him, baby.” My mom says as she wraps her arms around me in a gentle embrace. “H-how is this possible?” I ask walking slowly to the man that resembles my father. “He might have passed on babygirl, but he’s here.” She says before she paused. “Do you remember all those people you would see as a little girl?” she asks. A million and one memories flood me as I remember the people that would approach me, some of them scary looking, that other people couldnt see. “I-I thought I was crazy.” I whisper with tears streaming down my face. “No, little one. It was your gift of mediumship.” my father says. “Its him. Its really him.” Iris is whining in my head, pacing back and forth. “Gift?!” I asked bewildered. Iris ears are perked up. “Yes babygirl.” My mom says. I thought gifts likes these were for witches, not wolves. I thought to myself. “I think it’s time we tell her baby.” My dad says. “T-tell me what?” I ask looking between my parents.

“Have you ever wondered why you’ve never seen me shift? Or why I dont smell like a wolf?” My mother asks. “I just thought maybe you rejected your wolf.” I said. 

 “I never rejected my wolf, because I was never given one.” My mom says.

I look at her as if shes crazy. “What do you mean?” I ask. “I am a witch, babygirl.” She says softly. I scoffed. “Witch!? You dont even smell like that of a witch!” I snap. “That’s because the elders stripped me of my powers when I decided that I would mate with your father. She says gesturing towards him. “IMPOSSIBLE” I yell. “Witches and werewolves cant mate!” I say. “Then how do you think you were made? My father asks jokingly. I wince at the thought. My mother ignores what he said and continues. “I didnt believe he was my person either, until I felt the bond. We’re the first mates upon different species that either of us knew of. When I told my parents and the elders, they shunned it immediately. Giving me an ultimatum.. My powers or my mate.” I gasped. “Powers?!” I asked. “Yes. As a witch, we’re gifted with powers. Some get powers that are stronger than others. However, our bloodline goes back to the original witch, so while they stripped me of my powers, they couldnt take my mediumship. Hence, why I can still see your father.” “I-I we originate from the original witch?” I ask. “Yes baby girl. You were always special, thats why you were able to see spirits from such a young age.” She chuckles at the thought. “You used to be scared shitless” she says trying not to crack up. I roll my eyes and let out a little laugh. “Yeah, I thought something was wrong with me because no one else could see them.” I say. 

 My father eyes us in awe. As if he’s finally seeing his family act like.. Well a family. “Will you come visit me more often?” I ask him. “I visit you every day. I don't know why you couldn't see or hear me.” He responds. My mom butts in before I could speak. “Her anger suppressed her mediumship. Her age also plays a part in it.” She says. I have so much to learn, I thought to myself. “Your powers will awaken when you find your mate.” my mom says. That was nice and all, but there was only one question that lingered in my brain. “Why did aunt Kaya kill you?” I asked my father. He sighs as if i just asked him the hardest question. “We don't know.” They say together. Iris begins to whine in my head. Another question. “Why was I kept away from everything growing up?” I asked. 

 My mom took a deep breath before answering. “We weren’t sure if the elders would come after you. We knew you were safe on the pack's lands, so we kept you here.” My dad sighs before saying “We knew it would come with struggles, but please understand we wanted to keep you safe.” I understood them now more than ever, but there's a part of me that just wished they would've told me sooner. “Most of our elders are extremely old. There's a total of seven of them, and one of them goes back to our ancestor – the first witch.” My mom says. I gasped in shock. “W-what do you mean? So the first witch is alive?” I asked nervously. “No, her sister.” my mom says sternly. “Well, it's safe to say we don't like her,” Iris says. “No, we do not,” I reply. I went to my room tossing and turning over everything I just learned until I found myself in a deep sleep.