AZALEA'S POV
Weeks Later
I stand in front of my mirror, a deep scowl etched to my face, taking off my hat. I wouldn’t generally say I hate myself, but I'm so different and its not even the cute kind.
I dyed my hair yesterday but somehow, overnight, the ends had grown an inch and a half longer. I used to be pretty bald as a kid, my hair was so short that I could only put them in little pig tails, but age 13 or 14, my hair started growing like some sort of lab freak.
Mom had been excited, she said it only meant I would have a pretty wolf, my hair was supposed to be the color of my wolf. I didn’t believe her, not more than do I now. It has been years and said pretty wolf is yet to show up.
It wouldn’t be that big a deal if the inch I grew over night wasn’t bright silver in color.
I drop my face into my palm, biting my lip for a minute to mute out the scream of curses I was going to let out, I didn’t want to call any attention to myself.
Unlike Kai, all pressure has been on my older sister Eloise ever since she shifted, she is a beauty, the precious apple of Beta Hemshworth's eye, and so it's a huge concern for the entire family that after 3 years of shifting, she's still un mated. Being the first daughter of a beta was hard, I can’t help but pity her.
Eloise attended a local 2 year college in cosmetology and fashion design, so she has her own clothing store in the mall in town - very fitting.
But even with all the chaos and differences, life is good, I love my family and they love me, in their own very way. So while Eloise had her own problems, I was faced with my own. With my new silver ends, my brown roots are disappearing. I used to have all brown hair when I was much younger, I have pictures to prove, it wasn’t as dark as the rest of my family but it was brown.
The hair change thing also began when I was 13, it started at the very tip, like I highlighted it, then it slowly turned a hue of grey, then silver and it worked its way up. I’ve been dyeing my hair ever since. It's hard keeping up with dying it every other day when everyone in my family constantly had a job for me.
“Azalea!!.” Lexa screams from across the hall.
“Ugh!.” I groan loudly, sitting in front of my vanity table staring back at a pair of hazel eyes in the mirror.
“Azalea!!.” This time, its Justin’s voice I hear.
“They're definitely fighting over the TV remote again.” I sigh and take out a towel to wrap it around my head like I just came out of the shower, barely a second later, my door burst open to reveal my siblings.
“I took it first!.” Justin yells, trying to push his way into my room completely ignoring my head.
“I called dibs!.” Lexa yells back, shoving him.
“Azalea!,” They yell out simultaneously and I walk over.
“What seems to be the problem?.” I ask, bored out of my mind, I have seen this scene too many time to be surprised. Standing with my arms akimbo, I look down at them, and as predicted, they were both pulling on the TV remote.
“He started it!.”
“She started it!.”
Both of them shout simultaneously again, pointing their free hands at each other, while the other hands stayed firm, pulling the remote to each side. I look at the remote and let out a sigh.
“Dad better not see that you’re fighting over TV when mid terms are a week away.” I tell them and just like magic, Justin releases the remote.
“Nothing good was on anyway!.” He shoves it at her. Justin is always the one to want to act like an adult, as expected of the sons of a beta; superiority is genetic, I guess, or some crap.
Kai is next in line as Beta, Justin would need to step up his game, to be 'The brother of a Beta'. Lexa gapes at him and then shoves it back.
“Well, I was going to stream N*****x on my laptop!.” She says eyeing him, I cover my mouth to stop my giggle.
“Whatever.” He glares at her and walks away, a big bang followed as the door of his room was slams shut. She run after him. I retreat to my room, dusting my hands as I resume attending to my own dilemma.
As much as I want a mate like my father, I'm very sure that with all the weird things about me I’d never find one, for all I knew I am a human of a weird race in another continent.
And from what I have seen, human don’t have mates, they get to choose who they spend the rest of their lives with. Even if the choice was up to me, I’ll still die single. No one would readily fall in love and agree to marry me.
So in every situation I was a sore loser. Call it what you may, low self confidence, bad esteem, whatever, but the reality is that while Eloise has men flocking around her, wishing she was theirs, I only receive their glares and squirms.
Talking to my mom always makes me feel better, she's already busy as the Beta's wife and the Luna's right hand, I don't want to be a burden, but like the super mom that she is, as if she new I needed her, mom walks in.
“Hey baby.” She calls, I spring out of bed earning a chuckle from her.
“Is dinner over?.” I ask and she nods, motioning for me to sit back down.
"Camren?.” She calls to one of our maids in with a food tray.
“Sorry, I got carried away.” I tell her.
“Thank you Camren, you can go.” She waves the maid who leaves without a word. I’m pretty sure that maid in particular didn’t like me, she's like the hand maid of Eloise, even though such things don’t exist anymore, she's just always ready to help Eloise with anything, having particularly grown up with her, before I arrived into the family.
Mom waits with me till I finish eating, making small talk and recapping every thing that happened over dinner. Justin brought home another ‘girlfriend’ that Lexa doesn’t like, she wasted no time in letting out her displeasure. I laugh out loud many times with food in my mouth.
“I know you think we leave you kids to yourselves and the maids most of the time,” She starts with a small smile. I frown a little, confused at her words.
“But I know each of you more than you think, and goddess, you’re all so different.”
“Ugh, I don’t think Eloise and Kai are very different form each other save for the fact that they are different genders.” I scuff out, not meaning for the words to leave my mind.
Mom laughs, not taking offense.
“And its no secret that you are the most different.” She says pinching my cheek like a toddler. “And you know I love you all equally right?.” I frown even more.
‘What is going on?.’ I ask myself, but I know better than to rush mom when she was trying to say something, the woman always takes her time.
“Yeah, and I wished you were more unequal with your love some times.” I let out. She gives me a surprised look and I roll my eyes.
“I remember getting really mad when Eloise used to be mean and you’d just be so chill about it,” She tries to interrupt me, but I shake my head, telling her I'm not done. “But when I saw you did the same for me with Lexa and the same for Lexa with Justin, I understood.”
“I’m glad you did.” She says. “And you know I also got mad at both of you?….”
My turn to be surprised. “What do you mean?.”
“I wanted my daughters to be so close, best of friends, I wanted all of you to be, but that didn’t happen, still hasn’t.” She gives a sigh, like she had had those words on her mind for a long time.
“You and I both know that Eloise doesn’t like me mom.” I draw out. This isn't how our conversations usually go.
With the Kai situation, I barely get any time alone to myself, or to even to get my homework done.
Mom doesn't leave my side for a minute, always checking up on me. No one mentions what happened that night again, so I also decide not to say anything too, not that I can bring myself to say that my own brother tried to rape me, my family would fall apart. The guilt of that alone was very heavy.
Eloise would support Kai, no matter what, I just know it, she will most probably tell her friends, who will also continue to spread the news twisting it to what favored their image, then dad would get mad at her too.
AZALEA'S POV“No she doesn't.” She defends immediately. I arch an eyebrow at her, she smiles.“I had a lot of sisters growing up too, and we never really saw eye to eye, even though we were almost the same ages,” I interrupt her and she let me.“You and all your sisters are from the same parents, Eloise sees me as a pest.” I tell her truthfully and she gasps, I guess I'm breaking her heart with my words, she probably doesn’t think it's as bad as it is.“If you think like that of your sister, then how are you any better Azalea?.” She tells me firmly, I want to argue, but I decide against it, it's no use."Have you ever tried to mend things with your sister other than concluding based on your prejudice?. If not, then the fault also lies with you." I want to tell her all how Eloise and her friends use to mock me in school. How she would let them laugh at me. How would I endure that and try to "mend things" when I have done nothing wrong but being adopted. “I’ll talk to Eloise so you guy
AZALEA'S POV"No." I whisper quietly. I didn't, I believe we should all be allowed to choose what we want and not just be forced to accept something that has been said before we were even born, how is that fair to us?.I guess that makes me even more different to the rest of my family, werewolves are all about Destinies, fated mates, fated life, fated job in the pack, everything, depending on who you are born of, everything is predesigned, and sickening."Not being able to chose you own life is not fair mom."She smirks, like she already knows my answer, I don't really hide my displeasure, I'm very vocal about how I see things, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that reason before."Destiny does not mean you don't get to chose your own life, flower." She starts with her usual light tone."It means what will be will be…….."I frown, not quite getting the difference."What will be, will be and you'll help it to be, knowingly or unknowingly, if you like it or not." She says. Mom always has th
HENRY'S POVI don't need a mate. I always tell Cedric, but he has made it his purpose in life to ignore me. I stare out the window of the throne room as he rattles on about the eldest daughter of a Beta in the pack that just joined the alliance.I prop my hand on the chair, holding my temple as his voice echoes in the empty room, about to hurl out curses in frustration when my own Beta's voice suddenly fills my head."The border has been breached." He announce in a fear filled voice. Eli, my Beta and friend was never one to be afraid, but this is the third breach this month and even I am worried."Level of threat?." I ask and Cedric finally stops talking to notice my eyes glazed as I communicate orders through the link."A level one, single crazed rogue." He says and I close off the link. They know what to do.I stand from my throne and Cedric bows. I groan at the quiet smile on his lips as I anticipated another hour long rant as to why I need a mate."The pack is beginning to worry at
HENRY'S POVMy uncle Ray hated that my father signed a peace treaty with the human werewolf hunters who we have been at war with since time immemorial.As a kid, I liked Uncle Ray, he would let me fight with him, hunt with him. But my mom never liked him much, or rather she was very wary of his reckless lifestyle. I heard my mom and dad argue about Uncle Ray's position and power in the pack a few times. But my dad refused to make him any less than Beta, he was his older brother, if situations were reversed, he should be king.My dad told me many times how hard Uncle Ray trained to become king. It was all he ever did with his life, but when that didn't happen and the throne was passed to him instead, Uncle Ray turned to alcohol and the lifestyle my mom so hated.Even with the subtle tension here and there, I had no reason to see that he could be capable of hurting me or my family. But evil takes root in ones heart deeper than anybody can imagine. I was ten, I could barely understand pol
AZALEA'S POVThe whole pack school was in uproar as I arrived, chaos and excitement, over the news of our pack hosting the next mating moon ceremony for the alliance. I graduated Highschool a year early and decided to take a gap year till I got my wolf instead of going to college right away. I took a job as a Teaching assistant to Grade 7 and 8 of the school.It was a great job, but it attracted a lot of weird looks and attention when people my age were still in grade 11 or 12 freaking out over prom, or in this case, the dangerous Alpha of Red Fire pack of the North coming to visit for the mating moon ceremonies which is simply a modern werewolf version of debuting to the ton. Ladies get all dolled up for hours to attend an exclusive party in the hopes of finding a man. You only qualified to attend if you have shifted, the rest of the children stay away from the actual mating process.Eloise always goes, and returns with the same surly expression on her face and irritable mood.Mum whi
HENRY'S POV"My king, I'm not sure this is entirely advised." The whinny old man shudders and I smirk."You wanted me to go to Blue Ivy, we're going to Blue fucking Ivy." I tell him."But I didn't say in the middle of the night with no guards or soldiers."I snort. "Cedric, I trained those soldiers, who would be protecting whom?."Every soldier has fought me one on one before they are sworn in. I usually do it just for the sake of it, and because my wolf enjoys beating people to a pulp but if they pass or tap out before thirty minutes of sparing, they are cut. They need to be able to withstand pain, no one of Black Lotus is less of a fighter than I am. Ray was my first combat teacher, he is a brutal fighter and has taught all his soldiers same."So are you coming or not?." I ask him with a grin, without thinking about it, his eyes glaze over and he smiles. I nod and turn away for a bit of privacy as he links his mate and family about our trip.My wolf is restless, happens a lot, I was
AZALEA'S POV“Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size.” I hear a deep voice that causes my stomach to summersault a couple times. Almost immediately, a pleasant smell fills my nose and I shiver.I try to look at him, but the jock he’s holding up is obstructing as if he heard my thoughts, he turned and planted the jock, dangling on a locker. With the obstruction gone, I finally see him. “Then again, I’m not really your size.” He says with mockery deep in his voice but non of it on his face.He’s older, like 5 years older kind of older, he’s definitely not a high school student. I’ve never seen him before, not that I know a lot of people, but his aura is strong, very strong and dark to forget.His hair is long, longer than I’ve seem most men’s, he seems to be having a black thing going on cos, his hair is jet black, and so are all of his clothes down to his shoes, except an orange ID rope is handing out of his back pocket, the only thing of color on his body.I can only see his sid
HENRY'S POV"Then again, I'm not really your size." I don't go around bragging, but I've only met a few people that I don't tower over. I slam his back to a locker, holding him there, with one hand.He kicks and puffs, trying to free himself, after a few seconds, he stops, finally realizing that he can't do anything."Hey!, I'm just a kid, man!, you can't hurt me." He shouts on top of his voice like a pussy."Kid?." I almost laugh, but I had to keep up my big bad wolf thing going on. We had an audience that dropped her tongue when I picked the guy up. I'm used to the reaction."You're like 20?.""What do you want?!." He whimpers."Apologize to the lady." I tip my head at her."Yeah right!." He scoffs and I almost end him, he seems to be one of those stupid people that don't think women and men are equal, he's a piece of shit. I knee him in the groin, almost breaking the little thing."I didn't give you a choice, apologize to the lady and you may still be able to continue your cursed li