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 guys can talk out your differences.” She adds.
“Its okay mom, really, mating moon is just around the corner, she’d find her mate and leave the pack and I don’t plan on being here forever either.” It would sound mean, but I have dreamt of the day when we would no longer have to live in the same house, walking on egg shells around each other.
“Azalea……” She calls out, with a pointed face, she doesn’t like my way of handling things, which was basically running away from it.
“Who can blame her for not liking me, mom, no one does…….it gets worse every day, the way people frown at me, I try not to let it get to me, but I’m not made of bricks.” I rap out quickly, taking a big breath as I stop. This goes beyond Eloise and her snotty friends, the entire pack didn't exactly like me either.
“You know what?, people shy away from poop because its scary not because its filthy.”
“I’m pretty sure no one is scared of me mom.” I scoff, rolling my eyes, subtly. "I'm an anomaly." Who would be scared of a 5 foot girl in an army of muscular animal shifters.
She nuzzles me with a smile.
“You’ll see, when the time comes, they will realize they don't hate you, they only hated that they didn’t understand.”
I smile at her words, she has a way of making every thing seem less frightening that it is, she calls it her ‘mom effect’
We were silent for a while, when I decide to ask a question on my mind, many actually.
“Do you think I’m one of you mom?.” I ask. Her head snap at me like I've uttered an abomination.
“Don’t be ridiculous Azzy, you’re my daughter and thus are a werewolf.” She says giving no room for discussion, but that's till I decide to discuss it.
“But I have no wolf, mom………what?, I'm pretty sure to be a werewolf, you need to have the wolf part?.” I ask her.
“You have a wolf, my sweet, she’s just taking her time to wake up.” She tells me, like she has been saying since I turned 18.
“Really taking her sweet time.” I mumble.
She laughs.
“What happens,” I pause again, finding my words. “What happens, when Pack life doesn’t work out, what will happen to me?.”
“Are you thinking of leaving the pack?.” She asks like she already knows, making me think, she really does know us, or rather me, more than I know or think.
“I don’t think I’ll find a mate without a wolf, “ I say without looking at her.
“I don’t want to put any one, especially you and dad through wanting to find me a mate or figuring what to do with me, so its just better, I go to live with humans……” I couldn’t continue with my words, they are hurting her.
“I don’t want to put dad through that, not after all this with finding Eloise a mate, when she has a wolf.” I say after a while.
“I wouldn’t stop you if you’ve already made up your mind, but I would also not let you go till you give us a chance, give it a chance.” She pulls me close till I rest on her chest, running her hands through my hair.
"I just don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed, I don't want to be hurt mom, and I don't want to hurt others." I tell her softly and I hear her sigh.
"You have a wolf." She say in a firm voice, I barely hear. I turn and narrow my eyes at her.
"Mom…." I drag.
She shakes her head, "I'm not just guessing, I'm convinced."
I frown, convinced?, about to voice my thoughts but she already knows what's on my mind.
"See, I saw her the day I found you, your eyes were glowing, she was keeping you warm." She tells me. I blink several times, not understanding her words. Of all the stories of how I was found, she had left out this detail for years.
I shake my head, unable to believe her even though I know she has no reason to lie. She nods, reassuring me, I swear, her eyes glazed over with tears.
"You were out there for God knows how long before we found you, she's a strong wolf, else you wouldn't have survived." Mom explains and I feet my cheek moisten.
"But……" I try to reason out, having all these arguments in my head, but my words fail me, my throat tightening.
"Don't give up on her, do you understand, flower?."
It's silent for a while, before I finally found my voice again. Even if I did have a wolf, mating is a different situation. Eloise has had her wolf for years and is still unmated.
"Do you think Eloise will find her mate?."
"We all have different destinies, my dear."
I watch intently, her hands move in my head from the mirror on the door of my closet facing us. I don't say anything, not quite understanding what she means.
"Do you believe in destinies, Azalea?." She asks and locks eye with me from the mirror.
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 t
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 a
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 po
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 wh
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
AZALEA'S POVI was adopted, found, really, by a bush of Azaleas, hence my name. My adoptive parents had 2 children before me, a boy and a girl, and a set of twins after me, also a boy and a girl, making 5 kids in all. They love us equally but leave us to ourselves most of the time, busy with pack duties and also personal, duties - they're so into each other, it's gross. Dad could never, even if he tried, keep his hands off mom. Kai, our eldest brother says that’s how it has always been. I dream of a love like that, a man who would love me flaws and all, obsessed with me even when all the hairs on my head turn grey, and me, him, even when he can’t walk straight from arthritis.Kai and Eloise, my older siblings don't like me much, I guess they feel like I intruded, on their perfect little family. They have never really come out to say out rightly, but they do these subtle things like, make me do all their share of chores, and just stay away form me until absolutely necessary.My younge