AZALEA'S POV
The 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 whispering encouraging words to her, Dad giving a quiet forced smile and disappearing off to his study for the next 2 days.
This time felt different, Dad was whistling happily like he had just won the lottery. And even though I didn't mean to eavesdrop on my parent's conversation, but apparently, the Alpha had reason to believe Eloise was his fated mate.
I used to always look forward to mating moon ceremonies before I turned 18, to the day I’d meet my mate and he’d claim me as his, flaws and all, but now, dread fills me as the ceremony draws nearer.
If Eloise found her mate this coming mating moon, all attention would automatically shift to me. There is a low possibility I would find a mate without my wolf, and if I don’t, then I have no idea what becomes of me.
It would a lot easier if I knew who my biological parents are, if this was common in their blood line, but so far, I’m unlucky in that area as well.
Occasionally, the thought of finding my birth parents came to me. If I could find where I was from, maybe it would increase the chances of me getting a mate, for all I knew, there were thousands of people like me in a different community or deserted island and my mate was there, waiting for me.
Mom told me they had tried to find my birth parents when I was found, they took me to the alpha and tried for weeks, months and years, traveling all over the country and even Canada, till they adopted me on my 5th birthday. I went through a phase last year where I tried to find them, but there was too little information about me. I tried every thing, I had even done the online ancestry stuff but to no avail.
After trying and failing to clean the stain a random kid's drink made on my shirt in the rush hour of the morning, I finish with my business in the bathroom just as the bell for the next class rings. The hallways were empty by now and I was about to make a turn to my class of very active pre teen boys and girls when I noticed 3 boys corner a smaller boy, far down the hallway, ruffing him up.
"Didn't you hear the bell?, Get to class!." I shout but they ignore me land extra blows to the boy's tiny frame.
I run over and push the bigger boys away from him. Sadly, bullying is a very common occurrence in school.
Imagine a lot of egoistic males with heightened animal instincts in one small school.
The boy struggles to stand as I pull him up. "Go to the nurse." I tell him handing him my handkerchief for his bloody nose. His small frame didn't look a day over 14 years old against these 19 year olds
"If it isn't the Beta's daughter." One of them sang earning a nasty look. They are this cocky because it is a known fact that I do not have a wolf. So regardless of my father's position, they were higher than myself even though they were gammas.
"You took away our punching bag, what should we punch now?." The second one laughs pushing his mop blonde hair away from his face. I wince.
I suck in a breath as Kai's sinister smile rush to me. Since that night, small spaces frighten me and these guys are not helping.
I’m not usually bullied, people stay too far away to bully me, but sometimes, some guys are just natural idiots, they see a girl they’ve not slept with before and can’t take their eyes off.
“Hey hot stuff!.” One of them whistles.
I groan as they move closer. I roll my eyes to walk away from them, I really don't want any trouble but they put a jock wall in front of me. One guy I recognize from the lacrosse team pulls me back aggressively on my back pack. I stagger, biting on my lip with a hiss, remembering the way Kai flung me across my room.
“Babe, my friend here wasn't done talking.” The guy says with laughter in his voice. I sigh loudly and untuck my hands from the back pack and turn around to face them, slowly. A round of small laughs fills my ears.
'I don't have time for this.'
Without any warning, I grip on both straps of the bag, plugging my feet to the ground, taking the strength from my waist, I swing, throwing him across the room with the bag. His friends gasp loudly, they didn’t expect that.
“Freak!. I told you the Beta's daughter is a freak!” The first one curses and tries to lunge at me, but suddenly the same way his friend held me, he’s being held up by a bigger guy.
"Hey, hey! what the?." My bully gasp again, he kicks and wriggles to free himself from the bigger guy, but to no avail, the big guy had a firm grip, with just one arm. The other guy I threw struggles to stand up, I glance at him to see blood running from his nose. Their third runs to his aid and they run off leaving the lacrosse guy behind.
‘Nice,’ I applaud myself.
“Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size.”
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
AZALEA'S POV"Kai what are you doing!, get out!." I manage to order, but it did nothing to help."Why, I've not had my fun yet." I walk backwards, putting distance between us. "You know, I've always thought of what your skin would feel like in my arms, those perky breasts in my mouth…….." He laughs in a diabolical way, I've never heard before, pushing his brown hair out of the way, I walk away with each step he takes towards me."Kai, you're drunk and in my room! Get out, before you do something stupid." I shout, by now, all sense being quiet and respectful out the window. But he doesn't listen."Kai, stop right there, I'm going to shout!.""Of course you are, when I show you all the pleasures of the world." In a swift movement, he is right in front of me, his hands on my neck, I try to run, but he's fast, I reach for something to hit him with, my eyes dilating as he restricts my air flow. His hands begin to rake my body in a very, very disgusting way, I manage to pick a pen holder a
AZALEA'S POVWeeks LaterI 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 sis
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 gu
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