1. Ends and beginnings

Angeline

After howling all I could, I drifted back to the movie of my life playing in my mind. Oh, that was a good part! It happened only a week ago, just before shit hit the fan.

It was my eighteenth birthday, and I was so excited that I jumped off bed early in the morning, which is not something I do. Ever.

Leaping off my bed, I headed to my little sister’s, Stella, room and entered it on my tiptoes before I jumped on her bed.

“Good morning, pup! Do you know what day it is today?” My voice dripped with excitement.

“Angel!” she sat up immediately, rubbing her hand on her little eyes and smiling, “Is it my birthday? Oh, no! It’s your birthday, the day you will meet your wolf!” She gave me a huge gaping smile. One of her front milk teeth had just fallen, and now she had that cute gap that pups her age have.

“Yes!! And better than that, it means that I will be able to start my warrior training next week!” I almost squealed as I ruffled her strawberry-blonde hair. To be a great fighter like my father and my cousin Bianca had been my dream since pretty much forever.

Taking the sweet pup in my arms, I jumped into the kitchen to make us breakfast. Just like I used to do every day – I put a vinyl to play in my mum’s old record player and Stella and I started our breakfast party.

Dad was on duty, patrolling the borders as he did every day before dawn. He was the pack’s head warrior and my role model. Well, we were very close, especially after my mum died a little less than two years ago. A deep sigh left me — my mum’s death was not an easy topic, and thinking about it always makes my heart clench. She died very suddenly. One day I felt a sudden and searing burn on the moon-shaped birthmark I have on my belly, and mum touched my shoulder to bring me some comfort. Next, she fell dead by my side. It was horrible.

Shaking my head, I tried to shake the feeling off. Today was a great day, and I wouldn’t let these lingering memories ruin it.

Anyway, since my mum left us, I had been pretty much raising my baby sister while dad worked his tail off.

“I can help you to make toasts!” Stella squealed in a sing-song voice as soon as I placed her on her chair behind the kitchen island.

“Nope, no pups near the oven,” I repeated the words mum used to tell me when I was Stella’s age.

“I am already five and I even have one big girl’ teeth…” she said, touching her teeth with her tongue, “You see, Angel! It’s almost growing!” she told me, showing the little piece of tooth coming down her gums.

“I am not convinced. Let’s make a deal: when you have eight big girls’ teeth, you can help me. Okay?” I asked as I started working on the toasts and getting some eggs from the fridge.

“Okay!” Stella nodded energetically.

Suddenly I felt a little tingle in the back of my mind as something grew, expanded within me. I almost dropped the milk box as I heard a little bark.

“Hey, I am your wolf, Sia! Can we shift? I want to see my tail in the mirror!” she said in my mind.

Oh my Goddess! My wolf also woke up early to life!

Her excitement washed over me; she was looking forward to seeing and experiencing the world! I could see her clearly inside my mind, her light brown fur looked so fluffy and she had the same colour of eyes as I did – deep blue with a few sprinkles of green.

“Yes! But I have to feed my pup before,” I told her, smiling inwardly. I was also more than excited to shift to her form and run freely in the forest. But Stella always comes first.

“We have a pup! Am I a mum? But I am so young! A newborn wolf. Shouldn’t you have saved yourself for our mate? No offence, Angel-girl, but you were fast. When was it — on your high school prom night, maybe? In the barbecue of the Moon Goddess Holiday?” Her words made me gag a little since she clearly didn’t know the boys from my former school. Gladly, those days were over and I was ready to start my training and kick-tail.

“No! Hell no! The boys in high school were dumb, a bunch of horny dogs rubbing their tails on anything! Stella is my sister, but she is like our pup. She is the sweetest pup, luckily not like me. You will love her!” I explained.

“That’s nice too! I love pups! I haven’t seen any yet as I am a newborn wolf, but I think I love them anyway. They are small, right?” she asked, making me chuckle.

“The ‘save myself thing’ happened, but it was a side effect of having something better to do than caring about teen wolves. We are a warrior, Sia!” I added. Technically Sia and I weren’t a warrior yet, but things were about to change. Soon, very soon.

“I hope to meet him soon! I can’t wait!” I could feel my wolf leaping around in my mind. She had surfaced five minutes ago and already wanted a mate? Enjoy yourself first, baby-wolf! There is more to life than some dude’s back and front tails.

After breakfast, I took Stella to pre-school and went back home to do what Sia asked me to. After I removed my clothes, I let my wolf take over, and tried to feel her, feel like her. Soon, a searing pain washed over every nerve ending of my body and I felt my bones break and reshape. Rushed gasps left my dry lips as I tried not to fall face first on the floor. Clenching my eyes shut, I crouched down whilst the noise of bones and muscles extending filled my ears. When I could breathe normally again, I blinked twice and looking into the mirror in front of me, I saw a beautiful light-brown wolf. She turned around slowly, looking at her tail and howling softly.

“I like what I see!” she howled, and I burst into chuckles in our shared mind.

Suddenly I felt something pushing into my mind and bringing me a piercing but fast-passing headache. My dad’s voice invaded my mind, first as a weak and not-understandable whisper that grew until something close to a scream.

“Angel, my girl, we were attacked! They came like shadows. I-I won’t make it,” he said between groans of pain and gasps.

“What? No, Dad! You have to make it. You can’t leave us. No! Stella and I can’t be without you. Are they gone? Where are the doctors? I’m on my way there now!” I replied in his mind, starting to run dizzily in my wolf form. Sia’s sight was blurred with tears, my wolf shared my pain, my fear. I couldn’t let my little sister lose another parent, I couldn’t let my dad die. I had to do something, go to the pack clinic, to the border. I didn’t know. Yet I had to act.

“No. There is no time. I love you, Sweetheart. Be always good and loyal, you will be a great warrior and serve our pack well. Try not to be impulsive and – take care of little Stella. Promise to always watch over her, protect and care for her. Promise?”

“Dad, you can’t go!” My words were a cry of pain and I felt weak, small, like a child at that moment. No, I couldn’t lose him. We couldn’t lose him.

“Promise.” His word came out with difficulty, he was too hurt to even mind-link me, it was taking all of the energy he had left. He had to spare it to be able to wait for the doctors.

“I promise. I swear, I will take care of her, Dad. But you — please promise me you will survive, you will fight. You are strong, you’ve always fought, you can’t give up now,” I murmured into his mind.

“I can’t promise that, Sweetie. I won’t lie to you. Tell little Stella I love her — my Angel. Stay strong and kind. I-I love you,” he murmured, the last words cut by deep breaths and grunts were almost impossible to understand. Yet, after those words, it came what I dreaded most: silence.

A muffled scream filled my soul, as all the turmoil of emotions inside me became a single and overwhelming tsunami of grief, breaking into my mind, breaking my damn heart. Sia let out a loud howl of grief as I cried inside my mind.

“We will find your mate, and things will get better, Angel. He will protect little Stella and us,” my wolf tried to comfort me, though I didn’t think I would ever agree with her.

Now in my pain, all I didn’t want was to be alone. I was afraid and I didn’t know if I could do it – be everything for Stella and even for myself. Maybe having a mate wasn’t so bad.

~ * ~

Opening my eyes slowly, I realised that I was in my form again, no more light-brown fur. I was tucked into my bed. I surely blacked out after talking to my dad. But how did I end up here?

Looking at the clock on the bedside table, I realised it was early in the morning. It was 8 am, but wait, it was 9 am when my father… when he mind-linked me. I slept for almost twenty-four hours! Oh my Goddess. What about Stella? What happened to her? I didn’t pick her up at school! I stood up with a jump, looking around until I met Julia’s warm light blue eyes.

“Easy, Angel. How are you feeling?” she asked softly and I sat down on my bed, knowing that Stella must be okay and that my best friend surely looked after her while I was MIA. If I hadn’t seen my wolf, I could’ve sworn that I wasn’t a werewolf but rather a were-sloth after sleeping so long.

“You are a werewolf, Angel! I am very sure. I saw and swished my tail many times. You were in too much pain, so I turned you off for a while. I know, I am a great wolf!” Sia said in my mind. How could she turn me off? My pain was irrelevant since I had my pup and responsibilities; she couldn’t turn me off like I were a television!

“Stella?” I asked, looking intently at my friend.

“She is at my parents’ place, they will take her to school. Don’t worry. I am so sorry for what happened to your dad,” Julia muttered, sitting by my side and wrapping me in a hug.

“Thank you for looking after her,” I whispered between tears.

“Always. You and Little Stella are family to me,” she replied, running her hands down my back in soothing motions. “I don’t want to rush you, and I can’t even imagine how you are feeling right now, but the Alpha came back from his trip earlier than planned after what happened. In two hours he wants to address the pack about this sudden and mysterious attack and show his solidarity to the families of the victims. None of the patrollers survived, Angel. It was very bad. I think we both should go,” Julia told me and I nodded.

That was a good thing; the Alpha would find a way to protect our pack and I was all the way up for it; I would help however I could, most likely, train faster and harder than anyone else to be at the pack’s service in no time.

After a long shower, many tears and three mugs of coffee, I headed to the pack house with Julia. Many people – maybe the whole pack – were gathering around the house, waiting for the Alpha to show up. It had been a long time since the people here saw him. He had been travelling around the Realm for the last few months. In my case, I couldn’t remember the last time I saw Alpha Aaron. I wasn’t one to come to all social events in the pack house. I didn’t have any interest or time – I had Stella to care for and my hobbies were more like reading, running and hanging out with Julia than attending parties.

Many She-wolves were in the front of the house, pushing each other to get the best view of the Alpha when he arrived. They looked so excited to see him that if they were in their wolf forms, I was sure that their ears and tail would be stirred up. They might have a chance with him. If the rumours were true, he knew how to enjoy his life.

Suddenly, the delicious smell of coffee and mint entered my nostrils and I couldn’t do anything but smile at it. Next, a tall and handsome man left the pack house. His brown hair looked so soft, my fingers were tingling to touch it, and looking at all those muscles, made both my mouth and my lower lips wet. He was fiiiiine! When my eyes met his grey ones, I could feel something stirring in my soul, and my wolf barked loudly within me.

“Mate! He is our mate! It’s him!” Sia howled in pure joy. I too let this warm and perfect feeling spread through my heart and make me feel fully alive again. All I wanted right now was to melt into his arms, feel his warmth, his touch. His lips looked so sexy, and I had to make sure he tasted like coffee and mint, right?

My legs pushed me forward, and ignoring the surroundings, I strode towards him. I think Julia called me or said something, but I could hardly process a word. I was lost in a haze, feeling almost as if I were hypnotised. Neither my wolf nor I could wait a second longer. Yet to my surprise, Alpha Aaron remained there, very still.

My wolf whined, “What is happening? Doesn’t he like us?”