Prologue: Betrayal

I stood there; my deep blue eyes locked on my mother's. Her eyes were a shade of icy blue which glowed in the silvery moonlight, reflecting my small, skinny figure in them. Her teeth were out in two shard- like fangs, an indication that she was at her limit with regards to her overflowing, and usually infinite patience.

I was, however not in the mood to back down from this little spat she and I were having. I refused to lose today and my patience with her had grown thin a long time ago.

“What do you mean a proposal? What kind of proposal are you trying to make? You cannot simply tell me to go to one of the most powerful werewolf packs with a simple ‘Good day, Alpha, my mother has a proposal for you’”.

 I then shook my head, vigorously and in absolute shock at her lack of clarity. Was she trying to make me look stupid?

By now, my mother and I were at the brink of falling further away from each other and the familial bonds which, once connected us, now threatened to drive us apart. This tear had been there ever since I could remember. Ever since she started controlling my life.

“What are you planning, mom? Why can’t you tell me since you’re making me the delivery boy for this message?” My voice was almost pleading. All I wanted from her was the truth and for her to show me that she could trust me with this information which seemed more important than her own child.

She shook her head, making her silky platinum blond hair shake and flow like strands of woven silk which, within seconds, were brought back to their exact places. Not a single strand stood out of place. She was beautiful, there was no doubt, but her face was my face and slowly, it had become a face I had grown to hate with a searing and burning passion.

"I have told you more than once that I have great plans for the alpha’s daughter. I made a promise, and I don't break my promises!" She yelled, attempting to grab one of my hands, but I stepped back and looked at her with all the hostility I could muster.

Trust the Moon Goddess to make herself so high and mighty. She always had everyone else’s interests in mind, but never mine, her own son’s.

"So then why can’t you tell me the plans you have for her?"

She shot me a look which I could only describe as a mixture of anger and guilt. I then suddenly realised that the reason my mother would not elaborate further on this topic, was because she was probably involving me in this “proposal” somehow. That was the only time she refused to be transparent with me- when she decided to use me as pawn on her chessboard.

"Just go there, meet with her parents and tell them my proposal... The sooner the better." She said.

Her previous look was now replaced by one of raging authority and firmness. I knew I could not refuse, no matter what I did, my mother had me wrapped around her finger. Then again, I was only seventeen. Just a few more years and I would be done with listening to her and following her around like a mindless puppy. Little did I know this time would come sooner than anticipated and with consequences I would have never imagined.

It was not that I was against doing what she had asked, I just hated the fact that it was she who had asked it of me. If it were anyone else, I would comply within a heartbeat, absolutely no questions asked. But my mother was sneaky and tactful.

With a look of disregard for her, I took the hand she held out for me, allowing her icy skin to press against mine as she chanted something under her breath. As she did this, I made a secret oath to myself, this would be the last time that I would allow her to make me her puppy. This would be the last time I would let her control my life like she had controlled my father’s. I was not like him, and I would show her just that.

Within seconds I was teleported to the front of a familiar old house covered in a coat of white paint and delicate green vines covering most of the bottom sections of the walls and stretching around the four pillars in front of the door in a spiral-like fashion. The home had such a warm and loving aura around it, that the previous feelings of hostility and anger towards my mother had been replaced by a feeling of something akin to joy. I could not even count the times my mother and I had been here. I could hardly even measure the hours spent roaming around the beautiful grassy pack grounds, the luscious woods that enclosed this beautiful pack buzzing with laughter and happiness, the fields which always seemed to be bursting with the fragrances of a multitude of aromatic flowers… and her. It would be impossible to tally up the endless seconds I spent basking in her presence. The love and hate for her, always giving me a feeling of whiplash and deep confusion. It was a feeling I had become addicted to. In her presence it was as though all lines were blurred yet clear and precise all at the same time.

I was so lost in my nostalgic feeling that I failed to realise that a tall, strong man with the kindest, yet authoritative eyes was staring at me with an amused grin. He soon cleared his throat and I snapped back to reality, a small blush creeping on my face as I realised that I had been staring around like an idiot.

“I wasn’t expecting you here today.” His voice was deep, yet calm and soft. It was always as if he had received his voice from the echoes of calm seas.

If only I had known that this would be the last day seeing his kind blue eyes and hearing his kind voice.

If only I had known that this would be the day, I would betray both her and my mother, without a second thought.