Chapter 1

I’m currently sitting in my dad’s office hugging my dad. “Thank you, my sweetheart. I really needed that,” he sighs. You see, I am an Omega. Not the lowest of the pack that you normally hear about, but the kind who has a very special ability. I can calm people with just my presence, but it’s more effective if I am in close proximity to them. When I was brought to my parents, my omega waves were crazy strong. They still are, but back then, they started a war.

Why? Because packs want an omega among them. Omegas give packs something to protect. We really come in handy when the pack has no Luna. When there is a Luna, the omega helps her with settling pack disputes and keeping pack members calm during heated pack meetings.

My mother hid me in the forest near the capital of the Lycan Kingdom when I was born. The alpha of her pack had beaten her within an inch of her life to find the child. He had arranged a rogue attack on the Lycan city and they were quickly defeated. Meanwhile, a Lycan woman and her oracle child found me with a note instructing them to take me to the castle. My parents took me in and my dad named me Sylvie Rose. Sylvie translates to “from the forest”, so my name roughly means “a rose from the forest”. I always loved that because it tells me they loved me the moment they saw me. Some of that may have been because of my omega waves, but... whatever. I’m just glad they fell in love with me from the beginning.

My biological mother barely made it to the castle before collapsing. After we had a couple guards take her to our hospital, the alpha who put her in this condition showed up at the castle door trying to get me back. He admitted to putting my mother in that condition, so grandpa refused to give me back because his pack was not safe for me and he told him that he would be more than happy to oblige if he chose to go to war over me. The alpha chose to go to war. My mom ran to the hospital to check on my mother and the doctor told her that she passed just as they laid her on the bed. She bled out. My mom promised her that she would make sure I know how strong and brave she was and she would make sure that alpha and his pack are decimated for what they did to her.

That’s exactly what she did. You see, my mom is a total badass. She is a special wolf, so she has some serious magical powers. She went up in the helicopter and levelled his pack with a lightning bolt. Then, King Izzoth of the Demon Realm summoned the alpha and killed him so that he could get his eternal torture started. Queen Winnie of the White Witch Coven cast a spell to summon any survivors of the attack. All of the ranked wolves survived. King Izzoth killed all of them too.

It didn’t take them long to start giving me siblings either. I’m eighteen and I have seven siblings! I have twin brothers, Caleb and Kurt, who are seventeen, a sister, Luna, who is sixteen, a sister, Nikina (we call her Niki), who is fifteen, and the triplets (Jack, Josh, and Brianda) are thirteen. I love every single one of them and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I got to grow up with all these people, and I feel privileged for it. We are a real family. I was always very aware that I was adopted, because my mom and dad always told me the story of how brave and determined my biological mother was. But the prefix “step” was never in our vocabulary. We have been very close all my life.

Right now, I am at my grandma’s house. She and grandpa host a ball for unmated species in the multi species alliance. Caleb, Kurt and I are getting ready for it now. My mom took me shopping at the same leather shop that she got her dress for this ball from. I am so excited. I love the dress my mom got me. It’s black brushed leather, mini skirt length in the front, then it gradually lengthens to train length in the back. It has a halter top with a plunging-V neckline. Mom also got me some thigh-high leather boots to go with it. I am in love. I have always loved leather. I share that quirk with my mom. We love the smell and feel of it. After my make up and hair are done, I slip on my dress and boots. I look in the mirror and I am shocked at how the black leather highlights my light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. My mom and grandma start crying. I scold both of them because I don’t want my makeup ruined.

I’m getting nervous. I can’t help but wonder if he will reject me. My life can get very complicated and it will take someone who has some serious strength to deal with that. I really want to be able to have a family, but I worry that will never happen. My mom called the Moon Goddess to ease my nerves. Selene told me that I will find my mate tonight and he will not reject me. That eases my mind a lot!

We walk out of the bedroom and into the living room and we hear growls. My mom and grandma chew out dad and grandpa for being overprotective. My wolf, Nicona, is going crazy! She swears up and down that I will find my mate tonight. Apparently, my brothers’ wolves are telling them the same thing, because they are both so nervous. I didn’t come to this ball last year, because I was too scared to do it by myself. This year, my brothers are old enough to come with me and I feel a lot better about it. My brothers are fiercely protective of me and I love them for it.

We all walk downstairs to the ballroom, and my brothers immediately start smelling their mates. I get to see that Caleb’s mate is Queen Winnie’s granddaughter, Raven, and Kurt’s mate is Sabrina, a mermaid princess. They are so cute together. I am smiling at them, then the scent hits me, “Mom! I smell him. He smells like leather and cedar!” I saw my mate walking toward me, and I am seriously in awe. He is a huge man with curly dark brown hair that goes down to his shoulders and grey eyes. He is absolutely built too. He is wearing a navy-blue suit with a black shirt and navy-blue tie. I can tell he is muscular just from the size of his shoulders. I can’t take my eyes off of him.

He reached me and smiled “I am Prince Luke, future leader of the Werebears. Can I ask where my little mate is from?” I smiled, “I am Princess Sylvie from the Lycan Kingdom.” He asked, “You’re Princess Ashina’s and Prince Conri’s daughter?” I nodded, “I am. Is that a problem for you?” He shook his head, “Absolutely not. I met you at a birthday party for Princess Chloe’s triplets when we were very young, and I have loved you ever since. I’m so happy I am blessed to have you as my mate.” I look over at my mom and smile gently, knowing that’s what happened between my mom and dad. I introduced him to my parents, and dad asked, “Are you aware that Sylvie Rose is an Omega?” Luke nodded, “I am aware. She is not the only one with magic. I am a werebear/warlock hybrid. It will be so awesome to have a mate that I have that in common with.” Dad smiled, “Take care of my baby girl. If you would like to stay here tonight, we can go to our house tomorrow so that she can say goodbye to her other siblings and pack her stuff.” Luke smiled, “That would be great. I would like that a lot.” I interrupted, “Why don’t we just go into the ball and have some fun for a bit before you whisk me away to your kingdom.” Luke laughed and I swear that has to be the best sound ever. I would love to hear his laugh forever.

We walked to the buffet table and filled a plate. As we found a table to sit at, Caleb approached us, “So my sister found her mate. I just need to make sure you are worthy of her.”