ONE

CHAPTER: ONE

ARYA WAYNE

All alone in the forest, I was reading my favorite book after my evening class. My mind wandered back to the day my life turned on a new leaf and everything changed suddenly and without caution.

I recalled how I once had a perfect life, a perfect family, and parents who loved me. My father was an alpha, and I was the alpha's daughter. We lived a perfect life until the day we lost our pack, the Silver Moon pack, when I was around fourteen years old.

My father was the Alpha of our pack until another hostile pack raided us and stripped us of everything, including our home and friends, and we lost the meaning of life after the tragic incident.

We were forced to move to another town. Life wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but at least my expectations weren’t high because we were moving to a town that belonged to humans.

My parents were my biggest support system, but my life wasn’t so interesting, and I guess since I wasn’t a full werewolf, my growth was slow; I didn’t get my first morph until I was 15 years later, after we moved to the new town.

My friends would always make fun of me since most of them had their first morph at around 13, but that never made me give up because I knew it would finally reach my turn and I was patient, even though the mockery and jokes made were too much. I knew better than to try to prove a point. I was a lonely person and always by myself; unwanted was the best term to describe my kind of life.

Life wasn’t so good after we moved to another town, but at least no one knew us that much and everyone seemed to focus on their own lives until there was a wolf attack and my family was the number one suspect. We were chased out of town, and my mother was shot with silver bullets during the process.

I lost my mother, but I had to stay strong. Even though my mother was human, she was a kind woman with a loving heart; she would never even hurt a fly, but she was killed by humans, which is one reason I dislike humans and would never wish to be among them.

We wandered around until we were taken in by Leo’s father, the Alpha of the Red Crescent pack.

I didn’t quite get along with anyone except for Emily, whom I met during the first three months of moving to the Red Crescent pack.

My father advised me not to trust anyone, and I was doing well with that; no one knew I was a wolf, not even my friend Emily, whom I considered my best friend. You can’t blame me for being discreet, though.

It had been three years since we settled in, and my 19th birthday was coming up. I was expecting to find my mate when I turned eighteen, but none of that happened. Maybe it was because I was always alone, or maybe because no one knew about my past apart from the breadcrumbs. I always told Emily to get off my back with her numerous questions.

I was brought back to earth by Elie and her group walking up to me.

They stood right in front of me, and Elie snatched the book from my hands and menacingly forced me to look at her.

“Oh, look at her, she looks so lonely; let me see what you are reading.” Elie said as she perused through the book and chuckled, “She is reading a romantic novel, and I have never seen her with anyone, no boyfriend; this is funny and interesting at the same time.”

“Just let her go. We are running late. What is wrong with you, Elie?” One of the girls said, and Elie shrugged.

“We have all the time in the world; I just wanted to see what she was reading. You know, I even wonder if she belongs to this clan though.” She continued, and I sighed then moved to get my book, but she raised it higher so I couldn’t reach for it.

“I heard they were taken in by Leo’s father; poor her; are you even a wolf, or are you just a human lingering around our clan?” She posed the question to me, and I shook my head.

“You leave the girl alone, Elie.” Emily, my best friend, said as she walked towards us, and Elie laughed sarcastically, “And why would I do that?” She said it daringly.

“You know what I will do; just leave her alone.”

“Or else what?” she asked daringly, and Emily smiled, “You know how you always want to be with Leo, I can as well tell him what you are doing to Arya.” She said, and Elie stepped back.

“You know Leo doesn’t give a single flying about her, right?”

“Yeah, and he would still not give a single flying shit about you too, in a blink of an eye, if I just said the word to him. So I suggest you and your group of bullies get the hell out of here and never bother her again.” She said, Elie, and shrugged.

“Whatever.” She said as she and her group left. Emily then sat next to me and asked, "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“No, I am fine, and its not like they don’t always do that; I am already used to her bullying me.”

“I am sorry.” She said it in a low tone, and I sighed.

“There is nothing to be sorry about with Emily; I am good and I can take care of myself.” I said, and she shrugged, “We should probably head home then; I just got my car from my mechanic, and I can drop you home if you like.”

“No, don’t bother, I will just take a cab home; I still have a few pages to read before I can head back home,” I said, and she sighed in exasperation.

“Are you sure you will be okay by yourself?" "Or we can just take a walk for you to clear your mind.”

“Yes, I will be okay. You just go. I will join you later. I just need a few minutes to myself.”

“Okay, don’t stay out too late; it is not safe out here.” She said, and I watched as she walked away and disappeared into the woods.

I was sad, and the best thing I could do was think about my mom. I missed her a lot, and I just wished she was around.

A few minutes after Emily disappeared into the woods, I thought I heard some movements, but I ignored them and continued reading. When I heard the movements again, I stopped in my tracks and listened again; even though I was an omega, my senses were always active.

The growl was so loud and powerful that it made me turn only to come face-to-face with a pair of bright red eyes. He was so big, and his powerful howl made me cringe back in fear. I closed my eyes, waiting for him to pounce on me, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes when I heard another growl, and soon two wolves were fighting right in front of me.

"Why are you acting so fragile? He doesn’t have to see you so weak; come on!" My wolf shouted at me, and I tried so hard to ignore her that this was not the right time for her to scold me.

"Just shut up. I am trying to focus here," I said, and I didn’t hear her for another second.

I was surprised to notice that it was Kai and Leo, and I wondered what they were thinking of fighting about and why exactly.

“Get the hell out of here!” I heard Leo’s voice ring in my head, and I took that as a cue to run away. I heard them run angrily into the woods, and I couldn’t wait to see why and what was going on, so I just ran towards the road and went straight home.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what Leo was about to do, why he would show up angrily in front of me, and how in the hell he got to know that I could hear him through the mind link, which was still a mystery to me.

I was shaken that he knew about my identity and the fact that I thought I could hide my secret without anyone knowing.

When I got to the house, I ran upstairs and locked myself up in my room.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door, and I sighed tiredly.

“What is it, dad? I told you I want some time alone.” I said as I opened the door, and he walked in.

“Honey, I am sorry, but I just wanted to talk to you about your coming birthday; do you have any plans?”

No, dad, what is the point of having plans when no one shows up for the parties? I have one friend, Emily, and no one will show up for my party, and I am sorry that I have to disappoint you, but no,” I said, and he sighed then took my hands in his and looked straight into my eyes. His serious look only meant he was going to give me another piece of advice.

“I know what you are thinking, but if your mom was alive, she wouldn’t allow you to wallow in self-pity.”

“Except she is not here and I am not having a party," I said with finality, and he sighed deeply.

"You have missed my point, honey; this is your 19th birthday, and I think it will be an opportunity for you to find your mate; this is a chance, and I want you to grab it.”

“I know, Dad, but there is no point in me hosting a party that no one will attend; how will I find my mate if no one shows up?”

“The problem is that you always think negatively. Just give it a shot and you will tell me how that goes. It is just advice; you can think about it.”

“It is okay, Dad. Thank you for the advice; I will consider it before the weekend,” I said, dismissing him. I just wanted to be alone.

“Okay, do you want to have some dinner?" "I prepared your favorite.”

"No, Dad, thanks, but I am not hungry.”

"Okay, don’t always stay all by yourself. You can hang out with your friend Emily. You worry me sometimes.”

“I am okay, Dad. It's not like this hasn’t been my life ever since I was a kid. Thank you, but I want to be left alone right now,” I added, and he walked out defeated.