AliceSo, we had a bit of a rough start, but things were on track. Luke spends his mornings in the office taking care of the business side of running a pack while I learn how to be the mother of the entire pack. We have all of our meals together and in the afternoons, we are either naked in bed or naked in the forest.Letting go of my past and what I wanted and taking that leap of faith is the best thing I could have ever done. After we are mated for about a month, my parents finally get permission from their alpha to move and join our pack.The girls who hadn’t found mates yet are sent back to their homes and the entire experiment that the council started is eventually forgotten. There were sadly a couple of girls that didn’t have their fairy tales, and after the news spread like wildfire, the people lose their trust in the council completely.Some even start to think that they made up the story just to force young females to get mated. Life slowly returns to normal, or at least what
AliceWe are safe within the confines of our pack. I can’t shift while I’m pregnant, which makes me even more vulnerable and nervous. The council tries to demand to stay, but Luke protects me from them and sends them packing.As they leave, I feel terror grip my heart. With the proof in hand, the council has everything they need to stop any destined mate bonds from happening. They can actually stop any ceremonies from happening. My heart breaks for all the single girls.Knowing the council, they aren’t going to take the feelings into account of those poor girls. In fact, the council are definitely going to do the opposite. If a young couple feels anything, they will be kept apart. Knowing the council, they will be taking control completely.“Do you really think they are going to force couples into unions?” I frown at Luke and he sighs deeply. He doesn’t have to say it. I already know the answer.“I’m afraid so. I bet if I hadn’t marked you, they would go as far as forcing us apart.” I
OliverI shift into a full wolf. The moment everyone has feared from before I was even born is over, and you can feel the relief washing over our pack. My mom is crying so much that she can’t get a word out. As soon as the relief is over, joy floods and I howl to signal the pack run.It feels so good to be in my wolf form that I don’t ever want to shift back, but I know I have to. I have to prove to all of them that everything is okay. That I am okay. I’m not going to turn into a half-beast, half-man, feral monster.AliceThe relief is indescribable. It feels as though we have been waiting for this moment for the longest time. After the pack run, Luke pulls me to one side and I can see he isn’t as happy as the rest of us.“They lied.” He growls. “I don’t know how they did it, but they lied, and we have to prove it.” He growls and I nod. The realization of his words hit me right in the gut as I think about all the people who have been affected by whatever it is that the council did.If
AliceProving to the council that they lied is going to be the easy part though. Changing the minds of all the packs is going to be tough. Fixing the mess that the council has made is going to be even tougher. The first day when we face the council it goes exactly the way we expected.They try their best to deny everything. Luke requests that we are allowed to bring our witnesses and the evidence, but they refuse our request. When some of the alphas, we weren’t sure of start asking why, the council has no other choice but to agree to our demand.For two days, we introduce the families and the people they used in their photographs, and I can feel a shift in the atmosphere. It’s even more dangerous than I thought it would be, since we are all animals and some are very quick to judge and execute without batting an eye.Luke, however, is an expert at handling the situation and, slowly but surely, we make our way through the evidence. Once we are done proving that the council have lied, th
AliceThe council tried to avoid Luke’s two-day deadline, and show up on our doorstep on the third day just to prove that we won’t tell them what to do. Luke has already been making calls to our allies and I hate to admit it, but as usual, he is right.The council didn’t intend on figuring things out. They were making plans to attack and get rid of us. That way, they would be able to save face in front of everyone else. They wouldn’t have to admit to their lies, and they could just carry on lying to everyone. “What are you doing here?” Luke glares at the head of the council standing on the other side of the gates. There are no fences around our territory, so the gates are purely symbolic.“Luke, you have to be reasonable. I’ve come to ask for more time. This is not a decision we take lightly. We can’t just turn around and tell everyone we were wrong. The packs will stop believing in us and chaos will ensue.” I note that the young challenger isn’t among the group and I tell Luke throu
OliverIt quickly becomes clear that we aren’t going to win this war. The council’s packs keep turning humans into werewolves to boost their numbers, and we keep killing them, but we are also losing numbers that we can’t recuperate. On top of that, my mate is fighting for the enemy.“Son, I know you are tired. We are all tired, but we have to keep going.” My dad pats me on the shoulder during a moment of peace, but I don’t have time to even answer before the next wave of attacks comes down on us.“Dad, we have to do something. Our people aren’t going to hold out for much longer.” I mind link him. We have to plan something drastic to stop the war. “Fighting clearly isn’t getting us anywhere.” I look in his direction as he takes down another wolf and he nods.We fight until there is nothing left, and then we fight some more, and finally they seem to let up. The air is thick with the smell of death when we return home and I don’t even look at burning heaps anymore. I wonder what people w
OliverFor weeks, we follow the news closely, but it seems the human police won’t be able to find the pack that turned the humans. My father has been in contact with one or two of the council members, and they apparently want to come to a truce.We don’t believe them, of course. Any meeting that is arranged by them will only be a trap. My mind drifts to my mate as I watch the television in the hopes that I will see her being arrested. At least, then I would know where she is, and I will be able to find out who she is.Since that hasn’t happened, I decide not to tell my parents just yet. Things are tense enough as it is. The last thing they need right now is to find out that my destined mate is the enemy. Especially after all this started, so I can have a happy life with my destined mate.I know that my parents didn’t do it just for me, but I can’t help but feel the weight of it all resting squarely on my shoulders. Since we aren’t sure if the war is really over or not, my parents deci
OliverSadly, I can’t ask around about her because the law hasn’t been changed yet. Our pack has been secretly allowing destined mates to be together after my fourteenth birthday, but because of the war, many people didn’t want to actually take the step.If your mate was killed, then it could kill you. There is just so much to think about. So much to consider that I don’t even think it is worth it. Which each time brings me to step two, which is rejecting her. If I don’t, I won’t have the possibility of finding a second-chance mate.That brings us back to the packs who still believe the lie that the council told everyone. It is a vicious cycle that won’t have an end until the day it is all over. People have to believe that the council was lying. I sit in silence while my parents discuss my mate situation.I can’t see a solution, and honestly, I have nothing to add.CamilleI have been running for days. I don’t even want to shift to my human form for fear that it would hurt too much. I
BeverlyTWO YEARS LATER, I wake up in the early hours of the morning as a sharp pain shoots through my entire body. Beside me, Matthew jumps up looking startled and completely confused, but I’m in so much pain that I can’t even explain. When it finally lets go, I look at my completely frazzled mate and a giggle escapes between my lips.“The baby’s coming, Matthew.” I say as I get out of bed. The moment I stand upright, a puddle forms underneath me. Matthew looks like a rabbit caught in headlights and I roll my eyes. For such a confident alpha, he sure ain’t looking for it right now, and I take his hand and walk him out of the room.When we reach the stairs, another contraction hits and I have a feeling our pup is going to arrive sooner than anticipated. Matthew’s brain kicks into gear as he picks me up and rushes me to the hospital. An hour later, we are holding our son, and our little family feels perfect.Our story ended up being the best fairy tale of them all. At least, in my opin
BeverlyMatthew is my parents’ son, and they don’t care where he came from. They accepted him, and they have always expected the pack to accept him the same way. As a matter of fact, now that my father has gone and taken that step, I can’t believe that I ever thought one of my uncles would take over.I’m surprised that I never saw this coming. Matthew keeps telling my father that he won’t accept it unless I’m okay with it and, finally, my father looks at me with that “you had better answer me right now” look. I sigh. Do I really have a choice?“I don’t care. Everyone already thinks he should be alpha.” I shrug and get up. Just as I’m about to leave, I feel a strong hand on the back of my elbow and I turn around and glare at Matthew with my eyes filled with tears.I didn’t mean to cry. I didn’t think it would upset me as much. I can’t understand why it does. I’ve always known it wouldn’t be me! I pull my arm from his grip and leave without another word. I have my own problems and I wan
Beverly“Well, I’m sorry! I wasn’t the one who was walking with her head in the dirt.” He doesn’t move out of my way and looks at me that strange way again, and I roll my eyes. He always has these strange sayings that nobody understands!If I didn’t know for a fact that he had gone to school, I would have wondered if he wasn’t perhaps some wild rogue that my parents adopted!“What is your problem?” I frown. He has been acting stranger than normal recently and I haven’t been able to figure out what is up with him.“Sorry. It’s just been one of those days. What did your dad want?” He frowns, seemingly not listening to a word I’m saying, and clearly trying to change the subject.“I guess he wants the same thing that he asked you about that is bothering you so badly that you don’t look where you are going.” I push past him, knowing full well that he won’t leave that comment there. He follows me down the steps and into the street, and we walk in silence for a while.“So? What are you going
BeverlyMy biggest frustration as I make my way through the crowd, however, is that I can see the looks. You know? The ones that say they are so sorry that I’m still single! It puts so much pressure on me to find a mate. Yeah, my family all had fairy tale true loves. Great!I don’t. Not yet. And honestly, I’m in no hurry. I’ve never been able to understand the concept of it all. So, you barely turn eighteen and have barely become a grown up and the entire world expects you to fall in love, get mated and have a baby.All within the first month of turning eighteen! I smile at one of the older guests who tells me that I shouldn’t worry and that my turn will come. I could have told her the same thing, but I thought it would sound a bit rude. Sighing, I make my way to the back of the party to try and just get away from all the looks.The day has been perfect. The ceremony, the party. All the packs are behaving. Why does it all have to be ruined by the fact that I don’t have a mate?! The ni
BeverlyThe sun streams through my window and I yawn and stretch before jumping out of bed. Today is a big day for our pack. After three generations, we’ve finally built a monument in honour of the people who brought us peace.My family were the ones who fought for that peace and, according to our history, my great-great-grandmother or one of those was the one who defied the old council. She was mated to her destined mate after her entire life was turned upside down.She is my hero, and although I don’t want to fall in love under the same circumstances, I would really like it if I have a love like she had. I suggested the monument to my parents, and they jumped at the chance to do something.It has been built in neutral territory so that any wolf from any pack can go there and just look at our history. It is a secret location, of course, so the humans don’t find it, but it is open to all werewolves. Keeping it secret was a bit of a thing.We had to find somewhere the humans didn’t go
NicoletteI watch as Eli finds his beautiful and shy mate, Amy, and my heart just soars as I see their love grow. I keep thinking back to the couple that started it all, and I’m grateful every day that they stuck to their guns. They didn’t have an incredible start, but they stuck to it and saved our people.A couple of years later, I watch my baby Isabella turns eighteen. She finds her mate, Liam on the same night and I almost wish I could go back a couple of years and just experience some of the first days of being in love.Those first moments that you spend together. My true love wasn’t a fairy tale in the beginning either, but as soon as the problems were solved, life was just perfect. I have watched my children grow up in a world where they are safe from harm, and they know that they are loved every single day.Time ticked by too fast, and on a rainy day just as the leaves turned the most beautiful colours right at the beginning of fall, I had to say goodbye to the man I had loved
NicoletteTwo years after everything changed for me, I’m sitting in our son, Eli’s room. He is crawling around making baby noises and I can’t help but smile as my hand protectively covers my stomach. We have just found out that I’m expecting our second child, and I can’t be happier.My mind drifts to our history and how incredible not only my fairy tale but also the rest of this family’s fairy tale has been. My mother passed away a year ago, which has broken the last of my ties with Max’s pack. I did as she asked and buried her with my father.I will never visit their graves, but it doesn’t bother me. I have my memories of them and that is all that matters. Max’s pack has slowly started to deteriorate now that everyone knows what he is up to and, slowly but surely, most of the females left to find their destined mates.Without the money, Max is unable to take care of all of them the same way he used to. It is sad, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. I have been spending my time away fro
NicoletteThere are so many unanswered questions, but only one of them is right at the top of my list. Is Max my father? I try and find out from my mother, but she refuses to tell me. I also know that Max will never tell me the truth and even if he does, I won’t believe him. Which leaves me with only one option.“I want a paternity test.” I look at Paul the first second we are alone and he frowns.“Are you sure?” He seems hesitant, but I know why. Once I have the actual physical confirmation, it will change everything.“I’m sure. It will not just give me certainty, but if he is, then we have more proof that Max hasn’t been honest with anybody.” I sigh. Paul informs his parents and, before long, I’m sitting in the hospital wing where they are gathering everything they need.Paul joins me moments after the doctor has finished to confirm that the pack that is holding Max will be gathering his samples in the next few minutes. It will take a couple of days to get the results, since nobody
NicoletteSurprisingly, it doesn’t take very long for the packs to send us their suggestions and a month later, we walk back into the beautiful hotel. Sadly, after my previous experience, it has lost some of its luster. Everyone is eager to get down to business.After Paul and I have greeted everyone, we all get together in the conference room and start working on our new constitution. It takes a couple of hours to get it all set up and, after a wonderful lunch, everyone returns. Paul had one of his pack members type up the new agreement and with great anticipation, everyone signs.Once that is settled, we all agree that we would like to rest before dinner. We need to decide on Max’s fate, and it seems everyone is a little hesitant to do that. The previous council caused so much damage to our people, and when I’m honest with myself, I have to admit that my existence is because of that.Out of all the alpha’s Max is the second oldest. There is one alpha who never met his mate and didn’