One

  SKY POV 

"I said I don't want to talk about it, Neo!" I sighed, pulling my legs up under me as I watched the world whizz by through the passenger side window. 

"I didn't wanna drive three hours to get your ass out of trouble again, but shit here I am, sis! So how about you drop the attitude and start telling me what the fuck is going on?" Neo scoffed, his eyes briefly leaving the road to check my reaction. 

"Damn, big brother, how long has dad been dead, three months? And already you are sounding... just. like. him." I muttered, squeezing my legs tighter to me and rubbing my sore wrists. 

"Sky, look..." 

"No, you look, Neo, my boyfriend just had me arrested on some bullshit charges that meant I spent hours in that shit hole, being strip searched and questioned, only for the bastard to drop the charges and demand I was released. So how about you let me sulk a little while longer." I snapped moodily.

"We are wolves, Sky; we see each other naked all the time." His only reply and it infuriated me.

"Our kind sees each other naked daily; you are right, Neo. But if you had spent any time with humans, you would know it isn't a normal fucking thing, and neither is spreading a girl's ass cheeks to see what she may be hiding! It wasn't just a usual Thursday afternoon training session; it fucking sucked!" I grunted, but I could see from the tension in his jaw he was pissed. Well, good, now he knows how I feel. 

I had been dating Rik for just over a year; we weren't fated or chosen mates, but he was a good distraction from the misery I had left behind. 

"You missed the turning!" I barked my head, snapping around to look at our exit, then back to my brother's stern face. 

"I didn't miss anything, Sky!" He muttered, switching the radio on: like that would silence me. Leaning forward, I flicked it off and turned in my seat to face him. Waiting for an explanation when one didn't come, I sucked down a breath and tried to soothe my nerves seeing us join the highway. The sinking feeling I was about to be forced to come face to face with that misery gathered in my stomach. 

"Where are we going?" I asked, feeling unease start to spread through me.

"Home!" He gibed like I had asked the world's dumbest question. Fuck I had forgotten how arrogant my brother was, and with Dad dead, his authority transferred to Neo here, and it seemed his arrogance had grown, as well as his fucking enthusiasm for pissing me off.

"My home is back that way, dickhead!" I seethed, kicking the dashboard in frustration. 

"It's a fucking rental, Sky! Have some respect! And.. No, your home is back with your pack." He finished glaring at my feet as I scuffed them over the dashboard to get a rise out of him.

"No, brother.. that shit is your life! Not mine!" I growled, wondering momentarily if I would survive if I leapt from the car right now. As if sensing my thoughts, the doors clicked shut, and I sighed, glaring at my brother with unwavering hatred.

"No!" My wolf whispered meekly. Growling at her, I shoved her back down. I hadn't heard a peep from her for months when I needed her; I certainly didn't need her now. 

"I am done with this shit, Sky! You are bouncing from one bad relationship to the next, with fucking humans of all things. You have been home once since Dad died, and that was for three hours for his funeral, then you were gone. You can't avoid your duties forever; it's time to return! You need the structure, the routine, and you need.."

"A mate?" I scoffed. "Go on, say it, I DARE you!" I laughed, my eyes narrowed dangerously on my brother, who had cost me the only mate I ever wanted with his petty jealousy.

"...Fuck sky, I don't know what you need, but I know what you don't, and that is whatever the fuck we just left back there." 

"You don't get to decide what I need, Neo!" I grumbled again, pulling my legs under me, feeling like the same 18-year-old I was when I left five years ago. Hating that, for the first time in months, I had allowed thoughts of the past I was determined to run from to filter back into my head.

"Yes, Sky, I do! Because I am.."

"My brother, fuck off, Neo. What is this? The 1500s!" I laughed, rolling my eyes angrily. 

"Your Alpha, Sky! Because I am your fucking Alpha, whether you like it or not!" He roared, slamming his hands on the wheel. "As your Alpha, I get to make this call, and I want you back where I can keep an eye on you."

"Control me, more like!" I growled, crossing my arms over my chest, already planning my escape. 

"Someone needs to take control, Sky, or the next time I am called up here, it will be to bring you home in a fucking box!" He sighed, his hands gripping the wheel tighter until his knuckles turned white. 

"Dramatic much?" I asked with a scoff, but I felt my lips pull into a tight line, not sure how I felt about my brother's apparent care for me; he hadn't cared for me or my feelings before when I told him I had found my mate! No, he had been angry that I was selfish enough to fall for his best friend! Even more enraged that his best friend liked me and fucking LIVID that the moon goddess saw fit to make us mates! 

The night of my 18th birthday, when I got everything I ever dreamed of, or rather who I had always dreamed of... My brother, who sat opposite me now pretending to care, had demanded I reject him! And when I hadn't, he had made sure HE rejected me by offering him a deal he could never refuse. 

"And what about Z, Neo? Tell me, brother, how is your Beta?" I asked, my tone laced with venom. My brother's eyes lifted from the road to meet mine, and I thought I saw a flash of remorse for a second before it vanished, his eyes turning hard again. 

"Fine. Z is fine!" He uttered.

"He is lying." Evie wolf piped up, making me wince. 

"I don't care." I rasped back, not liking her newfound voice.

"Now who is lying?" She grunted, before disappearing again.

"Whatever." I announced aloud to Neo before turning to look out the window. His snort of amusement was the last conversation I would have with him on the topic of Z.

Prick!