Chapter 1

Isabella's POV 

"Where is it?" I whispered hastily under my breath. 

Hi, my name is Isabella to be precise Isabella Joy Wilds. I live in a medium-sized town called ‘Roseville’ with my parents and older sister. I am a 5'3 feet tall girl, with thick shoulder length, curly, natural ginger-brown hair paired with brown-ish hazel eyes courtesy of my dad. 

"Where in the world is that stupid shoe?" I shouted as I pulled my hair in frustration. 

"There we go again," I heard my mom say with barely contained-laughter. "You know if you actually placed your shoes in their rightful places as I always tell you, instead of just kicking them around everywhere, you wouldn't be faced with the same problem every morning." And I could hear the amusement in her voice as well as see the 'I told you so' face that I knew she had on. 

Releasing a humph of frustration, I turned around to face my mother and there it was as bright as day, the famous 'I told you so' face. 

"Mom?" I asked her expectantly and as expected she pulled the shoe from behind her. 

"Thanks, Mom, you're the best!" I said as I kissed her cheek and took the missing shoe from her hand. 

Recently I've been misplacing my shoes and there's a valid reason for that. I've been temporarily babysitting my neighbour's children and yesterday was my last day babysitting them because their older cousin came back last night so she'll continue to look after them. 

She was actually the one who asked me to babysit them while she was on vacation with her parents. Babysitting was draining, those two kids are the most energetic kids I've ever met, and I only got home at about 10 or 11 pm. 

"Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes and please...try not to misplace anything until then." She said teasingly, sending me a quick wink and a tiny smirk. 

"Ha ha, very funny, Mom," I said as she walked out while I rolled my eyes. 

"Troublesome shoe." I mumbled while putting it on. 

I then walked to my wardrobe mirror to check my outfit. I had on a pair of light blue, skinny jeans, a white sweater and some white sneakers. And lastly, I made sure my stubborn, curly locks were still in place. I put on a smile pleased with my simple appearance then I took my blue side bag. 

"Time to face the world." I whispered to myself as I drew in a deep breath. 

With that in mind, I walked downstairs, just in time to hear my mom shout that breakfast was ready. Walking into the kitchen I was greeted by the mouth-watering smell of pancakes, and I was right. 

On the kitchen counter, there were pancakes, bacon, coffee, and mango-flavoured juice. "Good morning, family!" I shouted enthusiastically as I went to my dad and sister. "It didn't seem like a good morning to me at first." I heard my sister whisper teasingly to my dad, loud enough for me to hear. 

"I heard that." I told my sister sending her a small glare on my way to pile my plate with food. 

While piling my plate with pancakes, I could hear my sister's faint laughter. To be honest a small smile appeared on my face from hearing her laugh. My sister has one of those contagious laughs that you can't help but smile or even laugh at yourself. 

My plate is filled with three medium-sized pancakes, four streaks of delicious bacon, yeah, I looove bacon and a glass of mango juice. To make it even better, I drenched my pancakes in sweet, yummy syrup. What can I say, I have a sweet tooth. 

One might think I eat too much, but hey I've got an appetite and I won't starve myself just because of expectations. Yes, I'm self-conscious sometimes and I do have a fear of gaining weight. 

I don't consider myself big or thin, I'm just in the middle. I don't have a flat stomach just a tiny bump. Exercising and I had a fallout sometime in my life, in fact, if I were to exercise, I would probably pass out. 

20 minutes later 

"Okay girls, do you have the shopping list?" My mother asked. 

"Yes, Mom." Replied both Megan and I simultaneously. 

"See you later, Dad." We both quickly shouted out to our father who was in the living. 

Megan and I are really close, she is actually my best friend and she is 4 years older than me at the age of 22. 

"I'll drive. “Megan shouted. 

"Of course, you'll drive, Megs. I don't even have my driver's licence yet." I replied with a bored expression on my face. 

~~~~~ 

Devon's POV 

"Sophie Amelia Black, you better have your shoes on by the time I get up there or you'll be in so much trouble, young lady." I shouted in my strict father’s voice. 

"But Daddy I don't want to go. I don't like grocery shopping, it's so boring." Sophie whined stomping her foot in frustration. 

"I know you don't, Sweetheart, but we have to go. Let’s make a deal. When we get there, you can get one thing that you want." I said making an emphasis on one. 

"Okay, Daddy." Sophie said in a defeated voice as she looked up at me with her big, innocent, emerald eyes. The eyes that remind me so much of her mother. The eyes of my beloved mate. 

Oh, I forgot to make a proper introduction. My name is Devon Nathaniel Black. I am the Beta of the Black Bolt Pack. I'm seventy years old, but I don't look a day over twenty-four 'wink'. My mate, Isla passed away four years ago. I am 6'2 with black hair and grey eyes. 

My wolf's name is Jace, and he has been having a hard time dealing with our mate's death actually all of us have been having a difficult time accepting Isla's death. 

Our pack is not necessarily the smallest pack nor the largest pack. Our pack is not a chaotic pack, and we have treaties with the majority of our neighbouring packs as well as some international packs. Members of our pack are spread widely across the world. 

Yes, we have a few rogues here and there, but not enough to cause us major problems or to start a war. 

The pack owns multiple diverse companies, ranging from hotels to panel beaters. The businesses are quite successful, and we are partnered with many other large to small companies. Most of our pack members work in these companies, and some are sponsored or partnered with the businesses. 

Now, back to Sophie. Sophie recently lost her nanny. The nanny’s mate got a higher position somewhere and they had to relocate. Now I need to find Sophie a new nanny, but I know that Sophie won’t give her a problem, so I don’t have to worry about her quitting due to bad manners. Soph is a sweet, disciplined, and respectful child the only problem is the mention of grocery shopping. It drives her crazy. She hates grocery shopping with a passion; however, she loves clothing shopping with a passion. 

“Sophie, time to go!” I called out as I went upstairs to fetch her.