Chapter 1

Adam's P.O.V.

I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the intrusive rays of sunlight that seeped through the half-closed blinds, indicating that it was already much later than I would wake up on a normal day. My head throbbed with a relentless rhythm, and my parched throat begged for some relief in the form of water or anything liquid. I groaned and shifted on the familiar, worn-out coach that was standing in the living room, trying to piece together the fragmented memories from the previous night’s New Year’s Eve party.

As the haze slowly lifted, I began to recall the sounds of laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the joyful chaos that had filled the bar last night during the celebration for the beginning of a new year. Shit, I had been way too drunk for my own good last night. Lord only knew what kind of trouble I had been in… trouble I probably wouldn’t even remember right now. I groaned, looking around the room of the house that I called my home. It was the same house that I had grown up in as a kid, and the only house that I had ever lived in, in all of my 31 years of being on this planet. The same place where memories of my parents lingered in every corner and crack, my very dead parents that is.

Because this house that I was living in, was also the house where I had sworn to take my responsibilities as the oldest child of the house, into raising my younger siblings after our parents’ tragic demise all those years ago. The weight of that responsibility had led me to seek solace in alcohol more times than I cared to admit to myself, and right now, I was paying the price with a massive headache and an even worse hangover.

With a heavy sigh, I dragged myself off the couch, my legs felt weak and unsteady beneath me. The old wooden floors creaked softly under my weight as I slowly stumbled towards the kitchen, gripping the edges of the door frame for support since the room started to spin out of nowhere once I made it there. The smell of bacon and eggs filled my nose along with the welcoming scent of freshly brewed coffee coming from the kitchen, making me understand that at least not all of my siblings were still fast asleep somewhere around the house or close by. And as I looked over to the stove, I locked eyes with Koda, my younger brother.

His eyes were a deep brown, the exact same shade of brown that we all seemed to share inside the Miller family, and a gene that had been passed on from our late father. While my hair was the same dark brown color as Koda’s, mine right now was probably sticking all over the place after a night of heavy partying, while Koda’s was wet and combed back neatly. The fucker looked too darn happy and sober and good-looking for my liking right now, to be honest.

I agree

And for the first time, I smiled at myself, hearing my wolf’s voice Canin inside of my head.

Yeah…

another minor detail about me and my family.

We weren’t just humans,

we were a small pack of werewolves, living in a small town that was hidden away far from any big city.

“Good morning,” Koda told me, looking up as his eyes met mine in a happy voice.

“Morning, Chef,” I mumbled back at him as I stumbled toward the cabinet that held the coffee mugs.

“You’re up early. How are you so freaking chipper after last night?” I asked him in wonder, grabbing two mugs because apart from being hungover, I was still an all-around nice and polite guy. But well, while I always needed a couple of minutes after waking up to transform from a cranky old man into my real genuine self, Koda on the other hand, was always a little ray of sunshine from the second he opened up his eyes, and way too energetic for my liking if I was being completely honest here as well. Which was probably why he was already showered and making breakfast at seven thirty in the morning on the first day of the new year. And I held a silent prayer as I watched my brother cook… I mean… the man could cook better than anyone I had ever known. Thank God for that, the man probably saved this household from starvation more times than I could count, or food poisoning, definitely food poisoning. But once he had hit the age of eighteen, he had just up and left, taking a year to travel abroad to learn more about the different cuisines out there in the world. Not that I blamed him for leaving, in a way… I did resent him for it. Because here Koda was, traveling the world and doing what he loved to do, while I was here… playing house and playing parent, forced to stop living my own life and push aside my own dreams because I needed to make sure that my brothers and sisters could even have a life they loved. Being forced to stay rooted here inside this small town in order to make sure that my entire family didn’t fall apart because I wanted to see the world and be selfish.

You did what needed to be done. My wolf, Canin, growled inside of my head. God only knew that apart from my personality, and me wanting to actually take care of my siblings while they were all still so young, I hardly doubted that my inner wolf would have had it any other way as well. It was in our blood as wolves to protect our family. We were a pack, no matter how small, we needed to stick together. I needed to protect my family, needed to protect our secret, and I needed to guide my brothers and sisters into their adult lives, living with a wolf inside of them and making sure that nobody would ever find out about our inner beasts. 

“Sit down, I’ll grab you some aspirin,” Koda told me, pointing his chin toward the kitchen table.

“What the hell even happened last night?” I asked him, still trying to remember what I had done last night. Shit… I really hoped I hadn’t done anything really bad… Koda glanced up, a mischievous grin spreading across his face telling me that I probably did just that.

“Well, big brother, I managed to limit myself to only one glass of that punch you made on the spot. The secret ingredient must have been something else because that shit was way too strong for my liking and you turned a lot of people drunk because of it.” Koda spoke as I winced, my memories were still fuzzy about the concoction I had mixed together last night. Who in his right mind had even let me mix drinks and serve them to regular people attending the party? 

“Punch? Since when did I start making punch, Koda? We were at a Goddamn bar. I can’t remember a damn thing.” I sighed, running a hand over my face and feeling the roughness of my stubble beard that had grown overnight. Koda simply chuckled back in response, by the looks of it he was loving the picture of seeing me hungover and ashamed, the little dipshit.

“Well… when you order a bunch of stuff at the bar, and you start mixing it up and passing it along to everybody present, I guess you can make your own punch at a bar.” Koda shrugged, while I groaned again, wanting to drown in the coffee that was about to come my way.

Koda poured a fresh cup of coffee and slid it across the table towards me, along with a bottle of aspirin that greeted me like a big welcome sign.

“Don’t worry, bro. You just got a bit carried away with the fruit punch and after midnight, I believe you even added a dash or two of hot sauce in there.” And I groaned as I let my head fall on the table, the coffee mug still resting in my hand.

“Hot sauce? What possessed me to do that? No wonder my head feels as if it’s about to explode.” I spoke in a hoarse voice while Koda just kept on laughing, cracking some eggs into a bowl as he was still standing by the stove in order to cook for a large group.

“Well, you did always like to experiment in the kitchen, big brother.” He shrugged, clearly remembering a few of my failed dinners throughout the years of us growing up. Maybe that was the reason why he had grown into such an amazing cook himself. I chuckled, sipping my coffee.

at least I did something right with one of us…

“I should probably stick to the classics next time. Lesson learned.” I sighed, popping off the lead from the bottle of aspirins while I took one and swallowed it down, hoping for my headache to clear out soon and the conversation to steer clear from my drunken night. Koda slid a plate of fluffy pancakes and crispy bacon in front of me, grinning mischievously.

“Breakfast is served, oh hungover one. Eat up and feel the healing powers of good food in your body.” He told me as I felt my appetite awaken by just looking at the food. And my wolf Canin growled in appreciation, clearly agreeing with me to eat.

“You’re a fucking culinary wizard, Koda.” I sighed appreciatively, grabbing a fork, ready to dig in.

“And you are still in your post-party zombie mode, so eat up so I can finally get my real big brother back,” Koda told me, smiling as he sat on the chair opposite of me. Just as we were about to start eating, the kitchen door swung open, and Skye and Blade, our inseparable pair of brothers, sauntered inside. By the looks of it and what they were still wearing, they were just coming home now that the sun was already up. Skye, with his unruly mop of curly hair, and Blade, with his effortlessly cool demeanor, always seemed to move as one, their bond impenetrable.

“Morning, guys!” Skye exclaimed, his voice filled with the youthful exuberance I was lacking right now.

“What’s cooking?” He asked as he pulled back a chair and sat down next to me, leaning over to grab some bacon. Blade followed closely behind him, his laid-back signature smile plastered on his lips as he took another empty seat at the kitchen table.

“Now this is how you start the day. A pancake extravaganza!” He smiled, grabbing a plate and a pancake for his own.

“So, Adam, how are you feeling this morning?” Skye asked me, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes telling me he either heard or saw me at my worst last night.

“We heard all about your little dance escapade last night.” He chuckled afterward, making me frown at him.

“Yeah, we heard it was quite the performance, you have been holding out on us with the dance moves, big bro.” Blade added while I groaned again, letting my head fall back.

“What the hell did I do exactly?” I asked my three younger brothers, who were all giving me funny faces as if they were about to start snickering like a bunch of high school cheerleaders.

“You danced on top of the table, let’s just keep it at that.” Blade grinned widely, exchanging a glance with Skye before bursting into laughter. Their carefree energy was contagious, lifting my bad mood and even dulling the effects of my hangover. Slowly but surely, my memory started to piece together fragments from the previous night.

A girl.

The most enchanting girl I had ever laid eyes on…

Her presence had captivated me immediately, no matter how drunk I had already been, making me forget about the world around me, even if just for a moment. Bits and pieces of our encounter flashed before me. Her radiant smile, the twinkle in her pale blue eyes, and the effortless sexiness with which she had moved through the bar the entire night while I had followed her around like a lovesick puppy. The image of her standing next to me, the way she brushed her blonde hair behind her ear when she looked nervous, our lips only inches apart while people were counting down to the new year, surfaced in my memory. I had wanted to lean in and kiss her so badly, to feel the warmth of her lips on mine at the stroke of midnight. To start my new year with a bang along with this gorgeous woman. But then… white wine had ended up all over me when she had thrown her drink straight in my face, drenching any possibility of a passionate kiss. My heart sank at the memory, a mix of disappointment and longing swirling deep inside of me while my wolf Canin whined softly as if the fucker couldn’t even remember it happening. Probably another reason to never drink again, too much alcohol messes with your inner wolf. 

“Adam, why are you looking as if you just saw a ghost?” Koda asked me, pulling me out of my daydream.

“Did I meet someone last night? A gorgeous, little blonde?” I asked my brothers, watching how they stared back at me with his big brown eyes. Shit… did I make this girl up? Had I been so drunk that I had started to hallucinate?

“I don’t know man. I wasn’t babysitting you all night. You’re a grown man.” Koda shrugged first, making me bite the inside of my cheek while I felt my cheeks flush.

“Honestly… from the drunken state that you were in last night, you probably did just make her up out of thin air. I mean… tell us more about this girl, was she a secret spy? A time traveler? Or maybe an alien?” Blade chuckled next, making me roll my eyes at him because he always needed to over-exaggerate. Even though the fucker had a good point.

“Speaking of… Where are the girls?” I asked my brothers, changing the subject altogether, while the pretty blonde thing was still very present in the back of my mind.

“Upstairs, Selene didn’t go out last night. I picked up Eluna on my way home.” Koda shrugged it off, making me frown at his words.

“And what time was that?” I asked him, my parental instincts kicking in instantly.

“Dude, it was New Year’s Eve, let it go, you old fart,” Koda told me, giving me a stern look. The guy might be two years younger than me, but now, it didn’t look like that much anymore. And… well… the fucker was pretty darn smart for his whopping 29 years of age. I guess he got that from traveling around the world as well.

“She isn’t an adult, Koda,” I told my brother, who now rolled his eyes at me.

“She’s nineteen, Adam.” He countered, making me lift my hands.

“Exactly my point! Still a minor!” I told him

“Adam, you were nineteen when mom and dad died and you became our legal guardian. Believe me when I say that at nineteen, you are an adult.” Koda spoke to me, making me sigh. Because no, when I was nineteen, I hadn’t been an adult… I had just been forced to grow up overnight to be able to take care of my siblings. All in all… I had just been a kid raising kids.

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes. I dropped the subject because I knew I wouldn’t be able to win. Even though I was still the boss of the house, and at the end of the day, the Alpha of our small pack. At the end of the day, my decisions were final. I guess me being hungover just didn’t give me the fight to push through on the matter right now.

“Why didn’t Selene go out with Eluna?” I asked my brothers, to which Skye frowned as if the answer was clear as day.

“Because for being twins, those two couldn’t be any more different.” He stated matter-of-factly.

“Yeah… I guess the twin genetics got passed on to you two dumbasses instead.” I chuckled, taking another sip of my coffee. But Skye and Blade just laughed together, hell… even their laughter was in sync these days, that’s how much alike they were apart from their hairstyles. But I smiled, feeling happy that those two knuckleheads had had the chance to become this close over the years. When I had stepped up all those years ago, taking on the role of a legal guardian for my siblings, they had depended on me for stability, for a sense of normalcy in their young lives that had been turned upside down already by our parents’ sudden deaths. And from time to time, in small fragments such as just now, eating breakfast together, I had a feeling that maybe I had done something right by standing up as the new parent. The Alpha of our little Miller family pack of wolves.