The Refugee's Mate (Werewolf Story)

Chapter 1: Danger Zone

Mom would probably go the same rout, if it weren't for one small thing. Tiny, indeed.

Say what you want, but mothers would do anything for their puppies, including survive.

As the tale of the decimated Blood Moon pack was spread throughout the South and beyond, mom reached out to distant relatives for support.

She would soon find out that the attack was a retaliation against us for the "genius move" by my late Alpha uncle, whom pray tell had already gotten away with an attack 8 years prior, supposedly taking out almost the entire Alpha family of the rival pack.

I've heard my uncle was forced to watch as wolves eviscerated all his children and mate. It was brutal.

Now, I can understand wanting revenge just like the next orphan. I do, but what did he think would accomplish another attack against the most powerful wolf pack of the country?

We were 250. They were 20 thousand. Do the math. It's not that difficult. Now, we're down to 2.

Eventually, mom moved away to another pack with the help of her extended family. A larger pack, though not nearly as large as 20 thousand.

The Crescent Moon pack is home to one thousand strong. But we share our city with the humans, so we have to blend in like a lot of small packs do. It's something we're taught since birth.

My mom did the best she could to remake her life, though she never forgot her mate. But she made sure I had positive memories of him. She didn't want me to dwell on vengeance for my father, who's just casualty of a war he didn't ask for.

She tried her best, my mom. She really did.

But I grew up with some serious anger issues, much of whom I didn't always have the best outlet to decompress.

And even though we're well received here, there's always some stupid commentary made by one or two. A whisper here and there. And you know, kids are mean.

As I grew up, I got into fights, which got me in trouble, then more fighting. It's a vicious cycle.

But not nearly as bad as when illegal substances are involved. I tried everything I could to drown out the voices in my head demanding payback for my fallen family.

Sure, let me just arm myself to the teeth and even then I wouldn't be able to take one step into their territory before being taken out by one of their warriors, to which they have 100.

Honestly, I have bigger fish to fry.

My mom can barely afford to put food on the table, working as a shop clerk at the local mall. If it weren't for my dad's insurance money, we'd probably have gone through starvation.

But even so, that money came to us 18 years ago and it's long gone. Now, it's on us. On me. I'm 18 now and in need to get my act together.

I should have already graduated high school and be working to help mom with the expenses, but the truth is school work was never high on my priority list. Not when I could be getting into trouble instead.

Since I don't have any siblings or dad, I spent so much time alone in the house. Sometimes not with the best of companies.

You know what they say: trash attracts trash.

Now, on top of all my good fortune in life, all this bounty of good things, I even managed to be the first werewolf to not find his mate this year.

Seriously, not even with a human. I turned 18 last April, had a birthday cake and everything, went to school, to the mall, to the park. I even visited the county jail to check if my mate wasn't there by any chance.