Liam
Do you believe in fate?
Do you think your destiny is already written in the cards or you're one of those who thinks you can make your own luck?
Well, far from me to influence your opinion, but let me tell you a story. It's all about causality.
Once upon a time, on a fateful April night, there's a pregnant woman who lived in a house alone with her mate. He was a warrior for the Blood Moon pack, a mid-sized werewolf pack in the South, with under 250 members.
It used to have more, but the Alpha of the pack had the brilliant idea of sending the bulk of their forces to attack another pack, a supposed rival.
It's not unheard of wolves attacking each other. We're vicious creatures. The problem was this particular attack was against the largest wolf pack in the country.
Yeah, I said of the entire USA.
Needless to say, none of these warriors returned home from this attack. All 50 of them.
But that's not when the pregnant woman's mate met his maker. He didn't go to this endeavor.
See, I've neglected to say that this particular warrior was the Alpha's brother. So, he stayed behind.
Around 2 a.m., the pregnant woman's water broke. She had tried to sleep in that Saturday night, but her unborn child had other plans.
In this particular evening, her mate was working - warriors work around the clock to protect the pack - so she asked her friend and neighbor for help.
She did tell him of the labor immediately, but since his shift was less than an hour away from ending, she figured he'd meet her at the hospital later as child labor can last for hours.
She's so selfless. Maybe she should've demanded his presence right away for his first born child. No one would judge her for it. Or him, for that matter. But warriors were spread thin and every body counts, especially in the graveyard shift.
She arrived at the county hospital with her trusted friend, who drove her there. She was welcomed by the staff, who wheel chaired her to the delivery room.
Procedures were taken. Doctor was alerted. Patient was examed. While she held her friend's hand, screaming for her mate to come soon, he was on his way out of the town border when it happened.
A massive coordinated assault with hundreds - yes, hundreds - of well trained, well equipped werewolves took place. And the first ones killed? Yeah, you guessed it, the warriors on patrol.
But not just them. The entire pack was attacked. Hundreds of innocents died. Men, women and children, no one was spared. And I do mean nobody.
The trail of blood they left behind was fit for a war. They were careful to make it look like an animal attack, though no animal could achieve such massacre. Not alone, anyway.
And all the while hundreds of people were being killed, including the warrior's entire family, the pregnant woman was in deep pain, been consoled by her best friend.
Unbeknownst to them, all of their friends and family were being decimated, including the small child her friend left behind with her own mate.
Yeah, this is the glorious occasion in which I was born. The miracle child. The last surviving Forsythe.
By the time my mom and Gloria got word of what had happened, I was already in the nursery. Mom was inconsolable.
I'm not even gonna comment on Gloria's grief over her family. Unfortunately, it was too much for her to handle and she took her own life some time later.
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.
They weren't anywhere. Just my luck!
But the good news continue: not only I had to watch as most of the people I knew got mated, I also was told by my teachers that I wouldn't graduate last May either. Not enough credits.
Yeah.... that made my day. Poor mom, she's so worried about me and I can't even blame her. I don't pride myself in being a source for her constant worry. I don't feel this need for rebellion.
I just can't be bothered to care about anything. Except for her, of course. I know how much she sacrificed for me. I know it's time for me to pitch in. You can't play the orphan card forever, especially when you never even met your dad.
Though some people like to constantly remind me of that fact. Did I mention kids are mean?
Still, I can't say it's all bad.
I have made some friends over the years, glorious under achievers like me. Most of whom have already graduated high school, but I do see them on a regular basis.
But now I have to share them with dead end jobs. There's no free lunch for people like us.
And then, there's Emm.
Emm is my would be mate. My constant companion for the last 6 months. The only good thing still remaining in that school.
They're the one who kept me grounded through all this time I didn't find a mate. It's not that I care so much about mates, I don't. But when you grow up listening to stories about your dead dad and how wonderful he was, you kinda hope for a wonderful person for yourself.
But even that was denied to me. I'm forced to contend with the fact that my mate was probably from my old pack, which is usually where you'd find them. Except they're all dead.
So, yeah. Life's a peach.
I'm probably lucky Emm didn't get mated already. They are 17. I so wish they're my mate. But I'm old enough to know it's never who you think. Or in my case, it's no one at all.
"Good evening, Liam. Did you do your homework?" - Mom greets me as she entered our house with grocery bags on her hands.
"Mom, no matter how many times you ask me that, it's not gonna make me graduate any sooner." - I scoffed, causing a scowl to appear on her face.
"Sure. But if you don't apply yourself to school, you're not gonna graduate at all!" - She argued, peeved. Ever since school returned, she's been on my case to apply myself this time. It's annoying, but how can I blame her?
"I know, mom. I'll graduate, I promise." - I conceded, grimacing at my failure.
She put the groceries on the kitchen counter and started to unpack them. I go help her put everything in the cabinet.
"I have good news." - She smiled at me after a minute.
"Really? Did you find my mate wandering around at the mall looking for me?" - I snickered, laughing at my own misery.
She looked at me with a pained expression, furrowing her eyebrows in concern.
"If I had that power, I would've already brought them home for you. Maybe then you can focus on other things." - She replied in a mixture of concern and annoyance.
"I'm focused, I promise. I'm only 5 credits short for graduation. I'll get it done. No sweat!" - I replied, trying to put her mind at ease with a confident tone.
"Anyway, the good news is I've managed to convince my boss to give you a shot at work. Just a few hours, for starters. But maybe more once you graduate." - She said with a pleased smile.
"Fantastic! I've been feeling so guilty for not helping out lately. Thanks, mom. You're the best!" - I spoke with a joyful expression, moving to hug her.
"You don't need to feel guilty about anything. It's my job to support you. I'm just glad to give you something else to do other than dwell on negative thoughts." - She stated with a knowing glance my way. I scoffed at the insinuation but said nothing.
In the next day, I didn't have school since I only take a few classes. So I took the opportunity to go to the mall and talk to my mom's manager about the job. At this point, I'll take anything to unburden her.
And in the afternoon, I went to Emm's house to visit them. They had just got back from school when they let me in. Their parents are out working.
"Are you okay?" - I asked, noticing their sorrow. They look like they've been crying.
"Not really. Something happened today at school." - They informed me with a painful expression. I came closer to them as we sat on the couch of the living room.
"What? Did that dickhead Collins bully you? Because I'll kill him if he did!" - I said with an angry tone.
Jeb Collins is the son of the Alpha of our pack. He's a senior like us, except instead of using his privileged position to do good, he's the pain of my existence. Not only mine, but any of the misfits at school.
"Not really, no. But I don't wanna talk about it right now. Can you kiss me instead?" - They asked playfully. I'm happy to comply, though I still wanna know what happened today.
We spend a good time making out on the couch. I love my time with them, especially considering I'll have much less now that I have to work.
Eventually, our heated action progresses into a passionate love session. They're not that comfortable with their body, but I earned enough trust so that they feel at ease being naked with me.
However, this time feels different for some reason. I can't shake the feeling that something major happened.
"I love us together." - They said, contemplating our bodies on top of each other on the couch, an hour later.
I smile at them.
"I feel the same. But I can't shake the feeling you're not telling me something. Something bad." - I have to be honest, it's bugging the hell out of me.
They grimace at this.
"You're right. It did. I--"
We're interrupted by a loud banging on the front door, startling the both of us.
"Emm, I know you're there. We need to talk about it!" - Jeb announced from outside. I gasped.
"What is he doing here?" - I asked them louder than I wished, but my tone was troubled.
Emm got up from the couch and started getting dressed. I did the same, though I'm utterly puzzled as to why he's here.
"Go away, Jeb! We'll talk tomorrow!" - Emm told him, sounding distraught.
"No! I wanna talk now! Open the damn door!" - He insisted, loud and angrily.
"What does he want with you? Why's he here?" - I asked them, desperately confused at the situation. Emm looked frazzled.
"Is that Trash-sythe I hear? What's he doing inside alone with you?" - He inquired. Yes, he calls me that instead of Forsythe.🙄😒
"What are YOU doing here, Jeb? Seriously, don't you have enough of making our lives miserable at school? Now, you're persecuting people at their houses too?" - I shot back, annoyed.
"You better not be messing around with my mate, Trash-sythe! Or I'll finish the job the Stonehold pack started!" - He threatened and I winced. I'm gobsmacked. Emm looks devastated.
"What?!" - I yelled in shock.
"You got mated to him?" - I looked at a crying Emm, speechless.
"Open the door, Emm! If you don't, I'll think you're cheating on me with Trash-sythe and I'll kill him!" - He doubled down on the threat, angrily.
"Go away, Jeb! Please! I don't wanna talk to you now!" - Emm pleaded, crying. It broke my heart seeing them like this, but I'm too shocked to even process anything in this moment.
"I'll go away if he goes too. I'm not leaving him alone here with you!" - Jeb proposed, though his tone didn't indicate he's backing down.
Emm was wrecked, but they told me it'd be better if I leave, otherwise he wouldn't. I had no other choice but to agree.
I walked slowly to the front door and opened it, Emm right behind me. As I did, a furious looking Jeb took a giant inhale, almost instinctively.
He looked at us, then me, salivating.
"You son of a bitch! You fucked my mate!" - He manhandle me, pinning me against the door roughly. Emm gets desperate.
"Jeb, leave him alone! You said you'd leave! So go! It's not his fault!" - Emm cried out to him in a desperate plea. He's livid. His eyes are glowing in anger as I tried to defend myself from him, though I'm not the warrior type, unlike my dad.
"You're dead, Trash-sythe! Do you hear me? You're fucking dead! Say your goddamn prayers cause you're joining your dad soon! That's a promise!" - He barked at me in a feral tone.
Then, he stepped back and walked away, grunting. Emm hugged me, sobbing. And I'm so incredibly shook right now that I can't even process being sworn to death.
A|N: Welcome everyone!
The Orphan's Mate was such a hit for me (conservatively speaking) that somehow people's love for it inspired me to create this spin off. I hope you like it. Especially for those who wish to revisit the Stonehold family.
If you didn't read the original, you can follow this without problem but it'll spoil (part of) the book if you ever get around to do it.
Next chapter comes the other main character. I'm so excited!
Love,
Léo.