The pic above is Jasmine aka Jazz. Nics best friend. She doesnt play a huge part until the end
I felt sunlight stream in from the blinds, allowing lines of bright light to cast over my closed lids. My eyes were swollen shut. The only sound being heard were the birds singing their songs and mummers from the wolves outside, splashes from the lake followed.
Glancing at my clock I noticed it was already 10 am. My brother Nic would be here at 12.
We were having a pack celebration for his homecoming.. I could smell the pig roasting from outside the pack house.
How will I make it through today...
Getting out of bed, I trudged to the bathroom across the room. My reflection wasn't me. Dark circles, gaunt cheeks, pale... What I've been dealing with has put my health on the lowest mark of the totem pole.
Grace... She comes from a pack that lies on old traditions.. I felt in my heart that despite Zaryn's words, he would mark her eventually.
He would have to if her father demanded something else if he refused to mark her... Which would either be unmated she wolves or pack land. Pack land was the most sought after but they had a large amount of unmated males from what I heard, he could request he come here and let them see if any of our females are theirs and take them..
Females always went to the males pack in that situation.
But I had a gut feeling... He would want the pack lands. Something inside me told me he would do anything to sway the Alpha into forcing his son to mate with his daughter... A female without honor especially the alpha's daughter would be a shame for him. A spot on his family record.
No alpha wanted that. And no alpha wanted to lose packlands. Especially a future alpha. Zaryn would have no choice.
I felt that familiar nausea rolling my stomach but I took deep breaths, calming myself as I repeated in my head that this wasn't my fault. It was Zaryn's and Grace's. More Grace's since he couldn't smell her heat coming.. An unmated male around an unmated female was like kryptonite. The wolves take over and they don't think about trivial things such as condoms which is why we all get locked up with a house mom in charge.
My heart hurt... I felt dead inside still. I was alone now...
Quickly showering , I fixed my hair loose and wavy, applied little makeup and put on a grass green sundress and gold sandals. I wanted to look halfway decent for Nic's homecoming.
The embarrassment I would have to endure at this gathering had my nausea coming back double time.. Yesterday's fight didn't help... Now they would all be whispering.
Pulling myself together, I made my way downstairs, making sure no one was down there so I wouldn't have to see anyone. I can only imagine what the females would say about me.. The juveniles anyway.
Deciding to skip breakfast in fear that I would see someone, I dipped out of the side door and ran up to the Alpha's office. The visit with my parents could wait. I didn't want to stretch this out, worrying all morning about what he would say to me. I knew it would be about Deacon but... I had to be strong for this part.
Knocking softly, I was greeted instantly.
"Come in Nova." Alpha Blakes firm yet softened tone had me pushing the door open quickly , dipping inside quickly.
I inched into the room, hands wringing. He smelled my nervousness.
"You wanted to see me?" I held myself together because I knew what was going to come. Alpha Blake seemed sad, eyes far off.. He was like a second father to me. I grew up with this man and his family as part of my own family.
"Nova..have a seat."
I eased myself Into a chair before his desk and folded my hands in my lap, looking down at the floor.. Ready.
A long sigh expelled from his mouth... Then taking in my scent of sadness.
"I'm sorry Nova. But as the Alpha, I'm going to have to ban you from being around Deacon. Just for a while... Its.. Become unhealthy for Zaryn to witness you two together while his wolf is preparing to be a father..." I glanced up into his eyes with mine blurred, not being able to see properly.
"Nova. Please. I'm sorry... I wouldn't have allowed this if I didn't think it benefited everyone. Its just for a while. Zaryn is more possessive with expecting a pup.. You are still his and He sees Deacon as a threat and that can destroy the pack. Grace could also miscarry.." He trailed
Hot lava burned through me, drying tears in its wake. "I want her to. I hope she does. We all hope she does. Zaryn too ." I spout out without thinking.
His brows furrowed. "You don't mean that Nova.. You're just upset." He flashed teeth a moment letting me know that I was walking on thin lines.. Wishing the Alpha's grandpup to die. He himself wasn't happy about this union and if she did miscarry, it would be rejoiced by the pack but at the same time, no one wanted to lose a pup. Especially an Alpha pup.
I lowered my head, bowed in submission. I felt angry... Hurt.. Betrayed.
Everyone I loved was fawning over this whore of a female who wound up pregnant with my mates pup... I bristle slightly.. A low warning growl came out of Alpha Blake's chest, advising me to calm down. My wolf surfaced slightly, her eyes seeing Alpha Blake's ..
Alpha Blake snarled. "Reign in your wolf Nova. Put away your claws. There's things you don't know that I don't want you to hurt over. Go to your family. Enjoy the day. Stay away from Deacon. If you must see him, make sure you don't get caught and that you don't smell like him or I'll have to punish you. Can you do that?" He pleaded with me.
He was giving me a way out...
A way to still see my best friend.
I nodded, bowing my head. I felt like dying inside... All this pain.. All this torture... Everyone's decisions have inadvertently affected my life for the worse and I'm the one who suffers. But what did he mean that there are things I don't know?
With his dismissal, I storm out of his office, heading down and out of the back door to my parents home. I just wanted to be with my family now. I'm too cried out to feel sorry for myself. I just felt angry now.
Just angry.
As I ventured down the dirt road, I noticed a few she wolves my age whispering , looking at me. I wanted to hide but my wolf wanted to come out and challenge those juveniles to fight .. I stopped, catching their eyes with mine, holding their gazes.
Both their eyes widened a fraction before looking away. They didn't want this fight. Not with a stronger juvenile then they. Deacon and Nic have always made sure I was trained in fighting. Enough to hold my own.
Turning back to the dirt road, I rounded the bend and walked up to my parents front door. That familiar turquoise door that I grew up with. The smell of home calming my nerves. I could already tell she was baking her famous cherry pie. Walking inside had me jogging down memory lane from my youth.
"Hey sweetie" mom came up to me, her cheek pressing into mine, mixing our scents. She pulled back, holding my arms to study my face. Her green eyes held that sadness. I'm sure my own reflected what I was feeling inside. Numb.
"What's wrong Nova? Did something happen?" Dad came to me, Forrest green eyes scanning my face. His wolf bristled, alert that something was going on with his female.
"Alpha Blake ordered me to stay away from Deacon." My voice was soft.
Dads eyes blazed with fury. "That son of a bitch!" His fist pounded on the table, jolting me and my mom.
"Dad. Its fine. He told me if I needed him, I could still see him just not to get caught and not to smell like him. He said there's things I don't know... I don't know what he meant .. but I'll be fine. It will all be fine." I tried to console them. This was a happy day. My brother would be here any minute and I didn't want to ruin it for everyone.
His hard eyes found mine. "No its not okay. None of this is okay Nova. I'm going to have a talk with Blake. He should have told me about this. Nothing gets hidden from me and he knows better than to tell you something that's not ran by me first " a growl emitted from his chest, shaking me.
I huffed, dredging over to the familiar brown suede couch and flopped down on top of it. Mom was beside me in an instant.
"Sweetheart, maybe you should move back into our home instead of staying at the pack house. Have you thought about that?" Her arms felt good around me. That comforting scent of vanilla and grass calming my nerves again. Dads anger had me angry too. Alpha didn't even talk to him about it before he talked to me. Not only is he my father but he's the beta. He should have known.
"I don't know mom. Maybe. I'll think about it."
Her gentle smile soothed my soul.
We were alerted when the door swung open , heavy footsteps pounding into the hardwood. I looked up, seeing Nic standing there with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Nic!!!" I got up, bounding towards him, jumping into his arms and he swung me around, pressing his cheek into mine.
"Hey little sis. Man look how much you've grown!" He squeezed me before letting me down. I felt something I haven't felt in a while... Happy. My lips pulled up at the corners into a smile. Something I haven't done lately. My real smile.
"My male.. I missed you." Mom cooed, latching onto him as if she hasn't seen him in years. Dad and I rolled our eyes. Mom was always over emotional. A fierce wolf when she had to be.. Very protective of her family. But emotional when it came to us.
Nic was able to break out of her hold, giving her a kiss on the cheek before he hugged my dad, both males slapping each other on the back.
Nic was grinning ear to ear, a wolfs grin. His teeth showing but out of happiness to be with his family again
"Oh! Were having a homecoming for you Nic!" Mom brightened.
He smiled. "I know. I could smell that roasting pig from a mile away. "
We all caught up on everything that Nic has been doing... The training he had gone through. His excitement during his stories were contagious and I found myself forgetting for just a moment.
Males who wanted to fight for the Beta position with the new upcoming alpha, would leave and spend two years training at other packs , a bit like the future alpha's but not as rigorously. This was Nic's first year. He had one more until he was ready to fight the others. He was 21, the same age as Zaryn. They've always been best friends. This was going to be hard on him...
We weren't going to tell him yet. We wanted to wait until after his celebration... Since Zaryn and Deacon were still in recovery, the Alpha agreed Grace should not attend and we would wait to tell him. He would fight Zaryn for my honor, we all knew it. He wouldn't be punished for it seeing as how this was Zaryn's punishment for what he did... Dealing with the males who wanted to fight for my honor.
"So little sis. Have you found your mate yet? How was your shift?" He plopped next to me, his arm bringing me into a side hug. Nic was so much bigger than I, the same height as my dad. They both dwarfed me and mom.
I avoided his first question, my parents looking at each other with wide eyes. "The shift was good. I spent hours with my wolf.. I can pretty much stay in the forefront of my mind now when I shift. I've only done it twice now though. I still need practice ." I gave him a gentle smile.
"Well, it looks like you and I are going to have to have a run together tonight! Maybe catch some game." He gave me a toothy grin.
Showing teeth in a grin is usually meant to be a warning or a challenge but with family or friends, scenting the happiness coming from them, it was meant to be just... Happiness.
I gave him a challenging grin. "I'd like that. Hope you can keep up."
A playful growl came from his chest. "Oh little pup, you have a lot to learn from your big bro."
Being with my family and Nic made me think less about what my life is like now.. It made it bearable to breathe... Maybe I should move back in my parents home...
"Nic where are you going to stay? Here or the pack house?" My eyes found his emerald green ones. Hopeful.
"Why? Want me to stay in the pack house with you?" He smirked.
I pursed my lips, not wanting to make any definite plans yet. "I was thinking of actually coming back home... If you were going to stay here too..."
Nic hasn't found his mate yet which made him want to be around unmated she wolves. We had a code though.. You could associate with the opposite sex.. Have girlfriends or boyfriends in the pack.. Do things with each other.. But no one is allowed to sleep with each other.
Sex between unmated wolves was a horrible thing.. A female was expected to have her virtue to present to her mate.. It wasn't so bad for the males, and it did happen... But not in between the wolves in this pack. The alpha didn't tolerate it.. If a male and female mated in our pack and neither were mates, they would be punished. So the males or females who were a bit more easy, they sought out another male or female from another pack... Which is why no one looked down on Zaryn for sleeping with another wolf.... because she wasn't one of ours. they looked down on him for getting her pregnant.
We all decided to go ahead and make our way to the barbecue, Nic was getting antsy wanting to see his friends. I walked down to pack house with Nic while mom and dad stayed behind to gather the pies she made. They would follow shortly.
"So I noticed how you skipped over my question earlier." Nic smirked down at me
My face paled but I kept myself calm. "What?"
"Did you find your mate? Are you embarrassed to tell?" That smirk broadened and I had to control my wolf from bristling at him.
"No." I looked down, hoping he would take that as my answer to both.. Which I really only meant no I wasn't embarrassed to tell him.. I was embarrassed about the situation. Angry.
He needed to enjoy himself first.
He sighed, kicking at a rock in our path as we made our way down the hill toward the party. "Don't worry. You'll find him one day. And I'll find mine too." A soft smile found its way to his mouth and I just smiled back. I wanted him to be happy.
I felt guilty for not checking on the brothers today but since I wasn't allowed around Deacon anymore and Zaryn had pissed me off , it was better to just stay away. Zaryn would know once I entered the doc's office.
I watched the backyard of the packhouse bloom to life as we made our way down to the clusters of wolves .. There was a bonfire, a large table filled with tons of food. A welcome home sign and many unmated she wolves prancing around in bikinis, playing in the water at the shore of the lake. Music blared around the clearing and wolves were swimming up to the shore to greet Nic. Young pups ran around on two legs, chasing after one another laughing as their parents tried to reign them in.
"Nic!!!" Jasmine screamed, bounding her way over to Nic as we approached the party, her long ebony hair flowing behind her.. light brown skin glowing. She was beautiful.. exotic with her green eyes.
He caught her as she jumped up in his arms, giving him a huge hug. Jasmine was Nic's best friend. Jasmine,.. or better known as Jazz, grew up with us as well. She had always been around Nic and they were always best friends.. No romantic views on each other at all whatsoever.
"Hey jazzy" he chuckled, spinning her around. I looked on, noticing some she wolves looking at their actions with narrowed eyes. Nic had a fan club for sure. I just hope no one would notice me...
Jazz hopped off, giving me a sad smile. "Hey Nova. How are you doing?"
I hoped she wouldn't say a word. "Great! I have my brother back!" I plastered a fake smile to my face, her brow arching, understanding.
"Yeah. I think were all glad he's home. You've developed some sort of a fan club Nic. The females have been getting ready all day for your arrival." She snorted.
Alpha Blake and Luna Penelope came to greet Nic with big hugs and the pressing of cheeks. "Hey big man. How have you been?" Alpha slapped him on the back a few times as they greeted each other.
"I'm Good old man. Ready to take down all my competition after next year. I'm just waiting on that challenge." His eyes glowed , his smile broad, no teeth.
"That a boy." Alpha ruffled his hair.
Nic went on to greet the females waiting for him before greeting his friends.. I watched on as they acted like juveniles, eyes on the females as they postured themselves to the males.
I rolled my eyes. Jasmine was still standing beside me.
"Are you going to tell him?" She glanced at me.
"Yeah. We just want him to have a good time first before the drama starts." I admitted, watching how my brother worked the crowd. He looked around, as if searching for someone. Too bad that someone wouldn't be here tonight.
"Good idea." Jasmine whispered.
She walked off, leaving me to myself. I wasn't prepared for what would happen if I was left alone. I didn't want everyone staring at me.. Feeling sorry for me.. Laughing at me.
I had no friends here... I had wolves who were friendly to me because of my brother but no actual friends. Deacon was my friend. And Eden... But Eden wasn't our pack anymore.
A circuit of tingles ran through my body, making my skin come to life. I felt goosebumps on my flesh from the back of my legs all the way up my body to my head. I knew that feeling.
I cringed inwardly despite the pleasure that his watching me gave me..
Nic was going to know..
I turned slowly, seeing Zaryn standing there, his wounds fully healed now.
When did that happen?
He kept his focus on me, slowly walking toward me. I glanced back, seeing Nic busy talking with his friends so I immediately jogged up the path towards the pack house, closing the distance between Zaryn and myself. I grabbed his wrist, pulling him to the side of the house in the mudroom. His skin set mine on fire.. Tingles everywhere. I quickly let him go once we were obscured from the curious eyes of wolves.
"Zaryn what are you doing here?" I searched his eyes which were glued to my form.. Scanning me. His fists were clenched so tight, jaw clenched as well.. He would break his teeth if he wasn't careful.
"We just got released. Our healing sped up. I needed to explain to your brother before he found out.. And I wanted to see you."
The nerve..
"No Zaryn. Let him enjoy his party. This will start a war." I pleaded up at him. Being around him had my wolf surging, wanting to be present to meet him.. To claim him. He was hers.
His eyes closed, inhaling the air. He pressed his body to mine, nose dipping into My neck, touching my skin causing me to gasp. It was like fire on ice... His touch was magnetic and I was the magnent. I could feel my insides turn to liquid, becoming excited from his close proximity. He inhaled my scent, a shiver quaking through his body.
"You have no idea what your scent does to me." His hot breath warmed my neck, lips pressing into the skin, a moan escaping my lips. My knees wobbled as I fought my wolf, needing to take control of this.
He needed to stop this.
"Zaryn. No." My voice broke, letting him know my body didnt really want this to stop. But my mind did.
Large hands melded into the flesh at my hips, pressing into them as he brought me closer to his body, our forms fitting each other perfectly.
His tongue came out, tasting my skin, the place he would have marked had he not have done what he did. My body trembled, relishing his touch. His scent was pleasing... He was giving off pheromones, his wolf eager to mark me.
"Stop." I took a step back from him, pulling my wolf back , trying to ignore the pull I felt toward him... I reminded myself he has someone else right now. Someone who is carrying his pup.
He looked at me with sad yet lustful blue eyes. "Nova-"
"No Zaryn. You need to stop. We can't be like this. It hurts me.. My heart. Do you know what Nic will do when-"
I was cut off by commotion coming from outside.
Quickly, I ducked past Zaryn and rushed outside , looking to see what was happening.
Zaryn followed and as we rounded the house in view of the party, I saw Nic yelling at someone before his eyes locked on zaryn's with a fire in them like I've never seen.
"Shit. Shit shit shit."