MAXWELL "Ah, Maxwell, my man, you ready for what's about to happen?" Michael grinned as he threw his arm around my shoulder. I am pretty sure he was more excited about tonight then I was, then again, he was about to become Beta in place of my mum's best friend, so I guess he had good reason to be in the mood that he was. "Don't call me my man, I've told you about that before," I chuckled. Despite there being an eight year age gap between Michael and myself, I actually got on better with him than I did with Daniel, because of the amount of time he had spent looking after me when I was younger; I became quite attached to him when I was six and he started looking after us every Saturday night so my parents could have some time alone. Nicole was close to Abby, but that wasn't surprising given that they were practically the same age, but it got to the point where the two of them were inseparable. You would never find one without the o
MAXWELL I didn't even realize the room had fallen silent, until I looked across at the stage to see my mother was now standing up there with Uncle Luca one side of her and Jackson the other. Michael was at the back with Shantel standing in front on him, his arms wrapped around her waist, with Aurora on his left and his twin sisters, Kailyn and Trinity who were fourteen and looked exactly like their mother to the point that it would have been difficult to tell who the twins were and who Aurora was if she had aged at the same rate as a werewolf, standing on his left — it's a shame that Daniel wasn't here. I did actually miss him and hope that he would make an appearance, but I guess he was either happy with his mate or he was still searching for her. Uncle Link was off to the side of the stage with his arm wrapped around Aunt Jamie, who actually was in her thirties but still had the face of a teenager, while Uncle Link must have been in his late fifties by now but looked just as good
I remembered the last time I saw my family. I was eighteen years old, preparing myself for the first time I would shift.My father was telling me that I didn't need to worry. It would be painful when it first happened but, when I change, I would be the most beautiful wolf any male had ever had the privledge of laying their eyes on.My mother was assuring me that it was the most exciting time in any wolf's life, the first time they experienced the change and were able to run freely as their wolf. You could feel the wind running through your fur and enjoy a freedom you had never had before.My older brother had done nothing but rave how impressive it felt to be able to shift. He loved the power it gave him but what he loved even more than that was that he had been able to find his mate; he had told me that was the most precious moment in a wolf's life. The moment they found the person they wanted to spend the rest of their life with.It had been nothing short of perfect. Only that's the
I could smell them before they smelt me. Ten years of being a rogue meant I had trained myself to be able to smell a threat before they became a threat, it was a trick which had gotten me out of many certain death situations. I shifted before they had emerged from the clearing and was preparing myself for an attack. I wasn't going to go down easy and it was sure as hell going to take more than a couple of male-wolves to take me down. I may not look like much to the eye, but looks can be deceiving. I was more powerful than people had ever given me credit for which is part of the reason any pack members who managed to find me had always ended up dead at my hand; I wasn't someone to be messed with when I was pissed off. It would seem that people were determined to find that out the hard way though. Not that you would ever catch me complaining. Killing those who were supposed to be some of the best fighters in the pack always bought about a sense of happiness, knowing I was one step cl
I don't know how long I was looking at the door before it was pushed open. The force behind it almost causing it to fall from its hinges. Jayson looked pissed off. I'm not talking pissed off in that he wants to smash up a few trees, I am talking pissed off in that he wants to rip heads from bodies. Not that I could blame him, I am sure it was Blake's job to begin the torture, but instead he's demanding my release. "What the fuck is going on here?" Jayson shouted, his eyes moving to Blake who was still eyeing me like I was the most wonderful thing in the world. If I didn't have a set of silver handcuffs around my wrists at this moment, I would have shifted and probably killed him. “You wouldn't have done that though because I wouldn't have allowed you to touch him.” My wolf voicing her opinion, her unwelcome opinion which wasn't going to change what I thought of Blake. "Funny story. Turns out your Beta is my mate. Hilarious, right?" I found myself laughing as the words left my mouth
When I finally woke up, my throat was killing me. I was sure there were bruises there and I guess it was my own fault. I used words and sarcasm when I'm under pressure. It's a natural reflex to conversations I didn't want to have and it was my way of protecting myself from the world around me. The only people I had ever spoken to were my family. They were the only ones who really understood me and actually knew what it was like to be in my head. They helped me when I had no one and I hated that they were gone. I hated that I couldn't just speak to them and ask for them advice. I hated that they weren't just round the corner from me so that they could tell me what was the right thing to do, tell me that what I had planned was the wrong thing to be doing because it would make me just as bad as they were. In fact, I hated that they were dead and I was alone in the world. The only person I actually had was my mate and I didn't want anything to do with him right now. I couldn't just jum
I couldn't stop pacing up and down. All my thoughts were consumed by the woman on the other side of the door, the woman who was in the room with the man who would have been successful in killing her had I not stopped him. I had never felt anger like I did in that moment. The only thing on my mind was murdering Jayson. Murdering the man who was my best friend and had been there for me through all the shit my father had put me through; I was prepared to murder my Alpha because he dared to touch my mate. At twenty-five, I never thought I would find my mate. I had pretty much accepted that I was going to spend the rest of my life alone while everyone else around me found their happiness. Jayson had found his mate the moment he turned nineteen and, at twenty, Jackson still has time to find his without too much worry. Unlike my father, who seemed to think having a mate was pointless, I actually wanted to f
Sleep last night refused to come. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't will myself to want to to fall asleep and forget the memories of yesterday. Instead, I spent the entire night pacing my cell, wondering whether I was making the right choices or not.I had seven different Alphas who had given me their support, who had promised me that they would fight with me when the appropriate time came to take down the Moon Shadow pack. One night here thoigh and I was already questioning what I had actually gotten myself in for.I knew they needed to pay and I wanted my revenge for the death of my entire family, but waging war against an entire pack probably wasn't the right way to actually go about it, not when innocent people were going to pay the price of someone else's mistake.Women and children would die. The blood of innocent men would be shed. Families would be destroyed. And I would have to live with that, I would have