Mate.

Sabrina.

" We have some business to deal with in the neighbouring packs. Luna Maya and I will be around for the next few days. Call us if you need anything. " After making sure that everything was perfect in my hotel room, Alpha Green informed me before they walked out, leaving me all alone, at the mercy of my tormenting thoughts.

We were already in the Shadow Wall pack and for obvious reasons, I decided to stay in a hotel.

From where I was staying, the pack house wasn't very far. It was a twenty-minute drive and more closely, it was the place where I grew up. Our house, or, rather, my former house. Yes. It was even closer, but I would rather stay in a hotel than stay there. I mean, what was the point?

It was obvious that I was no longer welcome there. From the moment that Amanda and her daughter entered our lives, nothing had ever been the same, not again. From the paint, to the furniture, to our family photos which used to adorn the walls, everything was changed and tossed out.

I was fourteen when it all happened and even after so many years, I was still haunted by the image of my mother's photos tossed on the driveway, her clothes and personal items burnt under my watchful gaze, and yet, there was nothing I could do about it.

' I am merely burning her belongings. Why are you crying, Sabrina? Don't you know? Keeping a deceased person's belongings breeds bad luck?' Amanda had questioned, her voice coated with faux sweetness, a cunning glint cropping her eyes.

' Let your stepmother burn them. Your mother is already dead anyway, it's not like she will ever use these things.' Back then, those were the words that I received when I went to complain to my father. The ruthlessness, the nonchalance.

At some point, Amery wanted my bedroom, citing that it was bigger and spacious, and my father? He told me to move out, the same room that he had once decorated for me, painting it for days with my mom. He even hung a small wooden board at the door, with the words, ' My little princess's room.' written boldly on it. But for Amery, he tossed it away, like it meant nothing.

'It's just a room, Sabrina. Don't be petty. You can choose another one.' He had said, his tone cold and emotionless, his eyes clouded by displeasure, like he couldn't stand me.

Eager to please him, I had caved in, moving to a smaller room. I thought that she was only taking my room. Little did I know, her greed knew no bounds. She not only took my room, but she also took my home, my father, my best friend, and my fiancée, and now, they were using my late mother's locket, her partying gift to me, to force me into attending her wedding.

' Let's hope that they won't regret 'inviting' us over, Sabrina. ' At the back of my mind, Ava let out a hearty chuckle and I almost joined her, if I wasn't so stressed, rummaging through my suitcase, trying to find a suitable dress, 'fitting' to attend a wedding as a stepsister. How ridiculous!

*****************

" You look beautiful, Miss. You must be new here. I have never seen you before." Even after I settled in my seat, the cab driver was still in a trance, his eyes scanning my whole body, to the point that my skin crawled. I knew that I was beautiful, but the cab driver was clearly taking it too far. Either that, or I had somehow outdone something. Well, either way, I didn't care. Being a warrior, and a werewolf, meant that I had a fit body, generously curved at the right places, and with the dress that I was wearing, which generously hugged my body, accentuating every curve, I surely stood out.

With my flawless skin, I didn't even need to wear makeup, but Luna Maya made sure of it. She personally did my makeup before her mate dragged her out of the room. So yeah, maybe I stood out a little too much. But what was wrong with that? It's not like I was worried about hurting the bride's fragile feelings, after all.

" You can also say that," I responded with a cut smile, my eyes travelling to the scenic views as the car cruised on the neatly tarmacked road.

The drive from my hotel room to the pack grounds was short and peaceful, accompanied by occasional screeching as the tyres met the road.

In four years, nothing had changed in the Shadow Wall pack. From the roads to the views, everything was the same. The same building that I used to see while growing up, in the same places, and most likely, still owned by the same people.

And as we pulled at the pack's outer gates, my heart stung as I looked at the awfully familiar view.

A cocktail of emotions coursed through my body as we narrowed further in, and the closer we got, the more vivid my memories of the place became.

Back when I left, I hadn't known that I would ever come back, and yet, as I stood outside the inner gate, facing the familiar Alpha Villa, the place that was supposed to be my home, I didn't know how to feel.

There was a familiar sting in my heart, yes, but more than that, was the bitterness within, especially, when my eyes collided with the giant couple's poster, just at the gates. It was Amery and Rhys, intimately leaning on each other, radiant smiles plastered on their faces.

Looking at their smiles, which were obviously mocking me, anger and resentment coursed through my veins in equal measures, and to maintain some semblance of control, I dug my nails through my skin, the pain doing nothing to quench the fire within.

They looked every bit a happy couple, a perfect match, and to be honest, they were a perfect match, two traitors, a match made in hell.

' Where are you? We are waiting for you. Your sister left the maid of honour position for you.' Just then, I received a mindlink from my father, and I used everything within me to stop myself from cursing at him. Maid of honour? More like Amery couldn't let go of any chance to torture me. And the way my father said it, like I was being served gold on a platter and I had to kneel and accept it. Wow! How lovely! How generous!

From the gates, I took a familiar route, heading to my former home, the familiarity of each step unnerving.

Everything around was getting on my nerves, from how restless my wolf had become from the moment we entered through the gates, to the very harmless decorations that were placed everywhere. I hated it. I hated them, and at every attempt at them showing off their love, I was irked.

' I feel like something major is about to change, Sabrina. ' Just before I knocked on the front door, my wolf's restless voice reverberated at the back of my mind and I halted, freezing in place, but only momentarily. We were already there, anyway.

" Warrior Fords. " I acknowledged curtly, before walking in through the open door, but in the next second, I froze in place, disbelief, anger, and disappointment burning within, rendering me immobile.

" You came, Sabrina. That's more like it!" My father's double-edged voice was like a distant chatter, very faraway. I was too preoccupied to listen to him.

And my senses? They were all drawn to the source of the scent, so delicious, so mouthwatering, it was like nothing I had ever smelled before.

Then came my wolf's restless pars.

It was the scent of nature, the scent of home, filling my heart with foreign peace, calmness, momentarily, washing away all my bitterness.

It was the earthy morning smell after a rainy night, so comforting.

It was a mate's scent, my mate.

" Mate!" Raw and hungry, were the words that slipped past my lips.