My One and Only

Prologue Part One

LUCAS couldn't be bothered with the rest of the day. It had been horrible, starting off with losing his school backpack so he was late, and then Miss Jill had the nerve to put him in detention! He ended up missing the first half of lunch meaning there was no apple crumble left for him. That was his favourite! And to top it all off, some boy peed their pants in class and it was really hot so it stank up the classroom.

All he wanted to do was go home and eat some of Miss Lillian's homemade cookies but she told him to go and get some fresh air. "You spend too much time in doors Lucas." The maid had said. She had bribed him with cookies to eat for when he returned home so he agreed to go to the park.

The heat was sweltering so the streets were packed with kids. He assumed the park would be too so he took his time with the usually short walk. Maybe Miss Lillian would let him have ice cream when he gets home too.

For human children, it would probably be dangerous to have a six year old play without a guardian around but Lucas was used to being out by himself. He was the Alpha's son so naturally had more strength and was faster than the average six year old infant - human or wolf. His personality was more mature as well. This had nothing to do with being a werewolf but to do with the fact he knew he was expected of much more than the a normal child.

The park was also public and littered with many pack members that would gladly give their lives up for their future Alpha. Not many humans would live here, being so far away from the city, and any that do, have lived here all their lives. They didn't know about the werewolves but many believed in the myths and legends. Anyway, it would be unlikely for any dangerous humans to pass by so it was safe for Lucas. Not that he cared. He believed he could take them.

"Hey Lucas! Come play footy with us!" One of his friends, Ryan, called from the field where a game of football was going on. He had only just walked into the park and suddenly had everyone's attention. It's as if they knew he was there just from the powerful aura he gave off, even as a child.

He cupped his hands around his mouth. "One sec! Just gonna hang here for a bit."

Lucas saw his friend nod in the distance but turned around and walked away before anything more could be said.

Even though Ryan was a friend, his best friend you could say, Lucas was reluctant to spend time with him and his classmates. Surprisingly, he wasn't that sociably and liked to spend time by himself or watching his father train rather than play video games with the rest of the guys. He just didn't like people that much.

He spotted his tree and went to walk towards it. Well, it wasn't really his tree but he'd sit there sometimes and wouldn't really see anyone else near it. Everybody knew the Alpha's son didn't like to share his things. Even if it was a tree.

Passing the people in the park led to pats on the shoulder and many greetings. It was annoying as he just wanted to be left alone. Sure, he was grateful and proud to be the future leader of the pack but it didn't mean he wanted to make small talk about the weather.

When he finally reached the tree at the edge of the park, he sat down and looked at the families doing their own thing. He had nothing better to do. The swings were preoccupied and a line had started to form it was that busy.

Sometimes he wished he had a family that would take the time to take him to the park and someone to push him on the swings as he yelled, "higher!" But because his mother had died when he was a baby due to rogues, his father had never been able to fill the more caring and gentle role. Instead, they bonded over fighting tips and ways to get the pack to work together. A Luna would usually be the one to bring the pack together as a unit, a family, and an Alpha to protect the pack and lead it to battle. His father had to try and fill both roles to keep the pack as the best one in the country. He had learnt all of this since he could comprehend words. Instead of fairytales, his father told him battle strategies.

A whimper brought him out of his thoughts. His head snapped to the sound but couldn't see anyone. It sounded close by but it could've been his sensitive hearing.

He thought he was imagining it until he heard it again more clearly now that he was looking for the sound. "Hello?" He said, not shouting as he didn't want to draw attention and look crazy.

More whimpering and a sniffle. Whoever it was they were definitely upset. Some other day, he would probably just walk away and leave it for someone else to worry about. But, this voice just sounded so innocent and afraid, he couldn't find it in himself to ignore it.

"Hello?!" He said once again, this time louder, whilst walking around the tree. Lucas looked around the park but there were no crying kids as far as he could see so he could only assume they weren't in the playground.

The sniffling was coming from above him so he looked up and was faced with some little legs hanging off the side of a branch. He could see it was a little girl, maybe a few years younger than him. She must be stuck. Hoping that he wouldn't startle her, he started to climb the large tree.

As he got closer, smell of mangos filled his nose. Everybody had a scent and he guessed this was the scent of the little girl. It was lovely and to be honest, he could smell it all day.

She looked so small, dressed in a pale yellow dress and tiny light up shoes. Her chest was lying on the branch with her eyes tightly closed and her tear stained cheeks was pressed on it too. Her arms were wrapped tightly around the branch and her soft blonde hair was hanging on either side. The little body was shaking so much he feared she'd fall off even if the branch looked quite big compared to her.

Lucas perched himself carefully on a branch next to the girl and took a deep breath. "Hi there," he said softly, not wanting her to be frightened at the sudden sound but loud enough to be heard over the frantic screams of children playing. She could've heard him climb up but there was no sign that she knew of his presence. It was clear she was really frightened.

He saw her freeze and her sniffling stopped briefly. Her eyes tentatively opened to reveal a blue colour, making Lucas suck in a breath. He'd never seen eyes as beautiful. This is weird.

Focusing back on his mission, he leaned forward in case she couldn't hear him properly, "are you ok? What are you doing here?"

She just stared at him and didn't say anything. Lucas hoped she wasn't in shock or something. It looked like she had been through something traumatic but then again, loads of little kids are always crying for no reason.

"Do you want to get down?" He tried another question and was given a slight nod in response. He couldn't stop the grin that took over his face when he was finally given a response.

He moved to get in a better position but was stopped by a voice. "No," the little girl whispered, her voice slightly wavering as if she was going to cry again. "Don't leave me."

Lucas' heart clenched as he saw the pleading look in her eyes. She looked completely terrified and thought he was going to leave her there.

"Of course not little one. Just pass me your hand." He gave her a reassuring smile but her eyes started to well up with tears again.

"I can't. I'm going to fall." Her angelic voice sounded so broken as her tiny arms clutched the branch tighter. Lucas feared she'd have some cuts and splinters. He sure did get a few climbing up but they healed instantly. Knowing this little girl was human, he wasn't so sure it would be the same for her.

To be honest, they weren't that high up but to someone as small as her, it probably seemed like a skyscraper. Climbing closer, to the point he was at the branch next to her, he was able to comfortingly stroke her arm, hopefully relaxing her. "It's ok. I'm right here. Just give me your hands ok?" He didn't think his voice could get any softer.

Hesitantly, she unwrapped her arms and sat up, immediately clutching onto Lucas' ready hands. Tingles filled his whole body and he wasn't used to it. It was nothing he had ever felt before. Maybe he was getting sick.

"There you go! Look at you. So brave!" He gave her a wide smile as he praised her, earning a small sheepish one in return.

From there it was easy to pick up this little girl in his arms. She was so tiny! He wondered how she could even reach the branches to climb up. Even he had some difficulty!

Deciding to ignore it for now, he held the girl close to him and she greedily clutched his shirt, pulling herself closer. Poor girl. Her petite body was shaking, whether from fear or from the cold he didn't know. The heat was starting to disappear and the noisy people below them have started to leave.

Little whimpers made him push her head into the crook of his neck with his hand as he said words of praises in her ear whilst gently lowering them to the ground. "You did so good little one. So proud. Almost there. How amazing you are."

"How old are you?" He suddenly asked.

She whispered four in his ear, tickling him with her breath. Four! He would've guessed two or three. So small. So precious. Then he realised he didn't know her name so he asked.

"Ava." It was a nice name. Lucas hadn't heard it before so he thought it was quite special.

"My name is Lucas little one." She didn't respond, just snuggled into his warmth even more.

She wasn't that heavy and Lucas was quite tall for his age so he could easily hold her. Once they reached the ground, he noticed light snores and saw that his Ava was knocked out.

With a kiss on her soft blonde hair, he took his little one home. Despite his day starting out horribly, he couldn't help but think this was the best day of his life for some reason. Lucas knew it had something to do with the angel sleeping in his arms. He knew that he'd protect her forever. She was stuck with him now.

His Ava.