Two

Memory/Flashback: 4 Years Earlier

[Meeting the first mate]

Ring-Ring. Ring-Ring. Ring-

"Ugh, hello?"

Half asleep I make myself answer, already knowing who it is without having to look.

"Nova, come pick me up, I'm at the bar."

Her words slur into the phone.

"It's after midnight mom, can't someone there give you a ride home?"

I'm already in bed and was asleep, but I already know I shouldn't have asked.

"JUST COME GET ME!" click.

That, ladies and gentlemen would be my oh so lovely mother. A woman whose love for alcohol and other substances greatly outweighs her love for everything else, including my sister and me.

Thankfully I'm the older one, so I deal with her shit most of the time. My little sister Alexa has unfortunately had her moments with her too, but I try my best to keep her attention on me to keep that from happening.

I wanted to leave, go to college or move to a different town. I just couldn't bring myself to leave Alexa here alone. I hated thinking of what she would have to go through, being left as our mothers only outlet and punching bag. Sadly she was still in high-school, so taking her with me wasn't an option yet.

Great.

Rolling out of bed I toss my long blonde locks into a quick messy bun and slip on a sundress and my flip-flops. I splash some cold water on my face to help wake up and grab my jeep keys on my way out the door.

We only live a mile from the bar she likes to drink at, but Goddess forbid she have to walk home. I pull into the parking lot and see my mom's car.

Awesome, I'll have to bring her back before I leave for work in the morning to get it.

I pull out my phone and call her.

"Hello"

she's trying to sound sweet, someone must be close enough to hear her.

"Hey, I'm outside in the parking lot."

I roll my eyes, since she can't see me.

"Oh, baby girl! Come in, there's a friend I'd like you to meet."

Still using her Goddess awful sickeningly sweet voice that isn't hers, and frankly creeps me out.

"Mom, I'm really tired and I look like trash right now, so can you please just come on."

I'm trying not to get too annoyed because I don't want to deal with her in a bad mood, but there's no way in hell I'm going in there.

"Nova Rain, get your butt in here this moment and say hello or I'm not leaving." Click.

Did she really just hang up on me again? Well shit. Guess I am going in.

You see most people 'like me' don't understand why I let her treat me the way she does or why I deal with her at all.

Little back story, my mom's name is Ava, she's just a simple normal human. My father on the other hand is an Alpha Wolf Shifter, or a werewolf as most humans call us. Normally humans don't know of our existence, unless they're mated to one of us. Even then they get turned before the produce any pups. Shifters however, especially the males, like to party with humans, mainly the females.

Shocker, I know right.

So they met at a bar one night and had a little 'too much' fun, and well here I am. I'm the Alphas great shame, his half-breed bastard daughter. No one understands how my mother actually conceived me, but trust me I'm his. Numerous DNA tests can confirm that.

Yay for me.

My father had to tell her what he was when she told him she was pregnant. Of course she freaked out, but my dad paid her greatly and told her he'd raise me in his pack.

Ah yes, my father. Alpha Blaze Storms, I'm his first born but I'm not a male. So that's the reason he says he doesn't consider me an heir, which is total bullshit if you ask me. It's not because I'm a girl, there are plenty of female Alphas.

The real reason is because I'm a mutt, a half-breed unworthy of the Alpha title in his eyes. Unlike my younger brother who he had with Amelia, his true mate and Luna when I was 4. My brother Maximo or Furure Alpha Max (mental eye roll) which he prefers, is the apple of his eye and his pride and joy.

Thankfully he did see value in making me strong and teaching me to defend myself, to fight until I couldn't anymore. His pack was one of the most ruthless and feared packs in the world. It was ranked #7 in the world and ranked #3 in America.

So from the moment I could walk he taught me how to protect myself and others, and how to win against anyone. Didn't matter if they were bigger, smaller, stronger or faster. He taught me to be silent, quick and deadly. And I was damn good at it.

Hey, at least he did something right for me.

I lived with him in the pack house until I was about 8. People had to pretend to respect me in front of him, but secretly looked down on me and tormented me for having a human mother and being his bastard mutt daughter.

When my mom had Alexa and I felt the need to protect her. I didn't see my mother much, but when I did she was abusive. I couldn't let my new little sister be her target. I was a shifter, he'd hits were simple rain drops compared to others I'd taken. So I told my father I didn't want to live in his pack any longer, it really wasn't a lie.

He still made me come to the pack house every school day for two hours before school and three hours after to train. I also had go keep going to the packs schools, where I had only one friend, my brother and everyone else was cruel.

Sadly, I also had to live with him the summer of my 13th birthday, he made me the minute I started showing signs of shifting early. Even though I'm a half-breed I still have Alpha blood, so we thought I would shift early. Unfortunately I shifted at 13, which is odd considering 15 is the age most Alphas do and 17 for all other Shifters.

Shifting earlier than even normal Alphas caused me problems, I was now the 'Freak Mutt'. I had gotten into a few fights in the pack, and got punished by my father for fighting 'family'.

Those people were never my family.

Living with my mother wasn't easy though. She was physically and mentally abusive most of the time. Even though I might be physically stronger now, I wasn't always. So she's had a mental hold over me my entire life. So my sister is all I really have, and I could never leave her alone with our mother.

*Ding* -Nova get ur ass n here NOW!!!-

I read the text from my mom.

oh shit, I forgot. Fuck I've been lost in my thoughts again. Mental face-palm. Greatttt.

The moment I walked in I'm hit with the most amazing smell ever, it's like cottonwood and apple trees in the summer. See your mate will smell like one or more of your favorite things. For me living on a farm one summer with my grandparents is one of the best memories of my life. I remember loving the smell of the apple trees and cottonwood that grew there. So the smell on him is simply intoxicating.

'Mate'