CHAPTER ONE

It was a full moon’s night and Tristan and I were supposed to come to the woods for our training.

It was something I had suggested a few weeks after I met Tristan. Tristan was an omega hence, he wasn't subjected or privileged to get all the training we got. 

I, for example, was the daughter of the Alpha of MoonShine Pack, Alpha Collins. Although, that title made me subjected me to opportunities outside the main pack but, within the pack, I was like my father’s enemy. Father never liked looking into my face and while I tried seeing the bright side of it, there was no logical reason why he did that. 

I also often heard other girls whisper as I passed by, they talked about how I caused my mother's death and that's why my father hates. 

As if I wasn't already feeling guilty enough. 

My wolf, Maya, had always tried convincing me that maybe I get reminded of his late wife, my mother, whenever he sees me but, even she stopped believing that at a point.

He believes I killed my mother, it's as simple as that.

So he just simply hated me for that. But that didn't make the pain any better.

Everyone saw me as one of the most opportune pack member of Moonshine as the Alpha’s daughter while I wish I wasn't born as one. I wish I was born into an average wolf family. And sometimes, I even wish I was born as an omega. I hated my life and thought, on various occasions, of giving up. The loneliness tortured me to the extent that I had almost swallowed a bottle of wolfsbane my father had kept for whenever the rogues appeared.

However, Tristan came into my life, just like the calm after the storm. 

He gave me a shoulder to lean on and a reason to live. Yes, he was the omega. And, he should be the one wishing to be dead. But somehow, he had appeared in my life with soothing words, reassuring me that everything was going to be okay.

He told me it was okay to feel lonely and embraced my flaws. 

And, in return, I had fallen in love with him. Deeply in love. I hadn't realized when I did. I just found myself missing him on days I don't see him. I found myself yearning for him on days I didn't feel his touch. I found my wolf calling out for his name.

Tristan and I bonded well and Maya, my wolf, found herself warming up to him so, I wasn't surprised when I discovered him to be my mate. 

And, on that fateful night, the last day I saw him, we had stepped out for our training like we always did every Friday night.

I waited for him in the woods, at the spot we always trained. I waited for hours and when I didn't see him, I decided to retire back to bed, taking it that something happened and he wasn't able to make it. It was freezing cold so, I was so eager to return to the warmth of my bed that my silly brain didn't think that he could be in trouble.

That night, like a fool, I slept like a baby. I had woken up with a bright smile on, in hopes of telling my father about Tristan.

I initially was afraid of telling him that I, an Alpha's daughter had fallen in love with an omega, but then I realised that I might be worried for nothing. My father doesn't really give a shit about me like that.

He didn't care much about me and my mate - if he did, he would have noticed I had gotten rejected three times and asked how I was going about it but, he clearly didn’t. 

So I concluded he shouldn’t have any problem if I told him Tristan was my mate.

The table was all set. My father sat there, at the end with a new face and a middle aged woman.

I frowned as I approached the new faces.

The woman, beautiful with milky skin and strawberry blonde, sat beside my father, where my mother always sat. It was strange. Since my mother’s demise, he had never let anyone sit there before. And, when I even once sat there mistakenly, he had barked at me and almost hit me across the face. So, who was this woman that he let sit there whilst smiling at her?

Maybe his relative?

If she was his relative then, who was the guy that sat across the woman and my father?

He was young. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties. And, he was extremely good-looking with his jet-black hair slightly parted. He had an oval-shaped face and his beautiful features looked similar to his mother’s. They must be family and I could guess beauty ran in their family.

“Oh, here she comes.”

My father signaled to me over to them and I hastened my steps, dropping my head down to avoid the scrutinizing gaze of the mother and the son.

Though I didn't understand why the son looked at me just like a man would gaze at his lover. But, that certainly wasn't the gaze. Obviously. Maybe I was seeing things because I just woke up.

I don't know who these people were but, I feel they would be related to me in some way.

My Wolf wagged her tail.

Yeah, Maya agrees too.

I wasn't sure where my father would prefer I sit in this family gathering so, I picked the seat two seats away from the good-looking strange man. He glared at me then, a once-over. 

This man gazed at me as if he despised me in a breath and in another breath, he gazed at me as if he wanted to eat me. As if he was undressing me with his eyes. What the fuck?

The meals arrived, mouth-watering and abundant. And, before we proceeded, we waited for Father.

He cleared his throat.

“You don't know how delighted I'm to have you all gathering here, as a family.”

I was right. They are family. But, what kind are they? Cousins? Aunt? Who was this man who sat two seats away from me, looking dashing in a black shirt, and black pants and smelled heavenly especially? I was really curious. Was he from my father’s side or my mother’s side because I don't think either side said anything about having a relative this breathtaking?

“Taylor, Damon, thank you for joining us.”

Oh, Damon. Damon is his name.

Taylor, the woman looking a little over 50, gave Dad a smile in acknowledgment but, the handsome guy, Damon, said nothing. He just sat there, frozen like ice. He was cold. 

“And, my princess, Harper, thank you as well.”

I would have choked, if I had anything going down my throat at the moment. Did Dad just not only call me his princess like in those times but also look me in the eye for the first time since my mother’s demise? Was this a dream? Father looked me in the eye, smiled at me and called me his princess. 

I returned his smile and cleared my throat anxiously. This can't be real. 

“Alright, since I called for this gathering, I owe everyone on this table an introduction.”

Dad rose to his feet, taking his glass of wine in his hand.

“Uhm, Taylor, meet my daughter, Harper.”

That signaled Taylor to me and she smiled at me. She seemed sweet. I smiled back. Waiting for the part where Dad just told me who she was.

“Damon, that's my daughter, Harper.”

Damon didn't acknowledge me. In fact, he was already munching on his meal without getting a go-ahead from my father. Who was this man and why did he come off so disrespectful and rude?

“Harper,” I gazed back at my father, in anticipation of telling me who the hell they were. “Meet, Taylor, my new wife, and her son, Damon, your stepbrother.”

I froze. I found myself not moving for minutes, gazing at my father like a statue. 

At first, I couldn't decipher what he had just said. Or, wait. Maybe I couldn't believe he had just said that. 

Everything went blank. Father continued speaking, a wide smile on his face, but, my brain couldn't pick up a word from what he said.

My brain totally blacked out and the only thing echoing inside it was “My new wife.”

My father got a new wife.