The Mates of Monsters

Part 1I'm from a lost place. A place that seems to be nothing more than a small mountain town, nestled in the forest and kept from the world. People don't come around here, and that's how we like it. We are free to be ourselves that way.I grew up in the trees. We have our houses and stores and parks and other things that humans have grown accustomed to, but we spend most of our time outside, in the breeze and under the stars. That's one thing I'll regret leaving behind—the magic of the mountain night sky. My mother says that in the cities you can't see a thing, only darkness.But sometimes even the mountain night sky doesn't show enough. I want to see everything. Every star and planet and galaxy—everything that may or may not be—but I had to give up

The Alpha steps toward me, and without a thought, I step back. A breath leaves his lips, his chest sinking with impatience. I stand as stiff as a board. "I thought maybe it was the audience making you, well, uncomfortable," he says. "You'll have to tell me what it is because I'm out of guesses." I watch him as a nervous look overcomes my face. My lips part only slightly for the slightest words, but not even those come out. The Alpha takes a few steps closer, and I feel the desk hit my backside. He pauses. "Don't—don't do that," I breathe, scolding his body for doing what it is wired to do. "Come near you?" He questions, not taking me seriously. "Yes."

I set the table as my mother finishes up dinner. She chats on and on about the things I've packed—clothes, necessities, and other small belongings—as I set out plates and cutlery. Dad is sitting at the end of the table reading some papers, for once home on time for dinner. Of course, it has to be my last dinner. "Oh, set out five plates, Brigie," my mother calls. "I invited Lindsey. I thought you would want to spend some time with her before you leave tomorrow. You have plenty to catch her up on." "Like how I'm leaving the pack? She'll love that," I say to myself. My dad peers up from his papers and sighs. "I know this is a big change, but it will be good for you," he says. "A new scenery and new people might be nice." "It will be very nice," mom adds.

After Helena-a nurturing, petite woman-makes me dinner, I return to the bedroom I woke up in to sort through my things. Jeremy took me around the pack for a good few hours and drained all my energy. However, I did get a good feel for the community, and he was right, this pack is very different from my home. I knew the second that he mentioned the training grounds that an escape here would be nearly impossible. David's bloodline must take their defenses seriously; when we visited those training, my stomach dropped. Some of those wolves are killing machines. They pounced and snapped with such fury that I almost believed they were truly fighting and not merely practicing. I watched them spar and thought for a moment about David doing such things. If the guards are this deadly, I can't imagine what their Alpha must be like. Because anothe

"Look who's here," Helena announces when she hears David enter the house. I lift my head from the counter and drop the cloth from my forehead. She takes the cooled thing from me then peers into the hallway. "We are in here," she calls to him. I bite my lip and dread the second he appears in the archway. I don't know what he's thinking after last night, and if Helena weren't here cooking me dinner, I would be safe in my bedroom. I'm sure the last thing he wants is to come home after a long day just to hear about my headache. How could my head hurt? All I've done is wake up and listen to Jeremy talk. Helena comes back in with David just behind her. She points to me and says, "Brigette isn't feeling well, aren't you? It's her head."