Chapter 2

Alyssa’s POV

The first face I saw when I returned home was Vivian, smiling innocently at me as she opened her arms, pulling me into a hug, “Welcome home, Alyssa.”

I didn’t return her hug, just gave her a sharp nod and stepped back, I didn’t want to address her at all, let alone have her touching me. 

It was then I noticed the amount of wolves gathered, watching this reunion. I spotted faces I hadn’t seen since I was little, so many alphas and lunas that it was hard to keep track.

“I wasn’t aware we were to have an audience, love,” My father spoke to Vivian.

Vivian looked around in mock shock as she placed a hand on her heart, “Honey, don’t you think today is a special day? It’s not every day an alpha’s daughter turns eighteen! And I’m sure it’s tradition for the birthday girl to have a shifting ceremony.”

My father opened his mouth to speak, quickly looking between Vivian and me. It was only my thirteenth birthday that Vivian had sacrificed her child and my father lost his true heir. I wondered if he remembered today as my birthday or if he took this day to mourn.

“This is to show Alyssa I’m willing to forgive, to start new and fresh.”

My father looked at Vivian like she was the moon, taking her hand and kissing the back of it tenderly, “I couldn’t ask for a better wife.”

The words sent anger coiling through my stomach. How quickly he had forgotten my mother.

As if sensing my emotions, my father looked at me with a serious expression stating, “Don’t let your mother down.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

My father moved on quite quickly as he asked his wife, "Where are our beautiful children? Alyssa has yet to meet Caleb."

So Caleb is my brother’s name, I thought to myself. 

“They’re already at the ceremony!” Vivian clapped her hands excitedly, “Though we are running a little behind schedule.” She came up behind me and began pushing me towards the large lawn where guests were already drinking and chatting, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The crowd parted like the sea and there I stood, everyone’s eyes marking me as I pushed to the platform in the centre. I could feel their judgment as I stood in my worn prison ware, too small for my age. Some of them most likely didn’t recognise me.

“Thank you for attending, everyone!” My father started as he stood beside me looking calm and collected, “I, Alpha Henry of the Ice Heart Pack warmly welcome you all to Alyssa’s eighteenth birthday and her official shifting ceremony!”

There was hesitance in their applause as some whispered amongst themselves.

Did you hear what she did to Luna Vivian?

I heard she was put in the Red Maple Camp.

What is Alpha Henry thinking letting her back here?

The voices were becoming too much and my breathing became heavy. I hated this attention, I hated their judgment. Was this what Vivina wanted? To remind me of my place?

“Go on, Alyssa!” Vivian pretended to encourage me, but secretly she was mocking me. After my first shift, word must’ve reached Vivan because soon my food was laced with Wolfsbane, capable of suppressing a wolf. Carys was still with me in my spirit but it was rare that I could feel her beneath my skin. Some days I refused to eat because I knew taking it for long periods would take Carys away from me forever.

Vivian hoped for that so that I would no longer be a threat and my father would see no merit in having me around.

The longer it took me to try and shift, the louder the voices became and the murmuring quickly turned to questioning.

"Alyssa, this is no time for jokes,” My father said seriously, worried for his family’s reputation.

“Come on Lys,” Said Freya, though she was grown it was still obvious who she was. And right next to her was a little boy of four years old clinging to her skirt. Caleb.

There was no encouragement in those words. She wanted to watch me fail, just like her mother. My palms were sweaty and I tried to tune out the voices of the crowd getting louder and louder, even blocking out my father’s glaring.

“Alyssa!” Father commanded, looking around, his face beginning to burn red.

I clenched my fists, and my nails dug into my flesh, crescent marks beginning to bleed on my palm.

Show them what we’re made of, Alyssa, Carys spoke, her voice excited to prove ourselves in front of these people.

I focused on Carys, just me and her in this world. I took a deep breath and let her take over, floating away as she took control and I began to shift. With a groan and the sound of my bones cracking, I glimpsed at the awed faces in the crowd and couldn’t help but smirk seeing the surprised look on Vivian’s face.

Carys was a huge silver wolf and she was special in another aspect. She had wings that sprouted from her back. I’d barely been able to keep them a secret during my first shift but by the Goddess was I glad I did.

People began to murmur again, praising Carys,

“How can this be?” I heard Vivian mutter to my father who was looking equally stunned.

“A snowflake on her forehead! How rare!”

“And look at those wings! They’re gorgeous!”

“Much more powerful than Freya’s.”

The snowflake symbolised my father’s pack, The Ice Heart Pack and my wings must’ve come from my mother’s in the Feather Wing Pack. They were large and beautiful as Carys flexed them for all to see. 

At the comparison between Freya’s wolf and mine, Freya shot me a murderous look and I could see the calculating thoughts behind Vivian’s eyes, hating the fact that I had taken the spotlight.

My father walked to Carys and stroked her wings. His face was more solemn than ever. He had that look whenever he thought of my mother. They were fated mates, torn apart long before their time

"You remind me so much of your mother, Alyssa. I’m glad you awakened her pack’s power.” It was the first kind word he’d spoken to me since I returned.