Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1: FINDING MY MATE.

EVERLY:

I’ve always felt invisible in the Silver Cross pack—especially with the way my father treated me. He had transferred his hatred for my mother whom he considered cursed to me. My mother was considered

Wolf less and so was I.

Or so I thought.

Since after my mother's death, I knew nothing but rejection and hatred.

My father was the Beta to Alpha Viktor, the Alpha of Silver Cross pack and the pack wasn't doing so well. Since he married Elena, my stepmom, who moved in with her daughter, Isabella, my father's rejection of me has doubled.

They made it a duty to make sure I was always unhappy. I had hoped that once I turned 18 years old, I would find my mate and move out of the house.

Well, I found my mate and was so elated about it. It happened one evening. I was in the field training with a few female wolves when I felt the puIl of the mate bond. I followed the scent to the Alpha's castle and when I got closer to him, we both could feel the electric spark between us.

Alpha Viktor was seated in his office with my father who was his beta and Collins, who was his gamma. They were having a conversation when I entered. My father glared at me disdainfully.

“What are you doing here? Get out, you imbecile!”

“I…I'm here to see the alpha.” I stammered tentatively. Viktor raised his head and locked eyes with me. For a moment, I felt lost in the pool of those green orbs. My father and gamma Collins exchanged glances.

“You both should excuse me for a moment,” Alpha Viktor said as he rose from his seat. “Come with me,” he beckoned, exiting the office.

I followed him immediately. Now in the hallway, he stopped and stared at me. I saw his eyes dilate and I knew he probably used the mind link to dismiss his beta and gamma. Next he moved very close to me with a smirk on his face.

“You’re my mate.” I was all nerves as I felt my breath hitch.

“I know,” he responded, moving even closer, his face inches from mine. There was something in his eyes, something wild and dangerous that sent shivers down my spine. Next I knew, he scooped me into his arms and carried me into a more beautiful section of the castle.

“Put me down,” I said as I struggled to free myself from him. He shushed me and continued moving. I felt like someone who was hypnotized as I relaxed in his arms, feeling a strange sensation in my body.

In a dimly lit room in his luxury apartment, I felt small and vulnerable, sitting on the edge of the bed. But the man who brought me here looked so handsome he took my breath away. He was powerful, exuding an air of danger and allure that made me tremble in awe. His eyes lingered on mine, deep and searching. “What do you want, Venus?”

I opened my mouth to speak but no word came out.

I wanted to tell him that I so much desired for him to claim me right away and make me his but there was something in his eyes that made me wary. He looked bored and uninterested in me.

He made me spend the night with him and we did nothing but talk. He asked me a series of very boring questions.

“I can feel the pull of the mate bond but I have a lover.” he disclosed to me, making the night even worse.

Of course I knew about his love affairs but did he have to say it to my face? No respect for the mate bond? My face flushed with embarrassment but I didn't respond.

Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. “Who is there?” he barked angrily.

“It's me, Maureen. Alpha, dinner is served.”

He straightened to his feet. “Your dinner will be served here,” he said as he stepped out of the room.

I didn't see him for the rest of the night and I felt awful. At the first ray of sunshine, I left the castle and returned home.

—

In the days that followed, I tried to shake off the memory of that night with alpha Viktor but it lingered like an imprint in my mind. He was cold and rude to me and I'm wondering why the moon goddess would pair me with a man that cold, knowing what I've been through in my life.

As I returned to my cold, toxic home, the reality of my life came crashing down. My father’s judgmental eyes, Elana’s disapproving words and Isabelal’s venomous gaze—they were a constant reminder that I didn't belong in any moment of happiness.

As Isabella sauntered into my room this evening, I felt anger clawing at my chest. “What do you want?” I demanded. I wanted her gone as soon as possible. Her presence was nothing but trouble.

“Where were you two nights ago?” She demanded, with her hands on her hips.

“You are not my mother, Isabella,” I retorted. She was only two years older than me yet she behaved like she was much older.

“Okay, wait until father hears about your one night stand”

“I don't know what you are talking about” I tried to sound as convincing as possible. If alpha Viktor wasn't going to accept me as his mate, then there was no need letting anyone know he was my mate. “I went for a walk and got lost. I would have been killed by some rogues but a friend of mine rescued me.”

“A friend of yours? You have no friends, Everly, none that I know of.”

“Well I made one that day….”

“And ended up in bed with him. What a whore!” She hissed scornfully and turned to leave.

“Isabella!” I called out to her, determined to make her feel as bad as she had just made me. “Does your mother know you have been sleeping with both the alpha and the beta of this pack?”

Isabella stopped in her tracks. I could see her body vibrating. I smiled, pleased with myself for making her feel angry for the first time since she and her mother moved into our house. How dare her call me a whore when she was the one sleeping with her step father. I had caught them twice but never told anyone.

Slowly, she turned, glaring at me with deadly intent. I stood my ground, ready to face whatever comes next.

I've had enough.

She suddenly lunged forward and slapped me across my cheeks, forcing my head to slam against the wall. Before I could recover from the shock, I felt her hand on my face again, this time, harder and more vicious.

As soon as I tasted blood in my mouth, my body began to feel strange, like something was trying to break free. I heard cracks as my muscles stretched and my bones twitched.

Then it happened suddenly.

I shifted into a shewolf.

This was the first time I shifted and I felt so magnificent. I no longer had control over myself as I attacked Isabella, pinning her to the ground and clawing at her body so viciously.

She screamed and called for help but I didn't stop until I heard someone crashing through the door.