“WHAT!” I yell, panicked I look for my dad who has now vanished from the room. How could he let me be sacrificed?!
“Don’t be alarmed, it’s for a good cause. We have decided to start a new tradition, honouring the Moon Goddess and the other spirits of the land and sky. It’s a great honour.” Alpha explains in a calm voice sounding very sure of himself.
“What will the sacrifice achieve Alpha?” Beta Samuels asks pulling out a very large knife. I gulp as I stare at the knife. My panic evident on my face.
“We hope the sacrifice will please the Moon Goddess and in return she will bless our pack with protection.”
“Are we not already well protected Alpha?” Another woman’s voice speaks from behind me. I turn to see it’s one of the pack trainers.
“We are. However, one can never be TOO well protected.” His voice lifting at the end. Suddenly I hear laughter from behind me, spinning back around I see Jordan and his dad buckled over laughing and they give each other a high five.
“I knew that would be funny,” Jordan says through his laughter. I look at them confused as the rest of the room joins in their laughter, clearly all in on the joke.
“No, I’m kidding Cassidy. We aren’t sacrificing you. We called you here because you have been chosen to be my son’s mate, until he finds his true mate that is.”
“I’m sorry?” I blink stunned. My mind still processing the sacrifice was a joke. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the only one with the genes close enough in rank to match my son. I thought you would be thrilled to join the ranks like your father.” Alpha motions me to sit back on my chair and I do. “Is there something wrong with my son?” He asks, curious about my lack of enthusiasm.
“It’s just, I don’t have a wolf…” I trail off. Whispers begin amongst the pack. I thought that was common knowledge.
“I know. It’s not an issue, she will come when she’s ready. Reign’s wolf waited until her sixteenth birthday before she decided to grace the family.” Reign is Alpha’s daughter, she’s nineteen. The pack hasn’t seen her since she was seventeen when she went rogue. It was hot gossip for months around the pack. I just thought she couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Now knowing she didn’t have her wolf until she turned sixteen, I can understand the need to run away. So much pressure so late in the game. Jordan has been prepped for Alpha since he was thirteen. The first our age to get his wolf.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but why not Vanessa? I mean she’s already his girlfriend.” Lani chimes in from across the room. I smile, I forgot she was here.
“EX girlfriend” Jordan chimes in.
“Well, honestly, I hate Vanessa.” Alpha retorts and I snort. Nobody openly hated Vanessa. I guess you can when you’re the Alpha. “And like I stated earlier, the genes aren’t there. I need a strong genetic leader to hold the place and she has no high rank genes. Unlike your friend Cassidy here who is the only female in Jordan’s age range to have high ranking genetics.” He states with confidence, having clearly looked for alternatives before settling for me. Although it did make me feel good about myself knowing I was genetically superior to her highness Vanessa.
After the meeting I tried to look for my dad. Unable to find him I got a ride to the announcement meeting with Jordan and his dad. We wait in the car as his dad talks to Beta Samuels outside the hall. I watch them nervously through the back window.
“Are you okay?” Jordan asks me as he taps my arm with his finger.
“Nervous.” I admit sitting in my seat properly. He was surprisingly easy to talk to. “I’m about to go from being an outcast with 2 friends to everyone knowing my name and looking to me as their interim future Luna. Plus, everyone knows I don’t have a wolf. How are they going to accept me when I don’t even have my wolf.” I exhale heavily.
“That’s… a lot,” he sits back into his seat processing my word vomit. “I mean dad will just make them accept you. As for the other stuff, you just need to suck it up. Who cares what other people think of you. Besides, do you think I’m happy in this situation. Sure, I’m glad I had to break up with Vanessa, she was insufferable. But I don’t want an interim girlfriend. I want to find my mate.” He sighs. I had been so concerned about myself I didn’t even think to ask Jordan how he felt about it.
“I’m sorry” I reply, reaching over to squeeze his hand. He turned his hand over, holding my hand.
“Don’t be, we are two people in a f**ked up situation. BUT we have to accept it for what it is and get tonight over with.” I agree and we sit in silence holding hands. It was weird. This morning I wouldn’t dream of going near Jordan but now I was holding his hand in the back of his dad’s GT-R.
“Alright kids, showtime!” Alpha Issac says as he opens my door. I take a deep breath as I exit the car, Jordan following behind me. He takes my hand as we talk toward the hall through the packed carpark. The whole pack must be here I think to myself. I start to freak out again internally before Jordan squeezes my hand, calming me instantly. How did he have this affect on me? The doors open to the halls and the noise from everyone talking comes rushing out. The light from inside stretching out into the carpark through the open doors, blinding me as we walk through. My eyes take a second to adjust before I notice the voices getting quieter. Everyone stopping and staring at me.
Jordan leads me through the hallway, following his dad to the stage where 2 seats await us front and centre. Great. As we take our seats, I can feel the whole pack watching me and Jordan. Beta Samuels hands Alpha a microphone and he taps it checking it’s on.
“Good Evening, thankyou all for coming on such short notice.” He begins. “I bet many of you are wondering why we are here tonight and it’s because I have a couple of things, I’d like to discuss with you all. The first being the new alliance we have with the neighbouring pack to the north. Alpha Dimitri and I have come to an agreement and we will be happy boarder buddies. We will follow them to war if they shall need and vice versa. This alliance strengthens our numbers during a battle if one shall arise and it also means more protection from rogues and hunters.” He was so confident in front of people.
“I’d also like to remind you all that for the time being the southwest corner of our land is off limits. Unless you have been specifically assigned to that area during your patrol then you are not to be there. Hunters have been spotted lurking around and I don’t want to lose any of you because you decided to play dumb.” Hunters?! Why were there hunters lurking around? I look to Jordan concerned. He shrugs clearly also not aware of the hunters nearby. Hunters only hunt rare wolves and myths, unless they were paid to find someone. Did someone in the pack have a bounty on their head?
“Lastly, you all know my son Jordan.” He gestures to Jordan and Jordan stands up walking forward to stand next to his father, leaving me all alone I sink into my chair. “Jordan has been unable to find his mate for some time now and so I have decided, as he is the future of this pack, that he will have an interim mate. So, I have arranged for Miss Cassidy Jacobs to be his mate, until he finds his true mate that is. At which point Miss Jacobs will step down from her role as Luna.” Murmurs spread across the room as the pack discusses my new status.
“BUT SHE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A WOLF!” Vanessa shouts from the front row as she stands. A disgusted look crosses her face as she looks at me. Jordan comes over to grab my hand and I stand up, walking back over to his dad.
“So what?” Jordan snaps back at her. “She will come eventually. We don’t know what the Moon Goddess has planned for her. Who are we to question the Moon Goddess or the spirits for that matter. Just because Cass doesn’t have her wolf now doesn’t mean she won’t get it at all.” Vanessa looks stunned as she sits back down. Was this the first time anyone has stood up to her?
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Alpha states as he pats Jordan on the back. “Proud of you son,” he says into his shoulder. “If anyone has any questions or issues, contact me or Beta Samuels tomorrow. For now, let’s go home.”
I spent the next hour with Lani and Jordan waiting for his dad to finish saying goodbye to the pack. I still hadn’t seen my dad and my mum never turned up to the meeting. I was starting to worry.
“Hey Alpha” I begin, concern creeping into my voice. Alpha Issac walks back over to the edge of the stage where we were seated.
“Please Cassidy, call me Issac.” He interrupts sweetly. I breathe through a faint chuckle as I smile looking down at my legs crossed.
“Thanks,” I tell him before looking up at him. The concern washing over my face again. “Where’s my parents?” Issac looked surprised.
“They aren’t here?” He replies, sharing my concern before signalling to Beta Samuels.
“I haven’t seen dad since he let me in the door at the packhouse and mum since this morning before school.” Beta Samuels and Issac share a look. That’s not good.
Jordan POVThe girls gossip to each other while we wait for dad to finish his goodbyes. I was always bored after pack meetings because he never stops talking to everyone. ‘The people’s Alpha’ they called him. Everyone considered him more of a friend than an Alpha.I watch my interim mate as she fiddles with a hair tie around her wrist. Something was off with Cassidy. She was worried about something, but I’m not sure what. I never noticed how cute she was before. Her dark olive skin had a glow about it that was hard to explain. Chesnutt waves ran down her back just touching the floor where she sat. She looks over at me and smiles, dimples slightly forming as she does, but the smile doesn’t quite reach her chocolate eyes.“You, okay?” I mouth to her and she nods once before calling my dad over.Dad hands me the keys and tells me to take Cass back to our place until they can find her parents. It wasn
Cassidy POVI wake to the sun shining in my eyes from the open window. I felt exhausted from tossing and turning all night. I open y eyes to see Jordan watching me before he smiles.“Morning,” he says. He pulls my hand off his chest. I didn’t even realise I was laying across him. Getting up he walks to the bathroom closing the door behind him. I roll onto my back relaxing into the soft mattress. It was like laying on a cloud, no wonder he always looked well-rested.“Dad will be back this afternoon, he’s gone to meet with neighbouring pack Alpha’s about your parents,” Jordan yells out from the bathroom. I sit up suddenly, forgetting my parents were missing for a split second. Oh God. I jump out of bed and rush out of the bedroom down the hall to Reigns room.I grab my clothes, heading to the bathroom I strip off and jump in the shower. Turning the taps on I hear a soft knock at the door. I
Jordan POV“I’m sorry, dad just told me hunters have been spotted near the house. He wants me to keep you safe.” I tell Cassidy. She looks scared.“Why are there hunters on pack land and why are they near the packhouse?” she asks.“I don’t know. Dad didn’t say but we need to stay in here until he says it’s safe.” I hug her, feeling her calm at my touch. Maybe I could love her, I thought to myself.“You could if you tried,” Koray says, enjoying her touch just as much as I was. “She smells pretty, and she’s soft. Vanessa wasn’t soft.”“Vanessa was a way to kill time, I was glad dad told me to dump her,” I reply to him. Cassidy pulls out of the hug and goes to sit on my bed.“Can we talk?” she asks.“About your parents?” I reply as I make my way over to the bed. She nods as I sit do
I take a step back reluctantly, not wanting to pull away from his arms. His question shocked me. I know we are supposed to be mates, but we are only interim mates. An arranged relationship. Did he actually want a real relationship with me?“I…I can’t.” I get out of the shower grabbing my towel before rushing out the bathroom door. I hr the water shut off in the shower as I get dressed. Leaving my towel on his bed I head for the door.“Cass wait,” Jordan shouts from the bathroom.I reach for the doorhandle turning it. Locked. The safety protocol. How could I forget that we were trapped in here together.“I need to get out,” I shout back at Jordan as he exits the bathroom partially dressed. His muscles shine in the light, still covered in water droplets. He was beautiful and it was effortless. He stood there resting one arm against his dresser whilst drying his hair with the other.“It&r
I put her in my bed before heading back downstairs. Dad had come home and was talking in the lounge room with Samuels. They were arguing about something.“What’s going on?” I ask when I get down the stairs. I walk towards them leaning over the back of the couch waiting for their reply. Dad turns towards me, one hand on his hip and the other wiping down his face before rubbing the stubble on his chin. His brown eyes looked concerned.“Samuels here thinks Cassidy was adopted, which is crazy because she’s a werewolf and we’ve known her since she was a baby.” Dad replies, turning back to face Samuels. “And even if she was adopted, why did they keep it a secret and where did she come from?” he continues.“I mean, I kind of agree with Samuels here dad. Look at it logically. Cass looks nothing like either of her parents, never has. Nobody saw her mum pregnant right?” I say jumping over the back of the co
Cassidy POVIt’s dark when we enter the house, I reach for the light switch by the door, but it doesn’t turn on. I flick it on and off a couple of times before giving up.“No power.” I muse out loud.“Wait here,” Jordan says before running back to his car. I watch him as he rummages through the boot. “Got it!” he yells back holding something in his hand. He runs back towards me and hands me a flashlight.“Thankyou,” I tell him taking it before turning it on. The light illuminates the room and for the first time I see my childhood home empty. I take a step froward into the living room, guiding the flashlight around the room as I take in the bare room. Remembering what it looked like just 24 hours earlier.“Nobody saw a moving truck?” I ask as I turn to look at Alpha Issac standing behind me.“Nobody has seen or heard from them since the pre-meeting
Cassidy POVI stared at my birth certificate. A wave of emotions crashing over me as I read the names listed as my biological parents. Confusion hit first followed quickly by anger and betrayal. They lied to me. How could they lie to me? I feel the tears start to brim in my eyes. I could hear Jordan and his dad talking but I tuned them out. My body shutting down, the confirmation of their suspicion in my hands.Jordan grabs the paper from my hands, putting it back in the folder before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer to him. His touch instantly calming the rage starting to bubble. I turn my head into his arm, wiping the tears onto his bare skin.“I want to go home,” I mutter into his arm.“Okay” he replies and leads me back to the car.I sit in the car waiting for Jordan as he talks with his dad and Beta Samuels just out of earshot. I didn’t know what they were talking about,
Jordan POV I stare at Cassidy in shock as she screams. This is the first time I’ve seen her feel anything properly. I knew she was bottling up her emotions, but this was next level. She screams again as she drops to the floor. I rush over, reaching my hand out to her to try to calm her down before she pushes me away. I can hear someone come running down the hall as she continues to scream and cry. Samuels enters the room and looks at her on the ground, me kneeling beside her. He mind-links me. “What’s going on?” concern crossing his face as she screams again. “She’s breaking down. One second we were talking on the bed and the next second she got all angry, started pacing and then she dropped to the floor screaming and crying. I think she’s finally letting herself feel.” I reply to him. He relaxes visibly knowing I didn’t harm her. “I’ll grab her some water for when she calms down again.” He replies and heads back down the hall