Chapter 01

SYDNEY

Someone had Better now by Post Malone blaring through the sound doc. I tuned out the lyrics and focused on the tune. It was one of my favorite songs but right now, it was hitting a little too close to home. I wanted Victor to be better, wanted him to move on and be happy even if it wasn't with me but I couldn't handle the thought of that just yet.

Tane had managed to convince me that spending my time neck-deep in work wouldn't help me. He then managed to convince me that maybe I needed a female friend to talk to and spend time with since I had none. It had never really come to my notice that most of the people I regarded as friends were men.

Hence, I was now in the kitchen with Heather, baking a double-layer chocolate cake. She was chatty, whimsical even, and had a great sense of humor. I guess it was a bonus that she was an absolute whizz in the kitchen. Her English accent was thick which made her difficult to understand at times, especially when she used words or phrases I didn't get thanks to the difference of nationality but we somehow made it work. At the back of my mind, I wondered if I would ever have that problem with Quade.

The song gradually changed to Don't call me up by Mabel. That was my final straw, I finally groaned, slamming my hand down on the granite counter, "Who the hell is suffering from depression and heartbreak in this fucking house?" The song may have been catchy but the lyrics weren't what I needed to hear right now.

"You mean besides you?" Heather's red-stained lips pulled up into a smirk, "you're an alpha stupid, your pack feels what you feel. If they're feeling heartbreak and depression it's probably from you."

"Any tips on how to make myself feel less depressed then?" I rose a brow, trying to make my tone light even though the heavy weight of guilt settled on my heart. I tried my best to keep a block on my feelings but they could feel it through the link. If I closed the link, they would never be able to get ahold of me if something happened.

"Chocolate cake," she pointed to the oven with a gleaming white smile, "ice cream, movies, and a total girls night just to forget the men in our lives."

"Sounds like trying to eat my feelings," I was completely okay with that. We had a fast metabolism so eating excessively barely affected us. I'd just have to put in some extra hours at the gym tomorrow morning, "and why would you need to forget Zen? You guys look so happy together."

"We've been having our disagreements. He doesn't want to talk to Alpha Quade. He may not hold the title but he's still our alpha and I respect him as one because he's been a much better Alpha than his father. I mean, he's made mistakes," she looked at me warily before continuing, "but you've made mistakes too. No Alpha gets it right the moment they take the title."

"Yeah," I agreed, thinking of all the mistakes I had made when I first became the head of this pack. A stray thought of the pain I felt yesterday managed to weasel itself into my mind. I wasn't angry with Quade. Matter of fact, I probably deserved it. He must have felt something similar, maybe not as extreme since we hadn't marked one another back then, but similar nonetheless.

The timer dinged, drawing me out of my thoughts. I watched Heather pull out the cake, poke a stick in the center, and then grin her usual toothy grin, "Great, we just have to wait for it to cool down, and then we can ice it."

She reminded me of someone who belonged to a different time. Her short blonde hair that was curled at the tip, her continuous use of floral sundresses and pumps, her red-stained lips, and most of all, the way she spoke at times. There were occasions that she would wear a matching hat on her head and gloves as well. To be honest, she belonged somewhere between the 1960s and 1980s.

"Which pack were you originally from?" I found myself asking, leaning over the counter to steal a strawberry that was meant to decorate the cake.

She slapped my hands away, scowling at me before handing me a strawberry with a stern look. Damn, she would make a great mother. She had everything down to the T, "I was part of the Chaste Moon pack."

I gasped, "Wolf Moon?"

"You've heard of them?" She sounded surprised and I understood why. They were a small pack that barely socialized with others. It was that alone that led to their downfall. They were the biggest pack until my forefathers decided to branch out. Back then, the council hadn't been formed and it was the first time anyone had ever seen the Gifted Wolf.

"Legend says that they were the first pack ever created under the moon hence the name, Wolf Moon or Chaste Moon," I shrugged, leaving out the part about my ancestors. That would have probably bored her to death.

"Not all legends are true," she sashayed her way to the freezer, pulling out a tub of choc mint ice cream and two spoons from the drawer. It was like she already made this her home.

The song changed to Roll Wit Me by Boyz ii Men. I immediately knew someone else took over playing music. Bobbing my head to the beat, I murmured, "I wonder if these teens think I'm too depressed to notice them planning a house party," I gestured my head toward the entrance where a few of them were sneaking in a keg of beer.

Heather placed the tub of ice cream on the counter between us, stabbing the spoons into it, "Let them be. They're celebrating their victory. They had to wait for the fallen to be laid to rest first. Respect before celebrations. Each one of them fought and survived, they deserve some fun now."

Spooning ice-cream into my mouth, I hummed in agreement, "Might as well join them. We can't let them finish all those kegs themselves, can we?" A mischievous smirk tugged the corners of my lips upward, "What's a party without their badass Alpha?"

"Now we're talking," Heather squealed.

The rest of our time was spent decorating the cake and actually participating in girl talk. It was refreshing having a change of pace. We didn't discuss pack business, or training, fighting, or even sports and cars. We simply spoke about the mundane things people generally took for granted. It was those mundane things that helped distract one from their problems the most, especially when they desperately needed a break.

She told me the story of how she met Zen and how they were completely enamored with one another. They never fought the bond, never once ran away from it and somehow they seemed happier because of that. Maybe if I hadn't fought the bond with Quade, we would have been the same. However, that very human side of me still longed for another.

Once we were done, we left the cake in the fridge for the icing to set. Heather had gone a little crazy, using every strawberry she could find saying that it would add freshness to the cake as well cut down it's sweetness considering we used everything chocolate to make it. 

We decided to use the time after to get ready for the party. I offered to dress Heather for tonight. As much as I loved her completely vintage way of dressing — because I loved my antiques — she needed to be a lot less informal to attend a party. She had a beautiful figure and it was time she showed off all her curves and dips, maybe even tease Zen just a little. It didn't take her long to agree with my idea when I flashed her my puppy dog eyes. I realized, the people around me were willing to do almost anything to see me smile, to help me out of the depressive state I found myself in.

I wasn't one for the entire dressing up thing — most of my time was spent in shorts and tank tops — but I thought I had a pretty good, modern sense of style, just enough to make Heather look like America's next top model; albeit her short height.

We got ourselves ready in my room.  It was nice not having to be in the room all alone. There were just too many memories. Detergents and scented candles could erase his scent but nothing could erase the memories and moments we shared. No amount of distance between us could make me forget Victor's existence.

When I was done preparing Heather, I took a step back to eye my masterpiece. I had dressed her in a red off the shoulder top that shaped her perfect hour glass figure and a black skinny jeans that had been ripped throughout. Under the jeans I had to practically force her to wear a pair of fishnet tights. This was way out of her comfort zone but she pulled it off better than I ever could. Her short blonde hair was styled in waves that framed her heart-shaped face and smoky eyeshadow brought out her moon like orbs.

"Don't you think this is a bit much?" She cringed when she saw herself in the full length mirror to which I rolled my eyes, "am I meant to breathe in these?" She grimaced, pointing at the high waist jeans. It was Monica who bought me the high waist ripped jeans and fishnet tights set. 

"Honestly, I'm not even certain you could eat with those on," I snickered, curling a lock of her blonde hair around my index finger, "but you look hot!"

"What are you wearing?" She quizzed, looking at me through the mirror, "You should look just as hot. Maybe even tempt Alpha Quade just a little."

The smile on my face instantly fell with those words, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Oh, come on," Heather huffed, stomping her red All star glad foot on the ground, "you owe me for this," she waved her hand around herself dramatically, "what's the worst that could happen."

"I don't know and I don't want to find out," I muttered under my breath, stalking my way into the walk in closet, "he's clearly having the time of his life already, he would never be tempted by me." The thought alone was almost laughable.

"Oh yeah, he would," she stood at the threshold, folding her arms over her chest and leaning all her weight on one foot. That stern look she gave me before returned to her face, "he may not want to pay attention to you but the mate bomd will make him. Might as well show him what he's missing out on!"

"No..." I drawled, shaking my head with conviction, "that would imply that I want him and I don't. At least, not right now," my fingers brushed against his mark which stained my skin. Victor's mark now long faded, "maybe in the future. We don't exactly have a choice now, do we?"

"You most certainly do not. You know, now that you've both marked each other, his pack becomes yours and yours becomes his. It seems like instead of gaining a Luna, we gained another Alpha," pride shown in her eyes.

"Yup, I know. That now means we have four betas. This is definitely one unique pack, I'll give you that much," my fingers glided over my garments until they landed on a sky blue cotton dress. The bodice of the dress shaped my figure, the V neckline showing off just enough asserts to keep any man wanting more, "This should definitely meet your criteria for me," I wiggled my brows, pulling the dress out to show Heather.

"Definitely."

I slipped into the dress. The skirt flowed, stopping just above mid-thigh. Bending in this dress would be near impossible. I grabbed another set of fishnet tights, this time for me, and then shoved my feet into my set of steel toed biker boots.

"Punk rock princess," Heather voiced in approval, "suits you."

I smiled, tying my hair up into a high ponytale and adding a chocker necklace so I wouldn't look so bare. Once I was done, we made our way downstairs. The music was louder than before and someone else had taken over being the DJ for the night. EDM music vibrated the hardwood floors beneath our feet. The lights in the room were dimmed, close to darkness with blue, green, and red lights flashing off every surface. The theme was clearly glow in the dark. I could make out someone painting shirtless bodies in the living room with glowing paint. Someone was handing out glow sticks to the crowd and almost everyone had clear solo cups in their hand with florescent drinks inside.

Apparently my pack habored a mixologist.

There were so many wolves in one room, their sweat tainting the air, their arousal almost sickeningly sweet to the nose, their body heat making the pack house feel like a hot box.

"Your pack really knows how to throw a party," Heather yelled over the music.

"This isn't even the half of it," I yelled in reply. Over the years, as new generations came up, the parties grew wilder. There were mainly teenagers living at the pack house or young adults. Those who had children kept them in the sound proof rooms so these parties wouldn't disturb them and we always had someone watching over them.

I shoved through the crowd of dancing bodies with Heather's hand in mine, until we reached the kitchen. Zen was there, blissfully chatting to my brother and Tane. The moment his eyes landed on Heather, they visibly darkened, glowing yellow when one of the flickering lights landed on his face.

"Want a drink?" I called over my shoulder, smirking evily at her. She was about to have one wild night, one she was probably not ready for.

"Yeah, the glowing pink stuff looks good but what is it?"

"No idea but as long as it's getting me drunk, I don't even care," I grabbed two cups off the counter, handing one to her. The alcohol slid down my throat with ease, a welcomed burn following. It tasted like flavored vodka but I couldn't put my finger on the flavor.

"Don't drink too much," my brother warned, placing a hand on the small of my back, "and stay close," his eyes landed on the mark on my neck and his brows shot up, "your mark is florescent."

"What?" I strained my eyes to the side but still couldn't see it, "I don't even know what the mark looks like. Whenever I look in the mirror I just evade from dropping my gaze to that area."

Said mark on my skin began to blissfully tingle and suddenly I was acutely aware of everything around me. Of just how close Tane and Sylvain were. Of how stiff their stances were and how Sylvain's hand on my back felt like a protective gesture. I saw how Zen's jaw ticked in time with his heart, frustration evident in his dark eyes. Then there was that scent, that very distinct scent of sandalwood with a hint of lavender and cinnamon.

At that, I whirled around, meeting the Quade's silver orbs. His wolf was ever present, growling at my Beta for standing too close to his mate. My brother opened his mouth to speak but I shook my head, "I'll be fine. Give us a moment?"

"Syd—"

"Sylvain," I leveled his glare with one of my own, "I love you little bro but you need to let me handle this."

He looked between Quade and me before he finally relented, "Fine, but mind link me if you need me." Sometimes I wondered if he was the older one or if I was with the way he acted.

Nonetheless, I nodded and waited for the group to leave. I watched Quade seal his eyes shut and pinch the bridge of his nose. When he finally opened his eyes again, I was staring at deep forest green orbs. He looked tired, even in the dark I could make out the heavy bags underneath his eyes. Other than that, he looked good. Too good. He was building muscle mass again, filling out the white shirt he wore perfectly. My eyes instantly landed of the purple florescent mark on his neck, a wolf that looked as if it were on fire, howling upward.

His fingers instinctively brushed over the mark and an emotion I couldn't recognize flashed in his eyes. He edged closer to me, closing the gap until there was only a hairs breath between us. My body flooded with energy I didn't know I had and anticipation. I had to remind myself to hold the cup in my hand or else I would have lost my grip on it.

His body heat seeped into my skin, inviting me me closer but I forced my muscles to lock in place. He didn't even smile, staring —no glaring at me with a stoic expression. I jolted in both surprise and unexpected pleasure when the pads of his fingers gingerly grazed over his mark on my neck. My pulse quicked, sparks flooding my entire body. His touch was just as inviting and sensational as I remembered, if not more so. It had me biting back a moan and clenching my thighs.

His growl of approval only made my inner turmoil worse. My body reacted to him, my arousal becoming a thick, lingering scent around us. If I didn't find a way to stop this, I'd burn from the inside out with carnal, primal desire.

My breath caught in my throat when his head dipped, soft lips tracing the outer shell of my left ear. Who knew such a small act could fuel my almost insatiable hunger for him right now? I shuddered when his warm breath danced across my skin, wanting to feel his lips on the area instead.

Marking one another only heightened every illicit feeling.

"Do you like being choked, princess?" He whispered, voice low and sultry. It had my panties dampening.

I was confused, my mind fogged with lust I didn't wish to feel, "What?" Came my breathy voice.

His fingers gripped my throat and squeezed. It wasn't painful, quite the opposite really, it had a sinful amount of pleasure rushing to my core, "The only thing around your neck should be my fingers. I don't make exceptions," those words had a shiver racing down my spine. The air between us was absolutely electric, it had all the hairs on my body standing on end. I groaned when he pulled away, claw snapping the choker on my neck. He pocketed it with a sly smirk, "Might want to drink until you pass out tonight because I'm not done with you yet."

He then left me flustered, stunned, and very confused!