Jake - 14 yrs old
Clair - 9 yrs oldJAKE
Her scent reached my nose even before I felt her presence. Twigs snapped as hurried little footsteps echoed around as she approached the place I was resting in.
I turned my head in the direction of the noise just in time to see Little Clair emerge from the bushes with a small plastic bag that she immediately placed behind her back as soon as she saw me. Her round eyes widened in surprise as she realized that she was not alone in this place.
"What are you doing here, princess? Hiding again from your mother?" I asked without taking my gaze away from her small, lovely face. A smirk formed on my lips as I waited for her response.
She let out a little huff and continued to walk towards the boulder I was sitting on before slumping her small frame onto the space beside me.
"How did you know that?" She raised her brow and tilted her head to look at me. "Did you follow me? And why are you here? This is my place. You're not allowed here." She continued to look at me, her gaze scrutinizing mine.
I suppressed a smile. While I found it annoying to be disturbed in my moment of silence, I won't deny that this 9-year-old girl with a feisty attitude has lightened my mood without her knowing it. "Hmmm... I didn't know I was supposed to ask permission from you before I could come here, princess."
I lifted my gaze away from her and threw the small rock that I had held in my hand for a while now, watching as it bounced on the water in front of us. "Last time I checked, I owned this land. This is still part of my territory."
Her jaw dropped in disbelief at my words before huffing and puffing her chest out proudly, "I don't care, Jake. When I say it's my place, then it's mine!"
She smiled cockily before continuing, her finger pointing at a tree standing three meters to our left, just beside the stream. "See that name on the tree? Absaline Clair Montrell."
I shook my head, smiled at the satisfied smirk on her face, and kept my mouth from objecting. Making a girl cry was the least of my priorities at the moment.
"Okay, tell me then, what did you take this time?" I asked her without taking my eyes off the beauty of the stream in front of us.
Clair may have declared this place her sanctuary, but it has also been my refuge, the only place I could sit and relax without anyone imposing responsibilities on my 14-year-old self.
It has been three months since I took over as the Alpha of the Black Shadow Pack. It was three months ago when my grandfather, the former Alpha of the pack, passed away. And although I'd been prepared for this moment since I was eleven, the responsibility of keeping the pack together without my grandfather's guidance has taken its toll on me and my sanity.
"Just cupcakes." Clair's reply came out weak but enough to get me out of my thoughts.
"And how many?" I felt her tense beside me. My question made her uncomfortable. I reached out and ruffled her hair before pulling her closer to my side for a brotherly hug. "Spill it out," I asked nicely this time.
"Just three." She answered without taking her eyes off her feet.
I snorted a laugh. "Lies."
She huffed again before telling her truth. "It's seven! I took a lot of them because it's my favorite. And I'm going to give you one, just one! So you can't tell Mommy, okay?"
She wiggled her eyebrows and raised a cupcake in my face, tempting me to agree with her.
I let out a full smile before taking the cupcake from her hand. The icing on the cupcake looked like it had gone on a battle itself from the way it was smashed with all the other cupcakes. It doesn't look appetizing, but I knew from experience that it was a good one.
I shoved half of it in my mouth before responding. "You know, she will still find out regardless and be hell-mad at you again. Now, she needs to do more for the pack meeting later."
She giggled while she chewed her cupcake. "That's why I took seven. Then it would be worth it when Mommy gets angry!" She gestured with an angry face and pretended to have her claws out. "Grrrr... angry like that!" She continued to giggle after that and proceeded to eat her cupcake.
I chuckled at her actions and picked up one more cupcake, waiting for her complaints, but she just glared at me and didn't say anything.
We continued to eat in silence until she broke it.
"Do I really, really need to call you Alpha now? Mommy keeps telling me to address you as Alpha, but it sounds stupid. You're not old. Alpha is for grandfathers." She rolled her eyes, and my lips pursed to suppress a laugh from coming out, and I let her continue with her retorts.
"Why did they make you an Alpha? Can't somebody older than you be an Alpha? I am scared for you, Jake. Maybe being an Alpha will make you older. You should have told them you don't want to be an Alpha." In the last sentence, she spoke in a low voice, as if to avoid anyone hearing us.
But then she smiled as she looked up at me. Her eyes glowed with admiration. "But you're doing okay. Mommy said you are strong and can protect the pack. So I think that's okay." I smiled back at her, ruffling her hair once more. She didn't even know, but her words warmed my heart.
"But don't grow too old like your grandfather. Silver hair is not cool!"
I chuckled before facing her, my hands cupping her little face. "Well, princess, thank you if you think I'm too cool to be an Alpha, but I wanted to be one and I would do anything to keep this pack running. And if that means I will get silver hair, then so be it."
I told her my truth. She looked directly into my eyes and tried to gauge if I was joking before she shook her head and swatted my hands off her face.
"Will you be getting a Luna? Mommy said you should have one. We have never had a Luna for... forever. Mommy said that too." I clenched my hand into a fist with her last statement and let out a sigh. I wasn't expecting her question, although I already knew the answer even before I took the Alpha post.
No Luna.
I wouldn't be needing one. If my grandfather was able to survive without a Luna after my grandmother, his Chosen Luna passed away at a young age, then I could do it as well. The pack would still continue to thrive even without a Luna. They just needed me, an Alpha without any baggage.
"No, I don't need a Luna." There was a note of finality in my voice.
JAKE "No, I don't need a Luna." There was a note of finality in my voice. She turned her full attention on me, a scowl forming on her small face. "Why? I always wanted to find my mate, Jake. How can you even say that? What if she finds you? Will you run away?" I smiled at her questions, but in a bigger picture, it would look like I was running away from my fate. "I just need to reject her, then we can both move on with our lives. It's that easy!" Her eyes widened again, jaw-dropping. It took her a few seconds before she started talking in a whisper that, if not for my werewolf hearing, I would not be able to pick up. "You can't do that. Mommy said mates are a gift from the Moon Goddess. And it will hurt her. It will hurt you too, you know." Her eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, I thought I was looking into the eyes of a grown woman who knows the depth of her statement. I cocked my head to the side and winked at her, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. I didn't like her going
CLAIR I turned the radio a notch higher and let myself get lost in the blasting music as I drove on the freeway. With my window down, I basked in the warmth of the sun against my skin, loving the feeling of the fresh air on my face and the wind blowing through my hair. I had been driving for five straight hours, and I still had two more hours to go before I reached my destination. Fourteen hours of driving were too much to bear, but I had no choice. My name is Absaline Clair Montrell. I am a shifter. I spent the last five years of my life living among humans, except for my werewolf uncle. Uncle Theodore found his mate, who happened to be a human, and decided to leave the pack life for her. And from what I witnessed, he has no problem living the human life. After my mother died from an attack while visiting her friend from another pack, my father decided he didn't want anything to do with me and sent me away. Maybe I reminded him of my mother. They said I had her blue sapphire ey
CLAIR I fidgeted with my fingers as I stood beside my truck, the one Uncle Theodore gave me. It was an old rusty-colored beat-up Wrangler truck, and I had been driving it since I was sixteen. Aaron volunteered to pick me up from the nearest train station, but I refused to leave my truck. I could have driven myself to the territory if I only knew the way to get there. But with the territory being surrounded by massive forests and mountains, the GPS was not working perfectly in that area, so that left me with no other option but to have Aaron pick me up and follow his car. To say that I was nervous was an understatement. I think I was scared. And I had no idea why. It must have been the realization that, after five years, I was finally coming back. Five years, five long years. I had been around humans for so long that it seemed I had forgotten how it was to live within the pack. How will they react once they see me? Will they accept me? Does anybody care at all? I let out a sarca
CLAIR "We are almost here. Get yourself ready." "What do you mean?" I looked at the view in front of us as we approached. Confusion was written all over my face. I turned to Aaron with a raised eyebrow. "This is not home as I remember. This is the packhouse, right? You and Dad live here now?" Aaron shook his head as he put the car to a full halt and unbuckled his seatbelt. "No. I stay here, but Dad lives alone in our house. But I will stay at home with you and Dad for a few days until you turn 18. I assumed I needed to teach you the basics of pack life first. But for now, hop off — we’re meeting Alpha Jake. He is expecting us." He said it nonchalantly as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He walked out of the car even before I could berate him for not telling me about this stopover. I sighed and slumped my back onto the seat before unbuckling my belt. Although there was nothing wrong with meeting the Alpha, I suddenly developed a sickening feeling in my stomach. I was
CLAIR I followed him to his office after making sure Aaron would stay and wait for me outside. I threw the gum discreetly into the waste bin along the way. It didn’t escape my eyes that Jake scowled at the sight of me chewing gum. Not that I care. It’s just that it’s better to throw it away, and maybe he would stop scowling and be more welcoming. Jake’s scent enveloped me as soon as I stepped into his office. It’s calming but doesn’t stop me from being annoyed with his silence. I was at least expecting him to be a little enthusiastic upon seeing me back. I set myself up for failure. The boy, no, the man in front of me, was stoic as stone. No emotions at all. But I should have expected it from him, like what Aaron said, he changed. He was no longer the lovable Jake I adored as a kid. "So... why am I here again?" I broke the silence that was killing me while I sat in front of him. My fingers reached for the pen laying down on the table and started twiddling with it. It took him a fe
CLAIR "Thank you, Alpha." I turned around and grabbed the door handle again. I stopped for a moment when I felt my neck burn. I know he’s watching me. I contemplated if I should look back, but decided against it and turned the knob to open the door. I hurriedly exited his office, and as soon as I closed the door, a loud smashed sound of glass against the wall was heard. I stood frozen in shock for a couple of seconds before I was able to compose myself and walk away completely from his office, shaking my head in disbelief. 'What a prick!' I told myself. 'I heard you, princess. You forgot to turn off the mind link.' I stopped on my track and felt the hair at the back of my neck stand up when I heard his voice in my mind. And did he just chuckle? 'Shit! How can I turn this off?'I asked myself but I was well aware that he heard that too. 'Find it out yourself.' 'F**k!' 'Your mouth, princess.' 'F**k! F**k! F**k! Can you still hear me?' I closed my eyes and my hands rolled into fi
CLAIR The last three days went by fast. After the awkward first meeting with Dad after many years, we all tried to move on and be a family. It wasn’t easy, and I wanted to be a rebel and let him know how badly he treated me for sending me away. But I couldn’t. As much as I hated him for sending me away, I loved my father. And I longed for him just as much as I longed for Mom. I knew it would take time before all the wounds of being abandoned would heal. But I wanted to make us a family again, even just for a short time before I moved on and became an adult on my own. So I was trying just as he was. Dad was the manager of the town’s public library in nearby town. He’d been bringing home additional books for me to read since I arrived. He was aware of my love of books, but Aaron had taunted him that it appeared he just wanted me to be cooped up in the house with books and with no social life. But, to be honest, I haven’t had time for myself or for all the books Dad has given me sin
JAKE I watched as she sprinted away from us and let out the breath I’d been holding for a while. She's a real grown-up now. Far from the little Clair with messy hair and pigtails who followed me and my friends around all the time. And she’s so fucking sexy that my mind was still reeling from the image of her full ass as she sped away. I shook my head, trying to let go of any thoughts about her, knowing that having my member on full erect while talking to my Gamma would be disastrous. "What was that, Jake? Not Clair, please. No messing up with pack members, remember? Especially not my sister." Aaron broke the silence between us as we both looked in the direction where Clair was headed. I could hear the disappointment in his tone, and I couldn’t blame him. He was simply protecting his sister from me. "I don’t know what you’re thinking, man. I just hugged Clair. It s not like I’m fucking her." A low growl reverberated from his chest, and I knew right then that I made a wrong move by