Chapter 1

Alexis’s POV

Five Years Ago

It was the morning of Alexandra’s eighteenth birthday. Instead of shouts and laughs of celebration, all I could hear from my room was his angry voice and my parent’s pleading ones. I didn’t understand what was going on, it was his birthday, so why was he angry?

I threw my duvet off my body and jumped off the bed as fast as I could. I brushed my teeth at the speed of light and dashed out of my room with the gift I had carefully picked out for my older brother.

But I was already too late.

His shouts had stopped, and my parents were quiet.

And all I caught was a glimpse of his back as he walked out of the door of our home. Foolishly, I ran after him, curious to know why he was leaving with a single bag early in the morning when we already had the entire day planned.

“Wait!” I yelled, trying to catch up with him. Maybe it was the sound of my voice and how desperate I sounded, but he did. I stopped a few feet from him and walked around him to see his face.

“Where are you going?” I asked, reaching to hold his hand. But he took a step back and growled lowly. The sound raised the hairs at the back of my neck, but I kept calm and asked him another question, “Did Mum and Dad say something to make you mad?”

Five seconds passed and then thirty and then one minute…no response.

I made a move to touch him again and this time he flinched like I scorched him with fire. He raised his head that had been hung low and glared at me with such hostility that it confused me.

“Or did I…” before I could finish my question he scoffed and walked past me, pushing me aside with his weight. I fell to the ground confused and hurt.

My brother walked away like he didn’t care about me.

He didn’t turn back to see if I was hurt or to wipe the tears from my eyes.

He just left….

Present Day

I sighed loudly and covered my eyes with my palm, the memory of Alexandra leaving without any explanation hurt like hell. It hurt even more when I realized that he may never come back home two years after his parting. But I guess it doesn’t hurt that much anymore.

When your heart misses and longs for someone too long…you tend to get exhausted over that repeated feeling, and then you just somehow become immune to the pain that they might have caused you.

A small smile comes to my face as I think about how much of a therapist I’m being, my 13-year-old self would be so appalled. Just as I stand at my feet, the door to my room opens a bit and my mother pokes her head in through the space with an expression that interprets to ‘stop being lazy and get to work!’

I raise my hands in surrender and give her a sheepish smile to which she responds with a gentle shake of her head. I carried the box I was supposed to bring down to the living room about thirty minutes ago and headed out the door, my mother following right behind me.

“Don’t think I’ll let you escape from work because tonight is your birthday” My mum says from behind me as we descend the stairs into the living room. I smile and drop the box of decorations on the center table.

“I wouldn’t even dream of it Mum.” I replied, rolling my eyes and bringing out the decorations.

You know, sometimes I think that my parents like to make a big deal of everything I’m saying this, because for every tooth I lost as a growing kid I got a cake for it, and I’m not even lying.

Somehow, I’ve convinced them to only invite my own friends for the small party we’re going to have at midnight and I think it’s better that way because I wouldn’t want the whole pack to be talking when there’s a chance that I might meet my mate that night.

The thought of meeting the person the moon goddess specially created for me brings butterflies to my stomach and I almost moan at the pleasant shivers that run through every nerve in my body…to the tip of my toes and fingers.

Although they’ve told me that it’s not quite that sudden, I still have a strong belief that I’ll meet him tonight.

My father settles on the couch opposite me and clicks his tongue, he glances at my mother and gestures to me “She has that look again thinking about that punk.” He sips his coffee from the mug that has been around even before I was born and adds “I’m telling you honey that Drake lad seems too scrawny to be your mate.”

“Dad! Richard!” my mother and I yelled at the same time with the same horrified expression.

Cornered by our expressions and shouts, my Dad quietly retreats with an apology that is not sincere. “Alright, that was not right of me. I shouldn’t talk about a kid that could actually be my daughter’s forever.”

My mother sighs and gives her husband a soft tap on the back of his head. He yelps dramatically and continues sipping his black coffee. Then she walks towards me and holds both of her hands in her own. “Alexis” she calls comfortingly, then pauses to squeeze my hands. “Promise me you won’t be too upset if it turns out that Drake isn’t your mate?”

I nod my head and take my eyes off her face.

Why would she make me promise something like this when I’m so sure that he is my mate? Or are my feelings deceiving me?

“These feelings that you have for him are nothing compared to what you’ll feel when you find your mate, my dear…keep that at the back of your mind.”