When my birthday came, I was excited to know I didn't have to worry about shifting in front of my dad, thanks to Nova. I have also come to terms with being a werewolf. It is actually really nice to know I'm not alone. I have spent so much of my life feeling alone and like no one really cared about me. I mean, I've always had my dad, but that's been a weird relationship. Sometimes I feel like he hates me or like I'm just here to take care of him and make his life easier, but then there are time when I think my dad really does care. He will show up at my work and want to spend time together. I've always loved those rare times.
My dad has been checking in on me a lot lately, to the point where it's almost suffocating, and when he's checking in on me, it is like he is just waiting to catch me doing something wrong. He seems surprised when he finds me just going about my day like always. He will relax and give me a side hug or tell me I'm a good kid. All I know is it's weird, and I hope he goes back to being normal soon because Nova is also super on edge around him now. She is so strange lately. She even insisted I pack up a bag with a couple of outfits and a few essentials. She said it's just in case we need to be ready to leave in a hurry. So now I have a packed and hidden bag just in case.
I was packed and ready for the camping trip, and we headed out pretty early. My dad and I didn't talk much on the drive to the campsite. When we arrived, we each went about setting up our tents. Once everything was set up, my dad and I walked over to the lake and did a bit of fishing. He kept looking at me like he was just waiting for me to do something wrong. I think he is waiting to see if I'm going to shift, but Nova says we absolutely can't shift in front of him.
We spent the entire day relaxing. We had hotdogs for dinner and then sat at the campfire. I have tried to excuse myself to my tent a few times now to get to sleep, but my dad keeps insisting I stay out. Which is why it's now midnight and my eyes feel heavy with sleep.
He looks down at his watch and then back up at me with a laser-like intensity. "Thanks God." He says looking at me. "I thought you were going to be like her."
I stay silent, just looking at him. I don't want to give any type of reaction. I pull in a deep breath and wait for what he will say next.
"I thought I was going to have to put you down the same way I had to put your b**ch of a mother down." He says with a sneer, his dark eyes lingering on mine. They didn't look loving, but instead, he looked disappointed.
I can't believe what I just heard. I thought my mom had died during childbirth, but my dad just said he killed her, and the reason is that she was a werewolf. My entire life, I thought my dad didn't really care for me because, in a way, I had been responsible for her death, but that's not the case at all. My dad had just been planning to kill me my entire life.
My dad is still looking at me and starts to chuckle. He stands up and takes a step closer to me. He is standing in front of the chair I am sitting in. Leaning down, he takes my chin in his hand and tilts my head up to look at him.
Nova screams one word, "Run!" but I'm frozen in place.
With my chin being held and my dad looking down at me, he asks, "When did you get a wolf? This shouldn't be possible. You shouldn't have had a wolf before today."
"I... I don't know what you're talking about." I say, barely audible.
"Don't you lie to me." He says, slapping me across the face. I hold my burning cheek in disbelief.
"I see it in your eyes." He is reaching to the back of his belt. I know this is where he carries his gun.
I let my shoulders fall in defeat. I have a lump in my throat that I swallowed down. Now is not the time for me to fall apart. I relax into Nova, letting her take over as we shift. As soon as we begin shifting, a giant gray wolf knocks my dad to the ground, and beautiful blue eyes look back at us.
"Mate," says Nova.
We can't stay here, though. We need to go, and we need to go now. Nova takes off, running toward our house. I don't know how long it took to get to the house, but my dad isn't here yet, and I know he is probably on his way here and won't be far behind us. Nova shifts us back into humans so we can unlock and get into the house. I ran to my room and grabbed the pack we had gotten ready at Nova's insistence. I don't put on clothes, though, because Nova said we would need to shift again to get away. As I step onto the porch and shift, my dad's car is screeching into the driveway. He looks furious, and I can see he is injured, but he's aiming his gun at me. I look at him, making eye contact, hoping to see just a little bit of love for me in his eyes. All that looks back at me is a hatred I didn't know possible. I see his finger start to twitch on the trigger of his gun, and just like that, Nova has our bag in her mouth, and we jump more like gliding off the porch and run faster than I knew possible.
As we run my heart begins to shatter. My dad is the only family I have. I thought he loved me in his own way, but tonight I found out he was just counting down the days until he would put an end to my life. I begin sobbing as Nova consoles, telling me this is what is meant to be and that things will be okay. Right now, it doesn't feel like things will ever be okay again.
Nova and I ran until she physically couldn't go any further. At that point, we shifted, and I dressed, taking over. Nova had gotten us close to a little town. I walked into the town until I found a bus station. I wasn't sure where I was going to go. I lived in a small town in Idaho. I always hated the cold, so looking at the map, I decided to go to Arizona. I remember a time when my dad was really drunk; he had mentioned my mom was from Arizona. I wanted to see if Nova liked the idea of going to Arizona, but she was asleep. She was exhausted from running so far.I bought my ticket and boarded the bus. I didn't have any friends I was leaving behind. The only people who will probably even notice I'm gone are my teachers and the people I work with at the diner. I won't be able to reach out to them, though my dad will be giving everyone a hard time trying to find me. That's one thing I can be sure of. Luckily I hadn't opened a bank account because my dad could never be bothered to go with
Since discovering Lila is my mate, I have been following her around as discreetly as possible. Jake has been looking into her and her father in as much detail as possible. Donte has been speaking to people around town to try to dig up what he can. I return to the hotel, trying to control my temper. I am getting really irritated by Keith, Lila's father, because he seems to be guarding her, and I can't get close to her. I need to be near her more than I have ever needed anything.I barge into the room. "Luke, I've got something on her." I have never been so happy to have Jake as my beta."What did you find?""She did have a birth certificate to enroll in school. Someone just went into their system and wiped it. I was able to pull it from the state records, though. Lila Anneli Parker is her full name. Her parents are Kieth Parker and Gemma Woods.""Gemma. Her mother is Gemma. I need to call my father.""Wait, dude, there's more." I brace myself for what else Jake found."She came here wi
Betty is wonderful. She is the grandmother I wish I had growing up. Stephanie said she could be difficult, but I haven't found that to be true. Betty is opinionated and likes things a certain way, but who doesn't? Betty doesn't need a lot of care, more, so she needs companionship. I go out and do all the shopping, I keep the house tidy and tend to Betty's garden. Betty likes to cook. I have never had such good food. My dad didn't cook often, so we ate microwave meals and ordered out a lot.I tried cooking for Betty but was horrible at it. She tried one bite, stood up from the table, and dumped the dinner I made straight into the bin. I almost started crying, but Betty laughed and said she's had a lot of bad meals in her time but that my burnt yet raw chicken was probably one of the worst things she's ever been served, and from that point, she's been determined to try to teach me how to cook.After spending time with Betty, I can proudly say that I can now make scrambled eggs only, som
I just bit him. I literally bit someone. I feel Nova is absolutely delighted with herself. I, on the other hand, am completely mortified. I step back from the beautiful man I just physically assaulted and he is smiling down at me."Well, hello there, my sweet little mate." He chuckles, looking down at me."I... I... am so sorry. It's my wolf."He is all smiles, though, as I realize I am still standing much too close to this man he pulls me into a hug and plants a gentle kiss on the top of my forehead."I see you have met my grandma." I hear Betty coughing behind me.Betty is still where I had just walked past her when trying to leave. I told her I had met my mate, but we hadn't discussed it yet. That's one of the things I was hoping to ask her about before things fell apart today."Good thing you arrived when you did, Luke. Your mate is a runner. You caught her just in time." She has a lightness in her voice as she says this, and I see a smile in her eyes.My eyes dart between these t
I sighed and knew I needed to tell Lila everything. Her wolf chose me, but I want her, the woman, to want to choose me as well. I have been watching Lila for weeks, and she is an incredible woman. She is strong, hard-working, kind, and gorgeous."I came to your town to find Gemma."Lila let out a gasp. "My mom?""Yes, I was supposed to be looking for her to see where she might have gone. My dad has been searching for her for years.""Well, I can help with that. My mom died during childbirth." Her voice is quiet, and it quivers as she holds back tears for a mom she never had the chance to know, and my heart aches for her, knowing her world is going to be turned upside down yet again."That's not exactly true. Me and the two men you saw me with at the diner, Jake and Donte, we've been looking into her. We also looked into it once we saw you at the diner." I looked at her, and she didn't seem surprised."Okay, what did you find out?" She bit her lip, a nervous gesture I guessed. If this
I feel as though I'm living in a movie. Nothing feels real right now. I want answers to my questions, and I'll take time to process them later."Well, your wolf bit me because she has chosen me to be her mate. What this means is that she has committed herself to me. It will be very difficult for you to leave me now. Your wolf will pull you toward me. There are a lot of things that come with being a wolf and being mated. Your wolf has linked you to me. I can feel your emotions." Did he seriously just say he can feel my emotions that can't be possible? He is miscommunication.I interrupted him, "Can you elaborate on the feeling my emotions bit?""Well, your wolf is tethered to me, so I can feel what you feel, but not quite to the same extreme because we aren't fully mated yet. My wolf hasn't bitten you yet. Once that happens, you'll be able to feel my emotions too and more." I can tell he's hesitant to tell me everything. So I just move on to my next questions."My wolf, Nova, can I get
I wake up to the most delicious scent and feel so content in this bed. As I start to wake up more, though, I feel something hard against my backside. That's when I remember where I am and who is behind me in this bed, and I know what I am feeling is Luke's erection pushed against me. I try to ease myself out of bed, but his arms are wrapped around me.I try to wriggle free, but to my dismay, I'm stuck, and I don't want to wake him, so instead, I find I can roll onto my back, and I turn my head to look at Luke and get a better look at him.Nova took this moment to purr. "I thought you were a wolf, not a house cat," I say flatly to her."Our mate is perfect, Lila. Just look at him." With that, she purrs again, and that's when I see Luke smirk.I move to shove his arm off of me with a huff."Well, hello there, my sweet little mate," Luke said in a sexy, gruff tone."How long have you been awake?" I demand. I tried to sound annoyed, but if I'm being honest, I haven't slept that well in pr
When I gave birth to my daughter, it was a very difficult experience. I remember it so clearly. Keith and I were so excited about meeting our little girl. We painted her nursery and picked out all her clothes.Keith knew I was a wolf and that he was my fated mate. I explained it all to him, and he was okay with everything. He was even excited when he was able to meet my wolf, Sky. We have been traveling a lot. Keith wanted to make sure we settled in a place where we would be safe, but he wasn't comfortable staying in my pack. He isn't a wolf, and it was too much for him. I was okay with this, though, as I would follow him anywhere.We had rented a little house in North Carolina. No packs were anywhere nearby, so we thought this would be the perfect place for us. Our little girl decided she wanted to come sooner than we expected, though. There were complications during birth, though. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue because pack doctors can help treat you. I couldn't go to a regular