Mountain Coast Pack, CaliforniaReece turned to look at Ariana.Her blond hair was twisted back into a bun and her eyes were teary, her face twisted in anger and pain."It is true." She closed her eyes and rocked backwards as though hit by something."Sarah. She was right and you… you banished her. I thought you were just showing your affection for me by protecting my sister but you were just protecting her and your dirty secret.""What are you talking about, Ariana?" Reece deflected.He couldn't allow Ariana to know about Breeana. He knew about her vengeful streak. Sister or not. She would not spare her. Reece could take her disdain, no, he wanted it. Breeana on the other hand would be broken. She loved her family."You must think I'm stupid. Ever since I listened to Sarah, I became wary. Then during the bonfire, I saw how you looked at her when you were on top of her during the tiebreaker. I couldn't believe it, surely you wouldn't betray me in that manner, so I asked around. Turns

Mountain Coast Pack, CaliforniaAriana sat at the vanity in her mating dress, her makeup done and the sun already setting. Soon the moon would be out and she would be joined permanently with Reece. Finally, all her efforts would have paid off."You look beautiful dear."Ariana saw her mother step behind her through the mirror, her eyes glittering with tears."Mom." Ariana gripped her mother's hand on her shoulder. She ignored the space where Bree should have been."I'm scared. I am afraid I won't be a good enough Luna."I'm scared Reece will never love me again even after we become mates. Ariana thought but she didn't voice out that opinion.Her mother bent and kissed the side of her head."You'll be perfect dear. You care for them, you have a good heart and a willingness to learn the ropes. You will be fine. I promise.""Thank you, Mom. Thank you."A good heart? Ariana wasn't sure she had that but she had the rest, it would be enough.*****Reece was on his third glass of wine. He had

When Breeana reached their home, the door was locked. They never locked their doors. A feeling of sickness washed over her. She ignored it and knocked on the door."Mom, Dad, Ari, please open the door. We need to talk."Breanna knocked harder and raised her voice all to no avail. No one answered.Breeana slid to the ground in front of the house and sat on the floor. Tears flowed from her eyes freely. She couldn't help but feel like she had alienated her entire family.Goddess, what had she gone and done? She imagined it from her family's point of view. How it must have felt for them to see her kiss and mark Reece at his mating ceremony with her sister. How could she tell them she had tried to resist it? That she had fought it every step of the way when they saw that.The painful thing about life was that if there were no results to prove it, no one believed that you put in effort. That you tried.What could she have done differently if she had known this would be the outcome? Maybe if

"Reece?"Reece was startled. Had Breeana just called out to him? "Yes?" He answered cautiously. Did she want him to join her? No. That would only happen if her body had gotten hijacked."Could you please pass me a towel and a change of clothes?"Oh. Right. That made more sense.The towel part was easy but the clothes required more strategizing. Ariana had moved some of her clothes over and he'd had them transferred to the connecting room this morning, they would be close to Breeana's size but something told him that she wouldn't want to wear her sister's clothes at this time with things the way they were.So instead he grabbed one of his round necks and shorts to go with it then he went to hand it over to her."Breeana?" The bathroom door opened slightly and Breeana's outstretched hand took the clothes and the towel."Thanks."In minutes, she was out and Reece couldn't breathe properly once he saw her. The shirt hung past mid-thigh on her and she held the shorts in her hand. Her hair

The tension between Alex and Reece was palpable. Reece cleared his throat."Look Alex, I know this entire situation with Breeana and Ari is extremely delicate but I want us to put this behind us to serve this pack fully and dedicatedly."Reece tried not to cringe about how fake he sounded even though he actually wanted to iron out things between him and his childhood friend."Things aren't that easy, Alpha. You might have gotten your mate yesterday but my family took the hit for it. Breeana after being away from our parents for two years wasn't allowed to step foot into the house. And Ari? Ari was humiliated. She was hurt and she felt so betrayed that she tried to end her own life. How can I forgive you for that?"Alex looked like he was a footstep away from getting extremely mad and violent.Ari tried to kill herself? Reece had always felt she was too conscientious to try something like that. He felt a pang of guilt about the fact that he had been a contributing factor to that. If Br