"Where's your father?" I asked nervously.
"Probably off with Wendy, doing something,," she said.
Wendy and Zane both lost their mates in the war with the Hunters. A few years later we were shocked to find out they had been granted second chance mates. Our shock getting stronger when they announced they were getting married and were each other's second chance Mates. Amber was upset at first, no one could replace her mother, but Wendy was a great stepmother and helped raise her, so eventually, she came to see it as a good thing.
When we got upstairs to Aria's room, I walked in not expecting to see Reid getting dressed.
"Shit sorry Alpha," I said as he was standing only in his black pants, hispants, his shirt still undone as he quickly buttoned it up.
"All good Lily, you know where her closet is," he said, pointing to it in the corner of the room. Aria must have warned him I was on my way up.
"You're not gonna scold me, too, are you? Because if you are, I will rock up like this," I said cheekily. Reid smiled.
"No, I'm sure Aria will give you enough shit. Are you ready for today?"
"Yep, just want to get it over with and then bail, you can deal with Aria." I stated.
"She will come around eventually. What about meeting Alpha Damien? You haven't seen him in twelve years, and I know your father had that falling out with him last year."
"That's dad's business, not mine. I don't care for this Alpha Damien. I will just be glad when I don't have to keep going to all these Alpha meetings."
He nodded. "Amber, get your father to meet me in the boardroom please," he said, walking over and kissing my head in a fatherly way. Amber quickly left, obviously feeling awkward with Reid getting dressed in front of her. Not that nudity was a big thing with werewolves, and he had pants on so besides his masculine chest you couldn't really see anything.
"Get ready, the other Alphas will be here soon. I know they won't like it when they find out that my Pack will be bigger than theirs once you hand the Pack over to me, so prepare yourself." He left the room, and I walked into the closet.
One thing I loved was Aria's sense of style. I was always borrowing her clothes, it annoyed her sometimes. I rummaged through and grabbed out a pair of jeans and a shirt before throwing on one of her black leather jackets before putting my sneakers back on. Looking in the mirror, I felt I looked decent enough, and no way was I letting Aria dress me, she would have made me wear a dress. But looking in the mirror, I looked great. I was tall, not freakishly tall but taller than Aria, my long blonde hair falling in waves down my back to my waist, then there were the eyes which is what most people saw straight away, I had hoped they would go back to normal. I hated them, people always stared, not that they would ever say anything with my father's presence. Yet, they made me self-conscious, you could tell there was something wrong with me, no matter how hard I try to pretend I am okay. I know what people call me.
Unhinged. They aren't wrong, though. So, I have learnt to accept it. My half amber half sapphire eyes staring back at me are a constant reminder of what those sick Basterds did to me.
"Fuck what anyone thinks," Layla, my wolf growled in my head. She really was a hard case to crack. One minute she almost seems normal, then others she is just a savage, primal and acts out of instinct, we still don't know what's wrong with her and our bond.
"Behave, please don't embarrass me," I whispered back to her.
"Behave? You embarrass yourself, got nothing to do with me. Besides, everything will change soon." I wondered what she meant, and I could feel her pacing in the back of my mind. She never made any sense.
"Everything will make sense, make sense?" She rambled.
"What will?" I asked, annoyed.
"When we turn eighteen, yep eighteen." Clearly, she didn't know what she was talking about, so I gave up trying to get answers. I walked out heading back downstairs only to run back into Amber, who was trying to sneak off with her mate. She found her mate on her sixteenth birthday, I haven't found mine. Layla and I don't think we have one because of what happened years ago. I was often jealous that everyone else in our grade either found their mates already or had boyfriends. People steered clear of me. I'm the unhinged one, the dangerous one, keep your children away parents would say.
Even if we did have a mate, I would have to reject them. I am not mate material. No one wants a broken mate. Layla didn't agree, she thinks reckonedour mate would accept us. She also said she will kill me if I reject our mate. Like I said, she is unhinged, to kill me; she also kills herself. My wolf one minute is lucid, the next batshit crazy. I shake my head at the memory. Amber holds a finger to her lips, and I smile as she and Shaun sneak out the back no doubt to let their wolves free in the forest surrounding the property.
I make my way down the stairs when I get hit with the most intoxicating scent. Mmm, someone must be baking chocolate cookies, my mouth instantly watering. I hear voices off to the side coming from the kitchen. I quickly duck around the corner and run for the board room. I can't afford to be late; I open the door, and all eyes turn to me.
Shit, I am already late. My father has a lazy smirk on his face like he expected nothing less. Reid didn't even look in my direction at all, he knew I was on my way down. Aria was glaring. I shrunk back under that gaze before realising I'm also an Alpha technically, so I hold my chin high and walk to my seat, ignoring her boring eyes. I notice the Alpha from the Forest Pack is already here, and the Alpha Thomas from the Red Moon Pack, but the Crescent Moon Alpha was also running late. I sat in my seat. I hated the Crescent Moon Alpha. I heard he was obnoxious and liked to sleep around. I met him when we were rescued from the Hunters and haven't laid eyes on him since. Only heard the rumours about how he killed his own father and took over the Pack; apparently, he is ruthless and merciless when it comes to his Pack, which is now the biggest Pack.
I knew he would be pissed when he found out mine and Reid's Packs were merging, making ours the biggest and strongest in the country. I stared at the ceiling waiting for the last Alpha to arrive bored already. Only looking up when that intoxicating scent hit my nose again just before the door opened and in stepped the Crescent Moon Alpha.
I must admit he was hot as fuck. He froze, his eyes looking around the room before landing on mine. He looked shocked before he composed himself and walked into the room, taking the seat across from mine. My wolf was going crazy, trying to take control.
"Settle the fuck down, what's gotten into you, Layla?" She didn't answer and just kept pushing against my skin.