#Chapter1 Homecoming
Prologue
*Ring Ring*
I woke up to the sound of the annoying ringing of my phone, which was threatening to ruin my blissful sleep. Groaning in my sleep, I try to reach for my phone and when I got a hold of it, I press the answer button blindly and I hear the person on the other side talking like a car travelling at 100km/h.
My sleep induced mind couldn't comprehend their rushed and excited words. I was tempted to just cut the call since I was already dozing off. Half conscious, it takes me a good few seconds to understand two things, that:-
1) The caller is my best friend of 4 years.
2) She is screaming.
I look at the alarm clock, that I kept on my nightstand, and my eyes widen incredulously when I see the time.
"Jesus Christ woman! Why are you screaming? It is four freaking am in the morning.” I ask Courtney, my best friend, with disbelief lacing my tone. We have known each other ever since we were fourteen. She is the Beta's daughter and me, being the adopted daughter of the Gamma's, our fathers are all close friends along with the Alpha's Family.
"I need you to come back" she answered.
"What? Why??" I don't know why she wants me to come back, when she knows why I left in the first place. She had also helped me to leave.
"Well, first of all, because I'm getting married and secondly, you're the maid of honor, sweetie. So of course I need you to come back and everyone here misses you so bad. Honestly, it's been what? Like three years now? I think it's about time you come back home, I miss my best friend.” She whispers the last part. Sadness laces her voice making me feel guilty.
I inhale a deep breath. Knowing that leaving the pack hurt not only myself, but her and my family. It would've hurt more, if I had stayed and watched my own downfall. I clear my throat, trying to push away the guilt and the sudden pang in my chest away.
"I don't know Court, it's been too long and I don't think I can handle-" I'm cut off by Courtney.
"You know damn well that you're one of the strongest she-wolf I've ever seen in my life Serenity. You could just ignore him and you can also bring Matthew with you." I could picture her wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at me on the last part. Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if she hadn't come into my life. She knows when I start doubting myself and she reminds me that I'm worth so much more.
I release a sigh and say "Okay"
Regretting saying yes instantly, when I hear her squealing and scream on the other line, I pull the phone away from my ear before she decides to scream like a banshee again.
This girl has too much energy this early in the morning.
“Oh God, I hope I don't burst my ear drums”, I think to myself.
My thoughts are cut-off by Courtney saying "Well it's fixed then. You should be here by Wednesday and the wedding is in two weeks. We have a lot of preparations left to do and you better not be late." She threatens.
I gulp hearing the warning in her words. She might look like an angel, but she's a little firecracker. No wonder my brother is whipped.
"Okay, I'll be there bridezilla." I mock her.
I hear voices in the background. Someone was talking and Courtney saying "Okay. I've got to go. Bye. Love you".
“I love you too Court." I'm met with the beeping sound, reminding me that she had hung up. It seems like she's already busy with the preparations.
I sigh. It's been a long time since I've spoken to Courtney and my family back home. Talking to them brings back memories of him and what I could've had. It's useless thinking about it now.
I had been there to see it all and endure the pain of seeing my mate getting married to my other best friend. I was angry and sad for the most part, but I couldn't blame Emily. She was oblivious to the fact that he was my mate and since she is a human, she will never have a mate of her own.
I left soon after they announced their wedding. I could not handle the pain of seeing them together. I've not been in touch with the pack ever since, and it's been 3 years.
Emily Christy was a human among us werewolves. She was found abandoned in a small basket near the pack border by some patrol guards twenty years ago while they were on patrol. The Alpha and Luna, being the kind people that they were, took her in instantly. They made her a member of the pack, not caring that she was a human and I respected them for that.
It was uncommon to find humans among werewolves, since we are super naturals and like our peace. Humans in between us meant trouble for the most part. You never know who would snitch on us.
Emily, Courtney and I have been best friends since we were fourteen and we were inseparable. Emily was loved by everyone and was what you call 'A Social Butterfly’. She was in a relationship with Damien Blackwood, which made her even more popular among the pack members. Damien was our future Alpha and my long-time crush.
Although I've had a huge crush on Damien, cue word “had', at least that's what I would like to believe but I know if I happen to see him again, all those feelings I tried to bury deep down inside of me would stir back up. I would never act upon them because he is our future Alpha and plus, he was scary and intimidating and it's against girl code to steal your best friends man.
Even if he turns out to be your mate, my wolf says and scoffs at my line of thoughts.
He wouldn't even notice me, a female with boring chocolate brown hair and hazel brown eyes, when he has someone like Emily. She has her golden blonde hair and blue eyes and was his girlfriend. I was self-conscious of myself back then and used to hide myself in baggy clothes because they made me feel comfortable.
I didn't want to ruin their perfect relationship. I sort of admired it. Damien was cruel and mean, while Emily was an angel. They were polar opposites. Maybe that was the reason they got together in the first place. As the saying goes 'opposites attract'.
Like some cliché story where the good girl changes the bad boy.
I push all the memories away and I smile when my thoughts trail to a dirty blond-haired male.
I suddenly realize that today is Monday and Courtney expects me to be there by Wednesday, I groan and realize I have to call Matthew.
Dialing Matthew's number, he picks up on the third ring.
"Hey Sera, what's up?"...I don't answer him, which makes him realizes his mistake and he huffs dramatically. "Okay I won't call you that anymore, Serenity".
Sassy aren't we? My wolf thinks.
He takes notice of my heavy breathing and silence and asks in voice of concern. "Serenity? Are you Okay? What happ-?" I cut him off by saying "We have to go back home." I say it all in one go so I wouldn't have to repeat myself.
"Why? Did anything happen with your family? Are they okay? Is it because of him?” He asks me and I take a deep breath in and tell him how Courtney is getting married and I being the maid of honor have to be there by Wednesday.
"So will you come with me as my date?" I wait hesitantly for his reply. "Serenity" he says.
"Yes-ss" I stutter and take a shaky breath in waiting for him to say no.
"I would love to, but would you be okay?" He asks while emphasizing the word Love and I smile at his concern.
"Yes, of course. I will have you beside me. Okay I got to go. This girl needs her beauty sleep." I reply with a bye and we hang up.
Honestly, this is the third time in the past two years that I've let myself feel this way. Feel vulnerable.
I realize that this is going to be my first time going back home to see my family and the whole pack, including him after his marriage with Emily.
I sigh, which I've been doing a lot lately, and think 'It's going to be one hell of a ride.”
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3 Years Ago*
I almost fall from my bed hearing the shrill sound of my alarm clock going off. I groan and stuff my face into my pillow and try to get a few more minutes of sleep, while reaching to turn off the alarm.
Right when I'm about to doze off again into my dream world, my bedroom door burst open and hear a voice shout. "Wakey! Wakey!" Really? What am I? Four years old?
"Go away and get your annoying ass out of my room and let me sleep peacefully for another 5 minutes." I say sleepily.
I hear silence for the next few moments, so I assume she really listened to my request. Huh? That's a first. My surprise is short lived when someone jumps and lands on my back. I groan in pain.
"No way! You are going to wake up right now or else I'm going to pour cold water all over you like last time." Courtney replies. I can practically see the smirk on her face, while she says this. Bitch. I think to myself.
My eyes widen when my brain registers her threat and I know she has no problem in carrying it out. I decide to wake up and escape her wrath by rolling over and I find myself lying on the edge of my bed. By my rolling over, Courtney fell off of my bed and landed on her ass with a loud thump and I burst out laughing. “HA!” That’s what she gets for being so annoying in the morning. I stop laughing and see her glare at me and I sober up quickly "Okay.” “Okay.”” I'm up. No need to go all cavewoman all over me...Sheesh!!" I say. She huffs and replies. "You better".
I swung my legs over the bed and stand up and enter the bathroom to freshen up. Looking at myself in the mirror that is attached to my bathroom wall just above the sink, I see a girl with a round face, big brown hazel eyes and long chestnut brown hair.
My eyes move down towards my lower half of my body and I release a sigh. I have always been a little curvier than the other she-wolves in the pack. Some may consider me a bit chubby even. It's as if my puberty is on a train that travels like 20 km per hour. That fact alone makes me the subject to mockery of the jerks and bitches in the pack. This mockery happens only at times when I'm alone because they know if the Gamma would come to know about the things they say to his daughter he'll not spare them.
My mind then wanders to a different topic. The topic of 'Mates’ makes me think about my mate. Will he accept me or reject me? Well I hope he doesn’t reject me.
Ever since I've learned about the concept of mates, I've been excited to meet mine. I have had no luck so far. I've already turned eighteen and most of the young females like me have already found their mates. They usually find them when they're seventeen, which didn't give me much hope. There is also the fact that I've had no good experience with males in my previous pack.
Past memories flash behind my eyes, haunting me with all the torture and abuse that I have suffered.
I hope he will be from my pack.
Sometimes, I envy Courtney and how easily she found her mate. After all she is mated to Alexander, Alex for short. He is my overprotective older brother. They found out they were mates on Courtney's seventeenth birthday and are happy with each other. I'm happy for them.
I release a huge breath and I continue my morning routine, while Courtney sits on my bed and scrolls through her phone.
I dress myself in some black jeans, a mustard coloured top and my all-star converse shoes.
"So, why did you decide to grace me with your presence this fine morning?" I ask Courtney, while glancing at her through the mirror in front of me.
She lifts her face from her phone and scrunches up her face a little bit and replies "You don't know?"
"Don't know what?" I ask her and wait for her to reply.
"Damien is coming back from Alpha training" she replies.
My eyes widen and I turn towards her fully,
"What!" I shout. My best friend rolls her eyes and mumbles something along the lines of 'dramatic much', which makes me narrow my eyes at her. She replies after a few moments in a voice filled with sarcasm. "Damien Blackwood, as in our future alpha, is coming back from alpha training to take up his position as the Alpha of our pack and the pack has decided to throw him a surprise welcome party.”
"Oh." I realize how stupid I might have sounded. Of course, Damien is going to be our Alpha.
Damien Blackwood was the future Alpha of the Midnight Moon Pack. It is located in the rainy forests of Beacon Hills, which is situated in the center of California. He was eighteen when he had left for the training that is meant for Alpha's and Beta's all over the world.
He was also someone who I had a huge crush on. The only person who knew about my little crush on Damien was my best friend Courtney.
I never choose to do anything about my crush. After all, he is dating Emily Christy, my human best friend. Emily, Courtney and I have been best friends since we were fourteen. Emily is a year older than us making her nineteen.
I used to be jealous and get angry seeing them together. They were always happy and smiling like a married couple. I brushed it off as a stupid crush. Thinking my feelings would subdue over the year, but it never did.
In time, I got used to them being together and that help in reassuring myself that nothing is going to happen between the good old boring me and Damien.
I often wondered how someone like Damien got in a relationship with Emily...Like they were polar opposites...If she is sugar, he is salt...If she is lemonade, he is Vodka. Okay. Okay. I know that was a bad example but you get the drift?!
Damien was the silent, brooding type of guy. He was ridiculously good looking. I assume he's over 6-foot 3 inch tall. He was huge for starters. He was like a sin waiting to be committed.
His eyes are something you wouldn't notice. He had alluring grey eyes with a black ring in the center. The grey in his eyes bleed to black from anger, just like the shade when the sky is before the storm.
His chocolate brown hair, which he preferred to be slicked back, gave him a sexy look. It’s not that he is not sexy already.
He had a hulking frame packed with muscles. He had tattoo's covering almost all parts of his body, his neck, legs and his body, don't get me started on his body it is as if he was personally sculpted by the god himself. Each and every muscle in his body is defined and ripped... My thoughts make me blush.
I remember that each and every girl in the pack used to drool at the sight of him and would do things like hiking up their skirts or unbuttoning the top buttons of their shirt to flash him their cleavage, just hoping to grab his attention so that they could try to flirt with him. He never paid any heed to them.
Most females in the pack had a crush on him, but he stayed away from them or growled in warning when someone tried to make a move. Well, there were also the shy one's who use to admire his beauty from afar a.k.a me, no surprise there really.
I guess the only one who was able to catch his eyes was Emily.
"Well, what are you waiting for then? Let's go. He is going to be here at 11 am." Courtney says. I look at the alarm clock and realize that there is only fifteen minutes left before he is to arrive and reply "Okay. Let's go.”
I drag Courtney with me downstairs and upon reaching the last step, I realize that almost all of the pack members are running around to prepare for his arrival and they seem excited.
'Well, aren't I too oblivious to my surroundings' I think sarcastically to myself.
My thoughts are cut off by Emily, who is rushing towards me and Courtney with a smile on her face.
"Oh. Hey guys! Where were you? I didn't see you two earlier." Emily asks us.
"Well, somebody decide to sleep like a baby this morning." Courtney replies while glancing at me sideways. This makes me scowl and Emily's smile widens.
"Oh, well that's okay and I think he is going-" Emily starts to say but is cut-off by a fellow pack member shouting.
"The future Alpha has arrived" and my heart skips a beat.
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