Alpha Nicholas

Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure bout their futures.

Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.

Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.

Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?

Bonnie

Bonnie

"If you don't get your goddam ass down here right now, I swear to the Moon Goddess herself I'm going to get my fucking belt out and make you sorry!" My dad's voice sends chills down my spine and has my entire body shaking knowing the pain that it's going to endure very soon. My dad means what he says and, thanks to my prick of a brother, my punishment will be even more painful than normal.

"If I have to come and get you, you know what will happen mutt!" He keeps bellowing while I shift myself further backward in my closest while praying for a miracle or, at the very least, for a giant hole to appear in these old floorboards and swallow me whole. Of course, reality wouldn't be as kind as to create a hole for me. No, my reality will result in pain and a lot of it.

"Where the fuck are you!" His voice suddenly seems so close and a growl that can only belong to that of a Beta suddenly has the walls around me shaking. Shit, he's here! "This is your last chance to come out mutt. If you don't, you know what will happen!" He knows I'm here, but he wouldn't be my dad if he didn't take the time to taunt me that little bit more. It doesn't matter if I go out there now or let him find me either way, my punishment will have me suffering in pain for more than a few days.

"Your ass should have been downstairs over 30 minutes ago, and now it's going to pay. I don't know why you do this to yourself every goddam time! "I do sometimes wonder how my dad can help lead this pack as the Beta with how stupid he can be. Does he seriously think that I hid in my closet and chose not to go downstairs and make breakfast knowing that he would come and find me and make me pay all by choice? No, I didn't, but it won't matter what my reason is for being here, he won't believe me, he won't care.

"Well, hello there little mutt." I feel the air leave my lungs as he tears open the door and lunges at me, grabbing my shirt and throwing me across the room. A grunt leaves my mouth as blinding pain shoots down my spine from hitting the wall, along with the impact winding me has, this day is off to a cracking start.

And yes, I know what you're thinking. Werewolves have amazingly quick healing abilities and while that may be true, unfortunately, that's not always the case, and of course, as with everything else in my life that goes wrong, so does having that ability. A healthy wolf can heal quickly but not an unhealthy one, and I'm the definition of an unhealthy wolf.

I cough as I try to catch my breath, but before I've even drawn in my first full breath, my dad is back on me and pulling me off the ground by the neck of my shirt. He roughly shakes me before screaming in my face, causing spittle to land on my forehead, nose, and chin, forcing me to hold in a gag. "Well, come on mutt. Won't you at least try and come up with some pathetic excuse to cover your ass?"

While most of the beatings that I get from my dad are caused by my brother, I try not to mention his name and instead, make up another excuse, any excuse because, in this household, my brother is the top, golden child and, as far as my father is concerned, he never does anything wrong and if I try and say different he sees red and just ups my punishment.

However, sometimes I just can't think of an excuse quickly enough and my Dad tolerates no answer, even less than me mentioning my brother's name, so that is what I have to do. I have to tell the truth and today seems like one of those days. "Rowan... Rowan locked me in my closet." As expected, his face turns an even darker shade of red as he once again roughly shakes me before throwing me across the room. Only this time I crash into the window and cry out as it shatters and several shards impale my skin.

"Look at what you made me do now. You stupid worthless piece of shit!" He storms over to me while I try to remove a large piece of glass out of the palm of my hand. He gets a tight grip on my hair and pulls backward until I'm forced to look up at his face, while at the same time, he moves my hand away, stopping me from pulling out the glass, and then he pushes down on it, making it impale even deeper into the palm of my hand and causing me to cry out.

"I'll never understand why you were born but the sooner you die, the better!" I remain quiet while trying to breathe through the pain as he continues to throw venomous words my way, but I don't think he realizes just how wasted those words are on me. All I've ever heard from both him, Blue, and Rowan are vile words and their behavior has been even worse. I'm 18 years old, 18 years of hearing every bad thing imaginable, so yeah, his words do not affect me much anymore, the pain from the beatings is worse than any words he can say... so much worse, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to those.

"The next time you speak badly about your brother, I won't be the only one handling your punishment." He pulls back his hand right before landing a hard slap to my cheek, causing my vision to blur and my ears to ring. As I said before, he doesn't do well with me, badmouthing his precious son or anyone else, for that matter. Rowan is 20, the future Beta to our pack, and I swear that the boy could fall in shit, and he would still come out smelling like goddam roses.

My dad has threatened to have my brother punish me more than once but has never gone through with it. Of course, I don't kid myself into thinking it's because he's protecting me, he's never protected me a day in my life. No, I think it's because he knows that Rowan's temper is even worse than his, and I think he fears that Rowan will lose control and kill me, and if he does that, then who will my dad have to bully and take his anger out on? And of course, how would he explain my disappearance to everyone else?

I'm pulled from my thoughts by my dad once again pulling on my hair. It's a favorite thing of his to-do and, honestly, it has me wondering how I don't have bold patches. I wait for the next blow, but then his eyes glaze over as someone's mind links him, and then he suddenly lets go of my hair and takes a step back. "Get your fucking ass downstairs. Now!" What the hell is that all about? There must be something big going on for my dad to stop beating me. Nothing ever stops him, not even mind links unless they are seriously important.

The moment he slams my bedroom door shut, tears burst from my eyes and all the pain that I've been ignoring surfaces causing me to shake. "Come on sweetheart. Get up off of the floor. Let's get you cleaned up." My wolf Lexis's voice soothes me somewhat as she encourages me. I'll never understand how she's still here with me. I turned 18 six months ago and while I was able to shift fine for the first month since then, I've not been able to. My body is too weak from the beatings and being starved to be able to shift.

I've told Lexi more than once to leave me, to find herself another wolf to live with. It's the least she deserves, but she has always refused. She has been by my side since day one, and I'll always be grateful to her. She is my best friend, my only friend, and honestly, most days she's the only thing that keeps me going. She refuses to leave me and I keep fighting for her but one day... One day this will all be over. I don't know how, but one way or another we will get out of this house and away from this pack, and more importantly, away from the evil that is my dad.

Bonnie

Bonnie

I move as quickly as I can to get off of the floor and drag myself to my bathroom to try and clean myself up as best as I can before I go downstairs. The pain in my back is now more of a dull ache, but the cuts from the glass are stinging like a bitch. Luckily for me, most of the cuts aren't very deep and, from what I can see, they don't have any glass in them, so they will heal just fine. However, the one in the palm of my hand is deep and will take much longer to heal.

I winch as I pull out the piece of glass quickly before wrapping a cloth around it to hopefully help slow down the bleeding. "I'm sorry I can't heal you, Bon Bon." Lexis's sad voice pulls at my heartstrings. "It's not your fault, Lex." As usual, she doesn't agree, but it's the truth. Yes, she's too weak to heal any of my bigger wounds, but she still heals my little ones and more importantly, she is here for me, which means more than she'll ever know.

The reason she can't help me with the bigger wounds is because of how unhealthy I am due to the abuse I receive daily from my dad and brother. Their abuse is also the cause of me being unable to shift and, for a while, I worried that I wouldn't even be able to talk to Lexi, but we do every day, and it's all that I need from her right now.

After more back and forth between us, I manage to convince her of the latter, and she retreats to the back of my mind, although I know it won't be the last time that we have this conversation and that's ok because my words or feelings will never change towards her. I just hope that she continues to stick by me until we can get away from here.

Once I've made quick work of cleaning myself up and wrapping up my hand, I quickly change my shirt and head downstairs to see what's going on. The usual sinking feeling starts up in my stomach as it does every time I walk down the stairs, but there's also some wonder in my head about what my dad wants after that mind-link and I decide to focus on that more than the sinking feeling.

As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I stop to take a moment to say hello to my Mom and kiss the picture of her that's hanging on the wall. There are several pictures of her around the house, but this is one of my favorite ones of her. She looks so young and carefree and, more than anything, happy. I never met her, but somehow, every time I look at this picture of her, I feel like I know her. I've also been told endless stories about my mom, which helps me picture her and imagine her life.

My mom and dad were lucky enough to meet just after they both turned 18 and were mated and married within two months and then, 8 months later, my brother Rowan was born. Just over 2 years later, my twin sister Blue and I were born. Unfortunately, Mom was ill while she was pregnant with us, and giving birth was too much for her body. After giving birth to Blue she died, meaning they had to cut me out of my Mom's stomach after she had died.

She was my Dad's world, her and Rowan's, and when she died he was left without his mate and a single dad of three children under 3 years old and devastated. I haven't met my mate yet, so I can't even begin to imagine what he went through. Even after everything he's put me through, I still feel sad that he lost his mate.

They say that when a wolf loses their mate it can make them go insane, sometimes even kill themselves, and while my dad didn't ever resort to harming himself, I often wondered if the death of my mother did make him go insane, but just a different kind of insane to the normal. Usually, when a wolf goes insane they turn nasty towards everyone around them, and while my dad doesn't behave like that, it doesn't stop me from wondering if maybe he has a different form of being insane in which he manages to keep it hidden from the world and just take it out on me.

You see, I may be a twin, but my sister and I may as well live in different homes, in different packs, even because, whereas I'm treated like a piece of shit that's on the bottom of my Dad's shoe, my sister is treated like a princess. Yes, both my brother and sister are my dad's golden children, while I'm the leftover trash that he's never wanted, not since the day I was born anyway.

From what I have been told, my dad was incredibly excited to be welcoming twin girls into the world. He and my mom already had a little boy and had decided that two daughters following made the perfect number of children and that they would be happy to stop with us, but then the day came that my mom went into labor with us a month before her due date and died just minutes after Blue's birth.

It's said that my mom had unknowingly been suffering from a bleed on her brain and, after the stress of giving birth to Blue naturally, her body gave out, but they managed to get me out in time, a few more minutes and I would have died too. My dad couldn't look at either my sister or me for several days, but when he finally did, he instantly hated me. He said that it was my fault that my mom had died, that I had somehow caused her death, despite several doctors telling him that it wasn't the case, that she had been suffering for weeks and would have died either way, he still didn't listen and has still always hated me and blamed me all because I was the last one to be born.

"Bonnie, come along." My dad has his polite father voice on which means someone important is here. It's the only time he's ever any kind of decent to me, and they are the moments that I enjoy every second of. Sad, I know, but when you spend your entire life being hated and abused you learn to take any opportunity you can to enjoy the quiet moments of peace and no pain.

I pick up my pace and quickly reach the living area to find my dad sitting on the couch with my sister and brother while Alpha Harold sits across from them with another man who I don't recognize. "Hello, Bonnie." Alpha Harold greets me with his usual warm smile and, as always, it has me fighting back my tears at how such little kindness makes me feel.

Alpha Harold has been the Alpha to the Green Rock pack for the last 25 years and is one incredible Alpha. He runs a brilliant pack and shows every single member of his pack nothing but love and kindness, and I have no doubt that if he knew what my dad was doing to me, he would lose his shit. There have been so many times that I have wanted to tell him,, there have even been moments where I have been standing outside his office door ready to knock, but then my dad's words would always ring loud in my head stopping me from doing it.

My dad has always told me that if I tell anyone, then he will kill my grandmother April. She is my mom's mother and even though we haven't seen her in over 10 years, I still love her deeply. She left the pack after she decided that she was done with pack life and wanted to finish out her days out in the forest in a cabin, just her and her pet dog. I'm not sure why she chose that life, but from what I have been told, she was never the same after my mother died.

I remember visiting her often when we were little and even though she never showed us much love in a physical way, she was always polite to us and was never mean or abusive to me. She never knew what my dad was doing because he was always good at hiding my bruises, and after she left the pack, he cut off all contact with her. But despite all of that, I still love her and that thought of him hurting her has always and will always be enough to keep me quiet.

Bonnie

Bonnie

"Are you ok, Bonnie? Alpha's voice brings me back to the present and along with it a wave of embarrassment that I zoned out in the presence of our Alpha. "Sorry, Alpha. Yes, I am great, thank you. How are you doing today?" He nods smiling. "I'm perfect thanks, Bonnie. Please take a seat. I'd like to discuss something with you. I know you and Blue have school, so I won't keep you long."

I nod at Alpha Harold and then take a seat next to Blue. She treats me the same as my dad and brother, but it's the obvious seat to sit in. "Is everything ok, Alpha?" I can see the confusion on my dad's face as to why the Alpha is here. Usually, as a Beta to the pack, he would know about any issues that need raising before the Alpha either personally address them or has him do it, but it's clear to see that he has no idea about what's going on right now, and I can imagine he is pissed about it.

"Yes Beta, everything is fine. We have already spoken about this issue, but I just wanted to personally address it and see if I could be of any help," I watch as realization washes over him, and for a second he looks pissed, but he does his best to quickly mask it. He knows what this is about and he isn't happy.

"Bonnie, this is Elder Royston. He is visiting on some formal business and decided to join me here today." I don't know if my dad has met this Elder, but I'm pretty sure the rest of us haven't. "There's nothing to worry about, so please relax. I just wanted to stop in and remind you about all the ball at the Diamond Pack this weekend and I also wanted a quick chat with you, Bonnie."

How could I forget about the ball? It's all anyone has been speaking about, especially at school. The Alpha of the Diamond pack is hosting the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and everyone is crazily excited. The Blue Moon Ball is hosted every year by different packs. It's a ball designed to help unmated wolves find their mate and, as far as I know, it's usually pretty successful, which is why it has been held once a year for over 100 years. Throw in the fact that the Alpha of the Diamond pack is also unmated, and you have thousands of she-wolves everywhere melting.

"So Bonnie. I have been informed that you will not be attending the ball?" You're not allowed to attend the ball until you are 18, so this year is the first year that Blue and I are allowed to attend but, of course, my dad had already informed me that I wouldn't be attending. In his words, he won't have me embarrass him and, besides, it's not like my mate is going to want me anyway, so I should stay home and save both myself and my mate from any embarrassment.

"That's right, Alpha. I won't be attending." He gives me a puzzled look before shaking his head. "But why?" I take a moment to think of a reason while also holding in a wince as my dad pinches my hip from around the back of Blue. "I just don't feel up to going Alpha. We're almost finished with school, and I'm working hard on my last assignment, so I figured that I would stay here and finish that instead."

It's not a lie as such. I am working hard for school, but that's because I am finishing Blue's assessment. I've already finished mine and handed it in. Hopefully, he doesn't know that. I've also got my own plans for while they are gone. Plans I don't want to cancel.

"You have always been a hard worker when it comes to school, Bonnie. And while I admire that, I'm afraid that your assignment will have to wait until you come home, as I'm here to inform you that, as of this year, it is now mandatory for all wolves of age to attend the Blue Moon Ball. There would need to be a major reason for not going and, sadly, homework isn't it." Fuck!

I bite back a response and instead smile and nod my head. He gives me a genuine smile and then rises to his feet with Elder Royston following. "I'm glad that it is settled. Try and look forward to it, Bonnie. I have a feeling that you will have a lot of fun." I smile, encouraging his words as he says his goodbyes and exits the house, leaving me confused and well scared. Scared of what my dad's going to say.

It won't matter that the Alpha himself is the one who told us about this or that this is now a new wolf law and that I have no choice but to go, it will still somehow be my fault, and he will make me pay for it. After the beating, I received last night and again this morning, I don't think I can handle any more pain right now, but that won't matter to my so-called dad, he will do as he sees fit. It wouldn't be the first time that he blessed me with several beatings in a row and I doubt it will be the last. He'll beat me until I'm unconscious and then just leave me on the floor until I come around so he can restart his torment.

Before the Alpha has even made it out of the house, I try to make a quick exit out of the living room and away from my hell-hole family in the hopes that I can get out of here before they start their shit with me again. Thankfully, I was smart enough to drop my bag by the front door when I came downstairs and could leave without any fuss.

Of course, I'm far from dull, and I know that I'm going to pay for all of this later, but for now... for now, I'm just going to hold my head up high and head to school. There's only one more week left of school and I can't wait to finally be done. Done with school. Done with my so-called family and done with this pack for good!

Thankfully, I make it out of the door, and I'm soon on my way. "Hey, Bon." I look up and smile at Lilly as she comes out of her front door. Lilly has been my best friend since her family joined the pack when I was 4, and I couldn't imagine my life without her. She knows everything about my life, she's never judged me or my situation and has always been there for me. Until Lexi came along, Lily was the only good thing in my life and now that I have both of them I feel blessed. I know it probably sounds dull considering the life that I live, but it's true. I wouldn't want to be without either of them.

Lilly is also the reason why I'm still here, the only reason, even though I turned 18 seven months ago. You see, while my life is hell, so is hers. Her dad is also an abusive man who bullies her every day. He was also abusive to her mom until she sadly passed away a few years ago. Just like my situation, the Alpha knows nothing about the abuse, and her dad keeps her injury to where it can be hidden, as does my Dad. While her dad doesn't hit her as often as my dad hits me, I've often wondered if there's more to her abuse than mine. I'm not sure what it is, but there's just something that doesn't quite sit right with me, and one day I hope she confides in me about it.

Since we've been 9 years old, we have planned to leave the pack once we turned 18. Yes, we could run away before then, but that also means they could search for us, and if they found us, we would pay dearly, whereas if we left once we were 18 they couldn't force us back here, and whereas I turned 18 seven months ago, Lilly is still 17, so that's why I'm still here. Although Lilly is turning 18 in two days, it's almost time to leave. We have had our plan in place for several years, and we're all ready to go.

"Bon, I know we were supposed to leave this weekend while everyone was gone, but what if we just use the ball as our getaway?" I give her a confused look, but she starts speaking again before I can say anything. "Think about it, Bon. The Diamond Pack is 4 hours away from here. If we can make a new plan and get away from there the night of the ball, we will be able to get a good head start before anyone will even notice that we are gone. I doubt anyone will come looking for us, but still, if they do, we will already be far away. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary. I can't."

The pain in her eyes is raw and goes straight to my heart. It may be riskier running from the ball, but I also get why she doesn't want to wait any longer because neither do I. "You're right, Lil. Let's do it. Now we just need to get a new plan together." She smiles while giving me a side hug. "Leave it with me, Bon Bon."

Alpha Nicholas

Alpha Nicholas

"This ball is just stupid! What happened to mates just meeting in the usual way? At parties or normal balls like Alpha ceremonies and so on. Why does there need to be a ball just for mates to meet and why the fuck does every pack have to take it in turns to host it? Surely it should be the Alpha's choice!"

"Nice to see your usual happy personality glowing there, brother!" I flip Shane the middle finger while he laughs his ass off at me. "I swear the older you get, the more grumpy you become." I snort at his words while my parents walk into the room, both laughing. They've clearly heard our conversation. Stupid werewolf hearing! "Fuck off. I'm a dream to be around!" I grunt while I drink my coffee and try to block his annoying voice out.

"Are you complaining about the ball again, Dad?" Lottie, my daughter, asks as she walks into the dining area and takes a seat across from me. Lottie will be turning 16 in a few weeks and is my whole world. She has the typical teenage attitude, but I wouldn't change her for the world, even if she is the image of her mother, a woman I'd like to never have to think of again.

"I'm not complaining, just stating a fact." She laughs as the door once again opens and my other brothers Will and Robbie come strutting in looking a little rough around the edges. "Is he still complaining about Saturday?" Will asks, causing everyone around the table to nod and laugh while I shake my head in frustration. I let others have their opinion about things, so why can I have mine? "Is it that bad, Dad? It's one night and besides... You could meet your mate."

I smile at the look on her face, but inside my gut churns at the thought. I'm 28 years old and if I was going to meet my mate then it would have happened by now, surely? It's rare for a wolf to not find their mate by my age and even more rare for an Alpha to have not met his mate, but I guess that's just my fate. My parents have been on my ass for the last 10 years to make more of an effort to find her, but if I'm being honest, I don't want to find her, not anymore.

There was a time when I couldn't think of anything better than meeting my mate. It was all I ever thought of but now, well now, it's the last thing that I want to do. For the most part, I'm happy with my life. I'm the Alpha of an incredible pack. I have the best family; a daughter and my best friend, Tony. I'm not short of offers from women, so I have no worries when it comes to fulfilling any kind of need. Why would I want to disturb that?

"After breakfast, I would like a chat with you, son." I nod toward my Dad, but I already know what he wants to talk to me about, and, as much as I want to tell him to forget it, I have too much respect for him to do it even if I'm going to regret it as soon as the conversation starts up.

Within 30 minutes, breakfast is done, and I'm in my office with my Dad sitting across from me. "I know what this conversation is going to be about, Dad. I'm not going to change my mind, so please just stop." He remains quiet for a few seconds while staring at me, making me feel on edge. "Nicky, it's time." I stand up pacing around my office while trying to figure out how to make this stop.

"Come in, sweetheart," I call out when I sense Lottie close by. She comes in smiling dressed in a dress that is way too short for my liking, but I've learned to pick my battles when it comes to a teenage girl and this isn't one of them. "Is it ok if I go to the mall with the girls? Hanna's mom will be there too. We're just going to get our nails and hair done for the ball tonight?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Enjoy." She gives me a look, and before she even says anything I know exactly what she is going to say. "What's happened to it now?" I ask her as I take my credit card out of my pocket and hand it to her while placing a kiss on her head. She shrugs her shoulders while doing her best to give me an innocent look, which means she once again lost her card and is waiting for a new one. I swear the girl has to order a new one every few weeks. "Make sure to keep your phone close and let me know when you are back." She nods, agreeing before saying goodbye to my dad and slipping back out of the office.

I turn to face my dad and can't help the sigh that leaves my lips. "I'm happy, Dad. Why change that?" He studies me for a moment before rubbing his hand down his face. "I understand what you're saying, son, I do, but I still believe it would be good for you for so many reasons. I know you are still haunted by the past, but that doesn't mean that you can't have everything you're supposed to in your future." Just the mention of my past makes me instantly pissed. It's been over 15 years since it happened and yet, I still can't seem to let it go.

"You say you're happy, son, but are you? Are you really? I'm not sure that I've ever met a wolf who doesn't want his mate, and I've certainly never met an Alpha who doesn't want his Luna. It's just so unheard of." He is right, I know this, and maybe deep, deep, deep down inside, there is a small part of me that does want my mate, but I just can't... The thought of suffering again... I just can't do it. As always, my dad seems to sense my thoughts as he takes my silence to mean more. "Nicky, aside from the obvious stuff, the Elders are not going to let this go."

"What do they want me to do Dad, just magic up a mate?" The elders hate it when an Alpha doesn't have a Luna, but what do they expect from me? Even if I did want a mate, I haven't met her yet, so I'm not sure what it is they want of me, unless... "Please don't tell me they're going to do what I think they are?" He sighs and then nods, making me feel even more pissed. "Please, tell me you're kidding me, Dad. Seriously?" He doesn't look too happy about this, so hopefully, he's on my side in this. "As much as I want you to have a mate, I want it to be your mate, not a fake one. I said as much to Elder Stone, but I'm afraid he wouldn't listen."

"So what happens now? Do I even get a choice or will I just be dressed in a suit and taken to meet my future mate at the isle on the day of our wedding without ever meeting her?" I'm being shitty, and I know it, but I can't help it. I know it's not my father's fault and I appreciate that he tried to help, but he's currently the only one in the room and therefore on the brunt end of my shitty behavior.

I slump down in my chair while I run my hand down my face. "So not only do I have to host a ball that I don't want, but I also have to face she-wolves who are mateless and ready to be my Luna? Dad, do you realize how insane this is? What's to say that some of them won't just be heartless bitches who are only out for the money and title that comes with it?"

"I know son, I know." I shake my head, but he holds up his hand, stopping me from saying anymore." I do. While I don't fully understand your thoughts when it comes to needing or wanting a mate, I can appreciate that this isn't necessarily the right way to go about this either." While this may not affect his entire life as it will mine, it's clear to see that he's not happy with this. He looks stressed and tired and that's the last thing that I want for him. Against my better judgment and personal wants, I decided to give him a break.

"I'll do it. I'll meet these women and talk with them. There will only be a few to get through, but I make no promises." Sometimes when an Alpha doesn't meet his mate, the Elders will encourage them to pick a mate instead of waiting for their fated ones. When they do this, they usually have a select few to meet the Alpha, usually around four to five of them. I can handle that.

The look on his face instantly has me on alert. "What is it?" He shifts a little, looking uncomfortable. "I'm guessing that you haven't read your emails today yet?" I shake my head no. "Well, the Elders have introduced a new law this year that all and any single male or female wolves must now attend the annual Blue Moon Ball. It's compulsory."

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" He shakes his head while mine whirls. "I'm sorry, son, but there's going to be a lot of single she-wolves here and ready to be your Luna." Fuck!

Bonnie

Bonnie

I wake up with a thick layer of sweat covering my entire body while I struggle to catch my breath. It's not often that my father's abuse finds its way into my dreams, but when it does, it's hell. It's usually the worst kind of beating that haunts my nights and, after the beatings that I received Tuesday night, I'm not surprised that I'm dreaming about it. I have for the last two nights and I don't see it stopping any time soon.

Yes, you heard me right. I said beatings, as in more than one. You see, I knew and had accepted that I would be punished after school. One because my dad hadn't finished with me in the morning before Alpha Mind linked him and two because I sneaked out for school without saying a word. I knew that it would make my dad even worse, but I just needed to get away.

However, what I wasn't expecting was the kind of revenge he would get on me. Physical or mental abuse along with starvation and taking away my clothes were standard practice for my dad, but this time he decided to tell my brother about me 'blaming him' and, in turn, that led to me not only getting a beating from my dad but also my brother and, I'll be honest, for a moment back there, I didn't think I was going to survive that night, but sadly I did.

I winch as I sit up while holding onto my side. I've had broken ribs before, but this is honestly the worst. I think my good old asshole of a brother got more than one. How fucking nice of him! If having broken ribs wasn't bad enough, another part of my punishment was losing access to my bed, so I had to sleep on my floor with one single sheet.

A loud bang on my door makes me jerk and whine from the pain "Mutt, you had better be awake!" My dad's voice bellows through the door. "I'm awake sir," I call back. Yes, another thing I'm not allowed to do is call him dad in the house. When we're around company, then I must, but otherwise it's sir or master. "You had better be downstairs in the next five minutes to make breakfast, or so help me, I will have your brother deal with you. I don't have time to beat your ass this morning." I look at the old alarm clock that's sitting on my window and groan when I see it's only 4.30 am. Fuck my life.

I've barely slept, and it takes all I have to get up off of the floor, but I do it and get myself downstairs to make breakfast. Soon enough, I have made a stack of pancakes and added bowls of fruit and a bottle of syrup to the table alongside bacon and eggs. "Is this all there is? Not much of a spread considering we have to travel for six hours."

It's the day of the ball and I know that he's expecting a good breakfast to fill them before all the traveling, but this is the best I can manage right now, and I was praying that it would be enough. How dumb of me. "I'm sorry sir. Is there something else I can get you?" Before he can answer, both Blue and Rowan come strutting into the kitchen, both dressed to impress and looking smug about it. Rowan is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath his suit jacket and shining black shoes. His hair is gelled to perfection and the waft of aftershave that fills the room makes me wonder if he even has any left anymore.

Blue is dressed in a skin-tight blue dress that leaves no room for the imagination. Her long blonde hair is straight and stops just below her shoulders while she wears high heels on her feet and a shit load of makeup on her face. I know there will be a ball tonight, but I didn't think that she would be dressing for it already. Surely she would want to get ready there? Either way, she looks like she's heading for a nightclub, not a mating ball.

Blue and I are non-identical twins and, whereas I have many faults, she is beautiful, which just makes it even more of a shame that she's such a giant bitch. If she had the personality to match her looks, she would make someone an incredible mate. As it stands, I can barely stand to be around her for long. She hasn't met her mate yet, but when she does... boy will I feel sorry for him, whoever he may be. He would be better off not meeting her ever, rather than having her as a mate. However, knowing how good her luck always seems to be, I don't doubt that she'll end up with an incredible mate who will just put up with her bullshit. Poor guy.

"Hello!" My dad's bellowing voice drags me from my wandering mind and back into my shitty present. "Sorry, sir. I got distracted for a moment there." He walks across the room until he's standing right in front of me, then leans down until his face is right in front of mine. He's so close that I can feel his breath on my face and I want to gag, but thankfully, I hold it in. "That's the second time this morning I have had to shout at you. Just thank your lucky stars that I need to keep your face clean for tonight, or you would be getting the slap that you deserve right now."

I nod but don't speak as he turns and walks away. He walks around the table and sits at the head while keeping his eyes on me. "Don't worry, mutt, I won't forget about it. When we get back from the ball, you will be punished accordingly. Now, how about you get breakfast served before you get the packing done so we can leave? And who knows, maybe you'll get it done right the first time and I won't have to add any more punishment." At his words, both Rowan and Blue start laughing because they know the truth. They both know that no matter how I pack everything that is needed, no matter how high my standard will be when I pack, somehow my father will find a fault and another punishment will be added to the stack.

"Oh and, in case you didn't already know, you won't be joining us for breakfast this morning." I had already guessed that it would be part of my punishment, which, of course, is why I just so happened to wake up hungry, but as much as my stomach is growling for food, missing breakfast or any meal is not uncommon for me, and I've learned to handle it, so today won't be any different.

Soon enough, I cleaned up, put everything away from breakfast and packed everyone's night bags. If packs live fairly local to the pack that is hosting the Blue Moon Ball, then they will head home after the ball, but the ones who live too far will stay overnight and attend breakfast the next day before leaving to travel home. Some will stay at the pack house or on the parklands while others will stay at local hotels or a place of their choosing. Our pack has recently become allies with the Diamond Pack and so, because of this, we have been invited to stay at the pack house.

"We will be leaving in 5 minutes!" My dad bellows up the stairs. I quickly double-check my bag to make sure that I have everything before we head out. What none of my family knows is that I don't plan on returning with them after the ball. Both Lily and I have come up with a plan and that plan involves us leaving the Diamond Pack in the middle of the night and running with all we have. Luckily for me, I don't have much, barely anything, so even with packing some clothes and a few personal items, including a picture of my mom, I can still fit them into an overnight bag and no one is any the wiser.

As we step outside to get into my dad's SUV, I see Lily and her dad leaving their own house and heading for their car. She looks across at me and I see that look in her eyes. She is packed and ready for this just as much as me. As we set off for the Diamond Pack, I look around for the last time at my pack and I realize that I'm not even sad to leave. I won't miss anyone or anything about this place. Yes, there are some nice people here, but not nice enough to make me stay. I try not to show any emotion, but inside I'm bursting with excitement at the idea of never having to come back here, to finally be free just me and Lilly. Finally, free and away from the pain that is my family.

Bonnie

Bonnie

The journey to the Diamond Pack is long. Between stopping for toilet breaks, refueling the cars, and a food stop, it's been almost 7 hours, and we're still on our way. A delay on the highway added on an extra hour, which I was grateful for. Being stuck in a car with my dad, brother, and sister, you would think that I would hate it, but the truth is it's the complete opposite.

I love to travel, even if it's just by car. I love watching the scenery and all the beautiful things that are out there in the world. And the best part about it is that when we travel, my dad is busy driving while Rowan takes the passenger seat and Blue always has her headphones on while she listens to something, so that means that I get left alone.

I wish I could use this time to read the one book that I own. It's my favorite, it was my mom's and while over the years my dad has managed to take away everything that matters to me, that is the one thing that he hasn't managed to find and destroy. And if this ball goes to plan, then he'll never get the chance to destroy it.

Seeing as I can't read my book, instead, I usually listen to whatever music it is that Rowans picked and daydream about how my life would be without my family around, of what my life will be like one day... soon.

My stomach rumbling brings my mind back to the car as I wonder if I'll be able to eat while I'm at the pack. I know smaller balls usually have meals, but with bigger ones, it's usually more of a help-yourself buffet and if that's the case, then I'm just praying that I'll be able to get food without my dad stopping me. I'm used to going long periods without food, but for some reason, I'm struggling with it more today. I've not eaten since yesterday's dinner time, and I'm starving.

When we stopped for food a few hours ago, my dad told the others that I was travel sick and didn't want any food, so I was going to wait in the car while everyone ate. I wanted to cry, but I knew better than to make any kind of fuss about it. He did bring me out a bottle of water when they were done but it turns out that he only gave it to me because one of the she-wolves had suggested it to help with my 'travel sickness' Still, I didn't care how I ended up with it, I was just grateful.

"We will be arriving in a moment." Dad bellows from the front of the SUV. Rowan turns the music down, then I catch my dad's eyes in the rearview mirror as he seeks me out. "Mutt, I'm only going to say this once, and you had better listen up. If I catch even one sniff of you misbehaving or doing anything to embarrass our family or pack, I swear to the moon goddess herself that you will never see the light of day again. DO. I. MAKE. MYSELF. CLEAR!" He starts out talking low but, of course, soon enough, he's bellowing so loud that the entire SUV shakes.

"Yes, sir. I understand." My voice sounds normal to anyone's ears but to me, it sounds exhausted, sad, and just fed up with this life, And if my dad can hear the same then I can only imagine how happy that must make him feel.

"And for the love of god, if I meet my mate, please stay the hell away from us. I don't want him to know that we are related, it would be enough to send him running. No, he doesn't need to meet you until it's absolutely necessary." Blue says from her seat as she starts brushing her hair. I guess we're going to be arriving any minute now. "Yeah, I second that," Rowan grunts from the front seat.

"Maybe she will devastate some poor man and be his mate, then she won't need to be around us," Blue adds, seeming pleased with herself. "There's no chance of that sweetheart. If the poor sole that is her mate is here tonight, then we won't know because he'll run the moment he realizes, and before she even has a chance to see him. Hell. I hope he's not here. Can you imagine the embarrassment for our family?" Dad's words should hurt, but it's nothing that I haven't already heard a thousand times from him.

"I doubt she even has a mate. There's no way the moon goddess would be as cruel as to dump that thing on to anyone." Blue cackles, seeming to find her words hilarious. I stop paying her attention and look out of the window just in time to see that we have arrived on the pack lands and, boy, does it look amazing. Wow, this place is just beautiful.

With my dad being the beta of our pack, our car is second in the line of cars to enter and soon enough, we are parking up and heading for the pack house. While we wait to go inside, I take a moment to look around. The packhouse is huge and looks to be around five floors high, which is pretty big for a packhouse. Our packhouse is known for being big and has four floors. The whole outside of the house is painted in a light gray while all of the doors and window frames are painted white and stand out. There are people everywhere, and it's clear to see that there's excitement in the air and, despite how I feel or the plans that I have, I still find myself hoping to be able to enjoy the little time that we have here.

As soon as we exit our SUV, we are greeted and guided to a room that looks like it is a ballroom. The room is massive and already looks to be pretty full. From what I know, everyone in here is staying either in the packhouse itself or on the parklands but surely that can't be, right? I don't see how they can have room for this many wolves. Just a few minutes later, two men came to the front of the crowd and stand on a stage that I hadn't noticed before, bringing the attention of the entire room to them.

"Good evening everyone. For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Shane, and I am the beta here at the Diamond Pack. This is my brother and the Gamma, Will. First, I want to thank you all for traveling here today. I understand that some of you have traveled quite some distance and would like some time to rest before tonight, so I won't keep you any longer than I need to. While meet and greets are usually done by the Alpha of the pack, with so many packs arriving today and so close to together it's impossible for him to be able to do this but he sends his thanks to you, and he can't wait to see you all tonight where he will personally meet and greet you all."

I don't mind waiting a little longer to see the Alpha. I've never met him before, but from what I've been told, he is known to be a grumpy git and I have enough of that in my life already. I don't need any more of it.