Chapter 1

• “All you have to do is reject her,” hearing those words leave her mouth had me freezing in my tracks.
• I carefully made my way back to the balcony and hid behind a pillar so she wouldn’t see me. She had her hand on his shoulder and I could see him thinking about her offer.
• “All you have to do is reject her,” she repeated, “And you will have the position of the future Alpha.”
• FLASHBACK
• The day started like any other. I woke up long before the sun had even thought to rise and I started doing my usual chores. It is an unspoken rule that once the members of the house wake up by 7 a.m. the house has to be perfectly cleaned and breakfast has to be ready.
• It took me three months to come up with the perfect time to rise in order to get everything done. I wake up by 3 a.m. and spend the next two hours cleaning the entire house from top to bottom. I also have to be quiet because if my father wakes up then I will be in for a lot of punishment. By the time I am done with the chores, I start breakfast which usually takes around two hours as well.
• As always, I was finishing it up when my father walked down the stairs. I instantly rushed to his side with his daily steaming cup of black coffee. He took it from me with a dismissive nod and I quickly assembled his breakfast plate- eggs, bacon and sausages.
• I placed them next to him and he didn’t even lift his head from his newspaper to acknowledge my presence. I refused to allow the pain show on my face as I swallowed down my hurt. It is my birthday and he couldn’t even be bothered to say a happy birthday to me.
• “Good morning father,” His response was a deep grunt and a hand waving me off. “Did you rest well?”
• “Do you not have any work to do Amelia?” his tone was an obvious dismissal.
• I didn’t allow the pain phase me as I knew my sister would be up soon so I quickly made her special green juice that she drinks every morning.
• I had poured it into her glass when she gracefully came down the stairs. My sister- Brittany- and I are twins although she is older by a few minutes. We look nothing alike though; I have very curly brown hair that is a nightmare to tame and hazel eyes while she has long blond hair and icy blue eyes. She is also tall and slender while I am shorter and have more curves. I have been told I look like our mother who died a few years back but she is a splitting image of our father.
• As soon as father saw her, he pulled her into a warm hug and kissed her forehead then wished her happy birthday. He told her how proud of her he was and a stray tear slipped down my lips. I don’t know why he never treats me like her- we are twins after all. What does she have that I don’t?
• “There you are,” he held her at arm’s length so he could see her, “How is the birthday girl?”
• “I am so excited daddy,” she squealed, “And I cannot wait for the party tonight. Thank you so much for throwing it for me.”
• “Anything for my darling,” he kissed her forehead again then he saw me watching them, “Are you going to stand there or will you bring in our breakfast?”
• I muttered a small apology and hurried to hand her breakfast tray to her. As usual, she didn’t say thank you, she just took it out of my hands and delved into a conversation with father. Once again, I ignored the pain and clutched my own plate tight to my chest as I felt like an intruder in their special moment.
• It has been like this for as long as I remember.And a part of me is tired of wishing that thing could be different.
• When they were done eating, they left their dishes on the table and went to get ready for the day. I was still cleaning up when they left the house, leaving me in complete and utter silence.
• As soon as I was sure that they were gone, I snuck out of the house into the woods that had taken over at the back. It was quiet and I was sure that no one would bother me there.
• I followed the marked out path that I had become familiar with over the years. I can navigate this path blindfolded and in my sleep because of how many times I had gone through it, especially in the past few weeks.
• I got to a small cave. It wasn’t big enough to draw attention to it but it was big enough that I could go in and practice without being disturbed. A few feet into the cave lay a few books I had taken from father’s library without him noticing a small blanket for when the days got colder.
• I sat cross legged on the floor and imagined all the different types of wolves I had seen. I imagined my father’s which was large and black with dark brown eyes. It towered over me easily in my human form and for a very long time it terrified me.
• I imagined my sisters which was smaller in size. It was a dirty brown color and in her wolf form, she had the same icy blue eyes as she did in her human form. Her wolf was graceful and petite and I smiled as I thought back to a memory of her running.
• I let the feeling of completeness wash over me and I willed my own wolf to come to the surface but nothing happened. I tried harder, even tried picturing what my own wolf would look like. Would it be dirty brown like Brittany’s or black like my father’s? Maybe it would even be a different color, sandy blond or even a deep brown. I didn’t care what color it was, I just wanted it.
• I don’t know how long I sat there willing, wishing and praying for my wolf to come to the surface but it never did. As the seconds ticked by I got more and more frustrated. I thought I felt hair o my skin and I opened my eyes in excitement, glad I had made a little effort but the excitement dissipated when I realized it was a stray feather.
• I let out a barely contained scream and buried my head into my hands. Angry, hot tears burned beneath my eyelids and for a moment I wondered if I would ever get my wolf. For a moment, I wondered if it was even worth it at all.
• But then I remembered why I was doing it all in the first place- Blake. Blake and I have been together for a while and I know that the only way for us to stay together is for me to get my wolf and then we can be properly mated.
• He was the reason I started this four months ago and I am not giving up now. I wiped the tears from my face and gathered myself to my feet. I can always try again later.
• I stepped out of the cave and was shocked by how dark it was. I ran as fast as I could to the house and looked at the huge grandfather clock that stood in the living room and cursed; Blake will be here to pick me up any minute from now.
• I took a very quick bath and changed into the prettiest dress I own. It is an old dress I have had for a while, father said he couldn’t spare any money for a new dress for the party but that doesn’t matter because as long as I am with Blake, I am happy.
• I snuck into Brittany’s room and applied a little bit of her makeup to make me look pretty and I tied my hair up into a high ponytail and waited at the bottom of the stairs for Blake to knock. I glanced at the clock and saw that he was running a bit late but I figured there must have been an emergency.
• What else could it have been?