The Alpha's Mate: Book 1 E-Book

Bella Lore

• Herausgeber: Lukeman Literary Management
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: The Alpha's Mate
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 268

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

As an Omega, 17-year-old Sarah is used to being at the bottom of the pecking order, even in her new pack and new high school. But her usually-boring life changes when she turns 18. She expects to shift—and nothing happens. Now, as if being an Omega isn't bad enough, Sarah is also human. But Sarah, to her surprise, soon finds her mate: in the pack's handsome and compassionate Alpha. And the lowly Omega finds herself rocketing to the top of her pack's status as the new Luna. Just as it seems that life is finally going her way, Sarah learns of a terrible betrayal that results in tragic death, exile, and upheaval of what should have been her storybook ending… Or does it?

Leseprobe

T H E   A L P H A’ S   M A T E

(Book 1)

B e l l a   L o r e

Bella Lore

Debut author Bella Lore is the paranormal romance author of the MY TRUE MATE series, comprising four books, and THE ALPHA’S MATE series, comprising four books.

Bella loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit bellaloreauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Copyright © 2022 by Bella Lore. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Subbotina Anna, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BELLA LORE

MY TRUE MATE

MY TRUE MATE (Book #1)

MY TRUE MATE (Book #2)

MY TRUE MATE (Book #3)

MY TRUE MATE (Book #4)

THE ALPHA’S MATE

THE ALPHA’S MATE (Book #1)

THE ALPHA’S MATE (Book #2)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY ONE

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

CHAPTER FORTY THREE

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT

CHAPTER ONE

It’s my first day at Ponderosa High. I head toward my locker, trying to keep my head down and just make it through the day. I tug my green knit beanie down farther over my head, hoping to hide my short cropped hairstyle.

Around here, all the girls have long, beautiful hair. Golden blonde, shimmering honey-brown, jet black, all in bouncing ponytails or gorgeous waves.

Except for me. At my last school, some kids threw gum in my hair, and I had to chop it all off. The hairstylist tried to tell me that it was a cool new style, but I hate it. Every time I look in the mirror, I see a lonely, bullied girl who doesn’t fit in anywhere.

No wonder our old pack sent us away. Our Alpha decided we needed to come out to Flagstaff and join the pack here, as some kind of trade deal with their Alpha.

I haven’t met any of the shifters here, but all I can hope is that they accept me more than my last pack.

In the hallway, everyone is shouting and jostling. It’s the middle of the school year, so everyone has already made friends. I see my locker, the number stenciled on in chipped paint, and try to squeeze through the crowd without being noticed.

No such luck. Someone grabs my beanie, laughing. “Hey new girl, no hats in the hallway!”

“Hey,” I protest, “that’s mine!”

“Hey, Malcolm!” The boy who took my hat shouts to another kid, taller, with sandy blonde hair and broad shoulders. I watch in horror as he throws my beanie to Malcolm, who catches it easily. I see him lift it to his face and sniff it, then a knowing look comes over his face.

He knows I’m a shifter - he must be one too.

And judging by the way the crowded hallways part as he walks toward me, he’s a high ranking one.

Could he be the Alpha of this pack? I swallow, wishing I could hide my stupid haircut, as he approaches me. He towers over me, nostrils flaring.

“So you’re the new girl they sent?”

I swallow and nod. “I’m Sarah.”

“Huh.” He looks me up and down, as if he’s evaluating me. I just stand still, my backpack heavy on my shoulders. “So you’re the one our pack Alpha seems to think we need.”

I just shrug. So he’s not the Alpha, I guess. But he might be the Beta. Either way, I know I need to show him plenty of respect.

“Not sure why,” he mutters, still standing over me.

I shrug again.

“Can’t even defend yourself,” Malcolm says, holding my beanie up. “I heard you were getting pushed around, but this is just pathetic. If you’re going to be in our pack now, you have to act like a real shifter. No embarrassing us.”

“Okay,” I mumble. “Sorry.”

He shoves the beanie into my chest, rolling his eyes. I hold onto it, my fists sweaty against the knit fabric, not sure whether I should tug it back on.

As I’m trying to make sense of my swirling thoughts, a girl with a long black braid and golden yellow eyes bounds over and drapes her arms around Malcolm’s neck, then gives him a peck on the cheek.

He smiles. “Hey, Miranda.”

She finally looks over at me. “Who’s this?”

“The new kid they sent,” Malcolm says.

“Ah, right.” Miranda grins sharply. “The Omega.”

Malcolm looks me up and down, his nose wrinkling with disgust. “Really? Are you actually an Omega?”

I nod.

He sneers. “No wonder you’re so useless. I don’t even know why Caleb agreed to take you in.”

So Caleb must be their Alpha.

Miranda’s expression matches Malcolm’s, a grossed-out sneer. “Guess her pack didn’t want an Omega hanging around.”

“I don’t blame them.” Malcolm crosses his arms. “I don’t even know why they sent you. It’s not like we need a bunch of Omegas out here.”

“Don’t worry about her, babe.” Miranda clings even more tightly to Malcolm’s muscled arms.

“Someone’s got to,” Malcolm says, glaring at me. “And Caleb isn’t here, so I guess you’re my problem now.”

I just fidget with the hat in my hand. So far, it seems more like Malcolm’s been my problem, rather than the other way around - but there’s no way I’d have the courage to say that.

“Anyway, I have to go find my friends.” Miranda kisses Malcolm again and flounces off, leaving me alone with Malcolm, who’s still staring me down. It’s tough to maintain eye contact, and I find myself staring at his chest. He’s big, wide chested, his muscles well defined under an athletic t-shirt with the school’s logo on it.

“Yeah, I’m the Beta,” Malcolm explains. “But our Alpha already graduated from Ponderosa High. So it’s just me running the show around here, and I’m not about to let an Omega embarrass us.”

“I won’t,” I promise. “I’ll just stay out of your way.”

“Not good enough. I don’t want to see any more shows of weakness. You’re one of us, so keep your damn hat on your own head.”

“Okay.”

I turn to focus on my locker, but Malcolm grabs me by the shoulder and pulls me back to face him.

“Let me tell you a few things,” Malcolm says. “I don’t care if you’re an Omega - if you’re part of our pack, you’ll be pulling your weight. Got it?”

“Got it,” I say.

“Second, I don’t know what your deal is, but around here, the girls look like girls and the boys look like boys. So grow your hair out, okay?”

As much as I want to look prettier and fit in, I hate the idea of giving the bullies here another target. I can’t go through that again.

But there’s no arguing with Malcolm. “Okay,” I squeak out, unable to say anything else.

“Good.”

With that, Malcolm gives my shoulder one final shove and wanders off, leaving me alone to catch my breath.

It’s not even first period, and I’ve already caught the attention of the pack’s Beta. And not in a good way.

Today is going to be a long day.

CHAPTER TWO

I just have to get to class, I think. If I can make it through the hallways to my first class, I should be okay.

I shove my beanie into my pocket and try to push my way through the crowd. Most people just ignore me, but as I round the corner, I see Miranda and her friends, a gaggle of tall, gorgeous, well dressed shifter girls.

“Well, well, well,” Miranda says, walking over to me as her friends look on. “If it isn’t little Baldy.”

I’m not bald, I just have...a temporary lack of hair. And it isn’t even my fault - some girls (who, to be honest, looked and talked and acted just like Miranda and her friends) ruined it for me.

Of course, I don’t say any of that. I just give a shy little wave. “Hi, Miranda.”

“Oooh, she knows your name!” One of Miranda’s friends shrieks.

“Did you make a new friend, Miranda?”

“Shut up, guys!”

I’ve clearly made a mistake. Miranda’s yellow eyes are nearly glowing with rage.

“This stupid Omega is not my friend.”

“I have to get to class,” I mumble, trying to just walk past the group of girls.

This sends them into another round of jeers.

“Oh no, is our new pack member a good widdle teacher’s pet?”

“She might even get in trouble!”

“Can’t let the Omega be late on her first day!”

My face turns red, and I move to leave, but Miranda reaches out and grabs my arm. She snatches my schedule from me, crumpling it up and tossing it on the floor.

Panic spikes through me. I can’t lose that - it has my locker combination, and my class schedule, and everything else I need to make it through the day.

Miranda follows me eyes as I watch the wrinkled paper ball bounce across the hallway and be crushed under someone else’s feet.

“Aww, did you want to keep that?” Miranda’s voice is falsely concerned as she tilts her head to look down at me. “Is your slow Omega mind too stupid to remember where you’re supposed to go next?”

“Come on,” I plead, trying to keep track of where my schedule has gone.

“Well, if you need it so bad, go get it.” Miranda crosses her arms and steps back, smirking. I scramble over to the now very damaged piece of paper, but when I bend down to get it off the floor, one of her friends pretends to stumble into me, knocking me flat on my stomach.

The heel of another girl’s shoe comes down on my hand, making me squeal in pain.

“Oops,” she says sarcastically. “Sorry.”

Miranda laughs.

I finally snatch up my schedule and shove it in my pocket, right next to the stupid beanie that seems to have started all of this.

Great, I think. It can just be my Pocket of Shame.

“You know, girls,” Miranda says, “I noticed something just now. Did you see that?”

“Yep,” her friends say. “We all saw it.” They’re all nodding and grinning.

This can’t be good.

“What?” I ask, my voice trembling.

“You sure didn’t move very fast,” Miranda says, shaking her head. The other girls click their tongues in disapproval. “Just crawled around on the floor like some kind of...human.”

Oh. Oh no. My gut twists in fear. They know. They know that I haven’t shifted yet - that the wolf inside me is dormant, absent, useless.

“And even when someone accidentally stepped on you, nothing happened.”

“Nothing but a weird little noise,” one of her friends helpfully added.

“I…” I start to say something, but I can’t think of any way to defend myself. It’s true that I haven’t shifted yet.

“Come here,” Miranda snaps, and she takes me by the wrist, pulling me down the hallway. Her friends follow close behind.

She yanks me into the girl’s bathroom, where we’re alone. I’m pressed up against the white tile wall, Miranda standing over me as the other girls gather around closely, staring menacingly.

“Don’t worry,” Miranda says, smiling down at me with pointed white teeth. “We’re here to help you.”

“Yeah,” the other girls say in chorus.

“Let us show you how it’s done.” With that, Miranda takes a step back, no longer leering directly into my face, but still grinning wolfishly. She squares her shoulders, and I see dark fur begin to bristle across her brows and down her arms. Gleaming, razor sharp fangs emerge from her gums as she curls her lip back in a threatening snarl.

“Can you do this?” Miranda taunts, reaching a hand out toward my chest and poking me with a long claw. I can feel the latent strength in her body as she easily pins me against the cold bathroom wall.

“Or this?” Miranda slashes her claw down, ripping a hole in my shirt and only barely avoiding slicing into my skin.

I say nothing, only putting my hands up in a gesture of surrender. Tears swim behind my eyes, but I don’t want her to see me cry. That was my favorite shirt, one I wore on my first day of school in the hopes that it would bring me some kind of luck, or at the very least, comfort.

Now it’s ruined. Just like my hair. And my hopes of being able to attend Ponderosa High without having my life destroyed once again.

“No,” Miranda says, sounding quite satisfied with herself. “You can’t.”

The other girls laugh. Then the bell rings, and they scatter, leaving me alone with Miranda.

“One more thing,” she hisses, still keeping me trapped in the corner. “I saw you talking to Malcolm. And I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but he’s my mate. Mine. So you better stay away from him.”

I nod quickly and frantically, eager to agree to her command.

“And if I ever catch you near him again,” she threatens, pressing her needle sharp claw against the exposed skin on my chest hard enough to draw out a pinprick of blood, “I’ll rip you apart.”

It’s clear that she means it, and it’s clear that she’s more than capable of doing it. “Okay,” I promise.

The second bell rings. Miranda finally shifts back and heads off to class, leaving me alone in the bathroom. My shirt is ripped, I’m bleeding, and my heart is pounding like I just finished a marathon.

CHAPTER THREE

Hot tears slide down my face and I angrily wipe them away, splashing some water on my face from the sink before taking a few deep breaths and telling myself to calm down.

Carefully, I spread out my schedule, squinting at the damaged paper. Apparently, my first period class is English with a teacher called Mrs. Longan. It’s in room 208, I think.

With no other options, I turn my shirt backwards, so now the hole Miranda made is between my shoulderblades rather than in the middle of my front. Maybe if I keep my back pressed against my seat, no one will notice.

The hallways are empty, and I know I’ll have to enter class late. Yet another embarrassment piled on top of an already horrible morning.

At least now it’s easy to find Room 208, without a bunch of other kids crowding and jostling around. I steel myself and pull open the door, trying to slip unnoticed into the classroom.

“You’re late.” The teacher’s stern voice is the first thing that greets me. A few kids giggle.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “My schedule got...lost.”

“Well, that’s not how we do things here at Ponderosa High. You need to keep better track of your belongings, and stop making excuses.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” My face burns with humiliation.

“What is your name?”

“Sarah.”

She looks at her attendance sheet, then back up at me. “Well, Sarah, you’ve already caused enough disruption in my class, so why don’t you just have a seat?”

I look around the classroom, hoping there’s an empty seat way in the back where I can just hide out and catch my breath.

Unfortunately for me, there’s only one empty seat.

And not only is it directly in the middle of the classroom...it’s the spot right next to Malcolm.

I can’t exactly argue, though, so I take my seat, pulling out a pencil and notebook as Mrs. Longan starts talking about poetic structures. We studied some of these last year at my school in Virginia, so it’s easy enough to follow along.

Malcolm turns to me and wrinkles his nose, annoyance and disgust plain on his face.

“What happened to your shirt?”

Great. Someone has already noticed. And not just someone - the one person who told me I needed to stop letting myself get bullied, or else.

“Just trying something new with my style,” I reply.

“Since when is a backwards and ripped up t-shirt a new style?”

His eyes narrow into a glare. “Don’t lie to me, Omega.”

“Just a small altercation,” I confess.

He rolls his eyes. “What did I tell you?”

“I know,” I mumble. “I’m sorry.”

“Useless Omega,” Malcolm grumbles, and turns back to whatever the teacher is saying. “Just stay out of everyone’s way from now on.”

No problem. That’s all I wanted to do anyway.

Luckily, I manage to make it through the rest of the day without any more crap from the other kids. Miranda shoots me a few nasty looks in the cafeteria, but I do my best to ignore her and find a seat on my own near the garbage cans.

Finally, the day finishes. When the bell rings after seventh period, I grab my backpack and try to be the first one out. I just want to walk home as quickly as possible and make it to the safety of my bedroom.

But as I’m heading through the parking lot of Ponderosa High, I see a metallic black Jeep pull in, its paint job sparkling, its sides and roof completely open. Miranda, Malcolm, and some of the other shifter kids run over, laughing and shoving, and climb into the Jeep.

I know I ought to stay far, far away from them. But there’s something about the Jeep’s driver. Even from a distance, I can see his lean but well muscled frame and his dark hair sweeping over his forehead.

Uh oh. He catches me looking. Our eyes meet for a split second across the parking lot.

“Hey!” The Jeep’s driver is waving me over. I see Miranda toss her hair and say something obviously snotty, and Malcolm crosses his arms. But the dark haired guy isn’t paying any attention to them. He gestures again for me to go over, and there’s nothing I can do but obey.

He hops out of the Jeep and walks toward me as well, meeting me in the empty space beside the jeep. The other shifter kids hanging around look impatient, but no one says anything.

“Malcolm tells me you’re the new girl,” he says. I look up at him, feeling heat in my chest. His eyes are a piercing silver and his hair is so black that it gleams in the afternoon sunlight.

“Yep,” I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking. What is going on? As an Omega, I’m used to feeling bashful around higher status shifters, but this is something else. “I’m Sarah.”

“I’m Caleb.” He smiles, and it’s not predatory or cold. “Welcome to the Flagstaff pack.”

Wait...Caleb? Malcolm said he was the Alpha. My head is swirling. He’s gorgeous, and he’s actually being friendly to me, and he’s the Alpha. What is going on.

“Thanks,” is all I can say.

“I wish I was here this morning to introduce you around,” he says, “but I graduated last year. Hopefully Malcolm showed you the ropes?”

“A few of them,” I mumble.

To my surprise, Caleb laughs. A genuine laugh, like he thought I was funny. I feel butterflies in my stomach and heat rising in my face. “A few of them! That’s good. Well, I’ll have to show you the rest. There’s a party tonight up on the mountain. All the shifters - well, all the ones our age - will be there. You should come.”

“I don’t know,” I say, rubbing my neck and glancing around nervously. Behind Caleb’s back, the kids in the jeep are glaring at me like they wish they could rip me limb from limb.

But then Caleb leans down and puts a hand on my shoulder. He’s strong but gentle, and his touch sends tingles down my spine. I can hardly breathe. His scent is incredible - musky, and herbal, and overpowering. There’s nothing in my lungs but him. Nothing in my mind but him.

“Please,” he murmurs, his lips close to my ear, his breath warm. “I need to see you there.”

I shiver. It feels like he’s speaking into my very core. “Okay,” I say, closing my eyes and nodding.

“Great.” He steps back, grinning. “It’s up at the Badger Lodge, around eight tonight.”

Then he turns and leaps back into the Jeep, making the other boys start whooping and shouting, and they all peel out of the parking lot.

I can’t make sense of what just happened. I’ve never felt that way around a guy before. I thought that sort of response meant you had just met your mate, but Caleb is the Alpha. I’m an Omega. There’s no way we’re supposed to be mated.

Caleb probably just wants to see whether I fit in with the pack. I was too caught up in his gorgeous pewter eyes to see things realistically. He’s not my mate - he’s just an Alpha trying to lead his pack, even when it includes Omegas like me.

He’s not my mate, I tell myself. Still, as I walk home, all I can think about is his scent, the deep sound of his voice, and those incredible silver eyes.

CHAPTER FOUR

My parents were thrilled when I told them that I had gotten invited to a party on my very first day at the new school.

Of course, I didn’t tell them any other details - like the fact that no actual students at Ponderosa High seemed to want me there, or that I was only going because the pack Alpha, who was a year or so older than me, had told me to come.

When my dad drops me off, I make sure he leaves me at the bottom of the road. I’ll hike up to Badger Lodge myself. The last thing I need is everyone seeing my lame Omega parents taking me to a party.

I start walking up the long drive, keeping my eyes on the twinkling lights up ahead. The Badger Lodge is high up on a mountainside overlooking the town, and it’s a nice enough walk through the tall pine trees.

I’m halfway up the drive when I hear the sound of a car behind me. It’s not the first time a car full of shifter kids has passed me on their way up to the lodge, laughing and yelling. Most of them didn’t even notice me. I step off the road, standing in the dark of the woods waiting for the car to pass.

But it doesn’t. It stops.

Now I can see that it isn’t just any car - it’s the same Jeep I saw earlier. And it’s being driven by the same guy.

Caleb. The Alpha.

He’s alone.

“Hey,” he says, squinting into the darkness where I’m standing. “”What are you doing out here?”

“Going to the party,” I say, feeling awkward.

“Need a ride?”

I don’t know what to say. I look up the road, trying to gauge how close the lodge is. “Uhh…”

“Come on. Get in.”

There’s something about his voice that makes me want nothing more than to do what he says. And it’s not just because he’s the Alpha and I’m an Omega. It’s something I’ve never heard before, never felt before. Something new. Something special.

“Okay.” I walk around the Jeep, shading my eyes from the bright headlights, and get into the passenger seat.

Even before he starts moving again, I feel like I’m on a roller coaster, pressed back against the seat. His scent permeates the Jeep, musky and powerful, and it makes my head spin.

“I’m glad you came,” Caleb says as the Jeep climbs up the mountain slope.

“You told me to,” I reply, my voice breathy and soft.

Caleb reaches the lodge and parks the car, turning off all the lights, but he doesn’t make any move to leave the Jeep. Instead, he turns toward me, his silver eyes locked on mine. “Is that the only reason? Because I’m the Alpha, and I told you to?”

“No,” I confess, my hands fidgeting in my lap. “I...I wanted to see you again.”

Instead of getting angry at this, Caleb smiles. “I knew it. I knew it when I first saw you, back at the school when I was picking up Malcolm and those guys.”

“Knew what?”

“That you’re my mate.”

My heart skips a beat. It feels like the world is spinning around me. “You - what?”

“You felt it too.” He leans over and places one hand on mine. It’s warm and strong. “I can sense it. We’re supposed to be together.”

That phrase - “supposed to” - it’s one I’ve been hearing my whole life. I know all about what I, as an Omega, am supposed to do. And what I’m not supposed to do.

It snaps me out of the trance Caleb’s voice seems to put me in. “We can’t,” I say, hanging my head.

“I know.” Caleb’s tone is angry. Grim. “It’s forbidden. I’m the Alpha, and you’re…”

“An Omega.” My cheeks burn with humiliation.

Caleb reaches out his hand and cups my cheek, gazing into my eyes. “I don’t care what you are. You’re perfect, and you’re my mate.”

He kisses me. In the dark, with the late night sounds of the forest surrounding us, I fall into the kiss, into his scent, into the heat of his lips on mine. It feels like fireworks are crackling between us, like we’re connected by some electric pulse.

We are interrupted by the lodge door opening. Noise spills out, the sounds of kids shouting and the pounding bass of the dance music inside. The light from the open door catches us, and Caleb pulls away from me, quick as lightning.

“Hey! Caleb!” Malcolm and a few of his friends jog over to us as Caleb hops out of the Jeep. I climb down too, standing awkwardly off to the side.

“Sorry I’m late,” Caleb says, joining the group.

Malcolm sniffs the air, sensing something, then his eyes fall on me. “What’s she doing here?”

“I invited her,” Caleb says casually.

“Eugh.” Malcolm crosses his arms, clearly unhappy about my presence at the party. “Why?”

Caleb shrugs. “She’s part of the pack now.”

Malcolm is obviously annoyed at Caleb’s decision to let me come to the party, but he isn’t willing to argue with his Alpha. Only Caleb’s status keeps Malcolm from pushing the issue.

“Well, let’s try and have some fun anyway,” Malcolm says, throwing an arm around Caleb. He and the small group of shifter boys make their way toward the lodge, me following a few paces behind. Caleb catches my eye and gives me a significant look, but I can’t quite decode what he means.

Once we get inside, I lose track of Caleb and his crew right away. The lodge is packed with shifter kids, all around my age, and the music is blaringly loud. I see Malcolm dancing with Miranda, his tongue nearly halfway down her throat, and I suppress a gag at the sight.

My phone rings in my pocket, and I take it out to see who’s calling. It’s my mom.

Great. The last thing I need at this party is to be talking on the phone with my mommy.

I know why she’s calling, though.

See, there’s something I haven’t mentioned, because it’s really not that important. At least, no one else seems to think it’s important.

Tomorrow is my birthday. At midnight tonight, I’ll be eighteen.

CHAPTER FIVE

I slip out of the lodge through a side door, letting the noise and chaos of the party disappear into the background as I find a quiet place in the woods to take the phone call.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, sweetheart! Do you know what time it is?”

I check my watch. It’s 11:56. I’ll turn eighteen in exactly four minutes.

“Almost midnight,” I answer.

“I bet you’re excited,” my mom says. “I know how badly you’ve been waiting for your first shift.”

Most shifters have their first shift before their eighteenth birthday, but if it doesn’t happen naturally before then, we shift as soon as we turn eighteen. My mom isn’t wrong - I’ve been desperate to find my wolf and get to know her - but if she’s weak enough that she couldn’t even reveal herself without being forced, I’m not getting my hopes up.

“Yeah,” I say. “But also nervous.”

“That’s normal,” my mom reassures me. “I was terrified for my first shift. I could hardly sleep the night before I turned eighteen, I was so anxious.”

My mom is an Omega too, and she didn’t have a natural shift before her birthday either. I guess being pathetic runs in the family. No wonder our old pack sent us out here.

“How’s the party, honey? Did you tell everyone it’s your birthday? Are they gonna sing for you at midnight?”

“Mom,” I groan. “Nobody sings happy birthday anymore. We’re not little kids.”

“Still, it’s a party, and it’s your birthday, and it’ll be your first shift! I’m sure they’d love to celebrate it with you.”

I don’t have the heart to tell my mom that absolutely nobody here is interested in celebrating my birthday.

Except, maybe, Caleb. I can still feel his kiss lingering on my lips, still feel his words in my ear. But even if he cared about my birthday in private, it’s not like he can let anyone else know about it.

“It’s just a normal party, Mom.”

“Okay, well, your dad and I will have some cake with you tomorrow. And we can’t wait to hear all about your wof!”

“Thanks, Mom.” It’s 11:59. I don’t want to be on the phone with my Mom when I shift. “I’ve got to go. I love you.”

“Happy birthday, sweetie! I love you too!”

I hang up and take a deep breath. I’ve heard that shifts like this can be really intense. Painful, even. Some shifters have the luxury of learning how to control their wolf, how to manage their shifts. But when it’s your birthday and you haven’t experienced anything close to a shift, it all comes at once. And it hurts.

I wander deeper into the woods, looking for somewhere quiet and away from the party. I just want some privacy.

Actually...I want Caleb. I wish I could be in his arms while I shift, hearing his voice soothing me through it.