She was crying, again. That's all my mother seemed to be doing lately, crying. Crying that I was leaving, crying over the circumstances in which I feel I have to leave, crying that my father wasn't here to fix the situation, crying at the thought of being separated from my daughter, her granddaughter. Their relationship was unlike any other. They were inseparable. It was only for a week, until I could secure our new home and she would be joining us. I could no longer stay with the Blood Stone pack. It was too much to bear. Too much to have my daughter grow up in. We were being transferred to the Royal Moon Pack - the home of the royal family. It was a great honor and so rarely offered that someone could be accepted into the fold but my circumstances were not like others.

My father, John, was the former Alpha of Moonstone - our former pack. On my twenty-first birthday, Alpha Derrick attacked. We were small in numbers but were growing quickly. Alpha Derrick grew jealous and was enraged by the great efforts my father had made to increase our wealth and numbers. My father and oldest brother were the first to be slaughtered. Their heads displayed on the mantel in the pack house while the others were forced to bend the knee and join the Blood Stone pack or face a tortured death. My older sister, who was mated to the Beta of a neighboring pack, was spared the grief of having to witness the blood shed that soon followed due to the birth of my nephew. My mother, who we let everyone believe was human, and youngest brother were spared so long as I mated with the Beta's son, Alex. Kneeling in my father's blood, I agreed. My younger brother was granted amnesty and sent to live with my sister. My mother was able to remain with me only out of pity. Alpha Derrick was vicious, he was power hungry and that made him very dangerous. Claiming smaller packs and their lands was common. We were just an unfortunate circumstance. We had something that he wanted and that was that.

Ten years. I was never fully recognized as the Beta female or a pack member. Never truly treated as a mate. For ten years I was his mate by force. He marked me two weeks after the siege of Moonstone but never allowed me to mark him, never really allowing for our bond to form. My wolf was never as strong as a normal Alpha female would be because of the forced "mating". For a wolf, it was completely unheard of and disrespectful to me and my wolf. Our bond was weak, frail. Never quite right. I was denied the opportunity to search for my mate, which most do if a mate is not found within the pack. Alex was never faithful. I felt undesirable pain almost every night. An all consuming fire that would begin in my womb and spread with the promise to destroy me from the inside. I would spend hours screaming for the pain to stop, endless nights with the pack doctor waiting for the pain to cease. Most would have died from the endless torture, no one understood why I survived. When I entered my heat, which occurred once a year, he was no where to be found, leaving me to burn out of control for days on end. My first heat after we were "mated" Alex sent me to the dungeons. Locked me behind silver bars with no herbs to release me. Alone in the dark while my body burned with unfathomable pain. He would disappear and fuck who he pleased, only adding to the pain. I prayed that the Goddess would take me.

Every couple of weeks, to prevent other males from pressing themselves upon me, he would force me to sleep with him.

Alpha Derrick allowed it. I was Alex's mate. I had no choices but to please him, the future Beta of the pack. Alex drove all the female wolves crazy. Tall with olive skin, warm chocolate colored eyes, thick dark hair and full lips. The ladies loved him and he loved the attention. A true narcist at heart with severe ego complex. My life was never fully my own. Always treated as the joke or punchline, always made to feel like I was lesser because I was not chosen by Alex. Worse of all, the Alpha's oldest daughter would attempt to bully me to no end because I was also an Alpha's daughter but held more power. This enraged her more that I would not bow to her "Alpha" aura. I could hold my own with Alpha Derrick and sometimes would choose to if I thought it was worth it. He had no sons and was ashamed by his daughters. Three in total, none of them fit to lead. He would be forced to choose a successor, pray to the Moon Goddess that one of his daughter's mates was fit enough to lead or he may be challenged and his pack and name be stricken from the archives. Blood Stone. What a joke. I prayed someone would come along and take this pack away from Derrick.

"Did you set up my phone so we can FaceTime at night before bed? You know we have to have our Mimi routine." My Mom, Ann, spoke through tears while watching the sleeping form of my daughter.

"Yes MOM! I'll call you first to make sure you have your phone near you but remember that I did sign up for almost every opportunity available. I need to make sure that they see that I can be of some use." I needed to prove myself. The Alpha King would never see but I knew the council would and that's what was important.

My father still had some connections - my great Uncle Kenneth was still a member of the council and was able to pull some strings. I needed to impress the council for this lifeline! They saved me and my daughter.

"And you're sure Uncle Kenny set us up off castle grounds. I don't want to cause more stares than necessary." Mom was worried. She feared what would happen if anyone knew the whole truth.

"We are living off castle grounds in the city. I showed you already. It's a nice little area with other females. There's a park next door for Olivia. There's a pond within in walking distance with ducks. Still pack lands so I can shift and run when I need to." Humans were not allowed on castle grounds but the city was owned by the pack which would allow us to live there freely.

Humans and the supernatural lived side by side so it was difficult to deny humans the ability to roam within our cities so long as they respected our way of life. Most did.

"Maybe I should get a hotel near by while you're transitioning. That way I can watch Olivia while you get things situated and I'm not.....here." She was right, of course. Her Alpha daughter wouldn't be there to protect her.

"That's not a bad idea." I watch as she walks back into her room and pulls out several bags.

"You planned this. I see what you're doing MOTHER." Sharing a laugh. She was right of course. I had been struggling with leaving her here but the housing we were given wouldn't be ready nor our belonging delivered on time. I was going to be staying in temporary housing on pack lands.

"Alright. Let's hurry up and load the car while Olivia is still sleeping and get on the road. I can tell already it's going to be a long four hours." We worked together to empty out the small two bedroom home we shared but it felt cathartic.

I entered the room that Olivia and I had shared for the past two years and watched her sleeping form for a while. She looked so much like her father but so different. She had the same thick dark hair with little curls, the same long eyelashes that kiss the tops of her little cheeks, the same full lips, the same shaped nose but hers being delicate and feminine. Her eyes though, they were my eyes. Where my eyes were blue hazel, hers were green hazel. We both had the same vibrant golden ring around the iris that seemed to glow. Mine were blue, a gift from my mother while hers were green, a gift from my father.

Watching my sweet blessing reminded me of how she became to be and why I was leaving Blood Stone. Two years ago, before Alex had the opportunity to sneak away into the city to see his human girlfriend of the past five years, my heat took hold of me. The fragile bond called to him, my scent deepened, and the combination of the two only made the storm that had been growing between us that much stronger. We had been arguing for several days, he had only came to the house to pack a bag where the argument continued. Back and forth we yelled at each other, venting our frustrations at each other and the unhappiness we both lived in. Venting the heartbreak I felt for not finding my fated mate and being forced to have such a pathetic wolf for a mate. We both knew my heat was coming soon but the surge of emotions urged my heat to the front. My smell filling the small home and pushing him over the precarious cliff he hung to. I watched him inhale and his eyes flashed to black, releasing a deep growl from within. His wolf had control and that terrified me. His wolf, Odin, was primal, wild, feral. Alex was never able to control his wolf - it raged within him - always an unrelenting battle between man and wolf. Before I could react to protect myself, he was across the room invading my space and pushing me against the wall. My head impacting with so much force it caused my vision to blur. I felt burning sparks where his hand connected with my throat. I unwillingly let out a small whimper at the attack. Only deepening my rage at the sign of weakness.

My wolf growled in response to the assault. Amara was not willing to go down without a fight. I felt my hand extend to claws as I reached out and connected with the side of his face. This only spurred Odin further. Alex tightened his grip around my throat while the other hand groped for my shorts. The more I fought though the more my scent was released. I cursed as the struggle for dominance continued - believing that he would kill me if I did not relent. My heat filled me with desire and urged him on even more. Alex manipulated my mark, pressing his lips to my burning skin and groping my breasts to the point of pain to coax me into relenting, exposing my breast in the process. He was rough and unforgiving. Biting my lips and nipples until they bled, leaving bruises where none should be. He never released his hold on my throat but one hand was enough for him to rip my shorts away to reveal my sex. My biology and nature failed me when he slipped his fingers inside me. He took my bodies natural response to the heat as I sign that he was welcomed. I felt him struggle to undo his pants and free himself. I took this time to attempt to fight again only to be slammed back against the wall. This time the scene went dark before I felt him thrust himself inside me. It lasted only a few moments but the damage was done. My heat disappeared as quickly as it had came and so did Alex.

It was over before I realized but the shame lasted for days. I didn't see him for months after our encounter but I lived on edge waiting for the day he would return. I knew. The minute it was over I knew that I was pregnant. I hid the fact that I was carrying for as long as I could, telling only the pack doctor. She was kind and took sympathy on me when she found her second chance mate within Moonstone.

I didn't want to speak with Alex to tell him. I saw him during one of his few trips to the house to collect his things. He had all but moved to his girlfriend's house in the city and I let him. I refused to look at him or be near him. He didn't expect me to be home at the time but I was feeling the effects of my pregnancy and knew that the time had come. He found me in the bathroom attempting to contact my mother at work while I cleaned myself up and prepared for a trip to the hospital. His eyes widened in shock and for an instance I saw regret in their depths. Without a word he picked me up and rushed me out to his waiting truck before taking the phone from me to speak with my mother. He stayed in the room with me, silently watching from the corner.

When Olivia let out her first cry he flinched, almost reaching out for her but held back. For the three days we were in the hospital he never left our side. Always offering support but never holding or reaching for our new daughter. I knew then that he would never form a bond with her, that it would always be me and her. I had hardened my heart and left no room for anyone but her. She was my only light.

"Mommy..." her small little voice reached out. She rubbed her little eyes peering at me with a small smile.

"Good morning little wolf. You want to go bye - bye?" I already had her things ready to go. We were getting out of here as soon as possible. The sooner we were on the road the better.