Chapter 1

WARNING: This story contains strong sexual content, strong language, and scenes that may be triggering. Viewer discretion is advised.

I was born 10 minutes after my sister Lily, and that unfortunately set my fate. You see, my mother only wanted one pup; instead, she got two. My twin sister Lily was the princess to my mother, and I was what she called the spare. That is my name: "Spare." Spare Williams.

My sister had sunny golden hair, golden tan skin, bright green eyes, and a body to die for. I, on the other hand, had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, and a body not so much to die for. My father said that he got a daughter like his mother and one like his mother-in-law. I took after his mother. I never knew my grandparents on my father's side; they both died before we were born. My mother's parents, on the other hand, I wish I did not know. They were mean, cruel, and judgmental.

My father, Erick, is the younger brother of our current Alpha, Michael. He is always gone on business trips, checking on allies and the various businesses that the Pack owns. My mom was on several committees, and everything had to be perfect, well, that is, except for me. No matter what I do, or how well I do it, it is never enough. As I got older, I started to care less and less about Mother's perfection. Mostly, I just stayed away or in the shadows. I wasn't allowed to eat with the family. When I was younger, I would wait for them to go to bed so I could steal food from the kitchen. Now, with my job, I can just buy the things I need.

My bedroom was in the attic. I had a mattress for a bed, a blanket, and a pillow. An old dresser held what little clothes I had. Over the years, they would put all their old junk up here, so I added things as they came.

I went to the same school as all the other pack members. I was pretty much invisible, except when Lily wanted to show off to her snobby friends. We turned 18 last month.

I kept my grades a secret from my family. I am a junior because my sister flunked the 9th grade, so my mother had my sister and me redo the 9th grade as well. She told everyone that I was the one too stupid to pass; Lily, the saint that she was, stayed back with me for support.

I will be graduating with the seniors. I take advanced classes with the help of some of my teachers. I have even completed my entry-level classes for college. I want to be a doctor.

As soon as graduation is over, I am leaving. I have enough money saved up from my job. I have to keep that hidden as well, or Lily will find it. God only knows what she would do with it. I worked my tail off cleaning hotel rooms for every penny I have; the thought of her getting it makes my skin crawl.

Lily gets 300 dollars a month to spend on frivolous things, not that she pays for her clothes or anything else, like gas for her new car. I know I sound like I’m envious—well, maybe a little. It’s because she gets all the love and attention, while I’m not even allowed to use the front door.

That reminds me, "The Grandparents" are coming over tonight for dinner. It doesn't matter anyway; it's Friday. I picked up an extra shift at the hotel. I would like to say that work at least gives me some friends to talk to, but it doesn’t. It’s just me and the cleaning cart.

Every day I tell myself, "soon." There is one girl I am friendly with. She is an Omega and is kinda invisible like me. We used to chat almost every day, but she just disappeared a week ago. I tried to look around and ask a few pack members, but I don’t want or need any extra attention. I just hope she is okay.

Thank the goddess for my one and only truest friend, my wolf, Artemis. She is so beautiful: a white wolf with black on the tips of her paws. Her eyes are even darker than mine. She is fast, very fast. She has kept me sane growing up and is my motivation when I sometimes feel like giving up.

So here I am, pushing my cleaning cart from room to room. You really don’t understand how nasty dirty people can be until you work as a maid in a hotel. It truly makes me wonder what their houses look like. I knock on the door. There is no answer, so I knock a little louder. Nothing. I use my key and open the door just a little to say, "Housekeeping, anyone here?" Again, nothing. So I grab some supplies and head on in.

The bathroom is first on the left, so I start there. I turn on the light expecting the usual carnage. I am surprised when it is neat. I clean everything and restock the extras. I then turn on the light for the main room and I gasp. There, on the floor, is a naked man. I think he is unconscious. I sigh. Just what I need, another drunk.

I grab a towel off the cart and cover his unmentionables. Then I reach down and shake his shoulder. That is when I see the blood running down his face. Oh, god, he is hurt! I shake him gently one more time and he moans. "Sir, can you hear me?" He moans again; this time he is starting to move. He rolled over on his back. I was thinking of going to the front desk for help. I can’t afford a phone, so I couldn’t call.

He is a big guy, very tall, well-built, tan skin, dark hair, and when he opened his eyes, they were so unusual. They were a bright gold that seemed to have a life of their own. His scent was intoxicating: a combination of the deep woods and rain. She could tell that his wolf was looking back at her, too. She backed away a little. "I’m sorry if I was too close; you were unconscious. Are you okay? Let me get a cold washcloth for your forehead."

Duncan woke to the sweetest voice. He almost thought that he was still dreaming. Then he remembered how he ended up on the floor naked. His wolf, Apollo, assured him that he was healing. Nothing to worry about.

That is when she came back with a cold washcloth. It took the sting out of the cut. Her scent hit him; it was a strange combination of roses and peppermint. She was gorgeous, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Both Duncan and his wolf spoke at the same time: "MATE!"

At the same time, a look of horror came across her face, and she bolted out the door. Duncan can still hear her words as she ran, "NO! Please, not now." Without thinking, he ran after her. He caught her just as she was heading for the back door. He wrapped his arms around her, and she started to panic.

"Shhhh, little wolf. I am not going to hurt you."

She stopped moving and was quiet. I carried her over my shoulder back to my room. Duncan noticed how small she was and that she hardly weighed anything at all. He could feel her breathing; it was still fast, but calming down.

Spare got a good view of his really nice ass. Artemis was going crazy in her head. She was so frustrated that she could've slapped her. "Stop it, you hussy! This messes up everything!" "He is our mate!!!! He can help us. Smell him. He isn’t from our pack."

He went inside his room and shut the door, locking it behind him. He sat her gently down on the bed as he went to get a pair of his jeans. Just as he was buttoning them up, he saw her bolt for the door. Catching her quickly this time, he sat down with her on his lap. "Tell me, my little wolf, why are you so afraid?"

"Please," she whimpered, "you have to let me go. I can’t stay here in this pack anymore. You will ruin all my plans."

"Calm down, little wolf, and smell me again."

Spare looked at him for a little bit and then sniffed his scent again. It was the same as before, but there was something else. "OMG, you’re not from this pack." He smiled at her, taking her all in. His wolf, Apollo, was doing happy circles in his head. A very smug Artemis was saying "told you so" in her head over and over.

"What is your name, my little wolf?"

"Umm… my name?"

With a chuckle, he asked her again, "Yes, my little wolf, your name."

Hanging her head in shame, she whispered, "My name is Spare."

His mind couldn’t get around it. What kind of name was Spare? "As in a spare tire?! That kind of spare?"

"Yes, as in that spare."

It’s clear it embarrassed her, so he decided to drop it for now. "My name is Duncan MacKenny of the Storm Crow Moon Pack." Spare didn’t know a lot about the Storm Crow Moon Pack, only that it is a mysterious and secretive pack that the Wolf King hires to hunt down criminals and rogues.

"My full name is Spare Williams of the Rising Moon pack." His eyes went from golden to an almost copper color when she said her name. His voice gave off a low growl when he asked, "Williams as in Micheal and Eric Williams?"

"Yes, my father is Eric."

"I met Eric’s daughter Lily; there was no mention of another daughter."

"Lily is my twin sister. There was no mention of me because I am the Spare. I don’t exist to them unless they want to vent some anger or need an ego boost." It broke his heart to see her shrug it off as if it was normal. There were so many questions and so little time to get the answers. She isn't going to like what he has to tell her next.