Chapter Two

Author: Alicia S. Rivers Last Updated: 2024-09-18 07:01:57

I opened my eyes to find myself surprisingly alive. “Amy, hurry, you’re going to be late.” I jolted up and looked around, confused. What was going on? Where was I? “Amy!” The voice called again, and I shook myself. I stood up from the bed and looked around again. I recognized this room. It was my childhood bedroom.   I hadn’t stepped foot in this room since I found my mate, Brandon. I heard a knock on the door, and my mother opened it. Before I could process what was happening, I ran into my mother’s arms. “Mom, you’re here,” I started to cry. “I’ve missed you so much.” “Amy, my girl.” She laughed as she patted my back. “I saw you yesterday.” She pulled back, and I looked into her amber eyes that matched my own. “Happy birthday, baby.” I leaned into her hands and realized that today was the last day I spent at home. I found my mate on my eighteenth birthday. “Thank you, Mom.” “Hopefully, you will meet your mate today and start your new life.” She smiled at me, and I felt my blood freeze. I didn’t want to meet Brandon, not when I knew what was going to happen. “I’d rather stay here with you.” I smiled as I kissed her cheek. “I don’t want to miss you and Morgan.”

And I knew that when Brandon thought I cheated on him, before he killed my baby and me, he killed my mother for her involvement. Shannon’s father, my mother’s husband, watched her die. Don’t get me wrong, I knew he loved my mother, and he was hurting, but his scheming daughter was the cause of all of this. He stood by and watched it all happen. I understood why he supported his daughter, but I didn’t like it, nor him, for that matter.

“Baby, you won’t miss us. We will be there every step of the way.” She kissed my cheek, and I wrapped my fingers around hers. “Mom, can we just leave? You and me? Leave Shannon and Morgan and move back to Daddy’s pack?” My father, the Alpha of the Silvermoon pack, wasn’t a good husband, but he was a good man. He cheated on my mother, betraying her when he was drunk. But he swore it was a mistake. It was another Alpha’s maneuverings to break them up, but my mother said it didn’t matter. It was too late. His betrayal cost the life of my brother growing inside of her, and she refused to move past it. “No baby, I can’t go back.” My mother’s face fell as she turned away. “I don’t want to be betrayed, Mom. Not like you, and not any worse. I don’t want a mate.” I whispered my new truth. “Mates don’t hurt each other, baby.” She tried to smile, but I shook my head. I knew exactly what mates do to each other. “Would you be mad if I refused my mate?” “God, no baby. The Moon Goddess makes a path clear, but it is up to us to choose it. If you don’t want your mate, you can reject him.” “And if it is the Alpha’s son?”

My mother looked at me. She knew that if it was the Alpha’s son, I would be screwed. They wouldn’t allow me to leave. An Alpha has to mate his first mate, even for a day, to come into his full power. “What do you know?” I watched as her eyes searched mine.

I pulled her back into my room and away from the door. “I don’t know for sure, but I am terrified that if I am mated to Shannon’s boyfriend, I will die after we are mated. Mom, the chances that he will match with an Alpha far outweigh the chance that he is mated to the daughter of the Beta.” I pulled back. “I don’t want this for me.”

She weighed my words, and I watched as she came to the same conclusion. “Okay baby, but you can’t leave. It would be too conspicuous. You will have to mask your scent whenever he is around.” I tossed my hands in the air. “How would I do that?” “There is much you don’t know that I would leave in the past, but if you are sure…” She trailed off, and I just nodded my head. “Then let me make a few calls. You don’t have to go to school today.” I leaped back into her arms. “Thank you, Mom. I don’t know what I would do without you.” “I love you, baby. You will never be without me. That I can promise you.” She kissed my cheek and then left me alone in my room. I ran to my phone and checked the date to make sure. It was twenty eighteen; I went back six years. Six years to the day that I met Brandon. I could relive everything, make better choices. I could live, and maybe this time around, so would my pup. I rubbed my flat stomach. “Don’t worry, my pup. This time around, no one will hurt you.” I went into my ensuite and jumped into the shower. No way was I going to face today looking like I just crawled out of bed. I stood inside my closet in a towel, trying to figure out what to wear, when I heard my bedroom door open.

I was about to turn and call out to my mother, but I heard a soft step, which my mother wouldn’t make. So I hid behind my winter coats, and I waited. “I’m telling you, if she is Brandon’s mate, I’m going to kill her.” “You can’t mean that, Shan.” The nasally voice of Megan, Shannon’s best friend, came from the cell phone pressed to her ear. “Of course, I do. Brandon is mine.” “Only because you put out. He was hoping Shannon would notice him.” “You shut your fucking mouth, Megan.” Shannon snarled, and her eyes flashed. “He’s mine.” “Whatever, I gotta go. Hurry the fuck up before I leave your ass,” Megan called, and then the line went dead. A honk sounded from outside, and Shannon was snatching something before I grabbed her hand. “What do you think you’re doing in my closet?” “Amy?” Shannon’s mouth dropped open. I squeezed her hand until I heard a crack. Her scream was muffled by my hand. “You’re lucky I only broke one finger. You just threatened to kill me. Didn’t I hear that correctly? A Beta’s daughter threatening an Alpha.” I tsked. “I didn’t do shit.” She snarled back at me as her hand reformed. “Lie again, and I will break all of your fingers and hold them while the bones heal.” I couldn’t stop my grin as I felt her tremble. “Did you threaten me?” “Yes,” she screamed at me. “You’re going to take Brandon from me.” “I don’t want your pathetic Alpha now or ever. Keep him.” I pushed her away. “Now get out of my room before I change my mind about maiming you.” I turned back to my clothes and picked out low-rise jeans and a tank top. “What the fuck is your problem?” “You. Now leave.” I let my wolf come forward, and my eyes flashed. I pushed my Alpha command into my words, forcing her out of my room. Stupid bitch. How dare she come into my room to take something of mine? My wolf growled lowly. This was our den. I shook myself and refocused. Closing the doors, I hopped back into bed, pulling out my phone. I tried to remember everything that happened in the last six years that could help me with my plan. Because make no mistake, Brandon and Shannon would pay.