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Chapter 1
Katrina's POV
My mate is going to come back...I want to die because my mate has always been a jerk to me and he is the main person who torments me.
He is the soon-to-be Alpha Justin Landis. He rejected me when he found out that we were mates and kept torturing me for years. Even worse, my parents don't love me, but I don't think they love anyone but themselves. The only thing that is keeping me here is my older brother, Leo.
Leo has been taking care of me since we were little, and he has always treated me like an older brother should treat his younger sister. He is very protective of me, and he helps me out whenever he's not busy by sneaking me food and stopping people who try to bully me. I wish I could go live with him instead of in the pack house, but Justin has forbidden it. I still remember the time I tried to run away to Leo's house one night when I was younger and I was being bullied. The punishment that I received for it was one where I still have the scars to remember it by. Emotionally and physically.
The only other good thing about my life is my wolf, Haley. She's like an older sister/mother/friend to me, and other than my brother, she's the only person, or wolf, that I talk to.
"Katrina, you have to hurry up, someone is coming," Haley says to me.
I finish everything I need to do right before I hear the commotion of a bunch of people as they enter the dining room.
"What are you still doing in here?" Justin sneers at me.
"I was just making sure everything was set for your welcome home party," I mumble, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Well you should leave, you're making everyone uncomfortable," Justin says while glaring at me.
"Yes alpha," I say before basically running away.
I hear the sound of people laughing at me, but I'm honestly scared for my life. The last time I didn't leave the room fast enough, he almost beat me to death and my fellow pack members either joined in, or they just watched and laughed.
I quickly run to my "room" and close the door. My room is actually the attic, and my "bed" is just two sheets and a pillow. This has been where I've slept ever since I can remember. My parents didn't want me to sleep in the same house as them, and apparently there wasn't enough room at the pack house, so I got the attic.
"Cheer up," Haley says to me
"How am I supposed to 'cheer up' when my life has been bad since the day I was born?" Sometimes, I don't understand how she can be so positive all the time.
"You have reasons to be happy, and you will know them soon, child."
"Why can't I know now?" I ask.
She just chuckles before she goes back to the corner of my mind.
~~~~
Harris's POV
"Hide Harris! Don't let them see you!" my mom yelled at me before she pushed my 5 year old self into the closet. She tries to move away from me, but I grab her arm and stare at her with wide eyes.
"Mom! Where are you going?" I ask before she leaves.
"Shhh, just stay down, and don't come out until your dad and uncle get here," she says just as the door bursts open and 5 men step into the room.
I quickly pushed myself further in the closet, but I kept the door open just a crack so I could still hear and see what was happening.
"Would you look at what we got here? The Luna all by herself without her mate to protect her," the biggest man says.
"What are you doing here Jimmy?" my mom says with a glare. I wonder how she knows these people. I don't think I have ever seen them before. I know I would remember a face as hideous as his.
"Well I'm just returning a favor for a good friend," he says before he lunges at my mom and starts choking her. My mom tries to hit him and pry his fingers off her throat, but he doesn't budge. I whimper quietly to myself, and I hope that my dad gets here soon. I wish there was something I could do to help her, but I'm too small.
All of a sudden, I can see my moms body growing weaker, and after a while, she stops moving.
I hear the guys say something about his debt being paid before he drops my mom onto the ground and leaves the room with the other men following him.
Once I hear the front door slam, I quickly run to my mom and start shaking her arms, hoping that she will get up. I feel tears running down my face as I realize that she's not breathing anymore.
I hear the front door slam open and then I hear the sound of feet running up the stairs. My father and uncle quickly walk in the room, but when they see my tear-filled face and my mother's dead body, they stop. My dad's eyes start turning darker until they are completely black and his face is filled with rage.
"D-daddy?" I whimper. I take a hesitant step closer to him and his glare intensifies.
"This is all your fault. You are a worthless piece of trash, and I hate you," he says, his voice filled with venom.
~~~~~~~~~~
When I wake up, I can feel my heart racing, and my breath is coming out in short pants. I've been having this nightmare since the day it occurred. After my moms death, my father turned into a heartless monster, and he would beat me and anyone who was "disrespecting" him.
At first, I tried to reason with him, but after a while, I started to resent him and I started fighting back. He was mistreating the pack and was running it to the ground. On my 15th birthday, I fought him for his alpha title, and I won, but it was not without a price. He killed himself after he lost because his depression finally consumed him. At least now he is with his mate.
Mate.
A 4 letter word that means so much to me. I want my mate, my wolf wants our mate. I've been to most packs around the world, but I still haven't found her.
"I want my mate," My wolf, Brandon, growls in my head.
"Our mate, and we will find her soon," I say, but I'm starting to get worried. Maybe the rumors are true, and I won't have a mate because of how cold-blooded I have become. The only difference between my father and me is that I'm not mistreating my pack.
A lot of people probably don't think I want a mate, but the thought of having a mate is the only thing that has kept me relatively sane.
The thought of having someone who will love me unconditionally, even with my flaws, is amazing. I can't wait to meet my mate, and my pack can't wait to have their Luna. My beta says that having a mate will help me loosen up.
I know I'm not the most pleasant person to be around, but I can't help it. My pack and I didn't get our reputation from always smiling and holding each other's hands while singing songs. My pack has been trained, and even though we aren't always the nicest people, we aren't always killing people just for fun, like some people think. We are smaller than most packs, but we are also stronger, faster, and smarter.
Most packs have asked for alliances with our pack, but we like to keep to ourselves. This is another reason why some people think badly of us, they think we are stuck up, but we aren't. We're just like any other werewolf pack.
I'm interrupted from my thoughts by a phone call. Once I see who is calling, I growl in frustration. This alpha has called me so many times to tell me how lucky I would be to be an ally with his pack, but I honestly don't care. The alliance wouldn't benefit my pack in any way, especially since their pack is so far away. I try to ignore the phone, but he keeps calling, so I finally answer.
"What do you want?" I growl out.
"Alpha Harris! I was just calling to see if you have thought of the proposition I gave you the last time we spoke?"
"I have thought it over, and the answer is still no," I say, already getting annoyed by this pup.
"Alpha, I really think that you should consider this! It would be a great opportunity for both our packs!" he says enthusiastically.
"Your pack has nothing to offer for me. If this is the only reason you called th-" I start, but he cuts me off
"Wait! Please! Before you make this decision, will you please come down here and see the pack for yourself? If you do that, I promise I won't bother you anymore."
I sigh before saying, "Fine, I will be there next Thursday, I will stay for 3 days, and if you can't convince me by then to form an alliance with your pack, you need to leave me alone."
"Thank you! I'm sure you will see that my son will be a great choice to have as an ally!" he says before he hangs up the phone.
I quickly mindlink my beta about this trip and tell him to make preparations.
I don’t expect at that time I this trip Atlas Fall Pack will change my life forever.
Chapter 2
Katrina's POV
The next morning when I wake up, I get downstairs to make breakfast for everyone. Once I enter the kitchen, all the servants’ conversations stop, and people turn away from me, but not before giving me a look of disgust. Basically, I'm no better than dirt. I'm just someone who can't be kicked out of the pack because they need me to do work.
I let out a sigh before I take out the ingredients for brownies and cookies. After I'm done baking, I start heading up to my room when I hear the Justin and his father talking in the study.
"I finally got alpha Harris to agree to come here!" Alpha Landis exclaims. I don't know why, but once he says Harris's name, I get chills and my wolf starts acting weird.
"I'm sure once he sees how good I am at running this pack, he will form an alliance with us." Justin responds, and I can just imagine the arrogant smirk on his face. I don't think that will be the case though because Justin has no clue what he's doing. That's actually why he had to leave for all those years. He had to go to another pack to train how to be an alpha since he almost destroyed our pack the first time Alpha Landis gave him control.
"I'm sure he will, son. Don't mess this up, this is our one, and only, chance to show the world what we are capable of."
I quickly leave before they realize that I was listening to them. They got alpha Harris to come here? Wow, I wonder how much convincing that took, but I'm not surprised. Alpha Landis is obsessed with power, and so is Justin.
I can feel my wolf pacing in my head, and she seems really bothered by something.
"Haley, are you ok?" I ask her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Can we go for a run soon?"
"Sure," I say before I change into something more comfortable. After that, I open my window, and I reach out to the tree that's right near my window. Once I make it to the ground, I quickly make sure no one is looking before I sprint into the forest.
Technically, I'm not allowed to go for runs, but it's fine as long as I don't get caught.
Once I'm far enough, I quickly shift into my wolf. My wolf is a very light cream color with small patches of light brown near my paws.
I start running around as fast as I can, dodging fallen tree branches and rocks. But suddenly, I bump into a hard chest.
I raise my head and see an angry Justin glaring at me. I quickly shift back.
I'm a dead wolf.
"What are you doing?"
"Um," I say trying to think of an excuse, "I want to go to town to get some more food, but I got lost so I never made it to the stores." By the look on his face, I know he doesn't believe me, and I also know that I'm about to get a beating.
"You have 5 minutes to tell me the truth."
"Why does it matter to you?" I say before thinking.
He clenches his jaw and his eyes are starting to turn darker.
"Just tell me!" he says through clenched teeth.
"It doesn't really mat-" I start before I'm cut off
"YOU WERE WITH A GUY WEREN'T YOU? YOU LITTLE SLU*!" he screams before punching me in the face. I fall to the ground, holding my cheek. I was able to move out of the way so it wasn't a direct hit, but I can feel the left side of my face start to swell.
"I wasn't with a guy! I was trying to go to the mall!" I repeat frantically, while trying to move away from him.
"SHUT UP! I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!" he yells before he goes to start hitting me again. My wolf whimpers in my head as she tries to comfort me. I curl up into a ball and wait for my death with my eyes closed. I've never been afraid of death, but now that it's staring me right in the face I couldn't be more terrified.
I continue to wait for his next hit, but nothing happens. I count to ten in my head before I slowly open my eyes. I see Leo holding back a furious looking Justin and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Alpha Justin, please stop." my brother says as he moves himself between Justin and me to protect me even further.
"WHY SHOULD I? YOUR LITTLE SLU* OF A SISTER THINKS SHE CAN GO AND SLEEP AROUND WITH OTHER MEN!" I can hear Leo answering Justin, but I can't understand any of the words he is saying. They all mesh together until all I can hear is an annoying buzzing ringing in my ears.
My eyes start closing on their own accord and my body starts to feel really heavy. I guess that punch did more damage than I thought it did.
I struggle to stay awake for a few minutes before I realize that it's pointless, and I submit to the darkness.
Harris's POV
I don't know why, but as the week has been going by, my wolf has been getting more and more restless. I stand stiffly off to the side since I don't have any family members. My betas wife, and mate, sees this, and she immediately pulls me into their family hug.
"Thank you, Susan. I really need that," I admit. Ever since Alex, my beta, has met Susan, she has always tried to make sure that I was never excluded from family matters.
"Don't even mention it." she says to me with a warm smile. I give her a small smile in return before I start heading towards the van that I'm going to be in.
"Now y'all better be on your best behaviors for uncle Gordon while we're gone. Are we clear?" she asks her 2 children.
"Of course mom!" the twins, Natalie and Ana say together.
I chuckle before telling everyone to head to their cars so we can get on the road. My third in command, Gordon, will be watching the pack while Alex and I are gone.
I really hope this trip isn't a waste of my time. I've heard about the leadership at Atlas Fall, and I don't believe for one second that they will be able to get me to agree to an alliance with them.
I also hope that I will be able to figure out why my wolf has been so crazy recently.
Once we arrive at the Atlas Fall pack, I immediately spot the old Alpha, and the new one. Well technically the new one isn't that new; he had taken over the alpha position when he was 20, like most alphas, but apparently he was terrible, so his dad had him go to another pack to learn how to become a better Alpha.
I guess after 4 years of him training in his neighboring pack was enough because he has officially taken over the alpha position again.
"Hello Alpha Harris! It's nice to see you again." I only nod my head in recognition before I start looking around. My pack members do the same, scanning the area for anything dangerous.
I take a deep breath, and I smell the most amazing scent that I have ever smelled. My wolf starts going crazy, and saying one thing over and over.
Mate.
Even though I can smell her scent, it's faint, so that means that she hasn't been here for a while, so I guess I'm just going to have to wait to meet her.
"Are you ok, alpha? You look more tense than you usually do." Alex says through our mindlink.
"My mate is here." I can tell everyone in my pack has heard what I said because of the looks of surprise and joy on their faces.
Everyone congratulates me through our pack link, before we turn our attention back to the Alphas of the Atlas Fall pack.
A few of their pack members come over to take our luggage and show us where we will be staying. The old Alpha starts going on and on about how great our stay will be and how happy he is that I agreed to come down here.
I'm too busy looking for any signs of my mate, but other than the faint trail of her scent, I can't locate her.
Chapter 3
Katrina's POV
I wake up to an annoying beeping sound. What the heck? Slowly, I open my eyes, and I'm blinded by the bright lights. I groan and I try to move my hands in front of my face to protect my eyes.
"Kat! You're awake! You have been fainted out for two days. Are you okay." I look over and see my brother looking at me with wide eyes.
“Ye..s..yes.” I stutter, still dizzy.
I wave Leo goodbye and quickly make my way to the packhouse. Horrible, I have slept for two days. How will Justin punish me this time?
"Thank god you're here! What took you so long?! Do you not see this mess that needs to be cleaned up! Alpha Harris is going to be here soon, and he can't see the place looking like this!" Alpha Landis yells in my face once I get in the pack house.
I wince and nod my head quickly. "I'm sorry Alpha Landis, I'll get to work right away," I mutter before leaving to get some supplies.
As I'm cleaning, Haley starts pacing in my head, and she's saying something, but it's so mumbled, I can't understand.
"Haley? What's going on?"
"Huh? Oh nothing I jus-" she starts before I smell the most intoxicating smell I have ever smelled. What the heck? The scent is unfamiliar, but my god does it smell amazing.
How is this happening? I've already met my mate, and he does not smell like this. I feel a strange pull towards the scent which makes me even more confused. My thoughts are scrambled all over the place and I can feel my heart racing. Could I have another mate? But that's impossible, it's never happened before. You get one mate, and that's it. No more chances.
What's going on?
I start panicking and I look for a place to hide. I just need a few minutes to calm down and compose myself and hopefully this will be over soon. I quickly hid in a closet close by as the intoxicating scent kept getting closer and closer.
Why is my life so complicated?
Harris's POV
On my search to find my mate, I feel a strange pull to the pack house, which isn't too far away from where I'm staying. My wolf is pacing, and going crazy knowing that my mate is so close to me, yet she's still too far away.
My mates scent gets stronger and stronger as I walk to the pack house. This is it; I'm finally going to meet my mate.
What if she doesn't want me?
"Don't think like that! Our mate will love us as much as we love her!" Brandon growls at me. He's right, I need to calm down.
I'm about to open the door to the pack house when I smell cheap perfume. I then feel someone stroking my arm.
"Hey there big boy," a girl with way too much makeup says to me, "you look a little lonely. I can keep you company an-"
"Get your filthy hands off me!" I growl at her. Who does she think she is?
"But, Alpha Harris," she pouts, which actually makes her even more unattractive, "I'm just trying to help you out; you look so tense, and I know something that would make you feel better."
I'm about to reply when I hear a growl.
"Claire! What do you think you're doing? Get away from him!" Justin says, his face red with rage.
"But Justin, I was just trying to welcome Alpha Harris b-"
"Shut up!" Justin hisses. I awkwardly stand there for a little bit when I remember the reason why I'm here.
My mate.
I quickly move past the two of them and go inside the pack house. Her scent is very strong in here, and my wolf is going into a frenzy.
"Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate. Must find my mate," Brandon growls in my head. I couldn't agree more with him. I start walking in the direction of her smell, not really paying attention to where I'm going.
I follow her scent all the way to a door. Right behind this door is my mate. I'm so focused on the door, that I didn't notice that Justin and that girl have followed me into the house, and are looking at me weirdly. I take a deep breath before I open the door.
My blue eyes meet green eyes, and right at that moment, my whole world shifted and I finally felt complete.
"Mine!" Brandon growls possessively.
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