Sullen

"I met a man."

Sullen stopped her assault on the punching bag hanging in the spare room of her two-bedroom apartment. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she turned up the volume on her Bluetooth headset.

Because she was adamant that she heard her mother incorrectly.

A man? As in another werewolf? Sullen cleared her throat. "You met a man?" she repeated, feeling a bit like a parrot. "As in a wolf?"

Her mother's excitement transferred into a squeal. It reminded Sullen of a sixteen-year-old girl which had been her mother's age when she first met her fated mate, Sullen's father.

He died several years before in a pack war.

It was fair that her mother moved on, but Sullen was skeptical. "What pack is he from, Mom?"

"Oh, honey. You and your politics," she sighed. "I want you to come down this weekend to meet him."

She didn't miss that her mother skipped over that question. However, she'd let it slide for now. Sullen didn't get down to The Crescent Moon Pack lands very often anymore. She had better things to do with her life than find a place in her pack as a nurse or a birthing coach. Her accounting dream was coming true; she only had one more semester left before she graduated.

Her internship would turn into a full-time position, and she'd marry her long-term boyfriend, Duke. She was lucky enough to have found out at a young age, by a witch doctor, that her true mate would die before she met him.

Which was fine by her. Sullen liked being in control and picking who she'd spend the rest of her life with.

"He wants us to come to his house for dinner. He makes a killer steak. I promised him that I would drag you away from the city. Please, Sullen. I'm your only mother."

Oh, the guilt trip.

Sullen walked toward her shower and loosened her raven-colored hair from its tie. "Duke is out of town this weekend. I guess it wouldn't hurt to come to visit for the night."

Her mother squealed again. "I'm so excited. Come Friday night, and we'll spend Saturday thrift store shopping like the old days."

Sullen smiled into the mirror, swiping a drop of sweat from her olive-colored skin that she got from her father. "Sounds good, Momma. I'll see you then, okay?"

"Love you, Baby Girl."

"Love you, too."

Sullen hung up the phone and tugged out of her clothes, tossing them into the hamper in the far corner. Duke would be excited that she wasn't spending her weekend studying and holed up like a hermit.

She tossed her Bluetooth and phone onto the sink and reached back to unclasp her necklace. It shimmered in the fluorescent lighting of her bathroom, a forever reminder of her father.

He'd given her the emerald jewel after her eye color that matched her grandmother's. She'd cherished it for years and promised to wear it every day in honor of them both.

Not that she needed a reminder of her father's absence. She thought about him all the time. She promised herself she would excel at everything she could to make him proud.

Because she knew he watched from the stars.

***

Her mother stood by her car when Sullen pulled up that Friday afternoon. She looked pretty and more attentive to her outfit and hair. Her flaming red hair had dulled over the years. Sullen always envied her mother's hair. Her ebony locks came from her father's side of the family.

She hopped when Sullen got out and wrapped her into a tight hug. She smelled like home, and for a brief moment, Sullen felt sad that she didn't make it home more often to visit.

"Baby Girl," she said, pulling back to cup her face. "You look beautiful! You've grown."

Sullen narrowed her eyes to slits. "Mother. I have not. I'm twenty-two. Girls stop growing at eighteen unless you're talking about my weight, and I'm assuming you want to fight then."

Her mother chuckled. The lighthearted aura around her made Sullen excited to meet her mom's new boyfriend. It tasted weird to say it, but Sullen knew she was lonely.

Those late-night texts proved it.

"Are we ready to go?" Sullen asked. "I'll follow you there—"

"No," her mother said, waving her off. "You can ride with me unless you change your mind about staying the night."

"Nope, I'm here for the weekend actually."

"Duke is out of town again?" her mother asked.

Sullen hid her irritation. Her mom didn't love Duke. She didn't hate him because she had no sound reason. But she didn't like Sullen not trying to find her fated mate. "Mom. My mate is dead," Sullen said.

She put her hands out in surrender. "Okay. Okay. You're right. I just don't know about that witch doctor," she said sarcastically. "You know how I feel about magic."

Sullen chuckled as she slid into the passenger seat. "Says the werewolf shifter. Funny."

She huffed. "It doesn't matter," she said, hitting the steering wheel playfully. "It's your life. If Duke makes you happy, then so be it. I just need to be around him more often. I'm sure he'll grow on me."

Smiling, she watched as her mother pulled out of the driveway and drove them toward the highway. Her humming under her breath and the excitement rolling off her had Sullen's body vibrating with eagerness.

Until it wasn't.

Sullen glanced at the small population sign that read ‘Beacon Hills,’ and her stomach dropped to her butt crack. There was only one pack in the Legend Parish, and they caused pain that resided in her chest.

They were the pack that killed her father.

"Mom," Sullen said softly, trying to swallow the painful lump in her throat. "Are you going the right way?"

Her mother smiled. "Of course. We take turns visiting one another. I know the way—"

"Is there a new pack in Beacon Hills?"

Her mother looked confused, as if she didn't understand why Sullen's wolf skimmed the surface or why her bottom lip trembled in suppressed aggression.

"Sullen, what's the—"

It clicked.

Finally.

"Honey," her mother sighed. "I didn't realize you were still so angry. I understand your pain. I do, but you have to let it go—"

"Let me out," she said quietly, tightening her hand around the edge of the seat.

"Sullen. Our alpha started that war, and your father was a faithful Beta. You can't blame the other pack for everything. They were doing just what he was doing, fighting for their alpha."

Her throat began to tighten, and she felt like she would drown in the rhythm of her own heartbeat. "Stop. The. Car. Let. Me. Out."

"No," her mother said sharply. "I've already promised Kevin that you were coming. Now, stop being dramatic and calm down. If you shift in this car, you're paying for a new one. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover werewolf damage, Sullen."

Roan

"I don't have time for a wanna-be family get-together, Dad. Jacob sniffed out a rogue on the west side of the grounds. I need to go figure it out."

The look of disappointment his father gave him settled heavily into his gut. Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack, and yet his father's stern look still made him feel like a thirteen-year-old kid.

"Son, she's called her daughter down from the city to come—"

Roan gave him a deadpan look. "Her daughter doesn't live in the pack with her?"

His dad sighed and swiped his palm down his face. "No, Roan. She moved out and went to college. She is mateless, and moved on with a boy she met there."

Roan had strong disapproval of wolves who abandoned the pack that raised them. To each their own, but it showed a lack of character in his eyes. If they met their mate, and they were from another pack, fine. Whatever.

But leaving just because didn't sit right with him.

Roan leaned his elbows against his desk and eyed the door behind his father's head. Jacob would come through the door at any moment to see where their alpha was hiding.

"After I handle this rogue, I will come by for a little bit," Roan said.

Roan didn't mind his father finding someone. His mother abandoned the pack at an early age and left Roan and his brother with their father. Pushing his fingers into his sandy brown hair, he controlled his irritation.

"Thank you, son," his dad said. His salt-n-pepper hair was combed neatly to the side, and his clothes were ironed nicely. He liked this woman, and Roan was happy for him. Roan had met her a few times before. She was pretty, with red hair and a funny personality.

Standing up, Roan walked toward the door to meet Jacob. When it flung open, Jacob, his stalky beta, looked pissed.

Roan didn't blame him—he was late.

"I'm coming," he said, shoving past Jacob. "Have the others caught the rogue, or did they just sniff him out?"

Jacob hurried to catch up. "They were chasing him." He wasn't as tall as Roan, and his legs were shorter. "What did your dad want?"

"Wants me to come to dinner with him and his new lady friend. She is bringing her daughter from the city. I told him I'd stop by after, not that I care to meet a she wolf that abandons her pack."

Jacob chuckled. "Dude, drop that 16th-century crap—"

Roan's wolf growled, and Jacob respected it with a slight bow. "Sorry, but you know what I mean." He pointed toward the edge of the field. "It looks like they've caught someone."

Roan raced toward the two wolves holding a rogue captive. The rogue looked feral, with wide brown eyes and a snarl that mimicked a demon. "What do we have here," he asked. "You lost?"

He spat. "Does it look like I'm lost?"

"Actually," Jacob started, "I think it looks like you've wandered onto the wrong side of the river. Why are you here? You know this is our territory. There is no way you didn't smell it."

His feral smile returned.

Roan didn't like the look of him. "Put him in the dungeon. Then have the others search the grounds in case he has any friends."

The rogue laughed. "You have no idea, do you?"

Roan stopped as he was turning to leave, and glanced over his shoulder. "Idea about what?"

"You will. You'll know soon enough."

The wolves exchanged glances, while Roan felt something tug at his chest. He pressed his fist against it and tried to rub the tingle away. Then it touched the base of his neck and traveled down his back.

It woke his wolf, who'd been bored with the rogue situation.

That smell. It was the smell, the only smell he'd care about for the rest of his life.

It was her.

Roan turned fully away from the rogue and stared out at the field. There was no one in sight. He didn't know of anyone new that was coming to pack land, because everyone had to be approved first.

Wait. She was bringing her daughter from the city.

"Oh, my goddess," Roan mumbled.

"What is it?" Jacob asked, looking out at the empty field. "What do you see?"

Roan pointed blindly behind him. "Take him to the dungeon. I'll be down to check on him in a bit."

He rushed toward his father's two-story house on pack land, ignoring Jacob's call from behind him. Roan's wolf howled and turned excited circles. When Roan turned twenty-five and hadn't yet found his mate, he'd stopped hoping. Most mates were found before the twenty-first birthday.

Roan's jeans were covered in dirt by the time he made it to the small road that linked the pack houses together in their small community. He didn't care.

Samantha's car sat in the driveway next to his dad's pickup. The scent of his mate hit him hard in the stomach, nearly knocking him onto his ass. The feeling of losing control began to numb his movements. He needed to get to her. Shoving open his childhood home's front door, he stalked into the kitchen, his body humming with adrenaline.

His father stood from the kitchen table. "Son, did you break the door—"

"Where is she?" he growled, his fingers curling into tight fists beside him.

His dad glanced at the empty spot at the table. There was no food on the plates, which meant they were waiting on him to start dinner. "Where is she!" he screamed when no one answered.

Samantha cleared her throat. "She left. Uh, your scent scared her. Are you two mates?"

His scent scared her. "Scared her? Her fated mate's scent scared her? What in the hell does that mean?"

"Calm down, son," his father said. "She's seeing someone in the city—"

The alpha inside of him broke free, and his wolf pushed through the veil that separated the two. Roan shifted in the dining room, crashing into the banister of the stairs next to him.

"Dammit, Roan," his father mumbled. "Not again."