Chapter 1
BILLIE
Staring through the window of the taxi, all I could hear were the Christmas tunes the driver had turned up as we drove through the woodland area. We were near my destination, which made my stomach churn. I was returning home for Christmas.
Christmas Eve was tomorrow, and this was the first one in three years that I would be here to spend it with my family.
When I left the pack three years ago to do a student exchange, I swapped lives with someone in the southwest region and moved into their home. It was strange at first, but I loved it. The person’s family was lovely and made me feel safe. They looked after me as if I
was their own.
I learned so much about the pack. It had more to offer than ours, such as a swimming pool, tennis court, and access to a human town, whereas the Dark Moon pack had none of those things. As a pack, we had been in contact with humans, but that was mainly when pack members returned with humans as mates. We didn’t have a human town close by.
I sighed and leaned back, resting my head on the headrest while keeping my eyes on the window. We were getting closer.
My mind wandered to my family, who I had left behind. The exchange student left three months ago, and I was told by my alpha that I had to return. I was happy to, but I had to wait another month to finish up a project I was working on.
When I rang my sister, Stella, to tell her I was coming home, I asked her not to say anything to my parents, as I wanted to surprise them. Stella squealed in excitement, then offered to help after she had calmed down. She arranged everything for me, the taxi to pick me up from the airport and bring me straight onto the pack grounds.
I was happy, but when our conversation wavered over what the pack had in store, which was a Christmas party, my happiness was short-lived. I knew I would see him—Wyatt—the one person who had promised me he’d wait for me. But something had changed over the last year I was away; our calls had gone from twice a week to non-existent.
Wyatt and I had been best friends since we were babies. Our families were close friends. We were inseparable. Many classmates thought we were dating as we were always together, and they would often sing Billie and Wyatt sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
I liked Wyatt back then, even if he was a nerd who wore his brother’s hand-me-down clothes and beat-up trainers.
When the calls stopped, I assumed he had found his mate, which would have been nice for him. I had hoped to find my mate while I was in the southwest pack, but I never did.
“We are nearly there,” the driver said, pulling me from my thoughts.
I nodded.
At the sound of the driver’s voice, Sia, my wolf, moved in my head. She had been sleeping most of the day, as she hated travelling.
“Are we there yet?” she groaned.
I looked back at her and sighed.
“Good evening to you, grumpy pants,” I muttered.
Sia looked at me and huffed but ignored me.
I looked over the front seat just as the pack house came into view. Lights decorated it. There was also a blow-up Santa to the side, which made me smile. Our alpha and luna loved Christmas, and they always made it extra special for the pack, even having someone dress up as Santa to hand out presents to all the children. They knew some families couldn’t afford to give much, so they wanted to help those who needed it the most.
I had loved Christmas in the pack back in the day. They were always magical, especially when it snowed.
The taxi driver pulled up to the side of the pack house and came to a stop. I climbed out and grabbed my bag. Since most of my things had already been sent over, I only travelled with the essentials. Stella was keeping it all in storage and even had someone helping her.
I looked around and could hear Christmas music blasting. My eyes scanned the area until they landed on someone running toward me, and I couldn’t help but smile. I opened my arms as Stella launched herself into them.
Wrapping my arms around her, I closed my eyes and breathed in her scent. Oh, how I had missed it.
“You’re here,” she squealed in my ear and pulled back. “Mum and Dad are waiting inside. I had to make sure they were here before you came, which was hard. As you know, Mum loves to make an entrance, so you can imagine her surprise when we turned up and were the first ones here.”
I stared at my sister. I missed her rambling.
“I haven’t,” murmured Sia in my head, but I ignored her and laughed slightly.
I knew my mum all too well, and she would have taken her time getting to the party. It wasn’t the whole making an entrance with her. It was to make sure we arrived when all the good stuff went down, especially when people found their mates.
I shook my head to get my focus back to Stella.
“Where are they?” I asked.
Stella smiled. “They’re in the entrance. Dad wanted some air, but I noticed the taxi come up, so I made my escape while they went around the other side.”
I nodded.
Stella turned her attention to the driver and gave him the money for my fare. He waved to us, wished us a Merry Christmas, and drove off.
Stella placed her hands in mine and pulled me toward where my parents were. I stepped around the corner, but stopped, taking in the two of them as they talked to the alpha and luna. “Mum,” Stella called with a smile. “Dad, look who’s here.”
Mum and Dad looked up and stared back at us. Both of their eyes widened with surprise. “Billie!” they said together. Stella let go of my arm as I walked right into theirs and hugged them. Their scents hit me, and warmth spread through me.
Sia hummed in my head as she felt their presence. I pulled back and smiled but was met with some tears.
“Billie,” my mum said, smiling as a lone tear ran down her cheek. “You don’t know how much this means to us to have you home. Is it for Christmas or—”
“No, Darlene,” the alpha said, cutting her off. “Billie is back for good. The exchange program was a tremendous hit,” he said, walking over and stopping next to us. “We will send another candidate next month, but Billie is back for good.”
I smiled at him and looked back at my parents, who were beaming.
“That’s a better Christmas than I could have ever asked for,” Dad murmured, as he pulled me toward him to place a kiss on my head. My throat tightened as I was overcome by emotion, and all I could do was nod. I knew I would be like this, as I had missed them so much.
“Well, I think you all should go inside and have some fun,” the luna said, wrapping her arm around the alpha.
We all nodded and walked away, my parents on each side of me holding onto my arms. Stella walked next to Mum, telling her all about her involvement in getting me here.
When we entered the pack house, I couldn’t help but admire the decorations. The luna had done an amazing job. We stumbled toward the hall, and my mouth dropped open when I spotted the enormous tree in the centre.
I scanned the room, and Sia started to pace inside my head when we went further in.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked her as my parents found us a table.
“I don’t know,” she murmured.
I sat at the table and looked around, only to find we weren’t alone. Wyatt’s parents and family were seated at the same table. Everyone started to speak at once, welcoming me back to the pack and asking what the other pack was like. We all talked, but after a short time, a delicious scent wafted toward me. I sniffed the air but couldn’t place it.
I looked around, but no one was there. I sniffed again, and Sia shouted, “MATE!”
What?
Where?
I looked around again and started to feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I didn’t care. Where was my mate? I scanned the hall and looked for him until I felt a presence behind me, and my mate’s scent hit me hard. Whoever it was, was huge as their shadow covered me, blocking the light.
“Mate,” someone growled behind me. My eyes widened at the voice—it couldn’t be.
My mate lowered his head to my ear, but I dared not look behind me. “Welcome home, Billie,” he rasped, sending tingles right through me. I didn’t move. Instead, I looked straight at Stella, who was now grinning back at me.
“I knew it,” she shouted while I turned slowly and looked back into the purest green eyes—familiar green eyes that had been there for me throughout high school and more.
Wyatt.
Wyatt was my mate.
I stared at him. He looked different, but in a good way. I licked my lips, but my head and core had problems navigating my emotions.
