Prologue
The day I found I was destined to be a werewolf was the day I turned 12. When I look back at that day, I wondered why my parents hadn’t told us any earlier. But that was the age when my father was told and his father before that. So I guess it was a tradition my father was eager to keep going, even after the death of his family.
We were allowed to live normal childhoods up until that point. We were allowed to believe we were like any other normal family. We played with other kids and even went to school, but that all stopped when we found out.
The day we turned 12 was the day my father sat Aurora and I down and told us the fantastic, magically story about our family and where we came from.
‘Our family name, Conri means wolf king.’ Our father told us. ‘Our bloodline is very special and we must make sure we do our part to preserve it.’
Aurora believed everything she was fed without hesitation. There wasn’t a moment for her where our father wasn’t making it up. But I on the other hand was a lot more sceptical. I found it hard to believe stories of transformations under a full moon and super strength and speed. It just didn’t seem real. I didn’t believe him for the whole year until we reached 13 when we were turned into wolves, able to shift for the first time.
My world was turned upside down at that point. Everything he told us was true. It was a hard pill to swallow. I didn’t understand what was happening to me at first. I didn’t understand the excruciating pain from the first transformation that twisted and distorted my body under the light of the next full moon. I didn’t understand the insatiable hunger I felt and I didn’t understand why my father did this to us. I didn’t understand why he wanted this life for us. We were always told bed time stories of werewolves and other mythical creatures, but all the stories didn’t warn me for what was to come.
It was hard to accept. I hated it at first. I wanted a normal life back. I wanted to go to school like normal kids and I wanted to experience life the way I imagined it. But that was taken away from me and it caused a rift between my father and I.
I was much closer to my mother growing up. Even more so when I found out she didn’t choose this life for herself either. It was always me and her while Aurora was off with our father. It didn’t stop me being close to my sister, but it did cause a lot of resentment towards my father.
My mother was the peace in this nightmare world. She taught me how to control my anger and how I could transform at will. She taught me all the things I needed to know until I started to understand my father more.
I was 17 when we started to grow closer. That’s when I stopped blaming him for my life and started to appreciate the benefits that came with being a wolf. Sometimes you could see a distance in our relationship, but it was getting back to where is used to be before the whole wolf thing.
I knew I wouldn’t experience life like a normal person, but I could feel the wind whipping through my fur as I ran through the woods. I could enjoy the chase of an animal and the satisfaction of taking it down by myself. I felt the power under my skin, surging through my body and in that moment I knew I would never wish for a normal life. I would do anything for this one.
I also loved being in a family as close as ours, knowing the secret of our true nature is what held us together like glue. We spent so much time together, living outside of town. Sometimes I wished for my own space, but any time I went out on a hunt or spent the night in the woods as a wolf the one thing I looked forward to was going home and being with my family. I was always drawn back to them. I’m not sure if that’s what a normal family is like or if it was more of a pack thing, but it was mine.
It was the day before my 18th birthday that my father sat me down and told me I needed to do my duty as the next alpha and marry another wolf. He told me I needed to start breeding to sire another generation of wolves so our bloodline could continue. A story I’d been told numerous times growing up.
I wasn’t surprised when he told me again the day before my birthday, but I was surprised he’d already picked out a bride I was expected to marry. Someone who I’d never met before. Someone he’d only ever seen once.
This marriage was supposed to create an alliance between the two families, solidifying better protection for my mother and sisters.
Females wolves were hard to come by and when the other family learned of our ability to shift at will it was a done deal. They jumped at the opportunity to join with us, wanting the chance to have our abilities join their own bloodlines.
It was surreal in a way. I didn’t realise it was that unique a gift, but after my father explained it wasn’t something every wolf was blessed with, it became obvious as to why Roan, the head of the other pack, would willingly give up his one and only daughter.
I didn’t enjoy my birthday that year with my impending wedding to a stranger hanging over my head. I tried to hide it but Aurora and my mother knew something was wrong. I didn’t tell them for a few days, fearing my father’s anger, but eventually it came out and my mother was not happy.
