Chapter 1
Desiree
I never gave much thought to what life after death might look like, something I’m greatly regretting at this very moment. I’m sure some expect to find themselves standing before some pearly gates or expect to be surrounded by their loved ones who’ve already passed on. As for me, I never thought about it, not once, and yet I still find myself surprised by the reality that it’s all so completely and utterly…disappointing. Let me start from the beginning…well, the beginning of the end.
Three weeks ago…
“Desiree! Julian’s here!” My stepsister, Mary’s, shrill voice is filled with the usual level of irritation coupled with a slightly unexpected level of hostility, but I brush it off like I always do. Julian, my mate, has the ability to make me honestly not care about Mary’s jealousy, selfishness and attention hungry ways. Mary is only a month younger than me, so you would think she would be more mature…but you’d be wrong if you did.
“Coming!” Today is the day that I’ll be moving in with Julian and by shifter standards, it’s well past time for this step. We discovered we were mates a week ago, but because of my nervousness over completing our mate bond, he agreed to take things slow. It’s unusual for a wolf to be hesitant to complete marking and mating once they find their mate, both usually happening within days, sometimes only hours, of finding their mate. I smile at my reflection, finally accepting that I’m ready for this next step, and hurry out to the foyer where Julian is waiting for me, but it’s no surprise when I see the lustful looks Mary is sending his way.
“Hey, my brother said he’d bring everything over when he gets back from his patrol in a few hours, so we don’t have to worry about any of it!” My brother, James, and I are my father’s only biological children while Mary is his chosen mate, Myra’s, daughter. Honestly, losing a parent is the only thing that James and I have in common with Mary. James even knows how spiteful and vindictive Mary is, but he only sees some of her antics due to him having found his mate and moving out two years ago.
“Perfect! Let’s go home and I’ll make you lunch.” Julian is a very attentive mate already, always making sure I’m fed and walking me to the packhouse every morning for my daily work as the Alpha’s secretary then he walks me home every night.
“Sounds perfect to me!” he takes my hand and we’re about to leave when Mary decides to play her hand, the one I knew she was holding the second I saw the look she was giving my mate.
“I’m really going to miss you, Desiree. Sometime soon, you’ll have to have me over so you can show me your new house.” So, the thing is, Julian is next in line to be alpha and is set to take over in six months and Mary, she loves and craves the status and power that being mated to an alpha brings.
“Oh, well, why don’t you join us?” I know it’s the alpha in him, the need to ensure his pack is happy and cared for, but I hate that he fails to see through her crap.
“Really?! That would be so great! Oh, I mean…if Desiree doesn’t mind. I’d hate to be a burden or get in your way.” As always, she plays her hand well. If I tell her no, I’m the bad guy, but if I tell her yes, she wins. She may be an insufferable wretch, but I can’t deny that she’s clever.
“Yeah, sure.” And this is where my own personal hell begins.
Over the last four weeks, Mary has shown up everywhere Julian is, always giving him lustful looks, subtle, yet highly inappropriate touches and always making sure I witness her actions. Just yesterday, I caught her ‘napping’ in mine and Julian’s bed while she claimed she wasn’t aware that the room she was in was ours and then this morning, I went to his office to bring him a few files for pack transfers that the alpha wanted him to review, which is when I found her on her knees in front of him as she patted the crotch of his pants with a wad of napkins after ‘accidentally’ spilling a glass of tea on him. I lost it.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” I caught the victorious glint in her eyes before she masked it with false shock and a poor veil of mock panic.
“I swear, Desiree, it’s not what it looks like!” Her voice lacks any trace of sincerity, but Julian seems to be more shocked by my sharp tone than the fact that he was caught in such a compromising position.
“Oh, I’m sure it isn’t! Just like finding you in our bed wasn’t what it looked like? Just like you aren’t constantly flirting with my mate? Just like you haven’t been following him around like a desperate pup?!” My rage is boiling so close to the surface that I can feel myself on the verge of losing control completely.
“Desiree! She’s your sister! How can you possibly think she would try to interfere with our bond?!” My wolf, Lita, howls in agony as she listens to him defend her as if she’s done nothing wrong here.
“Stepsister and I think it because I’ve seen it with my own eyes! How can’t you see what she’s doing?!” I see the brief moment of doubt as his eyes shift from mine to hers, but then it happens…his alpha instincts demand he defend his pack members unless there’s physical proof of their betrayal or wrong doings. Lucky for me, I have proof, the proof I started gathering three weeks ago at my wolf’s insistence, almost as if she knew we’d find ourselves in this very place. I’ve hid it all well, somewhere Mary would never think to look. Now, I just have to get to it and deliver it to Julian so she can finally be punished for her actions.
I don’t bother waiting for his response, knowing I can’t change his mind with words alone, so I storm out of his office and make my way out of the packhouse. I know I need to let Lita blow off some steam before I try to handle this, so I head to the forest and shift, letting her tear through the trees while I sit back and ponder my next step. Lita runs for almost an hour before we find ourselves standing near the stream, a spot James and I have always come to clear our heads. We even brought Mary here when our parents first moved in together, a sad attempt at bonding with her before we knew just how vile of a creature she truly was. I’m lost in my angry thoughts when I hear her voice.
“I knew you’d come here. You’re quite predictable, really. Now, I think we both know that I always get what I want and what I want right now is Julian. Don’t worry, I know you won’t give up your mate, but I have a solution. Hear me out…” I hear the familiar click seconds before the gunshot echoes through the forest and white, hot pain explodes through my chest. Lita finally turns our attention to the evil mutt who’s plagued our existence for several years and lets out a low, weak growl when we see the smile she’s wearing.
“Don’t look so surprised, sister. The way I see it, you’ve had plenty of time to mate and mark our soon-to-be alpha and if you had, I never would’ve been able to get so close to him. Hell, I certainly wouldn’t be able to get away with this now, but because he can’t feel your pain and your poor wolf is too weak to mind link him, we can thank the silver bullet for that one, he’ll never know. Sure, he’ll mourn your loss when you finally draw your last breath, but I’ll be there to help him, to comfort him. I’ll be the perfect chosen mate for him, you’ll see. Oh, wait, no you won’t!” Her laughter rings out, the awful sound being the last thing I hear as I fade into the darkness.
