Chapter 1
The morning started like any other. The sun was shining, the wind was whistling, and I was still tired, even after twelve hours of sleep. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the bathroom, glaring at my mussed-up hair in the mirror. Running a comb through my silvery-white hair, I pondered over what I would accomplish that day. A gentle knock came at my door and I opened it, placing bets with myself as to whether or not it was my mother. Sure enough, standing just outside the doorway was my mother holding my baby brother, Eric. My mothers white hair was pinned up in a messy bun and her pale grey eyes sparkled like the morning dew.
“Aya!” Eric squealed, reaching out for me. I grinned at his mispronunciation of my name and took him into my own arms, resting him on my hip so I wouldn’t get too tired.
“Good morning, you adorable little bean!” I replied gleefully, tickling his belly and earning a surprised giggle. My mother chuckled and I turned to her, raising an eyebrow in silent question.
“Ayla, we have guests coming to the North Hall today, so you should start getting ready soon,” she informed me calmly, reaching out and taking Eric back.
I nodded. “Cool. Whose coming?” My mother’s gaze became hooded and she readjusted her grip on Eric.
“The Blackclaw pack. They have asked that we form a truce. In order to avoid future conflict, of course.” Throughout her talking, my eyes had widened and my jaw had gone slack. The Blackclaw pack was our enemy. Why did they want a truce now? And why on earth would we, the wolves of the Northern pack, agree to one? As the daughter of the Alpha pair, I liked to think that I stay in-the-loop for the most part.
“But, Mom-” she cut me off with a raised hand.
“No but’s. You are going to dress nicely and do your hair and you will be polite to the guests. Now, I don’t want to hear anymore complaints out of you. Get ready and come downstairs when you’re done.” With that, she went up the small staircase to her room and closed the door a bit to harshly for it to be considered ‘normal’. I sighed dramatically and closed the door to my bathroom. Walking over to my shower, I started the water and set it in between the middle setting and the hot setting. Once the water had reached the right temperature and my clothes were laying on the floor, I stepped into the shower and pulled the glass door closed, sighing in contentment as the water hit my skin.
After I had thoroughly washed my hair and body, I stepped out of the shower and went back to my room, which was attached to the bathroom via my walk-in closet. I picked out a pale blue off-the-shoulder crop-top and a black skater skirt that ended around mid-thigh. Walking back into my bathroom, I pulled out my blow dryer and began drying my long hair. Once that was done, I pulled out my make-up bag and applied mascara, the black emphasizing my icy blue eyes. I applied a layer of pale pink lipstick and called it good. I quickly grabbed a pair of white heeled sandals and rushed downstairs. I was greeted by the sight of my parents sitting on the couch and chatting quietly. I looked around for Eric, but couldn’t find him.
“Where’s Eric?” I asked, panic seeping into my voice. My mother looked up at me and shot me a glare.
“Eric is fine. We sent him to Aunt Patty’s so he wouldn’t be in any trouble during the meeting. Also, what took you so long? I thought I told you to hurry!” she said, her voice rising with every word. “This meeting is incredibly important and you should have known that and hurried up.” My anger rose up to meet hers, the wolf in me clawing at my restraints and begging to be let loose.
“Why do you even care so much?” I yelled down at her. “The Blackclaws are our enemies! Why would we agree to a truce when nothing bad has happened?” My mother had begun to cower beneath my gaze. I was more dominant than she was and was also probably one of the strongest werewolves in the pack.
“Please calm down, Ayla,” she whispered, leaning into my father for support. I was fuming, but I hated seeing my mother like that. My father looked up at me, a scowl tugging at his sharp features as if to say, ‘Look what you’ve done’. I cast my eyes downward and muttered an apology before going into the garage and sliding into the Cadillac. Not long after, my parents came out and slid into their seats. We didn’t say a word the whole way to the North Hall and when we arrived, I immediately saw my best friend, Valery - but I called her Val, for short.
“Vaaaal!” I exclaimed, practically tackling her to the ground with my hug. She squeaked in surprise but it quickly turned into one of delight. Looking over her shoulder, I saw my dad shooting me a look. I pulled away from her hesitantly and looked up the main staircase to see five werewolves. I could immediately tell they weren’t from our pack because of the difference in coloring. You see, wolves from the North pack had pale fur, which was reflected in their hair color. We also had pale eyes, usually grey or blue, but some had yellow or amber. My eyes were icy blue and my fur was a pristine white, which meant my hair was the same color. Val’s hair was platinum blonde, therefore so was her fur. You get the idea. Anyways, these wolves had dark brown and black hair with green or amber eyes. It was strange. I’d never seen any wolves with their coloring. So these are Blackclaw wolves. I admired them silently, as did everyone else in the room.
It wasn’t hard to determine who the Alpha was, given the fact that he was practically radiating power. My eyes slid over the others, snagging on the female next to him. Her dark brown hair was coiled in a tight knot at the crown of her head. Her eyes were a striking gold, and they searched the room suspiciously. Another pair to the right of the Alphas was easily identified as the Beta and his mate. The male standing to the Alphas left though... now he caught my attention. He was tall, and his muscular frame was shown through his button-up shirt. His hair was pitch blank and his eyes a vibrant green. Suddenly, his eyes jerked to mine and I barely stifled a gasp as I was hit by the full force of those green depths.
“Welcome, Alphas of the Blackclaw pack and their party,” my father’s voice rang throughout the large welcoming room, dragging my attention away from the mysterious man. The Blackclaw Alpha nodded politely and allowed my father to continue. “We are honored to have you here, and hope that we can discuss terms that satisfy us both. Let us move to a private space where our families can talk.”
“Very well,” the Blackclaw’s Alpha said, his voice deep and rumbling. With that, my parents escorted us all into the small room where we would discuss the terms of our truce.
