Chapter 1 Chapter 1

When I was little I would play in out in my backyard, sometimes by myself and other times with my mother. My mother never treated me like a clueless child, even though I was. We played in the sandpit most of the time. She would always say that the sandpit was her favorite place to play. "You could build anything in here," She used to tell me.

I didn't know that any moment I could possibly lose her. I didn't know that wolves would kill our bodyguard, or that they would rip my mother's head clean off her body. But they did, and I saw it all. I shouldn't have, but it happened.

"The pup saw everything. What should we do with her?" The man asked, looking at me.

"Leave her, she hasn't done anything," The woman replied, obviously choosing to be sympathetic. I doubt she realized they killed my mother; or that I was the Alpha's child.

"But she could come after us," The same man said to her.

She growled at him, "Leave the pup, she deserves to grow up. At least we haven't killed the whole pack." They turned away, shifting and running off into the brush.

I was unable to move, just sitting there, and I cried; cried like the weak child I was. I sobbed because I couldn't do anything about the fact that my pack members had died around me.

We had been ambushed – that I understood – but I hadn't done anything to stop them; even if it got me killed in the process.

I saw wolves running in my direction, caught their scent and realized they were my pack, and I cried harder. They will see that I did nothing and that this is all my fault.

I watched as my father took in the surroundings – processed what had happened – and broke. Right here in front of me he broken down and he cried.

The Alpha lost his mate, the pack lost their Luna, and I lost my mother; and I thought I would lose my father with her.

One of the wolves came up to me, nudging me with his big nose; I heard him in my head.

Don't blame yourself, Chloe, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped it if you tried.

I turned around and hugged him. His coat was soft, and I realized it was Beta Samuel; he was like an uncle to me. He shifted and picked me up.

"Let's go back inside," He whispered, letting me cuddle into him.

"What about Daddy?" I asked tearfully, read to burst into another round of tears.

"He'll be okay, Chlo. Let him mourn the loss of his mate. It wasn't your fault, Kiddo," He told me reassuringly, holding me close and walking towards the house.

I was sitting in my fathers office while he was out with some of the other pack members. I did quite a bit of pack work, considering I was the next Alpha.

I went through some files and signed a few papers. Honestly, I didn't mind pack work. It took my mind off the things I was stressing over and made me focus.

Compared to my dad, I was super organised. I think I have a low form of OCD. It isn't always there but when it came to pack work. I was all over the organisation of it.

My dad is always saying how one day I'll run the pack with my mate. I've always let him live that dream of me finding my mate and being happy, but honestly, I don't want one.

I watched what it did to my father. He wasn't the same afterwards. For way too long he would barely come out of this office. He spent a lot of time burying himself in pack work.

It took him so long to be able to stop showing what the loss of his mate was doing to him. I know he hasn't recovered from it. I sometimes still hear the odd strangled sound from someone trying to not make any sounds while crying.

Nothing good came from my mother being killed. Although I became closer to my father a while after she died. Once he finally got it through his head that he did have a child to love, and that he couldn't spend his whole life wallowing in self pity.

I remember how he apologised so many times once he realised I was still here, and I remember how at night he would apologise to mum about how he was a terrible father.

I used to tell him that he wasn't, that even though I didn't understand what he was going through. I still lost my mummy and that I was here with him through it all.

We became a lot closer after that. He read me bedtime stories. He took me to school on the first day of year 3. He said he'd make up for all the days he left me out of, and he did.

I was so lost in my thought that when the door slammed open, I jumped out of my seat and only feet, ready to attack whoever was coming in.

"Chloe! We're being invaded." Samuel practically screamed at me. Well that's shit.

"What! Who's invading?" I yell back, who's invading us, our pack isn't worth that much.

"Dark Blood." The horror was written all over his face. Why is that pack invading us? What do we have that they want? Argh!

"Well shit." I knew we were doomed. They were one of the strongest packs around.

"Chloe, you're dads already out there. What are we going to do?" Samuel asks me, going into business mode.

"We join him, and protect our pack." I'm already running out of the house. I am going to give these assholes a fight.