Chapter 1
The day Amy had been looking forward to had finally arrived.
She was turning eighteen today and she was really excited about it. There was a mating ceremony going on in the pack house tonight. This was life changing for her, because once a wolf clocks eighteen, she'd immediately get her mate.
She'd been dating Jeremy for almost a year now, and she really hoped that he would be her mate. She'd fallen for his looks from the first day she'd seen him, and she was excited when he asked her out. They had few challenges, and of them was that he was sought after and eyed by many girls because of his good looks and the fact that he was the son of the alpha, making him the future Alpha of the Hollow pack.
She on the other hand was an Omega, which was the lowest rank in the werewolf society.
Because of this reason, their affair was somewhat a secret from the pack. Of course, there was no way people in school wouldn't know about their relationship.
The people they were really the relationship from were his parents. They knew his parents wouldn't be exactly elated that their only son - and heir to the throne - was dating a lowlife; a nerdy omega who had no friends apart from her books. There was no elegance in that.
Due to her boyfriend's status as the alpha's son and his good looks, plenty of girls had confronted her, telling her that he was way out of her league, but she didn't care to give them a listening ear because she knew that they were hating. She loved and trusted Jeremy, and she hoped the Moon Goddess would make them end up together.
One other problem they'd been having was her stand on not having sex until they were sure they were mates.
We've been seeing each other for some time now, but she had refused to give in to his sex demands until I was sure that we were mates. He told her he would be patient till then, but she knew that it took a lot for him to abstain while they were waiting and that was why she was even more excited about tonight.
She'd planned to surprise him by offering him her virginity tonight, after the mating party.
She hadn't told him yet, and she just couldn't wait.
She couldn't get herself out of her head as she looked at the mirror for the last time. She was finally ready. Tonight, I was going to get my mate!
She left her room and went downstairs to join her friend Kayla, who was waiting for her.
"Wow! You look beautiful!", She squealed in delight as she saw me come down from the stairs.
"Kayla, I know you're my best friend, so you always say that I look pretty even when I know I don't, but I really need your honest opinions on this. Do you really think I'm pretty in this dress?"
"Amy, I'm your best friend, so I'll let you know that I won't allow you to get to a party if I think you don't look like a queen. So believe me when I say that you look ravishing. You're going to turn heads tonight!"
"Good! I need to look good for Jeremy tonight", she muttered as she took one last scan around my dress to make sure everything was in order.
Amy noticed her best friend grew quiet instantly. She could guess the reason, but she decided to ask anyway.
"I just feel you're putting too much faith in Jeremy. I'm not saying that I don't want your happiness, but we're both young, and there are many things that could go wrong. Like... What if Jeremy is not your mate after all?" She asked for the tenth time since today.
Amy knew that her best friend was just looking out for her. She didn't trust Jeremy from day one, and Amy couldn't blame her. She totally understood. Being in a relationship with someone like Jeremy was too good to be true, and it was hard to not expect it wouldn't turn out for the best. But Amy knew better.
Amy sighed. "I'm sure of it. Just trust me", she replied. She was positive that he would be. The connection was there and she believed so.
"Okay then. Let's go have fun!", she put on her happy mood and both got out of the house to the party.
They soon got to the pack house and everywhere was lit. From the loud music to the flashing neon lights, the vibe was great.
"Have a good time, Amy. Let me go look for my charming Paul", Kayla bade her as she went into the crowd.
Now, she was just by herself. She had to go find her own Charming Prince.
She took out her phone from the purse and rang his phone.
He didn't pick up.
She tried his number again, but he still didn't answer his phone.
"That's weird", she said to herself, as she pouted.
But she wouldn't allow that to topple her mood. She'd been looking forward to this night, and she'd prepared too much to get sad.
She had to find her boyfriend.
She remembered that they always have their location on whenever they are apart, so it wouldn't be hard to find each other. She checked it and it showed that he was at the party. She just didn't know where yet.
She looked around, and she didn't see him.
She began looking for him and began checking the rooms.
"Hey, have you seen Jeremy?", She asked a stranger.
"I think I saw him at the back of the party with his friends", he said and left.
She began heading away from the fun towards the back of the house, with a smile on her face. She was going to appear beautiful for her boyfriend and in front of his friends.
She finally got outside and sighted the squad.
She walked towards them.
"Hey, babe! I'm here..."
The smile on her face was wiped immediately, and she gasped in shock at what she saw.
Chapter 2
Her shaky hands let go of her phone and her purse, causing them to fall to the ground, creating a somewhat crashing thud when they met the hard concrete floor. Although the arena was still a bit loud from the loud music from inside the house, no one noticed her until they heard the sound of her phone falling to the ground.
At the sound of the thud, everyone in the squad directed their attention at her, including Jeremy.
"Oh shit! Amy! Wh... What are you doing here?", Jeremy stammered in shock, trying to find words to say to his girlfriend.
Amy could barely breathe. She could barely think. The person that she had thought would be her mate, that she would spend the rest of my life with, was in the arms of another woman!
He picked up his phone from the bonnet of his car and checked it.
"I left my location on. Shit!", He cussed again at his stupidity.
"Jeremy, what were you..."
"Amy, it's not what you think. I can explain, I swear"
"Who's this bitch?", The girl with a ridiculous amount of make-up on her face questioned in disgust as she came closer to Jeremy, but he pushed her away immediately.
He faced Amy.
"Babe, I didn't know you were going to attend this party, and-"
"And that was why you decided to make out with this... Thing?", She eyed the girl sitting beside Jeremy like she was a vermin.
"Hey! Watch what you call me-"
"I can explain, Amy. If you could just listen-"
"Listen to what?! What do you want to explain to me that I did not see with my eyes?! I just watched as you almost ate her alive, your hands all over her body and hers all over yours! Are you going to try to convince me that I saw otherwise?! That I was hallucinating?!", She yelled, her blood flowing with different mixed feelings - all of them being negative.
"Maybe you were drunk", one of Jeremy's friends muttered loud enough for everyone around her, and the others either stifled laughter, or hid their faces, so Amy won't see them laughing at her.
"Amy, ignore them. Look, I mean it when I say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I really love you"
"But you still hurt me anyway. I thought you said you'd never hurt feelings, but I guess all men are liars. And you're the worst of them!", she spat in anger.
"Amy-"
"You're evil, Jeremy! I hate you for doing this to me!", She turned, heading back to the party.
"Maybe she was right"
Amy wanted to keep waking away, but his words brought her to a halt. She turned to face him.
"What did you say?"
"Maybe she was right", Jeremy repeated.
"Who was right?",
"Justina", he said.
"And what did she say that was right?"
"That you're a bitch"
To say that Amy was stunned by his words was an outright understatement to how his words affected her. She felt like she was stung by a scorpion; bitten by a ferocious snake and she felt the poison melting her insides immediately.
"Jeremy... Did you just call me a bitch?", She questioned, hoping her ears were playing tricks on her.
"You heard me clearly, Amy. You heard me loud and clear", he confirmed his harsh words
The "oohs" and "aahs" and the other gasps of surprise by the seemingly interested audience did not make it any better for her.
"For almost a year, I've been putting up with you. For almost a year, you deprived me of sex because you weren't sure that we were mates. What year do you think we're in? 1965? I know you're so used to living a mundane life that lacks fun, but how did you think I'd survive a whole freaking year with sex?", He questioned without any guilt in his voice.
"But we had a plan, Jeremy. I thought you agreed-"
"Fuck the agreement! I only agreed because I thought you'd give in sooner or later. What do you think I am? A piece of firewood, incapable of feeling horny?"
She wanted to turn and leave; run far away as far as she could. At the same time, she prayed the Moon Goddess would take her out of her misery and suck life out of her, or better still, open the ground underneath her so she would get swallowed.
But despite her mixed feelings, she felt rooted to the spot. She could neither move nor speak. It was like her brain could not send any impulse back to her muscles. She felt like she'd been cursed to be a statue; a laughing stock for the fun and entertainment of Jeremy, his friends and the rest of the party people hanging outside.
"If your dull brain wasn't able to detect it, let me break it down for you. I was only with you because I just wanted to. I felt like it. Not that I liked or had any sort of feelings for you or anything. I knew it wasn't going to be hard for you to fall for me. Think about it, Amy - how did you think in your wildest imaginations that the son of an alpha would fall for an Omega like you? You have no social life, and you've been tagged the nerd of the year sixteen times in a row. This is not the movies. Wake up from the dream... bitch", he spat and his friends sneered and hyped him some more.
She felt the cold midnight breeze move her skirt and go across her sleeveless arms, but she didn't manage to take any air from her nostrils into her lungs. She felt her airways constricted.
She couldn't believe that the person she'd loved with all of her life was spitting all these words to her.
Despite the loud jokes at her, she couldn't hear anything through her ringing ear. Tears came to her aid by blurring her eyes from seeing them laughing at her.
She finally found her away from the chaos and got into the house party.
She looked around, but she couldn't find Kayla.
If she couldn't find best friend, she'd have to find someone to vent these feelings on.
Chapter 3
8 HOURS AGO...
"I want you on the next flight back here immediately, Cole. Do not think I'm joking!! If I do not see you here in the next twenty-four hours, you have me to contend with. We're either going to do this the easy way, or the hard way. And you know that I'm capable of making all this very messy for you", Were the threats Cole's dad yelled to him over the phone before cutting the call.
He remembered throwing the phone across the bed, fuming so much in anger that he kicked the bedside drawer so hard, it broke. But that was the least of his worries.
Just when he had the chance to leave the godforsaken city, he'd been forced back into the city of abyss. He hated Louisiana so much because of the bad memories he had there. First, his mum died in that city four years ago. He'd been tagged infamous for his reckless actions. No one understood him in that city apart from his best friend, Liam. Not even his dad understood him.
He was an irresponsible kid, who was known for committing a lot of reckless actions without caring what others would say. However, he knew better than to mess with dad, or disobey him.
He couldn't call bluff on his father's threats. He knew that his father was capable of pulling every string he could, even if it meant sending some wolves to find and bundle me back to Louisiana. He had no choice but to return, because he knew that it was going to happen sooner or later.
Now his scandalous actions were drawing him back to the place he hated the most.
If only he didn't have unprotected sex with Shantel...
He tried getting out of his head by shutting his eyes and taking deep breaths, but the temporary peace was short-lived as the voice of the flight attendant came up over the speaker, telling them that the plane had safely landed in Louisiana.
He took a quick glance at the window, and the sight of the clear road and green bushes twisted his intestines so hard, he wanted to throw up.
They finally got out, and the Louisiana wind stung his skin, and he hated it.
He got away from the plane, walking towards Liam who was waiting to pick him up from the airport.
With a wide grin and welcoming hands, Cole could tell that his friend was happy with the fact that he was back in Louisiana.
"Turns out the Moon Goddess had other plans for you after all", he said as he hugged Cole tight and took his luggage.
"That is really not funny, Liam. I don't need you to laugh at my predicament", Cole muttered with a frown.
"Look at the upside, Cole. At least you still get to be with me", Liam argued as he led the way to the car.
"There is no upside to this situation, Liam. I was finally away from this godforsaken place, only to be dragged back by my dad for a stupid scandal"
"Argue what you want. All I know is that I'm about to be a godfather", he teased as he started the car.
"I wish they brought the chauffeur to pick me up", Cole mumbled in frustration, and Liam sneered.
****
"So you knew that you got Shantel pregnant, and you left the city?! What was the plan? To leave her to fend for herself?!", Mr. Darell questioned in rage, his voice booming and echoing all over the large, spacious living room.
This was the part Cole was dreading - facing his father.
"I didn't know about it until I landed in New York city. She told me only when I arrived-"
"And what were you planning to do about it? Deny it, right? What difference did it make, whether you knew about when you were in Louisiana or in New York? You wanted to chicken out!!"
Cole was getting pretty frustrated by his father's rants.
"Dad, I'm still young. Too young to be held down by a pregnancy allegation. I have a lot ahead of me. I still want to have fun and enjoy my bachelor years. I still have basketball, dad. This came to soon-"
"Then maybe you should've thought about all these before you fucked her raw, goddammit! Why do I have such an empty brain for a son? I let you live your life... I give you a free hand, and what did you do? You impregnated your girlfriend! And now you're telling me you're too young to be held down?! You're too young to be held down, but you're not too young to have sex - or worse - have sex without protection?!! Your mother would be disappointed up above..."
By this time, Mr. Darell's face was as red as a boiled tomato. Liam who was quietly seated prayed he wouldn't get a cardiac arrest, the way Mr. Darell yelled at his son.
"What if it wasn't pregnancy? What if she had an STD? What if she had HIV? What would've happened if you contacted it? Who would've taken over my million dollar business, as you're my only son?", He questioned Cole, trying to keep his emotions in check so he wouldn't do anything he'd regret.
"Dad, I know that I fucked up, but I can still get redemption. I swear I've learnt my lesson. If only we could find pay Shantel's family a large sum of money, so they would a way to-"
"If you're thinking of getting them to abort the pregnancy, perish that stupid thought, because that's not going to happen. I've let you live in so much foolishness. I've let you get away with a lot of things, but not this. You're going to face this squarely. Congratulations, Cole. You're about to be a dad", Mr. Darrel said as his hands went up and fell in frustration. He left Cole and Liam, cursing angrily as he stormed up the stairs.
"I need to take my mind off things, Liam. This is too much for me"
"Well, there's a mating party coming up tonight. There are going to be lots of drinks-"
"Come pick me up by 10pm", Cole instructed his best friend and walked upstairs to his room