Willow’s POV
The walk to the packhouse took me about an hour on human legs but that was okay because I needed time to process what just happened. It was as if a burden had been lifted off my shoulders walking out of that house and a sense of relief washed over me. For over a year now I have endured the painful memories of my father leaving and my mother’s anger towards me for it. Every day was a constant memory that I wasn’t wanted and that all I was good for was helping to keep a roof over the head of the person that gave birth to me. But now I was free from all of that and even if Alpha Chance won’t take me into his pack, I will find a way to survive without going back to that hell that I had lived. The lane to the packhouse came in sight and I could feel the eyes of the patrol on me as I walked up the lane to the house and I knew that they were all looking at me in judgement. Warning of my arrival must have gotten back to the house because when I approached the house Luna stood at the top of the steps with her fiery red hair and watched me as I ascended the steps towards her. “Willow is everything alright?” Luna asked and I didn’t know exactly what to tell her. “May I stay here tonight?” I asked her, hoping she would agree to let me stay. “Of course, you can stay here. Our door has always been open to you.” Luna said as she waved me into the house. Just then Alpha Conner made his way into the foyer area and asked, “Willow is everything okay?” “I am sorry to intrude Alpha. I just need a place to stay until I can go to Red Moon pack.” I told him, hoping that he already spoke with Alpha Chance. “You are welcome to stay here. I told you our door is always open to you. As for Red Moon I have spoken with Alpha Chance and he is willing to let you become part of his pack if that is what you want.” Alpha Conner says to me and I am relieved to hear that I have a place to go far away from here. “Thank you, Alpha Conner. Is there any way that I could get a ride to the bus stop tomorrow?" I asked hoping someone could drive me instead of the hour plus walk. “There is no need to take a bus. Luna and I will be traveling tomorrow to see our brothers for a long weekend and to see the twins on their birthday. It’s halfway there and Alpha Chance will be sending his Beta to get you from there.” Alpha Conner tells me and I feel a bit of relief knowing I will be escorted there by Alpha Chance’s Beta. “Thank you, Alpha Conner. I truly do appreciate everything you have done for me and I will miss you and Luna.” I tell both of them wanting them to know that my leaving has nothing to do with them. “Come with me Willow so I can show you to your room for the night.” Luna said as she led me up the stairs and down a long hall to an empty room. Once inside and Luna was gone, I looked around the massive room that was larger than the whole house I was living in with my mother. The bed had to be a king and I had never seen one so big in my life. The bathroom that was connected to it had a massive tub in it which was calling my name. Quickly I undressed as the water ran into the tub and when I lowered myself into it and my muscles were happy to feel some relief from today’s workouts. As my head went back against the head pillow, I closed my eyes and let my mind relax for a moment. It had been a long stressful day and I was happy that it had ended with Alpha telling me that I was accepted by the Red Moon pack, making it the best birthday present I could have asked for. Tomorrow would be the start hopefully for a new future for me with a fresh start where no one knew who I was and no one will look at me with pity because of my home life. Morning came and I felt like I had the best night of sleep in my life. The mattress on the bed made me feel like I was sleeping on a cloud. After getting dressed I headed downstairs to meet up with Alpha and Luna so that we could head off to my new home. The two of them were waiting in the foyer ready to leave. Alpha reached for one of my bags to help me and I gladly let him take it. My muscles were still slightly sore from yesterday and one less bag to carry took some relief off them. As we drove towards Crescent Moon pack my stomach started to growl. It had been two days since I had eaten and I knew my body was in need of food, but I hadn’t worked at the diner in two days where I was able to get a meal while I worked my shift. We never had food at home because my mother never allotted money for it and normally every dime I made she would take it from me. I noticed Alpha and Luna looking at each other and then Luna asks, “Are you hungry Willow?” “I am fine, Luna.” I told her, not wanting to burden her or Alpha. Alpha then looked back at me in the rear-view mirror and asked, “Willow how long has it been since you ate?” I couldn’t lie to Alpha, so I said just above a whisper, “Two days.” Anger filled Alpha’s eyes and I knew I shouldn’t have told him because it would just upset him. No one knew how truly bad I had it at home and I tried to keep it bottled inside of me not wanting anyone to know how my home life was. Two days was nothing to go without eating. I had once almost gone five days because my shift had gotten cancelled twice at the diner when a storm had come through last winter, and the hunger became so grave that I resorted to hunting a rabbit in my wolf form. “Willow, how long has this been going on?” Alpha now asks me. “Alpha I am sorry I shouldn’t have said anything.” I said to him not wanting to cause an issue. “I asked you a question Willow.” Alpha now said in his Alpha tone. “Since my father left when we came home from Red Moon pack.” I told him not able to resist his Alpha tone. A growl slipped from his lips and I knew he was not pleased about this. “Why haven’t you said anything to any of us?” Alpha now asks and a tear slips down my cheek. “I am sorry Alpha but I didn’t want to burden anyone with my home life.” I told him as another tear slipped from my eye and I quickly wiped it away not wanting to show weakness. “Willow I am your Alpha and my job is to keep you all safe. I feel like I have failed you as your Alpha.” Alpha Conner said to me and I felt bad I made him feel that way. “You didn’t fail me, Alpha. You taught me how to protect myself with training and I am grateful for that.” I told him hoping he knew that he had done something no other pack would have done for me. “That wasn’t enough.” Alpha said as the Luna placed her hand on his arm trying to calm him. “I am sorry I shouldn’t have said anything.” I now say seeing that I caused him worry. “Willow is this part of the reason you wanted to leave?” Luna now asks. It was partially one of the reasons I wanted to leave but the major reason was to get away from my mother and everything that I had endured over the last year. There was so much heartache and pain and I just wanted to free myself from all of it. This time I picked my words wisely not wanting to upset the Alpha or Luna anymore and said, “I just need a fresh start.”Willow’s POV Finally, we made it to Crescent Moon packhouse and it had to be the largest packhouse I had ever seen. I was aware that two packs had combined under one roof because Luna Ella was mated to both the Crescent and Blue Moon pack’s Alphas, one being Alpha Conner’s half-brother. Alpha Conner was the only one of us hybrids that knew who their biological father was, and in a way, I was a little jealous of him. His father had welcomed him with open arms and so did his entire family of siblings. I could only hope someday that I too could find my biological father and he would accept me as his daughter and welcome me into his family too. As Luna and Alpha opened their doors to exit the SUV, I looked up at the massive steps that led into the packhouse and saw Alpha Caleb standing at the top of the stairs ready to welcome his brother Alpha Conner. My door opened and Luna said, “Willow you can get out of the vehicle.” “I’m sorry Luna.” I said as I stepped out of the vehicle with my
Willow’s POV It didn’t take long to unpack what little bit of clothes I had. The closet was huge and what little I had to fill it looked pitiful but of course I wondered if anyone had enough clothes to fill it. I picked out my best pair of yoga pants and sports bra and put them on to get ready to go to training and pulled my long black hair up into a high ponytail. When I looked into the mirror to make sure that I looked okay I realized that I had lost a lot of weight recently and that you could see my ribs, but my arms and legs were lean muscle. I debated about putting a shirt on over the sports bra but decided against it due to the fact that I felt restricted in it when I trained. Looking at the clock I noticed that I had an hour before training started and I decided to go out for a quick run to loosen my muscles before training began. I remember some of the trails that were around the packhouse from the last time I was here and decided to stick to them until I got more familiar
Shawn’s POV Screams came from the path that led to the waterfall with the pool that the pups were always playing in and I knew something was definitely wrong. Alpha Chance was still away on business with a pack up north that was having issues with rogues and I was left in charge of keeping the Red Moon pack safe until he returned. Racing towards the path a group of pups came into sight as they clearly were running for their lives from something. They passed by me as they headed towards the packhouse for safety. Finally, I came across two she wolves as they brought the rear of the pack up with the smaller of the pups. “Rogues!” The one she wolf began to scream in my direction. “How many?” I asked as I started to run in the direction they came from. “At least a half dozen. You must help the girl that is fighting them off.” The other she wolf said and I felt my stomach turn. It had to be Willow she was talking about. None of our she wolves would attempt to take on a rogue not alone h
Chance’s POV When Beta Shawn had called me and told me that our pack had been attacked by rogues, I was glad that I had agreed to be allies with Blood Moon pack. I never thought that the rogues would have gotten so far into my lands already and I wondered how they had gotten so far south from their last attack so soon. One thing I did know is that I needed to make a plan to get them the hell off my lands and keep my pack safe. I was thankful that my warriors were able to respond so quickly and that no one from my pack was hurt. Beta Shawn didn’t give me all the details over the phone on what transpired but what I do know is that everyone was safe and the rogues were not a threat at the moment. As my SUV pulled up the lane to the packhouse I could clearly see my warriors on edge and I wondered if it was worse than what Beta Shawn was telling me over the phone. Getting out of the vehicle I walked quickly up the steps and into the packhouse to my office hoping that Beta Shawn was wait
Willow’s POV The door to my room was locked and I was packing what little belongings I had brought with me to Red Moon. I had to get out of here before Alpha Chance came after me for freezing him. It was the first time that I had ever frozen someone but I had to do it to protect Beta Shawn from getting further hurt from him. I never would have imagined that Alpha Chance would be so aggressive like he was. The last time I saw him he seemed so nice and kindhearted, but today he was like a rabid animal. All my dreams of a new start at a new pack just crashed before my eyes and like my mother said I had nowhere to go and no one would want me. The reality was setting in and I felt a tear slide down my cheek knowing that she was right. I was foolish for thinking that I could leave and start a new beginning somewhere else where I could finally be happy. Grabbing my bag, I moved towards the door and listen closely for any movement before I opened the door and headed for the back staircase
Willow’s POV It couldn’t be. Why would the Moon Goddess do this to me? Why would she give me a mate that I feared? I just couldn’t believe this was happening to me. My wolf whimpered within me as my thoughts went to, this can’t be and how do I reject him as my mate. There was no way that I was going to be in another situation where I would be emotionally hurt again. I had seen firsthand how he acted just a short time ago and I feared that he would be physically abusive too and I wouldn’t allow that to happen. Without thinking I said, “Reject me.” As I lowered my gaze back to the ground not wanting to look at him any longer. “What?” Alpha Chance said not understanding what I just asked of him. “Reject me, please.” I said as the tears started to fall from my eyes. “Willow, I can’t and I won’t reject you. I waited so long for you.” Alpha Chance says to me in a gentle voice and it is like he is a totally different man then the man that was in his office not too long ago. “Please.” I
Willow’s POV Stepping off the patio I begin to strip my clothes off in front of Alpha Chance. He was my Alpha and my mate and I am sure that I would be naked in front of him in the future if I decided to stay. Nakedness in front of another wolf or hybrid is something I quickly got used to training as a warrior but as I stand in front of Alpha Chance with his eyes on me something feels so different about this act of being naked in front of him. As he pulls his own clothes off in front of me, I take in the caramel tone of his flesh and his perfect sculptured body that only the gods should have. His dark hair looked tasseled as if his shirt must have hit against it as he pulled it over his head and his green eyes now stared at me with desire in them. He took a step towards me and I took off running, shifting within the first two strides into my wolf. One thing I knew about Alphas was they were huge in wolf form, but I was fast because of my slender build. I took off in the direction o
Willow’s POV My eyes fluttered open as I heard the morning birds singing a beautiful melody outside the open window as the cool morning breeze brushed over my skin. I sat up abruptly looking around the room remembering where I had fallen asleep last night and whose arms I was in but to my surprise I was in my own room in my own bed alone. Was it all a dream? Or had Beta Shawn returned me back to my own room at some point in the night? I touched my lips as if I could still feel his kiss upon them and knew that it couldn’t have been a dream. Removing the thin sheet off my body I noticed I was still in the same outfit that I had on the night before verifying that it had to have happened. Making my way to the bathroom I stripped the clothes I had on from the night before and turned on the water to the shower before stepping in and immersing myself beneath it. As the water ran down over my head and down my body fully awakening me, I realized that I had no clue what the hell I was going