Chapter 1

As I flipped to the following episode, I giggled to myself. I watched the entire first season of the show all by myself that day, but I thought the perfect time to begin the second season was at three in the morning on a Sunday, the night before my geometry test. However, I must admit that I have a TV addiction.

My laptop had died and I was dozing off with my head in the bowl of popcorn when I woke up to the alarm, so I must have slept off during the subsequent episode. Before getting out of bed, I sighed in disgust and just a little bit of pride in myself. I fell over an empty bottle of coke while swearing like a sailor. I gave the coke bottle the middle finger as I turned around, as if it had been placed there on purpose to be in the way.

The home was abruptly broken up by a deep voice. You had better get out of bed, May.

I screamed, "I'm out of bed," cutting off my asshole brother.

If you aren't down by the time I leave the home in 15 minutes, I'll leave you and your idiotic ass behind.

I hastily ran a brush through my hair and murmured "Dick" under my breath before getting into the shower. I quickly put on a pair of worn-out, ragged pants and then a worn-out black Guns N Roses tee. I scrambled my dark hair, which was still damp and curling, before donning my red baseball cap. I couldn't care less about how I looked because it was school, not me.

With my school bag on my lap and my skateboard in the backseat, I jumped into my brother's car just as he started to drive away. Your tardiness, my brother yelled.

I snorted at him, "Chill out man, you're going to have a coronary if you're not careful." I could feel my brother's eyes burning holes into my flesh even though he didn't respond. I offered him a mocking smile as I cast a glance up at him. Just before turning back to face the road, his dark eyes just barely narrowed.

Roland was two years my senior and was a total jerk. With dark hair and eyes, he was a tall, appealing man. He was popular and self-assured, in contrast to me. When Roland would snap his fingers, both boys and girls would rush to do what he wanted. But back then, my brother was the pack's future Beta.

My brother and I both had a lengthy pedigree of wolves, thus we were both born werewolves. The Vernal Pack's current Beta, or second in command, was my father. We were a pack of ordinary size and strength, but a Beta was still a powerful and well-respected being. Not as powerful and well-liked as an Alpha; an Alpha, after all, was an Alpha.

Roland yelled at me when we halted outside one of his girlfriends' homes, "Climb in the back." Because he had a different one every single week, I said "one of." I gave my brother a smirk before hurriedly getting into the back of his car.

We were at opposite ends of the spectrum, and I didn't think my brother and I would ever get along. However, he put up with driving me to and from school because my father had asked him to, and he had complied. Period.

A crazily attractive girl shrieked "Baby" as she climbed into the automobile. Being as plain as muck as I was, I was immediately envious of her beauty. She had blonde hair that fell straight down her back, a white skirt, white stilettos, and a tight pink shirt tucked in. She wore heels to school, which baffled me because I toppled over in my fucking sneakers.

My brother was immediately kissed by the female as she leaned over. They engaged in some brief sexual activity while I searched for somewhere else to be, trying not to throw up in disgust. The girl turned to look at me as they eventually parted ways with their lips. She scowled at me and asked, "Who's this?"

Here is my younger sister. My asshole of a brother told me to ignore her.

I mumbled beneath my breath, "Dick."

My brother yelled at me, "What was that?"

I sighed and said, "I said we're going to be late. My brother merely backed up from the curb without saying anything. The entire trip to school, Roland and his girlfriend—whom I later learned was named Denise—talked and flirted.

I jumped out of the car as soon as we arrived. I hopped on my skateboard after dropping it on the ground. As I skated through the parking lot, I plugged my headphones in. As I skated past people and inside the school, I blasted some strong music.

One of the teachers yelled, "Miss Throne, off that board inside!" at me. As I jumped off my board and scooped it up, I rolled my eyes.

I called myself a "witch" as I walked to homeroom.

Before my mum came to pick me up, I stayed after school till late for soccer club. My mother immediately remarked, "You look like a mess."

I've been playing soccer, how did you think I'd look? I replied in a mocking tone.

She scowled, "Yes, but you look like you've been rolling around in the mud." My mother was wonderfully gorgeous, which I wasn't. Her golden Latin skin and short, trimmed dark hair gave her a youthful, attractive appearance. I had hoped that I suffered from ugly duckling syndrome and would soon blossom, but after sixteen years of saying it, it still hadn't happened.

When we returned home, my mother reminded me, "Don't forget we have Equinox Alpha visiting tomorrow." So make sure you arrive home immediately after school. 

"Perhaps I should just skip the whole day and assist you and dad with the planning?" I grinned.

She looked at me and said, "Nice try, Mabella, but it's not happening." She using my real name bothered me so much. Since Mabella was my grandmother's name and she was a crazy old git, I detested the name with a ferocious hatred. No, it was a legacy to be given her name. I chose May because, unlike Mabella, it was at least mostly satisfactory.

Damn, I muttered.

My mother called after me, "And don't forget we have a pack meeting in an hour."

Damn, I said again.

Before my mother came to get me, I relaxed for an hour. She gave me a frown for not dressing up, but because it was just the Alpha and I knew him from birth, he didn't need that I do so. 

I was very certain that my mother was dissatisfied with how I had turned out since I was a tomboy with a bad attitude who only cared about skateboarding, soccer, and archery. She had always desired a friend with whom she could go shopping and discuss males and crushes, but that was not me. Instead of shopping at Target, I would rather be shooting arrows at targets. Don't get me wrong, she loved me, but deep down, she was disappointed that I wasn't more like her. 

The word "May" was said to me. My friends were waving me over when I turned around. My only pals didn't attend my school, which was unfortunate, but at least we could hang out after school.

At the back of the forest clearing, Dom, Jared, and Chris were loitering. I hurried up to them after saying farewell to my mother. The question "What's up?" I prompted them.

We're going to the skate park soon, are you game? Chris questioned me.

I sighed, "I wish that other Alpha was coming tomorrow so my mother wouldn't be panicking out over nothing. After this, I'm sure she'll drag me away for preparation or some other nonsense.

Jared complained, "Bummer dude." Because they didn't care that I was a girl or the Beta's daughter—I was just May, and that was cool—I adored my pals. 

Chris chuckled as he said, "Hey, I saw your brother at the mall early with another girl again."

I reflected, "Yep, another week and another girl."

Chris said, "She was hot, though."

Are they not always? Dom added a bit.

He could never be seen with anyone who didn't have a gigantic stick up their tight butts, so of course he's the future Beta, I remarked.

A voice roared out, "Mabella." When I turned to see my father following closely behind me, I winced. My companions immediately took a few steps away from me as he rushed over to me. "You won't talk about your brother in that way, and you won't ever use language like that again. "Young lady, do you understand me?" he sneered at me.

The pack members assembling for the meeting cast glances in the direction of the Beta yelling at his rebellious daughter. I scuffed my sneaker in the mud as I scowled at the ground and blushed slightly in shame. My father asked, "Mabella."

I murmured, "I'm sorry," feeling foolish and like a little kid.

My father yelled, "Come, you'll stand at the front with me." He took hold of my arm and dragged me through the clearing to the patio leading to the Alpha's home. I protested in my head while he dragged me to the front.

Although my father was tough, he was also protective because I was his little daughter. I was accustomed to getting into trouble with Dad, but he was never able to hold his ire against me for very long. In contrast to my brother, who he might be angry with for days on end.

My mother and brother joined us shortly after. Before giving my mother a delicate kiss on the lips, my father grinned at her. I couldn't believe I was their daughter as I stared at them. My father was robust and well-built, and my mother was gorgeous. However, I was standing there like the family's fucking runt. 

In the broad scale of things, I didn't really care about appearances, but as some of the females my age started to find their partners, I started to question whether I should be worried. For when they ran into their mates, the majority of She-Wolves my age made sure they were always groomed and flawlessly made up. As a result, I nearly felt guilty about how little I cared.

Even still, there were times when I felt out of place as I stood with my family, who all appeared to have stepped out of a magazine. I simply did not inherit my family's good looks for some reason. Since I had come to terms with it at a young age, I despised standing with them because everyone else appeared to notice it.

Fortunately, the Alpha and his wife showed up, and it soon became a Pack meeting. Alpha Parker, who was kind and about my father's age, had dark eyes that were deep set and soft graying hair. He stole my dream, and for that, I despised him with all of my heart. Everything I had worked for was taken away by him.