Chapter 1-Present Day

I wake up startled and panting as the memories of my first shift fade to the back of my mind.

‘What the fuck was that?’ Enyo asks.

‘That would be a nightmare, Enyo,’ I say as I breathe deeply, trying to calm my pounding heart. I wipe my forehead, and my whole body is covered in a layer of sweat as I remember the pain from that night.

‘No shit, Sherlock,’ she says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. ‘Why are you dreaming of our first shift? That needs to be locked away and never thought of again.’

‘It wasn’t all bad. Our first run was fun,’ I say as I get out of bed to pee.

‘Okay, so remember that part and forget the rest,’ she demands.

It’s my turn to roll my eyes. ‘Like it’s that easy,’ I huff.

‘Whatever. We need to start organizing our birthday party, by the way.’

I stop washing my hands and look up into the mirror, my green eyes changing to blue as Enyo pushes forward.

‘Do you think we’ll find our mate straight away?’ She asks excitedly.

‘We don’t have time for a mate,’ I sigh and go back to washing my hands.

‘We’ll be eighteen, Athena. We can find our mate and settle down. Isn’t that the dream?’

‘That’s your dream. You know what my dream is,’ I say sternly, getting angry.

‘Yeah, yeah. I miss Dad too. But there’s more to life than just obsessing over his killer,’ Enyo says softly.

Rage washes over me, and I feel myself shifting. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. “Nothing is more important than finding those responsible for killing Dad,” I growl out loud.

‘Just shift already! We haven’t been for a run in weeks,’ Enyo whines, trying to force the shift.

I grip the bathroom counter, trying to keep control. ‘You’re not helping Enyo,’ I say and look into the mirror, her eyes blazing back at me. ‘We agreed last night. We’re finding the truth ourselves.’

She holds my stare for a few moments, but eventually, she gives up, pulling back begrudgingly and settling in the back of my mind.

‘Thank you,’ I sigh as my eyes turn back to their usual emerald green.

I splash some cool water on my face and look at myself in the mirror again. Flashbacks of the day my father was killed fill my mind. I can’t believe he’s been gone for two years. As tears form in my eyes, I sigh and shake my head, clearing the images from my mind. I put my ash brown hair up in a tight ponytail and run a quick shower to wash the sweat from our dream away. When I get out, I quickly dry off, apply some mascara, and then walk back into the room to get ready for my last training session with the pack.

I jog down to the training field and smile when I see my best friend, Ryna, and Uncle Alex standing at the front of the warriors who are gathered for the training session. I take my place next to Alex and begin to stretch as he pairs everyone up into sparring partners.

“Are you planning on sparring today?” Alex asks when he’s finished.

“No, I’m just going to observe training today, then go for a run,” I tell him, not able to look him in the eye.

Enyo’s ears prick up, and I sigh. ‘I’ll be running as a human,’ I tell her, shutting down her excitement.

She whimpers and goes back to ignoring me.

“Athena, you haven’t trained properly in weeks. And don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t let Enyo out either,” Ryna says, concern in his voice.

“What?!” Uncle Alex exclaims. “You can’t do that to her, Athena!”

“I’m having trouble controlling her,” I mumble. ‘And my emotions,’ I think to myself.

“Well, keeping her locked away isn’t going to help that, Athena. It’s a delicate balance between our human side and our animalistic side. Keeping her suppressed is only going to cause you both harm.”

“And me lashing out in anger and injuring someone isn’t going to help the balance, either, Uncle Alex.”

He sighs and shakes his head. “You can’t let your emotions control either of you. You need to be level-headed as Gamma, Athena.”

“I know what it takes to be Gamma,” I huff, clenching my fists, my claws digging into my palms.

“Then prove it,” Ryna says. “Spar with me.”

I roll my eyes and cross my arms across my chest. “I’d prefer not to hurt my best friend.”

“You think you can hurt me?” He says, removing his shirt and throwing it at me, then flexing his muscles.

“No one needs to see that, Ryna. Put your shirt back on,” I laugh, throwing it at him.

“There she is,” he says with a smile, putting his shirt back on. “We’re just worried about you, Athena. Warriors talk. And if they sense any kind of weakness, they won’t accept you as Gamma,” Ryna whispers.

I nod without saying anything as I look over the warriors, torn between my responsibilities as future Gamma, and my choice to leave the pack.

“Why don’t you come to my office later so we can discuss it?” Uncle Alex suggests.

“Okay,” I say. “I’m just going to go for my run now. I need to think,” I tell them, and Uncle Alex nods, allowing me to leave.

Later that afternoon

“Uncle Alex?” I call out as I knock on his office door.

“Come in, Athena,” his deep voice calls back, so I enter the office, closing the door behind me.

I see the man I’ve called my uncle for as long as I can remember sitting behind his large oak desk, and I take a moment to look him over, taking in everything about him. From his dark brown hair to his deep hazel eyes, his crooked nose, and handsome smile. I commit it all to memory, knowing that it may be some time before I see him again.

When he notices I haven’t moved from the doorway, he looks up at me with a smile. “How was your run, sweetheart?” He asks, motioning for me to sit.

“It was fine. It helped clear my mind,” I say as I cross the room and sit in the leather chair across from his desk with a small smile. “I need to talk to you about the Gamma position,” I say, making sure to sound happy, instead of the sadness I feel.

“Only a few more weeks and you will be our Gamma,” he says proudly. “Your father trained you for this your whole life, Athena. You can do this.”

“Actually, I’m here to ask if you will stay on as Gamma for a while longer,” I say, looking down at my hands.

“What?” He asks, surprised. “It’s your rightful position, Athena. Why wouldn’t you take over when you turn eighteen?”

“I need answers, Uncle Alex. This bullshit about it being rogues that attacked us doesn’t add up. I want to know who was responsible for killing Daddy,” I say, looking up at him sadly.

He sighs sadly and sits back in his chair. “Athena, the Elder council looked into the attack. They didn’t find any of the surrounding packs responsible.”

“Someone has to know something. We both know that the attack was too calculated for rogues to have done it.”

“You need to accept that we may never know what happened that day,” he says, his face grief-stricken.

“I can’t!” I yell as I slam my fist on the desk. “And I can’t believe you would accept that, either! He was your best friend! How can you let his murder go unanswered?!”

“I would do anything to find the mutt who killed your father!” He yells back, breathing hard as he tries to control himself.

After a few moments of glaring at each other, I break eye contact and drop my head in defeat.

“I can barely stand to be in here, Uncle Alex,” I say, and look around the office that used to be my dad’s. Alex has barely changed it since he took over as acting Gamma. There are still photos of me and Dad around the office, of us with Mom. Of Alex and Dad. I feel tears escape down my cheeks as I look back at Alex. “I won’t be able to move on until I find the truth.”

He looks at me for a moment with sadness in his eyes, before he stands and walks over to me and pulls me into a tight hug.

“You’re as stubborn as your father,” he says, and I giggle despite the tears. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

I shake my head and pull away from his embrace. “I need this, Uncle Alex. And I need to know I have your support,” I say, holding back more tears.

He pulls me back into a hug and says, “I will always support you, Athena. You have my word.”

“I also need your help,” I tell him.

“Anything,” he says and kisses the top of my head.

“I need you to help me tell Mom...”

I feel him stiffen in my arms, and he groans. “Fuck. And you need to get permission from Alpha Damon...”

I stiffen as well. “Shit. I didn’t think about the Alpha saying no.”

Uncle Alex pulls away. “Come on, we better speak to him before we speak to your mom.”