His Mistreated Mate

I sighed loudly as I folded the last of my clothes and packed them neatly into my suitcase. I glanced around my bedroom sadly, knowing that today was going to be the last day I spent, not just in this room, but in this house. Walking over towards the mirror on the wall, I stared at my reflection bleakly. A pale tear-stained face stared back at me with sodden, ash grey eyes while long white, blonde hair hung limply around my waist. I was 16 years old, but I was petite for my age. I didn't have curves like most of the girls my age and my pale complexion was due to me spending endless amounts of hours, hiding away in my bedroom, under the duvet covers, reminiscing about the good times that I had when my Mum was still alive. I hardly ever went outside anymore, except to go to school and as a result, I had very few friends and i was also the school kids favourite bullying target.

My Mum died suddenly last year after committing suicide and now that my Dad had remarried, we were moving into his new wife's house. My Mum was a beautiful woman and she never seemed unhappy or down, so her death came to us at a complete shock. I remember the morning of her death well. She kissed me and my Dad goodbye as she left the house to go to her weekly gym session, but she never arrived there that day. After reporting her missing to the police, her body was never found but her belongings were found on top of a cliff at a notorious suicide spot along with a suicide note, saying how sorry she was for what she was about to do and that she hoped that one day we would forgive her. Every day I missed her like crazy and just couldn't believe that she had gone, and that the sea had claimed her for its own. She wasn't just my mother but my best friend. It felt like a massive part of me had been cruelly ripped out of my heart and trampled on in the dirt. I loved my Dad endlessly, don't get me wrong, but he couldn't replace my Mum, and neither could his new wife, no matter how sweet and kind she was. Silently, I turned around and grabbed my suitcase before dragging it out of my room and down the stairs, towards the front door to where my Dad was waiting patiently, beside our car, packed full of our belongings.

"Are you ready pet?" he asked gently, bending down to my level, and hugging me tightly before wiping my eyes with his finger. "Come on. Let's go. Julianne will be waiting for us at the new place. Please don't cry my love. You will love it at the new house with Julianne and Louisa."

Louisa was Julianne's daughter. She was the same age as me, but she was a lot taller and had a fuller figure. She wasn't fat but she had large perky boobs, curvaceous hips, and a toned flat stomach. Her wavy long brown locks fell around her waist like a chocolate waterfall and her piercing blue eyes shone like polished sapphires. I knew Louisa from school and even though she wasn't one of the kids that bullied me, she never stood up for me or stopped the nastiness, knowing that I was to become her stepsister. She would just stand and watch with her group of giggly girlfriends and snigger gently before walking off towards class and out of sight.

I nodded silently at my Dad, tears starting to leak down my face once more as I turned around and looked back at our now empty house before climbing into the car. Glancing out of the window as the car began to drive away slowly, I noticed the for-sale sign now had a large SOLD sign nailed over it. Dad had sold the house for a large cash sum, and he was ready to move on with his life and make new memories with Julianne. I begged him not to sell the house, but he said that the house was too big for just me and him and that Julianne didn't feel comfortable moving into a dead woman's house. And before I knew it, just like that, the house where I grew up in, filled with many wonderful memories was now gone. Bought by a greedy money maker, who planned on demolishing the house and turning the plot into a swanky bar and restaurant.

My Mum's death had hit Dad hard at first, and he had a brief spell of where he had turned to alcohol to cope with his grief. Nothing I could do could cheer him up, so I just left him to his own devices down the pub, drowning in his sorrows. He met Julianne at a pack meeting and once they had laid eyes on each other, they had been inseparable. Julianne was also a close friend of my Mum's, so she knew me and my Dad well. She seemed to be a good thing for my Dad as she soon pulled him out of his alcoholic downwards spiral and picked him back up again.

As happy as I was to see my Dad finally happy and smiling again, I still didn't want Julianne for a stepmother. Yes, she was kind and caring towards me, but it wasn't the same as having your own Mother. I just wanted my own Mum back so that we could be a family again. Julianne wasn't even my Dad's true mate, so we would never truly be a family bonded by fate.

You see, me and my Dad are werewolves along with Julianne. We all belong to a pack called The Eclipse. We are the second biggest and strongest pack within Great Lake City. Our pack controls the farming and food trade within the city so as you could imagine, we are very wealthy and have immense power over the other smaller packs. The largest pack is the Midnight Sun pack, who holds power over banking and telecommunications, which makes them more important than us. Despite our own size and power, we all live in harmony with the other packs. The great werewolf war of 1972 led to the werewolf counsel creating a new law that prevents us from fighting over territory, money, power, and pack members. Enough werewolf blood had been spilt and in order to conserve our numbers, there was to be no more pack fights.

The war began when a great number of rogue wolves stormed the city, threatening to slay every tame wolf alive, if they didn't leave their packs and join them in the FWM (Free Wolf Movement.) Many wolves vowed to never leave their packs through their loyalty to their Alpha's, so the rogues began to attack, lurking in the shadows and picking out the lone or defenceless wolves one by one. In the end, all the packs had had enough of their members being slaughtered in cold blood and they came together to finish the rogues off once and for all. After a great many hours, the city finally fell silent. Mauled bodies lay scattered as far as the eye could see. The rogues took the most damage with casualties and fatalities far and wide. Once the rogues began to see that they were outnumbered by the packs, they stopped fighting, held their hands up and quickly surrendered. They were soon swiftly rounded up and they were all held in the WCC (Wolfsbane Correctional Centre,) chained up with silver chains in silver cages, unable to ever change into their wolf or see the light of day again. It's been said, that being chained up in silver for a long time can prevent a werewolf from morphing into their wolf due to being weakened by the silver, and that being kept from their wolf for too long will eventually drive them mad. Rumour had it that many of the imprisoned rogues committed suicide to free themselves from the harsh prison conditions. Since then, the werewolf counsel said that if we could work together to rid the city of rogues, then forever more we can all live harmoniously.

Pulling myself back to my senses, I looked out of the window and realised that the tall grey skyscrapers and busy shopping malls had now changed into rows and rows of quiet little estates and long suburban roads, surrounded by green, leafy parks filled with excited children and an abundance of leafy, green trees and perfectly trimmed hedges. I felt the car slow down as we pulled into a quiet estate right on the edge of the city with the Great Forest looming eerily nearby which marked the edge of our territory. The semi-detached houses snaked gracefully down the road while their bright red front doors stood out from the brilliant white paintwork. Perfectly mowed green front lawns lay neatly underneath the dazzling blue sky and scorching sun. Dusty cars sat silently parked up on tidy drives, while the street was filled with joyful children playing rowdily on bikes and scooters.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Dad silently drove right to the end of the little cul-de-sac and parked in an empty drive next to a quaint little house with immaculate little flower beds underneath the windows and log rolls artfully lining the edge of the lawn. As Dad turned the ignition off, bringing the calming hum of the engine to a stop, I noticed that the front door quickly opened to reveal a tall slender woman with long auburn hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a pair of black leggings, flipflops and a long smock dress. She was a pretty lady but there was no comparison to my Mum or her beauty. I could feel the woman's eyes burning into mine as she watched curiously, as I climbed out of the car, before bursting into a wide, friendly smile. Behind her, I spotted Louisa peering over her Mother's shoulder and she smirked as she locked eyes with mine. Walking quickly towards me, Julianne extended a perfectly manicured hand which I gingerly accepted as Dad looked on happily. "Welcome to your new home Libby!"