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Chapter 1
"Now boarding first class for Flagstaff."
The flight attendant beamed at all of us from her podium next to the gate. The plane currently sitting on the tarmac had been delayed for almost four hours, and the humans awaiting takeoff had seemed dangerously close to rioting during the last thirty minutes or so of our wait.
Even with that positive announcement, her chipper tone was wasted on the crowd's grumbling. It didn't seem like she noticed at all.
She cheerfully helped the impeccably groomed businessmen and women wearing designer clothes into the tunnel. I hesitated before joining them, feeling more out of place than ever.
"Just first class, hon." A girl -or woman, rather- with bright blonde highlights looked at my faded knock-off jeans and old tennis shoes from over her sunglasses. When I didn't respond, she gave an annoyed sigh and turned her attention back to her phone.
My cheeks reddened, betraying my embarrassment. My discomfort caused my wolf to growl from her corner in the back of my mind. She didn't understand what the problemwas or that the woman was insulting me, but she was completely aware of its effect on my emotions. It was times like this I wished shifting in front of humans wasn't such a big deal. My wolf was much more adept at handling rude people than I was.
In the woman's favor, I didn't exactly look the part of someone who belonged in a first-class seat, but my sister, Mariam, and my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Trace, had insisted on splurging for the upgrade. My curiosity had won out late last night, and a quick Google search told me they had paid more for my round-trip ticket than I made in two weeks working at the Dark Claw Bakery. But hey, if that's how they wanted to spend their money, who was I to judge them?
A seed of guilt planted itself in my stomach at the thought. I had been pretty judgmental about everything to do with them lately, but that came from a place of jealousy. I knew it and could easily own up to it, but nothing could take away the sting of unfairness that surrounded my sister’s good fortune.
For one thing, Mariam had done everything wrong. It would be easier to stomach her meeting her true mate and falling in love before me if she had played by the rules, but that’s not what had happened. She had broken the moon goddess's rules on werewolf celibacy, ran and hid from her true mate for a month, and then abandoned him again for a weekend in Vegas with her friend, Patrick.
She didn't leave with Patrick. Patrick took her from Tumblewild against her will, my wolf reminded me gently.
I sighed and had to acknowledge the truth in that, but even just considering all the other things, it wasn't fair thatMariam was now having a mating ceremony with the man of her dreams. Her true mate was everything I had hoped for, and she had been willing to throw it away. Even now, the thought caused my blood to boil.
"Ticket, please," the flight attendant chirped. Her smile reflected none of the other human's judgment about me riding in first class, but she was probably used to way weirder things than an under-dressed passenger.
I let her scan the boarding pass on my phone, and I followed the others to the rows of luxurious leather seats. This was my second time ever flying on an airplane, but it was already infinitely better than the first. Memories of sitting in coach and holding back Mariam's hair as she threw up during takeoff were permanently etched in my mind.
I was surprised that no other members of our pack were on this flight for the mating ceremony. If nothing else, I would have expected her old friends and Jeremy, our alpha, to be somewhere on the plane. Mariam had caused a massive stir in the pack when she had run from Trace, but it had seemed like all had been forgiven when the ceremony announcement was made. Maybe they had opted to drive or were taking a different airline. The ceremony was still three days away. There was time to catch another flight.
Whatever the reason, I was instantly grateful for the airline’s complimentary eye cover and the sleeping aid I kept stashed in my purse. If I was going to survive this mating ceremony, I would need to be well-rested, and it wouldn't hurt to get a head start on that before landing.
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The thud of the plane landing woke me from a deep sleep. The trip from Sacramento to Flagstaff only took about two hours, but apparently, I needed the rest, and the sleeping aid had done the trick. Having the metabolism of a werewolf also meant that there was nothing left to help calm my racing emotions.
On the one hand, it was a relief to see Mariam settle down with a man who would no doubt provide her with the structure she needed. As her mate, Trace would ensure she was disciplined when she was out of line and ensure that she was safe above all else. That alone was a massive weight off my shoulders. Trying to assert some semblance of control over Mariam after our parents died had been a full-time job. I would gladly hand over her care to the alpha of Tumblewild.
But the green-eyed monster lurked just below the surface in my thoughts. Not only was Mariam totally against bonding with a mate until a few months ago, but she was also almost fifteen years younger than me. Seeing her being handed my dreams on a silver platter was hard. It didn't help that Trace reminded me a lot of our dad, either. I had dreamt of having a mate like our father since… well, forever, and now that was becoming a reality for my much,muchyounger sister while I waited on the sidelines. Typical.
I hauled my bag out of the luggage return and rolled it to the arrival area. Mariam had said that their beta would be there to pick me up, giving me only a name (Randy) and a vague description that could fit most male werewolves (tall, sulky, built like a Greek god). Thankfully, herecognized me instantly and came forward out of the crowd.
"Ella Hinder, I presume?" He said it like a question, but he was already taking the suitcase from my hands like he knew the answer.
"You must be Randy." I gave him a small smile, matching the one he offered me. "I hope you weren't waiting long. The flight was delayed for—"
"Almost four hours," he interrupted, shaking his head. "Under normal circumstances, I probably would have left and come back later, but right now, the alpha house is insane, so sticking around here for a long lunch was a nice break."
I groaned inwardly, knowing that I would probably be expected to be very involved with the mating ceremony preparations.Just relax, I scolded myself.One weekend, then this will be over, and everything can go back to normal.
My wolf huffed her disagreement. Since Mariam had left, my wolf and I had felt so alone in my parents' house by ourselves. Wolves were communal creatures by nature, and although we still had the comforts of being part of the pack, it was hard coming back to an empty home every night.
Randy led me to a large SUV parked in the visitors' lot. When we got in the car, the silence between us felt deafening. "Mariam told me you and your mate live in the alpha house with her and Trace."
I wasn't entirely sure why I said that or how I was hoping he would respond. The lack of conversation just felt too awkward to let it continue indefinitely. But that was just me: always on edge and uncomfortable. My socialskills could use some improvement, to say the least.
To my relief, he nodded. "We have a beta apartment on the bottom floor, but we spend a lot of time in their living areas and the home office upstairs. Of course, you'll have a room in the alpha house whenever you visit, too."
I smiled, but my heart sank a little bit. According to Mariam, Randy was happily married to Trace's sister. There's no way he would understand how hard it would be for me to come back and visit, let alone stay in the same house as them. It was like having a front-row seat to everything that was out of my reach. Plus, I wouldn't even be a third wheel with the betas there. I'd be a fifth wheel and even more useless.
