The Destined Mates of Blu Pearl

Aphrodite P.O.V. *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*          The sound of the alarm echoing in my empty home, if you can even call it that anymore, is deafening. Every morning I get woken up to that sound blasting through the hallway. I woke up, opened the door, and turned towards my dad’s room. I stood there waiting to see if I sensed any movement behind the door. I hear nothing. Which means my dad is either sleeping through his alarm yet again or he left the house before I woke up. Doubtful. I open the door and there he lay sound asleep, his jet-black hair a mess, with the alarm beeping. I walk towards the loud beeping of his alarm clock and shut it off. "Dad, Alpha Samuel is expecting you today for the big meeting about the ceremony tonight. Wake up!" I am taking the blankets off him as I am pulling him out of bed. "Aphrodite?" he says, looking extremely groggy. "What time is it?" "Dad, it's 7am, did you have another late-evening patrol or something?" Ever since mom had passed away, he has been consuming his time with extra training and late-night patrolling.  "Okay, okay! I'm up, I’ll take a quick shower and I’ll be on my way. Could you shoot the Alpha a text for me? Let him know I’m running late?" "Sure thing, dad. I'll make some coffee while you're in the shower." He is never on time for anything, how he is the Beta of our pack is beyond me. "Thanks, kiddo. What would I do without you?" Oh, I don't know dad, never make it to your meetings, always be late to any appointment ever. I can't tell him that though, so I just nod and smile. I go back to my room and pull my phone out to text Alpha Sam. Since my dad is out today, I'm going to go to the pack house and grab some breakfast. I look at my clock and it is only 7:45am so I opt in for a shower before heading up there. Breakfast is normally served around 6am-9am, so I have plenty of time. After the shower, I walked to my closet. It's a decent sized closet with lots of fancy looking clothes, I choose a black and pink t-shirt and a pair of jeans though. I slip on my converses and head towards the door. I turn to the picture hanging on the wall right next to the door. It's a picture of my mom and Grammy Jean. My mom’s bright red hair and hazel eyes and her beautiful smile shine brilliantly next to my Grammy Jean. Her smile is also reflected, so happy to be there in that moment with my mom, because that is the day, she told her she was pregnant with me. My Grammy, wearing her plain t-shirt and blue jeans with her grey hair braided down her back, makes me miss her so much. I used to beg her to let me braid it. I blow a kiss to the only picture of my mom and Grammy and walk out the door.               I can't believe it has been 2 years since their passing. My dad has never been the same after losing his mate, aka my mother Raven. His extra patrolling and training are the aftermath of him feeling out of control. All this extra rage and sadness, he doesn't know how to cope with it all. There was nothing he could have done to save her. My Grammy suffered grave injuries from that fight with the rogues. She fought fiercely with my mother to protect me. I'm kind of glad he wasn't around; I couldn’t bear the thought of losing all 3 of them.  I sometimes think if they had just killed me, then i wouldn't be the blame for the beta female’s death. Or so that's what everyone tells me anyway. Never in front of the Alpha or Luna but always in secret, behind my fathers and their back. I was never blamed for the death of my mother by my father or the Alpha and Luna. My mother won the hearts of many. So, to find out she died protecting me, Aphrodite, the conflicting she-wolf of the pack, caused an uproar. Many of the pack members did not believe that I was even a true born Dark Moon Wolf. You see, I am, what you say... different. I have blue eyes which is such a rarity in itself, but I am also not the "true born" cream colored wolf. I do have the birthmark all pack members have, which is a crescent-shaped moon on their shoulder. My wolf, Willow, by the way, is extraordinary. She stands tall on all fours with silver grey fur. I swear when the moon hits it, it has a faint tint of blue. As I said, she does have a crescent-shaped moon on her shoulder, but hers is blue and not black. Everyone noticed how different i was right away when I was forced to turn in front of the entire pack. In Dark Moon, it is a tradition that the high-ranking members of the pack, AKA my dad the BETA of all people, shift for the first time in front of the entire pack. It is to show the purity of the pack and it was supposed to show respect for the beta female and her children. However, when I shifted for the first time, with all eyes on me, i transformed into this elegant beauty. My silver-grey hair shone bright under the moonlight. Nobody noticed the color of my crescent yet because it was so dark it looked black. Everyone was looking between the Alpha, my mother and father, then me. Nobody said a word for a very long time. Now that I think about it, I think my mother was the one to break the silence with her sobbing. She thought i was beautifully perfect. She said I was a wolf made by the Moon Goddess herself. Everyone else thought i was adopted and that my parents didn't want to tell anyone. They came up with so many conspiracies that I could barely keep up. However, they sure don't forget to tell me how awful and unwanted i am every chance they get. Growing up in this pack has its challenges. My mom and Grammy made it great thought. They would take me out and let my wolf run until her heart couldn't take it anymore. When I shifted for the first time, I was finally able to hear her thoughts in my head as if they were my own. They said that now that I am 12, my wolfs connection would continue to grow until i reach the age of 20 when we will be fully one. That is also when we get to search for our mates. Willow tells me she can't wait to find our mate, that it will be the most life-changing experience any wolf could ever imagine. I say, I’ve had enough life-changing experiences for a lifetime, and I don't need anymore. Not to mention, to have love first you must find it. She tries to tell me that when we find it, it will be this epic love story people will write about. I told her she is full of crap. "Aph, you know I’m right. Finding our mate is all we've ever dreamed of. We are almost of age, and I can't wait to finally taste every inch of his-" "WILLOW oh my goddess stops filling my head with such dirty non-sense!" I can't believe this world sometimes. All she thinks about is when we finally meet our mate and have that mind-blowing, hot and ste- oh gosh here I go now. *Shakes head* Anyhow, finding a mate is not the most important thing to me right now. I am focusing on my career, helping children/young adults in need. I work outside of the pack house, for obvious reasons, at a company called Reach High. It's a run-down building, not big enough for the demand it holds, but it does its job. My boss Ashley, is the owner of Reach High. She is all about making sure the kids/young adults have the needed tools to succeed in life. We are teaching them basic interviewing skill for the older kids. The younger ones we are trying to get adopted. You can say we have our hands full for sure! Just yesterday we got 4 new toddlers brought in. Their parents just dropped them off like they were nothing, and now we take guardianship of them until they can get adopted/fostered. We do thorough background checks, and we check on them as often as we can, then we hand it over to the agency to take care of the paper business. I can't wait to go check on them today. They are such sweet kids, and deserve all the love they can get. Well, I’m finally at the pack house. I forget how far it is sometimes from my home to here. "It's not like we walk this every day or anything" Willow says. "I didn't need your commentary; you know I don't like going in there" I say back "I say just kick their ass and show them we are not one to be reckoned with." She is always so quick to fight, I on the other paw try to just avoid everyone at all costs. They have made my life here a living hell after my mother’s murder. Alpha Samuel and Luna Remi have always tried to get involved and come to my defense. Luna assures me nobody blames me for the loss of my mother Raven. If only she knew the name calling and physical abuse I have received when she does that. I wouldn't say I haven't ever defended myself before, because boy have I! It's more, I just don't want to cause any more attention towards me than there already is. Therefore, I spend a lot of time at my job in the human realm. All right here goes nothing. I make my way through the doors of the biggest building in my pack. The Dark moon's pack house is so big I swear everyone could live here and then some. My family used to reside here, but when my mother was pregnant with me, she wanted a house of their own. Which is why we do not stay here with the Alpha and Gamma. Alpha Samuel tried to convince her that it was the safest spot she could possibly be, but my mother, the stubborn woman she was refused. She said she had to have a home for me and any other pups she might have. Growing up in the pack house would not give her the family feel she desperately needed. So, after long nights of discussions, they finally decided my mother and father could have their own little house right outside the pack house. It was beautiful when my mother and Grammy was alive to groom it. It is a small 2 story house, cream colored, with black shutters. 4 bedrooms 1 on the main level and 3 upstairs with a office space. Main levels also have a kitchen with a island bar, a laundry room, and of course our living room. The bathroom is located upstairs with the rest of the bedrooms. There was a flower garden outside that used to grow these Jade flowers. My mother told me that those flowers are near and dear to her heart, because her very best friend was named after them. I have heard lots of stories about Jade but my favorite one to hear is when Jade and my mother went skinny dipping in a lake right next to where they used to stay. They were in there for so long that my mom swears Jade started turning blue! HA blue, that's so funny to me because her name was Jade, so that story has stuck with me over the years. Every time I walk passed the overgrown garden i think about that story. The grass is mowed only because the omegas come once a week to "maintain" it. One of these days i will go out there and weed eat the garden and bring it back to life again. It's just so hard to go out there and not break down. My Grammy would always be out putting these colorful rocks she would go find, all around our house. So, when you look at it, there are all sorts of colors all different sizes, surrounding our house. She said the colorful the rock the brighter our future. If only she knew how wrong, she was. "Reminiscing is enjoyable and all, but we can't stand out here forever because you are afraid to go in." Willow states. It's not like she's wrong she is literally me, she knows every thought, every emotion I have ever felt. I know she is right about this. "Okay, okay. I'm going." I say back. "Good, I’m starving!" she huffs. I mentally eye roll and make my way to the cafeteria. It's not full which is a good thing, maybe I could go unnoticed. "Well look who it is everyone!" Shouts Amy. I tried to turn and leave before anyone else can comment, but as usual I am slow reacting. Suddenly, BOOM, someone ran straight into me. I look up and see Amy and her follow of air heads snickering. Amy and her air heads have been bullying me ever since my mother passed away. "You don't have the Luna here to protect you now!" She states as she stalks towards me. "Amy, just leave me alone! I’m only here for breakfast go find someone else to f**k with." I try to walk past her as I do, she pushes me to the ground. A hard kick to my stomach knocks the wind out of me. Someone else's shoe is coming in fast to my face. Right before contact, I hear Amy say, "You don't belong here FREAK, you got your mother killed and then your grandmother passes away too. How does it feel to know you are the reason they are gone? Do you cry at night like the pathetic outcast you are? You don't belong here. We all knew it from the first time you shifted. The only difference is, I’m not afraid to tell you! The only reason Eli is nice to you is because he feels sorry for you. He will never choose you, so go find your own wolf, s**t. " She talks loud enough that only I and her air heads can hear. Then the shoe connects to my face, and I hear a loud crack followed by a scream. Was that scream coming from me? It sounds so out of place, then darkness falls over me. I must not have been out long because I wake up on the floor still, with Luna Remi next to me. She must have come in when she heard a scream. I hear her say that it's not broken. What's not broken? I open my eyes to blurred vision. I blink a couple of times and see her hovered over me. "Aphrodite, honey are you alright?" she asks with such concern and worry in her voice. I nod my head and say, "Yea, I’m not sure what happened. I must have slipped on something and fell while walking to grab my tray." I mumble. She looks at me like she knows I’m lying but doesn’t press the issue. I look at my phone and it is now 8:15am and I need to hurry if I am to make it to work intime. She helps me up and looks me in the eye, "Aphrodite, if someone is giving you a hard time here, you have to tell me. I can't fix it if I don’t know what is happening." she pleads with me. I debate on telling her the truth but I know I will just cause more problems for myself. Plus, I am thinking about moving to the human realm anyways, so it's not like I will have put up with this much longer. I reach up and feel my nose. She’s broken right but it hurts bad. Luckily being a werewolf, I heal rather quick. So, by the time I leave here and get to my car it will be like it never happened.  "I'm ok, really. I just fell. Probably from the long trek here and then being hungry on top of it. I'm ok." I repeat to her. "Okay, if you change your mind or need to talk, you know where to find me. You act so much like your mother." she says. That last part stays with me as I hurry up and grab breakfast. Amy walks by with her bookbag in hand, gives me the most devilish smirk and walks out the building. Eli is the Alpha's son; he has been one of few that have treated me nicely. He takes after his mother in the aspect of always wanting to help and keep anyone from harm. He will make an outstanding Alpha; I just hope by then I can get out of here. Not that I wouldn't mind being in a pack ran by Alpha Eli, but if Amy really is his mate, as she so thinks she is, then I need to leave ASAP. I could not offer loyalty to such a heartless Luna. Since the first shift when everyone seen how different I was, even more so than my blue eyes, he has never treated me like an outcast. He has always just talked to me like I’m a normal pack member, a ranking beta female. He always teased me that when he became Alpha, he would choose me for his Beta. I always just laughed because nobody would allow him to do that, I'm the outcast. The one who got their mother killed. The nobody.  I'm surprised by todays turn of events, as I have never been physically harmed, only verbal stuff. I feel my classes birthday's all coming up soon. Tensions are high because everyone wants to find their mate. Once Eli finds his, he will be made Alpha, and Amy has already set claim on him. What he sees in her I will never understand. When we graduated high school last year, she said "I know he is my mate, I have never felt this much of a strong desire as I do to Eli. He makes me feel things I have never felt before. It also helps that he’s packed in every way possible." she giggled suggestively. Ugh, GAG. He only accepted her as his girlfriend because she wouldn’t give it a rest. The only thing she has felt as much as this is half the training team for our pack. Amy has been around a time or 5. After time and time again he would say no she finally wore him down enough. Now he thinks she's this great person, who has had a change in attitude. I don’t even think he knows what she says to me. Almost nobody batts an eye when they see it, nobody ever comes to my rescue. My mother raised me a fighter though, and I don't go down easy. Today just caught me off guard. I was unprepared, thinking nobody would be in the dining hall. Even more reason to get out of this pack and follow my dreams. I want to run something like the Reach High program. Everything about that place brings me joy. Since I was a young pup, I always had the instinct to help people. My mom and Grammy always said that one day I will become a great leader. Rather it be a Beta or just a Leadership role in the Human realm, they said I would always have the best judgement and softness it takes to get through to. Children of all ages have always been drawn to me. Helping them rather it be a simple task as a math problem or a bigger issue like figuring out life, I always seem to find the right way to connect to all of them. Guess I get that from my mom. “Hey Aphrodite, do you have a minute?” Eli is running towards me trying to catch up. “Oh, uh hey Eli. Can we walk and talk? I need to get back home and grab my car?” I slow down so he can catch up before I pick my pace back up. I’m sure he could have caught up easily being an alpha’s son and all. “About Amy.” he trails off looking the other direction. Almost as if to see if he could see her lurking in the shadows. “I wasn’t there to see what happened, but I did overhear her talking to her friends.” “Oh yea? And what exactly did you hear?” I stop and look him dead in the eye. We have never had this kind of conversation before so I’m curious as to see where it is going. He looks down at me and rubs the back of his neck, almost like he’s embarrassed to even say it. “Humph, well… She must have seen me coming because the way she changed her attitude when I approached her. I ask what was happening in the cafeteria. My mother ran out of her meeting with the Luna of Swiftwater Pack, so I was assuming it was important. She said you ran into her and fell and when she went to help you up you started screaming at her to leave you alone. She seemed really upset that you didn’t take her help. I told her I would speak with you about it.” He is turning red in the face and is starting to sweat a little. I look at him dumbfounded because I can not believe the words coming out of his mouth right now. I wouldn’t accept ger help? I’m sorry I must have missed that with her friend’s foot coming at my face! The audacity she has, all because she thinks she will be Luna! “Eli, do you really believe what she said to you? Do you seriously think of me as a person that would just start a fight for no reason? Amy has had it in for me ever since you came to my defense when everyone started rumors about me not being true-blooded. Then when I shifted...” I trail off. He knows exactly what I’m talking about. “Aww come on Aphrodite, that’s not it at all. I just want to keep the peace. I’m coming to just check on you in all honesty, you are my beta after all.” He says as he pushes my shoulder. I know Eli means well but I can’t help but think that he is just saying that to keep me from full out raging on him. I just look at him and smile.  I reply, “I believe you want to keep the peace, but I seriously can’t even think about the fact that you might think she is telling the truth. You know me more than anyone here and the fact that you are even here talking to me about this. I’m hurt that we are even having this conversation right now, knowing that Amy and her group of air heads are bullying me. If you truly wanted me as your Beta, you wouldn’t even think twice about the lies she just told you.” I look at him and walk away with him just staring at me, I can see the sadness in his eyes. He really didn’t mean to offend me, but I am tired of just dealing with this s**t storm anymore. Times like this makes me miss my Grammy and my mom so much. They would both find a way to make me laugh and forget about all the bulls**t I had to deal with in this pack of hypocrites. Right before my Grammy passed, she was telling me a story of a big black wolf with blue eyes. How he would become one of the strongest Alpha's the world has ever seen, as there is a great evil lurking in the mists. Once his fated found him and recognized his wolf as her own, only then could they become unstoppable... The combined love and strength they would have would wreak havoc against the great challenge they were to face. She would go on and on about how special their bond would be and how strong their pack would be to defeat this great evil. She would never tell me much about the evil part of the story, no matter how much I asked. She said that in duetime, I will find out all the answers I needed. She has told me this story since I was child. She gave me this handmade necklace of a pure black wolf with a scar down the right side of his face, and blue eyes. I could almost see a blue tint to the fur when the moon hits it. She told me to wear it always, how its strength would always protect me. I thought she was being crazy, but I wore it always. Now I feel naked if I don’t have it on. It's so special because it changes with my wolf form. It never breaks, it's a part of me now. "You need to get going if we are to make it on time. Tardy is not cute, even on us." Willow reminds me.