Wishing for Hope

chapter 2

A year later -

Willows POV

I was so excited. My friends had all heard from their wolves days before they turned 16. My birthday was mere days. I kept calling out in my head hoping to hear something. I could feel that something was there but I got no response. Days went by and soon it was the even of my birthday. My mom told me that there was a possibility I didnt have a wolf. This discouraged me a little but didnt stop me from still trying. "Willow did you hear from your wolf yet?" Alana, my best friend, asked as she sat next to me. "No I haven't and its bothering me" I say letting out a sigh. "Dont let it bother you to much. My momma said sometimes you wont hear from your wolf until your 18. But she said you could always go by the clinic." Alana said and I nodded. Maybe I could ask Zo about it. They did have blood work they could do to allow you to know for sure. If you had a wolf your blooded showed it. "Did you want to go with me after school?" I asked her and she shook her head. "I cant today I'm suppose to watch my sisters. My parents are going to an important meeting to something like that" she said and I nodded. Alana was the daughter of Alpha Lester. She was the eldest girl but she has three older brothers. After school I walked over to the clinic. Zo was working, she was due to get off soon. "What's up Willow, did you hear your wolf yet?" She asked and I shook my head. "Keep your head up. I know you will hear from her soon. My wolf didnt talk to me until I was almost 18. She was and is stubborn. She doesn't like to shift to much but when we do she wasnt to hunt and all that. " Zo said and I felt a little relieved. "But if you extra worried we can do some blood work. It talks a few weeks to get it back and you have to get mom and dads approval" she said and I sigh. "I didn't really want mom or dad to know that I want blood work done. Could they also do an ancestors thing so I cant find my birth parents too?" I ask and Zo nodded. "If your parents were or are part of a pack it would let you know. Everyone is registered in the data base. Europe has a slightly different system then us but I'm sure it's about the same. " she said handing a paper. "Get mom or dad to sign off on it and I'll do the rest" she said and I hugged her. "Thank you, if they dont want me to can we still do the ancestry thing? Or are you gonna make me wait until I'm 18" I say narrowing my eyes at her. She put her hands up " there tied if mom and dad say no. Alphas orders unless you can get Alpha or Luna to sign off on it. But only if you feel it's really needed. Dont just skip over mom and dad. Dad is beta, Alpha Lestor will look to dad if you go to him for approval." She warned and I nodded. Zo and I were really close, I had even let her practice ivs on me for school. Dad had always watched to make sure she never drew blood into a vial. So I knew what my parents would say about the blood draw, well I knew what my dad would say. I walked home thinking over the conversation the whole time. I walked into the house and my mom met me. "Luna said she saw you going into the clinic is everything ok?" Mom asked and I nodded. "Ya I had a question for Zo about my wolf. I actually had a question for you " I say and mom nods. "Could I get a blood draw to see if I have a wolf and to see who my birth parents are?" I ask and moms eyes get big. "I dont know about that. It would be up to your father." She said trying to change the subject. I could tell she was hiding something and I didnt like it.

At dinner mom brought up the test. "No absolutely not" dad said slamming his fists onto the table. "I dont want to hear another word on it. " he said and I feel tears. I nod and finish dinner.

Arizona's POV

I watched dads reaction to it and knew something was up. Dad kept Willow under wraps more then he ever did with either me or Henry. It made me wonder why he was so uptight about this. I watched as Willow let the table. "Dad why are you so hard on her" I ask and my dads eyes turned black. "Its not your concern " he said and I huff. "Well maybe I'm not your concern either." I say causing him to blink then stand up. "Arizona I'm sorry" he started but I put a hand up. "You are mean and harsh with Willow and I'm tried of standing by watching it happen. She is lost, she wants to know who her biological family is and you pretty much told her to forget it. For all you know she could be wolfless. You know what they do with wolfless people. They outcast them at 18 unless their mate finds them. They make them then work behind the scenes. Normally has someone with the status of a slave. They dont tend to them ever and the clinic even has the right to make them leave the pack for care. She knows all this and you dont care. You seem to want to punish her for things beyond her control." I scream at him before storming out of the house. I was dating Josh, Alpha Lestors eldest son. We had agreed to be selected mates unless either of us found our fated mate. I walked over to Alphas house and was greeted by the maid. "Miss Arizona, Josh is in the study right now. Your welcome to join Luna in the den if you wish" she said and I nod. "Thank you Ila" I say and she smiles. I walk into the den and greet Luna Kendall. "Zo it's so nice to see you. Did you see your sister earlier? Is she well?" Luna asks and I nod. "Yes she had some questions about her wolf. She hasnt heard from her yet and she was worried."

"Oh I'm sure she will hear from her soon. I can sense she was from either alpha or beta blood lines. It is almost unheard of to have an alpha or Beta that is wolfless." Luna said as Josh walked in. "Hey Zo, what brings you by?" He asked before giving me a kiss on the cheek. 'I have a question regarding my sister's I mind link to him. "Just wanted to hang out for a little while" I say knowing I have tomorrow off. "Awesome" he says with a smile. I felt butterflies everytime he smiled. Alana walked in and I give her a smile. "Mom the twins are fighting again and I cant get them to stop" Alana says to her mom. Luna Kendall sighs and leaves with her daughter. We walk to Josh's room upon entering he pulls me into a kiss. The kiss escalates and he pushes me back onto his bed. I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him with me. We hadn't mated yet but we had fooled around several times. We had come to a pact that if he didnt find his true mate upon taking Alpha he would mate and mark me.

We kisses before he broke it off slightly. "I love you Zo" he said softly into my ear. "I love you Josh" I say. "Now what did you want to ask about your sister?" He asked as his hands explored my body. "She wants a test done but my dad wont approve" I say and he looks at me. "He wont approve a blood test to check for a wolf?" Josh questions. "No, he got all defensive about it too" I say as Josh kissed my neck. We kissed for a while just exploring each others bodies. "I can talk to my mom in the morning. She wont say anything" he said and I nod laying my head on his chest. Soon we fell asleep.

I woke early the next morning and quietly left the house. I walked to the clinic to start the morning routines. A young pup and her mom were the first walk ins for the day. The pup had a fever that wouldn't go down. I gave her some meds and told the mom if she didnt improve in about two days to take her to the hospital. The next walk in was Josh. I took him to a room and he glanced around. "My mom said that she was suspicious of how Willow got to the pack. Your dad claimed that she came from over seas but he was only gone a few days. Not long enough to be over seas. She said she cant approve the test just yet. She has to wait until she is at least 17." He said as I did the normal clinic things like checking his temperature taking his blood pressure and looking in his eyes ears and nose. "Well future Alpha you got a clean bill of health." I say in my normal voice. He nods "thank you doc, oh and my mom invited you to dinner tomorrow. Your family is invited too" he said. I nod everyone knew that once every few weeks the Beta and Alpha families sat down for dinner.

Willows POV

I walked into school with my head down some. "What's wrong" Alana asked and I sighed. "My dad freaked out about the blood test to see if I had a wolf" I say and she nods. "I figured Zo was at the house last night. My parents never went out something about rescheduling their meeting" she said and I chuckled. "I cant wait to find someone like Zo. I know her and Josh aren't fated mates but they have a great relationship". Alana fake gags "its gross how touchy feely they seem" she says and we both start giggling. We walked into science class and everyone looked at us. We weren't late but something was up. I glanced at Alana and she look back at me. "What's going on" I finally asked and some one looked at me. "Something is going on with the Beta family. They said it was over mindlink. "I'm gonna go check it out" I ask walking out of the class. I walked down to the office and walked in. Zo was already in the office waiting on me. "What's going on?" I ask and she bites her lip. "Moms dead" she said and i almost fall over. Something seemed off about it like I was dreaming. "This cant be real" I murmur. Zo places a hand on my shoulder. "It is sadly but I dont think it was an accident " she says softly so only I can hear. I turn so the office staff cant see me. "Dad" I mouth and she nods. That wasnt good. "Come on I'm pulling you out of school right now" she says and I nod. Since my siblings were way older then me they had the authority to pull me out. Once we got to her car I broke down. "Willow, I'm gonna forge moms signature to have that blood test done. Mom knew something that dad didnt want spread. They weren't fated mates so Dad might be weak temporarily but it wont kill him like a fated one might. " she said and I just stared out the window. We got to the clinic and Zo handed me the paper in the car. I gave this to you last time we were here for one of our parents to sign. Put it in your bag and then walk in with me" she said and I nod. The cameras would verify that everything was good. I couldn't believe I was gonna find everything out soon.

Zanes POV

I was training extra hard lately. The king alphas test was coming up soon and I wanted to be in top shape. My "uncle" told all of the candidates that there would be a wolf portion and a human portion to test the ability of both person and wolf. So far no women had entered in which made me sad. As much as I wanted to win it would have been cool for a women to make her name known. As I finished up training my brother came running out to me. "Zane urgent meeting " Elijah said and I race after him. As I enter the house I see King Alpha, Dad and both their betas. "Clare,beta female of Crystal Islands was killed yesterday morning. Beta Stan is missing, we dont know if he was captured or ran away. Alpha Lestor reached out to us to help." King Alpha James said. "I'll be apart of the search team" I say and my dad nods. "I allow it if you do king alpha" he says and my uncle nods. "Zane. I would like you to head up the search teams. Henry, beta Stans son, will be helping you. He has asked to help located his dad." He adds and I nod. "Yes king alpha" I say. In the meeting we go over a few other matters before I'm sent to Crystal Island. I shift into my wolf to travel faster. Upon arrival I'm greeted by not only the betas son but two of the Alphas sons as well. I shift and put clothes on to greet them. "Henry, Josh, Aiden" I say bowing two the two eldest Alpha kids. "Thank you for coming Zane, I know it's not much but we want to try and keep it under wraps what we think happened. We don't want the pack to lose trust in the betas or Alphas. " Josh says and I nod. "I understand, can you take me to the scene?" I ask and they nod. I follow them to a house just off the main Alpha house. I walk inside and see the horrible seen. There is blood all over the walls and ceiling. "Was her throat cut?" I ask and Henry holds back tears. "I cant be in here right now " he says as he walks outside. My heart hurts for him knowing how hard it must be to see where your mom was possibly murdered. I sniffed around and caught the Betas scent. It seemed off like he was drugged or something weird like that.

I had Aiden follow the scent while I looked thru the house still. No sign of forced entry or even a robbery. It was clean, almost two clean. I hear Henry outside talking to someone. I walk out and see the betas other two kids. My wolf jumps and calls mate. I look at the youngest she looked to maybe be 17. Arizona noticed my eyes and smiled. "Hello future Alpha Zane, this is Willow. She will be 17 next year" she says and I sigh. Willow looked at her sister and then me. 'She is 17 now but her wolf is being suppressed by something. I can feel her wolf but she is super weak' my wolf, Ares said and I looked at them. "Your gonna be 17 next year?" I ask Willow. "Yes future Alpha. Do you know what happened to our mom?" She asks and I shake my head. "Sadly it's looking like murder. But I cant tell for sure what happened to your dad. Sadly in these cases we cant rule out the mate, especially if they disappear after the crime. I'm not saying he is at all responsible but that's just the process " I say and she nods. I could tell she was conflicted and my wolf kept going crazy being near her. I excused myself so I could go help Aiden with the scent.

Willows POV

Zane, such a dreamy guy. My stomach always go butterflies around him. The way Zo acted I knew he was probably my mate. But I was curious about why he asked my age again. I was gonna ask him but he took off. I was rather sad to see him go. "Dont worry Willow. I'm sure he wont go far from you. He said mate under his breath as we walked up" she said and I blushed. I knew not everyone found their fated mate but to find mine before I turn eighteen was almost unheard of.

"Well come on Willow let's go get that blood work taken care of. Luna Kendall signed off on it" Zo said and I smiled. We walked to the clinic and got one of the rooms. She set everything up and prepped me for the blood draw. She poked the needle into my arm and drew three vials of blood. "We take three just to make sure everything is good. That and they test for a fair amount of things in a wolf panel not sure for your wolf blood indicators. " Zo said "it also takes several weeks before we get the results. We cant use the same as human test centers so we have to make sure that wolves are the ones doing it. We have a delivery wolf who will take it to a testing site in one of the neighboring pack then he will bring it back as well. Unless something important pops up on it then I will get an email" she said .

After she finishes up the paper work and puts the vials in a sealed bag. She then drops it in a box labeled outgoing.