Betrayed by the one she loved.

Almost perfect

Now, Brooke may have all the grace and poise of a young lady, but this never matched with the t-shirt, jeans and trainers kind of girl she was. This was the only think Brooke would never normally budge on, she stayed true to herself, even as she got older, she never changed who she was for anyone.

Her parents where very proud of this fact, they actively encouraged her to be true to herself. They where already painfully aware that she had to forego so many other normal things girls her age had normally had chance to experience; things like experiments with make-up and hair, young love, normal healthy teenage dreams, rebellion to strike out alone, sneaking out with friends, enjoying simple things like getting caught in a summer rainstorm and having no-one to come instantly looking for you, out of fear a rival pack may take a chance to steal 'the next Luna of Blood Moon pack'.

Her sisters would be able to do these things as they got older, but for Brooke, these simple things where off limits. As she had gotten older, her father was aware that other wolves may covert her, not only for her breath taking beauty, but as a direct attempt to weaken the pack. She was always going to be seen as a target for others, a weak spot that could be exploited, even after she was mated to Alpha Prince Jackson, this threat would only become more tempting to others. To counter this her father, the ever dutiful Beta he was, had been secretly training Brooke as a warrior, to ensure not only the packs safety, but most importantly her personal safety.

Beta Cole didnt take it easy on any of the warriors under his watch, this was also true with his daughter. He ensured that ever since Brooke turned thirteen, she dutifully completed warrior training for a minimum of three hours a day and ensured she progressed into the elite class, Brooke was as deadly as she was beautiful. Beta Cole found great comfort and pride, knowing that his beloved sweet, almost dare he say timid, eldest daughter would easily be able to defend herself in the case of an attack. Not only defend herself, she could most certainly win any fight, she was as deadly, as she was graceful. When it came to training neither of them held back, as it drew closer to her birthday, she had begun to draw strength from her wolf, her father couldn't wait for Brooke to meet her wolf, as he knew she was powerful, considering how much Brooke's strength had increased as the days passed. Brooke couldn't wait to get her wolf either, she wasn't sure of her name, colour or personality yet, you get your wolf once you turn eighteen and Brooke was still a few days away yet. But, she had begun to feel her stiring in the back of her mind, like the ghost of a whisper, radiating strength throughout Brooke's body and mind.

After her morning training session, her father took her aside. 'nice hustle today Brooke, can you feel your senses sharpening? muscles becoming stronger? instinct taking over in the fight?' Brooke who was packing away her training things paused, it was true that she felt different in a way she couldn't explain, but she also felt a tug in the back of her mind that she just assumed, rightly or wrongly, was her wolf getting impatient with waiting to be able to break free and run 'I feel . . . .' she paused again as she struggled to find the correct words to explain how she felt 'distracted' was the word she landed on and explained the tugging feeling to her father. He nodded along as she explained how she felt the tug in her mind was taking some of her concentration away rather than sharpening it he explained 'the bond between you and your wolf is still in its infancy, once you meet her, the doubt and tugging will immediately be erased as you can speak with her, you will be one' after these reassuring words Brooke had another burning question 'father?' she whispered like this was the question, 'yes my princess?' then there was a silence, not a cold empty silence, this was a understanding silence, Brooke reached to her father like a young pup seeking assurance, not the gracefully elegant lady who was on the brink of realising her destiny. Her icy hair caught the sun, and it seemed to sparkle, as one lone tear escaped her eyes and slowly wet her cheek 'what if im not perfect enough father? what if i let us all down? what if i let you down? i feel like i am not ready for the task that is expected of me . . . how can i be everything to this pack, my family, my future mate when i feel so . . .' the words escaped her, her brown knitted together as she struggled to swallow down her doubts. 'princess, the moment you where born i knew you where special, not because of tradition or the Moon Goddess' blessing to our pack, but because you are you, you are my daughter and to me and our family you are our everything' Beta Cole spoke with conviction, his commanding voice was full of love for his eldest daughter, 'besides Brooke, isn't it best to try to not be perfect? where is the fun in that? he winked at her playfully and he felt the tension leave her in one deep exhale of breathe that she didn't realise she had been holding in. 'your absolutely right, almost perfect is it' and with that Brooke felt something stronger stir in the back of her mind, still not words exactly, but she felt asif her wolf was agreeing with her, she took great comfort from this feeling and that her parents where still willing to support her even if she was only almost perfect. Brooke linked her arm with her father and the left the training grounds together and headed for home. Once they reached home Brooke could hear her mother from inside, clearly the hot topic of the day was Brooke's dress 'rather you than me!' her father teased, nudging her with his broad shoulder as they entered the porch. 'where HAVE you been?!?' Brooke was greeted by her mother, who looked frantic with excitement, a seamstress looking calm and determined, but calm like a swan swimming along; the part you can see looks beautiful and graceful, but the legs are going ten to the dozen to keep the calm effortless poised grace in place. The seamstresses assistant, who looked flustered and overwhelmed with whatever had been going on before Brooke had stepped into the house. Somewhere in the kitchen, she could hear the Luna, discussing food options with who Brooke assumed was a caterer and servers.

'Apologies my love, i kept our princess longer than anticipated at training today' my father answered on my behalf, my mother kissed him quickly on the cheek in response and unceremoniously closed the door to the sitting room, leaving him stood chucking on the other side 'i shall leave you ladies to it! i know when im not wanted' he called through the door in a teasing voice. My mother smiled and slightly shook her head 'that man!' she grumbled to no-one in particular with a soft expression on her face. You could tell her parents where still deeply in love, even after all this time and that was what Brooke dreamed of, she hoped she would find it with her future mate Jax.

The Luna walked into the room, flanked by what can only be described as three mountains of different fabrics, each a different colour, texture, material. 'any particular colour or material catch your eye my dear?' Luna Ashley asked warmly, but Brooke cod see the excitement dancing in her eyes. Brooke scanned the immense fabric choices infront of her, her piercing wandering eyes darted from pile to pile until they fell on a silvery satin fabric. Brooke raised her delicate hand as if to touch the material, but something held her back, but she wasn't sure what it was 'this one is almost perfect Luna Ashley' Brooke shyly gestured to the silvery fabric. 'Almost perfect is not good enough for my future daughter' the Luna declared, the seamstress hurried from the room with her assistant and returned with even more fabric choices. Brooke was internally wondering how on earth she was going to choose a fabric for her dress, when her eyes fell on a beautiful pale silver silk fabric, it seemed to appear to move like liquid, as it was so beautiful and effortlessly made each movement look graceful even as a roll of fabric. Ann and Ashley followed Brooke's gaze to the fabric and gave eachother a knowing smile. 'I do believe Brooke has found her fabric' they said in unison, with that the dress was designed. The drawing was simple, yet graceful and commanding, perfect for a future Luna. 'I cannot wait until my son sees you in this dress my dear' Luna Ashley practically purred her approval.

Just as the seamstresses was taking her final measurements, there was a knock at the door, you could hear the muffled voices in a quick exchange in the entry porch. No-one paid much attention, as they where all absorbed in dress ideas and party plans. It wasnt until Beta Cole walked in face Ashen that they looked up.