She belongs to me

What is going on

"We're here to visit family. My brother is the pack's Beta," I replied, scanning their unfamiliar faces. Had the pack grown so much in my absence?

"Beta Drake?" The man looked confused.

"No, Beta Callum," I frowned. Since when did we have a Beta named Drake? You typically had to massively screw up to lose that position.

Understanding crossed the man's face as he glanced at the others.

"Go on through," he nodded curtly before my grandmother wasted no time driving away.

"Well, that was certainly strange," Grandma Willow said with a concerned frown.

"Definitely," I agreed, equally perplexed.

As we passed through the town center, I was shocked by how many new faces there were. Something major must have happened while I was gone. I vaguely remembered Callum mentioning another pack needing assistance. Maybe they had finally joined forces.

We pulled into the driveway of my childhood home. The once brilliant white paint was now faded and chipped. It looked like decades had passed rather than just a year. The flower beds my mom tended so lovingly were overgrown with weeds and dead blooms. How long had she been gone?

I hesitated at the front door, unsure if I should knock or just walk in. Before I could decide, Grandma Willow barged right in.

Callum and my dad sat inside, their expressions one of utter shock when they saw us.

"Ava?" My dad gasped, looking me over in disbelief.

My raven hair now fell well past my waist and my silver eyes seemed to glimmer with a new intensity. The remaining baby fat had melted away, replaced by lean muscle.

"Hi Dad," I smiled, falling into his arms and breathing in his comforting, familiar scent of cologne and pipe smoke.

"Missed you, kid," he mumbled gruffly, ruffling my hair before turning to hug Grandma Willow.

"Good to see you, Ma," he said, holding her tightly, like a child clinging to his mother.

When they finally parted, I scowled at Callum. "Okay, spill it. What the hell is going on around here?"

Dad sighed and sank back into his recliner, looking utterly defeated.

"Go on, might as well tell her," he grumbled at Callum.

Grandma laid a supportive hand on her son's shoulder as Callum began explaining.

"Jaxon royally screwed up," he started with a huff.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, no surprise there. Keep going."

"You know how he was supposed to help another pack in need? Well, he refused to back them up when they pissed off the Alpha of the Crescent Pack. Stupid arrogant ass just kept running his mouth, antagonizing their Alpha more and more."

Callum shook his head, as if trying to dislodge the bad memories. I was already bored by the inane details of Jaxon's idiocy.

"Okay, and?" I drew out the word to hurry him along.

"Well, the Crescent Pack declared war on us in retaliation. Not a single other pack would ally with Jaxon - he'd alienated everyone. We had to fight alone."

Callum's face grew grim as haunting memories resurfaced. Glancing at Dad, he continued.

"Every able wolf had to take up arms - women, children, even the elderly. Your mother..." His voice cracked and he swallowed hard. "I couldn't get to her in time."

Understanding dawned, an icy fist squeezing my heart. "How could Jaxon do that?" I whispered, numb with shock.

"You wanna know the worst part?" Dad spat bitterly. "That bastard ran. Grabbed his mate and fled while the rest of us fought for our lives."

Grandma gasped in horror while I struggled to process Dad's words. For an Alpha to abandon their pack, their family, was the greatest taboo. It went against every sacred vow, every intrinsic part of who we were.

"If he ever shows his face again, Alpha will kill him," Callum said grimly.

"Alpha? Alpha who?" I asked, still reeling.

"Once Jaxon left us to die, we had no choice but to surrender," Callum explained with obvious reluctance. "We have a new Alpha now. Alpha Kade of the Crescent Pack."

"Thank the Moon Mother Alpha Kade would never abandon his people," Dad growled. "He may be ruthless, but at least he has honor."

After that painful conversation, they gave Grandma and I some space to settle back in. I nearly broke down when I saw my room exactly as I'd left it a year ago. Snarling, I ripped down any photos of Jaxon and I.

"Better that girl is his mate than us," Luna spat with disgust. "We would never turn our backs on our packmates like that."

"We kind of did abandon our pack though," I pointed out with a frown.

"That was different," she insisted. "We're not the Alpha or Beta. We held no real position or power. If we'd stayed, we would have died alongside everyone else."

Her logic made sense. As painful as it was to admit, by leaving we had saved ourselves.

After unpacking, Grandma insisted on making dinner despite Dad's gruff protests. I knew he was happy to have family again after losing Mom. She may not have been his mate, but they had still spent two decades together.

We were halfway through the awkwardly silent meal when a deep, commanding voice inexplicably echoed through my mind.

"Report to training at the Pack House, 10 a.m. Do not be late. I look forward to meeting you."

The rich, husky tone seemed to reverberate through my very bones. I shivered involuntarily as the voice rolled over me with an unmistakable air of alpha authority.

"Was that...Alpha Kade?" I blurted out loud.

Dad, Callum and Grandma all turned to me with confused frowns.

"What is it, Ava?" Dad asked around a forkful of spaghetti.

"Um, some guy just told me to report for training tomorrow?" I said uncertainly. Was it Kade's Beta giving orders?

"That was Alpha Kade himself," Callum nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Dad grunted in affirmation. "He likes handling things personally. Insists on evaluating and training everyone."

I scowled at their nonchalant attitudes. "Don't worry," Callum assured me. "If you're not cut out for battle, he won't force you to fight. He just wants to assess everyone's capabilities."

"I can fight just fine," I snapped, hackles raised. I was done being treated like a fragile little girl.

For the first time, a smirk played across Callum's lips. "Since when?"

I leveled a steely glare at my older brother. "Since I left this backward-ass pack. I've been training my ass off for a year straight."

"I'll be there for training too then," he countered with an arrogant grin. "We'll see how 'good' you really are, little sis."

I bristled at the condescending big brother routine. Jaxon always spewed that misogynistic "men are superior fighters" bullshit. It was infuriating to see Callum shared that antiquated mentality.