Mated in her shadow, now claimed by the Lycan prince

Julie POV "Have you got all the ribbons, balloons, and the remaining decors?" Mrs. Angelo's voice boomed from downstairs. "Yes, Mom. Everything is ready," I answered back in a louder voice, cleaned the sweat off my forehead with the back of my palm, and asked, "Is dinner ready?" "You only care about food, and that is why you are getting fatter. Don't worry, the food will be ready in a few minutes." Hearing the meal would soon be ready brought a smile to my lips. I only ate breakfast in the morning, three slices of bread with a small mug of tea and a little bacon, it's almost six in the evening, and I could hear protesting from the hungry worms in my stomach. "Are you done scrubbing the tiles? I want everything sparkling clean." "Trust me, your tiles are as white as snow." "And the cushions?" "Spotless, Mom. Everything is perfect." I heard my Mommy's loud snort, "I will come and check before serving your meal, I can't trust you enough to get anything done to perfection." Even though her words hurt, she had spoken the truth and this made me feel guilty instead of being angry. I'm the type that is too lazy or tired to see things till the end. I have given up on sports, give up my dream to be a pack doctor like my Mom, and would have given up on education if my parents agreed, which they don't. "You know how important tomorrow is to us, don't you?" "Yeah, I do," I murmured back. To every werewolf in the moonlight pack and beyond, the age of seventeen is the most important age to us, this is the age we will be experiencing our first transformation and also meet our wolf. Another important age is the age of eighteen; the age to meet our mates. Tomorrow is our seventeen-year-old birthday, and our parents have decided to make it memorable for us. We are our Beta only children, and our father; Beta Arnold was loved and well-respected by all the pack members. To show their love to us, the Gammas went hunting and brought back several animals which were soon fried and stored inside some coolers in my mother's kitchen. Everywhere is busy, with excitement showing on everyone's face. They were eager to meet our wolves and see what kind of wolves they were. Because of my father's popularity and his status; he was the Chief security officer and in charge of the pack security, the guest list for the party was fairly large and it included pack members from far and near. Sitting on a dangerous cliff 23 meters above sea level, and only accessible by a road which is always jam-packed with local security, or by boat. I suddenly heard footsteps at my back, it was my Mom and her sudden appearance made me leapt with fright. "Are you okay?" "You scared the s**t out of me, Mom. When are you going to stop these pranks of yours? Mrs.. Angelo was tall and still had an extremely beautiful shape and look that caught Arnold's attention when he met her thirty-one years ago. A smile appeared on her face as she asked, "Where is Juliet?" "She went to see Roland." Mrs. Angelo stood akimbo and her eyes darted all over the sitting room. Suddenly her eyes began to turn red and her breathing became erratic. From previous experience, I knew this was a bad sign. My Mom is about to lose whatever temper she had left for me. "I can't believe you can't clean this small size room and few electronics without someone finding dust and dirty". She paused her speech and walked towards me while I immediately sprang up and stepped backward. Considering her mood, I would soon earn some slaps if I didn't get out of her way. "Just take a look at the television and home theater, they are filled with dust and cobwebs. And, is that not a dark spot over there? Why don't you remove the rug and scrub the under?" "I... I will see to them immediately." "You need to start thinking about your life, Julie. If you are half as capable as your sister, then you will be useful to us and yourself." She turned and began to descend the steps, "Tell Juliet to see me immediately when she is back. She is the only one I trust to get things done to my satisfaction," My mom cast a last glance at my work and left as quietly as she arrived. Juliet is my twin sister, she is the favorite of our parents. She is Intelligent, the school cheerleader, and practically worshipped by the entire pack members. Even though the law of the pack frowns against relationships between the pack members until they are proven to be mates, Juliet is treated differently. She and Roland had been dating for a year now, and all the pack members looked up to her as the future pack Luna. Even our alpha; Alpha Rutherford was so eager to turn the pack over to Roland and Juliet, once she was identified and ready to take on her position as the Luna. Shockingly, he deviated from standard protocol and decided to start Juliet's Luna training a month ago. Frankly speaking, something is not right about Juliet starting Luna's training. Firstly, her training means something bad to me, something so horrible that I can't talk about it yet. Secondly, I don't know why Luna's training could not wait until we turned eighteen and Juliet could confirm who her mate was. For generations, Luna has waited for the right time. Why is Juliet's case different? Seeing Juliet hanging all over Roland publicly irritated me. Our pack frowns on dating and public displays of affection until you meet your mate. This is to curtail unwarranted anger and jealousy when the real mate is located. But then, Juliet is above the law, and exceptions are always made for her. I and Juliet share little in common. While I'm a plain lady, short, plumpy, and have my father's green eyes and dark hair, Juliet was tall, and well-shaped, with blue eyes, long golden hair, and extremely beautiful like our mother. She was easygoing and outspoken and the pack members knew her to be kind, wise, and energetic. She is perfect and can never do wrong in the eyes of my parents, the alpha, and the whole pack members. Juliet may be perfect to others, but not to me. I knew a different side of my sister that no one knew, and I knew more than anyone that Juliet was far from perfection. I am not jealous or bitter, she is my only sibling and I love her so much. I never intended to speak up or tarnish her flawless name. Even if I choose to speak, I believe I will be accused of lying, jealousy, and bitterness. My Mom soon arrived with a plate of food. She placed it on the table in front of me and gestured to me to start eating. "That's only what you are good at. You better watch your weight before you become too fat." I ignored her, dragged the plate closer, and inhaled the sweet scent of fried rice with roasted chicken. Just as I was about to take the first spoon, Juliet's voice filtered into my head. "Where are you, Julie?" "Am at home and about to eat. Are you still with Roland?" "No. I'm inside the forest closer to the pack territory and I want you to come and meet me there now." "What are you doing there at this time of the day?" "I can't talk. Come right now, Julie. This is very urgent and important, please don't be late." I sighed as she disconnected the mind-link. I'm hungry and about to have my first real meal today, but my sister needs me and she claims it's urgent and important. Even though I was tempted to take the already-filled spoon, I knew I might not be able to stop after. What is Juliet up to? I was out of our house in a few minutes, hopped into a Toyota Camry, and drove into the approaching darkness. Several minutes later, I arrived at the forest and tried to mind-link Juliet but no response. After searching blindly for a while, I saw a white canvas and a scream left my throat. This was Juliet's canvass but where is she? Suddenly, my eyes caught a pink gown far off. It was Juliet's clothes. I raced towards the spot, fell twice on the way, and had no more strength to scream. Juliet or what remained of her was under a big mahogany tree, her head had been cut off and her blood had formed a puddle beside her. Whoever did the job also left with her head.