The Golden Daughter

Luna Stare

(Mika Firethorn POV Made out Adrenaline, Great Ideas, and Bad Decisions)

   “You did it again, didn’t you?” Caden said, his gaze burning twin holes into the side of my head. He’s been scowling at me with a coma-inducing amount of disapproval the entire drive. 

    “Did what exactly?” I drawled innocently, an achy feeling in my stomach confirmed that I already knew what he was going to say next. 

    “You smell like paint.” My gaze snapped to him, raising an eyebrow. 

    “Gee, thanks. I was painting in class.” I deadpanned, the lie slipping easily off my tongue. I don't like lying to my brothers but they seem to tattle on me a lot to Mom. Though, it’s not like they can resist Mom with her Luna tone.

    “You know you’re covered in paint, right?” Caden said when I continued to deny his claims. I glanced down at myself and gasped. He was right, slashes of dried paint raced down my thighs, a variety of colors and splotches of paint covering me from my toes to the tips of my hair. Including my white t-shirt which might as well go into the trash when I get home. “And you smell like spray paint.” 

    “I do not!” I denied, incredibly pissed that he can’t mind his own damn business! It didn’t matter if I smelt like paint or not, just glancing at my hands, anyone could tell I was painting with spray paint. My fingers were sticky with it and just thought of trying to wash it off had me groaning. Spray paint had to be the most difficult thing to remove from skin, hair, and clothes. 

    “Greyson, does she smell like paint?” Caden said exasperated. 

    “Yeah sure,” Greyson replied, shrugging his shoulders without glancing up from his phone. He’s been lounging in the back with legs across the seat. His knees were too long and this was the only way he could fit in my car. 

    Finally, he glanced up and sputtered a laugh. “You have paint on your face.” Caden grinned along with him as I spun back around in my seat scowling at the highway. 

    “Well, you guys smell like chlorine!” I said in a weak attempt to regain my pride.  

    “Yeah, we’ve been swimming for the last two hours. What’s your excuse?” Caden said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. I pouted, purposely turning off the highway hard just to see Caden tense and clutch at the window. Like that could save him if we wrecked. My car was so tiny we’d be squashed like a bug.

    “You drive like a lunatic.” He grumbled, his hand still pressed against the glass. I shot him an innocent smile speeding up on the last stretch home. 

    “And you guys are assholes,” I mumbled under my breath, even though I knew they both could hear me. I pulled up to the gates to the HalfCrest territory. There were two entrances to the pack's lands; through this gate or through the forests behind the small community city.

  The gate just happened to be the more accessible one when in a car. I rolled down the window leaning my head out to the small speaker box on the side of the road. I struggled to reach the button wiggling halfway out of my car before poking it.

    “WHO’S IT FOR!” The small box blared, making me jump and hit my head on the top of the window. 

    “Ow,” I whimpered, rubbing my head. 

    “WHAT WAS THAT!” The nasally high-pitched voice coming from the speaker was annoying the hell out of me. I gritted my teeth through and refrain from running over the stupid speaker box. 

    “Mika Firethorn,” 

    Instantly the gate clicked to open up ahead. I drove through and straight into town. It was like a typical small town. Everyone that was in the pack and lived in the city had a house here. Which made the population around five-thousand or so. There were a small grocery outlet and a little dinner, small businesses lining the street. People were milling about chatting and smiling, making their way back home, locking up stores before the sun went down. 

The Alpha house was down a street with the Beta house across from it then the Gamma and so on. But the Alpha house is by far the grandest with trees turning red and yellow from the early autumn weather lining its drive wave to a three-story monster of a house.

    I glanced at Caden, telling him to give me the garage remote. I held my hand out expectantly as I pulled up to the closed garage. I waited... 

    I glared at him, “Give it.” He seemed to take my demand as a challenge and he refused, flipping it over in his hands. “Please, open the door now,” I ask politely, batting my eyelids, putting the fake pleasantness on thick. 

    “Nope!” Caden smirked, holding the remote out tauntingly. “Not until you apologize for leaving us for hours.” I rolled my eyes, slumping against the driving wheel and giving him the best puppy dog eyes, I could muster. 

    “You’re so dramatic.” He teased, annoying me enough to drop the innocent act.

    “Open the goddess damned garage!” I exclaimed, lunging for the remote. He maneuvers the remote out of my reach at the last second making a growl rip out of my throat. 

    “Say it!” He sings, pressing the button to my car's passenger window and holding the remote out. 

    “I’m going to throttle you!” I release a battle cry jumping at him. He mocks drops the remote causing me to cry out.

    “Caden, just give her the remote,” Greyson said peeking up from his phone to shake his head at our childless. Caden turned to look at him in surprise. 

    “But-” Caden starts but I recognize my opening lunging forward and snatching the remote from him. He scowls as I plop back into my seat, sticking my tongue out like a two-year-old. I open the garage door, purposely parking close to the other cars just to watch Caden struggle trying not to scratch it.

    When we got inside I could hear hushed voices coming inside the kitchen. I paused to listen but Runen came thundering down the stairs. He looks exhausted, light crescents were forming under his eyes and his usual authoritative presence only perked up when he saw us. 

    “Mom, Dad, can we have dinner now! The triplets are here!” He shouted. I scoff when I realize that he’s only thinking about his stomach. He's a giant like most of my family so I couldn’t really blame him. Even Mom is tall with a strong dominating pull that leaves lesser pack members trembling. 

    I’m the only one the tall gene skipped making me look like a midget around my family. My brothers all had Dad's handsome features, Caden and Greyson with his warm, silky chestnut toned hair and all three with his sun-kissed skin.

    While I took after Mom with my pale skin, sharp but tiny features, and naturally rosy cheeks that gave me an air of innocent that will definitely get me kidn*pped some day. Runen is the only one that inherited Moms inky dark hair that was always so straight it looks like it was drawn with a ruler.

  Our one defining feature that linked us together was our golden eyes. They were actually warm hazel but when the light hit them just right they looked like melted honey. It also didn't help that all of our wolves were famous for their golden eyes so whenever our wolves shone through it was followed by gasps and rumors that we bleed gold.

    As I round the corner our parent's harsh whispers cut off and Mom spun around smiling. I instantly noticed Dad's outraged expression, ready to tear the washcloth he was gripping to shreds. Mom sends him one last concerned look over her shoulder before focusing on them. 

    “It's almost ready,” Mom replied with a bright smile that turned into a scowl when she saw me. “Mika! You're covered in paint! And you smell despicable. What have I told you about paint on your clothes!?!” 

    “No mate will take me if I look like this.” I rolled my eyes, already knowing the speech. When will she learn that I don’t care about my mate? A low growl rumbles around the room and Mom pins her Luna glare on me, causing me to flinch back. I pride myself on never backing down in a fight. I can go head-to-head with Alphas or takedown bears without a second thought. But my mother… 

    She's scary as s**t. 

    Everyone says my Dad was the Alpha that changed the world. The Alpha started spreading peace instead of war. But it wasn’t until my mother reigned his wild beast in that the peace started to spread. She also was the one who thought up the idea of the peace treaty with the three major packs; HalfCrest, NightStalkers, and DawnFall. 

    The three royal blooded packs that ruled during the Packs Reign of Terror. 

    “Don’t roll your eyes at me!” She growls, I take a step back, bowing my head in respect. I would not like to be on her bad side right now. I just got off it.

    “Sorry, we were painting in class...” I trailed off hoping it didn’t sound too much like a lie. My mother's eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

    “Go take a shower and change for dinner.” She points to the hall and I quickly scurry off. I catch my brother snickering on the stairwell causing me to flush with anger. I walked by purposely stomping on Caden's foot.

    “Hey, why me! They were laughing too!” Caden whined, glaring at Greyson who was covering his laughter rather badly.

    “Because you're my least favorite.” I snapped spinning around to give Caden a pointed look before stomping up the stairs. 

    “At least I didn’t forget my brothers.” He mumbles as I rounded to the second floor, greatly underestimating my hearing.

    “That's why you’re my least favorite!” I shout, starting on the next set of stairs. The Alpha house was three stories tall and my Father built it after they signed the treaty as a gift for Mom after she got pregnant with Runen. My parents and Runen got to the second floor, each getting a wing of the house to themselves. The triplets; me, Caden, and Greyson got the entire third floor.

    I always brag about how I get a whole wing to myself while Greyson and Caden have to share. I have my own bathroom and living room with a spare bedroom that I use as my own personal art studio.

    Painting is the only thing that Mom hasn’t taken from me. Whenever I picked up a new hobby she would make it into some kind of competition forcing me to practice so it could become a “desirable trait” for my mate. She wants me to have good grades so I can be smart for my mate. Or the fancy clothes she refused to allow me to wear twice incase my "future mate" noticed.

    I had to look pretty for my mate. She got this deranged idea that I was going to get an Alpha mate no matter what. It’s true Alpha daughters are rare, especially one with two Royal bloodlines. The only other Royal blooded one alive is Katelyn, one of Caden's closest friends, but she didn't have two direct Royal bloodlines.

    But that doesn’t mean I had to have an Alpha mate. I could easily be mated to a nobody. I hope I’m mated to nobody. It would make my life eternally easier. I don’t want an Alpha mate.

    Alpha’s can be cruel destructive monsters if not trained properly. And even worse they are super possessive over their mate. My mother seems to disregard any dangers only focusing on how she can mate her daughter off to further pack alliances.

    I can’t believe I fed into her lies for years about how she only wanted the best for me. At least when Kai left it finally set me straight.

    I went into my bedroom stripping off my paint sodden clothes and tossing them in a pile in the general direction of my laundry basket. My bed was a mess, rumpled sheets and clothes littered the dark hardwood floors.

    I yawned, stretching the fading ache out of my limbs, walking into my bathroom. I turned the shower knob to its hottest setting and stepped in before it could fully warm itself. 

    Since I could remember my mother has been priming me for my mate.

    Well, at least until Kai left to train the outer reaches of the HalfCrest villages. A violent pack has been raiding our supply trains, blocking the roads, and forcing the villages to hand over everything they own by brute force.

    It was just like how the packs used to do it during their reign of terror. The bigger, stronger packs destroy the weaker ones. They would have continued to do this until they ran out of packs to raid, destroying themselves.

    That’s why they signed the treaty so they can finally put destruction behind them when Runen claims the throne. That’s basically what the peace treaty was. Three Royal packs coming together and signing the peace treaty so they can finally have one fair ruler, that they all choose and nurtured. The heir could have come from either of the three packs but Runen was the eldest.

    Kai was a Royal bastard from the Blackwing line that died out in the Packs Reign of Terror. The HalfCrest took him in and Dad took him under his own personal protection. He was like my brother. Or I was like a sister to him.

    I had a major crush on him. I finally worked up the courage to limit my feelings it was painfully obvious he didn't feel the same way. My stupid naive heart only focused on how excited my mother would be if I was mated to someone with Royal blood, completely ignoring the fact that Kai never did anything close to intimate together beside a brotherly hug.

  Even worse he told me I was my mother's puppet afterward. I was embarrassed heartbroken and pissed off and I ignored the obvious facts that he was completely right. Once the tide of emotion passed over it hit me.

  It was very abrupt when the realization came to me but after I got over the shock I found out I was quite rebellious. Of course, Mom was pissed. I threw away or burned every stuffy fancy dress I hated. I bought makeup with sparkles in dark blues and purple I've always wanted to try. I cut my hair myself, leaving it a choppy, layered mess, especially when I tried to cut bangs.

  I looked and felt like a normal teenager for once.

  I didn't do it for my Mom, or Kai, or for public appearances. I did it all for myself. To finally start acting like want and finally let me free. Despite Mom's constant comments about how my mate will reject me if I look like this, or keep up my sarcastic comments.

  If being myself makes my mate rejected me, I am perfectly okay with that. 

  -

I quickly darted down the stairs. It took longer than expected to get the paint out of my hair. I have gotten pretty good at it for the past few months. Though I still haven't found a way to get the paint off my clothes. I can only throw it in the washer as soon as I can and hope for the best. 

    At least I made sure my car had leather seats so it’s pretty easy to get the paint off them. 

    “Finally!” Runen shouts when I make it down the stairs. He was slumped over in his chair pretending to be dying of starvation. I roll my eyes. Yes, that’s my brother, the future Alpha King. Strolling into the dining room, I plop down on a chair beside Greyson. 

    “I thought I said for you to change?” my mother's comments, her gaze zeroing in on my elbow. 

    “I did,” I argued, twisting my sleeve over. On the back, covering the entirety of my elbow was a white paint stain on my long sleeve T. “It’s not my fault the washer doesn’t work.” I hissed under my breath, poking at my pees with my fork.

    “I’m not waiting for her again.” Runen declared, digging into the bread in the center of the table. Caden and Greyson follow suit and soon I'm stuffing my face as well. 

    For an Alpha family, we certainly eat like werewolves. 

    Though, I do notice that Dad remained tense for most of the dinner, staring down at his plate. When my brothers were going for seconds and I was too stuffed to move my mother decides to strike. 

    “So, what are we going to do about the peace treaty?” Mom inquires, causing the entire family’s gazes to snap to our Father. So it must be true? Was another Alpha really strong enough to contend with the other royal packs? 

    “The ShadowFang pack is not to be trusted.” He states, tearing off a piece of bread. My eyes widened. The ShadowFang pack was my Father's ex-Beta’s, Sebastian's pack. He got demoted and banished from Moonbright city when he publicly dueled and lost against my Father. He was planning on taking over the pack and destroying the peace treaty.

  And like that wasn't enough, Sebastian planned on take my mother for himself once he kills my dad. 

    Mom’s eyes narrow slightly in the way she does whenever I say something she disapproves of. “They want peace.” She responded, calming cutting into her steak. Like they aren’t talking about the future of all three Royal packs. I couldn’t believe it! We're actually considering signing with them?

    “Wait, didn’t he try to kill you Dad?” I asked, rather unwelcomingly butting into their conversation.

    “We’ll talk about this later.” My mother snapped, going back to solely focusing her meal. I was taken aback by how quickly diffused my involvement in the conversation. Maybe I should have stayed quiet and they wouldn't have noticed I was there,

  “What- wait! Is there really another pack joining the treaty? And what about this mystery Alpha coming back to town?” I frantically asked, trying to regain just an ounce of my mother's attention.

    “More like Alpha Jackass,” Runen grumbled, my head swiveled to him, my gaze narrowing in like a tractor beam ready to suck all the information out of him by whatever means necessary.

    “You’ve seen him?” I asked, a smile lighting up my face. Mom shot him her withering Luna glare and he flinched back, suddenly not meeting my eye. He nervously scratched his throat.

    “I-I don’t ah… I forgot?” Runen said, shrugging his shoulders which were too tense for the nonchalance he was looking for. Mom's facepalmed, shaking her head in her hands.

    “Oh, come on! Is it so bad to tell me something?” I slumped against the back of my chain and suddenly my brother's plates became the most mesmerizing thing in the room because they were all staring at them.

    “Mika,” My mother gasps, dropping my finery on the table. “I’ve told you several times; you are too young-” 

    “I am just as old as Caden and Greyson but they didn’t seem too surprised when ‘learning’ about Sebastian pack?” Mika interrupted, pointing at Caden and Greyson who each downed two giant bites of steak and mash potatoes before tacitly excused themselves. 

    “Your brothers are preparing to become Beta’s. They need to know this information.” Mom gestured for Runen and their Father to leave. She never let them see our fights. Like they haven’t seen anything worse than two women fight. 

    “And I don’t!” I objected, shoving my chair away from the table. “It affects me too.” 

    “We haven’t told the rest of the pack enemy, so don’t think yourself too special.” My mother jeered, leaning back in her chair. I was stunned for a second. Did she just call me a regular old pack member? Lower than an omega?

    “I’m an Alpha daughter, I have a right to know what’s going on with my pack,” I demand, my fingers curling the edge of the table, my fingers digging into the smooth wood.

    “Mika this isn’t your pack. You’ll understand that when you find your mate.” Mom said her voice taking on a serious steely calm that meant she wasn't using this to hurt me she was just stating the honest facts. But she was wrong.

  I shot up from my chair, it falling backward in the process. “What is that supposed to mean.” My voice turned to a deadly calm contrast to my usual yelling. I met my mother's Luna gaze. With me standing over her she couldn't look down her nose at me, belittling me. I felt powerful instead, looking down at her. Her ruler.

  My mother flinched back, taking a few hard blinks before gently slipping out of her chair and towering over me, correctly restoring their dominance.

    “I'm doing this for my own good.” Her words held no emotions or remorse. She wasn't assuring me. She was only reporting that whatever twisted life she was plotting for me was what she thought was for my own good.

    “Sure, you are...” I huffed, walking out of the dining room, ignoring Mom's shouts for me to come back.