Chapter 1

2434 Words
Arabella's POV I walked with purpose to training this morning. A scowl set across my face as my hair bounced side to side across my shoulders in a high pony tail with each step. I wore my favourite grey gym tights and matching sports bra, liking the contrast it set against my aqua blue eyes. Sweat clung to my body like a second skin, the combinded product of a smoldering summer heat and sheer anger. Training was held at our pack house, a short work from my apartment spanning 5 blocks. I turned the final corner, the pack house finally coming into full view. Our packhouse was smaller than most, but then again so was our pack. A cream coloured double story building with a white wrap around porch. The house contained about 25 rooms in total. The upper level belonging to the Alpha and his Beta along with their immediate families, while the extended families and Gama's lived on the bottom level. I couldn't help myself as my eyes wandered to the window on the top level, first one from the right. That used to be my room when I lived at the packhouse. I chose to move out and get my own apartment when I was 19, my parents hated the idea, but I longed for my own space to practice my piano and singing without lingering ears, besides, the walk to college from the packhouse would have been a real b***h. I looked to my left, taking in the small lake that sat next to the packhouse, reminiscing on all the times we had had mud fights in it, splashing about and screaming on the top of our lungs on a sweltering hot summer's day. Walking up the driveway towards the packhouse, I caught the familiar scent of freshly cut grass and pink Rose's, inhaling deeply while closing my eyes for just a split second before I continued down the foot path that led around the back of the packhouse to where training was held. I paused and eyed the field we trained on that tailed into the woods. I was already late. Everyone had already begun sparing in their separate pairs a few meters apart. My father stood to the side in a serious conversation with Alpha Bran, Bryce's father. As if sensing my arrival, he turned his gaze towards me, shooting me an annoyed look that had me mouthing "I'm sorry". I dropped my bag and walked towards the only person who was effortlessly doing push up's waiting for me to arrive so we could begin sparring. Bryce looked simply sinful as always, his chocolate brown hair longer at the back, trailing down his neck, short at the sides and slightly longer on top, the longer strands at the back clinging to his neck that was damp with the sweat from the heat and his own workout. I folded my arms and waited, watching the thick muscles on his back braid in and out of unison with each push up before he stood up, allowing me to fully take him in. My eyes acted on their own accord and darted down from his grey eyes to roam the length of his body. Bryce was well built, his creamy skin bounced and glistered with sweat over the ripples of his muscles. A strong chest with a six pack which always seemed to have my eyes wondering where they shouldn't. Not now. "Like what you see?" He mused, with a wink, drawing me from my thoughts as he put his hands up and shifted his weight from side to side for us to begin sparing. I rolled my eyes at him and lifted my fists in response, shifting my weight from side to side as I stretched my neck, moving my head towards each shoulder. "Is that what she said as well? Before she tried to kiss you that is" I spat the words I had been thinking the entire walk over here. My wolf Aria edging on my violent thoughts as I took a cheap right swing at him, which he skillfully dodged as I expected. "Come on babe, how many times do I have to tell you this." He moaned, feigning a swipe at my abdomen. "She came on to me, and I politely declined" he continued with a serious look on his face. I knew he was being honest, but I still couldn't hide the fact that I was pissed. I was pissed at him for giving off some kind of signal's that would have had this girl thinking she stood a chance, and even more pissed that someone dare challenge me by trying to make a move on my boyfriend, but being the Beta's daughter, I couldn't just go around attacking females. Letting my anger fuel me, I spun around with my right leg solid in the air, aiming a round house kick at his side, to which again, he dodged. Dancing on his feet, he grinned at me and shrugged, the silent laugh clear in his amused grey eyes. "I cant believe you are getting so wound up about something so stupid". He mocked, eying me suspiciously. With that my patience snapped and I tackled him to the ground, my legs locking around his waist while our arms fought for control. "It's not the point, it's the fact that she thought she stood a chance that get's to me" I shouted, a little louder than I should have. "And the fact that you clearly gave her reason to believe this" I growled, while lifting my upper body and elbow up to land a calculated blow against his ribs, a weak spot I knew of because of a old injury during a battle with a vampire a couple years ago that wasn't able to heal properly. It was a dirty move, but I didn't care. A brief hiss of pain left his lips, his grey eyes swirling with black that let me know his wolf was trying to come through. He rolled me over in an instant, locking my arms together with one of his, pinning me to the floor with his other forearm across my neck with just enough pressure to make me aware of it's presence. He leaned his face towards mine. The familiar scent of mint and musk filling my nose. A combination of his breath and body. His grey eyes swimming with black flecks as he gazed into my eyes. "It's only you Arabella, it always has been, and it always will be, only you" he whispered before sealing his lips to mine abolishing my jealous rage in one simple kiss. Once training was over, my father motioned for me to come over. I walked towards him, knowing fully what was going to come next. He was no doubt going to have a go at me for being late this morning. "Arabella, you really need to consider moving back to the pack house, we cant have you late like this for training, you have an honour and a duty to this pack as my daughter" he scolded, his lips in a thin disapproving line. I stared back at him, not backing down. Looking straight into a mirror image of my own eyes. "Dad, we have been through this before. I'm not going to live back at the packhouse okay. I'm sorry I was late, it wont happen again" I responded. The words laced with a lie. I was always late, regardless of the occasion, I somehow was always late. I gave up trying to be on time. Bryce had learned to accept it long ago, but my father on the other hand constantly reminded me that I should always strive to do better and be better. He was a good man, but placed a lot of pressure on my brother and I to be the best we possibly could be, leaving no room for error or mistakes. "Fine, but next time you're late, you will have to give me 10 laps." He smiled to himself as he looked past me into the woods, something catching his attention. His brows furrowed slightly, causing me to turn around and follow his gaze. A large light brown coloured wolf walked through the woods into the clearing of the field. It's obsidian coloured eyes locked onto my fathers while a light breeze rustled it's soft light brown fur. I immediately recognised the wolf as my brother Izaak. I walked towards the wolf across the field, an earsplitting grin taking form on my face. I hadn't seen Izaak in a few weeks, he had been sent on a mission to gather information about the shewolves who had gone missing in the surrounding packs. I approached my brothers wolf with my arm stretched out, my cheeks ached from smiling, unable to hold in my excitement at seeing him again. Just as I was about to pet him, he bowed down in a playful stance and wagged his tail, a playful low growl leaving his muzzle. I laughed as I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his thick fury neck and inhaling his familiar scent. "I was beginning to think I'd inherited everything" I laughed, a mischievous tone to my voice. He turned his large head and gave me a huge sloppy lick to the face. The roughness of his tongue no doubt leaving a red mark in its wake against my pale skin. Rubbing the slobber off with my forearm, I watched as my brother trotted off towards the side of the packhouse to shift back to his human form and put some clothes on that we always had strategically placed there for such moments. The action made me think back to my first shift. I was 16 at the time and Bryce and I were in my bedroom arguing over who could stuff the most marshmallows in their mouth. I claimed he was cheating because I swore I saw him actually chew a little. Both of us were in fits of laughter, unable to close our mouths due to the crammed marshmallows bursting through our dry lips, pink and white marshmallow powder all over our faces. We agreed to both just chew what we had in our mouths and start again, all of this we actually had to communicate through our pack mind link because neither one of us could talk, making the entire thing even that much more hilarious.  Just as we both stopped chewing and managed to swallow all the marshmallows out our mouth, our bellies full from sweets. Bryce's eyes locked with mine as he leaned in a little, wiping the marshmallow powder off the corner of my jaw. His gaze shifted to my lips and his own lips parted before he looked back to my eyes. My heart thudded erratically in my chest and I panicked as I knew he could hear it. To my surprise, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips and his hand moved from my jaw to the nape of my neck, before he gently pulled my face closer to his, our lips almost touching he closed his eyes before I hastily closed the distance between us slamming my lips to his. I had a crush on Bryce for months already, hoping the feelings would be returned.  Almost instantly I felt a burning sensation over my entire body. My bones ached as if they were suddenly foreign to my body. I pulled back startled, and Bryce's eyes widened in response to my startled look. Feeling alarmed at what I was feeling, I mind linked my dad through the pack link.  He burst into my room, scooping me up into his arms and bolting down the stairs with a confused and concerned Bryce hot on his heels. The pain was quickly becoming unbearable, I screamed in agony, covering my ears as a high pitched noise only I could hear echoed in my ears. My dad mind linked me letting me know I was going to shift, running now with me in his arms out of the back door towards the woods.  My skin felt like it was on fire and my head about to explode. I felt my canines begin to lengthen and opened my jaw instinctively to accommodate. My dad set me down on the ground, him and Bryce standing back. And almost as if on cue my bones started to crack, lengthen and shift. My skin burning hot at the stretch it took to accommodate the shifting bones beneath them. Hair started sprouting all over my arms in pin pricks. I closed my eyes tightly at the pain that devoured my senses, battling to stay on my feet, I started leaning forward. Suddenly it all stopped and everything was still and quiet. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a pair of huge light grey paws where my feet would be. Looking up, my gaze landed on my father first. His blue eyes glistering with tears and pride. "You're wolf is beautiful Arabella. She is light grey and has your natural human blue eyes." My father gasped. Shifting after that caused slight discomfort but no pain. My father later told me that my shift was actually really quick for a first time, he asked what I was doing at the time that seemed to stir my wolf, but I decided to keep my first kiss to myself telling him we were just eating marshmallows. My wolf Aria purred in my mind at my memory bringing me back to reality. I walked back towards the packhouse, eager to get some breakfast and finish off my day here and get back home to finish a song I had been working on for the past three months, the lyrics and notes swirled constantly in my mind begging to be released.  Bryce was already in the kitchen, sitting at a booth with his friend James, whom I personally wasn't very fond of. James gave me the creeps. He was tall and lanky with Auburn coloured hair, ordinary brown eyes and a sharp pointy nose. He was always gawking at the unmated shewolves, trying his luck where ever he could. Avoiding him, I went over to sit next to my mum who was seated over at the breakfast nook. Bryce flashed me a fake puppy dog face and stuck out his bottom lip at my actions. Sticking out my tongue in response like the child I was. I pulled up a barstool next to my mum.
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