Chapter 2

Five years later 

   “Hey Isla, come see this.” My best friend Zara yelled up the stairs to me. I had just finished preparing for the barbeque we had planned weeks ago. All our friends were coming, and it was so exciting because, for the first time in five years, I was finally going to see my big brother, Daniel. 

   I could not wait to see him. We talked on the phone and messaged a lot, but being so far away and Daniel having his own life, it had never been easy to arrange things. The main reason was that I had not returned to the pack house since I left five years ago. 

   Back then, I was a mess, bullied and then rejected by my so-called mate. The moon goddess had been crazy to pair me with such a selfish idiot. Whenever I talked to my brother, he never mentioned anything about Miller, and I preferred it that way. Of course, he had made Mora his chosen mate and Luna. It felt so good to hold my head up high and not get upset about that anymore. He was no longer in my head. 

   I and my wolf were a hell of a lot happier and more robust now. Training every day and attending college to become a nurse had turned me into a confident, healthy she-wolf. 

   Meeting Zara was the best thing to happen to me, and she was like a sister. Well, I barely heard from my real sister. I guess she had forgotten all about my existence. 

   “Isla!” Zara yelled for the second time.

   I smiled and took one last look at myself in the mirror. I had chosen leggings with a black vest top. My long hair was neatly plaited into two French braids. I looked good. 

   I was making my way down the stairs. Zara whistled dramatically. 

   “Damn girl, you are looking good,” she said, causing me to do a twirl and pose like some celebrity on the red carpet. 

   I was grinning like a Cheshire cat when my eyes fell on a figure in the corner. 

   I almost fell over myself when I saw him. 

   He looked the same but older. His smile made me want to cry. 

   Daniel. 

   “Oh my God, it's you. You came.” I screamed, rushing over to him and bursting into tears.

   I missed him so much; I missed all my family if I were honest, but Daniel the most since we were closest. 

   “Hello, little sis.” he grinned, swinging me around like he used to do when we were little kids. 

   “I'm so happy you are here,” I told him. 

   “Me too sis. But I need to talk to you.” his face went all serious, and I fell silent. 

   I had a bad feeling it wasn't going to be good news. 

   “Well, the thing is, you gotta come home,” he said. 

   I broke out into a laugh; my brother was such a joker. I turned to my best friend and stopped when I saw how she wasn't smiling or laughing. 

   “What's going on?” I frowned at them both. 

   Daniel rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily like he weighed the world on his shoulders. 

   “Daniel, why are you saying this? It's been five years since I left that place. You know I can't just go back.” I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep my cool. I had no idea why my brother would want me to go back there after all the abuse and bullying that I had to endure from everyone. I may be older and stronger now, but that did not mean I wanted to face my past. I was in a good place now, mentally and physically. Why should I risk that to go back to something that almost killed me? 

   “I won't go back there,” I told him. I looked like a sulking, spoilt brat, but it was the last place I wanted to be. 

   He looked slightly irritated by my unwillingness. 

   Who could honestly blame me?

   That packhouse was the last place that I wanted to be. 

   I looked to Zara for support, but she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. She knew everything about my past, how they had treated me like a piece of shit on the ground, how I had been rejected and made to feel like an outcast by my sister. 

   “You do not have a choice; I am sorry, sis. Get your stuff now.” My brother ordered me, causing me to stare open-mouthed at him. 

   My brother had never spoken to me like that before.

   “What?” I yelled at him, going to push him away from me. 

   If he thought that I was going to let him speak to me like shit, then he could think again. I had changed a lot over the last five years, and nothing or nobody would ever make me feel that small again! 

   “It's mum. She's ill.” the words echoed in my head and changed everything. 

   My eyes widened in disbelief. What was he talking about? 

   “What did you say?” my voice was unsteady as I turned to look my brother in the eye. I could see the uneasiness and upset on his face. He wasn't lying, not that he would lie to me about something so serious as this. 

   Zara reached out to comfort me, but I pushed her away.

   “I have to get my stuff.” I ran up the stairs quickly, but the tears were already brimming up in my eyes. 

   Grabbing my old suitcase from under the bed, I shoved all my clothes and belongings into it. Not taking any care to organise it like I usually would have. 

   My vision was beginning to get blurred by my stupid tears. 

   I did not know if my mother was going to be ok or not. Why had I not been told about this before now? I had so many questions. My mind was in overdrive. 

   There was a knock at the door, but ignored it. 

   “Isla, please! Just stop for a moment and let me help you. I can come with you.” I heard Zara say as she entered the room and grabbed hold of me. 

   “No,” I said firmly, pushing her away. 

   There was no chance in hell that I was letting my best friend go near my old pack. I would not be responsible for my actions if anyone hurt my best friend. I did not trust any of them as a waste of space idiots. 

   “Fine.” Zara scowled at my bluntness. I could tell that she was offended by my lack of enthusiasm. 

   “I'm sorry, Zara. I did not mean to sound so harsh. It's just for the best. I will be back as soon as I can.” I gave her a small smile as she nodded but avoided my gaze. 

   I was going to miss her so much. 

   Ten minutes later, I had my bags and my suitcase all loaded up in my brother's black jeep. He let me say my goodbyes to everyone quickly, but I could tell he was eager to leave since it would take a while to get back to the pack house. 

   “You better call me when you get there.” Zara smiled through her tears and pulled me into a tight hug. I loved this girl so much; she had been there for me when I had nobody. She would forever be my chosen sister. 

   “You bet I will,” I told her as she reluctantly released me. Wiping her eyes with her jumper sleeve, she nodded and snorted laughter, which sounded a lot like a pig. 

   I grinned at her and tried to stop the tears brimming up, ready to flood my cheeks. 

   “Come on, sis.” Daniel nodded towards the car, and I gave my best friend one final squeeze before getting into the jeep. 

   Daniel hopped in and started it up. He did not say a word until we were a few minutes down the road. 

   “Isla, I am sorry. I know that going home is the last place that you want to be, but we need to all be there for Mum. She is in a bad way.” Daniel sighed and kept both hands on the steering wheel while I quietly processed his words. 

   My mother was unwell and needed all her children around her. I am sure that she will be happy to see me. We were never close, but I still cared about her and did not want any ill health for her. 

   I wanted my family to be happy; deep down, that is another reason why I left when I did. To keep the humiliation of my rejection from ruining my family's pride. 

   After driving for a couple of hours, Daniel pulled into a car park, and my stomach rumbled at the sight of the cafe in front of us. 

   “Hungry?” My brother looked at me with an amused smile on his face. I nodded eagerly. He opened the jeep door, jumped out and came to open the passenger side so that I could get out, too. My brother was a true gentleman. He would make a great mate for someone one day. 

   Pushing open the cafe door, I felt all eyes on us, which caused anxiety to overwhelm me. 

   “What can I get for you?” a woman dressed in a blue top and skirt with a white apron. In her hand were a notebook and pen, which I am guessing was for taking note of any orders. 

   “Sorry, change of plan”, I heard my brother say as I eyed all the cakes and desserts. 

   “What? We only just got here. Let me eat. I am starving!” I whined, but the colour had drained from his face, and I followed his gaze to a table in the corner where a bunch of Burley men were growing at us. 

   I knew that they were werewolves, like us. They smelt like werewolves. 

   “What is going on?” I whispered to my brother. 

   “Isla, we need to leave,” he murmured to me. I frowned at him, confused and hungry. 

   Daniel clutched my hand, and he led me out of the cafe and back to the jeep. I was practically running to catch him up. He stopped for a split second to fumble in his jacket pockets of the car keys. 

   “What are you doing?” I yelled at him. 

   What the hell?

   “Isla, we need to get out of here. Now.” He found the keys and wasted no time in picking me up; he then threw me over his shoulder and shoved me into the jeep. 

   I then noticed three massive, burly guys, around forty years old, standing at the cafe's entrance, glaring at us as if they wanted to cause damage and pain. 

   What was their problem? 

   “Daniel, who are they?” I started to ask, but he was too busy throwing the jeep into reverse to answer me.

   I screamed in fright as one of them banged on the window, almost smashing it and bared his teeth at us. 

   I hit the lock so it would not be yanked open. 

   “Get down,” Daniel shouted at me, pointing to the footwell. I did as he said. 

   My heart was racing like crazy. What was that about? 

   I was crying, holding my knees to my chest, scared that we were about to die, but my brother assured me that we were ok. We were on human land, and nothing could harm us there. I did not know whether to feel relieved or not. 

   “Isla, I am so sorry,” Daniel said, reaching out to me, but I just slapped his hand away, angry that he had put me in such a dangerous situation in the first place. 

   He must be crazy. 

   I wanted to turn around and go home, back to my safety, back to my best friend and the friends who had become my family. 

   But knowing my mother needed me was the only thing stopping me. 

   “Isla, please let me explain.” he sighed. I had no interest in whatever he wanted to say to me. 

   We were soon on human land, and once my brother was sure we were safe, he decided to drive through McDonald's, where he ordered enough food to feed an orphanage for a week. 

   I was desperate for the toilet, and he reluctantly let me enter the McDonald's toilets. Warning me to hurry up, he watched me get out of the jeep. 

   My knees were wobbly as jelly as I forced them to carry my weight. I was a nervous wreck, scared that any second, those crazy, burly men would jump out and attack me. 

   Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and locked it. Once finished, I washed and dried my hands. 

   I quickly returned to my brother, who looked relieved when he spotted me. 

   “I think you have some serious explaining to do,” I told him the second I got back into the jeep. He nodded mid-chew, and I raised my eyebrows. He owed me an explanation. 

   “Yes, Isla. I know.” he looked down at his lap, avoiding my questioning glare. 

   “Tell me that we were not on someone else territory.” my eyes widened as I started to put two and two together. 

   His face said it all. 

   “Daniel!” I yelled, shoving him and causing his drink to spill all over his tracksuit. Not that I cared. It was his fault.