"Hey sweetie" mom came up to me, her cheek pressing into mine, mixing our scents. She pulled back, holding my arms to study my face. Her green eyes held that sadness. I'm sure my own reflected what I was feeling inside. Numb.

"What's wrong Nova? Did something happen?" Dad came to me, Forrest green eyes scanning my face. His wolf bristled, alert that something was going on with his female.

"Alpha Blake ordered me to stay away from Deacon." My voice was soft.

Dads eyes blazed with fury. "That son of a bitch!" His fist pounded on the table, jolting me and my mom.

"Dad. Its fine. He told me if I needed him, I could still see him just not to get caught and not to smell like him. He said there's things I don't know... I don't know what he meant .. but I'll be fine. It will all be fine." I tried to console them. This was a happy day. My brother would be here any minute and I didn't want to ruin it for everyone.

His hard eyes found mine. "No its not okay. None of this is okay Nova. I'm going to have a talk with Blake. He should have told me about this. Nothing gets hidden from me and he knows better than to tell you something that's not ran by me first " a growl emitted from his chest, shaking me.

I huffed, dredging over to the familiar brown suede couch and flopped down on top of it. Mom was beside me in an instant.

"Sweetheart, maybe you should move back into our home instead of staying at the pack house. Have you thought about that?" Her arms felt good around me. That comforting scent of vanilla and grass calming my nerves again. Dads anger had me angry too. Alpha didn't even talk to him about it before he talked to me. Not only is he my father but he's the beta. He should have known.

"I don't know mom. Maybe. I'll think about it."

Her gentle smile soothed my soul.

We were alerted when the door swung open , heavy footsteps pounding into the hardwood. I looked up, seeing Nic standing there with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Nic!!!" I got up, bounding towards him, jumping into his arms and he swung me around, pressing his cheek into mine.

"Hey little sis. Man look how much you've grown!" He squeezed me before letting me down. I felt something I haven't felt in a while... Happy. My lips pulled up at the corners into a smile. Something I haven't done lately. My real smile.

"My male.. I missed you." Mom cooed, latching onto him as if she hasn't seen him in years. Dad and I rolled our eyes. Mom was always over emotional. A fierce wolf when she had to be.. Very protective of her family. But emotional when it came to us.

Nic was able to break out of her hold, giving her a kiss on the cheek before he hugged my dad, both males slapping each other on the back.

Nic was grinning ear to ear, a wolfs grin. His teeth showing but out of happiness to be with his family again

"Oh! Were having a homecoming for you Nic!" Mom brightened.

He smiled. "I know. I could smell that roasting pig from a mile away. "

We all caught up on everything that Nic has been doing... The training he had gone through. His excitement during his stories were contagious and I found myself forgetting for just a moment.

Males who wanted to fight for the Beta position with the new upcoming alpha, would leave and spend two years training at other packs , a bit like the future alpha's but not as rigorously. This was Nic's first year. He had one more until he was ready to fight the others. He was 21, the same age as Zaryn. They've always been best friends. This was going to be hard on him...

We weren't going to tell him yet. We wanted to wait until after his celebration... Since Zaryn and Deacon were still in recovery, the Alpha agreed Grace should not attend and we would wait to tell him. He would fight Zaryn for my honor, we all knew it. He wouldn't be punished for it seeing as how this was Zaryn's punishment for what he did... Dealing with the males who wanted to fight for my honor.

"So little sis. Have you found your mate yet? How was your shift?" He plopped next to me, his arm bringing me into a side hug. Nic was so much bigger than I, the same height as my dad. They both dwarfed me and mom.

I avoided his first question, my parents looking at each other with wide eyes. "The shift was good. I spent hours with my wolf.. I can pretty much stay in the forefront of my mind now when I shift. I've only done it twice now though. I still need practice ." I gave him a gentle smile.

"Well, it looks like you and I are going to have to have a run together tonight! Maybe catch some game." He gave me a toothy grin.

Showing teeth in a grin is usually meant to be a warning or a challenge but with family or friends, scenting the happiness coming from them, it was meant to be just... Happiness.

I gave him a challenging grin. "I'd like that. Hope you can keep up."

A playful growl came from his chest. "Oh little pup, you have a lot to learn from your big bro."

Being with my family and Nic made me think less about what my life is like now.. It made it bearable to breathe... Maybe I should move back in my parents home...

"Nic where are you going to stay? Here or the pack house?" My eyes found his emerald green ones. Hopeful.

"Why? Want me to stay in the pack house with you?" He smirked.

I pursed my lips, not wanting to make any definite plans yet. "I was thinking of actually coming back home... If you were going to stay here too..."

Nic hasn't found his mate yet which made him want to be around unmated she wolves. We had a code though.. You could associate with the opposite sex.. Have girlfriends or boyfriends in the pack.. Do things with each other.. But no one is allowed to sleep with each other.

Sex between unmated wolves was a horrible thing.. A female was expected to have her virtue to present to her mate.. It wasn't so bad for the males, and it did happen... But not in between the wolves in this pack. The alpha didn't tolerate it.. If a male and female mated in our pack and neither were mates, they would be punished. So the males or females who were a bit more easy, they sought out another male or female from another pack... Which is why no one looked down on Zaryn for sleeping with another wolf.... because she wasn't one of ours. they looked down on him for getting her pregnant.

We all decided to go ahead and make our way to the barbecue, Nic was getting antsy wanting to see his friends. I walked down to pack house with Nic while mom and dad stayed behind to gather the pies she made. They would follow shortly.

"So I noticed how you skipped over my question earlier." Nic smirked down at me

My face paled but I kept myself calm. "What?"