Chapter One: Time to Meet the Family
Ava Cortès
“Well, another one bites the dust,” grumbled Alpha Daniel.
“Come on, who this time?” I couldn’t hold back a laugh. Daniel was our new yet Mate-less, Alpha. He just turned twenty-two and graduated college a few months ago. He was a good leader even if he was hot-tempered and inexperienced, but he had a big heart and energy to keep our little pack of a dozen running happily.
The other choice for Alpha would have been one of the pack’s dads taking over, and none of them wanted it since they didn’t see a need for an official Alpha for a pack so small. Our pack was made of four families and a couple of single guys. Alpha status in our area meant you represented us at meetings, did some travel, and social events. Married men with children had no desire to deal with any of that shit.
Daniel was a little bitter about not having a Mate yet, for as long as we have known each other, he had hoped I would have been his, but deep down before my first shift, I knew we were wrong for each other though he held out hope.
“I suppose Warrick Emerson deserved to meet his other half finally. He’s nearing thirty. Trust me. I pray to the goddess every day that I’m not that old when I find mine. I think I’ll go insane.”
“That’s awfully nice of you.” I rolled my eyes with sarcasm. “Who is the lucky lady?”
“It’s kind of interesting. She was a transfer student who had no idea she was a shifter.”
“How the hell do you not know you’re a shifter?”
“Nobody in her family was a shifter. She never shifted, but when she caught her Mate’s scent, it all changed. I heard it affected him for nearly a year until they actually met…if you know what I mean.” He gave an evil laugh.
Goddess men and their dicks… that’s all they think about. I wanted to tell Daniel he might have one, but from everything I’ve heard, he sure didn’t know how to use it. Instead, I just pursed my lips together in a secret knowing smile.
We tried going on a couple of dates last year when I was a senior in high school and working in the office. We aren’t that off in age, only three years, and I’d never dated a shifter. He was sweet, but he wanted to get serious fast. That wasn’t for me. He also wanted to get physical fast, again normal in the shifter world. When I said no, he went and dipped it in someone else, but still wanted a relationship with me. That was a hell no from me.
He was persistent, but not in a creepy way. He was just convinced I was the one for him. I didn’t feel anything, except I thought he as cute and funny. Though we had been cordial, I didn’t go out with him again, but he still had feelings for me. He tried to explain how a shifter had urges and that I’d understand when I had my first cycle. He tried to convince me that if we had sex, it might bring about our Mating Bond, and my heat, which is total bullshit. You either have a bond, or you don’t. You can’t trick The Fates.
I was stressed out with finals when he decided to try and have this terrible conversation. Any other time of the year, I would have been easy going on his ego, but that week…I was not interested in any bullshit. I still don’t have a clue all the obscenities I screamed at him. Whatever I said worked, and from that point forward, we’ve only been friends. He’s never pushed the issue again.
His actions only re-enforced my original decisions…I don’t date shifters. Maybe I would have if I grew up around other shifters my age, but I didn’t—only plain old human guys for this Miss Kitty.
I stopped reminiscing and replied to his comment finally, “That’s pretty damn romantic,” I wanted to be cynical, but it was sweet. It sounds like they had the fairy tale meeting. We all secretly want a Mate, but it was only something that usually happened to Alphas and Betas. In the old days to better protect their pack, Alphas and Betas needed a power boost that comes from their Fated Mates. The bond enhanced their physical abilities, but also grounded them and gave them a new peace of mind knowing they no longer had to search.
Someone like me probably would never find a Mate. There are very few Alphas and Betas, to begin with, and almost all of them are taken. Warrick and Daniel were some of the last single Alphas.
I’d met Warrick before. He seemed nice though a little stressed out. I was at one of the female shifter parades that were held in his honor. The poor guy looked as if he were about to be led to the slaughter instead of a party of gorgeous and horny shifter debutantes hoping they’d be his Mate. My friend dragged me along since she was of Mating maturity. I was there for moral support. That was a terrible night. Most of the girls were crying because they weren’t going to be his Luna, and the other half out of relief that they could keep on with whatever life they were living. Personally, I was indifferent. Just like with Daniel, I knew that he was not for me.
“I know,” he said wistfully. “All I know is that Calista Caplan is a very lucky shifter to become the Luna of a great territory like that.”
“Wait…Caplan?” This just got interesting.
I could feel a smile spread across my face. Caplan was my mom’s maiden name. I knew there was another branch of the family, but as far as I knew, they weren’t shifters. Don’t ask me the science behind it, but I got my shifter genes from my mom. Perhaps it’s a female gene thing? I don’t really know.
I couldn’t wait to call mom and find out what she knew. More importantly, I had a cousin, a distant cousin, who was a new shifter, and I’d always wanted to meet her. I was an only child, and I wanted a sister. I’d heard of my family, but the two branches had never been close. We all lived scattered across the country. My mom had a cousin who was a shifter, but she was older than mom and lived on the other side of the world.
I could not wait to meet Calista and her family. She might need a little help in adjusting and introducing her parents to our ways.
I was already hatching a plan. Not to sound horrible, but I saw this as my opportunity to go out into the world. I love my parents so much, but they have always hovered to keep me safe. They are also the most supportive people in the world. How many parents clap and praise their child the first time they hack into a government system? My guess is not many. But their greatest worry has been someone would find out what we are and attack or capture us to study what makes a shifter. On this, I tend to disagree. If they took in pop-culture, they would see how much people love our kind. Mom says fiction is different than real life. Well, of course, I know that.
My plan after meeting Calista…I think it might be time to switch colleges in the spring. It would be my second semester of college, and honestly, things weren’t going that great in Colorado. I stayed near my parents and my roommate, another shifter was an absolute bitch. I was also bored out of my mind with my classes. So, it was time for a change, and if the University didn’t accept me, I could always hack into their system and enroll myself.
I suppose growing up with nothing to do in the mountains of Colorado but ski, shift, and play with computers had some advantages. However, I was ready to explore. I was prepared to find my own adventure.
Nothing brings families together like the holidays, or at least that’s what I convinced my mom. I had a couple of friends in college in the Texas territory and learned after a whole lot of danger and drama went down, Callie and Warrick were on their Newly Mated Holiday, also known as a wild nonstop fuck-fest, and they had no intention on coming back to civilization until after Thanksgiving, which would be with her family. Perfect.
It was time to meet The Family. I lived less than an hour away from my parents as I worked on my software engineering degree. I grew up in the beautiful, highly affluent area of Aspen. It’s stunning though it has tourist season, but overall, it’s smaller and has great mountains for wild werecats like myself to roam. It’s mostly werecats and bears that live anywhere around here.
As I pulled into my parent’s drive, I couldn’t stop myself from sighing and letting the chilly air dance over my skin. I was in a sweater, but I’d just as happily be running naked, it felt the same and refreshing to me. I’d shift tonight and play. Maybe I could convince mom to go with me.
“¿Hay alguien en casa?” Anyone home? I yelled as I came in the front door. My mom is like all the other Caplans from what I hear, with fair skin and blonde hair. I took after my papa- thick dark chocolate-colored hair, slightly tanned skin, and honey brown eyes. Colleen Caplan met Elias Cortès while entertaining a group of Spanish Four Students abroad during her first year of teaching.
The last night of the trip, the teachers and advisors went to a Cantina down the street while the students were in bed. Let’s be honest. The students were all legal age and were passed out from their night of fun and clubs in Spain.
Papa said he saw a gorgeous blonde breaking a sweat, dancing, and laughing with her friends. She looked so carefree, sweet, and smelled divine, a mixture of fresh strawberries and raspberries. He said he danced her off her feet and returned with her the next day to the states. He comes from ancient family money, so leaving wasn’t a problem. We joke that he’s royalty and that’s why I’m his princesa.
A werewolf and a werecat somehow made it the entire flight without doing something to get kicked off a plane. Gag. I don’t want to think about my parents like that, but it takes a lot of restraint for two shifters who fell headfirst to hold back in a confined area like a plane.
They weren’t true Fated Mates, but they were a perfect fit, and still mated within the week. Even Non-Fated Mates can swap bites and have a mental connection. It’s not as strong as Fated Mates, but it is still something special. It’s something shifters and humans can’t share.
“Princesa, what are you doing home so soon? I’m glad you are here, but that look on your face spells mischief.” His dark eyes sparkled like mine.
“Ah Papa, you know me too well. Is Mama home?”
“Yes.” He gave me a slight pause.
“Excellent, I think it’s time to meet some of the family.” He raised his eyebrows, and I smiled. Mom came into the living room, and I told them about everything I learned from Daniel.
“That’s wonderful news for both of them,” Mom beamed. “Oh, dear Craig, and Rene won’t have a clue what is about to hit them. I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’ll give Craig a call and tell them we will be in town with plans and recommend we all get together. That should work.”
“Work your magic, Mama,” I was so excited about what was to come.
