Prologue
Brett - five years ago
“You don’t have to leave,” my sister said as she reorganized my duffel bag. “Things will cool down.”
I could see the tears trapped behind her eyes. The human wanting to cry, but the Wolf staying strong, keeping her from breaking down. I hated what this was doing to her and a part of me wanted to stay, to tell her that I would never leave and she wouldn't be alone. But I knew that wasn’t possible, not with that Bear mutt living amongst the pack. Her stench was so vile that it was like a noose around my neck, tightening slowly. It was so overbearing that if I stayed here it would kill me.
“I can’t be here anymore, Liv. There is no place for me.”
“What are you talking about? This is your home,” she said, her eyes a golden yellow, a tell-tale sign that her Wolf was right at the surface and angry. “You’re all I have and you’re leaving me. For what? Because you don’t like who Derek mated with?”
“He didn’t mate just anyone. He mated a damn Bear. I’m not living amongst those things.”
“She is half Wolf.”
“That makes it even worse. A Wolf and a Bear making an abomination.”
“Brett, stop being like this. Derek wouldn’t mate with someone who was a bad person. You’ve seen what the Alpha has done. Derek’s family has made so many positive changes. They wouldn’t do anything to hurt the pack.”
“I don’t care. It was all too late. We cannot allow the Bears to come into our home. To accept them, after everything they have done to us. All the Wolves they’ve hurt.”
“That was a long time ago. If Dad managed to forgive them, why can’t you?”
“Because they took away our parents. They left us wide open. Because I spent my whole damn life in hiding.” I punched the wall, the rage in me combusting. I saw the flecks of paint splash into the air as my fist made a perfectly round hole in the wall. I removed my fist and bits of drywall fell at my feet. I looked down at my hand and saw the blood dripping from my knuckles and a small rusty nail dangling from my hand.
“Damn it, Brett. What’s wrong with you?” Liv asked, running out of the room and returning moments later with a first aid kit and a fresh white towel.
“What the fuck is a loose nail doing in there?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know that? Here, bite on that,” Liv said, tossing me the towel.
I caught it with my good hand and put it beside me. “What the fuck do you take me for? I’m pretty sure I can take the sting of some damn alcohol.”
“Suit yourself,” she said, before pouring the liquid mercilessly. I sat there and watched as my sister carefully removed the nail and tended to my wounds. I smiled at how much the whole situation reminded me of my mother. Long, curly, dark brown hair, vibrant golden eyes and a beautiful soul. Liv was all the goodness in the world, just like my mother was before she was taken away from us. “There, it’s all done.”
“Thank you.”
“Brett, can’t we figure something out--like who’s going to take care of you when you fuck up out there?” She asked.
“Me. Who do you think has done it for all these years?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve had a hand in it. Are you rewriting history?”
Liv rose from her seated position on the floor, the movement so poetic that I knew she was letting the Wolf take hold. That told me that she was having a harder time with this than she was letting on. I hated that she was hurt. She was my kid sister, my partner in crime, the only person in this world that really knew me, all of me.
“Come with me,” I said, cradling my hand.
“No. This is my home. I’m not running away like a damn coward.”
I pulled my duffel bag and put it on my shoulder, taking a look at my sister, her back still turned to me.
“I’m not abandoning you, Liv. I’m just going to live my life. I can’t be here anymore. But as soon as I land where I land, I’ll give you a call.” I stepped closer to her and turned her to face me. “You’re my blood, my only family. You will always have me.”
“I know.” She nodded. “It’s just that I’m going to miss you so much.” She wrapped her