Her father pulled up toward where she was standing.
“Hey, honey,” he said. She heard him unlocking the door for her to get inside. “How was school?”
“I’m pleased it’s over.” She hated school more than anything.
Her weight had always been an issue to all of her peers. She’d tried to diet and exercise. Both of her parents told her she was fine, and they were doctors. Neither of them was badgering her about being fat or developing diabetes.
Shaking her head to try to clear her thoughts she stared out of the window on the ride home.
“Are you still getting bullied?” he asked.
Glancing over at her father, she let out a sigh. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Dad.”
“If you want I can talk to the principal at your school.”
“No, don’t do that. You can do anything else but that. I don’t want to have a reason for them to despise me.” They already hated her, not that she’d done anything to earn their hate other than be fat.
He chuckled. “Okay, but if it gets bad and the bullying gets worse, promise me you’ll tell me about it.”
She’d never tell her father what was going on. There was a year left of high school and then she could go away to college. Scarlett had never made friends easily, and that hadn’t changed now.
“Your mother’s making dinner tonight. We’ve got a surprise for you.”
Scarlett smiled. She knew what the surprise was. Her parents were not good at keeping secrets from each other, and they’d not gotten any better when it came to her.
“How’s my car?” Scarlett asked. From the moment she passed her driver’s class she’d had a car. Over the weekend she’d broken down and had to have a tow.
“Not good news. It looks like your engine overheated, honey. We’re going to have to go looking for a new one. It’s not a problem. I intended to buy you a new one, anyway.”
She liked her old car, but there would be no talking her father out of buying her a new car.
They pulled up outside of their large house. It was a five bedroom house, and her parents still needed to work on filling the other two rooms.
Walking inside, she was pulled into a hug from her mother.
“Hey, honey, how was school?”
“Fine. I can’t complain.” She could complain, but she hated putting anything on her parents. They’d been through so much to give her a good life.
“Okay, go and get changed out of that horrid outfit. We’re having a special dinner.”
Laughing, Scarlett made her way up to her room. Her mother always believed jeans and a shirt were horrid clothes. They were the clothes she had always been comfortable in.
Closing her door, she moved toward her window overlooking the large forest area that surrounded their town. It was a wonderful place to live with a large lake, and plenty of fun activities to get involved in. Scarlett had never ventured into the forest. She had nightmares of wolves, darkness, trees, all of it.
Her window was partially open, and as she stood looking out over the view a breeze drifted into the room.
Mate!
She frowned at the sound. Glancing around the room she wondered if someone was outside her bedroom.
“Mom, Dad?” She opened her bedroom door, looking outside. Scarlett called them again.
“What’s the matter, dear?” her mother asked, coming to the bottom of the stairs.
“Were you upstairs a second ago?” Scarlett pointed behind her.
“No. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just thought I heard something.”
“No, you were alone, honey. Get dressed, we’re waiting for you.”
Nodding, Scarlett walked back into her room closing the door. She went to the window and slid it closed, feeling the breeze brush across her body. Wrapping her arms around her waist, Scarlett shivered as she overlooked the forest. She’d never been a fan of the dark or of scary movies.
She moved away from the window as an image of a white wolf came to her mind. Scarlett stopped to look back at the scenery. No, she was imagining everything. There were no such things as ghosts, wolves, or zombies. She was losing her mind. No wonder Marshall Briggs and all the popular kids at school bullied her. Shaking her head, she made her way toward her closet. Going through her clothes, she looked at the blue cocktail dress her mother had given her months again.
Closing her eyes, she held onto the fabric of the dress.
“Move out of the way, piggy.”
“You’re so ugly. You’ll die a virgin.”
“Fatty.”
“Wide load.”
Shoving all of the humiliation aside, she grabbed the blue dress from the wardrobe. Without looking in the mirror, she put on the dress she’d refused to wear.
Mate!
Frowning, she looked around the bedroom, wishing she would stop hearing that one word.
“You’re going crazy, Scarlett. Next year it will all be over and you won’t have to worry about a thing.”
One year left and then it was onto college where she could forget about the likes of Marshall Briggs and his creepy best friend. With her pep talk over, she smiled. Life would be good soon.
Chapter Two
The pain was something he’d never forget. Marshall’s bones shattered into thousands of pieces, burning hot iron coursing around his body as the fire built to a fever pitch. Slowly, the pain started to ebb away as if it hadn’t even been there. Collapsing to the ground, Marshall turned toward the warmth of his mother, Carla, who was pressing a towel to his forehead.
“He’s in pain, Luke,” she said.
Opening his eyes, he saw his father smiling. “He’ll be alpha one day, Carla. The pain is necessary.”
“None of the others have had this kind of pain.”
“They’re not alpha like our son. This will teach him respect, understanding, and it will make him a better alpha. This is what is necessary for all of us who lead.” His father spoke like the alpha he was. Soon, one day, Marshall would take over. He was the eldest son. “I’m proud of you, son.”
Marshall smiled up at his father, wishing there was something he could say. The pain was too great. The fire was already building within his veins for another bone breaking transition.
“When you find your mate this will all be worth it, son. I promise you.”
He shook as the heat gathered inside. For some strange reason Scarlett entered his mind, but he immediately pushed her image aside. Closing his eyes, Marshall tried to focus on something else. His mate. She’d be so beautiful and worth every second of this pain. Once he transitioned he’d be able to protect her from everything. He’d be big, strong, powerful. His little, private obsession over Scarlett would come to an end.
“That’s it. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.” He listened to his mother and father as they coached him through the transition.
There wasn’t a way for him to contain the screams as his body started to break. Bones crunched together, and his whole body shook. Opening his eyes he saw his skin rippling as fur started to sprout out of his pores. Lifting his head, he released a growl, staring up at the sky wishing for something to take the immense pain away. He hated this, despised it, but there was no stopping what was happening.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
He thought about everything he’d gain as his parents stepped back. This time he didn’t stop. His back broke as he was snapped in half. Screaming out, he let everything go.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
“That’s it, son. You’re almost there.”
Marshall growled again as the pain intensified. Everything burned as if he was stood in the center of hell with no way of escaping. Did he want to escape?
“He’s falling back, Luke.”
Something grabbed the back of his head. “You will turn this time, Marshall, or so help me God, I will make sure you don’t have a choice.”
The power of the alpha washed over his body.
“Come on, son, please. You’re scaring your mother, and you’re scaring me.”
For his father, his alpha to admit that, Marshall knew he couldn’t escape. He didn’t want to hurt his mother or have her worrying. Sinking himself into the pain of the moment.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
He kept repeating the same words over and over again in his head. Finally, something exploded, and the pain simply faded as he collapsed to the ground.
“Luke, he did it.”
Closing his eyes, Marshall let sleep claim him.
When Marshall opened his eyes, he looked toward the single basement window to find it was dark outside. Glancing down his body, he saw he was back in human form. Had it all been a dream? Then he saw that his body was different, bigger, larger, more muscular than before.
“Your mother’s fixing you some soup.”
His father sat in the corner on a single chair in the room. Sitting up, Marshall brought his knees up to his chest.
“Hey,” Marshall said. His voice was croaky, hoarse. “Did I, erm, did I imagine it?”
“No. You changed, son. You went through your transition, and now you’ve got nothing to worry about. It will hurt at first, but as you transition more, you’ll no longer feel pain but exhilaration.”