"Allison." My name is dragged out as I feel a quick jab to my side. "Wake up." A groan escapes my lips as I groggily open my eyes. Letting my eyes adjust it takes a moment before my eyes land on my still a tiny bit blurry brother. Why the hell is he waking me up?

"What?" I ask, my voice a little sharp. I hope he hears the annoyance in my voice and takes the hint to leave and let me go back to sleep.

He sits on a small space on my bed and shakes my shoulders. "How was your birthday, yesterday?" He asks, not letting go of my shoulders. Why is he waking me up just to ask me this? Did Madison say something? Does everyone know about what happened last night? A sudden feeling of panic fills my body, and I feel my heart start racing slightly. The events of last night start flooding my memory.

"Can't we talk about this later?" I ask as I grab my head due to the forming headache. There's a chance he doesn't know, right? If he did I don't think he'd be this calm. Maybe he's just trying to be annoying. My heart is still racing and I feel like I'm going to be sick to my stomach.

"It's one o'clock in the afternoon, you should get up anyway," He sits back, getting comfortable, "so we can talk about this now." I manage to sit up next to him, groaning a little. "How was it?" He presses. I just wish I could punch his annoying face right. I'm so frustrated that I just want to scream at him to leave. There's a chance everything that happened isn't going to come out, and then everything will start changing.

"Fun." I give him a short, irritated answer. "Justin, I just want to go back to bed, I'm really tired. Let's talk about this later when I'm up."

"You look up to me. What'd you do?" He ignores me and gently wraps his arm around my shoulders. I shrug his shoulders off, annoyed. Why is he being so pushy? I'm starting to really panic, this just seems weird. The events of last night flash before my eyes but I shake them away. There is no way I can tell him. At least not yet.

"Just went to see Evan with Madison and hung out there for a while. Then we looked through her clothes and watched a movie." I bite my lip hoping he can't see through my lie. I hate lying to him, but I don't want him to freak out at me. Sooner or later, he's going to know the truth.

He smiles, obviously believing my story. "Did you have a good time?"

I stand up, sighing,"Yup."

I pull myself out of bed and open the door, motioning for Justin to leave which he complies. Leaving my door cracked, I stride into my bathroom and run a brush through the tangles in my hair. Once I'm able to run my brush all the way through, I brush my teeth and just lean on the counter, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I try to tame the flyaways that are sticking out of my head and when my appearance doesn't make it obvious that I just woke up, I leave my room and head to the kitchen. I wish I could just stay curled up in bed for the rest of the day watching movies, but I know I cant do that.

The few people I encounter as I make my way through the house wish me "happy late birthday" and I plant a smile, thanking them. Some of them are family members of my friends, others are people that are my friends. Honestly, it'd be better if they didn't keep wishing me happy birthdays. Birthdays are just normal days that let you know you're a year older and a year closer to death, and after last night, I would rather not remember anything.

"Hey sweetie, how was your birthday?" My mother asks as she stares at the magazine in her hands. My dad stands in front of the heated skillet as he flips many pancakes to feed the pack. I sneakily walk behind my dad and snatch a golden pancake from the stack. Half of the pancake is shoved in my mouth as my dad glances back at me.

"Well hello there." He chuckles as he expertly flips a pancake into the air and lets it land on the battery, white side. My father loves to cook and his favorite thing to do is master new recipes.

"Hi." I speak but my voice is muffled by the fluffy pancake. I give a small smile once I swallow the food in my mouth.

"Anything exciting happen yesterday after your mother and I went to bed?" He questions as he absentmindedly butters the layers of pancakes.

Should I tell him about Mason? I debate the question inside of my head. This could go very wrong, or it could miraculously go right. In one possible situation, he could understand and be happy that his daughter found someone who is supposed to love her for a life time. Or, he could totally freak out and act out for reasons based on experiences with his pack in the past. I hope when my secret is out my parents won't act out like the second situation. Before I can bring up Mason, my brain shuts him out and I immediately decide against it.

"Not really, Madison, Evan and I just watched a movie and ate snacks." I lie, reaching for another pancake. I just want to take a pancake and run away, avoiding the situation.

"Hands off the pancakes!" My father exclaims, smacking my hand away.

"Why? The pack can deal without 2 pancakes." I mutter trying to give my best puppy dog eyes.

Two stacks of nearly a dozen plates each are placed next to the topping options. I scan my eyes across the options for toppings. A few different types of syrups, jams, peanut butter, chocolate chips for the little ones (but you already know I'm gonna top my pancakes with chocolate chips), the tub of butter with a butter knife stabbed into it, and the shaker of artificial bacon bits. I take a seat next to my mom at the end of the table after I pick up a clean plate from the stack.

"What movie did Madison-"

"What about Madison?" Madison questions as she finally walks into the dining room. She is wearing an oversized t-shirt with cotton shorts. Her hair is a mess and dark circles color her under eyes. It's obvious she just woke up and probably smelt my dads cooking.

"Allie was just telling us about how you guys watched a movie." My dad answers as he takes a seat at the other end of the table.

An obviously confused expression crosses her face for a split second before it is masked with a smile. "Yeah, it was an interesting movie." I feel bad for making Madison lie, but I'm so glad she's going with it.

"What movie?" My mother finally slams her magazine about the drama in celebrity lives closed and sets it aside.

I wipe my hands on my pants and quickly coming up with something. "The Visit."

"And what else happened?" Madison shoots me a smirk and sits across from me, dragging out the 'and'. I shoot her a glare, feeling my cheeks heat up. I've been trying to avoid this as soon as I woke up and it might finally come out because of her. Madison mouths "sorry" and flashes an innocent smile.

I look a my mom and ask, "Mom, how did you and dad know you were mates?" A warm smile fills her lips as she looks at my dad, recalling the moment. I've heard this story a million times before, but I want to hear it again. Now she's looking at me, still with the smile.

"Well, we grew up together in this pack. We've always been friends, but we turned into best friends during middle school even though he was always 2 grades ahead of me. We've been there for each other during all of the breakups, during the hard times we endured; we were there for each other during everything. When I turned 18, your father had been looking for his mate for the last two years, but he never found her. Your father was out with his family that day, and I was celebrating my birthday with all of my friends and family." She turns her head back to my dad, as he's leaning on the counter smiling at her and staring at her with so much love in his eyes. "We didn't even know until the day after. He went to knock on my door early that morning, to apologize that he wasn't there. When I was about to open the door, a certain scent was filling my room and I didn't know where it was coming from. When I opened the door and we locked eyes, I instantly knew. You just get that certain feeling filling up your body, and it is the most incredible feeling. He's always been my best friend, and he still is, and he gave me my two babies." Now a tear a streaming down her cheek as she thinks of it. There's so much love between the both of them. My face must have a certain expression on it, because my mom looks at me confused. The feeling she described is exactly what I felt with Mason.

"What happened yesterday?" My mother asks, resting her hands under her chin.

"It's really not a big deal." I shrug, sinking down in my seat.

"Than spill it." My brother demands playfully, walking in from the hall. He stops at the opening to the dining room and leans against it.

"Can we go talk in your room." I force a smile to reassure my parents. I stand up and watch my mom stare at me with concern in her eyes. I stand up and head towards my parents room with Justin and my parents trailing behind me.

I sit on the edge of my parents king size bed and cross my ankles. I stare at the plush, carpeted floor when Justin speaks. "We're waiting." He states with his arms crossed in front of his chest. I feel like my heart is going to explode. Do I just say it quick and hope they don't hear it? I think I just have to rip the bandaid off.

I take in a deep breath and sigh in defeat. "So yesterday, I just hung out with Madison and Evan. We didn't see the movie, but I happened to find my mate. No big-" my mom cut me off with a gasp.

"You found your mate?" She squeals as she presses her hands together. A grin is plastered on her face before she hugs me. "I'm so happy for you! This is wonderful." She exclaims.

"Y-yeah." I stutter, staring at my socks. My throat tightens as I brace myself for what's about to happen.

"Who is he?" My dad demands with his hands on his hips. I cant bring myself to look at his face.

"Do I know him?" My brother questions before I can even reply to my father. Justin's voice is filled with a sense of surprise and irritation. I swallow the huge lump in my throat, trying to find the right words.

"Yeah," I mutter, avoiding looking at Justin's face, "you know him." Justin's arms are crossed over his chest as he stares, trying to look for answers in my facial expressions. "You know, it's not really that important." I try to laugh the topic away as I stand up.

"Who is he?" Justin repeats my fathers question.

I take a deep breath before stuttering, "M-Mason Wood." I watch as my mothers grins falls into a frown. Justin furiously runs his fingers through his hair and my father just stands in shock. This is frightening, all the different emotions in the room are scaring me for what's about to come.

My mother takes a seat next to me and rests her hand on my thigh. "Honey, this can't be right. You must have gotten it wrong." My mother states, hoping she is right. "Are you sure?"

"No mom, I'm not wrong. It's him." I choke out.

"Mason Wood. The alpha of the-" Justin starts saying but then my father interrupts him.

"Red Moon Pack?" His tone is raised and the only thing I can do is nod my head. My father is seething with rage when he hisses, "That pack is the reason we lost Ralph. Masons father is the reason my brother was slaughtered. They are why we have been to war." As he speaks, all I can do is stare at the floor trying not to cry. I remember the story he used to tell us, and even though I was young I also remember that night. Before it happened, my uncle Ralph was playing a game with Justin and I. Justin was 13 and I was 10. A little later my parents put us to bed, and my uncle gave us a hug, which I didn't think would be the last one I would get from him. That night, my uncle was out getting fresh air and running, which is something he loved doing. He must've been at the border of mine and Red Moon Packs border when it happened, and he never came home that night. The next morning while we were eating breakfast, I remember one of the pack members coming up to my father and whispering in his ear which cause him to abruptly stand up and leave. Justin and I tried following my mom while she immediately followed my dad but someone stopped us.

My uncles body was found mauled at the border. After that day, our packs have been enemies and some wars and hatred have flown through the territory. I understand why my family hate the Red Moon Pack, I mean hell, I do too. I will never forget that day, but Mason doesn't seem like his father. After his father died, there have been no wars between our packs.

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