Page 5 of My Forbidden Alpha

“Nothing,” I lie. “I’m tired. Goodnight, guys.”

“Good night, dear,” Dad replies. Coming over he bends down and kisses my forehead and I smile up at him. Even if Mama doesn’t want to upset this pack, Dad has never treated us any differently from Elijah. I’m grateful for that because as far as I’m concerned, he is the only father I have.

They leave the room and I stand up. Switching the light off, I drop onto my bed, staring at the wall. Let the nightmares begin… I close my eyes, not looking forward to sleeping tonight. I can tell tonight will just be one of those nights where my past will return to haunt me…

“Scarlett! Please hurryup, I don’t want your brother having to wait for too long!” Mama shouts up the stairs, making me roll my eyes.

“Kk, Mama! I know, relax!” I shout back, shaking my head.

There’s enough time, seriously!

I look in the mirror as I apply my trademark red lipstick. I’m pretty good-looking, I’m not blind to that, and I’ve never shied away from flaunting my looks. But I also know deep down that I’m trying a little harder than normal today.

I stare at my reflection, scrutinising my features. Staring back at me is a beautiful young woman with vibrant shoulder-length hair. I have my natural strawberry blond roots thatchange to a vivid red shade. I ruffle my hair that I have loosely curled and shake my head. I have plump lips and sage-green eyes… just likehiseyes.

But with the make-up and red hair, I’m different enough.

I am not him.

I’m five-foot-two inches tall, a little on the smaller side for a she-wolf. I have put on a black top that fits me like a glove, emphasising my busty chest. I’ve paired it with blue skinny jeans and black heels.

I look away from the mirror, stand up and grab my car keys. That draws a satisfied smile from me. Being eighteen has its perks. I received a car from Mama and Dad on my birthday a few months ago.

Despite turning eighteen, which is the age that most young werewolves find their mates, I haven’t. But then again, I didn’t attend the last Blood Moon Ball. But I’m not really bothered. After all, our pack isn’t too big.

I mean, my mate could be anywhere in the world. Right now I just want to focus on myself, anyway. I don’t want to be tied down to someone just because of a mate bond.

Although I had a feeling a couple of boys had wanted me to turn out to be their mates, I’m relieved I wasn’t. Especially since that opinion changed faster than you can say ‘mate’ once they saw my wolf.

I had felt her awaken, felt her presence in my mind and when I did shift, I shifted into a magnificent grey wolf. Under the moonlight, her fur is stunning. It looks like a shimmering silver. I won’t deny that my wolf is beautiful, but the problem for the boys in the pack is that she is bigger than most wolves in this town. This is something that had caused rumours and unease to spread through the pack.

No one knew Mama’s mate was an alpha, but my wolf had been a dead giveaway to that, and it had just made the tensionand dislike towards us from some of the pack members, that had finally begun to settle, return once again.

I now rush out of my room, almost bumping into my fourteen-year-old menace of a sister.

“Careful witch,” Indigo snaps, as the packet of crisps she was holding scatter across the wooden floorboards. “Can you stop ruining everything?” she grumbles as she bends down, scooping them up.

I glare at her. “Sorry, it’s not like I did that on purpose. I’m running late. I have to collect Elijah from the airport,” I say, hurrying down the hall.

“Wait, what?! Wasn’t Dad going to get him?”

“Something came up!” I shout back.

“But I want to get him! Can I come?!”

“No! You think I’ll take you just so the two of you can gang up on me? Yeah, I don’t think so!” I shout, running down the stairs, taking two at a time and skipping the last four. My heels hit the dark wooden floor at the bottom with a loud clack and I’m about to run to the door when Mama steps out of the kitchen.

“Scarlett… calm down. Can you be careful in those heels?” Mama says from the kitchen doorway. She’s wearing an apron, and her black hair is pulled into a messy bun. From the splashes of flour on her apron and cheek, I can tell she must have been working on another cake order.

Despite being a werewolf, Mama is a well-known and in-demand baker in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It is something that keeps her busy and her mind off things. And yes, we are lucky enough to be so close to the birthplace of Shakespeare himself.

“Make up your mind, Mama, do you want me to hurry or not? You were the one yelling at me to get a move on,” I remind her.

“Scarlett…”

“Bye, Mama!” I call, not waiting for a reply. I rush from the mansion, crossing the green lawn, and getting into my parkedwhite Ford Fiesta.

We live in the woods near the beautiful town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, all around our pack grounds are miles and miles of trees. It’s a modest-sized protected place, with plenty of open grounds, perfect for our pack and its members.

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