September 24

I was happy they decided to cancel the last class of the conference. It meant we got home a day early, and I missed Mitchell. I exited the Royal blue car and grabbed my bag from the trunk. I looked over at the driver, who was five feet eight inches tall and had a light brown pixie haircut. "Bye, Lily. Let me know when you want to sit down and organize a training session on what we learned at the conference."

"How about we plan it for 10:00 on Monday after the sparring session?"

"Sounds like a plan. Enjoy your weekend." I turned and walked into the house. I set my bag on the bottom steps. I turned to walk toward the kitchen, where I could smell one of Mom's stews. When I walked into the kitchen, I went to the cabinet and got a glass. I walked to the sink and turned on the faucet for a glass of cold tap water.

As I was drinking my glass of water, I looked outside. I saw Mom and Dad raking leaves into piles. They are both in their early 40s but look mid-20s because of the werewolf gene. Dad is six feet three inches with light brown hair like my sister, and mom is five feet six inches and has dark brunette hair. All of a sudden, Mom dropped her rake and ran behind Dad. She pushed him into a pile and started laughing. Dad rolled over and grabbed her hand. He pulled her down to him and kissed her. I finished my water and placed the glass in the sink. I did not want to see my parents making out.

I hope Mitchell and I have this relationship when we are their age. You see, I am an eighteen-year-old werewolf in the Stinger Pack. I am five feet nine inches tall. I have brown eyes with natural blue-black hair halfway down my back. I am told my coloring is like my great-grandfather on Mom's side. His name was Julian, and my parents decided to call me Julieanna in honor of him since I got my coloring from him. Mitchell is my mate, and he is the future gamma of our pack. He turns 21 in two weeks and will become gamma since his dad's brother never had pups. Mitchell is the oldest male in his family bloodline, plus close friends with the alpha and beta. He was the natural pick for Gamma.

I think I will go up and take a shower and surprise him at his office today. I picked up the bag that I had dropped off by the stairs. I walked to the top of the stairs. I turned into the laundry room first and placed my dirty clothes from my trip in the hamper. I saw a bunch of my clean clothes folded nicely on top of the dryer. I put them in my bag and turned to walk toward my room.

I hear loud music coming from my sister's room, three doors past mine. I just rolled my eyes and thought, "Werewolf ears are sensitive. She will be deaf before she is 20." I turned toward my bedroom door and opened it.

I looked around my room and noticed things had been moved around. I glanced at the hook on the back of my door and saw that the dress I bought before my trip was missing. I dropped my bag on the bed and stormed out of my room. " She better not have gotten anything on it. I got that for Mitchell's promotion to Gamma's celebration." I did not bother knocking.

I stormed into her room. I was ready to scream at her but froze in place instead. My wolf, Zenia, whimpered. I heard Mitchell say, "I love you, Kaylee. You are my true mate." Then they both screamed as they both had an orgasm.

Their scream of passion shocked me out of my daze. I stormed over to the stereo, grabbed the cord, and yanked it out of the wall. I whipped it so fast that the stereo flew in the air and hit the wall on the other side of the room.

Kaylee, who was 19, five feet ten inches, and currently had pink hair, quickly turned toward the stereo and scooted behind Mitchell in fright. She heard me growl and quickly turned toward me. Mitchell, my six-foot-and-two-inch brown-haired mate, looked at me, grabbed a sheet, and pulled up over him and her. " What the hell are you doing at home today? You weren't due back until tomorrow."

"The better question is, what are you doing in bed with my sister? Why did I not feel pain when you betrayed me? You are my true mate and betrayed me and our pack beliefs to the moon goddess."

My sister's face smirked at me. "I am his chosen mate. He wants a true woman and not a warrior woman. He planned to inform you before the mating ceremony."

"How long have you two been cheating? I feel betrayed because of my sister. Whenever I kissed you, you would say mine, and you cared. Yet with my sister, my own fucking older sister, you were screwing her? I heard you say you loved her. How could you do this to me, you bastard?"

He growled, "I never planned to mark you. I wanted to keep you by me because you are my true mate but have your sister be my chosen mate because she has the qualities of a top-three leader, and you're just a warrior. I cared enough to give you vita-bane, so you would never feel the pain while I claimed her."

I growled, "I now understand what? I hate you. No one can hate you with more intensity than someone who used to love you. I hate you both." I turned and ran down the steps toward my parents.

I ran out the back door. My parents were closing the shed. "Mom and Dad? How long?"

My mom looked shocked to see me. " What are you doing at home today? Were you supposed to be back tomorrow?"

"HOW LONG???" I growled in a loud and powerful voice.

Mom moved over to Dad, who put his arms around her. "Don't growl at your mom like that. We were going inside to bake the rolls. Lunch will be served in about 20-25 minutes."

"Dad, don't treat me like I am stupid. You know I don't mean how long until lunch. How long has my mate been cheating on me with my sister?" I was angry and fighting back the tears.

Mitchell, fully dressed even if his shirt was inside out, stepped out of the house into the yard. Troy and Emma stepped inside the home. "Let me talk to Jules."

I growled, "Only my friends call me Jules. Friends do not betray you." I stared at my parents, "How long have you been allowing your other daughter to betray me?"

Mom replied, "She has never betrayed you. She is his mate. They are your soon-to-be gamma and gamma she-wolf."

"How long?"

Suddenly, my sister replied, "What did you expect? You parade and fight like a boy. He wanted a true woman who could show him love and attention. I have been crushing on him since I was a teen. When you brought him to dinner that first time as your mate, I knew I still loved him. I tried to stay away."

She walked up to Mitchell and hooked her arm through his, "I told Mom that I loved someone who has a mate but refused to mate him until he got his title. She said, 'Sometimes true mates do not work out. That if I truly love the man, I admit it to him. Could you give him a choice? That is how I got your father. He rejected his true mate and mated me.' She did not know it was Mitchell until a couple of months later. About a month later, I admitted it to him when I got the courage up. He admitted he felt the same. Because we did not want to have you feel pain when we made love, he started giving you vita-were."

"You slept with my mate. You all act like that is ok. This means you've been betraying me for several months."

"Jules, I am sorry this hurts you and Ziena, but I love him. We were going to do our mating ceremony the night he became gamma. Plus, I announced that I carry the future gamma of the Stinger Pack. He planned to take you as a second wife; I was okay with that. He said if not a second wife, he would keep you as a mistress."

"SECOND WIFE? I should be his only mate. No way in hell would I be a mistress."

I growl and jump at her when Dad grabs me, "Julianna, stop this now. She will be a perfect top-three leader. You will be a perfect warrior. I know this hurts now, but she is better for the pack's future."

"I was going to keep you as a mate. I was going to make you my second mate. I cannot do that if you're going to try to harm her and the pup. I, Mitchell Foster of the Stinger Pack, reject Julianna Adler as my mate.

I feel Ziena start to howl the wolf song of betrayal. I hear other wolves who know my pain join in. I was surprised how many joined in. I then stop and look at Mitchell. "I now know what they mean when I heard someone say, No one can hate you more intensely than someone who used to love you. I do hate you, Mitchell."

I look at my sister, "in a psychology seminar, they stated, The bond between siblings is complex, but forgiveness can rebuild even the most shattered trust. I do hope someday I can find a way to forgive you, but all I feel toward you is anger. What happened today should never have happened. You should have listened to the moon goddess doctrine. You did not only betray my trust but also your true mate. You showed compassion to me by giving me vita-were, but your mate did not have the same courtesy.

I finally turned to my parents. You always stated you loved us equally, but this proves you do not. Your betrayal today hurts worse than Mitchell's. The course also said that sometimes the people closest to you betray you, and your home isn't where you can be happy. I will talk to the alpha and look for a new place to live."

I turned to walk away, and Mitchell called out, "Julieana, stop. You cannot leave until you accept my rejection."

"You cannot force me to reject it either. I know by council law, you cannot mate unless I agree to be your second mate or reject you. I know you cannot mate unless I agree to let you go, and you cannot mate because I refuse to give you that satisfaction. You met my sister two months after we discovered we were mates. Until today, I never knew my sister knew you. You have betrayed me for the last year. I feel I should do the same for you. Give you a year of knowing you can't mate her according to council laws."

I then turned from his look of surprise and a stunned expression. I stormed away from them. I stomped across the packland toward the pack house. My anger was radiating off me. Pack members started backing away when they saw me coming. The Luna and the beta female stepped back as I approached the house.

The alpha stormed out of the house, looking around. He saw his mate and the beta female staring out at something. That something was me. I saw him turn toward me, and he then relaxed. I heard him say, "Jules, what the hell is wrong with you?" I could feel my mate and other pack members feeling anxious and scared.

I did not bother to link back. I yelled, "How long have you known that my mate planned to take my sister as his first mate and make me a second mate?"

He sighed, "I have known when he told me of his conflict of interest since the beginning."

"You kept it hidden from me?"

It was a personal matter for him to decide when to talk to you."

"As an alpha, your job is to protect all pack members from being hurt. You did not do your job. Since we took Wolf101 in our first year, the class drilled into us the MOON GODDESS DOCTRINE about TRUE MATES. You can only take a chosen mate if the true mate dies. Did you plan to let me die? No, you did not. Instead, you agreed to let him take Kaylee as a first mate and me as a second mate. Which you know damn well is frowned upon, but you did not care enough to protect me by warning me, you jackass."

He growled, "You do not talk to me like that. It is only because I know you're hurting that I do not already knock you out."

I looked him straight in the eye, "when Ziena started howling the song of betrayal; I heard many wolves join in. How many in this pack have you allowed to take someone else, mate? How many pack members have you caused hurt to? Why did no one tell us you sanctioned going against what we were raised with."

He again growled, "JULIEANA, THAT IS ENOUGH. As leaders, we males need strong mates who can give us strong pups. Your sister is stronger and more feminine than you. She is a better choice. This is why your father, my father, the beta, me, and many prominent members have chosen mates. We plan to make our pack the strongest."

"You are failing your pack. Your grandfather led a pack feared by all, but now about half a dozen packs are stronger. Did you ever think that is the pack punishment for you being too cowardly to follow her teachings?"

He growled at me again in warning. I was still too angry to submit. "What happened to all the true mates? Where the hell are they now? You and your father did not protect them."

"That is not your concern. You will be given omega chores for a month if you do not stop this rubbish. This is your last warning."

"I will gladly take omega duties if it means protecting the pack, even if it is from you who is too cowardly to protect all, and let's pack members in your good old club break the doctrine." I growled and did not realize my aura was getting stronger, "How many chosen mates are in this pack? How many true mates committed suicide? How many were killed by their mates or the chosen mate? Or how many chose the life of a rouge?

I was surprised to see the alpha struggling. He acted like he was going to submit to me. Off to the side, I hear Luna Stacia reply, "Since I became Luna four years ago, there were nine I know who committed suicide, including both the alphas and my true mate. Plus, Beta Jon's true mate.

Beta Female Candace replied, "Two chosen mates have been killed since I joined this pack two years ago, including my true mate. However, they did it in legal tournament battles." She turned and walked away.

I turned toward the alpha, shocked. "There were eleven others you did not protect." I looked around at the pack members who were watching this drama unfold. Some looked surprised, and others did not. The ones who did not drop their heads in remorse when I made eye contact I knew were innocent. I realized about two-thirds of the crowd lowered their heads.

I turned back to the house in a slow, sad mood.

On the way back, I ran into Beta Tony and his mate, Candace. He sneered at me, "I heard what you did to the alpha. Rejecting you shows that Mitchell made a great choice. You're a warrior with no class, and your sister has class." He then tried to command me, "Go see Mitchell and accept his rejection or decide to accept the second wife position."

"Accepting your new place is what you should do," stated his mate.

I glared at them, "I wonder what happened to your true mate. Your response makes me wonder if you are telling the truth. I never thought I saw the day I lost the trust of my pack leaders." Then, I continued as I listened to them growl at me.

Thank you for reading ONE YEAR. I would love to hear your input. This chapter is 2854 words.