January 11th, 2020

"Aren't you excited? You're going back home," Alex says. He lays on my bed then groans. "Oh your bed is so much more comfy than mine."

I roll my eyes.

"First off, my bed is more comfortable than yours because you wore yours out with all your hookups." I said pointedly.

Alex turns to look at me with a smirk on his face.

"Jealous?" He asks.

I roll my eyes again.

"You're not my mate so no, I'm not jealous. Wait - how do you even find girls? We live in the middle of nowhere and the closest town is like and hour away! Don't tell me you're driving an hour for se-"

Alex throws a book at my head, interrupting me. I duck and the book hits the lamp, breaking it. I turn towards Alex who's looking at me sheepishly.

"Hehe, sorry." He says. I shake my head and laugh before laying on my bed beside Alex.

For the past 14 years that I've been at Castle Hedden, Alex has been my best friend. Although Alex was a werewolf and not a Seer, we played together, studied together, and lived together. The elders even thought that we would be mates, but when I turned 16, much to Alex's disappointment and my pleasure, we realized we were not mates.

"As I was saying, it's not like I'm moving back home. My dad's beta is getting engaged and married so I'll be home for like 2 - 3 months. Alex you're literally coming with me. Did you finish packing?" I say.

When I received Beta Daniel's wedding invitation, I begged the elders to get me and Alex go. It had been 14 years since I had seen my family, and even though we FaceTimed once a week, it wasn't the same as being with them physically. After promising the elders that I would continue my studies whilst at home, they agreed to let Alex and me go.

"Of course I've packed. I already put both our suitcases in the car. I'm waiting on you. We've got a 10 hour drive ahead of us and if we want to make it to your pack by 6 tonight we gotta leave soon." Alex tells me.

I groan and roll off the bed before getting up. I go brush my teeth and take a shower before putting on black leggings, an oversized long sleeve gray shirt, a denim jacket, and black vans. I leave my hair down and let it air dry.

I walk out of my room and head to the kitchen where Alex is waiting for me, wearing grey sweatpants, a red hoodie, a denim jacket, and white Nike Air Forces.

We both eat breakfast and say goodbye to the elders before I get into the passenger seat and Alex begins to drive.

* * *

10 hours of snacks, singing, and napping later, we pull into the River Moon pack compound as the sun begins to set. The closer I got to my home, the more memories of my early home came back to me.

Alex stops the car in the driveway of the Alpha-Beta house and looks at me.

"You okay?" He asks softly.

I turn to him, grab his hand, and smile.

"Never better."

He gives me a long tight hug and kisses the top of my head.

"Good."

We separate when we see three people run out of the house. I smile and jump out of the car and into the arms of my older brother Eli.

"Nalia it's been so long!" Eli exclaims. He picks me up and spins me as I laugh. He continues holding me, then frowns.

"What's wrong?" I ask worriedly.

"You're kinda heavy."

I frown.

"Put me down."

Eli puts me down and I punch his arm. Hard.

"Fuck, oww!"

"That's what you get asshole."

We both laugh before I turn to my older sister Ava. She embraces me in a tight hug.

"I missed having a sister around," she says with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice," I mumble into her hair. Although she's a year older than me, I'm half a foot taller than her 5'4" frame.

I look over to my little brother Finn and my jaw drops. I rush over to give him a hug.

"You're so tall! Last time I saw you, you had spaghetti sauce on your head. Now look at you!" I said.

He laughs and hugs me back.

"I still get spaghetti sauce on my head so some things never change," Finn says.

I laugh and release Finn and introduce Alex to my siblings. Alex does the bro handshake with Eli and Finn and gives Ava a hug.

I begin to sniff the air and look at Eli. Around him, he has a new red aura that is mixed with his blue Wolf aura.

"Eli, you've been hanging around a vampire?" I ask.

Eli looks surprised and his cheeks turn red.

"I was gonna wait to tell everyone when you and Alex got here, but yeah. It turns out my mate is a member of the vampire coven so she's been spending time here. How did you know?"

"I've been training for years. I'm supposed to be able to discern these things." I tell him. "So what's her name?"

"Her name... is a secret until I decide it's not. Mom and Dad are waiting for you two inside."

I roll my eyes and Alex and I take our suitcases out of the car. As we walk into the house, the smell of Kung Pao chicken and rice hits me. I smile.

"Oh it is good to be home." I say, basking in the scent of the delicious food.

My mom and dad come out of the kitchen and give me a big hug.

"I've missed you so much," I whisper to them. They give me a kiss on my head before giving Alex a hug.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person," my mom says to him.

"You've been taking care of my daughter?" My father asks.

I roll my eyes.

"Yes sir." Alex says.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," I reply.

My mother tells us to put our bags in our room before dinner. Alex and I go up the stairs and into our rooms, which are next to each other. I enter my room and smile. Not much had changed over the years. The walls no longer had green polka dots, but were painted eggshell blue. Everything else, though, remained the same. The location and contents of my bed, bookshelf, and desk were still the same as when I had left.

I exit my room and go into Alex's, which looks very similar to mine. I lay on his bed and watch him unpack.

"Your family missed you a lot." He says, taking off his denim jacket.

I smile at him.

"I'm happy to be back and even happier that you're here with me."

"Aww. You almost sound like you like me," Alex cooes.

I roll my eyes and laugh.

"You really do roll your eyes a lot. One day they're gonna get stuck in the back of your head," Alex scolds.

"Sorry sir." I say sarcastically.

"I usually prefer daddy but I can work with sir," Alex smirks.

I hit him with a pillow and he laughs.

"Dinner's ready!" My mom yells.

Alex and I make eye contact before racing to the dinner table. I sit next to Alex and we begin to pile rice, chicken, and green beans onto our plate with haste. The rest of the family looks alarmed as we begin to shovel the food down our throats.

"The elders don't feed you two?" Ava asks.

Alex and I look at each other.

"The elders are good at a lot of things..." I begin.

"... but cooking isn't one of them," Alex finishes.

"Elder Bromwell once made oatmeal with cinnamon, except the cinnamon was chili powder." Alex explains with a look of disgust on his face.

I shudder at the memory.

"Where's Beta Daniel?" I ask.

Dad smiles.

"He's out with his fiancé. He'll be back later tonight."

"So he finally found his mate?" I ask.

Mom shakes her head.

"No. Daniel has been looking for his mate for over 20 years, but he's 37 now and has given up. Claire isn't his mate but they love each other deeply and I think that's okay with them."

I nod in understanding.

"Speaking of mates, Eli, when are you going to introduce us to yours?" Mom smirks.

Eli's eyes grow wide.

"Did Nalia tell you?"

"Eli, Nalia may be a Seer, but I'm your mother. I know things."

* * *
Dinner ends and I go upstairs and take a shower. I put on shorts and a t-shirt and wrap my hair in a towel. I study for a few hours and soon it's midnight and everyone in the house is asleep. I go down to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

I'm sitting at the kitchen island in the dark when the front door opens and a man comes inside. My senses are overwhelmed with the scent of pine and sandalwood. The man and I freeze.

Mate!

The door opens again and this time a female opens the door.

"Baby, turn the light on please." She says.

My heart breaks a little. Baby?

He turns on the light and I finally get a look at who it is. My already broken heart shatters.

Beta Daniel Harvey.

He looks at me with shock and sadness in his eyes. The lady beside him gives him a kiss on his cheek before turning towards me.

"Oh I didn't see you there! Daniel who is this?" She says sweetly.

Daniel turns to me.

"Claire, this is Alpha Whitewaters daughter Nalia. Nalia, this is my fiancé Claire."