"You're a... I'm not saying it because I love you too much to say it," my friend Gissel says angrily.

"Hey, try to understand, it was a secret I couldn't tell you."

"Okay, I understand, but that doesn't change the fact that I feel bad."

Gissel discovered I'm a wolf, that's why she's angry. She says I don't trust her enough to tell her something like that, and I admit I was wrong, since she's been my only friend since I arrived in the human world, and we've always told each other everything. But I admit I was afraid she wouldn't accept that part of me, although it was also foolish of me since Gissel has always been a fan of werewolves and also a fan of my wolf abilities—though, of course, she thought I had those abilities because I was a "special" girl. So, I also understand my fear was unwarranted.

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore. But tell me, don't werewolves live in packs?" And there she goes, wanting to satisfy her curiosity.

"We were expelled from our pack," I say, downplaying its importance.

"What? Why?"

"Because the damn Alphas of that pack are clueless idiots," I say, unable to control my anger whenever I remember those wretched wolves.

"Ahh, so the triplets you hate are your Alphas."

"Those idiots are not my Alphas. If I could, I'd kill all three of them, but unfortunately, they're Alphas. It's obvious a blow from me is like a tickle to them."

"Calm down, friend. It's clear you have a lot of potential." I look at her, confused, not understanding what she means by that. "Seriously, haven't you noticed?"

"About what?" I ask, even more confused.

"Um, since last night, I've noticed that when you get angry, your eyes turn the same color as your hair. How do you think I found out you weren't human?"

I look at her, still confused. The truth is, I don't know what she's talking about. My eyes have never changed, not even when I shift into my wolf form.

~Well, Gissel is right, Emma,~ Liz, my wolf, says.

"And what are you talking about now?""I ask her."

~Well, we'll find out very soon,~ she says, retreating into the depths of my mind.

"Are you listening to me?" Gissel asks, arms crossed.

"I'm sorry, what were you talking about?"

"That last night, while we were celebrating your birthday, I saw something in you changing."

"What do you mean? I haven't seen any change."

"Maybe you don't see it, because you're never paying that much attention to the small details, Em. But look at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes have turned a more intense green."

I get out of bed and walk to the mirror. I examine my eyes closely, and indeed, they've turned a much more intense green than before. How did I not notice this? I look at my hair, which has also changed; it's much redder now than it was. This is weird.

"And besides, just now when you got angry, your eyes turned red. I don't know how, but they were seriously red."

"That's crazy."

~No, it's not. I felt the changes too,~ Liz says.

"No, it's not crazy," I confirm to Gissel. "I think I'll have to talk to Mom and Dad about this. This might be because of my mother's origins."

"What do you mean?"

"Mom comes from a family of fairies, witches, and magical creatures." Gissel's mouth drops open, stunned by what I've just said.

"Are you... serious?" she asks, and I nod. "What powers does she have?"

"Mom is a nature Nymph; she can control life in the forests as she pleases."

"You're the daughter of a Nymph?" she asks again, surprised, and I nod.

"Can you tell your mom to adopt me?" I laugh at her suggestion.

"You're already like a daughter to her. And besides, even if she adopted you, you wouldn't get any powers," I say, and she pouts in disappointment.

"Well, it doesn't matter. At least I have a friend with powers, right?"

"Well, I haven't awakened any yet, but I might."

"Does your mother still have her powers?"

"Mmm, yes, but she hasn't used them in a long time. Ever since my father claimed her as his mate, my mother hasn't been able to use her gifts."

"Why?"

"The Alpha at that time didn't allow it, as my mother had to renounce her origins to be with my father. And even though my father didn't want her to renounce her origins for his sake, she didn't care; all that mattered to her was being with my father."

"So that's the power of the mate bond."

"That's right. The mate bond makes you love your partner so much that you can't live without him or her."

"And what happens if they're rejected?"

"In some cases, you can die. In others, you can survive and perhaps find your second chance, though few cases of rejection have been seen, so it happens very rarely."

"Okay, what will happen if you find your mate?"

"Most likely, I'll go to the pack where he lives."

"So you'll leave me."

"No. Who knows, maybe a wolf will come along and claim you as his," I say, making her face light up.

"Emma! Honey, come down for a moment; we need to talk to you," Mom says to me through our mental link.

"Coming, Mom."

"Let's go."

"What? Where to?"

"Mom's calling me."

"Were you calling me, Mom?" she asked when she arrived in the living room with Gissel.

"Yes, dear, sit down," I do as they say, confused, "and you too, Gissel." My friend sits beside me, just as confused as I am.

"Honey, I don't know where we're going to start, but what I want is for you to be calm, please," Dad says, scaring me.

"The Alpha triplets have contacted us—the mansion of those wolves makes my blood boil. How dare they?—They want us to meet them in the pack."

"What?" I shoot up. "You didn't accept, did you?"

"Not yet, dear. We wanted to tell you first and know what you think."

"I think they're shameless and I have no intention of going back to that pack," I say, sitting down again. Mom and Dad look at each other, and I understand what they want to do.

"Daughter, we know how resentful you are towards the Golden Moon pack, and we understand you, as we are too, but I think we should go," Dad says, trying to persuade me.

"I don't want to go, Dad. If you want, you two can go, but not me. I have nothing to do there, and I know that just seeing the triplets will make my anger flare up, and I don't want to make a mistake."

"Honey, you should go to see if you can find your mate and thus see if being with your partner you can shift," Mom says, leaving me thoughtful.

Normally, werewolves shift at sixteen, except for Alphas who shift at fourteen. But in my case, it was neither one nor the other, as I got my wolf but couldn't shift; my body can't handle it. We wolves shift on our sixteenth birthday or during every full moon, which happens every two months. And well, since I couldn't shift on my sixteenth birthday, I haven't been able to shift on any other day either.

"You have a very strong wolf, too strong for your body to handle the shift without the help of its mate," Dad says.

"That's why the changes," Gissel says. Mom and Dad look at her, confused. "Emma has had unusual changes: her eyes turned a more intense green, her hair color too, and her eyes turn red every time she gets angry." Mom and Dad look at me, surprised by the information Gissel just gave them.

I turn to look at my friend, who gives me an apologetic smile. I tried not to get angry so Mom and Dad wouldn't see about my eyes.

"Now that I see it, you're right, Gissel. But what's this about red eyes?" Dad asks.

"Well, when we were in Emma's room, I mentioned the triplets, and then she got angry, and that's when her eye color changed," Gissel explained.

Mom looks at me with excitement and turns to look at Dad, who doesn't understand where her excitement came from.

"Honey, you must be about to get your gift! How exciting! We must go to the pack and try to look to see if we can find your mate so he can help you shift, and then we'll visit my family so my mother or grandmother can help you develop your gift. What do you say?"

Gissel looks at me with obvious excitement, pleading with her eyes for me to accept. And I must admit, I would like to meet my mate to help me shift, and if going to the pack would help me find him, why not go? Besides, I can visit Mom's family and develop my gift. But on the other hand, going and running into the triplets makes my blood boil. I don't want to go and run into them, nor any member of that stupid pack. None of them were capable of helping my parents; on the contrary, they made my life miserable when I lived there, just because I was born weak like a human, or even weaker than a human.

"Alright, I'll go with you to the Golden Moon pack."

Seeing Dad driving with great excitement tells me I made the right decision, as I couldn't be selfish with him, since he hadn't seen his family again after leaving the pack, and I know it must be hard for him. Mom, on the other hand, was able to reunite with her family after being separated from them for many years.

Having been expelled from the pack and having no ties to it, she was able to reunite with her family, and I was also able to meet them. Mom comes from a family of magical fairies called nymphs. My mother's family is well-known because our family has the most beautiful women in the entire Magic Forest. They stand out for their red hair and emerald green eyes, and for their striking physique. I admit that's what I'm most grateful for inheriting from my mother: her physical appearance. I'm actually a copy of my mother, but everyone says my eye color is much more intense than hers, as is the color of my hair.

Now, back to the topic of the pack. Yesterday, after finishing talking with Dad and Mom, I started packing. Apparently, we'll be staying for a few days, and I had to say goodbye to my friend since I can't bring her with me; it would be dangerous for her as she's only human, and although I know she's brave, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to her here. Besides, everyone in this pack is an idiot.

We stop at the entrance of the pack as several warriors approach to inspect that we're not bringing anything that could be a threat. They order us out of the car, and by the way, they're not friendly at all. Damn them! I get out of the car so they can check it. I see another one checking my luggage, taking everything out, messing it up, and throwing it around too.

“Be careful, idiot, those clothes cost more than your life,” I say, earning a hateful glare, which I don't care about. “And put everything back as it was.”

“You'll do that yourself,” he says, standing up, which angers me. I turn and grab his wrist, making him turn to look at me.

“Put everything back as it was.” The man seems surprised, which makes me realize that perhaps my eyes have changed color.

The man tries to break free from my grip but can't, which seems strange to me since he's a warrior and should be stronger than me.

“Sweetheart, please, we don't want any trouble, leave the boy alone, he's just following orders.” Dad comes over for me to let him go when he sees the man can't break free from my grip. Dad takes me by the shoulders, and that's when I try to relax.

“Excuse her, she's a bit nervous,” Dad says when I let go of the man, while he remains stunned.

We get back into the car after putting everything away, and after a few minutes, I see the pack, the houses, and some places where I used to be when I was little. Seeing all that reminds me that I'm back in the pack I've hated so much. Being inside this pack brings back memories of that night when I was on the verge of death, and the only way I could survive was by receiving treatment in the human world. But the miserable triplet Alpha kings had denied my parents the option to go to the human world because the hatred werewolves have for humans is too strong. The memory of my parents kneeling, begging them to let them go so they could save me, doesn't leave my mind. They gave them the option that if they left, they couldn't return to the pack, and that's how my parents and I ended up as renegades, forbidden entry to the Golden Moon pack. And now, after eight years, they're asking my parents to return. For what? We'll find out.

I try to get those memories out of my head, but every time I see how close we are to the pack house, they come rushing back, because it was here that my parents humiliated themselves so they would let them go to save me, and where those wretches preferred to kick my parents out rather than give them permission to go.

I see several members standing around, watching our arrival. Dad stops the car in front of the pack house where Luna Stela is, accompanied by two men. I'm glad not to see the triplets, although seeing Luna Stela doesn't exactly make me happy either. Luna Stela is the triplets' mother; her mate was Alpha Deivis, who died in battle, which is why the triplets took power prematurely. Alphas take power when they find their mates, as their partner gives them strength and power. Besides, poor she-wolf who ends up being the mate of those imbeciles.