Chapter 2 Oh, Joys of Joys!

Serenity’s POV

The guards hurriedly open the doors as I storm into the house with boys still on my heels.

“Serenity, stop this now,” Siam demands, patience slipping out of his voice.

“You are not the boss of me, Siam,” I said, “not yet.”

“Well, I am still your older brother. I deserve a little time to explain-“

“No.” I turn to face them, angrier than my hand closing to a fist. “Brother or not, you just proved that every male alpha could be- “I poke him on the chest, “like-“poke, “you! And I’m condemned to love and live with someone like that!”

“Serenity, you know that isn’t the case.” He rolls his eyes, “Not once you are mated.”

“That won’t change what you were.”

“Is the past so important that you will sacrifice your future?”

“Well, if the past isn’t so important, then maybe you don’t mind that your mates-“I glared at all of them, “had rendezvous with someone else before you!”

I heard them growl, but I stood my ground. I wouldn’t be intimidated by hormone-hyped boys.

“Growling at my daughter,” we all turned to the voice who dared to butt in on our very heated argument, “this must be serious then.”

I instantly lit up seeing the man at the end of the hall, “Daddy!” I ran up to him, throwing my arms around his neck.

He laughed as he picked me up and twirled me around. “My goodness, you’ve grown since I last saw you.”

I giggled and pulled away, “That was just two months ago, daddy.”

“Too long for an old man.” He said he gave my nose a light tap like he always does since I was a kid. Then he set me back on my feet and turned me to face the boys, his arms over my shoulder, protectively. “So, would someone please tell me what’s going on that I was welcomed home by your bickering?”

We all talked simultaneously, arguing and shouting more in the process, which dad broke with a loud whistle making me cringe a bit. I was not too fond of its sound; for some reason, it hurts my ears.

He gave me an apologetic smile and then turned to the boys.

“Now, from what I’ve caught, with all that shouting, I’m guessing you boys got into some girl problems?”

“No.” Jake says, “uh, your highness, we were doing pretty well until Serenity had to go all alpha goddess on them.”

My dad raised a brow at me, “Well, they were stupid, seriously, daddy. It’s so unfair that female shifters have to wait for their mates and save their purity for them, while the male population runs amuck from one bed to another.”

My dad chuckled, “I am part of that male population, princess.” He reminded me, making me blush, “And you know how these things work, sweetheart. Male shifters need this attention and touches.”

“No.” I crossed my arms over my chest, “I will not believe that that is the case. Not if I have a say on it.”

“Just like you have in everything,” Siam mumbled. “Look, Serenity, this is the natural order of things. It’s nature you are interfering with.”

“I’m not interfering with anything. I’m simply trying to be fair.”

“Fine, then go flirt with every boy you meet.” Siam dared.

I widened my eyes at him and stepped up, “I would if you guys stop harassing every boy who asks me out in school!”

“You can’t get out with human boys. You know that, sissy.” Liam says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And why not?” I asked, “Some of them have more self-control and dignity left in them than boys here in the pack.”

“Serenity.” My father warned.

“It’s true.” I pointed out.

“You’re just scared that your mate would be like us,” Aaron says.

I frowned. That was precisely it, and I felt anger boiling in me.

“Oh, joy of joys, thank you so much for pointing that out, Aaron! Now I just so respect other alphas more than I should!” My voice oozed with sarcasm, “Yes! I am scared that he is a whore who doesn’t know how to wait and probably screwed every female in his pack! But guess what, I don’t care anymore as you all have so lovely put it this is a losing battle!”

I stormed off toward my room, furious. I’m guessing dad told them not to, and I’m glad they didn’t, cause the moment I entered the room, I threw myself on the bed and cried myself to sleep.

About an hour later, I felt someone shifting me in bed and tucking me in. I tried to catch a scent or essence of their energy, but it was unfamiliar.

Then I felt a touch on my forehead before hearing a whisper, “Goodnight, cherry blossom.”

“Rise and shine, princess!”

I groaned and snuggled deeper in my comforter.

“Get up, or you’ll be late for school.”

“Five more minutes….”

“What?”

I rolled my eyes, and I guess that came out as a half mumble seeing I was talking underneath my comforter and pillow.

I raised my pillow a bit, “Five more minutes.”

“Oh no!” suddenly the comforter was pulled off me, “The last time you said that, we didn’t go to school at all.”

“Anna, please, I’m not feeling good.”

“Well, you’ve done changing, so maybe you can get that five minutes.”

Was I already dressed? I looked down and saw that I was still in yesterday’s clothes. Then I remembered someone tucking me in bed last night, and it wasn’t Siam or dad. It wasn’t even Liam.

“Hey, you’re up- “Anna, my best friend, walks out of my walk-in closet went to a full stop when her gaze fell on me, “What the hell happened?”

“What?”

“Have you been crying?”

“What? “

She rolled her eyes, “It’s not every day that I wake you up with red puffy eyes.” She sat down beside me as the fight between the boys and I came back, “What’s going on, Serenity?”

I shook my head, “I can’t do this, Anna,” I said in almost a whisper, “this search for my mate is driving me crazy, and Liam and Siam seem to be taking the toll.”

She sighed and reached for my hand, “I know it’s hard and is probably tiring having those alpha boys queuing for you, but seriously Serenity, it’s better this way.” She said, “Can you imagine what your dad would do if you accidentally got mated without his consent, much more his knowledge? He’ll start a war that not even heavens had seen.”

“But why do I need to find him? Why can’t I

just wait? Let nature take its course, just like normal girls.”

“What are you saying? You are as normal as it’s going to get.” I gave her a look, “Ok, so maybe not as normal seeing you are a shifter and a princess and not to mention a deity, but seriously, you aren’t sprouting wings or fangs, are you?”

I stifled a laugh and nodded.

“Just let them do what they want.” She gave me a sad smile, “It’s for your safety anyways.”

I gave a weak nod and stared at my hand.

“Seriously, I ask for one night to have a run in the forest alone, and I come home to you crying…” she shook her head as she made her way to my closet, “I bet those boys had something to do with this, no doubt.”

Everyone was overprotective of me, not because I’m the princess but because of my status as the daughter of the moon. It has been centuries since there was one, for a reason too.

For alphas, the firstborn has always been a boy. The second one is pretty much a guessing game. Before, the Alpha kings would bear numerous sons and daughters. Werewolves were rich and had their land and avoid crossing other territories without giving respect to the pack.

Yes, there was a time when we live in peace with the humans, well, until the arrival of the cursed ones, or more popularly known as vampires. They killed for lands and territories, seeing the relationship our ancestors had with humans, the bloodsuckers saw us as a threat.

They soon came and dwelled with the humans, bearing lies and tall tales of killing and murdering human families. That was when it all began, and we became a sport as humans began killing shifters. Not wanting to cause more problems, werewolves had to be divided into packs, living away from each other, connected only by our mind links.

We resorted to living in hiding, living with humans but not shifting, but soon news would follow, and hunting will begin again. Many died, even innocent humans. The ancestors used to keep track of the deaths, especially humans, but with the growing number of hunters, records were lost, maybe even hard to keep track of.

Every year, we would pray for those innocent lives while asking for more understanding of the cursed ones.

But no matter how many died, what hurt our kind the most was the death of the last daughter of the moon. She was about the same age as I am now; she and her family moved to safer land. Every pack they came across gave them a rightful welcome. At the same time, they introduced the next alpha to her, hoping they would imprint, cause only then would she be able to fulfill her duty as a complete fledge shifter and at the same time protect herself and all shifters alike.

But that moment never came for her. The hunters had learned of her abilities and had tried many times to abduct her.

Her father, the Alpha King, assured her that she would never have to fear the hunters once they reached their new home. But he was wrong; the same night they arrived, somehow the hunters had slipped through the guards and took her.

In the middle of the forest, they killed her after beating her up and raping her multiple times, the most shameless act to be done to a royal female shifter.

But the saddest part is she never even met her wolf or her mate.

The next day her body was found. No one even noticed she was gone. They woke up to the scent of death; her body laid like a broken doll for everyone to see.

I’ve seen her dead body lying in bed many times with her face blurred when Mama Ellena taught me to see the past and future. It was my task to learn my gift, and it will be beneficial to all of us. It was easier when I was younger, but not very much when your mind is pretty much stressed and full of unnecessary thoughts.

Back then, I would get images of future events in dreams or reading, but now, I needed to sit down and wait. It sometimes takes days. Mama Ellena says it will be easier once I come of age when I have united with my wolf and find my mate.

“Serenity, you got to get your ass out of bed before I do it for you,” Anna shouts as she rummages through my clothes.

Planning to dress me up, no doubt, as she has tried and failed for years, but this time, I don’t care. I want to get out of the house, out of the land, and into everyday school life.

I walked to my bathroom, shuffled out of my clothes, and took a quick shower. My muscles relaxed under the warm water, clearing my mind of unwanted thoughts.

“Serenity, fifteen minutes!”

“Yeah, yeah…” I grumbled and washed off the conditioner and gave another minute of rinsing my whole body before I stepped out of the bathroom.

I stood in front of a fogged-up mirror and wiped off the mist to see my face. I frowned, seeing my reflection; no wonder Anna was surprised; I had red circles around my eyes and was a bit swollen.

After brushing my teeth, drying my hair, and applying lotion, I put on a little eyeliner and mascara. I stepped into my walk-in closet with a towel wrapped around my body. Slipping on a pair of undies and bra, I eyed around the closet looking for Anna’s poor excuse of trying to dress me up and saw it hanging behind the door.

I checked it out and nodded, impressed.

It was relatively simple, not something that I expected from Anna, who was in love with skirts. It was faded and torn jeans, a plain tank top, a coat, black heels, a coat, simple gold earrings, a necklace with a pendant saying “jealous?” And to top off, the whole attire was a ring with a wolf’s head.

I laughed and shook my head. This must be simple, but I think it was a bit overboard and the weather. I didn’t even know I had these clothes.

I put on Anna’s artwork and checked myself in the mirror. I nodded again, impressed the second time this morning, and it wasn’t even breakfast. I had to pull my hair back, seeing as it would look better with the attire. Finally done, I walked back to my room and saw a bag propped up on my bed, a cherry blossom flower beside it, and a note underneath that.

I flipped open the note and raised a brow. Waking up in the scent of cherry blossom is the best, don’t you agree?

“Cherry Blossom?” I remembered the boy at Mama Ellena’s house and what he said about finding me through my cherry blossom scent.

Somehow, it didn’t scare me, and I’m not even mad. It was sweet. At the bottom of the note, there was a P.S saying, check-in the bag.

I raised a brow, inside I found the usual things I bring to school and a new perfume. I squirted it on my wrist and smelled it, cherry blossom. I smiled and sprayed more of it on my other wrist and underneath my ears. Soon the room and air around me smelled of cherry blossom.

I smiled and picked up the bag and hurriedly made my way out of my bedroom as fast as I can, at least, as quickly as high-heeled me can take me.

Going straight to the standard room looking for Anna, but she wasn’t there. Again, the down part of not having shifted yet, I can’t find a scent when there are many scents around me, not to mention the new favorite scent I was wearing.

I walked to the kitchen, where she was usually starting chaos with my brother. I swear, if I haven’t asked them both, seeing that Anna had already shifted a couple of months ago, you’d think they were mates with how frequently they fought.

“Anna?” I called, stepping into the kitchen. “Anna, I have to say that I love the outfit you have set for me.”

“I’m glad you did.” I frowned, hearing a male answer.

I saw the same boy from Mama Ellena’s house sitting by the stool on the kitchen counter eating pancakes and portions of bacon.

A smile crept into my face and raised a brow. “So you are here….”

He nodded his head sideward, “I told you I’d find you, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” I gave a weak nod and grabbed a plate that’s already full of food, and sat beside him. “So you found me. What now?”

He stifled a laugh, and he lent out a hand. “Eric Johansen.”

I grinned and took his hand for a shake, “Serenity Grey.” But instead of him shaking my hand, he pulled it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

I rolled my eyes in amusement and pulled my hand back, “Cheesy, but bearable.”

“Wow,” he laughs, “cheesy but bearable, got to jot that down.” I laughed along with him as I popped a piece of pancake into my mouth. Only then did I realize how hungry I was since I missed dinner last night.

“So, how are you feeling?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“Well, you weren’t at the banquet last night. Your dad said you weren’t feeling well.”

“Oh, I’m fine, I guess. I had a terrible fight with my brother and best friends yesterday and-“I stopped and looked up at him, surprised.

Did I say that? I thought that would show that my father was lying about my whereabouts, wouldn’t it?

“I mean…”

He grinned and shook his head, “White lies are often necessary for alphas, don’t worry about it. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Thanks,” I said with a grin. “Anyway, what happened at the banquet?”

“Well, it was quite, uh, entertaining.” He shrugged, “I’m pretty sure that would piss you off more if you were there.”

“What do you mean?”

“The alphas were claiming you.” he pointed out, stabbing the bacon on his plate as if it was out to get him. “They were saying that it can be too late, that you should just choose among the alphas and say who you would want to be with.”

Being who I was, I didn’t take the news quite graciously. I’m pretty sure my jaw was somewhere between my feet.

He grinned at my reaction, “I know what you mean.”

I shook my head, trying to clear my head. “I swear, alphas are going stupider by the second.”

“Hey…” he reached over his heart, “Ouch?”

I rolled my eyes, amused, “C’mon, tell me you didn’t think of it.”

“Actually,” he dropped his fork on the plate and faced me, “no, I didn’t.”

I raised a brow at him and urged him to continue. Instead, he smirked and turned back to his food.

“As much as I’d like to be your mate, I don’t want people to think I was lucky to be married to the daughter of the moon. I want them to see you as my mate and not who you represent.”

I stared at him, forcing myself to push down the lump on my throat.

“It’s cheesy, I know, but I thought about it.” He said, “My father has been talking about you ever since I was a kid, he boasted to his friends that I would be your mate,” then he gave a cynical laugh, “whenever I would step into a room, my dad would go, ah there he is…” he spreads his arm as if pointing at someone, “the daughter of the moon’s mate.”

I stared at his face and saw the disgust on his face, and shook his head. So I just turned and stared at my breakfast. Was I that disgusting to him? Maybe too ugly for him? Perhaps he had found his real mate but didn’t want to fail his father.

“Hey,” he nudged me, a tingle ran up my arm where we connected, “don’t get me wrong, ok? As I said, I would love to be the mate of the wisest, most beautiful, and not to mention a kick-ass alpha female of all the shifters.” Hearing that, I couldn’t help but laugh, making him smile, “But I’d rather mate with Serenity. No one else.”

“Thank you.” I smiled and looked away, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks.

“You are very much welcome.” He says with a chuckle, “Besides, I thought that if it sucks for me to have such a stupid nickname, how much worse it is for you treated as the deity.”

I gave a small laugh, “Fortunately for me. I didn’t have to worry about that.” He gave me a questioned look as I pierced a piece of pancake with my fork, “I barely have friends. No one was allowed to walk up to me simply. So whenever I need to deal with someone, I need to do it fast. So they never really had time to say my name, much more know nickname.”

He nods. “Lucky you.”

“There are perks,” I said, making a face, and we laughed again.

Suddenly we heard voices from the entrance of the kitchen, we turned and saw the boys with Anna, who was gawking at us. Well, Anna was gawking. The boys were glaring.

“Anna, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” I said and stepped down the stool and twirled, “Great choice, I must say.”

Anna looked down at my clothes and gave me a look, “I didn’t…” then she glanced at Eric, smiling as an idea popped into her mind, “say you should wear the coat now. I mean, isn’t it too hot-“

“Leave it on.” Siam and Liam said.

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes and picked up my bag, “Anyway, we should go, Anna.”

“You aren’t riding with us?” Liam asks.

I gave him a look, “Do I seriously have to answer that?” he rolled his eyes in response. I turned to Eric with a smile, “Well, I’ll see you after school?”

“Actually,” he stood up and wiping his mouth with a table napkin, “I’ll be going to school with you, so maybe I can give you ladies a ride?”

“Why are you even enrolled in our school?” Jake asks.

“My mom’s a bit crazy about studies, and seeing we’ll be staying until Serenity-“

“That’s princess to you,” Aaron warned.

“Serenity is fine,” I assured Eric. “So why are you going to school with us?”

“Yeah, basically, it’s my mom’s idea and only during my stay here.” He says, glancing at Jake.

“Hm, cool.” Anna smiled, “A new face in our tiny group.”

I turned to the boys with a smirk, “And getting smaller.”

“Sissy…” Liam whines, “stop being so stubborn.”

“I’d stop being stubborn if you stop it with the whores.” I dared.

“Again, that is nature you are fighting against,” Jake says. “Your dad said so himself.”

“So that’s why….” Eric finally understands what’s going on.

“See? Even your new boy here thinks the same.” Siam snaps.

I raised a brow at Eric. “Uhm, sorry, Alpha Siam, but it’s not that I agree.” He says, “I mean, I know it is natural, I am an Alpha-to- be too, but then again, I think it’s your prerogative to act upon the urge.”

I smiled and patted Eric on the head, who rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Uhuh, yeah, let’s see how you’d be when we get at school with a hundred girls in heat.” Aaron glared at Eric.

“I don’t see a problem with that.” Eric nods, then he turned to me again, “You ladies would like to ride with me?”

The boys snarled, and I sent them all a warning look. “Sure.” I smiled at Eric.

“See you, boys, at school.” Anna waves over her shoulder as we make our way out.

“Oh, Liam?” I turned before we were out of the kitchen. Liam lit up instantly, “Don’t forget to print out your assignment for the third period.”

“Thanks.” He smiled.

“Yeah, yeah, you asked me to remind you, so I did.” I turned to leave, “I’m not that mean of a best friend, but it doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.”

I heard him groan as I catch up with Anna and Eric.

“Ready to go?” he asks.

“Yup.”

“Hm, is that a new perfume, Serenity?” Anna sniffed around me. “It smells good. It suits you.”

I grinned and caught Eric’s smirk as we walked out of the house to his car.