“Little cockblocker,” I muttered, glaring as it flew off into the distance. I got out of bed, throwing the covers back into place with a little more force than necessary. My sexy dreams of my dominant blonde Adonis were the best part of my day.
It was a hidden fantasy, a guy who was dominant enough to earn my submission, my wolf’s submission. The beast of a blonde in my dreams owned me, moved my body like a puppet master, and acted like my pleasure was his personal goal.
He was basically the total opposite of Marco in the sack, and very much a product of the romance movies I spent far too much time watching.
I woke up early, dressing in black yoga pants, ankle socks, a long dark green t-shirt and a chunky gray cardigan that fell to mid-thigh. I pulled my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and combed down my blunt bangs. May as well be comfortable if I was heading on the road today. I didn’t own many clothes — it’s not like I ever went anywhere — so my meagre belongings easily fit into the threadbare duffel bag I found in the bottom of my parents’ wardrobe.
Even though my parents absolutely did not deserve it, I filled the base of the stovetop coffee pot with water and added coffee grinds to the basket, packing it in carefully and smoothing the top. After I screwed the top of the pot on and set it on the stove, I made bacon and egg cups in a muffin pan, and grilled slices of homemade ciabatta in the oven.
I had a lot of time on my hands.
Cooking for people was one of the few things in my life that brought me joy, and I rarely had the opportunity to do it. So even though my parents were spineless excuses for wolves, I was still making them breakfast. Fuck it, it made me happy.
They arrived around ten in the morning, late as always after a long night running with the pack, living their best lives. Even better, they had Alpha Asshole in tow, whose smug face stood in contrast to my parents' guilty expressions. It had been years since I’d seen him. His hair was graying around his temples and the frown lines on his forehead had deepened, but he was still every inch the dominant Alpha.
I kept my face impassive and gestured to everyone to sit at the table while I set the food and coffee in the middle. Alpha Mercer looked at me like he expected me to serve him, but he was fucking dreaming if he thought I’d do that. It’s not like I was against serving others. I just didn’t respect him enough to show him that honor.
“Wren.” Alpha Mercer’s voice was heavy with dominance, like it always was when he talked to me.
“Alpha.” I met his gaze easily, enjoying his discomfort. The brief twitches of his eye gave me unimaginable joy. He was definitely fighting the urge to break eye contact.
“Wren,” my mother implored, softly resting her hand on my wrist, pulling my gaze to her pleading face. Don’t be difficult. Don’t make life harder for us.
Fates forbid.
My mother and I looked eerily similar, except I had my father’s darker coloring. Mom and I both had golden eyes, thick eyelashes, a slightly upturned nose, high cheekbones, and lips that were probably too big for our faces. When I was a kid, my father had always proclaimed how fortunate he was to have two such beautiful girls in his life. It had been a long time since he said anything like that.
I had my father’s straight black hair — mine hung to my waist except for the blunt bangs I cut myself — and brown skin a few shades lighter than his. He’d come to the Azymus Pack from Kerala in India as part of a mating exchange program between “paradigm” packs twenty years ago.
I dropped into my seat, keeping my body language relaxed though my muscles were coiled tight. I was seated at a table with the people who had given me life and the Alpha who had taken an oath to protect every member of his pack, and I didn’t trust a single one of them.
“Unfortunately, the time has come for you to leave Azymus Pack. For many years I have struggled, knowing that there isn’t a place here for you. It has been very troubling for me,” he sighed,