Alpha. Brother. Mate

Chapter One

Hello! Here's Chapter one of the rewritten version.

My hand slipped slightly from a tight grip and it tightened further. My hand was numb and my feet were getting weary. I stumbled slightly but the grip on my left hand kept me from falling. The hand led me as we weaved through trees, dodging branches and animal traps. I felt my legs slow down and even the hand holding me could not stop me from stumbling more and more. I was let go of quite suddenly, only to come face to face with a big black wolf with red eyes. He was familiar.

The wolf lowered himself for me to hop on and I did so quite easily, holding on as tight as I could as he sprinted through the woods. My eyes were blurry as I looked back with a sense of nostalgia. A single sob escaped from my lips, then I felt warmth spread through me like the sun.

"You have to be brave, Remi. Be brave for mummy and daddy," said a familiar voice in my head.

I woke up with a gasp. Tears ran down my cheeks and I swiped at them furiously. I was a pathetic enough person. I didn't need to cry because of stupid dreams to make myself feel even worse. But the dream had been so real. I had had the same dream on and off for the past three months and the five or so times I had woken up crying. The man in the dream was faceless and no matter how familiar he felt, I didn't know him.

I felt the other part of my consciousness slowly wake. My senses sharpened; my eyes flashed for a second, my nose picked up distant smells, I heard the crow of a cock over a hundred metres away and the colours in my room came to life. My wolf was awake. Like a slowly rising moon, I felt a part of me that had been curled up unravel. In a split second, Deena was at her peak and hunger smacked me in the face.

"Goddess! I'm starved!" Deena exclaimed.

I can't tell you for sure if all werewolves name the part of their subconscious dominated by their animal side because quite frankly, I don't know. By the time that lesson had been taught in Wolf School, I was already a certified 'delinquent' and I spent most of my time cleaning after pack members therefore skipping school and earning punishments that made me even more unavailable for school. What I can tell you, however, is that most werewolves first establish contact with their wolf side barely a year before their bodies are able to shift.

I had established contact with Deena when I was ten years old and to say that I had been terrified would be an understatement. Everyone knows contact with their wolves happen a year before they shift for the first time, and a werewolf's first shift usually happens on the first full moon after their eighteenth birthday. I was too young to be speaking to my wolf and the only other explanation I had for the voice in my head was that I had gone mad. Even as a child, I understood hearing voices in your head doesn't exactly scream wellness.

Deena had explained everything to me. I had certainly been sceptical at first, but I didn't dare tell my parents about it. I was enough trouble without adding unusual to my list of faults. She has been my best friend ever since. I know it's weird. I didn't have to complete Wolf School to know that a person and their wolf are one and the same and Deena being my best friend made me my best friend, but it is what it is. Deena represented a part of me that was brave and outspoken, a real alpha, but I was more in touch with my human side, the weak side that got picked on and kicked about.

I dragged myself to the kitchen even though I wanted to hide away in my room for the rest of my life. The house was quiet save for the two steady heartbeats coming from my parents room, and the chewing coming from the kitchen. My heart sank. The only other person asides my parent and I happened to be Dylan Vaughn, our next Alpha and my wicked older brother.

Even before I set foot in the kitchen, I could smell the mess he'd made in there. Almost all the dishes we own were piled in the sink, reeking of raw eggs. There was coffee splashed everywhere and bread crumbs on the floor.

"Oh good. You're here," Dylan glared fiercely at me and I cowered.

"G-good morning," I stuttered out. I hate this. I hate what fear has made of me and most of all, I hate myself. I don't want to cower! I want to stand my ground like the alpha I am and command respect but that's easier dreamt of than done

"I've told you severally! You have to wake up earlier to make my meal. That's the only relevance you have to this pack!" He yelled and I flinched. "Do you not want to be in this pack? I can kick you out very soon if you continue being useless," He reminded me.

Yes, Dylan is twenty already and more than ready to become Alpha. The only thing delaying his coronation is his mate. Alphas rarely ever get coronated without them finding their mate first. I overheard him telling Mother recently that he could feel her close already. The preparations for coronation already started.

A part of me wanted to growl at him (Deena, Deena, Deena) but I repressed that part. I wanted to remind him that I was an Alpha too and I had as much chance to lead the pack after Dad, but I wasn't one for jokes. I couldn't challenge Dylan for the Alpha position. I was not strong enough. Myself and my wolf, we were never trained.

"I-I'm s-sorry," I answered which seemed to anger him the more.

"You better be. Clean up this kitchen before Mum gets out, you useless thing!" With that he shoved past me. My body tingled and my breath sped up, but I was too focused on completing my task to wonder why.

By the time I finished cleaning the kitchen, I was almost late for school, so ignoring the pang of hunger in my stomach, I rushed to my room to prepare for school. I left the house before my parents got out and I was grateful for that small good.

School was another home away from home for me. A living hell. Everyone in school knew my family, even the few humans there knew we were to be respected but they also knew I wasn't worthy of any respect.

I was shoved, harassed, ridiculed, and pointed at when I walked to class. I paid no mind to them. Keeping my head down, I speed walked to class, narrowly missing bumping into Dylan's friends. Although Dylan is in college, his gamma is a senior like myself because he got held back. Jack, the gamma, as well as a few other werewolves and human jocks make up Dylan's former clique. These people are at my house more times than I am and I'm the person who cleans up after them.

A quick sniff of the air and I catch Dylan and his beta, Mason's scent, unsurprisingly. There are five times the number of werewolves in our local high school than the college twenty minutes away. Most werewolves that go to college chose to travel and explore for a chance to find their mate, except the leaders who are mandated to stay close for their packs. Since our existence must be kept hidden from humans, we wolves much rather hang around with our kind to avoid slipups. Hence Dylan's presence in our school.

I think of Mason and my heart skips a beat. In a world with cruelties and darkness, he is like my one bright spot. He happens to be the brother of my archenemy- as dramatic as that sounds it's very true - but it doesn't matter. No one on earth has been kinder to me than Mason.

He is the only person at school, asides from my omega friend, Clara, who doesn't call me names or tries to ruin my life. I have a teeny tiny crush on him. OK, I have a huge crush on him but if you've ever met Mason, it's impossible to not crush on him. He's really handsome, smart and very nice. I'm fairly certain he likes me back but he doesn't say.

Hopefully, he is my mate. I get to find my mate on my eighteenth birthday, which so happens to be tomorrow. I almost forgot!