Mending My Broken Heart

Chapter One

"Dad, slow down, we're far aw-" I tried to calm him, but his white knuckles, gripping the wheel, didn't fade at all.

"Ava, you have no idea how powerful Jackson is when he wants to be. Nothing will happen to you. I swear." His jaw ticked darkly as we sped down the highway, hundreds of miles away from our past.

"Just slow down a bit, if we broke down, we couldn't go anywhere." I joked dryly, turning my eyes to look out my window in annoyance. Running my fingers along the soft, warm, black material that was my seat, I sighed and watched the green. The trees had slowly gotten thicker and made the view on either side of the road darker. But I didn't see it as scary as most would, I saw the closeness and warmth in the earthy browns and greens that made me feel cozy in a way.

I could finally breathe. I could finally sit comfortably, without thinking about that horrible, awful man.

Just mentioning the idea of him, or what he did. What he wanted to do. I felt angry. I felt disgusted. I felt helpless.

"Hey, we're almost there. Don't think about him any more." My father's voice hardened even saying the word him. He knew, probably from my habit of holding myself like using my right arm to grab my left elbow like I was now.

I looked ahead, nodding silently to myself. The white sign flashed by, a black mass standing in front of it. I snapped my head back to try and make it out but already the sign and whatever had stood there in front of it was gone.

"Dad, I thought you said we were going to avoid packs." I cut curtly, pointing out what he'd promised me in our hurry to leave.

"I have some things worked out with the one here. And it's our only choice to be safe. It's the only one we can be sure can hold it's own against Jackson." He tried to reassure me but seemed on edge himself. Having grown up in our old pack, moving must be a struggle for him and his wolf, but I knew he was doing this for me, so I wasn't going to make it any more difficult than it already was.

So I was silent, taking in the streets of my new home, the buildings, the people. It seemed small, and were it any more quaint, I'd assume it came out of a brochure.

Yet as our truck came rolling through, a wind seemed to catch the attention of every citizen walking by. Every single one turned to stare, some friendlier than others and some were just outright glares.

I looked down at my boots, feeling out of place in my plaid shirt, denim shorts and riding boots. But they reminded me of home, or at least home before I turned seventeen. Swallowing the pain I'd been biting back since we left, I finally looked back up, ready to brave more hatred of the unknown.

Fortunately, that wasn't an issue, as we passed through some partially rundown residential area of town to get to some of the outskirts where the forest got a bit thicker, people were now scarce. Finally, on the third and last house on the right, a pale brown, two story with a front porch that currently held two large men, we pulled in. I looked to the left, where the trees began and thickened almost instantly and saw a few other pairs of eyes staring back at me.

"Dad, what are they doing here?" I asked as he shut of the truck and began unbuckling himself. He froze and looked at me.

"Stay here, I'll take care of it." He said gruffly and got out. I looked at the dash in front of me, counting in my head. I could feel eyes on me. I knew they knew I was here. But I wasn't going to acknowledge them. I couldn't.

Attention was something I couldn't face.

Flashes back of people's contorted faces, not-so-hushed whispers, snide remarks, unhidden sneers. It was too much. Coming back to the current time, I realized three things.

One, I'd lost count in my head of how long it had been since my dad had gone in.

Two, my hands were curled with a deadly grip around the edges of my seat.

And three, my dad was currently beckoning for me to come in.

I looked nowhere but directly in front of me. The handle to the truck's door, the step down, the gravel on the path up to the porch, the steps up.

"Where did Luke say they came from? She's hot." A male voice interrupted my concentration and my gaze snapped back before I could stop myself. I was guessing that the wolves from before had shifted and now were the row of young men standing along the edge of the yard, watching me. The voice's neighbor elbowed his friend with a smirk badly concealed on his face.

"Ava." I heard my father's voice and turned back to the door's open frame. He took up most of it and I still tried to look around him for a moment. I assumed at least the Alpha and Beta stood inside. The Alpha and Beta.

Another flash came of a greed-blinded face, warped with selfish pleasure. A cold, dead finger running itself along my cheek.

"Honey," again I was brought back to my father's face, with his hand on my shoulder, "they just need to let us know the rules, then they'll be gone."

"You can't just get rid of us that easily, Travis." A deep voice rumbled in humor and my father moved back into the entrance with me in tow. Before I even stepped in, I looked directly down. Whoever they were, I didn't need to look at them to hear what they had to say.

"Welcome, I'm Mason, and this is my Beta, Lucas. Hastings," the other voice, somehow even deeper than the first began. Somewhere, deep inside of me, I felt my wolf stir. It was probably her fear of an even newer Alpha, but she had buried herself so deep inside of me that I can't even talk to her. "we are aware of your situation and you are safe on our land, and your request to join our pack has been accepted. In your case, I recommend not running near the borders late at night or during patrol changes, which occur at 4, 8, and 12 in both the morning and evening. You will be expected to show up at any and all pack events and meetings, unless you are physically unable. And if you have any further questions that cannot be answered by a fellow pack member, contact my beta, Lucas."

For a moment, as the Alpha turned to walk out, my eyes slid up and connected with his. I was aware of the disrespect, but my wolf had been whimpering the whole time he'd been speaking and finally shut up for a second as I took in his appearance.

He hesitated for only a moment and then continued out the door. But I couldn't look away from where he'd stood, the image of his deep, golden eyes, warm olive skin, dark, wavy hair, and muscular build, now burned into my memory.

And my wolf spoke one word to me with a weak, broken call before disappearing yet again. "Mate."