Astrid

Chapter 4 - Royally Screwed

Astrid was now a teenager, and this scared Andrew shitless. He still hadn't told her that they were mates, and he didn't know when to bring it up. He didn't want to make things awkward between them. Andrew hoped that Astrid saw him as a friend more than a father figure, but at the moment, Andrew was just a pain in Astrid's ass.

"I don't know he's literally crazy. I even made his favorite cookies and he still wouldn't let me go!" Astrid was infuriated. After puberty, Astrid had a serious glow up thanks to her werewolf genes. Shifting was the best cure for acne. She wasn't the only one who noticed though. All the boys began to chase after Astrid, but she knew she had to save herself for her mate. It was just what mates did. She felt guilty for her younger years when she was ignorant to the idea of mates and had dated every boy who gave her attention.

Even if she couldn't date, she still liked to party. And as of late, she had began to experiment with drugs. Nothing too hard though, but werewolves had a higher tolerance so hard was subjective. And it wasn't like she was addicted, or at least that's what she told herself.

"Your dad seems super strict dude. Just sneak out." Her friend on the other line was a human, so she wasn't part of the pack nor did she know about Astrid's oh so tragic backstory.

"Oh my god ew he's not my dad. He's more like a babysitter, an asshole babysitter." She huffed. This was the biggest party of the year and she was going to miss it because Andrew didn't want her leaving pack territory. It wasn't like she'd never gone to a party before. Plus he hadn't found her stash yet (she hid it under herbs to cover the scent), so she didn't understand what had his panties in a twist.

"Plus, if he found out I snuck out he'd kill me."

"Well I'll be outside your house at 10 if you change your mind."

Hanging up, Astrid considered her options. If she went to the party and was caught, she'd get killed by not only Andrew, but also Nolan and Georgina. They'd lecture her on how she should be more like Jules and Harry, Nolan's kids. They rarely left the territory unless it was to go to school. They were her friends, but Astrid hated how boring they were. Not everything revolved around pack life like they made it seem. She also hated how everyone in the pack pitied her because both her parents died. It was suffocating.

On the other hand, going to the party and not getting caught seemed like an attractive outcome. Plus the party was at Pierce Young's house. He was your stereotypical popular boy. Blonde hair, blue eyes, captain of the football team (which kept him in tip top shape), and beaucoup money. He had always liked Astrid, but she had turned him down. The whole mate thing was a real bummer. There was also the fact that behind the scenes, Pierce was a severe addict. She always kept him as a friend though because he paid top price for his shit so it wasn't cut with anything.

     Feeling stressed, Astrid went under her floorboard and took out the box that contained her most valuable possessions. Hidden under a picture of her parents and a picture of her with Andrew were bags filled with various pills, powders, and plants. She took some white powder out of the baggy and lined it up on her dresser. Not wanting to leave evidence behind, she snorted every last crystal. Now she had the guts to sneak out.

     She wasn't always like this. Astrid had always had a feeling of loneliness and abandonment from the death of her parents, but she used to cover it with the attention of her boyfriends. After she started werewolf classes and learned that it would be best to wait for her mate, she left the boyfriends behind and turned to a new type of satisfaction. She was 14 when her best friend introduced her to pills like Xanax, and it progressed into the colorful assortment in front of her.

     Astrid had no idea how Andrew would act if he found this. She wasn't stupid. She had an inkling that Andrew was most probably her mate. Why else would he not have a mate at 36? Why would a 20 year old alpha take in a pup that was not his own when he was still waiting for his mate? That's another reason why she liked drugs. It helped cover the guilt.

     She knew he didn't want to tell her yet because she was too young. A year ago, Jules had proposed the idea that she was Andrew's mate, and it all began to make sense to Astrid. In a way, she was disappointed that Andrew was her mate. She wasn't attracted to him, nor did she think of him in a romantic way. He was Andrew, the guy who raised her. Hopefully when she turned 18, things would change.

     It was 9:30, so Astrid knew Andrew was asleep. She put on a pair of jeans and a cute tube top and opened her window quietly. She climbed down the drainage pipe (practice had made perfect) and walked down the driveway to wait for her friends.

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Astrid had no idea how she found herself in this predicament. Currently, she was laying in bed next to a far gone Pierce who was the same level of messed up that she was. She had no idea what was in that pill, but it was strong enough to make her see in sounds and hear in colors. Her top and bra were thrown somewhere across the room, and she had dried come on her face from her activity 10 minutes ago. In other words, she was royally screwed.

She could remember everything from the party. After her friends ditched her for boys and booze, Astrid went looking for Pierce. She found him in the kitchen forcing a poor freshman to chug beer from a keg. He caught her eye and dropped the kid, immediately going towards the girl he thought he loved.

"Hey Astrid, I'm glad you could make it." Pierce scratched the back of his neck and shyly smiled at her. Looking into his blue eyes, Astrid saw that he wasn't high. Yet.

"I'd never miss one of your parties. Especially since you're such a hospitable host." She entertained him for the time being hoping to score some acid. That's why she followed him to his room. After a few pills and some drinks Astrid had gotten the great idea to suck his dick. And look where that got her.

She craned her neck to the clock and saw that it was 3 in the morning. Or at least that's what she gathered. The three and zeroes were flying around the room so quickly it was hard to tell the time. She looked over at Pierce and he looked satisfied; asleep, but satisfied. That's when the guilt started to trickle into the crevices of her mind.

Andrew was asleep in bed not knowing that his mate was here. In this... situation. She got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Looking at her phone, she saw 10 missed calls from Andrew and a slew of texts asking her where she was. Fuck. She brushed her teeth not caring that it was Pierce's and walked out the door. Stragglers from the party were passed out all over the house. Astrid could sense that her friends left, so she decided to shift and run back home. That would clear her mind, and hopefully make me sober.

Opening the door she made a bee-line for the stairs, hoping to avoid Andrew.

"Where have you been, and don't lie to me because it's three in the morning! I swear to the goddess Astrid you can't keep doing this!" Andrew looked infuriated and his eyes were turning black which meant his wolf was coming out too.

"I was at a party being a teenager since no one apparently lets me do that!" She saw him walk closer to her and she took a step back. She didn't want him to smell her scent since it was most definitely mixed with Pierce's. Thankfully her wolf's metabolism absorbed the drug before she got back so she only had one thing to worry about.

"Leaving the territory and coming home at 3 in the morning isn't being a teenager Astrid, it's being irresponsible." Astrid had hit the wall and prayed to the goddess that his anger would cloud his senses. "Do you know what could happen? Do you even think when you do things like this? I don't-" He sniffed the air. Well nice going dipshit.

He stepped back and gave me a look that was mixed with disappointment and sadness. Shit shit shit stop looking at me like that. He said nothing as he turned around and headed to his office. Astrid could slowly feel the guilt crawling through her body and squeezing her chest. She ran up to her room and locked the door, feeling tears roll down her face. Taking out the box, she took out another pill and the photo of her and Andrew. It was taken at her 1st birthday party.

Squeezing the photo to her chest, she popped the pill and let the drug take away her emotions.