Shadow Wolves: Her addiction (Book 1) - Complete

Chapter 1 - Danger is afoot

Megan

After the funeral, I decided to stay with my grandmother for a while. I did not want to be on my own in the house. I wanted to find my feet first. School was no longer an option. I had a tutor to spend an hour a day with me, but that was all the time I could spare. One of my friends from school, who was also a pack member, helped me gather the necessities from my room and walked with me as I locked up the house, not knowing it would be the last time I would see it. My father’s Beta drove me to Gran’s house and helped me carry my bags inside.

The front door was an old, heavy wooden door that creaked when it was opened. The house smelled of dust and mothballs. There was a lounge to the left with faded red velvet chairs in front of a fireplace. The walls were covered from top to bottom with books. To the right, I smelled pork chops, potatoes, beef stroganoff, lamb chops, and steak. I remembered the kitchen was behind the dining room area.

My Gran showed me upstairs. There were two bedrooms and one bathroom. The bedrooms were full of antique furniture. The room where I resided had those porcelain dolls that looked like the dolls in horror movies. A chill ran down my spine as I thought about it. I didn’t like horror movies, all the fake blood, and fake screaming. But the dolls...! They were quite disturbing...

The dressing table had a mirror in a beautifully shaped golden oval frame. The bedding was worn out, but soft and inviting. The room was full of light, just like my old room at the pack house. I walked through to the bathroom that had an old white steel bath with molded feet. The back was higher than the rest of the bath. There was a shower curtain around it, with pink seashells on it. The towels were also pink with seashell motifs. You could see there hadn’t been a man in the house for many years.

I made my way downstairs to the kitchen, and as I expected, the kitchen was the same as the rest of the house. All the appliances were antique, except for the microwave.

“There you are. I did not know which you would prefer and how hungry you would be, so I made everything. Sit down, my child, and dig in.” My Gran looked at me, pointing to all the dishes on the table.

She gave me a plate that had gone eggshell color with age, filled to the brim with food. Sitting down at the dining table that was covered with a white tablecloth, the cutlery was already set out with a napkin. I ate like I hadn’t had food in months. Gran smiled because she knew how tough things had been on me with the funeral and everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks. She joined me and brought me a cup of chamomile tea.

“Here is some tea, to soothe the soul before we sleep!” My Gran said in a soft voice.

After dinner, we cleared the dishes and cleaned them in silence. I bid my Gran a good night and went upstairs to take a hot bath after the long day, and then went to bed. The steel tub was cold against my skin as I sat back, but warmed quickly as the water and my body touched it. The warm water soothed my aching muscles, and the smell of the lavender flowers my Gran kept in the room soothed my broken heart. My Gran was one of those people who believed in the power of herbs, and tonight I was very grateful for her beliefs. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and let it out, and felt some pain leave my body. My mind drifted back to the events of the last two weeks...

I had to grow up quickly. I suddenly became the Alpha of one of the strongest packs in our region. There was the ceremony of the warriors to confirm their allegiance to me, meetings with the Alphas that were our allies, and then I did not even touch the pack’s finances, reports about rogue attacks, or any other reports. There were many things to consider and to be taken care of that I didn’t even know my parents did.

It felt as if it was all just an awful nightmare, and that I just had to pinch myself to wake up. It was not. They were gone, and I was an orphan.

The water was getting cold, so I got out of the bath, dried myself, and put on my new pajamas. Gran had taken me to the mall two days before, hoping it would take my mind off things. My Gran felt that I needed some new things that did not immediately remind me of what I had lost, but made me feel good when I put them on. I loved her for trying, but the new things made me feel even more alone. The pajamas were fluffy, and I did not want her to feel bad. I went to my room and sat in front of the mirror, looking at this pale girl with dark circles around her eyes.

My ocean-blue eyes made my skin look even paler, and the circles look even darker. I hardly recognized myself anymore. Grabbing the brush, I dragged it through my thick, long red hair. I hated my hair because of all the work that was needed, but mom loved it. She used to do the brushing for me. It was our special time together when my mom brushed my hair before bed. I would not be able to deal with my hair every day without my mom’s help. I made a mental note to have my hair cut first thing in the morning.

I was right about the bedding. It was soft and inviting. Although the house smelled of dust and mothballs, the bedding smelled of lavender. My Gran must have washed it before I arrived. The pillow was a perfect fit, and I fell asleep as soon as I put my head down. It was the first night since the news of my parents’ deaths that I slept through the night.

I still have nightmares of cars crashing, glass shattering everywhere, someone crying out in pain, ambulance lights flashing, and pain. There was so much pain. I woke up the next morning as the sun’s rays were just peeking into my bedroom window, as though it was trying to caress me with a loving touch to wake up. It must have seen my tear-stained face. The pack link had shown me some memories of members who had attended the accident scene. Being Alpha had its advantages, but also its disadvantages.

I sat up in my bed, looking at the sun, feeling the warmth slowly moving over my skin from my hips up to my shoulders as it rose. The heat tried to penetrate the coldness that had filled my being since the accident. My Gran knocked on my door, and I told her to come in, not taking my eyes off the sunrise.

“Ah, your mother spent many mornings looking at the sun the same way you are doing now, my dear. I had such a hard time getting her downstairs and on time for the school bus.” I could see Gran immediately regretted her words.

“It is fine, Gran.” I consoled her. “I cannot completely wipe away their existence to avoid the heartache. If it wasn’t for their existence, I would not have been born.” I said with more confidence than I felt.

“You are a strong child, my girl. We will get through this, you and I, and you will be the strongest Alpha the pack has ever seen,” My Gran winked at me.

I didn’t say anything and kept looking out the window.

“Best get your face washed and get downstairs, my girl. Breakfast is ready, and you need to go through a bit of paperwork.” My Gran reminded me that life goes on after death.

I dragged myself out of bed, took a quick shower, changed, and met my Gran downstairs in the library. There was a little office in the corner with a small lady’s desk. It had the prettiest carvings all around the legs. Behind the desk, there was a chair that looked like it was made for a king, which made me giggle suddenly. It seriously did not fit in with the current all ladies’ decor.

“It was your grandfather’s. I could never get rid of it.” My Gran also giggled at the combination.

It looked very odd. I immediately felt guilty. How could I laugh at a time like this? Why was the world even carrying on? Why did things not stop? The Alpha and Luna of the pack passed away! They were my parents. How could people go on with their daily lives? Tears were threatening to fall again, but I had learned in the last couple of days how to keep them at bay. I was an Alpha born … A pureblood ... Tears were a luxury I was no longer allowed to shed. It would make me look weak, especially now that the pack needed me. I had to be strong like my parents to keep our family safe.

I sat behind the desk staring at the heaps of paperwork glaring right back at me and suddenly understood why my father spent so many hours in his office. How could there be so much paperwork after just two weeks? Digging in, and five minutes later, Gran walked in with a cup of coffee that smelled like heaven.

“Coffee to get the brain juices flowing,” Gran said, and I nearly burst out laughing again.

She always had the cutest sayings about things, and I only realized it now for the first time. My parents often brought me around to visit, but Gran used to stuff me with sweets and cute sayings and send me off to play in the backyard. We never had alone time like this, so I never actually got to know my Gran, now that I think about it.

“Fuel for the tank, and then you will be able to concentrate. Let’s go eat breakfast.” Gran shooed me away from the desk.

I obeyed when I heard my stomach agreeing with her.

There was bacon, pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal. It all smelled so good, it felt as if I had woken up after a long coma. I started with the bowl of hot oatmeal, with a piece of butter melting in the middle, and worked my way through to the crispy bacon and eggs sunny side up. When I finished my second helping, Gran seemed to be content that I had been properly fed and let me go back to the library to work on the pack business.

She brought me another cup of coffee and left me to concentrate on the paperwork. My father had always involved me in the pack strategy and taught me the inner workings of the pack. In his eyes, I was never going to find a mate and would be running the pack as the strong Alpha all on my own. I agreed with him because the thought of boys made me want to run to the other side of the globe.

“YUCK."

I spent most of the morning working through the paperwork and reports. Gran called me around twelve for lunch, and I returned to the desk afterward. I was slowly building up strength with all the food. Besides, the aromas flowing through the kitchen were just undeniably the best I had ever smelled. I couldn’t resist them even if I tried. Now I understood why my mom was such a good cook.

I was engrossed in what I was doing and jumped when the doorbell rang later in the afternoon. It was my uncle Henry and aunt Lillian. I had never felt comfortable around them. Since I was a little girl, I shivered every time my mother’s brother was in the area. I did not get up to find out what their visit was about because I was not in the mood to be reminded again and again and carried on working. I heard uncle Henry speak in a hushed tone that piqued my interest a little. None of them had been considerate of my feelings since the accident, especially not my uncle and aunt. They never lowered their voices around me. Why now?

Getting up, I walked to the front door to greet them. I had to show my strength as an Alpha as my father taught me, or some pack members would take advantage and think I was weak. Uncle Henry looked up, a bit shocked, and they greeted me slightly, bowing their heads in acknowledgment of my new position.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and rest, Megan? Gran tells me you have had a long day.” He told me as if he was my father.

“To what do we owe this visit, Uncle?” I ignored his instructions.