The Liar, The Wolf, and the Songbird

Alec I had never given much thought to mates. It seemed to be the highlight of all wolves' lives to find their perfect other half, but not me. I was chosen as the next beta of my pack. Something I took seriously. I spent all of my time training and learning the ends and outs of the position from my father. I had spent my entire life in the Appalachian Pack and when I turned eighteen, the age you find your mate, I wasn't surprised when I didn't immediately find her. I was solely focused on preparing for the day I took over for my father. My twin brother Adam showed no interest in the position. He said he would rather be a warrior, so he could spend more time with his mate when he found her. To each their own, I guess. Imagine my surprise when I found out Cassandra was my mate. It wasn't what I had imagined it would be, or what I was told it would be. The world didn't stop on its axis. There was no desperate need to be with her. Even my wolf, Gentry, seemed to be confused. We felt the pull, but it wasn't as strong as my mother had told me it would be. It was a slight tug. What made it more bizarre was I had been around her my entire life and had never felt more than repulsion for her. She was notorious for trying to sleep her way through the ranks. Even she and Zeke were an item at one time, but that all changed when my little sister claimed assault. It blew my mind. Why would our future alpha and his girlfriend assault my sister? Why would the future alpha allow someone else to assault my sister? Never mind the fact that she was the Beta's daughter. No one would dare. Cassandra and Zeke had said they were all hanging out at the falls. Addy was caught fooling around with Justin and Chase by my father. Addy cried assault and my father went berserk, killed Justin and Chase. I asked Addy about it, but she just told me to leave it alone. I lost all respect for my sister that day. Her lies cost two of my good friends their lives. It wasn't long after that she left for college. She rarely came back. Only for a day or two here and there. Just enough to appease my parents. It was only a couple of years later that I found out Cassandra was my mate. It took a year for me to mark her because it took a year for me to come to terms with her being my mate. "Hey babe! Can I have your card? I wanna go get my hair touched up and my nails done." Cassie called from the bedroom. I internally groaned and Gentry rolled his eyes. "Sure, babe. Come in here and get it." I said from my office. "Can't you just bring it to me? I'm sooo tired." She whined. "How did we get paired with her? Surely the Moon Goddess made a mistake." Gentry grumbled. "The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes." I sighed. But I felt the same way most of the time. We rarely had s*x and when we did, it was like throwing a hot dog down a hallway. Usually, it took a lot of booze and a lot of work for me to even get hard enough to f**k her. Even then, I faked my climax, so it would end quickly. Feigning embarrassment at my "premature ejaculation". I stood away from my desk and walked into the bedroom. She had lain herself out on the bed and was wearing a bluish-purple negligée. She was smiling in what I assumed to be a seductive way. "Hey babe. I want you so bad right now. My p***y is soaking wet and begging for your cock." She purred. On the inside, I was cringing. On the outside, I grinned at her enthusiastically. "Mmmm... that does sound amazing. But I'm sorry babe. I have to go meet Zeke at the pack house. Blood Moon's new Alpha is coming, and we have to make a good impression." I said, with false remorse. She pouted. Realizing that wasn't going to work on me, she rolled her eyes. "Zeke can manage for a little while, so you can satisfy your mate." At that moment, she spread her legs widely and the smell of her hairy v****a turned my stomach. I gulped which she mistook for desire. She purred and started to crawl towards me. My phone began to play "Numb" by Linkin Park loudly. Thank God. I held my finger up. "Hey man, give me a sec." I mouthed sorry and left the room. I went directly to my office. "Avoiding Cassandra again?" My mother's voice spoke through the phone. "Umm..." I felt my cheeks start to flush although no one was in the room. "It's fine. Listen, I need you and your brother to do me a favor." "Of course. What do you need?" I asked, excitedly. I loved this woman. Her timing was impeccable. "I need y'all to head up to Montana and get your sister. Poppy ain't doin' so good." My heart sank for two reasons. One: my mother sending for Addy meant my grandfather wasn't going to last much longer. Two: I had no desire to see my little sister. "Can't you just call her?" I asked grumpily. "I did. She ain't answerin the phone. So I need you and Adam to go get her and bring her home. You hear?" She said firmly. I sighed. "Yes, ma'am." I said. "Good. Now, I love you and I'll talk at you later." "I love you too Momma." I ended the call and rang Zeke. "What?" He snapped. I could hear a female moaning in the background. Typical. "Hey, I gotta go get Adeline. My granddad isn't doin so good and Momma wants her home." Zeke growled. "Cain’t Adam go get her? That prick, Alpha Beau is gonna be here in a couple of days." His voice was laced with irritation. "Momma says we both gotta go. It shouldn't take too long. A couple of days at most." "Whatever." I heard the click of the line cutting out, signaling he had hung up. Zeke was a d**k, but he was my Alpha. I had to respect him. I took a deep breath and headed for the bedroom. Cassandra was zipping up the back of her black leather jeans. She turned when I walked in and gave me a savage look. "What is it?" She snapped. "I'm gonna be gone a couple of days. My Momma asked me and Adam to do something for her." She rolled her eyes. "Your fuckin' Momma always has somethin' she wants you to do for her. Well, go on. Go hang on her titty." She said as she pushed past me. Gentry pushed forward and growled at her. "You hold your tongue woman!" He snapped. She turned back and looked at him. She gave him a wicked smile. "What are you gonna do, you dumb mutt?" She snarled as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and stalked out of the room. I don't know if you're supposed to not like your mate, but I really don't like mine. Gentry growled menacingly. He didn’t care for her disrespectful attitude, and I could feel his intentions. I grabbed hold of the reigns and pushed him deep down, so he wouldn’t hurt her. “What’s your fuckin’ problem, Cassandra? It’s not like I’m goin’ out screwin’ around. Poppy is bad sick. You know that! I have to go get my sister, so she can say goodbye.” She snarled at me. “You know, it’s always your family over me. You know that old man was gonna die for awhile now. It ain’t some big surprise. If the runt wanted to say goodbye, she should have come months ago.” She spit out, “Don’t talk about my family like that! My grandfather is a great man! He protected this pack for decades! Even when Memaw died, he kept goin.’ That would have knocked down any other wolf, but not him! He continued to serve! So, you watch your fuckin’ mouth!” I thundered. She backed away from me. I looked down to see hair starting to sprout out on my arms. “You should let me out… I could teach her some manners.” Gentry growled. “f**k you, Alec! Your family really ain’t that great, but you always act like you're so much better than me. I’m your mate, and you haven’t f****d me in months. I ask for one little thing and you deny me. But heaven forbid your Momma calls and needs somethin’ you go running’!” She snapped. I pinched the bridge of my nose. I could feel the headache starting to form there. “Cassandra…” “No! f**k you! Go get the fuckin’ runt since she means so fuckin’ much to you!” her voice was a high-pitched shriek and I winced at the pain it caused my ears. “Don’t fuckin’ call her that!” I stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. I heard the wood splinter, but I didn’t care. “f**k you, you fuckin’ prick!” She yelled through the door as she smacked it with her hand. I heard her feet stomp their way down the hall and out the door. I dropped myself down on the side of the jacuzzi style tub that Cassandra had demanded we have. How had my life dissolved into this s**t show? I stood and straightened my back. I didn’t have time for this s**t. I had somewhere I was supposed to be.