The Traitor's Daughter

by Mary Goldberger

  Prologue

  The house was quiet when 14-year old Grace Hawkins walked slowly inside, and a frown crossed her young face with its innocent violet eyes.

  “Mom,” she called out her voice a little shaky as her eyes took in the room before she hurried to the kitchen.

  Grace did not understand what was going on, but she knew something happened because the pack were being weird today, even her best friend, Amy, was acting weird.

  Grace and her parents were werewolves, part of the Rain Cloud Pack although Grace had not shifted yet which would not happen for another two years.

  “Mom, are you here?” Grace called out again even though she felt a shiver go down her spine. She knew her mother was not in the house, she could sense it.

  She walked farther into the kitchen when she noticed the piece of paper on the table.

  Grace,

  Honey, Alpha Tomas called us to the pack house and your father has a feeling he knows why. We do not know what will happen, but remember we love you. Also, please stay inside the house no matter what you hear. As you have not shifted yet, you will not be able to help with the upcoming fight. You know where we keep our important papers so if anything should happen; then you will be fine until you graduate high school. We will always love you, our precious child.

  Love,

  Mom and Dad

  Grace collapsed in the chair as her eyes scanned the note again, and she lifted those same eyes to the clock on the wall. She knew why the Alpha ordered her parents to the pack house because she had heard the rumors herself about her father. The rumors started a few weeks ago about her father being a spy, or traitor, working for the rogue leader who had been targeting the pack. Grace knew it was not true, but the other pack members were not so sure since her father had technically not been born in the Rain Cloud Pack, but a lone wolf that crossed their territory and found his mate.

  Grace closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks, and then through the pack link, she heard, the rogues are here.

  Grace did not move from the chair as the day moved on and the fight continued well past midnight until suddenly she knew that the rogues were gone.

  She collapsed on the table as she began to sob because she also knew that her parents were dead. She knew that they were dead because she heard her mother and father’s voice as they told her, we love you, Grace.

  Grace fell asleep on the chair sobbing her heart out as the pack around her gathered their loved ones and although members passed by Grace’s house, they did not bother stopping to check on the young girl and some even threw the house dirty looks.

  After that, Grace’s life became a nightmare. She had no other family even her parents’ friend could not help her because he had left town almost two months before the rogue attack, and Grace did not think he was coming back. School was Hell in itself because if Grace was not being picked on, she was being isolated as the “traitor’s daughter.” She learned to stay silent and keep to herself; she made good grades with an exception of two classes, which two vengeful members of the pack taught. They could not outright fail her but her grades were lower than they should have been. Grace’s innocent violet eyes began to change as her life continued and by her 15th birthday, a year after her parents’ death; her violet eyes were shadowed and unreadable.

  A few months after her birthday, Grace turned the corner in the school hallway and ran into the next-in-line Beta of the pack, Bryan Shivers. When she ran into him, she felt a weird sensation go down her body, and she shivered in reaction to it not noticing the black eyes that narrowed in disgust as he sneered, “Watch were you are going, bitch” before he walked away followed by his friends. Grace glanced up briefly to meet the eyes of her once friend, but Amy quickly broke contact and caught up with the others.

  It was not until later that Grace realized what the sensation was as Bryan caught her leaving school that day.

  He snatched her by the arm and pulled her into a secluded area of the school. He leaned forward as his hand gripped her arm tightly, and Grace flinched.

  “I, Bryan Shivers, reject you as my mate, Grace Hawkins,” he said formerly as his eyes burned with rage. Grace’s own eyes widened with astonishment as he continued, “I would never accept a girl like you for my mate, the daughter of a traitor. Do not tell anyone about this conversation because no one is going to know that you are my mate.”

  With another sneer in her face, he dropped her arm and walked away. Grace’s wide eyes watched him walk away as tears slid down her face as her already broken heart trembled in her chest.

  She lowered her head and walked away not looking up when she passed her mate and his friends although she heard their taunts and insults.

  When she turned 16, she finally shifted into her wolf; a pure black wolf like her father with one exception the tips of ears were white. This puzzled Grace because she did not understand why the tips of ears would be white, but that was not the only thing that confused her. Her wolf was amazingly strong and since the pack isolated her, Grace had to train herself. She had watched her father plenty of times as he would work out in the backyard, and she memorized it so she did the same thing. As one, Grace and her wolf became stronger which surprised Grace, but even more than that Grace realized that they were different. In wolf form, Grace learned that she could hear anything and with focus, she could actually hone in on one person, or area, and tell everything that was going on right done to the clothes a person were wearing or describe the area down to the last flower. When it first happened, it scared Grace because she did not understand it, but one bright sunny Sunday, while going through the attic Grace found some books that explained it all to her.

  According to the books, her dad was not a lone wolf as the pack assumed but he would have been an Alpha of his own pack, the Fire Blood Pack, had they not all been slaughtered on his 12th birthday. He had not been there at the time because he had gone to pick something up for his mom, and returned home to see his whole family, no his whole pack, murdered. His father died in his arms as he told him this “I always told you to stand and fight, and I still believe it, but now I want you to leave and become stronger; you are only twelve so much responsibility for someone so young”, and his father died after telling him he loved him. He did what his father advised him, and he became stronger but a loner. When he was 24, he met a young woman while passing through Rain Cloud’s territory, and although knew immediately she was his mate; he tried to fight it just as she did. In the end, they could not and they mated. He stayed in this territory although the pack had suspicions about him, but he loved his mate and when his daughter was born, he loved her just as much. The only person who knew about his background was his mate who herself was a Beta’s daughter. Her pack tossed her out after a group of hunters killed her parents because she had been different from the rest of her pack for like her mother before her she had extra sensory hearing even for a wolf that allowed her to be able to pick up anything in every direction. Grace cried that evening after reading about her parents and their own harsh lives up until they met on this territory.

  When Grace was 17, the friend of her parents came back to the pack as he owned and operated the local diner that served the pack. He heard about the deaths of her parents, and tried to approach Grace, but Grace had two years of isolation and insults that she did not trust him. He did not force his presence on her, but told her if she ever needed a job, then he would hire her.

  Grace went to him a few weeks later and took him up on the offer, which was hard at first because the other workers did not want to work with her. Grace did the work that the others did not want to do, but she did not complain as it was a job and she received pay for it.

  The violet eyes that one time s
hined with innocence shimmered with shadows and wariness, and she learned to move around the pack like a ghost. Grace had a plan even though she remembered her father’s words from when she was young, and words he had written down in the diary that now she knew came from her grandfather, stand and fight, she hoped her father would understand. When she turned 21, Grace was going to leave the Rain Cloud Pack, and never look back.

  The pack did not deserve her devotion or loyalty when they did not believe her parents; neither did they try to help their daughter who lost the only people who loved her within the same day. The rejection of her mate, Grace was able to brush off even though it hurt, but as the death of her parents still weighed heavily on her heart, Bryan’s rejection left a single scratch that would heal within time.

  The next few years rushed by in a flash as Grace prepared herself to leave the pack, and then almost six months shy of her 21st birthday, something occurred that changed Grace’s whole life all over again.

  Sometimes even the best-laid plans can be broken with a single meeting.

  Chapter 1

  “Grace, are you almost done?” Mr. Jacobs asked as Grace finished cleaning the last table in the restaurant.

  “Yes, Uncle Ted,” she answered immediately, and Ted smiled as he watched her. It amazed him that this young woman was the same woman who had lost her parents and the packs support on in the same day. The pack ignores her, or treats her with disrespect, but she continues with her life. When Ted learned about her wolf, he was amazed and awed for she was a strong wolf even without the aid of other pack members as it was customary for new wolves to go through training. She taught herself to fight, and Ted helped her to train once she let him in so that she could become even stronger. He would miss her when she left for he knew all about her plan when she turned 21 and she had less than six months left before her 21st birthday. Ted scowled when he saw Bryan walk through the door, as he knew that he was Grace’s mate, but when he rejected her and marked another, the bond between them had been severed before it had even developed. Now, Grace and her wolf, never even seemed to notice him, and he ignored her just as well although Ted had a feeling that when the true mate of the young woman he marked showed up, he would come back for Grace or try to destroy her. That was one of the reasons Ted wanted her to leave, because although he heard of mates who had been rejected having a second chance in finding another mate, the chance of that happening for Grace was very slim especially in the Rain Cloud pack.

  “Ted,” Bryan said arrogantly, “we are having a pack meeting tonight. The Alpha would like you to be there.”

  Ted nodded his head at Bryan although he had already been in contact with the Alpha. The reason for the pack meeting was that a new pack was joining them; rogues had plagued the pack, so their Alpha had asked for help. The Alpha of the Moon Star Pack had not found his mate yet according to what Ted had heard, but his Beta who was a few years older than Grace lost his mate a few years back when hunters aided by rogues attacked their pack.

  Bryan nodded his head at Ted then snickered at Grace before he walked out of the restaurant.

  “Asshole,” Ted muttered loud enough for Grace to hear, and she threw him a cheerful smile. Ted was amazed for most people lost themselves after rejection by their mate. Yet, Ted had to admit that with everything else that happened to her, Grace’s rejection by her mate was just another thing to happen.

  “Come with me tonight,” he asked suddenly, and at her confused look, he wanted to take back what he said, but something was telling him to make sure she was with him.

  “You know I don’t like driving at night,” he said remorsefully. Grace looked at him with narrow eyes, and then she sighed.

  Ted knew she would say yes for in her mind she owed him; Ted knew she did not, but this one time he was going to use it. She had to be at that meeting tonight, he did not know why, but something was telling him she had to be there.

  “I will go with you, but you and I both know that it is going to cause trouble,” she said honestly.

  Ted just shook his head, “They will be too busy welcoming the new pack that is going to reside with us to worry about you.”

  Grace looked up at him with a question in her eyes, “We are getting a new pack here?”

  “The Alpha called me this morning; the Alpha of the Moon Star Pack requested relocation here for his pack had been plagued by rogues within the last few years. In fact, his own beta lost his mate in an attack by rogues and hunters a year ago.”

  Grace felt sympathy for the pack because she understood how it felt to lose loved ones. She nodded her head, and Ted saw the sympathy in her eyes.

  “What time is the pack meeting?” she asked continuing her job of cleaning the restaurant.

  “At 6pm,” Ted told her as he swept. They worked in silence for the next hour, and as they were leaving, Grace said, “I will be at your place at quarter to six.”

  “Okay,” he said watching her walk to her motorcycle.

  She got the motorcycle when she was 17, as she needed transportation to get around. The motorcycle was cheap for it needed a lot of work, and she originally went to the mechanic here in town to have it repaired, but he was going to charge her more than she could afford; he lost his brother in the pack war and he blamed her parents for that lost. Grace bought a repair guide for that particular motorcycle, and it took her almost eight months to repair it for operation. Ted, himself, took it to a mechanic a few towns over, and the mechanic had praised Ted, as the repair work had been great; only a few minor adjustments did the mechanic make on it. Ted walked away from that garage full of pride, all of it for Grace.

  Exactly at a quarter to six, Grace pulled into his driveway. She took off her helmet as he walked out of his house that he had shared with his mate and five children, all daughters. They had mated with other wolves, and moved away; every one of them found mates in other packs. They kept in contact as much as possible, and he even visited as often as he could for he had six grandchildren, and he had another one on the way.

  “Ready,” he asked as he tossed her the keys to his truck, and she just growled lightly that he laughed.

  It took them less than ten minutes to arrive at the pack house. As they walked into the house, Ted noticed the looks that pack members gave Grace as she walked by his side.

  She is with me so let it be, he warned everybody sternly, and had the satisfaction of seeing him or her look away. He was not an Alpha but he had the advantage of age with him. Grace sent him an “I told you so” look but he just smiled as she shook her head. They headed to the backyard where the meeting would take place. As soon as they entered the backyard, he sensed the strength coming off the Moon Star pack members.

  Very strong wolves, Grace said to him, and he nodded his head an agreement as they made their way over to the Alpha.

  I am going over to that big tree. Call me if you need me, Grace told him, and she melted away. Grace had the ability to be as silent as she wanted for she learned since her parents’ death not to stir up trouble with the other pack members. The pack taught her well, and if they all knew how strong, she really was then they would think twice about messing with her. As for the new pack, Ted sensed that Grace would fit in find with them. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he headed over his Alpha and long time friend.

  “Alpha,” he said walking up to his friend for over thirty years.

  “Ted,” Alpha Tomas smiled, “let me introduce you to Steve Davison and Artur Johnson, Alpha and Beta of the Moon Star Pack.”

  Ted shook both of their hands, and asked afterwards, “Artur?”

  He laughed, “My dad had a thing for bears so he looked for names with the meaning ‘bear’. I never did understand it, neither did my mom.”

  Ted laughed, but he noticed that Artur’s blue-gold eyes held coldness in them.

  “Tomas,” Shane, his beta, said, “We are ready to get started.” Tomas nodded his head, then introduced Shane’s son to the newcomers.

  “Oh, S
teve, Artur, this is Bryan, my beta’s son,” he said. They nodded their head, and everything would have been fine if Bryan, at that moment, had not pulled the arm of the girl who was walking by into the gathering.

  “This is my mate, Amy,” he said introducing her, “and this is Steve and Artur.” Amy had nodded her head before she actually lifted her eyes to meet the newcomers’ eyes, and Ted watched as the Alpha of the Moon Star Pack eyes widened in disbelief, and Amy stiffened where she stood. Bryan was paying no attention and did not notice the sudden tension that filled the air but talking to Artur whom he was trying to intimidate.

  “So your name is Artur?” he asked with a snicker.

  Grace, you need to get over here, Ted said not able to curb the satisfaction in his tone.

  This was going to be interesting, he thought to himself as he watched Bryan finally realize that something was not quite right.

  Asshole, Artur thought to himself as he held back his wolf while listening to the beta’s son, Bryan.

  She is my mate; he heard his friend and Alpha say to him. He glanced quickly at his friend to see his attention focused completely on the young woman they had just been introduced to, Amy, a beautiful blond-hair girl with pure green eyes.

  Artur frowned wondering how it was possible because if she already had a mate, then how was she Steve’s mate. He watched as Steve shook his head slowly for he was asking himself the same question.

  “Is there a problem?” Alpha Tomas said with a frown.

  “Friend, I do believe there is,” Ted said with a smirk.

  Bryan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Amy, and then they widened in disbelief. He started shaking his head, but before he could do anything, Amy started screaming.

  “My skin is on fire,” she shouted.

  Grace, who had silently come up to the group, looked on in disbelief before she grabbed a pitcher of water.

  “Where does it burn?” she asked quickly not paying attention to the gasps or indrawn breathes.