Chapter Two

Time skip: Serenity Callan's POV.

Quinn excitedly jumped up and down on the end of my bed in a feeble attempt to wake me. My body roughly bounced around each time he landed on the mattress. Which only added to the pounding of the migraine that came with the realization that today was another lonely, dull school day.

Quinn was my fifteen-year-old, younger, overly energetic brother. His hair was reddish-brown except for the hair directly above his left eye, which was a solid white. He was about 5ft 9in tall, his right eye was an emerald green color, and his left was a light gray, making it look like he was blind. His clothes generally hid his athletic build, which were generally oversized hoodies and baggy jeans.

I rolled deeper into my blankets, "please, just five more minutes." I grumbled as he flung open the window, letting in the morning light.

"How can you sleep? Today's your 17th birthday, and the day you're going to meet your mate!" He shouted as he vigorously shook my shoulders.

I let out a huff as I sat up and pulled my long silver hair into a messy ponytail, "The party isn't until later tonight. Besides, we don't know whether today is my 17th birthday. It's not like I can remember when I have no memories of my life before I came to live with you guys." My head fell in disappointment. "Besides, I may never be blessed with a mate since I cannot shift. For all we know, I am just an ordinary human girl, and they are rarely blessed when it comes to love." Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of never being blessed with a mate and the thought that I might just be an ordinary human girl. 

Quinn sat next to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, "Serenity, even though today might not be your actual birthday and you haven't been able to shift into your wolf form, I am positive you will find your mate. Look, if you can have two wolves imprint on you the moment they look into your eyes," he comfortingly squeezed my shoulder as he said these words about our brother Jace and the pack, now Alpha Derrick, before continuing. "Then I am certain that you have a completely amazing mate out there because there is no way you are an ordinary human girl. Besides…" He stepped out in front of me, puffing out his chest. "We both know I can see the future." He said with a large grin on his face.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "You're barely able to see 30 seconds into the future. No matter how I look at it, that far into the future on this particular matter isn't going to be much help." I said as I began to push him from my room.

"No, I can see further than 30 seconds into the future." He sheepishly said as he bit his lip.

"Really, how far then?"

"A minute 15 seconds," he mumbled.

From how he hung his head, I could tell he wished it was more, "Really, that is quite an improvement." I excitedly said as I ruffled his hair and pushed him the rest of the way out of my room. "Now, if you don't  mind, I need to finish getting  ready for school." 

"Alright, but Hurry up cause I made you something special for breakfast, and it should be finished any minute!" He exclaimed as he bound down the stairs.

"Alright," I said, shaking my head.  I closed my door and went to my closet. I then pulled an oversized black hoodie and a pair of skinny jeans from it. After getting dressed, I redid my ponytail, avoiding the mirror, not wanting to be reminded of how different I was from everyone with my pinkish-purple eyes, snow-white skin, and silver hair. Then I grabbed my most oversized brown messenger bag, slipped my chapstick into my pocket, and headed down the stairs. 

A familiar yet strange scent filled the air as I entered the kitchen. I had always been able to smell exceptionally well, and yet this scent stumped me. "What are you making?" I hesitantly asked Quinn as I sat down at the table.

Quinn turned to face me as he proudly placed a plate with what I assumed were pancakes that had extremely dark syrup and were topped off with whipped cream. "Pancakes, dig in, birthday girl." He said with a satisfied smile on his face.

 Cautiously, I placed a bite in my mouth. "This is good," I exclaimed as the sweet flavors danced upon my tongue.

"Of course it is," Quinn stated.

"What did you put in this," I asked as I placed another bite in my mouth.

 "They're junior mint pancakes with chocolate syrup and whipped cream." He illustriously stated as he puffed up his chest once again. 

"I must say these are awesome!" I continued to stuff another bite in my mouth as Mom walked up next to me. 

"This is from your dad, Quinn, and me." My mom said as she pulled out a colorfully decorated gift bag from underneath the table. "Your dad wanted me to apologize for not being here, but Alpha Derrick asked him to come to the pack house earlier this morning."

"No worries, Mom. I know he would have been here if he could have." I pulled out a brand-new Samsung phone from the gift bag and began to unwrap it. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," I shouted, hugged Mom and Quinn, and hastily opened my new phone. "What's wrong with you?" I questioned, seeing Quinn's pouting face.

He let out a huff and grabbed my gift bag. Then he pulled out a black phone case with a pinkish-purple plushie charm attached to it, "The color reminded me of your eyes." A soft smile touched his eyes as he pulled my phone from me and placed it inside the case.

"Thank you," I softly said with a smile. As I hugged Quinn, someone burst through the kitchen door and quickly placed their hands over my eyes. 

"You can't  open your eyes until we say so, okay?" My best friend Greta ordered as I nodded my head in agreement. Greta was two years older than me, and my second oldest brother, James' mate. They met at the Biennial Autumn Ball hosted by the imperial family. Greta has auburn shoulder-length hair and bright green eyes with freckles dotting her plump pink cheeks. And even next to me at 5 foot 7, she looked tiny, standing at 5 foot 0.

Greta led me outside, "Okay, stay here and don't look." 

"Okay, okay," I said as I took a deep breath.  

"Is everyone ready?" Greta asked. 

Two strong arms wrap around my shoulders. I knew the arms belonged to my oldest brother, Jace, and pack Alpha Derric when their scents collided with the air surrounding me. 

"Annnndddd…open them!" Jace and Derrick excitedly shout. 

Upon opening my eyes, Jace, Derrick, Greta, James, and Sammy (Jace's mate) all yelled, "Surprise!" They all directed me to a brand new midnight blue, four-door Jeep Wrangler.  

Greta and Sammy linked arms with me, one on each side, to lead me to the jeep. "So we all pitched in and got this for your 17th birthday!" Greta said with a giant grin as she tightened her grip on my arm.

"It is fully loaded with black leather heated seats, a backup camera, and a touch screen," Sammy happily chattered as Derrick handed me the electronic keys to my new car. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad slip his arm around my mom. He must have been the one to drive it here when he was called to by Alpha Derrick this morning. 

"You guys shouldn't have.  This is way too much!" I said as I ran my hand over the smooth hood of the jeep.

"You deserve it," Derrick said as he pulled me in for a hug. "You do so much for everyone else and never ask for anything in return, so this is the least we can do for you." He raised his hand as though he had just remembered something and continued, "Emily wanted to be here, but something came up that she needed to attend to." he needed a reason why his mate and pack, Luna, weren't here. Still, everyone knew it was because she had never liked me. After all, Derrick had imprinted on me the first time he looked into my pinkish-purple eyes. And it didn't help matters that I was unable to shift, so she saw me as a weak link in our pack, someone that she believed would get her mate killed one day as he tried protecting me. 

A soft smile spread across my face. Alpha Derrick wanted her to like me so much, especially since she was the pack's Luna and I was a part of the pack, "of course. I completely understand." I said as I hugged him back.