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I arrived in Seattle not long after Mom had. Us being on the opposite sides of the country made it hard to meet up. We had a heartwarming reunion in the cab I called. She was in utter shock at the news she had been given just a few days prior. Dad was dying of stage three stomach cancer. My parents weren't together. They haven't seen each other in years! Long story short, his obsession with being the alpha was the demise of their marriage. Despite all that, she was still madly in love with my father. And from how my father talks about her, his feelings about her are mutual.

We arrived at the large condominiums my parents and pack bought together before I was even conceived. Behind the condos was nothing but trees for miles on end. In the middle of our incredibly massive backyard was a lake we used in the summer. Unfortunately it was winter, so the lake had little use.

I walked into my father's condo, seeing a bunch of yellow-eyed werewolves scattered about. Their eyes locked onto me as if I was a threat. They knew who I was even if they hadn't seen me in eight years. They could sense my royal blood.

"Where's my father?" I said in my most authoritarian voice. One of the wolves, a tall, stocky woman lead the way where Mom and I had the first glimpse of him. I didn't need to see my mother's face to see her reaction when she saw him. A gasp escaped her lips and she murmured, "Hugo?" Her voice broke. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest. His eyes opened and he smiled at her as if he was staring at a million bucks.

"Freya?" He said, his voice sounded scratchy and worn. "You're as beautiful as the day I saw you." Mom began to cry as he held her hands. My heart broke upon seeing them so gingerly again. I missed seeing my love struck parents together like this.

"Olive?" It was my father's voice. He was frowning at me, he saw me crying to myself. "Come here, sweetheart." Without hesitation I sped to my father, leaning down and holding him as if he were to slip away from my grasp at any minute. "I'm right here," he reassured. "I'm okay." No, you're not, I thought to myself. Dad, you're dying! He had lost a lot weight because of his cancer. Before his diagnosis, I hugged him and I could feel solid muscle, now I felt his bones.

After our reunion, we separated and my father started speaking in that scratchy, low voice cancer had given him. "Tomorrow, two of the strongest alphas in America are coming. I will choose one of them to become alpha of this pack. Don't worry, I know them both personally. Whomever I choose, I know they'll do great things for my pack."

"What?" I mustered. "You can't be serious."

"Sweet heart, no offense but it isn't like you can be Alpha." I felt a sting of humiliation at his comment because I knew he was right. "From what you've told me, you've made your werewolf gene dormant. You don't know the first thing to being a wolf, let alone be the leader of an entire pack." I was rumored to be a rogue wolf. In human terms, it would be the same thing if a child rebelled against their parents and refused to follow their rules. But that wasn't the case at all. I wanted a normal human life.

That night I slept in my own condo, wanting to be alone for the night. My father was dying in the condo above mine and I wanted to be alone? I guess I get my selfishness from him.

In the morning, I heard a bunch of people talking insanely too loud for this hour and I was still in bed. I did my usual morning routine, then slipped on dark-wash frayed skinny jeans, a black tank top and a jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows. I finished my breakfast and debated on putting my hair up. As I was gathering my hair in a ponytail, I opened the door and walked out. If it wasn't for that stranger's quick reflexes, I would've surely ran right into him.

He quickly grabbed me and slightly pushed me to the side, still holding on. I heard his heartbeat race then settle into a steady pace. I let go of my hair and looked up at him. Yes, up. I'm five foot seven inches tall and I had to look up at this guy. He easily reached or passed six feet. He was such a beautiful man...

"My mistake," he said, loosening his grip on me. "I apologize for that."

"Don't," I said. "It was my fault. I should've watched where I was going." He looked at me for a second, holding my gaze - until his henchman grabbed my arm and said, "How dare you act this way towards his majesty? You should be kissing the ground he walks on!"

"Beau!" The alpha said. "It was an accident. She meant no harm." He looked back at me and smiled again. "I apologize on Beau's behalf."

"Its fine," I reassured. "It was a misunderstanding."

The beautiful alpha nodded, his eyes changing from deep blue to a dazzling, almost-glowing light blue he blinked several times and walked away beside his nagging henchman, walking to the stairs and I knew immediately where they were going: to see my father.