The Broken Warrior’s Daughter

Chapter 1

I’ve always known my destiny. Some search for years trying to find their place in the world, and others never truly find their calling. But not me. I knew from the moment I was born to two Guardians, the most powerful warriors in my pack, that I was meant to be a warrior. A Guardian.

My parents were fated mates, short for soulmates. Two halves of the same soul. Most werewolves strive to find their mate, the one who completes them. While some see the mate bond as a weakness and instantly reject their mates when they find them, most only get stronger. That’s how it was with my parents. The mate bond made them stronger, and they were a powerful couple.

As Guardians and the strongest, most powerful fighters in our pack, my parents were responsible for ensuring the safety of our Alpha, Alpha Anders; his mate, Luna Calista, and their young son, our future Alpha, Rik. It was during an attack from a neighboring pack that thought they could defeat our Alpha and take over that I lost my mother. She died protecting our Luna and their son. I was only 5 years old at the time.

During that same battle, my father, while protecting our Alpha, took on five of the eight wolves that attacked our Alpha.

They both held their own until other warriors came to assist. However, at the moment my mother died and he felt the tether of his link to her break, my father faltered.

One of the wolves jumped onto his back, trying to bring him down. When he couldn’t, he bit down on my father’s back, snapping his spine. Werewolves can heal from many things – cuts, bruises, even small breaks, but not paralyzing spinal injuries.

From that day on, my father became a shell of his old self. While most wolves would have died at the loss of their mate, my father survived solely to care for me. He has done his best, and he loves me, but he lost so much that day. He not only lost his mate, but he also lost his ability to walk and his status as a warrior. He lost himself.

Chapter 2

As I walk through the halls of my high school in between classes, my fellow warriors call out to me. I wave and acknowledge them in response. Jason, my best friend, jogs to catch up to me. “Hey, Little Badass, what are you doing after school?”

“Jason, don’t call me that. I hate that name.”

“Well, I’ve got news for you, the whole squad is calling you a little badass after that stunt you pulled yesterday, so you better get used to it.”

I stop in my tracks and look at Jason. “Tell me you’re joking!” By the look on his face, I see he’s not joking. Well shit!

“Anyway,” he continues, “after school?”

“Oh, right. I’m doing my usual, hanging out with dad.”

“And by ‘hanging out’ you mean training? That’s your secret, right? You get to train with the biggest badass that this pack has ever known?”

I stop and look at my long-time friend. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alpha Rik with his entourage of females. “I see the harem continues to grow,” I nod my chin in Alpha Rik’s direction, ignoring Jason’s question about training with my dad.

He’s right, I do train with my father. Every day. I know my path, it’s been set for me since the day I was born. My job is to be the strongest, fastest, most powerful warrior in the pack, better even than my mom and dad. My legacy is to one day protect the Alpha, just as my father did.

My only problem with that is our future alpha doesn’t even know who I am. What kind of alpha doesn’t know the daughter of the man and woman that are the sole reason that he and his family are alive? My parents’ sacrifices are the reason he can be the man whore he chooses to be. And lucky me, one day I get to protect that piece of….an alpha.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the alpha’s desire to show off how great he is. It’s what alphas do. And if I’m being honest, Alpha Rik has it all. Midnight black hair that he wears nearly to his shoulders. His full beard and mustache were trimmed in a long stubble. And those eyes, a startling color of blue, like a glacier, stand out in his tanned skin. His broad, muscular arms and shoulders sit well on his 6’4’ frame, which slides into a sharp V at his waist, sliding into narrow hips, rounded out by strong, muscular legs that pants and jeans can’t hide. Every unmated female of age in our pack and every other nearby pack hopes that they have a chance to be our future Luna. And if not the future Luna, at least to have the possibility of becoming the gorgeous alpha’s girlfriend and maybe being taken as a chosen mate, hence the harem.

I watch as he stands among his members, showing nothing but arrogance and strength. Even his name means brave. Strong and brave. It’s a thing with our alpha family. The men are all named based on the origin’s meaning, courageous. And, so far, it’s true. Our pack is strong, one of the largest and definitely the strongest in the country. Our Alpha is a powerful force, leading by example. But he’s also kind and fair, exactly what you want in the leader of your pack. Our future alpha, however, well, let’s just say the jury is still out on that one. He’s definitely strong. I’ve watched him train; he’s a beast. Alpha genes will do that for you. Unlike me, I have to be smarter and work harder than any alpha if I’m going to be his protector. Not only that, but I’m a relatively small female in my slight, fit 5’4” frame. But that just means that my opponents tend to underestimate me. My fellow warriors have learned that I’m not an easy target. I’ve defeated all of them at one time or another. I’ve earned their respect, along with Alpha Anders’. He provides our training in the morning before school, which is when I attend. In the afternoons, when the other warriors train with Alpha Rik, I train with my father.

I, however, refuse to be one of Rik’s crowd of admirers. Maybe it’s my own arrogance, but I will most likely be his guardian someday. I have no wish to be just another mark on his bedpost. And really, have some respect, if not for yourself, at least for your future mate. We all have a mate out there. And I have no intention of offending my future mate by being in a long line of short relationships or worse, a long-term, serious relationship with someone else. I’ve chosen my fated mate before I’ve even met him.

‘It’s a good thing we’re in agreement on this one, ’ my wolf Artemis says, ‘I wouldn’t forgive you if you offended our mate. I can’t wait to turn 18 so we can find him.’ My wolf is much more excited about finding our mate than I am.

Once I turn 18 and step up as guardian, I will have to spend an inordinate amount of time in Rik’s presence. Unless, and this is key, I meet my mate and he is from another pack. Then my allegiance moves to that alpha. It’s because of this that I know Alpha Anders really hopes that my mate is from our pack. My father and I are the biggest reasons that our pack is the strongest in the country. However, I’ve been flirting with the Alpha of the Shadow Falls pack, Alpha Liam, for nearly a year now. He is a bit older than I am, at 24. He hasn’t met his mate yet, and he knows that I’m waiting for mine. He’s been respectful of my decision, but persistent in his attention.

I realize I’ve zoned out, and Jason is still talking to me while I’ve been staring at Alpha Rik. Suddenly, he must feel my eyes on him as he looks right at me, his ice blue eyes staring holes into my soul. It’s like a buzz of electricity. What the…what was that?

I feel Artemis purring in my head. ‘Artemis?? What the hell?’

‘I honestly don’t know, maybe it’s because he’s an alpha?’

‘Seriously? Not you too?!’

‘It’s instinct, I can’t help it.’

I shut her out and drag my eyes away from the magnetic pull that is Alpha Rik to turn my attention back to Jason, ‘I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Cara, are you even paying attention to me?? I said, Yes, the harem continues to increase in size as Alpha Rik gets closer to his 18th birthday, you know they are all hoping they will be his mate.”

“Yes, but ‘there can be only one’” I say, giving him my best highlander impression. Jason is a sucker for old-school Highlander movies.

“Good one”, he says, wrapping his arm around my neck and dragging me off to my next class, which is also his class.

We pass a couple of other pack mates who all call me a little badass. Great, Jason wasn’t kidding.

“Just accept it, Cara. If the nickname fits…”

“Yeah, fine, not like I have much of a choice anyway.”

“That’s the spirit. So, anyway, back to my original question.’’

“Which was…” I ask, dragging out the ‘was’.

“Seriously, Car? I asked what you are doing after school.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Well, it’s Thursday. You know Alpha Anders always comes and has dinner with my dad and me on Thursdays. So, after training, I’ll be making dinner, then homework.”

Ever since I can remember, Alpha Anders has come to have dinner with my father on Thursdays. I think it’s his way of showing his appreciation for my father’s sacrifice. Honestly, it’s gone a long way to helping my father stay connected to the pack. After my mother died and Dad lost the use of his legs, he asked Alpha Anders if we could leave the pack. I think he wanted to try to live among humans. Instead of agreeing to let us leave, Alpha Anders had a house built on the edge of the pack territory. That way, we’re still pack members, but dad doesn’t have to be involved in all of the pack activities, see the warriors training or wolves running in the woods surrounding our pack lands. We are still under the protection of the pack, and we help to monitor our portion of the northern boundary. It gives my dad a sense of purpose within the pack, or at least I think it does.

“I forgot it was Thursday,” Jason replies. “Well, are we still set for clubbing tomorrow night?”

“Yep, always ready to blow off some steam.”

“Excellent!”

I sigh as we walk into class.

Chapter 3

Only a few months left of school, and I’m done. I’ll turn 18 in a couple of weeks, and if all goes well, I’ll meet my mate, and then dad can hand over the title of Alpha to me after I graduate.

I meet up with Chase, my best friend and my future Beta, when I walk into the kitchen of the pack house. “Hey man, what’s up?”

“Morning Alpha, how’s it hanging?” he asks me with a smirk. Bastard must have seen Sheila sneaking out earlier. I smirk back as I sip my coffee, “No blue balls here.”

He laughs outright. “Yeah, you know if your mom catches you…”. He doesn’t have to finish his sentence; we both know my mother would skin me alive. She wants me to wait for my mate. “She won’t,” I reply. “What were you doing up so early anyway?”

He takes a sip of his coffee, looking sheepish before answering. “No blue balls on me either, my friend. But, at least I’ll walk the girl to her car.”

I smile at my best friend before grabbing my keys, ignoring his jab. “You riding with me today?”

“Yep”, he answers as he follows me out.

The ride to school is short. It’s on the border between our pack lands and the Shadow Falls pack. It’s about a 15-minute drive from the packhouse where Chase and I live. He lives on the 3rd floor with his family, the Beta’s floor. I live on the 4th floor with my parents, the space allotted for the alpha family. Our Gamma family lives on the 2nd floor. The floors for the ranked wolves are all on the left side of the pack house. The right side also has rooms on the second through fourth floors for guests and unmated warriors who choose to live here rather than in a separate home. The first floor has a large kitchen and dining room, along with a rec room, living room, and conference rooms for when we have large gatherings in the pack. Omegas who choose to live in the pack house are provided housing on the first floor as well.

Our pack, the Canyon Ridge Pack, is the 2nd largest in the country with well over 500 pack members. And, even though we’re not the largest, we are by far the strongest. My father is a powerful alpha, I am a strong alpha heir, and technically, we have two guardians, although I’ve never met the daughter of the man and woman who saved my family’s life. I’ve heard the stories my entire life. My mother created a memorial for Lily Nelson, the Guardian who gave her life to save both my mother and me. She visits the memorial at least once a week to leave fresh flowers and, as she says, to let Lily know that her sacrifice is not forgotten and was not in vain. I say my own silent thank you to Mrs. Nelson, and I promise to look after Cara for her.

My father has dinner with Clint Nelson every week. I’ve attempted to join my father, but he says this is his time with Clint. Even my mother does not join them. Dad has been trying to get Clint to become more active in the pack for years, even offering him a position as lead trainer for our warriors, but he won’t budge. Somewhere along the line, he was labeled as ‘The Broken Warrior’. While my father threatened to punish anyone who called Mr. Nelson by that name, it didn’t matter; the name stuck. I can understand why. He was the best warrior in our pack, and now he’s a paraplegic. He’s been in a wheelchair for nearly 13 years. He and his daughter live right on the edge of our packlands, and the entire pack has been ordered to give them space. The daughter is around my age, according to my mother. I guess she spends all her time taking care of her father.

We pull into the school parking lot and head into school. Chase and I are immediately surrounded by females. They are all hoping to be the next Luna or Beta female. Most would just be happy to say they slept with one or both of us, and we’re happy to oblige. However, I would never take any of them as my Luna, unless she was my fated mate. But I’d be hard pressed to take a mate that had happily slept with me and/or my Beta, and who knows how many other men.

Is it a double standard? Yep. Do I care? Nope.

“Hey, Rik. Got any plans for the weekend?” a redhead asks. I think her name is Jessica, and I’m pretty sure she has slept with both Chase and me. One look at Chase and I know I’m right. “Not yet, why?”

“Well, my friends and I are going to Dark Moon on Friday, and we were hoping you and Chase would like to join us. It’ll be a lot of fun.” She tries to give me a seductive look, and I know what kind of ‘fun’ she’s referencing. I look at Chase again, and I can see we’re in sync. “Yeah, I think we can make it.”

Her face lights up like I just gave her the best present ever. “Excellent!” Her friend leans into me, “You won’t regret it,” she whispers to me. I look at her friend, “I’m sure I won’t.”

They turn down one of the side hallways, Jessica walking backward, “See you later, Alpha, Beta”. I wink at her, “Later”.

As Chase and I head to class, he looks over at me, “Well, that sounds promising.” I smile at him, “Definitely”.

…….

After lunch, Chase and I are surrounded by a group of friends and even more females. The girls are all chatting away about going dancing tomorrow night. Now it looks like half of my pack and half of the Shadow Falls Pack, our neighboring pack, led by Alpha Liam, are all going to the club tomorrow night.

I feel like someone is watching me, and I look up and I’m locked in to the most beautiful green eyes. My breath catches, and I forget how to breathe for a minute. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Beautiful brown hair with big, thick curls, eyes like emeralds, and a mouth made for kissing. My wolf, Kai, sits up and tries to push forward.

‘Kai, what’s going on?’

‘I don’t know, I like her,’ he responds, and I swear he’s wagging his damn tail. Since Kai has never shown an interest in ANY female, this is surprising.

I turn to my future Beta, “Chase, who’s that girl?”. I nod my head in her direction as I see a guy wrap his arm around her neck and the two of them walk off together. I have to clamp my mouth shut as Kai tries to growl.

‘Seriously, Kai, what the fuck?’

‘I want to meet her, go introduce yourself. That boy is no match for us, we’re alphas.’

‘Dude, calm down! We’re in the middle of school.’ I push him into the back of my mind when Chase responds, “You mean the brunette? No idea, but she’s definitely your type. She’s got that curly hair you go for.’ He’s right, I love it when a girl has their hair in those loose curls. And hers looks like silk.

He looks back at me. ”Want me to find out?” he asks.

“Nah, I’ll just ask her myself when I see her again.” I give him a grin that says that I’ll have her eating out of my hand by the end of the day as the bell rings and we all head to our next class.