Chapter 1
I stood in the back of the room, head down.
My mother was teaching my younger sisters how to dance.
The ball was a month away, and everyone was preparing for it.
Everyone except for me, that was.
I no longer cared about going to the stupid ball.
There would be nothing for me to gain, so why should I go?
While it was expected that when a wolf turned sixteen, they would be introduced to the royal court, I was not.
My sixteenth birthday came and went, and no one noticed.
I was not allowed to go, and I was devastated.
How was I to find my mate?
I had been a mistake, Mother often claimed.
A mistake that she regretted and that no one should ever learn of.
But I knew she was lying.
The only thing she regretted was me, not the affair.
And because she had to keep her perfect reputation spotless, she kept me hidden.
The man that I had grown up calling father gave me a sad smile from the other side of the room.
He loved me just as much as he did his four daughters.
But whenever he looked at me, I could always see that sadness that was present in his eyes.
I was a constant reminder that his mate cheated on him.
After years of begging her, she still refused to tell him who my real father was.
But I knew.
I knew because she still meets with him once a month on the North side of town.
And I hated her for it.
I hated her for the heartache she caused in our house.
The real reason they threw the ball was so mates could meet.
And seeing as how last year, at the age of 26, I no longer had a mate, I saw no reason in going.
I remember that night well.
Mother took Nadia and the others while I was left at home.
I was reading in the library when a pain as I had never felt in my life exploded throughout my whole body.
My screams echoed throughout the entire house, bringing the servants at a run.
When they saw me writhing in pain on the floor, pity filled their eyes.
For hours, the pain stayed.
And finally, when it left, I collapsed.
Later, I remember my old nurse comforting me as I cried.
She told me that my mate, the one meant for me, had marked another woman.
My heart was shattered that night.
Nothing remained of it.
And while I tried to blame him, to hate him for marking another, I couldn't.
Our kind usually met our mates the year we shifted for the first time at sixteen.
If not that year, then in the next two years for sure.
Yet, because of my mother, I had not met my mate.
And so, I had to assume that he was in his mid to late twenties, he believed that I had either been killed or had mated with another.
But seeing as how he would have never felt the pain of me being marked by another male, he would believe I was dead.
It was very rare for mates to find each other so late in life.
Although 26 is very young for wolf shifters.
A sigh left my lips as I heard my wolf whimper in pain.
My mate and his chosen one were alone.
Every night he did this and because my wolf and his were still connected, she felt it.
Once I told her to stop blocking the pain, to let me carry my share.
She refused.
I had enough to worry about, she thought.
Mother must have heard me sigh because I felt her glaring at me.
"Madelynn, you are to escort your sisters to the ball this year.
However, I forbid you to mingle or dance.
Your main purpose is to keep an eye on Nadia, Mila, Thea, and Paisley."
"I don't wish to go Mother," I spoke before I could stop myself.
She glared at me harder.
"You will go.
You will watch over your sisters.
And you will not complain." She yelled at me.
I nod my head meekly, wishing that the floor would open up and hide me.
The days flew by quickly and before long, the big night had arrived.
Mother had bought me a plain dark blue ball gown that shimmered under the light.
And I loved it.
But when I saw what she had bought for my sisters, I felt ashamed.
They looked like Royalty compared to me.
Why did she love them more?
We climbed into the limo and soon the house was gone.
I noticed that they girls kept looking at me but I didn't speak.
"We're sorry Maddie," Nadia spoke up and I turned to face her.
"Sorry about what?"
"Mother," she said softly but I just shrugged.
My whole life I had to face with her sharp tongue.
It no longer held any sting.
"Why didn't you want to come tonight?" Mila asked.
"It's every girl's dream to find her mate at a dance." I couldn't help but really look at the four of them.
They were really beautiful.
They were indeed our mother's daughters.
"There's nothing for me to gain in going."
"But...
Your mate," Thea, the youngest of us, cried.
She was the helpless romantic of our family while I kept myself hidden away in the secret worlds of books.
I just gave her a sad smile, hoping the hurt and pain I still felt was hidden.
"I have no mate," I spoke softly and if they hadn't been a wolf shifter, they wouldn't have heard it.
No matter how hard I tried, the sadness wouldn't leave my voice.
Understanding quickly flooded their eyes.
"It's because of Mother isn't it?" Paisley asked.
Everyone could hear the venom in her voice.
It was, but I couldn't blame her.
I knew I should, but she was still after all my mother.
So, I just kept my mouth closed.
They looked at each other and the rest of the ride was clothed in silence.
Just as the castle came into sight, Nadia spoke again.
"What will you do Maddie?" I knew what she meant.
Without your mate, you weren't complete.
I could find a male whose mate had died, or left him.
But I didn't want a life that didn't belong to me.
I wanted my mate and only him.
"I was planning on becoming housekeeper for the first one of you that meets their mate.
It would be a nice change after Mother's house."
The limo came to a stop and the door opened.
Quickly, we exited our ride and just stood there taking in the magnificent sight.
I felt bad for lying to my sisters, but I was planning on leaving this very night.
Distance, I had heard, lessened the bond between two wolves.
And I was planning on putting as much between my mate and I as I could.
A guard led us up the stairs towards the doors.
The second he opened them, I froze.
My wolf was purring softly.
Our mate was here.
Nadia and Mila linked arms with me, and slowly, we entered the castle.
It didn't take them long to be claimed for a dance.
I watched as they were twirled around the floor, their laughter making my heart soar with happiness.
They would be happy, I was sure, when they found their mates.