Welcome Home Mate Novel – Roxie. I couldn’t help but stare out of the taxi window as we approached my home. I have been away from my pack, the Blue Shadow Moon Pack, for nearly six years. I was sent away by the alpha’s son. I was supposed to come home after a year, but I didn’t want to return. I didn’t want to see the guy who hurt my feelings. For the last few years, I have stayed in my uncle’s pack, The Crimson Forest pack. It was an eye-opening experience. The training was intense, but I excelled at the top of the class. The alpha had every member train at the age of fourteen, which in the Blue Shadow Moon pack, you couldn’t start training till the age of sixteen.
The forest comes into view, pulling me out of my thoughts, and the taxi takes the turn towards the pack. I could sense wolves in the forest. I couldn’t help but sigh; this is going to be complicated. The alpha’s son Lex. His full name is Alexander Morgan, but everyone calls him Lex. I don’t; I never have. I always call him Alexander, as I know it pisses him off. He’s my brother’s best friend. They are six years older than me, making them the right age to find their mates. Speaking of mates, I thought my mate would be in my uncle’s pack, but he wasn’t there. The age of finding our mates is nineteen. I could find mine now, as I’ve just turned twenty, but I haven’t. I have to admit, everyone wants their mate to be a innocent girl, but I didn’t wait.
I knew whoever I ended up with had probably been with other people, and I don’t like the stereotypes where they have to wait for their soulmate, especially women; what if I didn’t find my mate till I was twenty-nine? I would be the oldest innocent girl known to man, especially in the werewolf community. I would be the laughing stock of the whole pack. The main reason for coming back home to my pack was because my brother had found his mate. Jason, the guy who thought girls were boring at the age of ten because they were too slow at running. But it all changed when he hit thirteen, and he had his first girlfriend, who happened to be the worst; she picked on me like there was no tomorrow. She was evil.
When I left, I was happy to learn that they had broken up and his mate was not hers. His mate is Sofia, but I don’t know anything about her as she’s not from this pack. My father likes her, but I think he would say that even if he didn’t, just to get Jason out of his house. It has been the three of us, as my mum passed away when I was ten. My uncle, my father’s brother, comes to stay once a month to check on us. My father was heartbroken when she died. I never wanted to suffer like that, and watching my father go through the pain of losing his mate always made me second guess whether I ever wanted mine. When I was forced to leave, my uncle was there; I wasn’t too thrilled to go, but I had no choice but to leave.
I wanted to die right there and then. Alexander never gave me a real reason except one that a thirteen-year-old would take seriously, but he also left me with an image of him that I would never forget. But he told me I was too young for him and that he could do a lot better than me. You might have guessed that at thirteen I had a crush on him, well, more like years. He was hot back then, but I don’t know what he looks like now, as I never added him to my social media accounts. But I feel he has been stalking me on there, as my brother has liked a few photos that a brother should never like. I wanted to forget about him.
The packhouse comes into view as the taxi goes around the corner. The taxi drives past it, but I can’t help but look at the place; it hasn’t changed since I left. It’s like a hotel to most people, but most pack members who live there are members without homes. Many lost their homes due to rogue attacks or even just by weather alone. The taxi driver goes past, and a few seconds later my house comes into view. I can’t help but smile. The house was the same as it was when I left. But it looks like my father has placed more flowers in the flower beds around the house. He made it for my mother before she died, and we used to water the flowers together. The taxi came to a halt outside. I opened the door and climbed out. I looked around, but there was no one in sight. I walked around the cab and grabbed my bag from the driver, who was waiting for me to pay him.
It’s been a while since I’ve last been here. I handed the driver the money. I didn’t mind him, as he never talked to me, which I liked as I was nervous about coming back. But judging from the driver’s face, I think he knew to leave me to my thoughts as he was a wolf from the pack. The driver climbs back into the taxi and drives away. I can’t help but stand and stare. I never felt so nervous about being back home. “You ok there?” says Bex, my wolf, smirking. I groaned, “yeah, just trying to figure out whether this is a good idea or not,” I said to her. Bex looks at me and sighs, “We needed to come back; we trained hard, and not only that, we might find our mate.” Bex has been on about our mate for the last year, but I’m still not keen on the whole thing.
“You never know; we might have two,” she says, smirking. God, why did I have to have the horniest wolf known to man? Bex laughs, “I like men and women too.” I smirk, remembering the last encounter we had. As I said, I’m no innocent girl by any means, but I do like to have fun when I want to. I have smooched a girl, and as Katy Perry stated, she liked it. I can tick it off my bucket list, and I must admit that I liked it too, but I prefer men. Bex looks through my eyes at the house, “Nothing has changed,” she says. I sighed, “Well, let’s get this over with,” I said to her. Bex nods and goes back slightly but stays close enough. I walked to the front door and knocked on it. I waited for a few moments until the door opened.
There stood my father with a big smile on his face. “ROXIE,” he shouted as he pulled me into a hug. I can’t help but drop my bag on the floor and wrap my both arms around him. I can’t help but inhale his scent, pine trees. I missed it so much. I can feel Bex purr in my head as the scent overtakes us. My father moves back slowly and smiles, “I thought you were coming later on,” he says as he bends down and grabs my bag. “I have planned a family meal for all of us.” My father walks in, but I can’t help the groan that slips past my lips. My father looks over his shoulder at me with raised eyebrows, “Rox, we haven’t seen you in six years,” he says as he turns around to face me. He places my bag on the couch, “I know we face time and email all the time, but that’s nothing like seeing you in the flesh, and besides, Jason wants to see you.”
I stare back and sigh, “I know, but I have not long come in, and I just want a hot shower first,” I say, “Maybe a little sleep. Have you ever been on three different types of transport? Two of them had a screaming baby and one annoying passenger who had a problem with everything. The human was lucky Bex was sleeping, or I would have let her come out to play.” My father smirks, “I would have liked to see Bex take charge,” he says. Most werewolves get their werewolves at twelve, but I had mine at ten. I was there when my mother was killed, which brought on my first shift. My dad was nearby, but Bex protected mum’s dead body when he came to save us. I didn’t turn back into my human form for three days as I struggled with it all, but my dad got to know Bex.
My father made Jason stay with Alexander and his father as he made out that I was upset and didn’t want to see anyone. No one in the pack knew I had my wolf; only my father and me. I never understood why he kept it a secret till one boy shifted early and Alpha Frank made him train. He was a year older than me, and he witnessed death too. My father must have thought I would have been made to prepare early, but when we announced that I had my wolf, the law changed for girls to start training when they were sixteen and boys at fourteen, which angered me, as we are all the same and I have to admit, women can kick more as than men anyway. My father cleared his throat, “Where did you go?” he asked as I shook my head, pulling away from my thoughts. “Nowhere,” I smiled. “It’s only the four of us. No one else for the meal.”
My father looks at me and nods, “It’s only the four of us; no one else is coming here. Everyone is away on business. They will be coming back tomorrow,” he says. I stared at him, and I knew that he was lying, and he was doing it now. God, who on earth did he invite? I sighed and ignored the feeling I had, “I’m going to my room,” I said as I walked over to the couch and grabbed my bag. My father watches me, “Food will be ready in about three hours, and you get to meet Sofia,” he says with a smile. I looked at him and nodded. I didn’t say anything as I knew I hadn’t had the energy to talk more. This evening will be challenging, and not knowing who else was coming was worrying me slightly. I placed my bag on my shoulder and headed to the stairs.
I walked up, walked towards my bedroom door, and opened it. I stood in the doorway, looking at the room. My father hadn’t changed anything; it still had purple on the walls. The posters I was into when I left, and judging by the smell here, my window hasn’t been opened in a few weeks as it smells stale. I dropped my bag on the floor and headed over to the window to open it. I opened the window, and a fresh gust of air came into my room. I sigh. I looked around, wondering what on earth I was going to do, but I had a thought. Maybe I should sort some things around here first, make it more me. I might as well, and I have three hours to kill. Also, it will keep my mind busy from overthinking the meal that my father has planned for the evening. LEX She’s finally coming home today. Tim had confirmation that she would be there, and I was happy.
“God,” I said to myself as I stared out of the office window. “I need to know she’s here.” “Calm down,” says Blaze, my wolf, with a smirk on his face. “Good things come to those who wait.” I groaned, “You have been saying that for the last six years to me,” I said to him. Blaze laughs, “I know, and you still get your pants in a twist.” I looked out the window, but there was no taxi or anything. I need to keep myself busy. I walk away and head out of the office, and I walk straight to the gaming room to find James and Sofia going hot and heavy. I groaned out as I walked in on them. “For God’s sake, go to your room and do that,” I yelled as I turned around to avoid looking at them. Jason laughs, but I knew Sofia would be bright red.
She gets easily embarrassed as she’s shy, but she knows how to have fun. “You can look now,” Jason said as I turned around to find Sofia was still flushed. I couldn’t help but smirk. Jason is my beta, which makes Sofia my beta female. Since we were three, I have been friends with Jason, and our fathers are friends too. Jason smirks, “It won’t be long, and you get to see your mate,” he says as he sits on the couch, pulling Sofia closer. I smiled. “Yeah, and you get your sister back too,” I said as I walked further into the room and took the chair opposite them. “I can’t wait to meet her,” says Sofia. “When was the last time you saw her?” I don’t say anything, as the last time I saw her was when she left six years ago. Jason’s sister is my mate, Roxie. I found out she was my mate when I turned twenty, but she was only thirteen at the time.
It’s against the law to tell your mate that you are mates if they are younger than you, so I had to wait. I would have found out a year earlier, but my father had me stay in alpha school for another year to get further training. When I found out she was my mate, I found it hard not to tell her. Jason and I were players back then, so you would find us with women all the time. He had enough of Roxie one evening and snooped in her room to find her diary. Jason was thrilled to tell me that his sister had a crush on me, but when you hear your friend tell you that his little sister had a crush on you, I told him that she was my mate. He was shocked but took it well after needing a few breathing moments.
After a long chat, we told our fathers what was going on. Tim’s brother, Keith, was staying with us as he was on his monthly visit to see his brother. He also found out that evening and mentioned that she could go to school in his pack. The mate bond towards her was too strong for me to handle, as everyone noticed I had to control Blaze every time she was around. We came up with sending her to school in Keith’s pack. When they told her, Roxie wasn’t having any of it, which led to me doing the most challenging thing ever; I had to find a way for her to leave. And I found it in the worst possible way, and I knew I hurt her a lot. She left without saying anything to me after that evening. I felt like a bad guy, but she was a child; I had to deal with her being away from me and becoming the best alpha I could be. I knew I had to prepare for her return as I wanted to make sure she knew she was mine.
I was pulled from my thoughts as I could hear Jason talk. “None of us have seen her for six years,” says Jason. I glanced over at him, and he had a sad expression. “We talk and text, even face-time, but it’s not the same as seeing her face to face.” Sofia nods, but she looks between us. “Well, I can’t wait,” she says, “I get to have a sister now.” Sofia came to us from another pack, but she had no family, as they all perished in a fire a few years ago. She was an only child too. We both smiled at her. I sighed. “I bet looking at Facebook, and her social media accounts haven’t helped,” Sofia says. I could feel Blaze look at me, but we both stayed quiet. “Lex hasn’t seen anything on social media,” says Jason. “Rox blocked him from everything.” Sofia looked at me with raised eyebrows, “Why?” she asked. I’m still trying to figure that one out myself.
Sofia looks at Jason. “Jas, please tell me you have let him look at them,” she asks him. Jason smirks at me, his eyes never leaving mine. “Oh, I have, but she has now blocked me because the love-sick guy liked her photo in a shirt.” I groaned. Sofia stares at me, and I hear Blaze laugh in my head. “You never,” she says. “I couldn’t help it. I thought she looked hot, and in all fairness, it was the first time I had ever seen her since she left here,” I said, trying to defend myself. I have to admit, seeing her in the photo was a huge turn-on. I even got it on my laptop as I saved the picture. My mouth fell open looking at it, and my stick went hard as God. She has changed since she left. When she was younger, she was skinny with blonde hair, and her blue eyes were slightly dull. She was small. But the photo I saw was of her in a shirt.
She was tanned and still blonde, but she was toned in all the right places; she had curves too. “Yeah, I know man, but did you have to like that one,” Jason asks. “I don’t like all her photos, especially those she’s in shirts as she’s my sister.” I stared at him but smirked. “Don’t,” Jason says. “She knew it was you and even threatened to chop my nuts off.” I can’t help but laugh. “I can’t see that happening,” I said to him. Jason looked at me for a moment, his face expressionless. He must have had a mind link come through. After a few moments, Jason comes back, but the corner of his mouth lifts into a smirk.
“Well loverboy, she’s here,” he says. I stare at him; Blaze looks at him and moves to attention at the mention of the arrival of our mate. I go to move, but Jason stops me. “Hold on there,” he says. I glanced at him and frowned. But his face had a weird expression in place, “Rox told dad that she didn’t want anything, but my father told me to tell you that she knows about the meal he has prepared, but she wants it to be the four of us.” I couldn’t help the snarl that escaped my lips; that wasn’t happening. I have waited for six years to see her. She was supposed to be back two years ago, but she never came. “Hang on,” says Jason. “My father told her that the four of us will be there, but you and your father can come later once we have settled down to eat.” I sat back down and frowned. “I guess that’s fair,” I said to him. “I think you should all wait,” says Sofia, making us both look at her.
Sofia stares at us, “She will be overwhelmed with everything, and she has just come home from traveling; also, she may need sleep,” she says. “Babe, my sister’s not like that,” says Jason. “She will want to see us, and this guy was her crush back in the day; she will want to see him when she knows he’s her mate.” Sofia stared at him, unconvinced. “I don’t know,” she says. Jason and Sofia looked at each other, but they had blank expressions. They must have carried on talking through the mind link. I got up and walked out. I needed to get away from them, they might have a lover’s argument or something, and I had no intention of being a part of it. I walked through the packhouse and headed to my room. I needed to be ready for later, and I was going to see my mate after waiting for six years. I just hope to convince her why I had to let her go and that I have been waiting for her. ROXIE For the last few hours, my room was starting to take shape.
I bagged everything that I didn’t want anymore. It felt good to get rid of the old items, especially my clothes, but one thing is for sure, I need new clothes. My father kept checking on me, but in all fairness, I think he was making sure I was still in my room. I sighed as I placed the black sack in the corner of the room. I looked around, I knew I needed to redecorate with a splash of paint, but I could do that another time. But my room was slowly coming together. I move my bag from the floor and place it on the bed. I unpacked everything I had brought with me. I didn’t have much, and I always traveled lightly, as I never knew if I wanted to stay in one place or not. My uncle’s pack was the place I called home for the last six years, but I traveled around with members of the pack to help with situations and even visited some gorgeous locations.
Bex stirs in my bed and looks through my eyes, “You okay?” she asks. I sigh. “Yeah, I guess,” I say as I grab a dress to wear for dinner my father has planned for this evening. “You know we could go for a run,” she says with a grin. I laughed slightly. “I would love to, but we are having a family meal with Dad and Jason,” I said. “Besides, we get to meet Sofia.” Bex nods. “I hope she’s nice,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to rip someone’s throat out.” I stared back at her, “Seriously.” Bex smirks, “You should wear the navy dress,” she says. I groaned. “We talked about this,” I said as I walked into the bathroom. “I know, but I think you should look hot,” she says. “You never know; she might outdo you.” I stopped in my tracks and pulled a face. “Seriously, she’s my brother’s mate,” I say as I switch on the shower. Bex laughs.
“You are so easy to wind up,” she says, shaking her head. I groan and climb into the shower. I quickly get showered and wash my hair. Once I was finished, I climbed out and wrapped a towel around me. I walked back into my room and dried myself off. I dress in a navy dress, which makes Bex smirk. I ignore her. I sit in front of my mirror and dry my hair. I won’t do much as it’s only family. I applied some makeup, and I was ready. I got up from my chair and placed my flats on. I glanced up and noticed a figure in the doorway. “Well, don’t you look nice,” says Jason, leaning on my doorframe. I jumped up and smiled at him, “JASON,” I screamed and ran into his open arms as he pushed off the doorframe. He picks me up and swings me around, “MINI,” he says as he places his head into my neck. I wrapped my arms around his neck. I pull back and frown.
“I wish you would stop calling me that,” I say to him as he puts me down. Jason smirks, “It’s not my fault you’re short,” he says. My father and brother are over six feet tall, but I seemed to have been given the short gene of five feet four. My mum was tall too, so God knows who I got my height from. “Well, I might be short but I will hurt you,” I smirked. Jason laughs. “I like to see you try mini,” he says. I stared at him with a smirk; if only he knew what I could do. Bex smirks. Jason looks at me. “Well, I want you to meet Sofia,” he says with a soppy grin. I have never seen my brother look this happy in his life, except when he thought we got him tickets for his favorite football team, Chelsea. I smirked. “Is it fair to say that my big brother is in love,” I said to him. Jason looked at me, and his cheeks flushed slightly. Please tell me I made my brother get embarrassed.
I didn’t say anything. I wrapped my arms around him and we walked out of my room, straight down the stairs. Jason went down the stairs first, and I followed him. I couldn’t help but glance around until my eyes landed on a slender girl standing next to my father. She looks up at me and smiles. “You must be Roxie,” she says as I walk over to them. I smile. Sofia held her hand out to me, and I was happy to take it. “I am, and you must be the one who has made an honest man out of my brother,” I said to her. Sofia smiles, but I can tell she has a slight blush on her cheeks. I glanced at my brother, who seemed to be staring at his mate like a love-sick puppy. He wraps his arms around her waist. I smile. Bex stares through my eyes and looks at Sofia.
“He did good,” she says. She sits on her back paws. “So, how do you feel about being back home?” asks Sofia, who pulls me away from my wolf. I smile. “It’s okay but weird,” I say as I move toward the couch. Sofia moves away from Jason and follows me. She sits down next to me, and she smiles. “Nothing’s changed since I left.” Sofia smiles, but I glance at my father and Jason, who are huddled in the corner. Jason looks up at me, “Dad and I will make sure the food is ready,” he says as they both walk into the kitchen. Not weird at all; they are planning something. “Never mind them,” says Sofia. I glanced back at her and smiled. “So, how did you meet my brother?” I asked her. Jason told me in an email, but I would like to hear about it from her point of view, as sometimes men would exaggerate things, especially when it comes to women. Sofia smiled.
“I came here to visit the pack, as I wanted to find my mate. My alpha allowed some women to go to different packs to find their mates as most were getting older. So I was picked to go. I remember coming here, and they held a BBQ party for us. I saw him standing by the BBQ getting some food,” she says. “He looked up, and we were hooked.” Not exactly what he said, but I guessed he would have been by the food since he loves eating so much. Sofia and I talked for a bit longer. I have to admit; I like her. She is good for Jason. “Food’s ready,” called Jason as he came into the lounge. I look up at him and he smiles. “Dad went all out on food, made all your favorites,” he says. “Well, I’m starving,” says Sofia as she gets up from the couch. I smiled to myself and moved off the couch. I watch as Sofia places her hand into Jason’s hand. I couldn’t help but smile.
I follow them into the kitchen, where my father stands behind the cooker, dishing out what looks like soup into bowls. He looks at me and smiles, “Take a seat, Rox,” he says, nodding towards the dining table. I nod and walk over to the table to take my usual space. I pulled out the chair and sat down. But I glance around at the table and realize that there are another two places set. I look at my father, but he avoids my gaze. Jason sits a seat down from me, making the space in front of me free. There were two seats at either end of the table, which was for my father, but no clue who the other one was for. Sofia was sitting next to me. I was about to say something, but the doorbell rang out. “I get it,” says my father and walks out of the kitchen.
I glanced at Jason. “Who’s that?” I asked him. Jason looks at me but smirks, but doesn’t say anything. Moments later, my father walks back in with Alpha Frank following right behind him. I should have known, but before I could say anything, a scent hit my senses like a tidal wave and nearly knocked me off my chair. Bex starts to get restless in my head and stirs. Whoever it is, has my wolf going crazy. “MATE,” yells Bex in my head suddenly. “HE’S HERE.” She stares out of my eyes. Alpha Frank stands there and looks at me, but someone stands behind him, and his eyes land on me. My stomach does summersaults. I know those eyes anywhere. It had to be him. It had to be that arsehole. I keep my expression blank as I stare at him.
A smirk appears on his mouth as his eyes never leave mine, “Welcome home, mate,” he says. Bex stares back, and her mouth has drool slipping out of the sides of her mouth as she looks at him. But she looks at me but moves her head to the side and stares at him. “That’s…” she says but stops. I stare at her. But she didn’t say anything to me. I’m waiting for her to register who he is. I look back at the man who hurt my feelings six years ago. He might look like a six god on legs, but this woman is not going to fall for him. I must have been silent for too long as someone cleared their throat. I saw Alexander smirking and everyone was looking between both of us, trying not to ruin a moment or something. “Well, hello Alexander, It’s been a while!” I said in a calm voice.