Her Light
Nike Blackwood is something of a rarity in the werewolf world, being one of the only known female alphas. After killing her sadistic father and taking over the alpha position, Nike struggles to manage her pack as well as her three younger sisters. In the face of ongoing attacks from outside, Nike meets with a neighboring pack and discovers her destined mate, Toby. But love is scary to Nike, who’s only seen its dark side. Will her mate be able to show her there’s nothing to fear?
Age Rating: 16+
Prologue
Nike Blackwood
I resemble my father more than I care to admit, from his pale blond hair to his cold green eyes. Eyes that he turned cold from a young age. Too young. He was an abusive husband and a cruel father, but he was a great leader and Alpha until he lost his mind to the darkness that was growing in him.
As the oldest of his four daughters, I took the brunt of his cruelty. He tried to break my spirit, but I stood strong. Our mother taught us that everyone should be treated equally, no matter their gender, and that a true leader is always fair and just. Begrudgingly, my father saw that the Alpha blood was strong in me. He started my Alpha training when I was 12 years old and I did better than he ever imagined a female could.
But that didn’t stop him from wanting a son, the “rightful heir” to the Blackwood Pack as he said every time I did something wrong. It never mattered how hard I trained, he would belittle me for the smallest error.
“An Alpha can never show weakness, girl.”
“Get up, child! An Alpha must never stay down.”
“For the love of the Goddess, stop crying! An Alpha must control their emotions.”
These were the mantras he repeated in every brutal training session. Mantras that were literally hit into me until it became a way of life.
No one in the pack suspected what was happening in our home. Father’s abuse was confined to his hateful words and disdain to Mom because of her inability to give him the son he desired. She tried to shield us from him but that didn’t last long.
My youngest sister, Eris, had just turned two when the pack doctor informed my parents that my mother would not be able to bare more pups. My father was furious that he would not have a son. The abuse and cruelty increased and soon there wasn’t a day that went by that I wasn’t picking my mom up and treating her wounds.
I helped Mom as much as I could to keep my younger sisters away from Father. Danu learned to pack her books away to avoid Father lashing out for falling over them. Hestia did her best to keep Eris calm and as quiet as possible when Father was home.
But still my mother would smile and tell us how proud she was of all her girls. She would calm Eris’s wild spirit with lullabies, encourage Hestia’s kitchen experiments and praise Danu for her intelligence. She would tell me how she just knew that I would be a wonderful and strong Alpha one day. She firmly believed that we were all stronger than our father could even begin to imagine.
She taught us what was really important in life: Happiness. Compassion. Loyalty. LOVE.
But I don’t believe in love. How could I when my world was shattered because love wasn’t enough? My parents were fated mates and mates are supposed to love each other. That is what we were always told around the campfires.
If love was as good and powerful as Mom said, how could Father kill her in a fit of rage?
