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Nothing's better than being stared at while you sleep in the morning. It always gets me.

I immediately pinned the person face-first onto my bed and locked his arm. Whoever it was tried to escape, but I held his arm firmly on his back. After minutes of battling with me, he gave up. The person's face was hidden under layers of strawberry blonde hair

"Hazel you know it's me", he smiled as much as his hair could show. "It was a joke let go of me"

I rolled my eyes at his pleas. Creeps like you deserve to be pinned down like this, especially if they are in a long-sleeved collar top and jeans.

"You're gonna snap my arm" he scowled with another escape attempt. I didn't plan on releasing him anytime soon; I might break it if I was being honest.

"Fine", I sighed, flopping beside him on the bed.

"Cameron, for being my brother you're weak" I could imagine the presence of a scowl on his face. In the back of my head my wolf, Ivy smirked. When I looked at him, he was swinging his arm and frowning-as expected.

"Your strength is on another level. I thought you were sleeping! You keep on doing this. I literally blasted music for minutes and you didn't wake up!" And a classic Cameron rant began. The guy's a pest. Ignoring him, I mind-linked an omega for my breakfast.

I looked at the window on my right to see the source of the brilliant beams of light that lit up my midnight-themed room. The cotton-like clouds were perfectly white, and the yellow backdrop of the sun had a blueish tint, showing that the sun had just risen. Accurately, the wall clock across my bed read past 7.

The best time to not go downstairs. It will be so rowdy right now. Breakfast is best eaten alone with no one to beg you for the last slice of toast.

"Hazel, are you even listening?" Cameron looked at me, sadness reflecting in his forest orbs. I rolled my eyes.

"Give me a reason to" Cameron sat beside me with a forlorn gaze.

"Dad asked you to come downstairs" I felt so irritated by the mention of his name; that jerk. Ivy wouldn't stop growling at the mention of his name.

"I'll get down whenever I want", I said bluntly. Cameron wanted to say something else but was interrupted by the omega at the door. The girl walked in with a tray and bowed at us,

"Good morning Miss Hazel and Sir Cameron" she dropped the tray on a center desk and stood in place. She was likely awaiting a response. I assume she's a shy person, likely because of the way her short raven hair framed her face.

I forgot her name again. Hailey or something. Raven maybe? No, I likely came up with that from the color of her hair. Either way, that's not important now.

Once she walked out of the room, I stopped Cameron from saying whatever was on his mind.

"Just, please get out" He stood still with his pitiful gaze irritating the heck out of me. He knows I hate when people pity me; I'm fine on my own. Murmuring something I didn't care to know, he walked to the door but held onto the doorknob.

"He loves you more than I do Hazel. He's family", he said before walking out. Don't say that crap again. He can't be family, not ever. He lost that title a long time ago. The pillow beside me found its way into my hands and slammed the door. I don't need such thoughts now. He'll meet me after I take my sweet, sweet time to get my morning started.

After a satisfying meal, I took a warm shower and quickly browsed through my clothes. I figured a black baggy hoodie and baggy sweatpants were good enough.

"Hazel be fast before he gets mad! You know what he can do" Ivy screamed so loud that I hit my head against my closet's doorpost.

"It's been what: two hours? He needs to work on his patience. Now shut up before I get mad" I gritted before grabbing my phone from my couch and leaving my room.

It was pretty free downstairs. A few wolves here and there were decent enough for me to go about my business in the kitchen. It was nicely designed with granite counters, acacia cabinets, and silver knobs with two double doors fridges. In the center of the room, a dining table for six was placed. An embarrassing rumble from my stomach disturbed me from further admiring anything.

I checked one of the fridges and took a seat at the dining table with an energy soda. I went online to see anything new on the global Werewolf Royale tournament. Werewolf Royale is something like what humans refer to as WWE. Weird acronym for humans to use.

The final match was scheduled for the evening between False Face and Invincible. A lot of people are pumped for the event since Invincible won the last tournament. The strange thing about False Face had been who he was. No one knew. Not even the crew. He just hid from everyone.

It could be a she. You never know, do you?

"I called for you last I recall", the one person I wished was six feet under walked into the kitchen. I could pick up Cameron and Mum's scent in here as well. I kept my gaze steady on my phone, ignoring his presence.

"Hazel look at me", his voice boomed with authority. I focused on my phone as hard as possible, but it was too strong for Ivy to withstand. Once again, I looked into the brown eyes that I hated with every living fiber in me.

"Yes Alpha", he nodded and said to Cameron, "Tell your sister to dress like a woman". I rolled my eyes and my so-called father tried to intimidate me with his glare.

Too bad that trick wore off years ago. It was funny Cameron took his oval face and wide cheekbones. The only thing that Cameron has that Roberts doesn't is his green eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and thin eyebrows from mum. It's ironic how contrasting I am to them. Here I was: espresso hair, piercing hazel eyes, most lightly tanned skin; 'improperly mannered' according to the alpha.

Being adopted isn't too bad in a way.

They all sat at the dining table. Cameron sat next to me and mum and Robert was opposite. Robert kept glaring at me with closed fists. His veins were about to pop out of his head. I wish I could totally defeat the authority of this jerk's wolf that stared me down. Finally, he looked away when two omegas walked in to serve them breakfast. So sad that I ate already, the aroma was so enticing, I'll have to get something to eat again. When they were done and left the room, he said whatever was on his mind,

"The BloodCrest pack is visiting by 9 pm on business terms. I'd expect you to attend and dress up better". He was joking, he couldn't have meant that. And it wasn't because of whatever he said about my style- his opinions are worthless.

"The Werewolf Royale finale won't finish by nine. Won't the pack be busy with watching it?", I asked in a casual blunt tone. My mum hugged him, catching him off guard.

"We'd prefer silence during the meeting. You know your father, always so serious" she tried to smile at him, but her efforts were an awkward failure as Robert's attention was still focused on me.

"You turned eighteen half a year ago. Most wolves your age have gotten familiar with their mate". Here we go again, him and his stupid mate talk. Mates are an excuse to be dependent on someone. The stories I've heard about controlling mates are a little- no, very irritating.

Love is weird. I want nothing to do with that.

"It surprises me you care" I gulped down my drink. Robert growled in the most pathetic attempt to be menacing. The tension in the air was dense enough to split a knife cleanly. Ivy would be grinning by now. No one spoke further and the only sound came from the cluttering of cutleries. Cameron cleared his throat in a conversion attempt.

"So Cameron darling, how is my future Luna?" Mum asked Cameron whose face lit up.

"So that's who the suit was for" I mumbled, making Cameron fluster instantly. He tried to hide his embarrassment and fiddled with his waffles with a straight face.

"Sidney's fine. I'll introduce her to you guys in a week", he mumbled the last part, hoping mum wouldn't hear. Of course not, you can't expect a mother to not hear that. Her face brightened in joy and she began to ask Cameron questions related and irrelevant to her. Roberts smiled at mum and tried to keep her quiet while they all laughed about something I didn't catch.

It always felt I was third-wheeling every family meeting. I was barely a member of the house. Tired of listening, I grabbed a couple of chocolates from the freezer and headed out. As I walked out Robert called out to me,

"Remember. Nine o'clock". I slammed the door as his confirmation. Why don't I miss the WWR to attend the pack meeting? I mean, BloodCrest is the most powerful pack on the continent. I mean, it would be rude to reject-

"Like you'd miss it for anything" Ivy scoffed. I smirked, my knapsack laying on my bedside as I leaned on the doorpost.

"I'd trade to be a rogue if I could to make it"