I Can't Be Your Luna, I'm a Beta

I woke up to the sound of my screeching alarm. I'm so not a morning person. I slap my alarm clock to make it shut up so I can try to get a couple more minutes of sleep before my mom comes in and forces me up.

For some reason, I couldn't. I just laid in the bed, looking up at the ceiling, before it dawned on me. It was our birthday.

With that thought, I quickly jumped out of bed, not bothering to put clothes on as I ran to my brothers' room across from mine. I beat on the door with both of my fists, "Nicky!!!"

He opened the door with his eyes still closed rubbing one. "What?" He asked groggily.

I looked up at him and whistled. He was at least five inches taller than he was yesterday. Crazy what puberty did to boys. I looked down at myself, not seeing a change from yesterday, making Nick laugh at me.

"You know girls don't go through puberty until 15, you should be happy about that. I didn't sleep at all, it was so painful." He contorted his face as he relived the memory, and I slapped his arm. "Explains why you look so tired. But hurry up. Let's go eat our cake."

He smirked at me as we raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. We both stopped when we spotted our mother waiting for us by the door.

"Happy thirteenth Birthday! My babies are getting so big!" We both groaned as she pulled us into a tight squeeze, Nick even growled a little making our mom let go of her hold instantly.

"He's still sore, dear. The change is much worse for a soon to be alpha." I watched as my dad beamed at my brother. It didn't bother me since I knew he was the favorite twin.

"Where's the cake?" The looks I got from my parents made me look down a little embarrassed. Nick just laughed as he placed his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. "She meant can we please have our cake, right, sis?" I nodded in agreement while our parents shook their heads at us in mock disappointment.

"Alright, come on, you two."

We both smirked as we followed our mom to the two cakes on the kitchen counter. We looked at each other confused before we turned that confusion to our mother. We always had one cake that we shared.

"What?" Her voice was laced with confusion as her gaze shifted between the two of us.

I shook my head and looked to see which cake was mine, "nothing, Mom."

She smiled before they sang happy birthday to us and we cut the cake. I took a piece of Nick's carrot cake and my red velvet before I tried to make my way back up to my room.

"Cassie." I slowly turned around to my dad's stern voice.

"Yes, daddy." I tried to muster all my sweetness as I answered him. In return, he raised an eyebrow at me. "Did you eat breakfast?"

Crap. I'm caught. I just smirked at him as I ran up the stairs. "Cassandra!"

Running into my room, I quickly closed the door and felt safe. Why? I have no idea, seeing as my parents could come up here at any moment. Just then, I heard the doorknob turn. I held my breath waiting for my parents to emerge, but instead, it was my brother.

"Nick, you scared me half to death!"

He just laughed as he came and sat on my bed with me, also eating his cake. That's how we stayed while eating our cake, in comfortable silence.

"Alright, midget, it's time to get ready for school." My jaw dropped at his comment. Our whole lives we've been the same height, now he grew overnight and that makes me short?

"Whatever. I am not short. I'm perfect height for a weregirl my age." I crossed my arms, and he ruffled my chocolate brown hair like he always does. Before I knew it, he stopped and walked out of my room so I could get ready.

I quickly jumped into the shower before I walked into my closet. What do thirteen-year-olds wear on their birthday? I threw my hands up in defeat and decided to just wear normal clothes. Our party would be in two days. Then I would dress up.

Finally settling on a long-sleeved striped shirt and simple jeans, I walked out of my closet brushing my hair walking to my vanity. I quickly put eyeliner around my dark blue eyes before I grabbed my backpack and threw my brush on my bed. I ran downstairs and looked around for Nick. He usually finished before I did.

"Ready, sweetie?" I turned to my mom with a confused look. "Where's Nick?"

"He isn't going today." My dad came down the stairs and kissed the top of my head. "Just a precaution."

I didn't know what he meant but nodded sadly. I never went to school without Nick. We were even sick on the same days for the same amount of time.

The ride to school felt weird, and walking into the building without him just felt wrong.

"Hey, why the long face?" I smiled at Raven before she smiled back.

Raven was my brother's long-time crush. She had black hair that was cut in a sleek bob and the most beautiful grey eyes I've ever seen. She was a little shorter than I was, but I'm sure that will change when we go through puberty in two years.

"Nick's not coming today." I frowned even more, and she gave me a light pat on the back. "It's okay. I'm sure you'll survive without him."

I nodded, and we both walked through the school halls toward our lockers. We almost made it when I felt a sharp pain course through me, then the anger hit me. I growled deep and low, making everyone in the hall stopped to stare at me.

Raven even let go of my arm to take a few steps back. Instead of continuing to my locker, I kept shaking my head in an attempt to get back to normal. After a few moments, the anger vanished, and I went to my locker before the bell would ring.

Raven quickly ran up to me, grabbing my arm. "What the hell just happened?"

I shrugged my shoulders. Not having an answer. I honestly had no idea what just came over me. I just wanted to hurry up and go back home.

She just sighed before she let go of my arm and leaned against the locker.

"Do you think it has something to do with Nick?"

I honestly had no idea. Now that Nick was thirteen, he could mind link. I, on the other hand, still couldn't. It sucked that girls went through puberty later than boys.

Trying to put the incident behind us, we just went to our first class were my brother's best friends were waiting for us.

"Cassie. Are you okay? I told Nick about what happened, and he's worried." I just groaned at how freaked out everyone was.

"I'm fine. I just got angry all of a sudden. Also, don't tell him everything, Leo." I glared at him, and he held his hands up in surrender.

Leo had the same brown hair as Nick and I. It's probably why everyone thought he was our cousin. That hair was matched with the most beautiful sea-green eyes I've ever seen. He kept his hair short like Nick also, but they had different styles. Leo was more of a buzz-cut man, while Nick liked to have a short amount of hair. He was shorter by a couple of inches than Nick after his massive growth spurt, but they were the same kind of skinny.

The only real difference between them was skill and personality. Leo was overly serious about everything and held on to hate that altered his ability to make new friends. Nick, on the other hand, was the opposite of me, just the right amount of serious. He was kind and caring but also showed you he meant business when the time came.

"He's my best friend, and I care about both of you, that's all."

I sighed as I took my seat behind him right before our teacher walked into the classroom. While she started the lecture, I just zoned out, thinking about my fit of anger. Did I need to spar? Did I have pent up frustration?

I just laid my head down on the desk in defeat and groaned to myself. Hearing the bell was my saving grace. Maybe I just needed gym class to help. The only bad thing about the gym is we have it with the high school. I hated walking through the locker room and hearing the snickering from the girls who already went through the change.

I just rolled my eyes and went to my locker before an arm stretched out in front of me.

"Move," I growled at the girl, and she just smirked in return.

"Make me." I glared up at her.

Everything about her irritated me. Her dyed red hair and her piercing baby-blue eyes that showed she was a coveted white wolf. So that's why she thinks she can talk to me that way.

Finding her little game boring, I pushed her arm aside and kept walking as her friends looked on flabbergasted. They must not know that the alpha blood coursing through me wouldn't allow me to back down from a challenge.

I quickly changed and went into the gym. I took a seat in the front and watched as the redhead glared from her seat. I smiled and waved before my best friend finally came over. "Took you long enough, Mason."

Mason was my best friend that I was slowly developing a crush on. He was older than me by two years, but it didn't matter to me. He had sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes, and when he shifted, his wolf was a beautiful auburn.

Since he was halfway through puberty, he put on a lot of weight. By weight, I mean muscle. He was the biggest guy in the school, which shouldn't be shocking since he was the future alpha of our neighboring pack.

"Sorry, sweetheart. Hard to maneuver around when so many girls want me." I blushed and quickly looked down into my lap.

I should be used to him calling me sweetheart, but I'm not. I also hated the idea of girls all over him. Did they have no respect?

He opened his mouth to say something else before our training teacher walked into the gym, shutting everyone up. Mr. Avery was said to have come from the most vicious pack the Northern Hemisphere has ever known, the Night Stalker pack. Whether it was true or not, I don't know. My father isn't one to talk to me about these things.

"You're going to practice your fighting techniques first. After the first hour, for those that can..." He paused and looked directly at Mason, silently testing it. "We will practice shifting. "

As he walked away, I nudged Mason's arm. "What was that about?"

Mason only shrugged. Not even looking in my direction, which was very weird. I bit the inside of my cheek as I pulled my legs closer to my chest, a little sad that he would shut me out.

"Alright, your partners are listed on the board. Find them and start sparring."

I quickly got up, not wanting to be near Mason anymore at the moment, to go see who I was sparring with. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "Who's Veronica?"

"Me."

You have got to be kidding me. I turned around to see the same redhead that I can't seem to shake. I don't like this girl.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You got this." I tried to turn around to face Mason, but he held me in place by putting his hands on my shoulders. He leaned so he could whisper into my ear. "She' just changed a week ago and she's weak. You can easily beat her."

I turned my head to face a smirking Mason who kissed me on the cheek, shocking me even more. One last smirk, and he went on his way to find his sparring partner. I turned back to Veronica to see her glaring at me. Great, she had a crush on Mason. But, then again, who didn't?

"Alright, pup. Let's get started."

I growled low, I hated it when people called me a pup. Then it happened again, the pain before the anger. This time my vision went red and I charged for Veronica. A guttural growl escaped my throat, and I tackled her to the ground. I quickly climbed on top of her, sitting on her chest, before my fist pounded into her face over and over again.

When I snapped out of it, both Mr. Avery and Mason were holding me down to the ground, tears threatening to spill at any moment.

"M-Mason?" I forced out, sounding like a sob.

He quickly let go of his hold on me, and I jumped into his arms. He rubbed my back up and down in a soothing voice, telling me everything was okay. The only problem was that everything wasn't okay. What was going on with me?

Mason escorted me to the office, where he waited with me before my dad came.

"Cassie." My father looked disappointed and worried at me.

I could only hang my head down in shame. I didn't know what overcame me.

"Mr. Black, can I talk to you real quick?" My father nodded and slowly walked away with Mason, speaking too low for me to hear.

I had no idea what they were talking about, but realization seemed to hit my father. Mason noticed, too, but seemed just as lost as to what exactly my dad discovered.

"Cassie, let's go."

I just nodded my head and followed my dad out of the school, ignoring Mason's silent plea for me to look at him. The ride home was tense. Neither of us talked. I'm used to getting in trouble. I was the wilder one between Nick and me, but never like this.

When we made it home, I ran up the stairs and into my room. I laid face down on the bed and cried. What was happening to me?

I heard a faint knocking on the door, waking me up from my sleep. I must have fallen asleep while crying. I quickly got up and opened the door to see Nick. I quickly jumped into his arms and squeezed him as tight as I could.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I was fine, then the next thing I knew, I was so angry I saw red." Nick tensed when I said that, causing me to look at him in confusion.

"Cassie. You know that if you were of age, you would have shifted…and at school."

I gasped when I realized what he said. I could have put everyone in danger. My eyes grew in the realization that I screwed up big time.

"I have to talk to dad." Nick tried to grab my arm, but I just moved it to make my way downstairs. I could hear him arguing with my mom in his study. I stopped when I heard my mother.

"I will not send her away to live with strangers! It wasn't even her fault!"

"But no one knows that! She has to go unless we want the pack to turn on us!" I covered my mouth to muffle the cry that threatened to escape. I felt as Nick wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to his chest. I turned around in his arms so I could cry into his chest.

"Cassie, list—"

"NO!"

I ran back up to my room and onto my bed. I wasn't shocked when Nick came into my room lying down with me. I turned to face him, and we linked our fingers.

"You can't leave me, sis. What would I do without you?"

I just sighed as the tears started to flow again. What would I do without him? Or Leo? What about Mason? I was the only friend he had. I couldn't abandon him. I scooted closer to Nick before I finally fell asleep from exhaustion.

When I woke up in the morning, Nick was looking at me with his dark blue eyes filled with worry.

"What happened while I was asleep?" I knew he had to know something to look this worried.

"They bought your ticket. You leave tonight at 6 pm."

I stared at him, not really looking at him but past him. My family was really shipping me off to an unknown location to live with people I didn't even know.

"So, I'm not going to school today. Am I?" Nick shook his head no.

I sighed as I let go of Nick's hand and rolled over to grab my phone that was on my nightstand. I quickly texted Mason. I wanted to see him before I left.

Hey, Mason. Come over after school.

I got up to go to the bathroom and hung my shoulders when I saw that my parents had already brought up my luggage to my room. How long would I be gone? Where was I going? What should I pack? I had so many questions, but no answers to them. My phone interrupted my thoughts, and my heart stopped when I saw that Mason had texted me back. He knew better than to text in school.

Alright, sweetheart. I'll be there. I missed you at gym today.

I smiled and shook my head. Mason always knew how to make me feel better.

I always miss you. And don't text in school!

I threw my phone on my bed by Nick before I went to take my shower. I know I took longer than usual, just enjoying the hot water relaxing my overstressed body. Eventually, the water turned cold, so I turned off the shower and stepped out to see that I had dark circles under my eyes. That's what I get for crying so much.

There was a knock on the door that made me quickly look at the door.

"You didn't save me any hot water, did you?"

I just laughed at how annoyed Nick had sounded, knowing that he couldn't stay mad at me. I opened the door with a half-smile, and he growled. "I knew it!"

I laughed a little before I got serious. "Nicky. Do you know where I'm going?" He tensed and lost the playfulness in his eyes.

"Europe to stay with our eldest uncle, that's all I know." I nodded at him and opened my closet.

"You don't know how long?" He shook his head at me, and I sighed. "So, what should I pack for Europe?"

I was asking myself, but Nick took it upon himself to come into my closet and look through the other side. I smirked as I watched him look through all my clothes, no doubt looking for the things he bought me.

We actually had so much fun packing. I didn't even notice that hours had passed until I heard the light knock on my door. I came out of the closet to see Mason leaning in my doorway.

"You rang, sweetheart?" His gaze quickly left my face and landed on the luggage on my bed. "Where are you going?" His face looked emotionless as he asked me.

"I'm going to Europe."

"For how long?" I could hear the irritation growing in his voice.

"I don't know." As soon as I answered, he roared, causing my dad and Leo to come up to my room.

"What do you mean you don't know?! Why are you even leaving?!"

I didn't say anything to him. I knew he had to get this off of his chest. I didn't want to leave Nick, Mason, my friends, my family. I wanted to stay here but I couldn't. I couldn't be selfish.

"Answer me!" He yelled so loud that I flinched back before slowly looking up at him.

"Look. I told you to come because I wanted to spend what little time I have left with you. I'm sorry that I have to leave. I don't want to."

"Then don't." His face softened, and I felt him pleading with his eyes for me to stay.

"She can't. Her plane leaves at 6."

I was scared that Mason would do something he would regret later, so I quickly ran and wrapped my arms around him.

"I want you to stay, but I understand if you can't." I looked up at him hopefully, but I knew he would leave.

"Sorry. I can't just watch as you leave."

He pulled away from me and pushed through Leo and my dad before disappearing. A tear fell before I quickly went back into the closet and saw that Nick was waiting for me with open arms. I seriously have the best brother.

After I was all packed up, we waited in the living room until it was time to leave. It was just Nick, Leo, and me sitting in silence until Leo broke it.

"I can't believe we won't be the three musketeers anymore."

I smiled at him and then at Nick. That started us telling all of our favorite memories. Most of them involved me getting in trouble, of course. As I said, I was the bad twin.

"Or how about the time you lined your uncle's bed with firecrackers before lighting them?" We all looked up at my dad and saw he had a smirk on his face but sadness behind his eyes.

"Time to go?" He nodded as he quickly took my bags out to the car.

Leo and Nick escorted me out, both hooking my arms as we walked. I tried to think of how this was helping everyone and not thinking of my own selfishness.

The car ride was silent except for music that was lowly playing. My mom didn't even come with us. I knew she didn't want to cause a scene at the airport.

Pulling up to the airport made my stomach drop. It was real now. I would be leaving the only home I've ever known. I decided to text Mason one last time.

At the airport. I'll miss you :(

I placed my phone in my back pocket before I went to check in. After they took my bags and gave me my ticket, I made my way to security, where the boys couldn't follow me anymore. I stopped and grabbed Nicky, squeezing him as tight as I could. He lifted me off the ground, swinging me back and forth before my dad cleared his throat.

I laughed as I wiped away my stray tears and hugged my dad. He cleared his throat again, and I pulled away, seeing the tears that he refused to shed.

Finally, I gave Leo a hug and sighed as I thought about how I wished Mason was here. After we pulled apart, I placed my hand on his cheek and smiled. "Take care of my brother for me."

They all laughed as I walked to the security line. After I cleared, I turned around one more time to wave at them before walking to my terminal. While waiting for my flight to board, I checked and saw that I had 5 text messages.

Love you, baby girl. I want you home sooner than later. Be good for your uncle.

Mom I can't believe you are leaving. Please come back soon.

Raven Text me as soon as you land.

Nick Why?

Don't forget me, sweetheart.

I sighed as I looked at Mason's text. There was no way I could ever forget him.

I could never forget you. I should be the one to tell you that, though. So many girls, after all.

I turned off my phone as they called for us to start boarding our flight to Budapest, Hungary. I was going to Hungary.