"Victoria! Victoria! She's coming home! she's coming home, my Athena is coming home," I shouted as I ran towards my wife who was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. "Ath...Ath. Athena, she's coming back Victoria, she is coming back," I pant. 

Victoria's eyes widened in shock.

"Athena's coming? When? How do you even know this, Christopher it has been eight years and she has not contacted anyone, and now you're telling me that she is coming. Where exactly is she coming from? Where did she even go to in the first place? She never bothered to inform us when she ran away, and now all of a sudden she tells us she's coming back, she is not welcome here Chris."

"She is our daughter Victoria, our princess, she is always welcome here, this is her home," I tell her.

Victoria gives me a perplexed look.

"There is a reason she ran away Chris, and because of that we moved forward with a normal life without breaking traditions and now her coming back means we will have to be on the lookout for the council, they cannot know Christopher, they cannot, and Athena can't come."

''I know dear, but I will not let the council scare me when my daughter is finally coming back, I have already endured eight long years without her and I'm not getting any younger either so Athena will come and she will stay here and be with us when her brother takes up the alpha position, and that's my final decision as a father and as the alpha of the Crimson Pack, " and with that I left the house.

*flashback eight years ago*
"Dad! dad! Ethan stole my paintings again," a 16yr old Athena walked into my office in overalls covered in paint.

"I did not steal it dad, I simply borrowed one." Ethan said as he walked in behind her.

"And would you care to tell dad why exactly you 'borrowed' my painting?" she said while air quoting on the word borrowed.

"I uhhh...ahem... I uhhh," stuttered Ethan. 

"Yes Ethan, go ahead brother why don't you tell dad your reason, I'm sure he would looovvveee to know," Athena adds while smirking at him.

"Okay kids break it up, Ethan return your sisters painting back to her, Athena go clean-up we have matters to attend to."

''Yes dad,'' they both said in unison and left my office.

"I'll tell Camilla to return the painting if you want it back sis," I hear Ethan say. 

"Nah, she can have it, wouldn't want your girlfriend being mad at you now ,would we?" I heard Athena reply. "An angry Camilla is a I-don't-care-who-I-hurt Camilla and trust me, I wouldn't want to be in the middle of that," she continued.

I shook my head chuckling, and mind linked my beta, Robert. "We need to start making preparations, the full moon is tomorrow and I want to be ready for Athena's first shift.''

"Yes, Alpha everything will be ready by tomorrow evening," he replied and the link is then cut off.

"Athena, honey, stop playing with your breakfast and eat up, you need to be fully ready for tonight Victoria says the next morning.

"I know mom, I just........" Athena trailed off.

'"oooooohhhhh is our little princess scared?" teased Ethan.

"To be very honest, yes I am. Just the thought of transforming scares me, I mean breaking every bone in your body is terrifying and painful too, right dad?" she gave me a questioning look.

"I'm not going to lie princess, the first shift is always painful, but once you are fully transformed you will feel the rush, the power and the energy flow through you. When that happens I want to you to give in to your wolf, let her take over and run, be free, enjoy the world through the eyes of your wolf.

''Don't worry though I will be with you." I patted her back reassuringly.

"Until the very end dad?" she asks, her doe eyes looking up at me hopefully.

"Until the very end princess,'' I replied.

"How are you feeling? Do you feel it? Has it started yet? Do you feel anything Athena?" Ethan pestered Athena with questions that evening, while the rest of us prepared for her first shift.

''Oh for God's sake Ethan, can you shut up!'' Athena snapped at him.

''Yup, definitely feeling it,'' Ethan grinned. 

She rolled her eyes at him, and is about to reply when we heard a snap and a small scream.

'It's happening,'' Victoria grabbed my arm in alarm.

"Come on baby you can do it, you're strong, take deep breaths...in...out...in...out." 

Athena matched her breath to her mothers, and seemed to relax  for a few seconds, when we heard another snap, even louder this time.

"I'm heating up,'' said Athena in between pants. I looked up at the moon and noticed that it was almost at its apex.

''We need more iced water. Ethan, go inside and bring as much ice water as you can carry. Here, take this bucket, it is almost empty," I ordered my eldest , as I took a jug full and poured it over Athena just as another bone snapped.

"Dad..." Athena whimpered in pain.

''You're doing good princess, almost there,'' I told her as I saw white fur appearing on her back.

I turned towards the house to call Ethan, when I hear done last snap and a gasp of shock from Victoria.

"Christopher," she called, "Christopher!" she said louder this time, making me turn back to see a huge white wolf with forest green eyes looking right at us.

"Athena...oh goddess." I whispered as I stared at my daughter.

I heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Ethan heading towards us. ''He cannot see this.'' Victoria whispered, taking the words right out of my mouth. I nodded in agreement and turned  to face the huge white wolf now staring at the both of us.

"Athena run, run as fast as you can, I will be right behind you go," I say hurriedly as Athena begun sprinting towards the forest.

"I got the water dad," Ethan announced as soon as he approached us. He looked behind me and sighs, "guess I missed it," then walked back inside the house looking forlorn. Victoria followed him inside while I shifted  and ran after Athena.

I found her looking over a cliff. She was very close to our pack borders, so I had to speed up to stop her from crossing over to our neighbors, the Eclipse pack.

"How do you feel Athena?" I mind linked her. Her wolf stiffened at first, but recognized me as her alpha and father, then relaxed.

"I feel free and strong dad, like I have this power in me that has been unlocked and is now surging through my veins."

I looked up at the moon as if asking her a question, a question that has been in my head from the moment my daughter turned, "Why her moon goddess? Why her?"

After a while we decided to return back to the house. As soon as we get home Victoria was waiting for us with some clothes to put on.

She hugged Athena and while mustering up a smile told her, ''you did it honey, I'm proud of you," but her eyes held the same worry mine did.

"What are we going to do Chris? This was not supposed to happen. What will everyone say when she turns in front of the pack?" My wife asks.

We were back in our room where no one could hear us. "I don't know dear, but if this gets out the council will want our heads," I rubbed a hand through my face.

"We must do something Chris, our daughter is an alpha female for crying out loud, this has not happened in over two hundred years, and we all know the council won't allow her to live, and even if they do, do you know what kind of problems it would bring us?''

The council has always been against women having any kind of authority in the packs, if they find out an Alpha female exists they will hunt her down," I tell her, while pacing around the room.

"We cannot let that happen." Victoria cries. "They will kill her. They'll kill our daughter!''

"I know dear, I know," I whispered softly just as I heard a soft thud outside our room. I walked out and saw Athena standing near her bedroom door, her expression told me everything. She heard us. She knew. I tried to say something ,but was unable to fathom words. '

''It is okay dad, I know what to do. Goodnight, I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow," was all she said and walked across the hallway to her room.

The next morning, Athena did not show up for breakfast. We expected her to have over slept as she might have been exhausted after the transformation last night. I was about to call for her when Ethan came running down the stairs.

"Mom, dad......Athena's gone."

"What!! What do you mean gone?? "I bellow. 

"It means she's gone dad, as in not coming back, and she left us this note," he says while putting it on the table.

Don't come looking for me, it's in the best interest of every one.
Goodbye,
Athena

Victoria's cries filled the entire house as we mourned the departure of our daughter.

*End of flashback*

It is now past noon and we are all sitting in the living room after having our lunch. Robert comes over with some papers that I need to sign for the new medical supplies that are being shipped in.

We hear a light knock on the front door and I rush to open it, but it was just Ethan who came back from a perimeter check, "Hey dad, how's it going?''

I nodded in response and closed the door behind me.

I was about to take a seat when the door flung open, and there stood my daughter, now a beautiful young woman, with the same forest green eyes staring right back at me.

"Hi Dad, mom, Ethan, I'm back.''

***

Hey guys.....what do you think of the chapter?

let me know in the comments.

-Jessica.S