Eighteen is a very important age for any teenager to turn.

It's when you're finally old enough to vote, go to war, or get into bars.

It's when you're finally at the legal age to be your own independent individual.

It's the first year when you're not considered a teen anymore but an adult.

But to my kind, it's a lot more than that.

It's everything.

And you wanna know why?

Because at eighteen I can find my mate. To werewolves, turning eighteen is the most important year of our lives. It symbolizes us blooming into a grown wolf who can go out on our own and start our own family. And all that starts with turning eighteen and finding the soul mate we've been destined to find since the day we were born.

I am positive that my mate will be the man of my dreams.

Or at least I hope so.

"Paisley! Can you come down here please?" A big and intimidating yet lovable voice yells.

I grin at the sound of his voice. "Coming daddy!" I yell down the stairs.

When I walk down the stairs and into my father's office I immediately smell old spice cigars and mint. It's my father's scent that sends me straight back to my earliest days as a child when mom was still alive.

"Hey angel. How was your day?" My dad asks and gives me a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead.

My dad is Alarik Darkwood. He's one of the most feared Alphas of our time. But to me, he is just a giant teddy bear and my best friend.

"Awesome. I went to Lina's house and we decided on the details for my birthday party." I tell him and his mouth turns up into one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen.

"Well I'm happy you're happy." He says and I smile. "But...", he begins to say and my smile fades.

I know my dad well enough to know when he says the word 'but', some huge bombshell is about to be dropped.

"Hey dad I'm sorry to cut this short but I have to go meet Kiyla. I'm already late and she's waiting on me. I love you. See you later." I say and give him a kiss on the cheek before dashing out of the house.

I don't really have to meet my friend Kiyla anywhere. And I feel terrible for lying to him, but I have a gut feeling that whatever bombshell my dad was about to drop, I wasn't going to like.

So instead of sticking around the house, I make my way to my safe haven.

The one place I've always gravitated to when I needed to be alone and give myself time to think.

The woods.

Others may find the woods scary and intimidating, but not me. I find it to be calming and serene. I guess I get that from my mom. She was always coming out to the woods when her duties as Luna got too stressful. My dad was always asking her why she chose the woods as a place to think and she would always answer by saying, "Its quiet out there. Instead of hearing the voices of hundreds of people, I only hear the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and the animals scurrying about." I personally loved that answer.

Dad not so much. He would always sneak off after her and make sure she got back home safely. It annoyed my mother to no end, but she put up with it because she knew my dad needed to know she was safe or else he would lose his mind.

Losing her was hard on all of us but my dad had it the worst. He lost his soul mate and one true love the day she died. And that's something he'll never be able to get over. It's why he's so overprotective when it comes to me and my little brother.

It's why I'm extremely careful when I come out here by myself.

Because you never know who or what you'll run into out here.

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Author's Note:

Hey everybody!!!

I hoped you liked the first chapter of TAIMM. This is my first book and I'm scared as heck to write it so bear with me.

It was really short but they will get better, I promise!

What do you think of Paisley so far? She is super nice but that can all change very soon. (Hint, hint) lol

What do you think will happen when she goes into the woods?

Comment and let me know what you guys think and thanks so much for reading!!!

Love ya!!!!