Isabella

“Isabella, are you packing?”

“Yes Mama.” The truth was, she wasn't packing at all. It drove her crazy that her mother questioned her because she was a grown ass adult, but at the same time she totally hated to pack. And she was dragging her feet until the very last second hoping to not even have to go on this stupid trip. Why the entire Bradwick clan decided to rent one log cabin in the middle of nowhere for Christmas she had no idea. Whose great idea was it to put more than a dozen bears and a few wolves inside of one building? She couldn't believe it. And if that wasn't bad enough, she had really been looking for some time away from her family this holiday season. Her friends had planned a fun getaway to a big ski resort and she had even paid. But now she was stuck with the family, and had lost her deposit.

Ever since her cousin Bianca had died all the Bradwick girls had to live at home with their parents until they found their mate. So, she was an adult, living under her parents’ roof like a child, and now she had to go partake in some crazy sing-alongs and ugly itchy sweaters. None of that sounded like her idea of a good time. The only part of the vacation that she was looking forward to was that a couple of the clan members had invited family friends. Hopefully one of them would sneak some booze in and at least make the trip little bit more interesting.

She looked up from her place on the bed pouring over another romance novel to see her mother standing in the doorway. She had her hands on her hips and a fiery look in her dark brown eyes that ensured that Isabella knew she was in trouble.

“You don't even have a bag out! We are leaving this house in twenty minutes. You are coming on this trip. Get your clothes together. Now.”

Isabella sighed. “Mama are you sure that I have to go? I mean really I could just stay and take care of the house…”

Her mother put her hand up and stopped her. “You and I both know that that is out of the question. This is our den and our rules. The head of the clan has commanded that we will all spend the holidays together this year. Under one roof. You are a part of this family, you have to be there.”

“Fine,” she whined. “What do you want me to pack anyway? Like is this a, I can be in leggings opportunity, or do I need to pack a fancy dress.” The Bradwick's were known for their parties, but also since Bianca had passed there hadn’t been many of those. Things had been calmer, quieter in a way. The whole clan was more subdued.

“I would suggest packing at least one nice dress. But the rest of the time if you want to be in comfortable clothes that's fine with me.” Her tone softened. “Listen Isabella I know that you want a break from all of this, and I can't say that I blame you. But you have to follow the clan’s rules, it's just that simple. I know that you were hoping to move out last year. I can't say that your father and I weren’t looking forward to it as well. But this is the hand that we've been dealt, we have to keep you safe.”

And there it was again, the implication that Isabella couldn’t keep herself safe. That she needed either her family or a man's protection. It made her crazy. She was a Bradwick girl, some of the strongest shifters in North America. So, when she married outside the family, whoever her shifter mate was would most likely not be as strong as she is. For some sexist reason that didn't matter. Instead she had to find a mate in order to be safe in their eyes. She huffed at her mother. “You know as well as I do I can fight better than most of the boys we know. I can keep myself safe Mama.”

Her mother folded her arms still standing in the doorway. “I know. I know you can. But this is our current situation, we just all have to make the best of it.”

Isabella nodded and closed her book climbing off the bed. She pulled a small suitcase out of her closet and began to throw a few things into it. She didn’t bother folding her clothes, she never did. Her mother must've taken that as a positive sign because when Isabella looked up again to ask her about a shirt that she was considering, she was gone. She knew why she was worried, and it wasn't that she was trying to be offensive. She just wished that everyone would see things from her perspective. Being a prisoner in her own home? She never saw that coming. She wanted more out of life, adventure. As she continued to throw some clothes into the suitcase she thought about their reasoning for picking someplace in the woods not close anything else. At least she would be able to shift. Maybe even pick a fight with some of the boys and be able to get some of her pent-up energy out. If nothing else she could run through the woods in the darkness and finally get some time alone. Maybe this trip would be okay after all.