1. Chapter 1

It was a cold and dreary night when a drunken Ward Earp stared down at the poker cards in his hands as he sat at the table in Shorty’s bar. In the middle of the table was a very large kitty of cash, but Ward had run out of all his luck and cash. As an Alpha and Purgatory’s Sheriff, Ward was married and mated with the Omega Michelle Gibson, with whom Ward had sired two daughters. Ward and Michelle were parents to Willa and Wynonna, and they were waiting the birth of their third child. Across from Ward on the other side of the poker table was Mark Hardy, one of the town’s cattle ranch owners. Sweat appeared across Mark Hardy’s brow as he nervously looked at the cards in his hands and upped the ante, putting Ward Earp on the spot. Ward had run out of things to cash in, so he chose to put onto the table, the right to his unborn child, to become Mark Hardy’s newly born son’s future mate.

Ward placed his cards onto the table and waited while sweat dripped down the side of his forehead. He nervously tapped his fingers on the top of the table. Mark Hardy turned over his cards and jumped with joy, indicating that he had just won the hand. He had secured his son James a future mate. Even though James Hardy was yet to be determined if he would be an Alpha or a Beta or an Omega, this didn’t worry his father, the most important thing for the older man, was that his son’s future mate had been secured.

Later that night as Ward returned home to his wife and children, he dreaded having to tell Michelle that he had gambled away the life of their unborn child. From that moment, Ward chose to provide for the child physically, but not emotionally, Ward became hardened towards the child when she was born. Wynonna had been the one to give the baby girl her name, Waverly. When Waverly was about 4 years of age, her mother Michelle died in a car accident, which was caused by a drunken Ward driving the vehicle. Waverly grew up under the care and love of her older sister Wynonna, who took it upon herself to care and love Waverly, where as Willa resented her younger sister and caused her much grief.

Over the years, Ward Earp would tell his youngest daughter that she had been promised to become the future bride and mate of James Hardy. Ward would continually remind Waverly that there was nothing she could do about it and that it was her fate in life. Ward Earp had a serious drinking problem, which lead to one night in a violent rage, he started to attack Waverly with his fists. Waverly was only 9 years old and was unable to defend herself from her father’s fists. Wynonna had been out at a friend’s place that evening and when she returned to the homestead, she found Waverly cowering in the corner of the living room. Wynonna took one look at Waverly’s face and noticed that her right eye was badly bruised, and she also had a split lip. Wynonna asked, “Who did this to you, Baby girl?” All Waverly could do was look in the direction of her unconscious father on the lounge.

Wynonna saw red in that instance and knew that if she didn’t put a stop to the abuse towards her baby sister, then it would continue and eventually get a lot worse for Waverly. Wynonna knew where her father had kept his gun and he had taught all his daughter how to handle a gun, so she knew that the abuse had to cease at the end of her father’s gun. Wynonna aimed the revolver at her father’s head and pulled the trigger. Ward Earp died that night at the hands of his daughter, Wynonna. When Nedley arrived, he found Wynonna cradling her sister in her arms. Nedley took one good look at Waverly and knew that he had to make sure that the Earp girls were protected and cared for. Nedley told his fellow officers that Ward had taken his own life and that Waverly had been present at the time and was too traumatised to give a statement.

When Willa heard the news about her father’s death, her boyfriend Bobo Del Ray saw it as an opportunity to marry Willa and expand his dodgy business practices. Wynonna stayed and looked after Waverly until Wynonna had reached 21 years and Waverly was 15 years. Wynonna decided that she wanted to see the world outside of Purgatory. So, one day she up and left without saying a word to Waverly or Willa. This meant that Waverly still being under age, would have been left to the care of Willa, but Waverly’s Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis stepped in and took care of her. Waverly did not see or hear from Wynonna for 7 years.

On Wynonna’s 27th birthday, she returned to the town, she had run away from all those years ago, not knowing what to expect from Waverly or her Aunt Gus, Uncle Curtis or Willa. All Wynonna knew was that she wanted to be with her family and rebuild her life with her family behind her. Waverly had been working at Shorty’s bar as one of the bartenders and she loved her job as she was able to talk with the people with whom she had grown up with as well as get to know new people. It was a raining evening when Wynonna walked back into Shorty’s and into Waverly’s life.

Wynonna returned with a husband in tow, John Henry Holiday (Doc), who was a mechanic and specialised in working with Motorcycles. This was how Wynonna and Doc meet, when Wynonna had a problem with her Harley Davison. They dated for a year before Doc asked Wynonna to marry him. They both wanted a small wedding with no fuss and opted to be married at the local marriage registry. So, when Wynonna and Doc walked into Shorty’s that evening, Waverly was shocked and filled with joy that her sister was home. After catching up over a whiskey at the bar, Waverly told Wynonna that she was now living back at the homestead and that they could live with her. Wynonna told Waverly that she and Doc where going to stay for good, as she was now working for a special police division called Black Badge Division and she was a Deputy Marshall, working alongside Deputy Marshall Dolls.

Waverly Earp is a very attractive and smart young lady, she jumped a couple of school years and was able to graduate earlier than planned. Her Uncle Curtis believed in her, so he offered to pay for her online language courses, which other people thought were silly and a waste of time. Waverly didn’t think so, as she loved history, especially her own family history, Waverly would research into the life of her Great Great Grandfather, Wyatt Earp. It was known within the town that the Earp girls had a strong link to the town, as Wyatt Earp had been Sheriff in Purgatory. When Waverly finished her shift at Shorty’s, she was leaving when James ‘Champ’ Hardy appeared at the bar and demanding that Waverly go out with him on a date.

“Come on Waverly, go out on a date with me. Remember your Dad promised my Dad that you would be mine. You know you want a piece of this.” Champ pointed towards his body.

“No Champ, I don’t want to go out on a date with you. My sister has just come home, and I want to spend some time with her and her husband.” Waverly says, as she wipes the bar counter.

“Ok, just remember, you belong to me.” Champ says with a smirk. Then he turns and leaves the bar counter and heads towards the pool tables, where a well developed blonde woman stands. Waverly watched as Champ chatted up the woman, and watched as the pair, headed towards the bathrooms. Waverly knew that Champ was not faithful as she had hoped, as she had heard about and seen his many different conquests. Waverly just knew that she had no other choice but to resign her self to her fate, that Champ was to be her mate for life. Waverly thought to herself, if only she had the courage to stand up to Champ and tell him she was choosing her mate and that it would not be him. The thought popped into her head, that one day, her true mate would arrive and sweep her off her feet and claim her heart.